G protein-coupled receptor GPR68 inhibits lymphocyte infiltration and contributes to gender-dependent melanoma growth

Introduction

Melanoma is a common and aggressive type of skin cancer with rising incidence rate globally. Gender is one of the determining factors, and overall males have a higher risk of developing melanoma as well as worse prognosis. Emerging evidence show that GPR68, a G protein-coupled receptor that is sensitive to acid and mechanical stimulations for cellular microenvironment, plays an important role in tumor biology. However, whether GPR68 is involved in gender-dependent regulation of tumor growth is unclear.

Methods

We established a syngeneic melanoma model in Gpr68-deficient mice and investigated tumor growth in males and females. The GPR68 activation-induced cellular responses of melanocytes, including intracellular calcium dynamics, proliferation and migration were measured. The landscape of tumor-infiltrating immune cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and the expression various cytokines were checked by qRT-PCR.

Results

GPR68 is required for melanoma growth in males but dispensable in females. GPR68 is expressed and functional in B16-F10 melanocytes, but the activity of the receptor does not directly contribute to proliferation and migration of the cells. GPR68 inhibits infiltration of CD45⁺ lymphocytes, CD8⁺ T cells and NK cells in melanoma in male mice, but has no apparent effect in females. Furthermore, GPR68 functionally inhibits the expression of IFNγ in the tumor infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells and NK cells as well as the inflammatory cytokine expression in the spleen in male mice but not in females. Our results show the gender-dependent modulatory effect of GPR68 on tumor-infiltrating immune cells and their tumor-killing capacity.

Discussion

GPR68 is sensor for acid and mechanical stimulations, which are two important factors in the microenvironment associated with tumor growth and metastasis. Our results suggest a prominent role of the receptor molecules in tumor biology in a gender-dependent manner. Since GPCRs are more feasible to develop small molecule drugs compared to transcription factors, our study demonstrates the potential of GPR68 as a novel druggable therapeutic target for melanoma in male patients.

Ambient NO2 hinders neutrophil extracellular trap formation in rats: Assessment of the role of neutrophil autophagy

NO₂ has been known to impair immunity and exacerbate susceptibility to infectious diseases. However, scant notice has been taken of the effect of NO₂ on neutrophils. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation is necessary for NETosis development by neutrophils as an immune system against pathogens. By analyzing the morphology and signature components of NETs, we focused for the first time on finding that 10 ppm of NO₂ exposure for 15 consecutive days can hinder the formation of NETs. Next, we used NO₂ in vivo derivatives to probe the mechanism for NETs formation in vitro. Our findings showed that NO₂ suppression of respiratory burst levels and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT) signaling was related to NO₂ reduction in NETs formation. Inhibition of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced NETs formation by NO₂ hindered autophagy, as evidenced by increased mTOR protein expression, decreased LC3 protein expression, and reduced autophagic vesicles. By activating mTOR-mediated autophagy, rapamycin (Rapa) reduced the inhibition of PMA-induced NETs by NO₂. This study will provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of immunotoxicity of NO₂, new insights into the etiology of diseases linked to NETs formation, and a theoretical basis for protection against such illnesses.

Development and validation of a deep learning-based approach to predict the Mayo endoscopic score of ulcerative colitis

Background

The ulcerative colitis (UC) Mayo endoscopy score is a useful tool for evaluating the severity of UC in patients in clinical practice.

Objectives

We aimed to develop and validate a deep learning-based approach to automatically predict the Mayo endoscopic score using UC endoscopic images.

Design

A multicenter, diagnostic retrospective study.

Methods

We collected 15120 colonoscopy images of 768 UC patients from two hospitals in China and developed a deep model based on a vision transformer named the UC-former. The performance of the UC-former was compared with that of six endoscopists on the internal test set. Furthermore, multicenter validation from three hospitals was also carried out to evaluate UC-former's generalization performance.

Results

On the internal test set, the areas under the curve of Mayo 0, Mayo 1, Mayo 2, and Mayo 3 achieved by the UC-former were 0.998, 0.984, 0.973, and 0.990, respectively. The accuracy (ACC) achieved by the UC-former was 90.8%, which is higher than that achieved by the best senior endoscopist. For three multicenter external validations, the ACC was 82.4%, 85.0%, and 83.6%, respectively.

Conclusions

The developed UC-former could achieve high ACC, fidelity, and stability to evaluate the severity of UC, which may provide potential application in clinical practice.

Registration

This clinical trial was registered at the ClinicalTrials.gov (trial registration number: NCT05336773).

Hippocampal Proteomics Reveals the Role of Glutamatergic Synapse Activation in the Depression Induced by Perfluorooctane Sulfonate

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a new type of persistent organic pollutant in the environment of water, has drawn significant attention in recent years due to its widespread prevalence and high toxicity. Neurotoxicity is regarded as one of the major toxic effects of PFOS, while research studies on PFOS-induced depression and the underlying mechanisms remain scarce. In this study, behavioral tests revealed the depressive-like behaviors in PFOS-exposed male mice. Neuron damages including pyknosis and staining deepening were identified through hematoxylin and eosin staining. Then, we noticed the elevation of glutamate and proline levels as well as the decline of glutamine and tryptophan levels. Proteomics analysis identified 105 differentially expressed proteins that change in a dose-dependent manner and revealed that PFOS exposure activated the glutamatergic synapse signaling pathway, which were further confirmed by Western blot, and the data were consistent with the findings of the proteomics analysis. Additionally, the downstream signaling cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB)/brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and synaptic plasticity-related postsynaptic density protein 95, synaptophysin, were downregulated. Our results highlight that PFOS exposure may inhibit the synaptic plasticity of the hippocampus via glutamatergic synapse and the CREB/BDNF signaling pathway to cause depressive-like behaviors in male mice.

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants and their interaction with physical activity on insomnia: A prospective cohort study

Exposure to air pollution or lack of physical activity (PA) increases the risk of insomnia. However, evidence on joint exposure to air pollutants is limited, and the interaction of joint air pollutants and PA on insomnia is unknown. This prospective cohort study included 40,315 participants with related data from the UK Biobank, which recruited participants from 2006 to 2010. Insomnia was assessed by self-reported symptoms. The annual average air pollutant concentrations of particulate matter (PM_2.5, PM₁₀), nitrogen oxides (NO₂, NO_X), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) were calculated based on participants' addresses. We applied a weighted Cox regression model to evaluate the correlation between air pollutants and insomnia and newly proposed an air pollution score to assess joint air pollutants effect using a weighted concentration summation after obtaining the weights of each pollutant in the Weighted-quantile sum regression. With a median follow-up of 8.7 years, 8511 participants developed insomnia. For each 10 μg/m³ increase in NO₂, NO_X, PM₁₀, SO₂, the average hazard ratios (AHRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of insomnia were 1.10 (1.06, 1.14), 1.06 (1.04, 1.08), 1.35 (1.25, 1.45) and 2.58 (2.31, 2.89), respectively; For each 5 μg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 and each 1 mg/m³ increase in CO, the corresponding AHRs (95%CI) were 1.27 (1.21, 1.34) and 1.83 (1.10, 3.04), respectively. The AHR (95%CI) for insomnia associated with per interquartile range (IQR) increase in air pollution scores were 1.20 (1.15, 1.23). In addition, potential interactions were examined by setting cross-product terms of air pollution score with PA in the models. We observed an interaction between air pollution scores and PA (P = 0.032). The associations between joint air pollutants and insomnia were attenuated among participants with higher PA. Our study provides evidence on developing strategies for improving healthy sleep by promoting PA and reducing air pollution.

An Efficient Compression Method for Lightning Electromagnetic Pulse Signal Based on Convolutional Neural Network and Autoencoder

Advances in technology have facilitated the development of lightning research and data processing. The electromagnetic pulse signals emitted by lightning (LEMP) can be collected by very low frequency (VLF)/low frequency (LF) instruments in real time. The storage and transmission of the obtained data is a crucial link, and a good compression method can improve the efficiency of this process. In this paper, a lightning convolutional stack autoencoder (LCSAE) model for compressing LEMP data was designed, which converts the data into low-dimensional feature vectors through the encoder part and reconstructs the waveform through the decoder part. Finally, we investigated the compression performance of the LCSAE model for LEMP waveform data under different compression ratios. The results show that the compression performance is positively correlated with the minimum feature of the neural network extraction model. When the compressed minimum feature is 64, the average coefficient of determination R2 of the reconstructed waveform and the original waveform can reach 96.7%. It can effectively solve the problem regarding the compression of LEMP signals collected by the lightning sensor and improve the efficiency of remote data transmission.

Migration inhibitory factor and cluster of differentiation 74-mediated dendritic cell apoptosis exacerbates acute acetaminophen-induced liver injury

INTRODUCTION

We investigated the role of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) on dendritic cells (DC) during acetaminophen (APAP)-induced acute liver injury (ALI) in mice.

METHODS

First, we randomly divided the mice into experimental (ALI model) and control groups, then intraperitoneally injected 600 mg/kg of APAP or phosphate-buffered saline, respectively. Then, we collected liver tissue and serum samples to evaluate liver inflammation using serum alanine aminotransferase level and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of liver tissues. Flow cytometry was used to identify changes in the quantity and percentage of DCs, as well as the expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 74 and other apoptosis-related markers in the liver. Next, we randomly divided the mice into APAP-vehicles, APAP-bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), APAP-MIF, APAP-IgG (isotype immunoglobin G antibody) groups (four mice per group), after APAP injection, we injected control extracts, BMDCs, mouse recombinant MIF antibodies, or IgG antibodies into the tail vein. Lastly, the severity of the liver injury and the number of DCs were assessed.

RESULTS

The APAP-induced ALI mice had increased hepatic MIF expression but significantly lower amounts of hepatic DCs and apoptotic DCs than healthy mice; CD74 expression on the HDCs also increased markedly. Supplementing APAP-induced ALI mice with BMDCs or MIF antibodies significantly increased the number of hepatic DCs compared with the control mice, alleviating liver damage.

CONCLUSION

The MIF/CD74 signaling pathway may mediate hepatic DC apoptosis and promote liver damage.

The role of the complosome in health and disease

The complement system is one of the immune system's oldest defense mechanisms and is historically regarded as a liver-derived and serum-active innate immune system that 'complements' cell-mediated and antibody-mediated immune responses against pathogens. However, the complement system is now recognized as a central component of both innate and adaptive immunity at both the systemic and local tissue levels. More findings have uncovered novel activities of an intracellularly active complement system-the complosome-that have shifted established functional paradigms in the field. The complosome has been shown to play a critical function in regulating T cell responses, cell physiology (such as metabolism), inflammatory disease processes, and cancer, which has amply proved its immense research potential and informed us that there is still much to learn about this system. Here, we summarize current understanding and discuss the emerging roles of the complosome in health and disease.

Fibrinogen-like protein 2 promotes proinflammatory macrophage polarization and mitochondrial dysfunction in liver fibrosis

Fibrinogen-like protein 2 (Fgl2) robustly activates macrophages in response to infection or inflammatory cytokine challenge and is markedly increased in the liver tissues of liver cirrhosis patientswithhepatitisCvirus(HCV) infection. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the involvement of Fgl2 in macrophage function in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that increased hepatic Fgl2 expression was associated with hepatic inflammation and high-grade liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and experimental models. Genetic ablation of Fgl2 alleviated hepatic inflammation and fibrosis progression. Fgl2 promoted M1 macrophage polarization and increased the production of proinflammatory cytokines that contribute to inflammatory damage and fibrosis development. In addition, Fgl2 augmented mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and modulated mitochondrial functions. Fgl2-mediated mtROS were involved in macrophage activation and polarization. We further demonstrated that in macrophages, Fgl2 localized to not only the cytosol but also mitochondria, where it bound to cytosolic and mitochondrial heat shock protein 90 (HSP90). Mechanistically, Fgl2 interacted with HSP90, hindering the interaction of HSP90 with its target protein Akt, significantly inhibiting Akt phosphorylation and downstream FoxO1 phosphorylation. These results reveal different layers of regulation of Fgl2 that are necessary for inflammatory damage and mitochondrial dysfunction in M1-polarized macrophages. Therefore, Fgl2 may be a potent target in liver fibrosis treatment.

Association of exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and risk of the acute coronary syndrome: A case-control study in Shijiazhuang Hebei Province

Exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been reported to increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Therefore, PFAS exposure may be linked to the risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but this association remains uncertain. The objective of the present study was to investigate the association between PFAS exposure and ACS risk through a case-control study. The study included 355 newly diagnosed ACS cases and 355 controls matched by age (within 5 years) and sex. Twelve PFAS were measured in plasma by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The conditional logistic regression models were performed to investigate the association between the single and multiple PFAS and ACS risk. Furthermore, we investigated the association of PFAS mixture exposure with ACS risk using a quantile-based g-computation (qgcomp) approach. A mediating effect model was used to assess the mediating effect of platelet indices on the association between PFAS and ACS risk. The results showed that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) were significantly positively associated with ACS risk in the multiple-PFAS model 2, and this effect was not significant in females. The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for PFAS (z-score PFAS) and ACS risk were 1.51 (1.07, 2.15) for PFOA and 1.77 (1.15, 2.72) for PFOS. The dose-response relationships revealed an increasing trend for ACS risk with PFOA and PFOS and decreasing trend for perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). There was no significant correlation between PFAS mixture exposure and ACS risk. Analysis of mediation indicated that platelet count mediated the relationship between PFOS and ACS risk. Our study suggests that higher levels of PFOA and PFOS, and lower levels of PFHxS and PFDA may increase the risk of ACS. However, the reported negative associations should not be considered as protective, and uncertain unresolved confounding may contribute to this result.

PVH-Peri5 Pathway for Stress-Coping Oromotor and Anxious Behaviors in Mice

Stressful stimuli can activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Clinically, it has been widely reported that stressful events are often accompanied by teeth clenching and bruxism, while mastication (chewing) can promote coping with stress. Trigeminal motoneurons in the trigeminal motor nucleus supplying the chewing muscles receive direct inputs from interneurons within the peritrigeminal premotor area (Peri5). Previous studies found that the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVH) participates in trigeminal activities during stressful events. However, the neural pathway by which the stress-induced oral movements alleviate stress is largely unknown. We hypothesized that paraventricular-trigeminal circuits might be associated with the stress-induced chewing movements and anxiety levels. First, we observed the stress-coping effect of wood gnawing on stress-induced anxiety, with less anxiety-like behaviors seen in the open field test and elevated plus maze, as well as decreased corticosterone and blood glucose levels, in response to stress in mice. We then found that excitotoxic lesions of PVH reduced the effect of gnawing on stress, reflected in more anxiety-like behaviors; this emphasizes the importance of the PVH in stress responses. Anterograde, retrograde, transsynaptic, and nontranssynaptic tracing through central and peripheral injections confirmed monosynaptic projections from PVH to Peri5. We discovered that PVH receives proprioceptive sensory inputs from the jaw muscle and periodontal ligaments, as well as provides motor outputs via the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (Me5) and Peri5. Next, pathway-specific functional manipulation by chemogenetic inhibition was conducted to further explore the role of PVH-Peri5 monosynaptic projections. Remarkably, PVH-Peri5 inhibition decreased gnawing but did not necessarily reduce stress-induced anxiety. Moreover, neuropeptide B (NPB) was expressed in Peri5-projecting PVH neurons, indicating that NPB signaling may mediate the effects of PVH-Peri5. In conclusion, our data revealed a PVH-Peri5 circuit that plays a role in the stress response via its associations with oromotor movements and relative anxiety-like behaviors.

Diagnostic value of T2 relaxation time for hepatic iron grading in rat model of fatty and fibrotic liver

The objective of this study was to assess the quantitative diagnostic value of T2 relaxation time for determining liver iron grades in the presence of fat and fibrosis. Sixty Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats were randomly divided into control (10 rats) and model (50 rats) groups. The model group of coexisting iron, steatosis, and liver fibrosis was induced by intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) dissolved in edible vegetable oil (40% v/v). The control group received an intraperitoneal injection of 0.9% saline. All rats underwent multi-echo gradient and spin echo (M-GRASE) magnetic resonance imaging, and the T2 relaxation time of the liver was measured. The rats were killed immediately after imaging, and liver specimens were extracted for histological evaluation of steatosis, iron, and fibrosis. The relationship and differences between T2 relaxation time and liver fibrosis stage, as well as the pathological grade of hepatic steatosis, were assessed by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, non-parametric Mann-Whitney test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and interaction analysis were used to quantify the diagnostic performance of T2 relaxation time for detecting different degrees of liver iron grades. Six normal control rats and 34 model rats were included in this study. Fibrosis stages were F0 (n = 6), F1 (n = 6), F2 (n = 8), F3 (n = 10), and F4 (n = 10). Steatosis grades were S0 (n = 5), S1 (n = 8), S2 (n = 12), and S3 (n = 15). Hepatocyte or Kupffer cell iron grades were 0 (n = 7), 1 (n = 9), 2 (n = 12), 3 (n = 10), and 4 (n = 2). The liver fibrosis stages were positively correlated with the iron grades (P < 0.01), and the iron grades and fibrosis stages were negatively correlated with the T2 relaxation time (P < 0.01). The T2 relaxation times exhibited strongly significant differences among rats with different histologically determined iron grades (P < 0.01). Pairwise comparisons between each grade of liver iron indicated significant differences between all iron grades, except between grades 0 and 1, and between grades 1 and 2 (P > 0.05). The T2 relaxation time of the liver had an area under the receiving operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.965 (95% CI 0.908-0.100, P < 0.001) for distinguishing rats with a pathological grade of hepatic iron (grade ≥ 1) from those without, an AUC of 0.871 (95% CI 0.757-0.985, P < 0.001) for distinguishing rats with no iron overload (grade ≤ 1) from rats with moderate or severe iron overload (grade ≥ 2), and an AUC of 0.939 (95% CI 0.865-1.000, P < 0.001) for distinguishing rats with no to moderate iron overload (grade ≤ 2) from rats with severe iron overload (grade 3). The interaction of different pathological grades of iron, steatosis, and fibrosis has a negligible influence on the T2 relaxation time (P > 0.05). In conclusion, T2 relaxation time can assess histologically determined liver iron grades, regardless of coexisting liver steatosis or fibrosis; therefore, it is suitable for distinguishing between the presence and absence of iron deposition and it is more accurate for higher iron grading.

Ambient NO2 exposure induces migraine in rats: Evidence, mechanisms and interventions

Migraine is a complex neurological disorder with a high disability rate. Although the precipitating factors of migraine remain unclear, previous studies suggest that when there is excess nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) pollution in the atmosphere, the medical demand due to migraine attacks increases sharply. However, the main role of NO₂ as a trigger for migraine is not yet well understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between NO₂ exposure and the occurrence of migraine as well as the possible underlying mechanisms. We first investigated whether repeated short-term NO₂ exposure could induce behavioural and biological migraine phenotypes in rats. Next, capsazepine (CZP) was used to block transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1) in vivo, and CZP and vitamin E (VE) were used to verify the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-TRPV1 signalling in NO₂-induced migraine in primary trigeminal neurones in vitro. We demonstrated that short-term repeated NO₂ exposure can significantly induce migraine in rats, and its key molecular mechanism may be related to ROS burst and its downstream TRPV1 channel activation. The findings of this study will enhance the understanding of the neurotoxic mechanism of NO₂, provide new clues for identifying the aetiology of migraine, and lay a new experimental basis for implementing migraine-related preventive and therapeutic control measures.

Effect of propiconazole on neutrophil extracellular traps formation: Assessing the role of autophagy

Propiconazole (Pcz) is a kind of triazole fungicide which has an important impact on the environment. With the extensive use of Pcz in agricultural production activities, the pesticides are left in soil, water, crops and food, and will enter the organisms in the form of residues. Neutrophils play a key role in the body's innate immunity against pathogens, and the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) is an important way for neutrophils to exert their immune function. In the present study, we focused on the effect of Pcz on the NETs of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for the first time. Our data demonstrated that Pcz could hinder NETs formation via inhibiting the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (Raf)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. In the meanwhile, we assessed the role of autophagy played in this process and revealed that Pcz may inhibit the respiratory burst in neutrophils. This study provided new insights into the immunotoxic hazards of Pcz and additional laboratory evidence for assessing the impact of Pcz on terrestrial organisms.

Chinese nurses' perceptions on toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers: A qualitative study

AIM

To explore the perceptions of Chinese registered nurses on toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers and to determine its type, cause, and response measures.

BACKGROUND

The nurse manager is the front-line leader of the nurses who provide services directly to patients. Previous evidence suggests that toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers do exist, and it is necessary to understand the specifics of it.

METHODS

We used phenomenological research methods to conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews among 12 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Wuhan over the period from January to March 2022. And the data were analyzed using Colaizzi 7-step analysis method.

RESULTS

Four themes were discovered: (a) nurses' perceptions of toxic leadership behaviors; (b) toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers; (c) reasons for toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers; (d) measures for toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers.

CONCLUSION

Chinese nurses are exposed to the toxic leadership of nurse managers for multiple reasons and respond differently.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

This study helps nursing managers identify which behaviors are harmful to the nurse which require special attention in developing strategies to buffer against nurse managers' toxic leadership.

An induced pluripotent stem cell line (FHUSTCi002-A) derived from a patient with leucoencephalopathy with brain stem and spinal cord involvement and lactate elevation

Leucoencephalopathy with brain stem and spinal cord involvement and lactate elevation (LBSL) is commonly induced by DARS2 abnormalities and accompanied by slowly progressing pyramidal and cerebellar dysfunction, as well as concomitant dorsal column dysfunction. In this study, an LBSL induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line was generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a female patient carrying biallelic mutations in DARS2. Pluripotency, differentiation potential, and karyotypic normality of this cell line were confirmed. This iPSC line offers a useful cellular model to investigate LBSL phenotypes, mechanisms, and therapy.

Hexavalent chromium triggers hepatocytes premature senescence via the GATA4/NF-κB signaling pathway mediated by the DNA damage response

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a proven toxin, carcinogen and environmental pollutant. Oral intake of Cr(VI) has been shown to lead to an increasing incidence of primary hepatic carcinoma in the population. Cellular senescence is thought to be a natural barrier to malignant transformation of cells, but senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) is secreted and regulated by senescent cells links cellular senescence to malignant transformation in a dynamic way. In the present research, we demonstrated novel mechanisms of premature hepatocytes senescence induced by Cr(VI). Continuous Cr(VI) stimulation led to DNA damaged in hepatocytes, and DNA damage response (DDR) signals were transmitted by ataxia telangiectasia-mutated gene (ATM)/ataxia telangiectasia and Rad-3-related protein (ATR), resulting in zinc finger transcription factor GATA4 escaping p62-mediated selective autophagy, thereby regulating nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) to induce premature senescence in hepatocytes. In contrast to the classical senescence pathway p53-p21^{WAF1 /CIP1} and Rb/p16^INK4a, GATA4 can directly regulate the secretion of SASP during premature senescence. The results will provide valuable clues for targeted prevention and further individualized treatment of Cr(VI)-associated cancers.

Clusterin protects against Cr(VI)-induced oxidative stress-associated hepatotoxicity by mediating the Akt-Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a serious environmental pollutant that threatens human life. Cr(VI) is widely used in industrial processes such as metallurgy, leather processing, and electroplating, which can enter the human body through the respiratory or digestive tracts, thus causing a number of human disease, including inflammation and cancer. Although it has been confirmed that oxidative stress is one of the primary mechanism of liver injury caused by Cr(VI) exposure, the related toxic target and effective intervention measures have not been found. Clusterin (CLU) is an acute phase response protein with cytoprotective and apoptosis-delaying effects, and its expression has been confirmed to increase significantly after exposure to Cr(VI). In this study, our data clearly indicates that Cr(VI) is capable of causing hepatocytes damage through the production of large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing an increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). In contrast, over expression of CLU was able to inhibit ROS production and alleviate Cr(VI)-induced liver injury. The specific mechanisms are that CLU acts on the protein kinase B (PKB/Akt)-Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1)-nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway to release Nrf2 into the nucleus. This is to initiate the expression of a downstream protein, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), thereby attenuating the ubiquitination ability of Keap1 with Nrf2. We also demonstrated that CLU could affect oxidative stress through the Akt/Nrf2 pathway, which reduced the production of ROS induced by Cr(VI) and protected against Cr(VI)-induced oxidative stress-associated hepatotoxicity. This study demonstrates a mechanism of Cr(VI)-induced hepatotoxicity and indicates that CLU as an intervention target of oxidative stress can provide valuable experimental basis for the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases in Cr(VI)-exposed population. Under the state of Cr(VI)-induced oxidative stress, CLU though phosphorylation Akt, leading to Nrf2 dissociation from Keap1. Activated Nrf2 entered the nucleus and formed the next step, thus binding to the structure of the antioxidant response element ARE, which activated HO-1, resulting in the decrease in intracellular ROS.

End-of-treatment HBcrAg and HBsAb levels identify durable functional cure after Peg-IFN-based therapy in patients with CHB

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Functional cure can be sustained in a proportion of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who lose hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) after pegylated interferon alpha (Peg-IFN-ɑ)-based treatment. In this study, we aimed to identify biomarkers associated with a durable functional cure and to dissect potential immunological mechanisms.

METHODS

Of 257 nucleos(t)ide analogue-suppressed patients with CHB in the ANCHOR study, 80 patients randomly assigned to 96-week Peg-IFN-α-based therapy with 24-week off-treatment follow-up were included in this parallel study. Virologic and immunological biomarkers were examined dynamically. A response was defined as HBsAg loss or hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) appearance at the end of treatment (EOT). Sustained response (SR) or durable functional cure was defined as sustained HBsAg loss with or without the appearance of HBsAb at the end of follow-up (EOF).

RESULTS

Thirty-six (45.0%) out of 80 patients achieved a response at EOT; 58.3% (21/36) of responders maintained SR at EOF. Quantitative hepatitis B core-related antigen (qHBcrAg) and HBsAb at EOT were associated with SR, with AUROCs of 0.697 (0.512-0.882, p = 0.047) and 0.744 (0.573-0.915, p = 0.013), respectively. A combination of HBcrAg <4 log₁₀U/ml and HBsAb >2 log₁₀IU/L at EOT had a positive predictive value of 100% for SR with an AUROC of 0.822 (0.684-0.961, p = 0.001). These patients showed maintained proportions of HBV envelope-specific CD8⁺T and B cells, a markedly increased proportion of T follicular helper cells after Peg-IFN-ɑ discontinuation, and significantly higher proportions of HBV polymerase-specific CD8⁺T and CD86⁺CD19⁺B cells at EOF.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower HBcrAg and higher HBsAb levels at EOT were associated with sustained cellular and humoral immune responses. They can be used to identify patients likely to achieve durable functional cure post Peg-IFN-based therapy.

GOV IDENTIFIER

NCT02327416 LAY SUMMARY: Functional cure can be sustained in a proportion of patients with chronic hepatitis B after pegylated interferon alpha-based treatment. However, predicting who will achieve durable functional cure remains challenging. Herein, we show that low levels of hepatitis B core-related antigen and higher levels of hepatitis B surface antibodies at the end of treatment are linked to immunological responses and are associated with durable functional cure.

Identification of Differentially Expressed Long Noncoding RNAs as Functional Biomarkers and Construction of Function Enrichment Network in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective

This study aims to find the novel lncRNAs closely related to the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) by comprehensively analyzing microarray.

Methods

Chip dataset GSE84805 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, lncRNA expression profiles of OSCC and paracancerous tissue were obtained, probes sequences reannotation was conducted, and differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Finally, these data were analyzed by constructing the lncRNA-function enrichment network.

Results

We found that 465 lncRNAs are differentially expressed consisting of 193 upregulated lncRNAs and 272 downregulated lncRNAs. Meanwhile, 811 DEGs were identified with 498 upregulated genes and 313 downregulated genes. Analysis of the lncRNA-function enrichment network showed that these aberrant lncRNAs may be related to focal adhesion, inflammatory response pathway, cell cycle, matrix metalloproteinases, and other biological functions. Also, we found that some key lncRNAs such as LINC00152 and HOXA11-AS have been shown to play an important role in tumor proliferation and migration.

Conclusion

The key lncRNAs may serve as potential molecular markers or therapeutic targets in OSCC formation and development. It can also help us to understand the molecular mechanism of occurrence and development in OSCC.

Ambient NO2 exposure induced cardiotoxicity associated with gut microbiome dysregulation and glycerophospholipid metabolism disruption

An average daily increase of 10 μg/m³ in NO₂ concentrations could lead to an increased mortality in cardiovascular, cerebrovascular of 1.89%, 2.07%, but the mechanism by which NO₂ contributes to cardiotoxicity is rarely reported. In order to assess the cardiotoxicity of NO₂ inhalation (5 ppm), we firstly investigate the change of gut microbiota, serum metabonomics and cardiac proteome. Non-targeted LC-MS/MS metabonomics showed that NO₂ stress could perturb the glycerophospholipid metabolism in the serum, which might destabilize the bilayer configuration of cardiac lipid membranes. Furthermore, we observed that NO₂ inhalation caused augmented intercellular gap and inflammatory infiltration in the heart. Although 16 S rRNA gene amplification sequencing demonstrated that NO₂ exposure did not influence the intestinal microbial abundance and diversity, but glycerophospholipid metabolism disruption might be finally reflected in gut microbiom dysregulation, such as Sphingomonas, Koribacter, Actinomarina and Bradyrhizobium Turicibacter, Rothia, Globicatella and Aerococcus. Proteome mining revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the heart after NO₂ stress were involved in necroptosis, mitophagy and ferroptosis. We further revealed that NO₂ increased the number of cardiac mitochondria with depletion of cristae by regulating the expression of Mfn2 and Hsp70. This study indicating Mfn2-meidcated imbalanced mitochondrial dynamics as a potential mechanism after NO₂-induced heart injury and suggesting microbiome dysregulation/glycerophospholipid metabolism exerts critical roles in cardiotoxicity caused by NO₂.