The widespread use of biological tissue adhesives for tissue repair is limited by their weak adhesion in a wet environment. Herein, we report the wet adhesion mechanism of a dry granular natural bioadhesive from Andrias davidianus skin secretion (ADS). Once contacting water, ADS granules self-assemble to form a hydrophobic hydrogel strongly bonding to wet substrates in seconds. ADS showed higher shear adhesion than current commercial tissue adhesives and an impressive 72-h underwater adhesion strength of ∼47kPa on porcine skin tissue. The assembled hydrogel in water maintained a dissipation energy of ∼8 kJ/m3, comparable to the work density of muscle, exhibiting its robustness. Unlike catechol adhesion mechanism, ADS wet adhesion mechanism is attributed to water absorption by granules, and the unique equilibrium of protein hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding, and ionic complexation. The in vivo adhesion study demonstrated its excellent wet adhesion and hemostasis performance in a rat hepatic and cardiac hemorrhage model.
Background: Alterations in both oral and gut microbiota have been identified in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the interaction between these microbiota and their potential to predict outcomes of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) remain poorly understood. Methods: This study investigated the structure and function of the tongue-coating microbiota in children with ASD and explored its correlation with ASD symptoms and gut microbiota. Germ-free ASD mice, colonized with healthy gut microbiota, and children with ASD treated with washed microbiota transplantation (WMT) were assessed for changes in autism symptoms and microbiota composition. Predictive models were also developed based on pre-treatment tongue-coating microbiota and clinical features to forecast WMT outcomes. Results: Significant alterations were detected in the tongue-coating microbiota of children with ASD, with several bacterial species showing associations with ASD symptoms and gut microbiota composition. Following WMT, both mice and children exhibited substantial improvements in autism-related behaviors, alongside marked shifts in their gut and tongue-coating microbiota. A significant decrease in Haemophilus in the tongue-coating microbiota, which positively correlated with ASD severity, was observed. Additionally, a reduction in chemoheterotrophic and fermentation functions in the tongue-coating microbiota was identified. Predictive models utilizing pre-treatment tongue-coating microbiota and clinical data demonstrated comparable accuracy to those based on gut microbiota for forecasting WMT outcomes. Conclusions: These findings highlight a significant interaction between gut and tongue-coating microbiota in ASD, which may play a pivotal role in treatment outcomes. Predictive models integrating pre-treatment microbiota and clinical features could improve precision treatment strategies for children with ASD undergoing WMT. Graphical
Nausea and vomiting (CINV) are distressful and widespread side effects of chemotherapy, and additional efficient regimens to alleviate CINV are urgently needed. In the present study, colorectal cancer (CRC) mice model induced by Azoxymethane (AOM)/Dextran Sodium Sulfate (DSS) was employed to evaluate the cancer suppression and CINV amelioration effect of the combination of thalidomide (THD) and Clostridium butyricum. Our results suggested that the combination of THD and C. butyricum abundantly enhanced the anticancer effect of cisplatin via activating the caspase-3 apoptosis pathway, and also ameliorated CINV via inhibiting the neurotransmitter (e.g., 5-HT and tachykinin 1) and its receptor (e.g., 5-HT3R and NK-1R) in brain and colon. Additionally, the combination of THD and C. butyricum reversed the gut dysbacteriosis in CRC mice by increasing the abundance of Clostridium, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Ruminococcus at the genus level, and also led to increased expression of occludin and Trek1 in the colon, while decreased expression of TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB, and HDAC1, as well as the mRNA level of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. In all, these results suggest that the combination of THD and C. butyricum had good efficacy in enhancing cancer treatments and ameliorating CINV, which thus provides a more effective strategy for the treatment of CRC.