BACKGROUND The therapeutic potential of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for Parkinson’s disease (PD) has been demonstrated. Exercise can also modulate metabolism to improve motor dysfunction in PD patients. AIM To investigate the therapeutic effect of exercise combined with iPSCs in a PD mouse model and explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS In this study, we included 10 normal mice and 40 PD model mice, which were divided into five groups: The control group (n = 10), the sedentary PD group (St group, n = 10), the exercise PD group (E group, n = 10), the iPSC-treated PD group (T group, n = 10), and the combined exercise and iPSC-treated PD group (ET group, n = 10). The T and ET groups received cell injection therapy, while the E and ET groups underwent an 8-week exercise intervention. After the intervention, behavioral tests were performed on mice from all groups. Serum levels of epinephrine (EPI) and nerve growth factor were measured, and the expression of Wnt1, Lmx1a, and other factors related to the Wnt signaling pathway in the midbrain of mice were assessed. RESULTS The motor ability of the T group was higher than that of the St group, but the difference was not significant. However, the protein and gene expression levels of Wnt1, Lmx1a, Neurog2, and TH in the T group were significantly higher than those in the St group (P < 0.01). Compared with the T group, the motor ability of the E group was significantly enhanced (P < 0.01), and the gene expression level of Wnt1 in the midbrain of the E group was significantly higher than that of the T group (P < 0.05). The levels of EPI and nerve growth factor were increased in both the E and ET groups. Exercise can improve motor dysfunction in PD, increase EPI levels, and elevate Wnt1 levels. However, western blot results revealed no significant change in the TH level of the E group, which may be because exercise does not cause a noticeable change in the number of neurons. Compared with the St group, both the E and ET groups showed improved motor function (P < 0.01). The results showed that compared with the St group, the protein and gene expression levels of Wnt1, Lmx1a, and Neurog2 were significantly increased in the E, T, and ET groups (P < 0.05). Compared with the T and E groups, the protein and gene expression levels of Wnt1, Lmx1a, and Neurog2 were significantly increased in the ET group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Exercise increases EPI levels, activates the Wnt signaling pathway through β2 receptors, enhances the Wnt1-Lmx1a regulatory loop, and promotes the differentiation of iPSCs into dopaminergic neurons, thereby increasing the number of neurons.

The rapid rise of antibiotic resistance threatens global health, highlighting the need for new antimicrobial strategies. Here, we investigated nitrogen vacancies and Ag nanoparticles decoration in carbon nitride (Ag-g-C ₃ N ₄ -V). Nitrogen vacancies optimized the electronic structure, boosting light absorption and charge separation. Ag nanoparticles induced a synergistic effect via localized surface plasmon resonance and the conjugated C ₃ N ₄ network, enhancing visible-light photocatalysis. The composite promoted hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) generation, a reactive oxygen species with antibacterial activity. The incorporation of Ag synergistically coupled H ₂ O ₂ generation with Ag ⁺ release, leading to enhanced bactericidal performance. Treatment with Ag-g-C ₃ N ₄ -V reduces the survival rates of E. coli and S. aureus by approximately 39% and 58% respectively compared to the control group; under light conditions, Ag-g-C ₃ N ₄ -V lowers the survival rates of E. coli and S. aureus to only 16% and 6%, showing a more remarkable bactericidal effect. This work offers a strategy for designing multifunctional photocatalysts against bacterial infections with potential biomedical applications.

Electron microscopy is essential for nanoparticle research because it provides the critical structural data of particle size, morphology, crystallography, and elemental composition that are essential for tailoring and for predicting nanoparticles’ optical, electronic, catalytic, and mechanical properties. The weak scattering from nanoparticles results in low contrast in electron microscope images. Therefore, observing and interpreting such images requires special care to avoid erroneous conclusions. This study investigates the imaging contrast of diamond structures on different supporting films. When the nanodiamond is overlapped with a carbon film, particle edge details cannot be explained, and the overlapping interference lattices produce a pattern of interference fringes that is much coarser than the original pattern. Single graphene oxide (GO) sheets, as the ideal support film, are highly electron-transparent for the study of nanoparticles. As a low-background and high-transparency support to identify the dominant structural information of the nanodiamond, GO is superior to carbon support film. Quantitative contrast analysis reveals that GO film improves the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) by a factor of 3.0 for 8 nm particles compared with conventional amorphous carbon films. The {111} lattice-fringe detection rate increases from 35% on carbon film to 85% on GO for the same particle size. These results establish GO as a quantitatively superior support film for high-resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) imaging of sub-10 nm nanoparticles.