Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low breast cancer has recently emerged as a targetable subset of breast tumors, based on the evidence from clinical trials of novel anti-HER2 ...antibody–drug conjugates. This evolution has raised several biological and clinical questions, warranting the establishment of consensus to optimally treat patients with HER2-low breast tumors. Between 2022 and 2023, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) held a virtual consensus-building process focused on HER2-low breast cancer. The consensus included a multidisciplinary panel of 32 leading experts in the management of breast cancer from nine different countries. The aim of the consensus was to develop statements on topics that are not covered in detail in the current ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline. The main topics identified for discussion were (i) biology of HER2-low breast cancer; (ii) pathologic diagnosis of HER2-low breast cancer; (iii) clinical management of HER2-low metastatic breast cancer; and (iv) clinical trial design for HER2-low breast cancer. The expert panel was divided into four working groups to address questions relating to one of the four topics outlined above. A review of the relevant scientific literature was conducted in advance. Consensus statements were developed by the working groups and then presented to the entire panel for further discussion and amendment before voting. This article presents the developed statements, including findings from the expert panel discussions, expert opinion, and a summary of evidence supporting each statement.
•Targeting HER2-low expression with novel antibody-drug conjugates has reshaped the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.•This advancement raised relevant questions pertaining to the definition, diagnosis and management of HER2-low breast cancer.•We gathered 32 international experts to build consensus regarding key controversial topics pertaining HER2-low breast cancer.•A modified Delphi voting methodology was deployed, leading to 20 consensus statements, each with at least 90% consensus among experts.•Ongoing studies may lead to further refinement in our understanding of HER2-low breast cancer.
Bacterial wilt, caused by strains belonging to the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex, inflicts severe economic losses in many crops worldwide. Host resistance remains the most effective control ...strategy against this disease. However, wilt resistance is often overcome due to the considerable variation among pathogen strains. To help breeders circumvent this problem, we assembled a worldwide collection of 30 accessions of tomato, eggplant and pepper (Core-TEP), most of which are commonly used as sources of resistance to R. solanacearum or for mapping quantitative trait loci. The Core-TEP lines were challenged with a core collection of 12 pathogen strains (Core-Rs2) representing the phylogenetic diversity of R. solanacearum. We observed six interaction phenotypes, from highly susceptible to highly resistant. Intermediate phenotypes resulted from the plants' ability to tolerate latent infections (i.e., bacterial colonization of vascular elements with limited or no wilting). The Core-Rs2 strains partitioned into three pathotypes on pepper accessions, five on tomato, and six on eggplant. A “pathoprofile” concept was developed to characterize the strain clusters, which displayed six virulence patterns on the whole set of Core-TEP host accessions. Neither pathotypes nor pathoprofiles were phylotype specific. Pathoprofiles with high aggressiveness were mainly found in strains from phylotypes I, IIB, and III. One pathoprofile included a strain that overcame almost all resistance sources.
•Demonstrated high shear deformation of stainless steel at industrial speeds.•Determined conditions for stable high shear deformation processing.•Observed that sub-micron grains resist shear ...instability.•Achieved strengths above 1 GPa while exceeding 20% elongation to failure.
ContinuousEqual Channel Angular Pressing (C-ECAP) is aHigh Shear Deformation (HSD) processingmethodthat has been shown to improve the mechanical properties of many alloys.While laboratory-scale ECAP machines have successfully produced microstructures that enhance strength and other properties, theirslowprocessing rate is a barrier to their widespread adoption by themetals productionindustry. To determine the viability of high-speed HSD production of a commercial alloy, 316 LVM stainless steel was subject to C-ECAP at speeds up to 42.5 mm/second to produce billets with repeatable tensile strengths exceeding 1000 MPa. The high-rate shear induced intersecting shear bands but they did not develop into shear cracks.
Resistance of eggplant against
Ralstonia solanacearum
phylotype I strains was assessed in a F
6
population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a intra-specific cross between
S. melongena
...MM738 (susceptible) and AG91-25 (resistant). Resistance traits were determined as disease score, percentage of wilted plants, and stem-based bacterial colonization index, as assessed in greenhouse experiments conducted in Réunion Island, France. The AG91-25 resistance was highly efficient toward strains CMR134, PSS366 and GMI1000, but only partial toward the highly virulent strain PSS4. The partial resistance found against PSS4 was overcome under high inoculation pressure, with heritability estimates from 0.28 to 0.53, depending on the traits and season. A genetic map was built with 119 AFLP, SSR and SRAP markers positioned on 18 linkage groups (LG), for a total length of 884 cM, and used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. A major dominant gene, named
ERs1
, controlled the resistance to strains CMR134, PSS366, and GMI1000. Against strain PSS4, this gene was not detected, but a significant QTL involved in delay of disease progress was detected on another LG. The possible use of the major resistance gene
ERs1
in marker-assisted selection and the prospects offered for academic studies of a possible gene for gene system controlling resistance to bacterial wilt in solanaceous plants are discussed.
Lymphedema (LD) refers to a condition of lymphatic dysfunction associated with excessive fluid accumulation, fibroadipose tissue deposition and swelling. In industrialized countries, LD development ...mainly results from a local disruption of the lymphatic network by an infection or cancer-related surgery (secondary LD). In the absence of efficient therapy, animal models are needed to decipher the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying LD and test putative drugs. In this study, we optimized and characterized a murine model of LD that combines an irradiation of the mice hind limb and a radical surgery (lymph node resection associated to lymphatic vessel ligation). We investigated the respective roles of irradiation and surgery in LD formation by comparing their impacts, alone or in combination (with different intervention sequences), on eight different features of the pathology: swelling (paw thickness), indocyanine green (ICG) clearance, lymphatic vasculature remodeling, epidermal and dermal thickening, adipocyte accumulation, inflammatory cell infiltration and collagen deposition. This study supports the importance of radiation prior to surgery to experimentally induce a rapid, severe and sustained tissue remodeling harboring the different hallmarks of LD. We provide the first experimental evidence for an excessive deposition of periostin (POSTN) and tenascin-C (TNC) in LD. Through a computerized method of digital image quantification, we established the spatial map of lymphatic expansion, as well as collagen, POSTN and TNC deposition in papillary and reticular dermis of lymphedematous skins. This mouse model is available to study the patho-physiology of LD and test potential therapeutic targets.
TruActive™ NF is a novel, fat-free, milk-based protein powder to be added to food to increase protein content and is manufactured using non-thermal treatment to reduce potential pathogens most ...relevant to protecting public health. TruActive™ NF was evaluated for potential pathogens of concern to public health regulators; none were detected. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of TruActive™ NF at a 90th percentile consumption for the powder in nutritional beverages and bars is 14,700 mg/day. In vitro genotoxicity testing revealed that concentrations of TruActive™ NF up to 5000 μg/plate did not induce point mutations in selected strains. Oral administration of TruActive™ NF to male Sprague-Dawley rats in an in vivo mammalian chromosomal aberration assay did not induce chromosomal aberrations or significantly affect mitosis in bone marrow cells at 2000 mg/kg. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were administered TruActive™ NF at concentrations of 7.5%, 15%, and 30% of the diet during a 28-day subacute dietary study followed by a 14-day recovery period. Some parameters were altered at the 30% diet concentration. The No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) in the 28-day dietary study was at 15% of the diet (11,812 mg/kg bw/day for male rats and 11,521 mg/kg bw/day for female rats).
•The safety of TruActive™ NF as a food ingredient was evaluate using genotoxicity assays and a 28-day subacute dietary study.•The EDI of TruActive™ NF at a 90th percentile consumption for the powder in nutritional beverages and bars is 14,700 mg/day.•TruActive™ NF did not contain any potential pathogens that would be relevant to public health regulators.