pH- and Matrix Metalloproteinase-Responsive Multifunctional Bilayer Microneedles Platform for Treatment of Tinea Pedis

Persistent foot odor and itchiness are common symptoms of tinea pedis, significantly disrupting the daily life of those affected. The cuticular barrier at the site of the tinea pedis is thickened, which impedes the effective penetration of antifungal agents. Additionally, fungi can migrate from the skin surface to deeper tissues, posing challenges in the current clinical treatment for tinea pedis. To effectively treat tinea pedis, we developed a platform of bilayer gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) microneedles (MNs) loaded with salicylic acid (SA) and FK13-a1 (SA/FK13-a1@GelMA MNs). SA/FK13-a1@GelMA MNs exhibit pH- and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-responsive properties for efficient drug delivery. The MNs are designed to deliver salicylic acid (SA) deep into the stratum corneum, softening the cuticle and creating microchannels. This process enables the antibacterial peptide FK13-a1 to penetrate through the stratum corneum barrier, facilitating intradermal diffusion and exerting antifungal and anti-inflammatory effects. In severe cases of tinea pedis, heightened local pH levels and MMP activity further accelerate drug release. Our research demonstrates that SA/FK13-a1@GelMA MNs are highly effective against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, and Candida albicans. They also reduced stratum corneum thickness, fungal burden, and inflammation in a guinea pig model of tinea pedis induced by T. mentagrophytes. Furthermore, it was discovered that SA/FK13-a1@GelMA MNs exhibit excellent biocompatibility. These findings suggest that SA/FK13-a1@GelMA MNs have significant potential for the clinical treatment of tinea pedis as well as other fungal skin disorders.

JianPiYiShen formula prevents cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury in mice by improving necroptosis through MAPK pathway

BACKGROUND

Acute kidney injury (AKI), characterized by necroptosis and activation of MAPK pathway, causes sudden declines in renal function. To date, efficacious treatments are lacking. JianPiYiShen Formula (JPYSF) has a protective effect on the kidneys. The aim of this study is to explore the mechanism of JPYSF in cisplatin-induced AKI.

METHODS

Male C57/BL6J mice were divided into control group, cisplatin group and cisplatin + JPYSF group. Before establishing the model, the cisplatin + JPYSF group was administered JPYSF (18.35 g/kg/day) by gavage for 5 consecutive days. A single intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin (20 mg/kg) was used to establish AKI model. Measurement of renal function and H&E staining were performed to assess renal damage. WB, PCR, TUNEL staining and immunohistochemistry were used to detect related indicators of mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, necroptosis, inflammation and MAPK pathway. And one-way analysis of variance was used to compare group differences.

RESULTS

Compared with the cisplatin group, JPYSF can attenuate AKI, reflected by the decrease in Scr and BUN levels, the improvement of renal tubular injury, and the downregulation of NGAL and KIM1. Cisplatin can induce mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, triggering necroptosis. In this study, JPYSF improved mitochondrial dysfunction to enhance oxidative stress, as manifested by upregulation of OPA1, PGC-1α, SOD and CAT, and downregulation of DRP1 and MFF. Then JPYSF showed a significant protective effect in necroptosis, as embodied by reduced number of TUNEL-positive cells, decreased the gene expression of RIPK3 and MLKL, as well as downregulation the proteins expression of P-RIPK1, P-RIPK3, and P-MLKL. Moreover, necroptosis can aggravate inflammation. JPYSF ameliorated inflammation by improving inflammatory and anti-inflammatory indexes, including downregulation of TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1 and LY6G, and upregulation of IL-10. In addition, JPYSF also inhibited MAPK pathway to improve necroptosis by decreasing the expression of P-JNK and P-ERK.

CONCLUSION

Our data showed that JPYSF prevents cisplatin-induced AKI by improving necroptosis through MAPK pathway, which is related to the improvement of mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammation.

Oscillatory biomarkers of autism: evidence from the innate visual fear evoking paradigm

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with multiple associated deficits in both social and cognitive functioning. Diagnosing ASD usually relies on subjective clinical competencies, and research on objective criteria for diagnosing ASD in the early stage is still in its infancy. A recent animal study showed that the looming-evoked defensive response was impaired in mice with ASD, but whether the effect will be observed in human and contribute to finding a robust clinical neural biomarker remain unclear. Here, to investigate the looming-evoked defense response in humans, electroencephalogram responses toward looming and corresponding control stimuli (far and missing type) were recorded in children with ASD and typical developed (TD) children. Results revealed that alpha-band activity in the posterior brain region was strongly suppressed after looming stimuli in the TD group, but remained unchanged in the ASD group. This method could be a novel, objective way to detect ASD earlier. These findings suggest that further investigation of the neural mechanism underlying innate fear from the oscillatory view could be a helpful direction in the future.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-022-09839-6.

Antimicrobial prescribing for children in China: data from point prevalence surveys in 18 tertiary centres in China in 2016-2017

OBJECTIVES

The reports on evaluating the classification of antibiotic agents prescribed for Chinese children by combining WHO's and China's administrative categories were rare. This study aimed to investigate the pattern of antimicrobial agents prescribing for Chinese children in 2016.

SETTINGS

18 tertiary centres from nine provinces located in northern, southern, eastern and western China.

PARTICIPANTS

The antimicrobial prescribing data from the children admitted in medical wards, surgical wards and intensive care units were collected and analysed. A total of 3680 antibiotic prescriptions for Chinese children were included in the analysis.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

One-day point-prevalence surveys (PPSs) on antimicrobial prescribing were conducted among hospitalised children in China between 1 February 2016 and 28 February 2017. Five hospitals participated in the first PPS, 13 hospitals in the second PPS, 17 hospitals in the third PPS and 18 hospitals in the fourth PPS. Patterns of antibiotic use with a drug utilisation of 90%, Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical Classification, WHO Access, Watch and Reserve (AWaRe) (version 2019) and antibiotic classification in China were described retrospectively.

RESULTS

A total of 4442 children and 3680 antibiotic prescriptions for Chinese children were included in the analysis. 2900 (65.3%) children received at least one ongoing antibiotic during the survey days. On the basis of WHO AWaRe classification, the proportion of antibiotics in the Watch group was 76.5% (2814/3680). According to the Management of Antibiotic Classification in China, 56.8% (2089/3680) and 16.1% (594/3680) of antibiotic prescriptions in the Restricted group and the Special group, respectively, were included into broad-spectrum antibiotics. The most common indication for antibiotics was bacterial lower respiratory tract infection (2044/3680, 55.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics was frequent and excessive in hospitalised children in China in 2016.

Examining geographical disparities in the incubation period of the COVID-19 infected cases in Shenzhen and Hefei, China

BACKGROUND

Current studies on the COVID-19 depicted a general incubation period distribution and did not examine whether the incubation period distribution varies across patients living in different geographical locations with varying environmental attributes. Profiling the incubation distributions geographically help to determine the appropriate quarantine duration for different regions.

METHODS

This retrospective study mainly applied big data analytics and methodology, using the publicly accessible clinical report for patients (n = 543) confirmed as infected in Shenzhen and Hefei, China. Based on 217 patients on whom the incubation period could be identified by the epidemiological method. Statistical and econometric methods were employed to investigate how the incubation distributions varied between infected cases reported in Shenzhen and Hefei.

RESULTS

The median incubation period of the COVID-19 for all the 217 infected patients was 8 days (95% CI 7 to 9), while median values were 9 days in Shenzhen and 4 days in Hefei. The incubation period probably has an inverse U-shaped association with the meteorological temperature. The warmer condition in the winter of Shenzhen, average environmental temperature between 10 °C to 15 °C, may decrease viral virulence and result in more extended incubation periods.

CONCLUSION

Case studies of the COVID-19 outbreak in Shenzhen and Hefei indicated that the incubation period of COVID-19 had exhibited evident geographical disparities, although the pathological causality between meteorological conditions and incubation period deserves further investigation. Methodologies based on big data released by local public health authorities are applicable for identifying incubation period and relevant epidemiological research.