Cancer-secreted exosomal miRNAs are emerging mediators of cancer-stromal cross-talk in the tumor environment. Our previous miRNAs array of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) clinical specimens ...identified upregulation of miR-221-3p. Here, we show that miR-221-3p is closely correlated with peritumoral lymphangiogenesis and lymph node (LN) metastasis in CSCC. More importantly, miR-221-3p is characteristically enriched in and transferred by CSCC-secreted exosomes into human lymphatic endothelial cells (HLECs) to promote HLECs migration and tube formation in vitro, and facilitate lymphangiogenesis and LN metastasis in vivo according to both gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments. Furthermore, we identify vasohibin-1 (VASH1) as a novel direct target of miR-221-3p through bioinformatic target prediction and luciferase reporter assay. Re-expression and knockdown of VASH1 could respectively rescue and simulate the effects induced by exosomal miR-221-3p. Importantly, the miR-221-3p-VASH1 axis activates the ERK/AKT pathway in HLECs independent of VEGF-C. Finally, circulating exosomal miR-221-3p levels also have biological function in promoting HLECs sprouting in vitro and are closely associated with tumor miR-221-3p expression, lymphatic VASH1 expression, lymphangiogenesis, and LN metastasis in CSCC patients. In conclusion, CSCC-secreted exosomal miR-221-3p transfers into HLECs to promote lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis via downregulation of VASH1 and may represent a novel diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for metastatic CSCC patients in early stages.
Although clinical studies have shown promise for targeting programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and ligand (PD-L1) signaling in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the factors that predict which ...subtype patients will be responsive to checkpoint blockade are not fully understood.
We performed an integrated analysis on the multiple-dimensional data types including genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and clinical data from cohorts of lung adenocarcinoma public (discovery set) and internal (validation set) database and immunotherapeutic patients. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to determine potentially relevant gene expression signatures between specific subgroups.
We observed that
mutation significantly increased expression of immune checkpoints and activated T-effector and interferon-γ signature. More importantly, the
comutated subgroup manifested exclusive increased expression of PD-L1 and a highest proportion of
Meanwhile,
or
-mutated tumors showed prominently increased mutation burden and specifically enriched in the transversion-high (TH) cohort. Further analysis focused on the potential molecular mechanism revealed that
or
mutation altered a group of genes involved in cell-cycle regulating, DNA replication and damage repair. Finally, immunotherapeutic analysis from public clinical trial and prospective observation in our center were further confirmed that
or
mutation patients, especially those with co-occurring
mutations, showed remarkable clinical benefit to PD-1 inhibitors.
This work provides evidence that
and
mutation in lung adenocarcinoma may be served as a pair of potential predictive factors in guiding anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy.
.
Ischemic stroke leads to neuronal damage induced by excitotoxicity, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Astrocytes play diverse roles in stroke and ischemia‐induced inflammation, and autophagy is ...critical for maintaining astrocytic functions. Our previous studies showed that the activation of G protein‐coupled receptor 30 (GPR30), an estrogen membrane receptor, protected neurons from excitotoxicity. However, the role of astrocytic GPR30 in maintaining autophagy and neuroprotection remained unclear. In this study, we found that the neuroprotection induced by G1 (GPR30 agonist) in wild‐type mice after a middle cerebral artery occlusion was completely blocked in GPR30 conventional knockout (KO) mice but partially attenuated in astrocytic or neuronal GPR30 KO mice. In cultured primary astrocytes, glutamate exposure induced astrocyte proliferation and decreased astrocyte autophagy by activating mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) and inhibiting p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. G1 treatment restored autophagy to its basal level by regulating the p38 pathway but not the mTOR and JNK signaling pathways. Our findings revealed a key role of GPR30 in neuroprotection via the regulation of astrocyte autophagy and support astrocytic GPR30 as a potential drug target against ischemic brain damage.
Main Points
Astrocytic GPR30 was involved in the neuroprotection.
Autophagic deficiency of astrocytes induced by glutamate promoted inflammatory cytokine release.
GPR30 activation restored autophagy balance in astrocytes by regulating the p38 MAPK pathway.
Incorporation of N,S‐codoped nanotube‐like carbon (N,S‐NTC) can endow electrode materials with superior electrochemical properties owing to the unique nanoarchitecture and improved kinetics. Herein, ...α‐MnS nanoparticles (NPs) are in situ encapsulated into N,S‐NTC, preparing an advanced anode material (α‐MnS@N,S‐NTC) for lithium‐ion/sodium‐ion batteries (LIBs/SIBs). It is for the first time revealed that electrochemical α → β phase transition of MnS NPs during the 1st cycle effectively promotes Li‐storage properties, which is deduced by the studies of ex situ X‐ray diffraction/high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and electrode kinetics. As a result, the optimized α‐MnS@N,S‐NTC electrode delivers a high Li‐storage capacity (1415 mA h g−1 at 50 mA g−1), excellent rate capability (430 mA h g−1 at 10 A g−1), and long‐term cycling stability (no obvious capacity decay over 5000 cycles at 1 A g−1) with retained morphology. In addition, the N,S‐NTC‐based encapsulation plays the key roles on enhancing the electrochemical properties due to its high conductivity and unique 1D nanoarchitecture with excellent protective effects to active MnS NPs. Furthermore, α‐MnS@N,S‐NTC also delivers high Na‐storage capacity (536 mA h g−1 at 50 mA g−1) without the occurrence of such α → β phase transition and excellent full‐cell performances as coupling with commercial LiFePO4 and LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathodes in LIBs as well as Na3V2(PO4)2O2F cathode in SIBs.
α‐MnS nanoparticles are in situ encapsulated into N,S‐codoped nanotube‐like carbon (α‐MnS@N,S‐NTC) as an advanced anode for Li/Na‐ion batteries. The α → β phase transition during the 1st cycle in LIBs is for the first time revealed by ex situ X‐ray diffraction and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy studies, which improves the electrode kinetics and Li‐storage properties. α‐MnS@N,S‐NTC also exhibits superior performance in Li/Na‐ion half/full cells.
To explore the mechanisms through which hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME) modulates the transition of tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs). The migration ability of RAW264.7 macrophages was ...determined by transwell assay. Flow cytometric, western blot and immunofluorescence analyses of CD206 further validated the M2 polarization of macrophages. Immunofluorescence, western blot and qRT‐PCR were performed to detect the expression of neuropilin‐1 (Nrp‐1) and carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX). An intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IH) animal model was established to evaluate the role of hypoxia in activating M2‐like TAMs in vivo. We also used immunohistochemistry to analyze the association between CAIX, CD163+ macrophages and Nrp‐1 in a series of 72 human cervical cancer specimens. We found that the hypoxic cervical TME educated the recruited macrophages to transform into the M2 phenotype. Nrp‐1 expression was significantly increased in hypoxia‐primed cervical cancer cells. Blocking Nrp‐1 expression prevented hypoxic cells from recruiting and polarizing macrophages towards the M2 phenotype. Hypoxia exposure significantly increased the expression of Nrp‐1 as well as the infiltration of macrophages in vivo. Consistently, immunochemical staining in serial tissue sections of cervical cancer revealed upregulated levels of Nrp‐1 in CAIX‐positive hypoxic regions along with a concurrent significant elevation of M2 macrophages. Nrp‐1 and M2‐like TAMs were related to the malignant properties of cervical cancer, such as the FIGO stage and lymph node metastasis. Nrp‐1 plays critical roles in hypoxic TME‐induced activation and pro‐tumoral effects of TAMs in cervical cancer. Interfering with Nrp‐1 may be a potential therapeutic strategy in treating cervical cancer.
Food allergies are a serious food safety and public health issue. Soybean, dairy, aquatic, poultry, and nut products are common allergens inducing allergic reactions and adverse symptoms such as ...atopic dermatitis, allergic eczema, allergic asthma, and allergic rhinitis. Probiotics are assumed as an essential ingredient in maintaining intestinal microorganisms' composition. They have unique physiological roles and therapeutic effects in maintaining the mucosal barrier, immune function, and gastrointestinal tract, inhibiting the invasion of pathogenic bacteria, and preventing diarrhea and food allergies. Multiple pieces of evidence reveal a significant disruptive effect of probiotics on food allergy pathology and progression mechanisms. Thus, this review describes the allergenic proteins as an entry point and briefly describes the application of probiotics in allergenic foods. Then, the role of probiotics in preventing and curing allergic diseases by regulating human immunity through intestinal flora and intestinal barrier, modulating host immune active cells, and improving host amino acid metabolism are described in detail. The anti-allergic role of probiotics in the function and metabolism of the gastrointestinal tract has been comprehensively explored to furnish insights for relieving food allergy symptoms and preventing food allergy.
Esophageal squamous dysplasia is believed to be the precursor lesion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC); however, the genetic evolution from dysplasia to ESCC remains poorly understood. ...Here, we applied multi-region whole-exome sequencing to samples from two cohorts, 45 ESCC patients with matched dysplasia and carcinoma samples, and 13 tumor-free patients with only dysplasia samples. Our analysis reveals that dysplasia is heavily mutated and harbors most of the driver events reported in ESCC. Moreover, dysplasia is polyclonal, and remarkable heterogeneity is often observed between tumors and their neighboring dysplasia samples. Notably, copy number alterations are prevalent in dysplasia and persist during the ESCC progression, which is distinct from the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma. The sharp contrast in the prevalence of the 'two-hit' event on TP53 between the two cohorts suggests that the complete inactivation of TP53 is essential in promoting the development of ESCC.The pathogenesis of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma is a multi-step process but the genetic determinants behind this progression are unknown. Here the authors use multi-region exome sequencing to comprehensively investigate the genetic evolution of precursor dysplastic lesions and untransformed oesophagus.
Oxidizing CH4 into liquid products with O2 under mild conditions still mainly relies on metal catalysis. We prepared a series of sulfone‐modified conjugated organic polymers and found that the ...catalyst with proper SVI content (0.10) could drive O2→H2O2→⋅OH to oxidize CH4 into CH3OH and HCOOH directly and efficiently at room temperature under light irradiation. Experimental results showed that after 4 h reaction, decomposition rate and residual amounts of H2O2 were 81.21 % and 4.83 mmol gcat−1 respectively, and CH4 conversion rate was 22.81 %. Mechanism studies revealed that illumination could induce the homolytic dissociation of S=O bonds on catalyst to produce oxygen and sulfur radicals, where the ⋅O could adsorb and activate CH4, and the ⋅S could supply electrons for 1O2 to generate H2O2 and then for decomposing the H2O2 into ⋅OH timely to oxidize CH4. This research provided a novel organic catalysis approach for oxygen activation and utilization.
In a process of methane conversion photocatalyzed by the sulfone‐decorated conjugated organic polymer, S‐CTTP, light irradiation first induced the homolytic dissociation of S=O bonds in sulfone groups on the catalyst surface to generate free radicals. The radicals drive efficient conversion of 1O2 to H2O2 and then ⋅OH, for selective oxidation of adsorbed CH4 into CH3OH and HCOOH.
Background Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a myeloid neoplasm makes up 7.6% of hematopoietic malignancies. Super-enhancers (SEs) represent a special group of enhancers, which have been reported in ...multiple cell types. In this study, we explored super-enhancer profiling through ChIP-Seq analysis of AML samples and AML cell lines, followed by functional analysis. Methods ChIP-seq analysis for H3K27ac was performed in 11 AML samples, 7 T-ALL samples, 8 B-ALL samples, and in NB4 cell line. Genes and pathways affected by GNE-987 treatment were identified by gene expression analysis using RNA-seq. One of the genes associated with super-enhancer and affected by GNE-987 treatment was LYL1 basic helix-loop-helix family member (LYL1). shRNA mediated gene interference was used to down-regulate the expression of LYL1 in AML cell lines, and knockdown efficiency was detected by RT-qPCR and western blotting. The effect of knockdown on the growth of AML cell lines was evaluated by CCK-8. Western blotting was used to detect PARP cleavage, and flow cytometry were used to determine the effect of knockdown on apoptosis of AML cells. Results We identified a total of 200 genes which were commonly associated with super-enhancers in â§10 AML samples, and were found enriched in regulation of transcription. Using the BRD4 inhibitor GNE-987, we assessed the dependence of AML cells on transcriptional activation for growth and found GNE-987 treatment predominantly inhibits cell growth in AML cells. Moreover, 20 candidate genes were selected by super-enhancer profile and gene expression profile and among which LYL1 was observed to promote cell growth and survival in human AML cells. Conclusions In summary, we identified 200 common super-enhancer-associated genes in AML samples, and a series of those genes are cancer genes. We also found GNE-987 treatment downregulates the expression of super-enhancer-associated genes in AML cells, including the expression of LYL1. Further functional analysis indicated that LYL1 is required for AML cell growth and survival. These findings promote understanding of AML pathophysiology and elucidated an important role of LYL1 in AML progression. Keywords: Acute myeloid leukemia, Super-enhancer, LYL1, GNE-987, ChIP-Seq analysis
Li+‐conducting oxides are considered better ceramic fillers than Li+‐insulating oxides for improving Li+ conductivity in composite polymer electrolytes owing to their ability to conduct Li+ through ...the ceramic oxide as well as across the oxide/polymer interface. Here we use two Li+‐insulating oxides (fluorite Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 and perovskite La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.2O2.55) with a high concentration of oxygen vacancies to demonstrate two oxide/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)‐based polymer composite electrolytes, each with a Li+ conductivity above 10−4 S cm−1 at 30 °C. Li solid‐state NMR results show an increase in Li+ ions (>10 %) occupying the more mobile A2 environment in the composite electrolytes. This increase in A2‐site occupancy originates from the strong interaction between the O2− of Li‐salt anion and the surface oxygen vacancies of each oxide and contributes to the more facile Li+ transport. All‐solid‐state Li‐metal cells with these composite electrolytes demonstrate a small interfacial resistance with good cycling performance at 35 °C.
The strong interaction between the surface oxygen vacancies of GDC/LSGM and the TFSI− anions in the composite polymer electrolyte changes Li+ distribution in two local environments, and the population increase of mobile Li+ ions in A2 significantly enhances the Li+ conductivity of the composite electrolyte.
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