Suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 inhibits the maturation of dendritic cells involving the nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway in the glioma microenvironment

Recurrence and diffuse infiltration challenge traditional therapeutic strategies for malignant glioma. Immunotherapy appears to be a promising approach to obtain long-term survival. Dendritic cells (DCs), the most specialized and potent antigen-presenting cells (APCs), play an important part in initiating and amplifying both the innate and adaptive immune responses against cancer cells. However, cancer cells can escape from immune surveillance by inhibiting maturation of DCs. Until the present, molecular mechanisms of maturation inhibition of DCs in the tumor microenvironment (TME) have not been fully revealed. Our study showed that pretreatment with tumor-conditioned medium (TCM) collected from supernatant of primary glioma cells significantly suppressed the maturation of DCs. TCM pretreatment significantly changed the morphology of DCs, TCM decreased the expression levels of CD80, CD83, CD86 and interleukin (IL)-12p70, while it increased the expression levels of IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and IL-6. RNA-Seq showed that TCM pretreatment significantly increased the gene expression level of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) in DCs. suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) knock-down significantly antagonized the maturation inhibition of DCs by TCM, which was demonstrated by the restoration of maturation markers. TCM pretreatment also significantly suppressed T cell viability and T helper type 1 (Th1) response, and SOCS1 knock-down significantly antagonized this suppressive effect. Further, TCM pretreatment significantly suppressed p65 nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity in DCs, and SOCS1 knock-down significantly attenuated this suppressive effect. In conclusion, our research demonstrates that TCM up-regulate SOCS1 to suppress the maturation of DCs via the nuclear factor-kappa signaling pathway.

Chinese women with 29-30 FMR1 CGG repeats have an earlier menopause

Purpose: A strong, well-established non-linear relationship exists between fragile X mental retardation (FMR1) premutation and menopausal age. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether this relationship continues into the normal CGG repeat range.Methods: FMR1 CGG repeats of 111 Chinese postmenopausal women from a prospective cohort and the relationship with age at menopause were analyzed. Associations of FMR1 genotypes with annually measured estradiol and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were also assessed.Results: One premutation and two intermediate carriers were identified, with a prevalence of 0.90% and 1.80%, respectively. The age at menopause differed with statistical significance (p = 0.007) between women carrying bi-allelic 29-30 repeats (49.66 ± 3.26 years) and those carrying a different number of repeats (51.26 ± 2.74 years). Age at menopause among subgroups (≤28, 29-30, and ≥31 repeats) of alleles 1 and 2 were also different (p = 0.014, p = 0.044). FSH trajectories to final menstrual period differed between women with the bi-allelic 29-30 repeats and others (p = 0.019).Conclusions: Women with 29-30 FMR1 CGG repeats may experience menopause approximately 2 years earlier than those carrying ≤28 or ≥31 CGG repeats, and have a longer FSH fluctuant period.

Transmission of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Shanghai: roles of residential status

SETTING

Shanghai is a mega city where 39% of the population comprises internal migrants.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the different roles played by migrants and permanent residents in the transmission of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

DESIGN

We conducted a population-based cohort study to assess MDR-TB transmission in Shanghai between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2012 using genotyping and geospatial analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 367 MDR-TB cases formed the study cohort. Significant differences between MDR-TB cases who were internal migrants and those who were permanent residents were found with regard to age, sex, region, genetic characteristics and treatment outcomes. Permanent residents had a higher transmission rate than internal migrants (OR 3.36, 95%CI 1.86-6.09). Permanent residents and genotypic clustering cases had similar clusters in central downtown and some parts of suburban areas. Most of the clusters of internal migrants were found in rural areas bordering suburban areas. Clusters of genotypic non-clustering cases showed patterns that closely matched those of internal migrants, suggesting acquired drug resistance in migrants.

CONCLUSION

In Shanghai, permanent residents were significantly associated with recent transmission of MDR-TB in central downtown areas. Clustered cases of internal migrants in rural areas were most likely to have contracted MDR-TB through acquired resistance.

MicroRNA-378 promotes the malignant progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma by mediating FOXN3

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to detect the expression of microRNA-378 in OSCC, and further studies its effects on clinicopathology and prognosis of OSCC patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Real-Time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of microRNA-378 in 96 pairs of OSCC tissues and paracancerous tissues. The relationship between microRNA-378 expression and pathological parameters and prognosis of OSCC patients was analyzed. The expression level of microRNA-378 in OSCC cells was detected by RT-qPCR as well. Also, microRNA-378 knockdown expression model was constructed using small interfering RNA in OSCC cell lines CAL-27 and Tca8113. Biological functions of OSCC cells were determined using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, and transwell assay. Western blot was conducted to detect the protein expression of FOXN3 in OSCC cells.

RESULTS

RT-qPCR results showed that the expression level of microRNA-378 in OSCC tissues is remarkably higher than that in paracancerous tissues. Compared with OSCC patients with lower expression of microRNA-378, patients with higher expression of microRNA-378 had higher incidences of lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis, as well as shorter overall survival. MicroRNA-378 knockdown significantly decreased proliferative, invasive, and metastatic abilities of OSCC cells. Western blot results showed that microRNA-378 downregulates FOXN3 expression in OSCC cells. Rescue experiments found that microRNA-378 could regulate FOXN3, thus promoting the malignant progression of OSCC.

CONCLUSIONS

MicroRNA-378 is highly expressed in OSCC, which is significantly associated with tumor staging, distant metastasis, and poor prognosis of OSCC. It is shown that microRNA-378 may promote malignant progression of OSCC by regulating FOXN3.

The influence of antibiotics on gut bacteria diversity associated with laboratory-reared Bactrocera dorsalis

The oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) is a destructive insect pest of a wide range of fruit crops. Commensal bacteria play a very important part in the development, reproduction, and fitness of their host fruit fly. Uncovering the function of gut bacteria has become a worldwide quest. Using antibiotics to remove gut bacteria is a common method to investigate gut bacteria function. In the present study, three types of antibiotics (tetracycline, ampicillin, and streptomycin), each with four different concentrations, were used to test their effect on the gut bacteria diversity of laboratory-reared B. dorsalis. Combined antibiotics can change bacteria diversity, including cultivable and uncultivable bacteria, for both male and female adult flies. Secondary bacteria became the dominant population in female and male adult flies with the decrease in normally predominant bacteria. However, in larvae, only the predominant bacteria decreased, the bacteria diversity did not change a lot, likely because of the short acting time of the antibiotics. The bacteria diversity did not differ among fruit fly treatments with antibiotics of different concentrations. This study showed the dynamic changes of gut bacterial diversity in antibiotics-treated flies, and provides a foundation for research on the function of gut bacteria of the oriental fruit fly.

The combination therapy of HIF1α inhibitor LW6 and cisplatin plays an effective role on anti-tumor function in A549 cells

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) has been demonstrated to be involved in the resistance of various human cancer cells to chemotherapies. However, the correlation between HIF1α and the sensitivity of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells to cisplatin has not been illuminated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of HIF1α on drug resistance in NSCLC cells. A549 cells were incubated in 21% or 0.5% O2 followed by the assessment of the level of HIF1α with qRT-PCR and western blot and ROS level by DCFH-DA assays. Effects of hypoxia or HIF1α inhibitor LW6 on the proliferation and apoptosis of A549 cells were evaluated via CCK-8 and flow cytometry assays. IC50 of A549 cells to cisplatin was determined by MTT assay. The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was measured via JC-1 staining. Moreover, the expression of apoptosis related protein (Bcl-2, Bax) and drug resistance related proteins (MDR1, MRP1) were measured by western blotting. Exposure of A549 cells to 1% O2 significantly up-regulated HIF1α expression, maintained cell viability to cisplatin but decreased the ROS level, which promoted chemoresistance to cisplatin. LW6-treated A549 cells showed an increase in ROS level that blocked the hypoxia induced resistance to cisplatin and in addition, decreased expression of MDR1 and MRP1 in cisplatin-treated cells. This study revealed that hypoxia-improved cisplatin chemoresistance of NSCLC cells by regulated MDR1 and MRP1 expression via HIF1α/ROS pathway is reversed by LW6, suggesting that LW6 may act as effective sensitizer in chemotherapy for NSCLC.

Preliminary Results Comparing Thin Plate Splines with Finite Element Methods for Modeling Brain Deformation during Neurosurgery using Intraoperative Ultrasound

Brain shift compensation attempts to model the deformation of the brain which occurs during the surgical removal of brain tumors to enable mapping of presurgical image data into patient coordinates during surgery and thus improve the accuracy and utility of neuro-navigation. We present preliminary results from clinical tumor resections that compare two methods for modeling brain deformation, a simple thin plate spline method that interpolates displacements and a more complex finite element method (FEM) that models physical and geometric constraints of the brain and its material properties. Both methods are driven by the same set of displacements at locations surrounding the tumor. These displacements were derived from sets of corresponding matched features that were automatically detected using the SIFT-Rank algorithm. The deformation accuracy was tested using a set of manually identified landmarks. The FEM method requires significantly more preprocessing than the spline method but both methods can be used to model deformations in the operating room in reasonable time frames. Our preliminary results indicate that the FEM deformation model significantly out-performs the spline-based approach for predicting the deformation of manual landmarks. While both methods compensate for brain shift, this work suggests that models that incorporate biophysics and geometric constraints may be more accurate.

Low Dietary Protein Intakes and Associated Dietary Patterns and Functional Limitations in an Aging Population: A NHANES analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate protein intakes across demographic characteristics in relation to dietary patterns and functional outcomes in older adults.

DESIGN

Observational and cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Non-institutionalized participants from the 2005-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

PARTICIPANTS

Data from 11,680 adults were categorized into 51-60 years (n= 4,016), 61-70 years (n=3,854), and 71 years and older (n=3,810) for analysis.

MEASUREMENTS

Adults were stratified by meeting or not meeting the protein recommendation (0.8 g/kg/d) to compare demographics, diet quality with Healthy Eating Index-2015, functional limitations, and other dietary intakes. Dietary recalls were collected using the multiple pass method. Data analyses were weighted to create a nationally-representative sample.

RESULTS

Dietary protein intakes were significantly lower in older age groups, with up to 46% of the oldest adults not meeting the protein intake recommendation. Participants consuming protein below the recommended intake level had significantly poorer diet quality across all age groups (P<0.01), however, overall diet quality was better in older adults. Those not meeting the protein recommendation were more likely to have intakes of other nutrients below recommended levels. Those below the protein recommendation had significantly more functional limitations across all age groups, while grip strength was significantly lower in those over 70 years old.

CONCLUSION

Lower protein intakes, and lower diet quality and physical functioning are related in an aging population. Meeting the protein recommendation was linked to better overall diet quality and may be protective of lean mass; therefore, evaluation of individual characteristics which may affect protein intakes is crucial in supporting older adults to meet their protein needs.

Impacts of Lipase Enzyme on the Surface Properties of Marine Aerosols

Triacylglycerol lipases have recently been shown to be transferred from the ocean to the atmosphere in atmospheric sea spray aerosol (SSA). Lipases have the potential to alter the composition of SSA; however, the structure and properties of enzymes in the high salt, high ionic strength, and low pH conditions found in SSA have never been explored. Here, we study the dynamics of Burkholderia cepacia triacylglycerol lipase (BCL) at SSA model surfaces comprised of palmitic acid and dipalmitoylphosphatidic acid (DPPA), two commonly found lipids at SSA surfaces. Surface adsorption Langmuir isotherm experiments and all-atom explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations together illuminate how and why BCL expands the ordering of lipids at palmitic acid surfaces the most at pH < 4 and the least in DPPA surfaces at pH 6. Taken together, these results represent a first glimpse into the complex interplay between lipid surface structure and protein dynamics within enzyme-containing aerosols.