Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common malignancy affecting women in developed countries. Recently, the EC disease burden has changed; therefore, the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 was used ...to comprehensively analyze the global, regional, and national burden of EC between 1990 and 2017. General GBD cancer estimation methods were used with the data input from vital registration systems and cancer registries. Annual percent changes were calculated to quantify the trends of EC burden estimates during the study period. Furthermore, the sociodemographic index (SDI) was used to assess the relationship between the EC burden estimates and development level. From 1990 to 2017, the age-standardized incidence and prevalence rate of EC increased globally by 0.58 and 0.89% per year, respectively. In contrast, the age-standardized death rate and disability-adjusted-life years (DALYs) decreased by 1.19 and 1.21% per year, respectively. Increasing trends in both the incidence and prevalence were observed in all SDI quintiles, except for the low SDI quintiles, whereas decreasing trends were observed in all SDI quintiles for mortality and DALYs. Additionally, a non-linear association existed for the level of mortality rate, DALYs, and SDI. Of note, there was a strong positive association between a high body mass index and DALYs across all SDI quintiles. In conclusion, EC incidence and prevalence rates are growing globally, whereas the death rate and DALYs decreased between 1990 and 2017. Greater efforts, particularly detailed prevention strategies for reducing obesity, should be performed to reverse this phenomenon.
Solid tumours respond poorly to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies. One major therapeutic obstacle is the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment (TME). Cancer-associated fibroblasts ...(CAFs) are a key component of the TME and negatively regulate antitumour T-cell response. Here, we aimed to uncover the mechanism underlying CAFs-mediated tumour immune evasion and to develop novel therapeutic strategies targeting CAFs for enhancing ICI efficacy in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and colorectal cancer (CRC).
Anti-WNT2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) was used to treat immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice bearing subcutaneously grafted mEC25 or CMT93 alone or combined with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), and the antitumour efficiency and immune response were assessed. CAFs-induced suppression of dendritic cell (DC)-differentiation and DC-mediated antitumour immunity were analysed by interfering with CAFs-derived WNT2, either by anti-WNT2 mAb or with short hairpin RNA-mediated knockdown. The molecular mechanism underlying CAFs-induced DC suppression was further explored by RNA-sequencing and western blot analyses.
A negative correlation between WNT2
CAFs and active CD8
T cells was detected in primary OSCC tumours. Anti-WNT2 mAb significantly restored antitumour T-cell responses within tumours and enhanced the efficacy of anti-PD-1 by increasing active DC in both mouse OSCC and CRC syngeneic tumour models. Directly interfering with CAFs-derived WNT2 restored DC differentiation and DC-mediated antitumour T-cell responses. Mechanistic analyses further demonstrated that CAFs-secreted WNT2 suppresses the DC-mediated antitumour T-cell response via the SOCS3/p-JAK2/p-STAT3 signalling cascades.
CAFs could suppress antitumour immunity through WNT2 secretion. Targeting WNT2 might enhance the ICI efficacy and represent a new anticancer immunotherapy.
The efficacy of checkpoint immunotherapy to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) largely depends on the tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we demonstrate that CCL7 facilitates anti-PD-1 therapy for ...the Kras
Tp53
(KP) and the Kras
Lkb1
(KL) NSCLC mouse models by recruiting conventional DC 1 (cDC1) into the TME to promote T cell expansion. CCL7 exhibits high expression in NSCLC tumor tissues and is positively correlated with the infiltration of cDC1 in the TME and the overall survival of NSCLC patients. CCL7 deficiency impairs the infiltration of cDC1 in the TME and the subsequent expansion of CD8
and CD4
T cells in bronchial draining lymph nodes and TME, thereby promoting tumor development in the KP mouse model. Administration of CCL7 into lungs alone or in combination with anti-PD-1 significantly inhibits tumor development and prolongs the survival of KP and KL mice. These findings suggest that CCL7 potentially serves as a biomarker and adjuvant for checkpoint immunotherapy of NSCLC.
Golgi apparatus (GA) is assembled as a crescent-like ribbon in mammalian cells under immunofluorescence microscope without knowing the shaping mechanisms. It is estimated that roughly 1/5 of the ...genes encoding kinases or phosphatases in human genome participate in the assembly of Golgi ribbon, reflecting protein modifications play major roles in building Golgi ribbon.
To explore how Golgi ribbon is shaped as a crescent-like structure under the guidance of protein modifications, we identified a protein complex containing the scaffold proteins Ajuba, two known GA regulators including the protein kinase Aurora-A and the protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT5, and the common substrate of Aurora-A and PRMT5, HURP. Mutual modifications and activation of PRMT5 and Aurora-A in the complex leads to methylation and in turn phosphorylation of HURP, thereby producing HURP p725. The HURP p725 localizes to GA vicinity and its distribution pattern looks like GA morphology. Correlation study of the HURP p725 statuses and GA structure, site-directed mutagenesis and knockdown-rescue experiments were employed to identify the modified HURP as a key regulator assembling GA as a crescent ribbon.
The cells containing no or extended distribution of HURP p725 have dispersed GA membranes or longer GA. Knockdown of HURP fragmentized GA and HURP wild type could, while its phosphorylation deficiency mutant 725A could not, restore crescent Golgi ribbon in HURP depleted cells, collectively indicating a crescent GA-constructing activity of HURP p725. HURP p725 is transported, by GA membrane-associated ARF1, Dynein and its cargo adaptor Golgin-160, to cell center where HURP p725 forms crescent fibers, binds and stabilizes Golgi assembly factors (GAFs) including TRIP11, GRASP65 and GM130, thereby dictating the formation of crescent Golgi ribbon at nuclear periphery.
The Ajuba/PRMT5/Aurora-A complex integrates the signals of protein methylation and phosphorylation to HURP, and the HURP p725 organizes GA by stabilizing and recruiting GAFs to its crescent-like structure, therefore shaping GA as a crescent ribbon. Therefore, the HURP p725 fiber serves a template to construct GA according to its shape. Video Abstract.
Elevated levels of neutrophils have been associated with poor survival in various cancers, but direct evidence supporting a role for neutrophils in the immunopathogenesis of human cancers is lacking.
...A total of 573 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR were performed to analyze the distribution and clinical relevance of neutrophils in different microanatomic regions. The regulation and function of neutrophils were assessed both
and
Increased neutrophil counts in the peripheral blood were associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. In gastric cancer tissues, neutrophils were enriched predominantly in the invasive margin, and neutrophil levels were a powerful predictor of poor survival in patients with gastric cancer. IL17
neutrophils constitute a large portion of IL17-producing cells in human gastric cancer. Proinflammatory IL17 is a critical mediator of the recruitment of neutrophils into the invasive margin by CXC chemokines. Moreover, neutrophils at the invasive margin were a major source of matrix metalloproteinase-9, a secreted protein that stimulates proangiogenic activity in gastric cancer cells. Accordingly, high levels of infiltrated neutrophils at the invasive margin were positively correlated with angiogenesis progression in patients with gastric cancer.
These data provide direct evidence supporting the pivotal role of neutrophils in gastric cancer progression and reveal a novel immune escape mechanism involving fine-tuned collaborative action between cancer cells and immune cells in the distinct tumor microenvironment.
.
Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) relying on intracellular iron ions and H
O
is a promising therapeutic strategy due to its tumor selectivity, which is limited by the not enough metal ions or H
O
supply of ...tumor microenvironment. Herein, we presented an efficient CDT strategy based on Chinese herbal monomer-dihydroartemisinin (DHA) as a substitute for the H
O
and recruiter of iron ions to amplify greatly the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation for synergetic CDT-ferroptosis therapy.
The DHA@MIL-101 nanoreactor was prepared and characterized firstly. This nanoreactor degraded under the acid tumor microenvironment, thereby releasing DHA and iron ions. Subsequent experiments demonstrated DHA@MIL-101 significantly increased intracellular iron ions through collapsed nanoreactor and recruitment effect of DHA, further generating ROS thereupon. Meanwhile, ROS production introduced ferroptosis by depleting glutathione (GSH), inactivating glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), leading to lipid peroxide (LPO) accumulation. Furthermore, DHA also acted as an efficient ferroptosis molecular amplifier by direct inhibiting GPX4. The resulting ROS and LPO caused DNA and mitochondria damage to induce apoptosis of malignant cells. Finally, in vivo outcomes evidenced that DHA@MIL-101 nanoreactor exhibited prominent anti-cancer efficacy with minimal systemic toxicity.
In summary, DHA@MIL-101 nanoreactor boosts CDT and ferroptosis for synergistic cancer therapy by molecular amplifier DHA. This work provides a novel and effective approach for synergistic CDT-ferroptosis with Chinese herbal monomer-DHA and Nanomedicine.
Dysbiosis of gut microbiota are commonly reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and may contribute to behavioral impairment. Vitamin A (VA) plays a role in regulation of gut microbiota. This ...study was performed to investigate the role of VA in the changes of gut microbiota and changes of autism functions in children with ASD.
Sixty four, aged 1 to 8 years old children with ASD completed a 6-month follow-up study with VA intervention. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to assess plasma retinol levels. The Autism Behaviour Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) were used to assess autism symptoms. CD38 and acid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORA) mRNA levels were used to assess autism-related biochemical indicators' changes. Evaluations of plasma retinol, ABC, CARS, SRS, CD38 and RORA mRNA levels were performed before and after 6 months of intervention in the 64 children. Illumina MiSeq for 16S rRNA genes was used to compare the differences in gut microbiota before and after 6 months of treatment in the subset 20 of the 64 children. After 6 months of intervention, plasma retinol, CD38 and RORA mRNA levels significantly increased (all P < 0.05); the scores of ABC, CARS and SRS scales showed no significant differences (all P > 0.05) in the 64 children. Meanwhile, the proportion of Bacteroidetes/Bacteroidales significantly increased and the proportion of Bifidobacterium significantly decreased in the subgroup of 20 (all false discovery rate (FDR) q < 0.05).
Bacteroidetes/Bacteroidales were the key taxa related to VA. Moreover, VA played a role in the changes in autism biomarkers. It remains unclear whether the VA concentration is associated with autism symptoms.
The study protocol was peer reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University in 2013 and retrospectively registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) on November 6, 2014 (TRN: ChiCTR-ROC-14005442 ).
ZFP42 zinc finger protein (REX1), a pluripotency marker in mouse pluripotent stem cells, has been identified as a tumor suppressor in several human cancers. However, the function of REX1 in cervical ...cancer remains unknown. Both IHC and western blot assays demonstrated that the expression of REX1 protein in cervical cancer tissue was much higher than that in normal cervical tissue. A xenograft assay showed that REX1 overexpression in SiHa and HeLa cells facilitated distant metastasis but did not significantly affect tumor formation in vivo. In addition, in vitro cell migration and invasion capabilities were also promoted by REX1. Mechanistically, REX1 overexpression induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by upregulating VIMENTIN and downregulating E-CADHERIN. Furthermore, the JAK2/STAT3-signaling pathway was activated in REX1-overexpressing cells, which also exhibited increased levels of p-STAT3 and p-JAK2, as well as downregulated expression of SOCS1, which is an inhibitor of the JAK2/STAT3-signaling pathway, at both the transcriptional and translational levels. A dual-luciferase reporter assay and qChIP assays confirmed that REX1 trans-suppressed the expression of SOCS1 by binding to two specific regions of the SOCS1 promoter. Therefore, all our data suggest that REX1 overexpression could play a crucial role in the metastasis and invasion of cervical cancer by upregulating the activity of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway by trans-suppressing SOCS1 expression.
Phase change memory (PCM) is an emerging non‐volatile data storage technology concerned by the semiconductor industry. To improve the performances, previous efforts have mainly focused on partially ...replacing or doping elements in the flagship Ge‐Sb‐Te (GST) alloy based on experimental “trial‐and‐error” methods. Here, the current largest scale PCM materials searching is reported, starting with 124 515 candidate materials, using a rational high‐throughput screening strategy consisting of criteria related to PCM characteristics. In the results, there are 158 candidates screened for PCM materials, of which ≈68% are not employed. By further analyses, including cohesive energy, bond angle analyses, and Born effective charge, there are 52 materials with properties similar to the GST system, including Ge2Bi2Te5, GeAs4Te7, GeAs2Te4, so on and other candidates that have not been reported, such as TlBiTe2, TlSbTe2, CdPb3Se4, etc. Compared with GST, materials with close cohesive energy include AgBiTe2, TlSbTe2, As2Te3, TlBiTe2, etc., indicating possible low power consumption. Through further melt‐quenching molecular dynamic calculation and structural/electronic analyses, Ge2Bi2Te5, CdPb3Se4, MnBi2Te4, and TlBiTe2 are found suitable for optical/electrical PCM applications, which further verifies the effectiveness of this strategy. The present study will accelerate the exploration and development of advanced PCM materials for current and future big‐data applications.
Phase‐change memory (PCM) is a state‐of‐the‐art nonvolatile data memory technology depending on transitions between amorphous and crystalline phases of PCM materials. To explore advanced material candidates, the current largest scale material searching is carried out using a rational high‐throughput screening strategy consisting of criteria related to PCM characteristics. A series of unreported materials are found potentially suitable for PCM applications.
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