Probing the Gluonic Structure of the Deuteron with J/ψ Photoproduction in d+Au Ultraperipheral Collisions

Understanding gluon density distributions and how they are modified in nuclei are among the most important goals in nuclear physics. In recent years, diffractive vector meson production measured in ultraperipheral collisions (UPCs) at heavy-ion colliders has provided a new tool for probing the gluon density. In this Letter, we report the first measurement of J/ψ photoproduction off the deuteron in UPCs at the center-of-mass energy sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV in d+Au collisions. The differential cross section as a function of momentum transfer -t is measured. In addition, data with a neutron tagged in the deuteron-going zero-degree calorimeter is investigated for the first time, which is found to be consistent with the expectation of incoherent diffractive scattering at low momentum transfer. Theoretical predictions based on the color glass condensate saturation model and the leading twist approximation nuclear shadowing model are compared with the data quantitatively. A better agreement with the saturation model has been observed. With the current measurement, the results are found to be directly sensitive to the gluon density distribution of the deuteron and the deuteron breakup process, which provides insights into the nuclear gluonic structure.

Search for the Chiral Magnetic Effect via Charge-Dependent Azimuthal Correlations Relative to Spectator and Participant Planes in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

The chiral magnetic effect (CME) refers to charge separation along a strong magnetic field due to imbalanced chirality of quarks in local parity and charge-parity violating domains in quantum chromodynamics. The experimental measurement of the charge separation is made difficult by the presence of a major background from elliptic azimuthal anisotropy. This background and the CME signal have different sensitivities to the spectator and participant planes, and could thus be determined by measurements with respect to these planes. We report such measurements in Au+Au collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. It is found that the charge separation, with the flow background removed, is consistent with zero in peripheral (large impact parameter) collisions. Some indication of finite CME signals is seen in midcentral (intermediate impact parameter) collisions. Significant residual background effects may, however, still be present.

Measurement of the Sixth-Order Cumulant of Net-Proton Multiplicity Distributions in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=27, 54.4, and 200 GeV at RHIC

According to first-principle lattice QCD calculations, the transition from quark-gluon plasma to hadronic matter is a smooth crossover in the region μ_{B}≤T_{c}. In this range the ratio, C_{6}/C_{2}, of net-baryon distributions are predicted to be negative. In this Letter, we report the first measurement of the midrapidity net-proton C_{6}/C_{2} from 27, 54.4, and 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The dependence on collision centrality and kinematic acceptance in (p_{T}, y) are analyzed. While for 27 and 54.4 GeV collisions the C_{6}/C_{2} values are close to zero within uncertainties, it is observed that for 200 GeV collisions, the C_{6}/C_{2} ratio becomes progressively negative from peripheral to central collisions. Transport model calculations without critical dynamics predict mostly positive values except for the most central collisions within uncertainties. These observations seem to favor a smooth crossover in the high-energy nuclear collisions at top RHIC energy.

Observation of D_{s}^{±}/D^{0} Enhancement in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

We report on the first measurement of charm-strange meson D_{s}^{±} production at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV from the STAR experiment. The yield ratio between strange (D_{s}^{±}) and nonstrange (D^{0}) open-charm mesons is presented and compared to model calculations. A significant enhancement, relative to a pythia simulation of p+p collisions, is observed in the D_{s}^{±}/D^{0} yield ratio in Au+Au collisions over a large range of collision centralities. Model calculations incorporating abundant strange-quark production in the quark-gluon plasma and coalescence hadronization qualitatively reproduce the data. The transverse-momentum integrated yield ratio of D_{s}^{±}/D^{0} at midrapidity is consistent with a prediction from a statistical hadronization model with the parameters constrained by the yields of light and strange hadrons measured at the same collision energy. These results suggest that the coalescence of charm quarks with strange quarks in the quark-gluon plasma plays an important role in D_{s}^{±}-meson production in heavy-ion collisions.

Global Polarization of Ξ and Ω Hyperons in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

Global polarization of Ξ and Ω hyperons has been measured for the first time in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV. The measurements of the Ξ^{-} and Ξ[over ¯]^{+} hyperon polarization have been performed by two independent methods, via analysis of the angular distribution of the daughter particles in the parity violating weak decay Ξ→Λ+π, as well as by measuring the polarization of the daughter Λ hyperon, polarized via polarization transfer from its parent. The polarization, obtained by combining the results from the two methods and averaged over Ξ^{-} and Ξ[over ¯]^{+}, is measured to be ⟨P_{Ξ}⟩=0.47±0.10(stat)±0.23(syst)% for the collision centrality 20%-80%. The ⟨P_{Ξ}⟩ is found to be slightly larger than the inclusive Λ polarization and in reasonable agreement with a multiphase transport model. The ⟨P_{Ξ}⟩ is found to follow the centrality dependence of the vorticity predicted in the model, increasing toward more peripheral collisions. The global polarization of Ω, ⟨P_{Ω}⟩=1.11±0.87(stat)±1.97(syst)% was obtained by measuring the polarization of daughter Λ in the decay Ω→Λ+K, assuming the polarization transfer factor C_{ΩΛ}=1.

Nonmonotonic Energy Dependence of Net-Proton Number Fluctuations

Nonmonotonic variation with collision energy (sqrt[s_{NN}]) of the moments of the net-baryon number distribution in heavy-ion collisions, related to the correlation length and the susceptibilities of the system, is suggested as a signature for the quantum chromodynamics critical point. We report the first evidence of a nonmonotonic variation in the kurtosis times variance of the net-proton number (proxy for net-baryon number) distribution as a function of sqrt[s_{NN}] with 3.1  σ significance for head-on (central) gold-on-gold (Au+Au) collisions measured solenoidal tracker at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Data in noncentral Au+Au collisions and models of heavy-ion collisions without a critical point show a monotonic variation as a function of sqrt[s_{NN}].

Phenotypic and genetic characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate COP2 from the lungs of COPD patients in China

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen normally associated with increasing morbidity and mortality of immunocompromised hosts with respiratory infections. The phenotypic and genetic features of P. aeruginosa from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain poorly understood. By using the sputum samples of 25 hospitalized COPD patients from the affiliated hospital of Southwest Medical University (China), we identified a P. aeruginosa isolate, COP2, which showed multiple antibiotic resistance and enhanced Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) production but decreased motility, biofilm formation and virulence compared with the model strain PAO1. Importantly, COP2 harbored a substantial amount of mutations that might influence the functions of 1771 genes in the genome and the evolutionary status of this isolate was clearly distinct from the PAO1 lineage. Accordingly, COP2 had a discrepant transcriptional pattern relating to flagellar assembly, antibiotic resistance, biofilm and PQS production, and can increase the capacities of compound degradation in response to resource/space stresses. Therefore, the identification of COP2 in this study provides preliminary information regarding the genetic features and survival strategy of P. aeruginosa in colonizing COPD lungs and lays the foundations for further understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of pseudomonal infections.

Inactivated FABP5 suppresses malignant progression of prostate cancer cells by inhibiting the activation of nuclear fatty acid receptor PPARγ

Previous study has suggested that the FABP5-PPARγ-signalling transduction pathway gradually replaces the androgen receptor activated pathway in promoting malignant progression of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cells. To interfere with this newly discovered FABP5-related signalling pathway, we have produced a highly efficient recombinant FABP5 inhibitor, named dmrFABP5. Treatment with dmrFABP5 significantly supressed the proliferation, migration, invasion and colony formation of the highly malignant prostate cancer cells PC3-M in vitro. To test dmrFABP5's suppressive effect in CRPC, the human PC3-M cells were implanted orthotopically into the prostate gland of immunosuppressed mice to produce tumours. These mice were then treated with dmrFABP5 and produced a highly significant reduction of 100% in metastatic rate and a highly significant reduction of 13-fold in the average size of primary tumours. Immunocytochemial staining showed that the staining intensity of dmrFABP5 treated tumours was reduced by 67%. When tested in vitro, dmrFABP5 suppressed the cancer cells by blocking fatty acid stimulation of PPARγ, and thereby prevented it activating down-stream cancer-promoting or inhibiting cancer-suppressing genes. Our results show that the FABP5 inhibitor dmrFABP5 is a novel molecule for treatment of experimental CRPC and its inhibitory effect is much greater than that produced by SB-FI-26 reported in our previous work.

Tea Polyphenol inhibits autophagy to sensitize Epirubicin-induced apoptosis in human bladder cancer cells

Resistance to anticancer agents such as Epirubicin (EPI) becomes a great challenge for treating bladder cancer. However, the mechanism by which chemoresistance arised is still elusive. In the present study, we showed evidence that EPI induced cytoprotective autophagy in bladder cancer cell lines T24 and BIU87. In addition, EPI robustly activated JNK-mediated phosphorylation of Bcl-2 and disruption of Bcl-2/Beclin-1 complex. Furthermore, the green tea derivative tea polyphenol (TP) inhibited EPI-induced autophagy and promoted apoptosis induced by EPI in bladder cancer cells. These results revealed a pathway for EPI-induced autophagy that involved in JNK/Bcl-2/Beclin-1 in bladder cancer cells, and that TP synergistically promoted EPI-induced apoptosis at least partly through autophagy inhibition. Thus, TP could be utilized in combination with EPI to improve EPI-based bladder cancer therapy.

Abstract P5-04-01: Functional and therapeutic significance of ESR1 fusions in metastatic ER+ breast cancer

Background. Next-generation sequencing methods have identified several ESR1 fusion genes in treatment refractory ER+ breast cancer, however detailed functional studies in experimental models are lacking and how they might be targeted remains poorly understood. We recently reported two transcriptionally active, in-frame ESR1 fusions, ESR1-YAP1 and ESR1-PCDH11X, identified in a small cohort of metastatic ER+ cases, that induce not only pan-endocrine therapy resistance but also metastatic disease progression (Lei et al., Cell Reports, in press). Limited characterization of ESR1-DAB2 and ESR1-GYG1, also identified in metastatic ER+ disease from a recent study, suggests these two ESR1 fusions also drive estrogen-independent gene activation (Hartmaier et al., Annals of Oncology, 2018). Here, we functionally characterize ESR1-DAB2 and ESR1-GYG1 along with additional ESR1 fusions discovered in metastatic ER+ breast tumors to further support a causal role for in-frame ESR1 fusions in driving endocrine therapy resistance and promoting metastasis-associated biology, and explore therapeutic vulnerabilities induced by ESR1 fusion gene formation.

Methods. RNA-seq identified ESR1 fusions from treatment refractory, ER+ metastatic breast tumors. In-frame ESR1 fusions constructs were generated and stably expressed in ER+ breast cancer cell lines: T47D, MCF7, and ZR75-1. Estrogen-independent and fulvestrant-resistant growth was monitored in hormone-deprived stable cell lines. mRNA-qPCR was performed to examine expression of estrogen responsive and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) genes. In vitro sensitivity to CDK4/6 inhibition was tested with palbociclib and abemaciclib.

Results. In addition to previously described ESR1-YAP1, ESR1-PCDH11X, ESR1-DAB2, and ESR1-GYG1, that follow a pattern retaining the first 6 exons of ESR1 (ESR1-e6) fused in-frame to C-terminal sequences provided by the partner gene, additional in-frame ESR1-e6 fusions, ESR1-PCMT1, ESR1-ARNT2, and ESR1-ARID1B, all identified in metastatic ER+ samples, were found to follow the same fusion pattern. ESR1-DAB2 and ESR1-GYG1 produced stable ESR1 fusion proteins in ER+ breast cancer cell lines. In T47D, these two fusions drove estrogen-independent and fulvestrant-resistant growth. In addition, T47D and ZR75-1 models revealed that ESR1-DAB2 drove estrogen-independent expression of estrogen responsive genes and also EMT genes, including SNAI1, suggesting this fusion, like ESR1-YAP1 and ESR1-PCDH11X, could also drive metastasis. Treatment with CDK4/6 inhibitors suppressed growth induced by ESR1-DAB2 and ESR1-GYG1.

Conclusion. The majority of in-frame ESR1 exon 6 fusions found in metastatic ER+ breast are transcriptionally active, drive endocrine therapy resistant proliferation, and induce an EMT-like transcriptional program. The ability to block ESR1 fusion induced growth with a CDK4/6 inhibitor is clinically significant as ESR1 fusion gene formation renders ER insensitive to all endocrine therapies that target the ligand binding domain. Furthermore, clinical diagnosis of an active ESR1 fusion could potentially stratify patients for CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment. This presentation is the most complete description of the role for ESR1 fusions in endocrine therapy resistance and metastasis described to date.

Citation Format: Lei JT, Gou X, Seker S, Haricharan S, Lee AV, Robinson DR, Ellis MJ. Functional and therapeutic significance of ESR1 fusions in metastatic ER+ breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-04-01.

[Primary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the larynx: a case report]

Mucinous adenocarcinoma is most commonly found in the digestive tract,and the prognosis is poor.We present here a case of primary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the larynx, which is an extremely rare entity and very few have been reported in the literature.A 72-year-old male complained of intermittent hoarseness for over 2 months of duration.Fiberoptic laryngoscope showed negative result for tumor.While CT scan showed laryngeal space occupying lesion,and thyroid cartilage damage was observed.The patient underwent total laryngectomy.Histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry(IHC) analysis supported the diagnosis of mucinous adenocarcinoma.

PD-L1 Nanobody Competitively Inhibits the Formation of the PD-1/PD-L1 Complex: Comparative Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint has achieved outstanding results in clinical application and has become one of the most popular anti-cancer drugs. The mechanism of molecular recognition and inhibition of PD-L1 mAbs is not yet clear, which hinders the subsequent antibody design and modification. In this work, the trajectories of PD-1/PD-L1 and nanobody/PD-L1 complexes were obtained via comparative molecular dynamics simulations. Then, a series of physicochemical parameters including hydrogen bond, dihedral angle distribution, pKa value and binding free energy, and so forth, were all comparatively analyzed to investigate the recognition difference between PD-L1 and PD-1 and nanobody. Both LR113 (the amino acid residues in PD-L1 are represented by the lower left sign of L) and LR125 residues of PD-L1 undergo significant conformational change after association with mAbs, which dominates a strong electrostatic interaction. Solvation effect analysis revealed that solvent-water enhanced molecular recognition between PD-L1 and nanobody. By combining the analyses of the time-dependent root mean squared fluctuation (RMSF), free energy landscape, clustering and energy decomposition, the potential inhibition mechanism was proposed that the nanobody competitively and specifically bound to the β-sheet groups of PD-L1, reduced the PD-L1’s flexibility and finally blocked the formation of PD-1/PD-L1 complex. Based on the simulation results, site-directed mutagenesis of ND99 (the amino acid residues in Nano are displayed by the lower left sign of N) and NQ116 in the nanobody may be beneficial for improving antibody activity. This work offers some structural guidance for the design and modification of anticancer mAbs based on the structure of the PD-1/PD-L1 complex.

Hierarchical Porous Protein Scaffold Templated from High Internal Phase Emulsion Costabilized by Gelatin and Gelatin Nanoparticles

Recently, three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds produced using poly-Pickering high internal phase emulsions (polyHIPEs) technology are particularly attractive in biomedical application. However, until now the most investigated polyHIPEs are hydrophobic composites originating from synthetic polymers. Here we present an investigation of a hierarchical porous protein scaffold templated from oil-in-water (O/W) HIPEs costabilized by fully natural materials, gelatin, and gelatin nanoparticles. Fairly monodispersed gelatin nanoparticles were first synthesized through a two-step desolvation method, and then they were used as emulsifiers together with gelatin to fabricate stable HIPEs with adjustable droplet size distribution and rheology. Monolithic scaffolds were formed by cross-linking the HIPEs with polymers as low as 2.5 wt % in the continuous phase, which appropriately presented a general high porosity and had an interconnected porous morphology with smooth pore walls and textured structures. Furthermore, the scaffolds were degradable and showed reasonably good biocompatibility; L929 cells could adhere to the surface of the materials and exhibited intensive growth and well-spread morphology. This hierarchical porous protein scaffold could, therefore, have important application as a 3D scaffold that offers enhanced cell adhesion and functionality.

Inhibitor SBFI26 suppresses the malignant progression of castration-resistant PC3-M cells by competitively binding to oncogenic FABP5

Castration resistant-prostate cancer is largely impervious to feather hormonal therapy and hence the outlook for patients is grim. Here we use an approach to attach the recently discovered Achilles heel. The experimental treatment established in this study is based on the recent discovery that it is the FABP5-PPARγ-VEGF signalling axis, rather than the androgen receptor pathway, played a dominant role in promoting the malignant progression of castration resistant prostate cancer cells. Treatments have been established in mice by suppressing the biological activity of FABP5 using a chemical inhibitor SBFI26. The inhibitor significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, invasiveness and colony formation of PC3-M cells in vitro. It also produced a highly significant suppression of both the metastases and the primary tumours developed from cancer cells implanted orthotopically into the prostate glands of the mice. The inhibitor SBFI26 interferes with the FABP5-PPARγ- signalling pathway at the initial stage of the signal transduction by binding competitively to FABP5 to inhibit cellular fatty acid uptake. This avoids the fatty-acid stimulation of PPARγ and prevents it activating the down-stream regulated cancer-promoting genes. This entirely novel experimental approach to treating castration- resistant prostate cancer is completely different from current treatments that are based on androgen-blockade therapy.

[Molecular recognition mechanism and motion of HCV NS3/4A protease with Faldaprevir analogue]

Faldaprevir analogue molecule (FAM) has been reported to effectively inhibit the catalytic activity of HCV NS3/4A protease, making it a potential lead compound against HCV. A series of HCV NS3/4A protease crystal structures were analyzed by bioinformatics methods, and the FAM-HCV NS3/4A protease crystal structure was chosen for this study. A 20.4 ns molecular dynamics simulation of the complex consists of HCV NS3/4A protease and FAM was conducted. The key amino acid residues for interaction and the binding driving force for the molecular recognition between the protease and FAM were identified from the hydrogen bonds and binding free energy analyses. With the driving force of hydrogen bonds and van der Waals, FAM specifically bind to the active pocket of HCV NS3/4A protease, including V130-S137, F152-D166, D77-D79 and V55, which agreed with the experimental data. The effect of R155K, D168E/V and V170T site-directed mutagenesis on FAM molecular recognition was analyzed for their effect on drug resistance, which provided the possible molecular explanation of FAM resistance. Finally, the system conformational change was explored by using free energy landscape and conformational cluster. The result showed four kinds of dominant conformation, which provides theoretical basis for subsequent design of Faldaprevir analogue inhibitors based on the structure of HCV NS3/4A protease.

The increased expression of fatty acid-binding protein 9 in prostate cancer and its prognostic significance

In contrast to numerous studies conducted to investigate the crucial role of fatty acid binding protein 5 (FABP5) in prostate cancer, investigations on the possible involvement of other FABPs are rare. Here we first measured the mRNA levels of 10 FABPs in benign and malignant prostate cell lines and identified the differentially expressed FABP6 and FABP9 mRNAs whose levels in all malignant cell lines were higher than those in the benign cells. Thereafter we assessed the expression status of FABP6 and FABP9 in both prostate cell lines and in human tissues. FABP6 protein was overexpressed only in 1 of the 5 malignant cell lines and its immunostaining intensities were not significantly different between benign and malignant prostate tissues. In contrast, FABP9 protein was highly expressed in highly malignant cell lines PC-3 and PC3-M, but its level in the benign PNT-2 and other malignant cell lines was not detectable. When analysed in an archival set of human prostate tissues, immunohistochemical staining intensity for FABP9 was significantly higher in carcinomas than in benign cases and the increase in FABP9 was significantly correlated with reduced patient survival times. Moreover, the increased level of staining for FABP9 was significantly associated with the increased joint Gleason scores (GS) and androgen receptor index (AR). Suppression of FABP9 expression in highly malignant PC3-M cells inhibited their invasive potential. Our results suggest that FABP9 is a valuable prognostic marker to predict the outcomes of prostate cancer patients, perhaps by playing an important role in prostate cancer cell invasion.

A urinary metabolomics (GC-MS) strategy to evaluate the antidepressant-like effect of chlorogenic acid in adrenocorticotropic hormone-treated rats

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a chronic recurring illness that seriously affects human health. Chlorogenic acid (CGA), an important polyphenol extracted from Eucommia ulmoides Oliver bark, has been reported to have anti-depression, neuroprotection, memory improvement and other pharmacological effects. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of CGA on the treatment of depression. Here, we investigated the antidepressant-like effects of CGA on an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-treated rat model. Thirty-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: normal diet group (N), ACTH-treated model group (M), memantine positive control group (M + Mem) and CGA intervened group (M + CGA). Sucrose preference tests (SPTs) and open-field tests (OFTs) were performed to evaluate depressive-like behaviors. Memantine (30 mg kg⁻¹) and CGA (500 mg kg⁻¹) administration dramatically increased hedonic behaviors of the rats in SPT. The scores of crossing and rearing were significantly increased in the M + Mem group and M + CGA group. These results of the behaviour tests might be suggestive of antidepressant-like effects. Moreover, memantine and CGA reversed the levels of serum 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), ACTH, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), and dopamine (DA) that were altered in ACTH-treated rats. Based on a GC-MS metabolomic approach, significant differences in the metabolic profile were observed in ACTH-treated rats compared with the control group, as well as the M + CGA group and M + Mem group compared with the ACTH-treated group. A total of 19 metabolites were identified for the discrimination of normal rats and ACTH-treated rats, and 12 out of 19 differential metabolites were reversed with CGA intervention. Combined with pattern recognition and bioinformatics, nine perturbed metabolic pathways, including energy metabolism, neurotransmitter metabolism, and amino acid metabolism, were identified based on these metabolites. These integrative studies might give a holistic insight into the pathophysiological mechanism of the ACTH-treated depressive rat model, and also showed that CGA has antidepressant-like activities in ACTH-treated rats, providing an important drug candidate for the prevention and treatment of tricyclic anti-depressant treatment-resistant depression.

Chlorogenic acid showed antidepressant-like activity in chronic ACTH-treated rats, providing a potential drug candidate for prevention and treatment of tricyclic antidepressant treatment-resistant depression. Related metabolic pathways were shown.