P1566 Evaluation of haptic feedback for interaction with volumetric image data in virtual reality

Funding Acknowledgements

Work supported by the NIHR i4i funded 3D Heart project [II-LA-0716-20001]

Background

3D printing is used for surgical planning of complex congenital heart disease (CHD) because it provides an intuitive 3D representation of the image data. However, the 3D print is static and it can be costly and time consuming to create. Virtual Reality (VR) is a cheaper alternative that is able to visualise volumetric images in 3D directly from the scanner, both statically (CT and MR) and dynamically (cardiac ultrasound). However, VR visualisation is not as tangible as a 3D print - this is because it lacks the haptic feedback which would make the interactions feel more natural.

Purpose

Evaluate if adding haptic feedback (vibration) to the visualisation of volume image data in VR improves measurement accuracy and user experience.

Method

We evaluated the effect of vibration haptic feedback in our VR system using a synthetic cylinder volume dataset. The cylinder was displayed in two conditions: (1) with no haptic feedback, and (2) with haptic feedback. Ten non-clinical participants volunteered in the evaluation. They were blinded to these two test conditions. The participants were asked to measure the cylinder’s diameter horizontally and vertically, and its length, in each test condition. The measurement results were compared to the ground truth to assess the measurement accuracy. Each participant also completed a questionnaire comparing their experience of the two test conditions during the experiment.

Results

The results show a marginal improvement of measurement accuracy with haptic feedback, compared to no haptics (see Figure a). However, this improvement was not statistically significant. The haptic feedback did improve the participants’ confidence about their performance and increased the ease of use in VR, hence, they preferred the haptics condition to the no haptics condition (see Figure b). Moreover, although 70% of the participants reported relying on the visual cue more than on the haptic cue, 90% found that the haptic cue was helpful for deciding where to place the measurement point. Also, 88.9% of the participants felt more immersed in the VR scene with haptic feedback.

Conclusion

Our evaluation suggests that although haptic feedback may only marginally improve measurement accuracy, participants nevertheless preferred it because it improved confidence in their performance, increased ease of use, and facilitated a more immersive user experience.

Abstract P1566 Figure.

The paracrine induction of prostate cancer progression by caveolin-1

A subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) plays a critical role of cancer progression, recurrence, and therapeutic resistance. Many studies have indicated that castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is associated with stem cell phenotypes, which could further promote neuroendocrine transdifferentiation. Although only a small subset of genetically pre-programmed cells in each organ has stem cell capability, CSCs appear to be inducible among a heterogeneous cancer cell population. However, the inductive mechanism(s) leading to the emergence of these CSCs are not fully understood in CRPC. Tumor cells actively produce, release, and utilize exosomes to promote cancer development and metastasis, cancer immune evasion as well as chemotherapeutic resistance; the impact of tumor-derived exosomes (TDE) and its cargo on prostate cancer (PCa) development is still unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that the presence of Cav-1 in TDE acts as a potent driver to induce CSC phenotypes and epithelial–mesenchymal transition in PCa undergoing neuroendocrine differentiation through NFκB signaling pathway. Furthermore, Cav-1 in mCRPC-derived exosomes is capable of inducing radio- and chemo-resistance in recipient cells. Collectively, these data support Cav-1 as a critical driver for mCRPC progression.

Endoscopic submucosal multi-tunnel dissection for large early esophageal cancer lesions

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic submucosal multi-tunnel dissection (ESMTD) for early esophageal cancer lesions larger than 3 cm in diameter or cumulatively greater than 1/2 lumen size.

METHOD

Early esophageal cancer lesions in 15 patients were detected by endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasonography in our endoscopy center from December 2012 to June 2015. All lesions were successfully resected by ESMTD and diagnosed by pathology, and therapeutic efficiency and safety were followed after surgery.

RESULTS

All 15 of the early esophageal cancer lesions were resected by ESMTD. The pathological results showed 9 moderately differentiated and 6 highly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas. En bloc resection was achieved in 13 lesions, with negative lateral and basal margins on pathology, whereas the other 2 required additional surgery. The average diameter of the resected lesions was 4.2±0.9 cm. The mean procedure time was 94.7±52.9 min. Esophageal stenosis was observed in 7 patients for whom esophageal water balloon dilatation was performed. No residual or recurrent lesion was found during the 6-36-month follow-up period.

CONCLUSION

ESMTD is a safe and efficient technique for treating large early esophageal cancer lesions. Grasping the key techniques of this procedure can reduce operating difficulty and shorten the operating time.

The role of MIR-186 and ZNF545 in inhibiting the proliferation of multiple myeloma cells

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of tumor suppressor gene miR-186 and zinc finger protein 545 (ZNF545) on the proliferation of multiple myeloma (MM) cells. CD138 magnetic beads were used to isolate different types of myeloma cell lines (KM3, U266, RPMI-8226, and H929), which were then infected by lentivirus carrying the miR-186 gene. Using uninfected myeloma cells as the control, MTT [3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide, Thiazolyl Blue Tetrazolium Bromide] assay was performed to calculate the rate of cell proliferation at different time points. In addition, the correlation between the expression of Jagged 1 and miR-186 was analyzed by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Furthermore, the effect of 5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine and acetylase inhibitor Trichomycin A (TSA) on the expression of ZNF545 and proliferation/apoptosis of MM cells was investigated using Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Western blotting (WB), MTS [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] cell proliferation assay, and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. Compared with the control group, the proliferation of miR-186-overexpressing U266 and RPMI-8226 cells was significantly decreased. In cell cloning experiments, miR-186 decreased the number of U266 and RPMI-8226 clones while reducing the protein expression of Jagged 1. The expression level of ZNF545 in myeloma patients was also reduced to some extent. ZNF545 protein also promoted the apoptosis of myeloma cells. By inhibiting the proliferation of myeloma cells, miR-186 gene and ZNF protein may be used as tumor suppressors in the treatment of myeloma.

[Role and mechanism of the regulation of nuclear factor-κB by heparin binding-epidermal growth factor-like growth factor in the induction of paclitaxel resistance of ovarian cancer]

Objective: To investigate the role and mechanism of the regulation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) by heparin binding-epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) in paclitaxel resistance of ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo. Methods: (1) The detection of NF-κB expression: parental (A2780) and paclitaxel-resistant (A2780/Taxol) ovarian carcinoma cells were divided into four groups, named A2780 group, A2780+cross-reacting material 197 (CRM197, HB-EGF inhibitor) group, A2780/Taxol group and A2780/Taxol+CRM197 group. Among four groups, the expression level HB-EGF and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were examined by immunofluorescence double staining on confocal microscopy. Western blot was used to detect the expression level of NF-κB. In vivo, A2780 and A2780/Taxol cells were injected intraperitoneally to nude mouse to determine the expression level of NF-κB of the tumors from these four groups by immunohistochemistry method. (2) The detection on the function of NF-κB: A2780/Taxol cells were divided into four groups, named transfected with empty vector+saline group, NF-κB small interference RNA (siRNA)+saline group, empty vector+CRM197 group and NF-κB siRNA+CRM197 group respectively. Among four groups, the 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) of A2780/Taxol cells to paclitaxel, the expression level of plasma membrane glycoprotein (P-gp) and the effect of intracellular rhodomine123 (Rh123) accumulation were detected. Results: (1) The detection of NF-κB expression: the expression scores of HB-EGF protein among four groups were 5.6±1.3, 2.1±1.2, 11.7±3.5 and 6.2±1.4; the expression scores of EGFR protein were 5.1±1.6, 2.8±0.6, 10.4±3.1 and 5.6±1.9, respectively. The expression levels of NF-κB protein in the cells of the group named A2780, A2780+CRM197, A2780/Taxol and A2780/Taxol+CRM197 group were 1.89±0.23, 0.74±0.12, 3.45±0.16 and 1.31±0.08, respectively; the expression scores of NF-κB protein in the tissue tumors from four groups were 3.3±1.1, 1.4±0.4, 8.7±2.3 and 3.6±1.2, respectively. The expression level of HB-EGF, EGFR and NF-κB protein between A2780 and A2780/Taxol groups in vivo and in vitro were higher than these in A2780+CRM197 and A2780/Taxol+CRM197 group, while the expression level of HB-EGF, EGFR and NF-κB protein in A2780 group were lower than those in A2780/Taxol groups in vivo and in vitro (P<0.05). (2) The examination of NF-κB function: the IC(50) of A2780/Taxol cells to paclitaxel in groups transfected with empty vector+saline, NF-κB siRNA+saline, empty vector+CRM197 and NF-κB siRNA+CRM197 group were respectively (39.4±0.8), (7.6±0.6), (6.7±0.5) and (4.2±0.4) μmol/L, while the expression levels of P-gp protein among four groups were respectively 3.11±0.23,1.45±0.16, 1.73±0.21 and 0.68±0.14, the cellular Rh123 accumulation among four groups were respectively 110±15, 246±19, 231±22 and 296±24. The expression levels of IC(50) and P-gp protein in groups transfected with NF-κB siRNA+saline, empty vector+CRM197 and NF-κB siRNA+CRM197 group were significantly higher than those in group transfected with empty vector+saline group (P<0.01), while the cellular Rh123 accumulation among three groups were significantly lower than that in group transfected with empty vector+saline (P<0.01). Conclusions: The expression of NF-κB may contributes to the paclitaxel resistance to ovarian cancer. HB-EGF may induce the paclitaxel resistance of ovarian cancer by the regulation of EGFR/NF-κB/P-gp pathway.

Genome-wide identification and comparison of mRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs in porcine intramuscular, subcutaneous, retroperitoneal and mesenteric adipose tissues

Many types of RNAs, including messenger RNAs (mRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), play crucial roles in regulating fat cell differentiation and tissue development. However, the expression profiles of these RNAs in different adipose tissues are still largely unknown. To shed light on this issue, we performed a transcriptome analysis of mRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs obtained from intramuscular adipose tissue, subcutaneous adipose tissue, retroperitoneal adipose tissue and mesenteric adipose tissue of Chinese Erhualian pigs. A number of differentially expressed mRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs were identified among the four adipose tissues. Tissue-specific analysis indicated that circRNAs exhibited the highest tissue specificity among mRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs, whereas intramuscular adipose tissue had the most tissue-specific genes among the four adipose tissues. Gene Ontology analysis showed that differentially expressed mRNAs among groups were involved mainly in lipid metabolism and immune inflammatory response processes. Furthermore, the co-expression network construction of mRNAs-lncRNAs revealed that several important lncRNAs, such as MSTRG.426159 and MSTRG.604206, might associate with lipid metabolic process. Taken together, these data provide a genome-wide resource of mRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs potentially involved in porcine fat metabolism, thus improving understanding of their function in diverse adipose tissues.

Graphene oxide-film-coated splitting ratio-adjustable Mach-Zehnder interferometer for relative humidity sensing

In this paper, a splitting ratio-adjustable Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) for the measurement of relative humidity (RH) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensing head contains three sections of single mode fiber (SMF) and two sections of multimode fiber (MMF), in which the two MMFs are spliced among the three SMFs. The MMFs are corroded with hydrofluoric acid and act as mode couplers to split and recombine light owing to the core diameter mismatch with the SMF. A layer of graphene oxide (GO) is coated on the MMFs by dip-coating and natural evaporation. The effective refractive index of the GO will vary when it absorbs the water molecules. As a result, the intensity of the transmission light in the core and cladding of the single mode fiber can be adjusted. Thus, the intensity of the resonant dip will vary when the relative humidity changes. The experimental results show that a humidity sensitivity of 0.263 dB/RH% with a linear correlation coefficient of 99% can be achieved in a relative humidity range of 35% to 85%.

Hydroxysafflor yellow A attenuates high glucose-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cell dysfunction

High glucose (HG) induces vascular injury in diabetes. Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) has been used to ameliorate ischemic cardiovascular diseases in China for many years. In the present study, we assessed whether HSYA has a potential protective role in HG-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) injury. Cell viability was determined with an 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining assay. The endothelial cell permeability was measured with a permeability assay. Cell adhesion molecule (CAM) expression, vascular endothelial growth factor, and basic fibroblast growth factor levels were detected with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation was measured with a DCF-DA assay. Protein expression of NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) was measured by Western blotting. Our data indicated that HG increases HUVEC apoptosis, vascular permeability, monocyte adhesion, the level of CAMs, the formation of ROS, and NOX4 expression. Our data revealed that HG increases vascular injury, which is attenuated by HSYA. Because vascular inflammation has a key role in the development of diabetes mellitus, our results implied that HSYA is considered as a potential agent for diabetic vascular injury treatment.

Abstract PD5-08: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy alters the genomic landscape and immune microenvironment of breast cancers

Understanding how standard-of-care drug treatments affect tumor intrinsic biology and microenvironment is critical for elucidating drug resistance mechanisms and developing better combination therapies as well as new therapies. To characterize the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) on the genome, transcriptome and tumor infiltrating leukocytes (TILs), we have conducted whole exome and whole transcriptome sequencing of a large longitudinal breast cancer cohort consisting of 146 cases and 281 paired tumor samples. In total, 52 (38%) patients achieved pathologic complete response (pCR) while 85 patients (62%) had residual disease with standard chemotherapy regimen. Tumor biopsies were collected for each patient at three time points – pre-treatment, three weeks after the first cycle of anthracycline and cyclophosphamide (AC) and at the time of surgery after 3 more cycles of AC followed by 4 cycles of taxane or taxane plus Herceptin in case of HER2+ subtype. We detected 5,955 protein-altering somatic mutations affecting 4,414 genes in pretreatment samples and 502 acquired mutations in surgery samples affecting 477 genes including 19recurrently mutated genes such as TP53 and NOTCH1. Across all subtypes, 4,346 genes were differentially expressed (DE) following NAC treatment and significantly enriched in pathways such as cell cycle, ER signaling, PI3K/mTOR, immune and metabolism. Expression-based virtual microdissection analysis indicated that NAC treatment induced an increase in the fractions of stromal and adjacent normal tissue compartment, consistent with observed reduction in tumor cellularity. To assess the NAC induced changes in the molecular landscape of these tumors, we compared molecular features including gene expression signatures, mutation prevalence and copy number alteration between three time points while adjusting for confounding effects of molecular subtype and tumor cellularity. We found that NAC induced dynamic changes in gene expression signatures associated with proliferation and immunomodulatory treatment response. We further validated the observed pattern of change in TILs through histopathology and digital imaging analyses. In pretreatment tumors, 116 genes were DE between patients with pCR vs. those with residual disease with significant enrichment in immune/inflammatory pathways. Further, pre-treatment TIL levels were found to be significantly associated with pCR, echoing previous reports in breast cancers that implicated anti-tumor immunity in mediating the efficacy of chemotherapies. Our analyses also revealed associations between NAC response and baseline genomic attributes such as genomic alterations that affect DNA damage repair pathways. Taken together, these results suggest that NAC induced a multitude of changes on the genomic landscape and immune microenvironment of breast cancers, some of which point to combination strategies with immunomodulatory therapies and therapies that target DNA damage repair.

Citation Format: Kan Z, Lal S, Ding Y, Lee JE, Lee S-H, Lee SK, Yu JH, Choi Y-l, Kim SW, Nam SJ, Kim J-Y, Ram S, Powell E, Ching K, Cho SY, Bonato V, Deng S, Park W-Y, Rejto P, Bienkowska J, Park Y-H. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy alters the genomic landscape and immune microenvironment of breast cancers [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 PD5-08.

Fast distributed dynamic strain sensing using a modified gain-profile tracing technique

Gain-profile tracing (GPT) is a useful strategy of distributed sensing in BOTDA technique for achieving high spatial resolution, which has not been used for the dynamic strain measurement previously. In this paper, we propose a modified gain-profile tracing (MGPT) technique for fast dynamic strain measurement while maintaining the advantage of high spatial resolution. This technique is based on a modified pump pulse modulation scheme and the slope-assisted demodulation method. The time consumption using MGPT technique for a single pump pulse measurement of dynamic strain is less by 25% than the conventional GPT technique. The spatial resolution of our BOTDA system using MGPT technique is 50cm and maximal frequency of dynamic strain detection could be up to 53.5 Hz for 248m sensing length. In the experiments, we measure two vibration events spacing 50 cm with the frequency of 14.0 Hz and 17.0 Hz in a 248 m single-mode fiber. The proposed method is a potential real-time dynamic alternative for distributed structural health monitoring.

Higher Incidence of Renal Allograft Glomerulonephritis in Living-Related Donor Kidney Transplantation

Glomerulonephritis recurrence has emerged as one of the leading causes of allograft loss. We aimed to investigate the effect of living-related and deceased donation on the incidence of renal allograft glomerulonephritis and its effect on renal allograft survival.

METHODS

Adult renal allograft recipients with primary glomerulonephritis were enrolled. Transplantation date was from Feb 2004 to Dec 2015. Exclusion criteria included combined organ transplantation, structural abnormality, diabetic nephropathy, hypertension nephropathy, obstructive nephropathy, and primary uric acid nephropathy. The incidence of biopsy-proven allograft glomerulonephritis was compared between the living-related donor group and the deceased donor group. Graft survival was assessed with Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate the effect of posttransplant glomerulonephritis on graft outcome.

RESULTS

There were 525 living-related donor kidney transplant recipients (LRKTx) and 456 deceased donor kidney transplant recipients (DDKTx) enrolled. The incidence of IgA nephropathy was 8.8% in the LRKTx group and 1.3% in the DDKTx group (P < .001); the incidence of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) was 3.8% in the LRKTx group and 1.5% in the DDKTx group (P = .03). FSGS increased the risk of graft failure compared with non-FSGS (hazard ratio [HR], 3.703 [1.459-9.397]; P = .006). IgA nephropathy increased the risk of graft failure by over 5 times 5 years after kidney transplantation compared with non-IgA nephropathy, but it did not affect early allograft survival (HR for ≥5 years, 6.139; 95% CI, 1.766-21.345; P = .004; HR for <5 years, 0.385 [0.053-2.814]; P = .35).

CONCLUSIONS

Higher incidence of IgA nephropathy and FSGS in renal allograft was observed in living-related donor kidney transplantation compared with deceased donor kidney transplantation. De novo or recurrent IgA nephropathy and FSGS impaired long-term renal allograft survival.

Role of miR-449a in the Activation and Metabolism of CD4+ T Cells

BACKGROUND

Acute rejection is a significant challenge after organ transplantation. The CD4⁺ T-cell‒mediated immune response plays an important role in acute transplant rejection. It was also found that miR-449a microRNA regulates the alloimmune response in a model of heart transplantation in mice. Our goal was to determine the role of miR-449a in the regulation of CD4⁺ T cells.

METHODS

We examined miR-449a expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and graft-infiltrating lymphocytes (GILs) between syngeneic transplant and allogeneic transplant groups on day 7 post‒heart transplantation. We also examined miR-449a expression in CD4⁺ T-cell activation and mixed-lymphocyte reactions (MLRs) in vitro. To evaluate the effect of miR-449a on CD4⁺ T-cell metabolism, we analyzed key metabolic parameters using XFp extracellular flux analyses.

RESULTS

Our in vivo heart transplant models showed that the expression of miR-449a in PBMCs and in GILs significantly increased in the allogeneic groups in comparison to the syngeneic groups (P < .01). Furthermore, in vitro analysis confirmed that the expression of miR-449a was significantly elevated in activated CD4⁺ T cells. Reduction of miR-449a expression in CD4⁺ T cells decreased the mitochondrial respiration in the same CD4⁺ T cells.

CONCLUSION

Our results reveal that miR-449a microRNA was elevated in allogeneic heart allografts. This correlated with an increased miR-449a expression in activated CD4⁺ T cells. Inhibition of miR-449a in activated CD4⁺ T cells coincided with reduced mitochondrial respiration, suggesting that miR-449a influences CD4⁺ T-cell activation during the alloimmune response by regulating metabolic status.

Acting on identity: Myoblast fusion and the formation of the syncytial muscle fiber

The study of Drosophila muscle development dates back to the middle of the last century. Since that time, Drosophila has proved to be an ideal system for studying muscle development, differentiation, function, and disease. As in humans, Drosophila muscle forms via a series of conserved steps, starting with muscle specification, myoblast fusion, attachment to tendon cells, interactions with motorneurons, and sarcomere and myofibril formation. The genes and mechanisms required for these processes share striking similarities to those found in humans. The highly tractable genetic system and imaging approaches available in Drosophila allow for an efficient interrogation of muscle biology and for application of what we learn to other systems. In this article, we review our current understanding of muscle development in Drosophila, with a focus on myoblast fusion, the process responsible for the generation of syncytial muscle cells. We also compare and contrast those genes required for fusion in Drosophila and vertebrates.

Bayesian network model for identification of pathways by integrating protein interaction with genetic interaction data

Background

Molecular interaction data at proteomic and genetic levels provide physical and functional insights into a molecular biosystem and are helpful for the construction of pathway structures complementarily. Despite advances in inferring biological pathways using genetic interaction data, there still exists weakness in developed models, such as, activity pathway networks (APN), when integrating the data from proteomic and genetic levels. It is necessary to develop new methods to infer pathway structure by both of interaction data.

Results

We utilized probabilistic graphical model to develop a new method that integrates genetic interaction and protein interaction data and infers exquisitely detailed pathway structure. We modeled the pathway network as Bayesian network and applied this model to infer pathways for the coherent subsets of the global genetic interaction profiles, and the available data set of endoplasmic reticulum genes. The protein interaction data were derived from the BioGRID database. Our method can accurately reconstruct known cellular pathway structures, including SWR complex, ER-Associated Degradation (ERAD) pathway, N-Glycan biosynthesis pathway, Elongator complex, Retromer complex, and Urmylation pathway. By comparing N-Glycan biosynthesis pathway and Urmylation pathway identified from our approach with that from APN, we found that our method is able to overcome its weakness (certain edges are inexplicable). According to underlying protein interaction network, we defined a simple scoring function that only adopts genetic interaction information to avoid the balance difficulty in the APN. Using the effective stochastic simulation algorithm, the performance of our proposed method is significantly high.

Conclusion

We developed a new method based on Bayesian network to infer detailed pathway structures from interaction data at proteomic and genetic levels. The results indicate that the developed method performs better in predicting signaling pathways than previously described models.

The RNA-editing enzyme ADAR promotes lung adenocarcinoma migration and invasion by stabilizing FAK

Large-scale, genome-wide studies report that RNA binding proteins are altered in cancers, but it is unclear how these proteins control tumor progression. We found that the RNA-editing protein ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on double-stranded RNA) acted as a facilitator of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) progression through its ability to stabilize transcripts encoding focal adhesion kinase (FAK). In samples from 802 stage I LUAD patients, increased abundance of ADAR at both the mRNA and protein level correlated with tumor recurrence. Knocking down ADAR in LUAD cells suppressed their mesenchymal properties, migration, and invasion in culture. Analysis of gene expression patterns in LUAD cells identified ADAR-associated enrichment of a subset of genes involved in cell migration pathways; among these, FAK is the most notable gene whose expression was increased in the presence of ADAR. Molecular analyses revealed that ADAR posttranscriptionally increased FAK protein abundance by binding to the FAK transcript and editing a specific intronic site that resulted in the increased stabilization of FAK mRNA. Pharmacological inhibition of FAK blocked ADAR-induced invasiveness of LUAD cells, suggesting a potential therapeutic application for LUAD that has a high abundance of ADAR.

Exploring the genomic diversity of black yeasts and relatives (Chaetothyriales, Ascomycota)

The order Chaetothyriales (Pezizomycotina, Ascomycetes) harbours obligatorily melanised fungi and includes numerous etiologic agents of chromoblastomycosis, phaeohyphomycosis and other diseases of vertebrate hosts. Diseases range from mild cutaneous to fatal cerebral or disseminated infections and affect humans and cold-blooded animals globally. In addition, Chaetothyriales comprise species with aquatic, rock-inhabiting, ant-associated, and mycoparasitic life-styles, as well as species that tolerate toxic compounds, suggesting a high degree of versatile extremotolerance. To understand their biology and divergent niche occupation, we sequenced and annotated a set of 23 genomes of main the human opportunists within the Chaetothyriales as well as related environmental species. Our analyses included fungi with diverse life-styles, namely opportunistic pathogens and closely related saprobes, to identify genomic adaptations related to pathogenesis. Furthermore, ecological preferences of Chaetothyriales were analysed, in conjuncture with the order-level phylogeny based on conserved ribosomal genes. General characteristics, phylogenomic relationships, transposable elements, sex-related genes, protein family evolution, genes related to protein degradation (MEROPS), carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), melanin synthesis and secondary metabolism were investigated and compared between species. Genome assemblies varied from 25.81 Mb (Capronia coronata) to 43.03 Mb (Cladophialophora immunda). The bantiana-clade contained the highest number of predicted genes (12 817 on average) as well as larger genomes. We found a low content of mobile elements, with DNA transposons from Tc1/Mariner superfamily being the most abundant across analysed species. Additionally, we identified a reduction of carbohydrate degrading enzymes, specifically many of the Glycosyl Hydrolase (GH) class, while most of the Pectin Lyase (PL) genes were lost in etiological agents of chromoblastomycosis and phaeohyphomycosis. An expansion was found in protein degrading peptidase enzyme families S12 (serine-type D-Ala-D-Ala carboxypeptidases) and M38 (isoaspartyl dipeptidases). Based on genomic information, a wide range of abilities of melanin biosynthesis was revealed; genes related to metabolically distinct DHN, DOPA and pyomelanin pathways were identified. The MAT (MAting Type) locus and other sex-related genes were recognized in all 23 black fungi. Members of the asexual genera Fonsecaea and Cladophialophora appear to be heterothallic with a single copy of either MAT-1-1 or MAT-1-2 in each individual. All Capronia species are homothallic as both MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 genes were found in each single genome. The genomic synteny of the MAT-locus flanking genes (SLA2-APN2-COX13) is not conserved in black fungi as is commonly observed in Eurotiomycetes, indicating a unique genomic context for MAT in those species. The heterokaryon (het) genes expansion associated with the low selective pressure at the MAT-locus suggests that a parasexual cycle may play an important role in generating diversity among those fungi.

[Reverse of the resistance to paclitaxel of the heparin binding-epidermal growth factor-like growth factor inhibitor in ovarian cancer]

Objective: To investigate the effect and mechanism of CRM197, the heparin binding-epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) inhibitor, on the reverse of the resistance of ovarian cancer to paclitaxel. Methods: (1)The effect of CRM197 on the 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) of human ovarian carcinoma cell line A2780 and paclitaxel-resistant ovarian carcinoma cell line A2780/Taxol was tested by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Western blot was used to detect the effect of CRM197 on the expression of HB-EGF, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and plasma membrane glycoprotein (P-gp) protein in A2780 and A2780/Taxol cells. Real-time PCR was used to examine the MDR1 mRNA expression in these cells. (2) A2780/Taxol cells were divided into 4 groups, including the cells transfected with empty vector and saline treatment (empty vector group), MDR1 small interference RNA (siRNA) vector and saline treatment (MDR1 siRNA group), empty vector and CRM197 treatment (empty vector+CRM197 group) and MDR1 siRNA vector and CRM197 treatment (MDR1 siRNA+CRM197 group), respectively. Flow cytometry was used to detecte the effect of intracellular rhodomine 123 (Rh123) accumulation, and caspase-3 activity assay was used to test the effect of apoptosis in four groups of A2780/Taxol cells. (3) In experiments in vivo, A2780/Taxol cells were inoculated to nude mouse subcutaneously to determine the EGFR and P-gp protein expression following CRM197 treatment by immunohistochemistry. Results: (1) In vitro, MTT examination showed that the IC(50) of A2780/Taxol cells to paclitaxel in A2780/Taxol+CRM197 group [(6.4±0.3) μmol/L] was significantly lower than the IC(50) in A2780/Taxol group [ (34.1±0.5) μmol/L, P<0.01], and the reveral fold of CRM197 was 5.3. The expression level of HB-EGF protein in A2780/Taxol+CRM197 group (1.44±0.29) was significantly lower than HB-EGF protein in A2780/Taxol group (2.72±0.32), respectively (P<0.05). The expression level of EGFR protein (0.71±0.25) and P-gp protein (0.82±0.19) in A2780/Taxol+CRM197 group was significantly lower than EGFR protein (1.87±0.31) and P-gp protein (1.84±0.27) of A2780/Taxol group (P<0.05). Compared with A2780/Taxol group (1.78±0.27) , MDR1 mRNA was significantly down-regulated in A2780/Taxol+CRM197 group (0.79±0.13, P<0.05). (2) The fluorescence intensity of Rh123 of the A2780/Taxol cells in empty vector group, MDR1 siRNA group,empty vector+CRM197 group, MDR1 siRNA+CRM197 group was 33.4±1.6, 56.3±3.3, 43.5±3.1,100.4±7.4, and the pNA of the A2780/Taxol cells was (11.4±1.2) , (52.8±0.9) , (71.2±3.6) , (82.7±3.8) μmol/L. The expression levels in MDR1 siRNA+CRM197 group were both higher than the expression levels in empty vector+CRM197 group, and the expression levels in empty vector+CRM197 group, MDR1 siRNA group were both higher than the expression levels in empty vector group (P<0.05). (3) In vivo, the expression scores of EGFR protein in A2780/Taxol+CRM197 tumors (4.4±1.4) were lower than that in A2780/Taxol tumors (10.2±3.1, P<0.05). The expression scores of P-gp protein in A2780/Taxol+CRM197 tumors (3.8±1.1) were lower than that in A2780/Taxol tumors (8.8±2.7, P<0.05). Conclusion: CRM197 reverses the resistance of ovarian cancer to paclitaxel by increasing caspase-3 activity to advance apoptosis via EGFR/MDR1/P-gp pathway.