Potential role of tracing stem cell transplantation and effects on the immune cell function of ferumoxytol combining with heparin and protamine in vivo/in vitro

Cell labeling and tracing have played an increasingly important role in the field of stem cell transplantation. Nanocomplexes combining three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs: heparin (H), protamine (P), and ferumoxytol (F) (HPF nanocomplexes) display high labeling efficiency in human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (hADSCs), but their biological safety has not been determined. In this study, we tested the labeling efficiency of HPF in hADSCs through in vitro cytotoxicity studies and in vivo murine preclinical studies using HPF-labeled hADSCs. The labeling process did not cause cell apoptosis and had little effect on cell proliferation. In vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that the HPF-labeled cells produced a hypointense signal that did not affect liver and kidney functions. However, after injection of HPF-labeled cells into mice, lymphocyte transformation testing showed that T and B lymphocyte proliferation was significantly increased. These findings suggest that extensive safety testing of HPF nanocomplexes is necessary; the process to evaluate HPF as an investigative new drug application could therefore be postponed.

Downregulation of PCK2 remodels tricarboxylic acid cycle in tumor-repopulating cells of melanoma

For cancer cells to proliferate, a balance must be built between biomass-forming, glucose-metabolized intermediates and ATP production. How intrinsic glucose carbon flow regulates this balance remains unclear. Here we show that mitochondrial phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK2), the hub molecule linking tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis by conversion of mitochondrial oxaloacetate (OAA) to phosphoenolpyruvate, regulates glucose carbon flow direction in stem-like cells that repopulate tumors (tumor-repopulating cells (TRCs)). PCK2 downregulation accelerated biosynthesis and transportation of citrate from mitochondria to the cytosol, leading to cytosolic glucose carbon flow via OAA-malate-pyruvate and acetyl-CoA-fatty acid pathways in TRCs. On the other hand, downregulating PCK2 hindered fumarate carbon flows in TCA cycle, leading to attenuated oxidative phosphorylation. In pathological terms, PCK2 overexpression slowed TRC growth in vitro and impeded tumorigenesis in vivo. Overall, our work unveiled unexpected glucose carbon flows of TRCs in melanoma that have implications for targeting metabolic aspects of melanoma.

Search for lepton-flavour-violating decays of the Higgs and Z bosons with the ATLAS detector

Direct searches for lepton flavour violation in decays of the Higgs and Z bosons with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are presented. The following three decays are considered: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. The searches are based on the data sample of proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 [Formula: see text] at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] TeV. No significant excess is observed, and upper limits on the lepton-flavour-violating branching ratios are set at the 95[Formula: see text] confidence level: Br[Formula: see text], Br[Formula: see text], and Br[Formula: see text].

Combination of intensity modulated radiotherapy followed treatment with p38 MAPK activation inhibitor inhibits the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells

The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) followed by treatment with inhibitor for p38 MAPK, SB203580 on the rate of proliferation in drug resistant MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Interestingly, the results from immuno histochemistry and western blot assays revealed higher level of distribution of activated p38 MAPK in the drug resistant breast cancer tissues compared to the primary tissues. Treatment of the drug resistant MCF-7 cells with SB203580 led to a significant decrease in the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. Exposure to IMRT caused a significant decrease in the rate of proliferation in drug resistant MCF-7breast cancer cells (P < 0.05). MCF-7 cells were subjected to IMRT for 45 min followed by treatment with SB203580 for 12 h. The results from MTT assay revealed inhibition in the rate of proliferation of MCF-7 cells more efficiently compared to the IMRT or SB203580 when used separately (P < 0.02). The effect of IMRT and SB203580 on inhibition of MCF-7 cell proliferation showed synergistic relation. Since MAPK signaling pathway plays an important role in the development of drug resistance, therefore, inhibition of p38 MAPK activation by the combination of IMRT followed by treatment with inhibitor for p38 MAPK can be a promising strategy for breast cancer treatment. Thus combination of IMRT exposure and treatment with SB203580 can be used for the inhibition of drug resistant breast cancer.

[Efficacy and Safety of Low-dose Amphotericin B in Different Antifungal Strategies for Treatment of Invasive Fungal Disease in Patients with Hematological Malignancies]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose amphotericin B (AmB) in different antifungal strategies for treatment of invasive fungal disease(IFD) in patients with hematologic malignancies. Metheds: The clinical dada of the patients were collected and analyzed retrospectively and the levels of creatinine (Cr), urea nitrogen (BUN) and potassium (K⁺) before and after using low-dose AmB were compared and statistically analyzed.

RESULTS

Among 97 cases, 2 cases were diagnosed as invasive fungal disease (IFD), 11 cases were diagnosed as clinical probable IFD, 15 cases were diagnosed as possible IFD, 69 cases were undefined IFD. The response rate of all patients treated with low-dose AmB was 69.4%, the response rate for targed therapy was 72.7%, the response rate for diagnosis-driven therapy was 63.6%, the response rate of empirical therapy was 75%, the efficacy of the combination with other antibiotics was 50%, 66.7% and 75%. According to all the patients received AmB, only 7 cases was detected with higher level of Cr (7.2) than normal and this level come back to normal with in 7 days after drug withdrew. Although the Cr level in serum after 1 day of drug withdrew was higher than that before administration of drug(64.86±3.00 vs 58.76±1.67 µmol/L) and was with statistical difference(P<0.05), but did not show significant difference in comparison with the level after drug withdrew 7 days (58.43±1.68 µmol/L,P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

AmB injection is an effective and safe method in empirical therapy and diagnosis-driven antifungal therapy for neutropenic, febrile patients with hematological malignancies.

Cisplatin-induced necroptosis in TNFα dependent and independent pathways

Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic drug for treatment of many solid tumors. It has been shown to induce apoptosis and/or necrosis in different types of cancer cells. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we provide evidences that cisplatin induces necroptosis in receptor-interacting protein 3 (RIP3)-expressing cell lines, but not in cell lines lacking RIP3 protein expression. Deficiency of core components of necroptotic pathway, RIP1, RIP3, or mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL) blocked cisplatin-induced cell death in L929 cells. This phenomenon is dependent on RIP1/RIP3/MLKL necrosome formation and translocation to mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM), but only partially via autocrine production of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). Moreover, we demonstrate that the mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening (mPTP) opening and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation is a critical downstream event of the formation of necrosome in cisplatin-induced necroptosis, which is TNFα independent. Deficiency of cyclophilin-D (CypD) partially reduced cisplatin-induced cell death, indicating CypD mediated-mPTP opening plays an important role during cisplatin-induced necroptosis. Both deletion of CypD and TNFα completely blocked cisplatin-induced cell death, suggesting that cisplatin could induce necroptosis through TNFα dependent and independent pathway. These findings provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying cisplatin-induced necroptosis.

Enhancing As(V) adsorption and passivation using biologically formed nano-sized FeS coatings on limestone: Implications for acid mine drainage treatment and neutralization

The iron-reducing bacterium Acidiphilium cryputum JF-5 and a sulfate reducing bacterium (SRB) collected and purified from the mine drainage of a copper mine in the northwest of Sichuan Province, China, were used to biologically synthesize nano-sized FeS-coated limestone to remove As(V) from solution. The adsorption efficiency of As(V) is improved from 6.64 μg/g with limestone alone to 187 μg/g with the FeS coated limestone in both batch and column experiments. The hydraulic conductivity of the columns are also improved by the presence of the nano-sized FeS coatings, but the solution neutralization performance of the limestone can be reduced by passivation by gypsum and Fe(III) precipitates. Calculations for FeS-coated limestone dissolution experiments show that the process can be described as n_Ca.sol = At^1/2 - n_Ca,gyp. The results suggest that FeS-coated limestone may be an effective medium for remediating As(V)-bearing solutions such as acid mine drainage in systems such as Permeable Reactive Barriers.

A minicircuitry comprised of microRNA-9 and SIRT1 contributes to leukemogenesis in t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia

OBJECTIVE

The AML1-ETO fusion protein (AE) resulting from the t(8;21) translocation is highly related to the pathogenesis and development of leukemia. microRNA-9 (miR-9) acts as a tumor suppressor gene in AE-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog-1 (SIRT1) is overexpressed in most cancer cells by increasing proliferation as a tumorigenic gene. The present study was performed to investigate the underlying interaction between miR-9 and SIRT1 in AE-positive AML.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Expression of miR-9 and SIRT1 in AE-positive AML patients, healthy donors and AML cell lines were detected by qPCR. Relevance between miR-9 and SIRT1 was assessed by plasmid transfection, Western blot and correlation analysis. Luciferase assay was used to confirm the target gene of miR-9. Knockdown of SIRT1 in different cell lines was achieved by shRNA transfection and CCK-8 assay was used to investigate the effects on cell proliferation.

RESULTS

The miR-9 expression was lower in AE-positive cell lines compared to that in other AE-negative AML cell lines, while expression of SIRT1 was higher in AE-positive cell lines. Expression of miR-9 was also downregulated in adult primary t(8;21) AML patients compared to healthy donors. The over-expression of miR-9 decreased luciferase activity of wild-type SIRT1, which was recovered after transfection with mutant SIRT1. The miR-9 directly targets SIRT1 by binding to its 3'-untranslated region and reducing its protein levels. Importantly, miR-9 and SIRT1 mRNA levels were inversely correlated in AE-positive AML cell lines and t(8;21) AML primary leukemia cells. Knockdown of SIRT1 levels using shSIRT1 inhibited cell proliferation in AE-positive AML cell lines.

CONCLUSIONS

SIRT1 is the target gene of miR-9 and the signaling pathway connecting miR-9 and SIRT1 is a therapeutic target for t(8;21) AML.

Toxoplasma gondii immune mapped protein 1 is anchored to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane and adopts a novel protein fold

The immune mapped protein 1 (IMP1) was first identified as a protective antigen in Eimeria maxima and described as vaccine candidate and invasion factor in Toxoplasma gondii. We show here that TgIMP1 localizes to the inner leaflet of plasma membrane (PM) via dual acylation. Mutations either in the N-terminal myristoylation or palmitoylation sites (G2 and C5) cause relocalization of TgIMP1 to the cytosol. The first 11 amino acids are sufficient for PM targeting and the presence of lysine (K7) is critical. Disruption of TgIMP1 gene by double homologous recombination revealed no invasion defect or any measurable alteration in the lytic cycle of tachyzoites. Following immunization with TgIMP1 DNA vaccine, mice challenged with either wild type or IMP1-ko parasites showed no significant difference in protection. The sequence analysis identified a structured C-terminal domain that is present in a broader family of IMP1-like proteins conserved across the members of Apicomplexa. We present the solution structure of this domain determined from NMR data and describe a new protein fold not seen before.

A Two-Phase Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm for Enhancing the Robustness of Scale-Free Networks Against Multiple Malicious Attacks

Designing robust networks has attracted increasing attentions in recent years. Most existing work focuses on improving the robustness of networks against a specific type of attacks. However, networks which are robust against one type of attacks may not be robust against another type of attacks. In the real-world situations, different types of attacks may happen simultaneously. Therefore, we use the Pearson's correlation coefficient to analyze the correlation between different types of attacks, model the robustness measures against different types of attacks which are negatively correlated as objectives, and model the problem of optimizing the robustness of networks against multiple malicious attacks as a multiobjective optimization problem. Furthermore, to effectively solve this problem, we propose a two-phase multiobjective evolutionary algorithm, labeled as MOEA-RSF_MMA. In MOEA-RSF_MMA, a single-objective sampling phase is first used to generate a good initial population for the later two-objective optimization phase. Such a two-phase optimizing pattern well balances the computational cost of the two objectives and improves the search efficiency. In the experiments, both synthetic scale-free networks and real-world networks are used to validate the performance of MOEA-RSF_MMA. Moreover, both local and global characteristics of networks in different parts of the obtained Pareto fronts are studied. The results show that the networks in different parts of Pareto fronts reflect different properties, and provide various choices for decision makers.

An All-Solution Processed Recombination Layer with Mild Post-Treatment Enabling Efficient Homo-Tandem Non-fullerene Organic Solar Cells

The first homo-tandem non-fullerene organic solar cell enabled by a novel recombination layer which only requires a very mild thermal annealing treatment is reported. The best efficiency achieved is 10.8% with a V_oc over 2.1 V, which is the highest V_oc for double-junction organic solar cells reported to date.

Common pattern of gray-matter abnormalities in drug-naive and medicated first-episode schizophrenia: a multimodal meta-analysis

Studies of schizophrenia at drug-naive state and on antipsychotic medication have reported a number of regions of gray-matter (GM) abnormalities but the reports have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to conduct multimodal meta-analysis to compare the cross-sectional voxel-based morphometry studies of brain GM in antipsychotic-naive first-episode schizophrenia (AN-FES) and those with antipsychotic treatment within 1 year (AT-FES) to determine the similarities and differences in these groups. We conducted two separate meta-analyses containing 24 studies with a sample size of 801 patients and 957 healthy controls. A multimodal meta-analysis method was used to compare the findings between AN-FES and AT-FES. Meta-regression analyses were done to determine the influence of different variables including age, duration of illness, and positive and negative symptom scores. Finally, jack-knife analyses were done to test the robustness of the results. AN-FES and AT-FES showed common patterns of GM abnormalities in frontal (gyrus rectus), superior temporal, left hippocampal and insular cortex. GM in the left supramarginal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus were found to be increased in AN-FES but decreased in AT-FES, whereas left median cingulate/paracingulate gyri and right hippocampus GM was decreased in AN-FES but increased in AT-FES. Findings suggest that both AN-FES and AT-FES share frontal, temporal and insular regions as common anatomical regions to be affected indicating these to be the primary regions of GM abnormalities in both groups.

PARP6 acts as a tumor suppressor via downregulating Survivin expression in colorectal cancer

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) are enzymes that transfer ADP-ribose groups to target proteins and are involved in a variety of biological processes. PARP6 is a novel member, and our previous findings suggest that PARP6 may act as a tumor suppressor via suppressing cell cycle progression. However, it is still unclear that PARP6 function besides growth suppression in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we examined tumor suppressive roles of PAPR6 in CRC cells both in vitro and in vivo. We found that PARP6 inhibited colony formation, invasion and migration as well as cell proliferation. Moreover, ectopic overexpression of PARP6 decreased Survivin expression, which acts as an oncogene and is involved in apoptosis and mitosis. We confirmed the inverse correlation between PARP6 and Survivin expression in CRC cases by immunohistochemistry. Importantly, CRC cases with downregulation of PARP6 and upregulation of Survivin showed poor prognosis. In summary, PARP6 acts as a tumor suppressor via downregulating Survivin expression in CRC. PARP6 can be a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target together with Survivin for CRC.

Hydrocracking of Jatropha Oil over non-sulfided PTA-NiMo/ZSM-5 Catalyst

The PTA-NiMo/ZSM-5 catalyst impregnated with phosphotungstic acid (PTA) was designed for the transformation of Jatropha oil into benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) aromatics. The produced catalyst was characterized by N₂ adsorption-desorption, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH₃-TPD). The catalytic performance was evaluated by gas chromatography (GC). The liquid products were 70 wt% of the feed oil, and the majority of the liquid products were BTX. The aromatization activity of the catalyst was improved by the addition of PTA and the hierarchical process. The favorable PTA amount was 20 wt% and the yield of BTX was 59 wt% at 380 °C, 3 MPa, H₂/oil (v/v) = 1000 and LHSV = 1 h⁻¹ over the PTA20-NiMo/HZ0.5 catalyst (PTA 20 wt%) without sulfurization.

[Molecular diagnosis of two Chinese cystic fibrosis children and literature review]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical manifestations and molecular features of cystic fibrosis in Chinese children.

METHOD

A retrospective analysis of two pediatric cystic fibrosis cases diagnosed by gene test in Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University from 2010 to 2015, and Chinese cystic fibrosis reported patients searched of"cystic fibrosis, Chinese"on Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang Data) and PubMed from 1975 to 2015.The clinical manifestations and molecular features were analyzed.

RESULT

One of the two newly diagnosed cystic fibrosis cases was a 10-year old girl who suffered from reccurent cough with expectoration and associated with cirrhosis.Sweat tests showed increased chloride twice with the lower level of 306.82 mmol/L.The other was an 8-month old boy with reccurent pneumonia from neonate, failure to thrive and fatty diarrhea.Two children had various degrees of bronchiectasis and massive sticky secretion on the bronchoscopy.They had no family history and their parents had no consanguineous marriage.CFTR mutations of c. 595C>T and c. 2290C>T were found in gene tests.On the database, twenty-one reports involving thirty-six Chinese patients (16 males and 20 females) were retrieved.Together with this group of 2 cases, a total of 38 cases were involved.The age at diagnosis was 4 months to 28 years with a median age of 10 years.All patients had reccurent respiratory infections, twenty-seven cases (71%) had malnutrition, fifteen (39%)had chronic diarrhea, and 16 cases (42%) had other digestive manifestations, including jaundice (4 cases), hepatomegaly (11 cases), ascites (2 cases) and pancreatic atrophy (3 cases). Five cases had a positive family history and six cases had a suspicious family history.Consanguineous marriage was found in three families.Sweat test revealed elevated chloride (52-327 mmol/L) in 28 cases.Eight of the 16 patients who performed pancreatic exocrine function examination showed pancreatic insufficiency.Eighteen of the 20 patients described the image manifestation of bronchiectasis.The age at death of 13 patients(34%) was 4 months to 25 years with a median of 11 years.Twenty-nine rare CFTR mutations were found in 25 tested patients, and c. 1766+ 5G>T(5 cases), c.2083dupG and c. 2684G>A (3 cases) held the top three mutation patterns.

CONCLUSION

Respiratory symptoms and bronchiectasis are the main manifestations of Chinese cystic fibrosis patients, although some of them may be associated with malnutrition, digestive symptoms and pancreatic insufficiency. CFTR mutations are various and rare in Caucasians.