Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process that mediates degradation of pernicious or dysfunctional cellular components, such as invasive pathogens, senescent proteins, and organelles. It can ...promote or suppress tumor development, so it is a "double-edged sword" in tumors that depends on the cell and tissue types and the stages of tumor. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex biological trans-differentiation process that allows epithelial cells to transiently obtain mesenchymal features, including motility and metastatic potential. EMT is considered as an important contributor to the invasion and metastasis of cancers. Thus, clarifying the crosstalk between autophagy and EMT will provide novel targets for cancer therapy. It was reported that EMT-related signal pathways have an impact on autophagy; conversely, autophagy activation can suppress or strengthen EMT by regulating various signaling pathways. On one hand, autophagy activation provides energy and basic nutrients for EMT during metastatic spreading, which assists cells to survive in stressful environmental and intracellular conditions. On the other hand, autophagy, acting as a cancer-suppressive function, is inclined to hinder metastasis by selectively down-regulating critical transcription factors of EMT in the early phases. Therefore, the inhibition of EMT by autophagy inhibitors or activators might be a novel strategy that provides thought and enlightenment for the treatment of cancer. In this article, we discuss in detail the role of autophagy and EMT in the development of cancers, the regulatory mechanisms between autophagy and EMT, the effects of autophagy inhibition or activation on EMT, and the potential applications in anticancer therapy.
PFASs are widely distributed in natural and living environment and can enter human bodies via different routes. Many studies have reported that PFASs may be associated with human diseases, such as ...urine acid and thyroid diseases. In this study, we reviewed PFAS levels in human bodies reported in past seven years, including blood, urine, milk, and tissues (hair and nails). Most studies focused on human blood. Blood type, spatiality, human age, and gender were found to have a strong relationship with PFAS levels in blood samples. The PFAS distribution in urine samples was reported to be associated with the chain length of PFASs and human gender. Urinary excretion was found to be an important pathway of PFAS elimination. PFAS levels in human milk might be affected by various factors, such as mothers' age, dietary habit, parity of mothers and the interval of interpregnancy. Data in hair and nails remain very limited, but these matrices offer a non-invasive approach to evaluate human exposure to PFASs.
Display omitted
•PFOS and PFOA were predominant in human blood and milk.•Urine showed higher elimination of short-chain PFASs than other matrices.•PFASs in blood and urine were found to be related to age and gender.•PFASs in human milk were associated with mothers' age and parity.
Human exposure to perfluorochemicals (PFCs) has attracted mounting attention due to their potential harmful effects. Breathing, dietary intake, and drinking are believed to be the main routes for PFC ...entering into human body. Thus, we profiled PFC compositions and concentrations in indoor air and dust, food, and drinking water with detailed analysis of literature data published after 2010. Concentrations of PFCs in air and dust samples collected from home, office, and vehicle were outlined. The results showed that neutral PFCs (e.g., fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) and perfluorooctane sulfonamide ethanols (FOSEs)) should be given attention in addition to PFOS and PFOA. We summarized PFC concentrations in various food items, including vegetables, dairy products, beverages, eggs, meat products, fish, and shellfish. We showed that humans are subject to the dietary PFC exposure mostly through fish and shellfish consumption. Concentrations of PFCs in different drinking water samples collected from various countries were analyzed. Well water and tap water contained relatively higher PFC concentrations than other types of drinking water. Furthermore, PFC contamination in drinking water was influenced by the techniques for drinking water treatment and bottle-originating pollution.
Display omitted
•Neutral PFCs are dominant in indoor air and dust.•Dietary PFC exposure is mostly through fish, shellfish and meat consumption.•Well water and tap water contain relatively higher PFC concentrations than other types of drinking water.
Summary
The rapid development of omics sequencing technology has facilitated the identification of thousands of long non‐coding (lnc)RNAs in plant species, but the role of lncRNAs in plant–pathogen ...interactions remains largely unexplored. We used comparative transcriptome analysis of Phytophthora infestans‐resistant and ‐susceptible tomatoes to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and lncRNAs (DELs), and examine lncRNA‐mRNA networks. A total of 1037 DEGs and 688 DELs were identified between P. infestans‐resistant and ‐susceptible tomatoes. The co‐localization networks, including 128 DEGs and 127 DELs, were performed. We found that lncRNA16397 acted as an antisense transcript of SlGRX22 to regulate its expression, and also induced SlGRX21 expression when lncRNA16397 was overexpressed. In addition, disease symptoms and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in tomatoes overexpressing lncRNA16397 and SpGRX were fewer and lower than those in wild‐type after P. infestans infection. This result suggests that tomato lncRNA16397 induces SlGRX expression to reduce ROS accumulation and alleviate cell membrane injury, resulting in enhanced resistance to P. infestans. Our results provide insight into lncRNAs involved in the response of tomato to P. infestans infection, demonstrate that the lncRNA16397‐GRXs network is an important component of the P. infestans network in tomato, and provide candidates for breeding to enhance biotic stress‐resistance in tomato.
Significance Statement
There are thousands of lncRNAs in plants, but their role in plant‐pathogen interactions remains largely unexplored. Here, by using comparative transcriptome analysis of Phytophthora infestans‐resistant and susceptible tomato, we show that lncRNA16397 can induce gene expression to reduce ROS accumulation and alleviate cell membrane injury, thus enhancing resistance to P. infestans. We also pinpoint other candidate genes that can be used to breed for enhanced biotic stress‐resistance.
Autophagy is a genetically well-controlled cellular process that is tightly controlled by a set of core genes, including the family of autophagy-related genes (ATG). Autophagy is a "double-edged ...sword" in tumors. It can promote or suppress tumor development, which depends on the cell and tissue types and the stages of tumor. At present, tumor immunotherapy is a promising treatment strategy against tumors. Recent studies have shown that autophagy significantly controls immune responses by modulating the functions of immune cells and the production of cytokines. Conversely, some cytokines and immune cells have a great effect on the function of autophagy. Therapies aiming at autophagy to enhance the immune responses and anti-tumor effects of immunotherapy have become the prospective strategy, with enhanced antigen presentation and higher sensitivity to CTLs. However, the induction of autophagy may also benefit tumor cells escape from immune surveillance and result in intrinsic resistance against anti-tumor immunotherapy. Increasing studies have proven the optimal use of either ATG inducers or inhibitors can restrain tumor growth and progression by enhancing anti-tumor immune responses and overcoming the anti-tumor immune resistance in combination with several immunotherapeutic strategies, indicating that induction or inhibition of autophagy might show us a prospective therapeutic strategy when combined with immunotherapy. In this article, the possible mechanisms of autophagy regulating immune system, and the potential applications of autophagy in tumor immunotherapy will be discussed.
The surface uplift history of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) offers a key testing ground for evaluating models of collisional tectonics and holds important implications for processes ranging from global ...cooling to the onset of the Asian monsoon. Various models have been proposed to reveal the surface uplift history of the TP, but controversies remain. We evaluate these models using data from sedimentology and stratigraphy, structural geology, magmatism, exhumation, and paleoaltimetry studies. Structural analyses indicate that thrust belts, which spread from the central TP outward toward its surrounding margins, accommodated most of the India–Asia convergence, and facilitated crustal shortening and thickening in the central TP. Eocene adakitic rocks located in the Qiangtang and the Lhasa blocks likely were generated by partial melting of an eclogitic source. Paleogene (50–30Ma) potassic rocks only occur in the Qiangtang block, whereas Late Oligocene–Late Miocene (26–8Ma) potassic rocks occur both in the Qiangtang and Lhasa blocks. Low-temperature thermochronologic ages in the central TP are older than 40–35Ma, whereas those in the margins are younger than 20Ma (mostly Late Miocene, and Pliocene/Pleistocene in age). Independent paleoaltimetry estimates suggest that the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes attained their current elevations during the Eocene, most likely due to the initial collision between India and Lhasa, whereas the Hoh Xil basin area to the north and Himalayas to the south were still low, even below sea level in the latter case. We argue for an inside-out growth pattern for the Tibetan Plateau. The TP grew southward and northward from a nucleus of high topography and is likely to continue expanding along the Mazar Tagh fault to the northwest, the Kuantai Shan-Hei Shan-Longshou Shan to the northeast, the Longquan Shan to the east and the Shillong plateau to the south if the northward force of India would not diminished.
•We review various proxies employed to assess surface uplift of Tibetan Plateau.•Tibetan Plateau grew southward and northward from a nucleus of high topography.•Tibetan Plateau is likely to continue expanding along its margins.
Mangrove ecosystems are widely distributed in the intertidal zone of tropical and subtropical estuaries or coasts, containing abundant biological communities, for example, mangrove plants and diverse ...groups of microorganisms, featuring various bioactive secondary metabolites. We surveyed the literature from 2010 to 2022, resulting in a collection of 134 secondary metabolites, and classified them into two major families in terms of the biological sources and 15 subfamilies according to the chemical structures. To highlight the structural diversity and bioactivities of the mangrove ecosystem-associated secondary metabolites, we presented the chemical structures, bioactivities, biosynthesis, and chemical syntheses.
Besides generating vision, light modulates various physiological functions, including mood. While light therapy applied in the daytime is known to have anti-depressive properties, excessive light ...exposure at night has been reportedly associated with depressive symptoms. The neural mechanisms underlying this day-night difference in the effects of light are unknown. Using a light-at-night (LAN) paradigm in mice, we showed that LAN induced depressive-like behaviors without disturbing the circadian rhythm. This effect was mediated by a neural pathway from retinal melanopsin-expressing ganglion cells to the dorsal perihabenular nucleus (dpHb) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Importantly, the dpHb was gated by the circadian rhythm, being more excitable at night than during the day. This indicates that the ipRGC→dpHb→NAc pathway preferentially conducts light signals at night, thereby mediating LAN-induced depressive-like behaviors. These findings may be relevant when considering the mental health effects of the prevalent nighttime illumination in the industrial world.