Simultaneous 2D and 3D cell culture array for multicellular geometry, drug discovery and tumor microenvironment reconstruction

Cell culture systems are indispensablein vitrotools for biomedical research. Although conventional two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures are still used for most biomedical and biological studies, the three-dimensional (3D) cell culture technology attracts increasing attention from researchers, especially in cancer and stem cell research. Due to the different spatial structures, cells in 2D and 3D cultures exhibit different biochemical and biophysical phenotypes. Therefore, a new platform with both 2D and 3D cell cultures is needed to bridge the gap between 2D and 3D cell-based assays. Here, a simultaneous 2D and 3D cell culture array system was constructed by microprinting technology, in which cancer cells exhibited heterozygous geometry structures with both 2D monolayers and 3D spheroids. Cells grown in 3D spheroids showed higher proliferation ability and stronger cell-cell adhesion. Spheroids derived from various types of cancer cell lines exhibited distinct morphologies through a geometrical confinement stimulated biomechanical transduction. Z-projected images of cancer cell aggregates were used to analyze 3D multicellular architecture features. Notably, by using a support vector machine classifier, we distinguished tumor cells from normal cells with an accuracy greater than 95%, according to the geometrical features of multicellular spheroids in phase contrast microscopy images. Cancer cells in multicellular spheroid arrays exhibited higher drug resistance of anticancer drug cisplatin than cells grown in 2D cultures. Finally, we developed a co-culture system composed of tumor spheroid arrays, fibroblast cells and photo-crosslinkable gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel to mimic tumor microenvironment which consisted of solid tumor massed, surrounding stromal cells and extracellular matrix. Together, our newly developed simultaneous 2D and 3D cell culture array has great potential in comprehensive evaluation of cellular events in both 2D and 3D, rapid production of spheroid arrays and multicellular geometry-based tumor cell detection.

Oligonucleotide capture sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and subgenomic fragments from COVID-19 individuals

The newly emerged and rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2 causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To facilitate a deeper understanding of the viral biology we developed a capture sequencing methodology to generate SARS-CoV-2 genomic and transcriptome sequences from infected patients. We utilized an oligonucleotide probe-set representing the full-length genome to obtain both genomic and transcriptome (subgenomic open reading frames [ORFs]) sequences from 45 SARS-CoV-2 clinical samples with varying viral titers. For samples with higher viral loads (cycle threshold value under 33, based on the CDC qPCR assay) complete genomes were generated. Analysis of junction reads revealed regions of differential transcriptional activity among samples. Mixed allelic frequencies along the 20kb ORF1ab gene in one sample, suggested the presence of a defective viral RNA species subpopulation maintained in mixture with functional RNA in one sample. The associated workflow is straightforward, and hybridization-based capture offers an effective and scalable approach for sequencing SARS-CoV-2 from patient samples.

Protective autophagy attenuates soft substrate-induced apoptosis through ROS/JNK signaling pathway in breast cancer cells

Tumor microenvironments are characterized not only in terms of chemical composition, but also by physical properties such as stiffness, which influences morphology, proliferation, and fate of tumor cells. However, the underlying mechanisms between matrix stiffness and the apoptosis-autophagy balance remain largely unexplored. In this study, we cultured human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells on rigid (57 kPa), stiff (38 kPa) or soft (10 kPa) substrates and demonstrated that increasing autophagy levels and autophagic flux in the cells cultured on soft substrates partly attenuated soft substrate-induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, this protective autophagy is regulated by intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, which triggers the downstream signals of JNK, Bcl-2 and Beclin-1. More importantly, soft substrate-induced activation of ROS/JNK signaling promotes cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway, whereas it increases protective autophagy by suppressing the interaction of Bcl-2 and Beclin-1. Taken together, our data suggest that JNK is the mediator of soft substrate-induced breast cancer cell apoptosis and autophagy which is likely to be the mechanism that partly attenuates mitochondrial apoptosis. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanism by which autophagy plays a protective role against soft substrate-induced apoptosis in human breast cancer cells.

Hf-Nd-Sr Isotopic Composition of the Tibetan Plateau Dust as a Fingerprint for Regional to Hemispherical Transport

Large areas of arid regions in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are undergoing desertification and subsequent aeolian emission and transport. The contribution of TP soils to the atmospheric aerosol burden in Asia and elsewhere is not known. Here, we use Hf, Nd, and Sr isotopes to distinguish the TP from other Asian dust-producing regions and compare the signatures to sediments in major dust sink regions. We found that the Hf-Nd-Sr isotopes of TP soils showed unique spatial signatures. From north to south, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios gradually increased, while ε_Nd and ε_Hf values gradually decreased; from west to east, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ε_Hf gradually increased, while ε_Nd changed indistinctly. The Hf-Nd-Sr isotopic compositions of TP soils were controlled by four geographic isotope regions: the northern, southern, western, and eastern TP. Compared with Asian large deserts, the TP showed a unique isotopic composition, which together exhibited a significant spatial change across Asia. Compared to dust isotopes in prominent sink areas, we found that the TP is an important dust source to eastern TP glaciers, the Chinese Loess Plateau, South China Sea, Japan, and Greenland. This study provides clear isotopic evidence that the TP is a major aeolian contributor in the Northern Hemisphere and may have important implications for the global aeolian cycle.

Transmission event of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant reveals multiple vaccine breakthrough infections

Importance

Vaccine breakthrough by an emergent SARS-CoV-2 variant poses a great risk to global public health.

Objective

To determine the SARS-CoV-2 variant responsible for 6 cases of vaccine breakthrough.

Design

Nasopharyngeal swabs from suspected vaccine breakthrough cases were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by qPCR for Wuhan-Hu1 and Alpha variant. Positive samples were then sequenced by Swift Normalase Amplicon Panels to determine the causal variant.

Setting

Transmission event occurred at events surrounding a wedding outside of Houston, TX. Two patients from India, likely transmitted the Delta variant to other guests.

Participants

Following a positive SARS-CoV-2 qPCR test at a third-party site, six fully vaccinated patients were investigated. Three males and three females ranged from 53 to 69 years old. One patient suffered from diabetes while three others were classified as overweight. No significant other comorbidities were identified. None of the patients had a history of failed vaccination.

Properties of a New Group of Cosmic Nuclei: Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on Sodium, Aluminum, and Nitrogen

We report the properties of sodium (Na) and aluminum (Al) cosmic rays in the rigidity range 2.15 GV to 3.0 TV based on 0.46 million sodium and 0.51 million aluminum nuclei collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment on the International Space Station. We found that Na and Al, together with nitrogen (N), belong to a distinct cosmic ray group. In this group, we observe that, similar to the N flux, both the Na flux and Al flux are well described by the sums of a primary cosmic ray component (proportional to the silicon flux) and a secondary cosmic ray component (proportional to the fluorine flux). The fraction of the primary component increases with rigidity for the N, Na, and Al fluxes and becomes dominant at the highest rigidities. The Na/Si and Al/Si abundance ratios at the source, 0.036±0.003 for Na/Si and 0.103±0.004 for Al/Si, are determined independent of cosmic ray propagation.

Daratumumab-Based Treatment for Immunoglobulin Light-Chain Amyloidosis

BACKGROUND

Systemic immunoglobulin light-chain (AL) amyloidosis is characterized by deposition of amyloid fibrils of light chains produced by clonal CD38+ plasma cells. Daratumumab, a human CD38-targeting antibody, may improve outcomes for this disease.

METHODS

We randomly assigned patients with newly diagnosed AL amyloidosis to receive six cycles of bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone either alone (control group) or with subcutaneous daratumumab followed by single-agent daratumumab every 4 weeks for up to 24 cycles (daratumumab group). The primary end point was a hematologic complete response.

RESULTS

A total of 388 patients underwent randomization. The median follow-up was 11.4 months. The percentage of patients who had a hematologic complete response was significantly higher in the daratumumab group than in the control group (53.3% vs. 18.1%) (relative risk ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1 to 4.1; P<0.001). Survival free from major organ deterioration or hematologic progression favored the daratumumab group (hazard ratio for major organ deterioration, hematologic progression, or death, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.93; P = 0.02). At 6 months, more cardiac and renal responses occurred in the daratumumab group than in the control group (41.5% vs. 22.2% and 53.0% vs. 23.9%, respectively). The four most common grade 3 or 4 adverse events were lymphopenia (13.0% in the daratumumab group and 10.1% in the control group), pneumonia (7.8% and 4.3%, respectively), cardiac failure (6.2% and 4.8%), and diarrhea (5.7% and 3.7%). Systemic administration-related reactions to daratumumab occurred in 7.3% of the patients. A total of 56 patients died (27 in the daratumumab group and 29 in the control group), most due to amyloidosis-related cardiomyopathy.

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients with newly diagnosed AL amyloidosis, the addition of daratumumab to bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone was associated with higher frequencies of hematologic complete response and survival free from major organ deterioration or hematologic progression. (Funded by Janssen Research and Development; ANDROMEDA ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03201965.).

Construction of wood-based cellulose micro-framework composite form-stable multifunctional materials with thermal and electrical response via incorporating erythritol-urea (thiourea)-carbon nanotubes

In this study, two kinds of form-stable multifunctional materials with thermal and electrical response (FPCMs: DP-E7U3-CNT, DP-E7T3-CNT) are composed of wood-based honeycomb-like celluloses micro-framework (DP), carbon nanotubes (CNT), erythritol-urea (E7U3) or erythritol-thiourea (E7T3). In FPCMs, DP acts as a skeleton structure to seal E7U3 and E7T3 and provide more pathways for heat conduction. The CNT acts as an extended surface to further improve thermal conductivity. FE-SEM showed that the honeycomb-like pore structure of DP was completely filled with E7U3, E7T3 and CNT. FTIR and XRD analysis show that there is only a combination of physical interactions between the components of FPCMs. DSC curves and thermal conductivity analysis results show that DP-E7U3-1.5CNT and DP-E7T3-1.5CNT with the mass fraction of carbon nanotubes (1.5 wt%) have the highest latent heat values (230.3 J/g, 272.2 J/g) and thermal conductivity (0.9832 W/(m·K), 0.9363 W/(m·K)). Both DP-E7U3-1.5CNT and DP-E7T3-1.5CNT exhibit high latent heat retention and thermal stability after 100 heating-cooling cycles. In addition, DP-E7U3-1.5CNT and DP-E7T3-1.5CNT show excellent performance in light-heat energy conversion-storage, actual latent heat storage and release, thermal and electrical response performance, which make it has great potential to be multifunctional materials with thermal storage sand electrical response.

Multistage-responsive nanovehicle to improve tumor penetration for dual-modality imaging-guided photodynamic-immunotherapy

The exploration of an intelligent multifunctional imaging-guided therapeutic platform is of great significance because of its ideal delivery efficiency and controlled release. In this work, a tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive nanocarrier (denoted as MB@MSP) is designed for on-demand, sequentially release of a short D-peptide antagonist of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (named as P^DPPA-1) and a photosensitizer methylene blue (MB). Fe₃O₄-Au located in the core of MB@MSP is used as a magnetic resonance imaging and micro-computed tomography imaging contrast agent for noninvasive diagnosis of solid tumors and simultaneous monitoring of drug delivery. The P^DPPA-1 coated on MB@MSP can be shed due to the cleavage of the peptide substrate by matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) that is highly expressed in the tumor stroma, and disulfide bonding is further broken when it encounters high levels of glutathione (GSH) in TME, which finally leads to significant size reduction and charge-reversal. These transitions facilitate penetration and uptake of nanocarriers against tumors. Noticeably, the released P^DPPA-1 can block the immune checkpoint to create an environment that favors the activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and augment the antitumor immune response elicited by photodynamic therapy, thus significantly improving therapeutic outcomes. Studies of the underlying mechanisms suggest that the designed MMP-2 and GSH-sensitive delivery system not only induce apoptosis of tumor cells but also modulate the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment to eventually augment the suppression tumor metastasis effect of CD8⁺ cytotoxic T cells. Overall, the visualization of the therapeutic processes with comprehensive information renders MB@MSP an intriguing platform to realize the combined treatment of metastatic tumors.

Shear stress triggered circular dorsal ruffles formation to facilitate cancer cell migration

Circular dorsal ruffles (CDRs) are a kind of special ring-shaped membrane structure rich in F-actin, it is highly involved in the invasion-metastasis of tumor. Shear stress is one of the biophysical elements that affects the fate of tumor cells. However, how shear stress contributes to the CDRs formation is still unclear. In this study, we found that shear stress stimulated the formation of CDRs and promoted the migration of human breast MDA-MB-231 carcinoma cells. Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) mediated the recruiting of ADP-ribosylation factors (ARAP1/Arf1) to CDRs. Meanwhile, the transfection of ARAP1 or Arf1 mutant decreased the number of cells with CDRs, the CDRs areas and perimeters, thus blocked the cancer cell migration. This indicated that the ARAP1/Arf1 were necessary for the CDRs formation and cancer cell migration. Further study revealed that shear stress could stimulate the formation of intracellular macropinocytosis (MPS) thus promoted the ARAP1/Arf1 transportation to early endosome to regulate cancer cell migration after the depolymerization of CDRs. Our study elucidates that the CDRs formation is essential in shear stress-induced breast cancer cell migration, which provides a new research target for exploring the cytoskeletal mechanisms of breast cancer malignance.

Salidroside overcomes dexamethasone resistance in T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

The aim of the present study was to analyze whether the use of salidroside (SAL) could overcome dexamethasone (DEX) resistance in T-acute lymphocytic leukemia cells. The human T-ALL DEX-resistant cell line, CEM-C1 and the DEX-sensitive cell line, CEM-C7 were used in the current study. The proliferation inhibition rates in these cells, treated with SAL and DEX alone, and in combination were detected using a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, while the morphological changes of the cells were observed using an inverted microscope. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of the c-Myc and LC3 genes, while flow cytometry was used to detect the cell cycle distribution and the rate of apoptosis. In addition, western blot analysis was used to detect the protein expression levels of c-Myc, BCL-2, Bax, cleaved PARP and LC3. and acridine orange staining was used to detect the changes in acidic autophagy vesicles. It was found that SAL could effectively inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in the CEM-C1 and CEM-C7 cells. In addition, SAL promoted the induction of autophagy. The protein expression levels of c-Myc in the CEM-C1 cells were significantly higher compared with that in the CEM-C7 cells. SAL downregulated the mRNA expression levels of the c-Myc gene and protein in a dose-dependent manner. This suggested that SAL could inhibit the proliferation of the CEM-C1 and CEM-C7 cells, induce apoptosis and autophagy and overcome DEX resistance in the CEM-C1 cells. The mechanism may be associated with the downregulation of c-Myc.

Hirsutanol A inhibits T-acute lymphocytic leukemia Jurkat cell viability through cell cycle arrest and p53-dependent induction of apoptosis

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a type of childhood leukemia with the highest incidence; T-acute lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL) is far more difficult to treat than B-acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL) and has a poor long-term prognosis. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement to develop effective drugs for the treatment of T-ALL. Hirsutanol A is a natural sesquiterpenoid compound. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro anticancer activity of hirsutanol A against T-acute lymphocytic leukemia Jurkat cells and investigate the mechanism of action. A Cell Counting Kit-8 assay demonstrated that hirsutanol A inhibited the viability of Jurkat cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, hirsutanol A induced cell cycle arrest at the G₂ phase as determined via flow cytometry. Furthermore, Hoechst staining, Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide double staining, mitochondrial membrane potential detection using JC-1 and western blot analysis of apoptotic proteins indicated that the inhibitory effect of hirsutanol A on Jurkat cells was associated with the induction of apoptosis. Of note, hirsutanol A induced the expression of the tumor suppressor p53, whereas simultaneous treatment with pifithrin-α, an inhibitor of p53, significantly reduced Jurkat cell apoptosis induced by hirsutanol A. In summary, the present study suggested that hirsutanol A inhibited Jurkat cell viability through induction of cell cycle arrest and p53-dependent initiation of apoptosis, thus hirsutanol may serve as a promising compound for the treatment of T-ALL.

Dietary supplementation of methionine mitigates oxidative stress in broilers under high stocking density

We aimed to investigate whether dietary supplementation of methionine could mitigate intestinal oxidative injury in broilers under high stocking density (HSD). In the grower phase (d 22–42), 576 broilers with similar body weight were randomly chosen and divided into 8 groups in a 2 × 4 factorial experiment. Two different stocking densities (14 and 20 broilers per m²) were tested with 4 different methionine levels: 0.35%, 0.4%, 0.45%, or 0.5%. Intestinal morphological and oxidative stress markers were assessed at the end of the test period. The results showed that mortality of broilers was significantly higher in the HSD group fed 0.35% methionine diet than the other groups, which was reversed by supplementation with 0.40% to 0.50% methionine. HSD significantly decreased feed intake and daily weight gain. HSD treatment significantly decreased T-AOC, activity of GPX (P < 0.01) and increased the level of PCO (P < 0.01), MDA (P = 0.052) of plasma. The decreased glutathione peroxidase activity in the liver and jejunum caused by HSD was alleviated by additional methionine. Supplementation of methionine increased the ration of GSH/GSSG in the plasma. The jejunum villus height and ratio of villus height to crypt depth under low stocking density conditions with 0.40% methionine diet were the highest, whereas the 0.45% methionine group was the highest under HSD conditions. Thus, additional dietary supplementation of methionine mitigates oxidative stress in broilers under HSD conditions and 0.40% to 0.45% methionine can be applied in cage rearing broiler production for amelioration of oxidative stress caused by HSD.

Synthesis of an organic-inorganic hybrid with short organic molecular chains by sol-gel chemistry

An oligomer with short organic molecular chains was successfully synthesized with KH550 and KH560. This oligomer was combined with tetraethyl orthosilicate and calcium chloride to prepare an organic-inorganic hybrid biological material (OI-BM) by sol-gel chemistry. The hybrid was fully characterized by a series of instrumental characterizations including nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray energy spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. OI-BM presented elastic deformation under compression. The elastic modulus and ultimate stress of OI-BM were 0.4 ± 0.1 GPa and 23.0 ± 4.0 MPa, respectively, lower than those of 45S5 bioactive glass (45S5-BG), whereas the strain at failure and modulus of toughness of OI-BM was about 4.5 times and 4 times higher. The hybrid is easy to form due to the improved mechanical property, suggesting excellent machining properties. The hybrid OI-BM produced hydroxyapatite in 1 h in simulated body fluid due to its excellent bioactivity. CCK-8 assay further demonstrated the desirable cytocompatibility of the hybrid. Thus, the hybrid can be a potential material for satisfying the mechanical property requirement of an implant.

LINC00460 promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer cells through targeted regulation of miR-539

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effects of long intergenic non-coding ribonucleic acid 00460 (LINC00460) on the proliferation and apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, the expression of LINC00460 in lung cancer tissues and its prognostic potential in NSCLC patients were analyzed using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) website and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Then, the influences of silenced LINC00460 on proliferation and apoptosis in A549 cells were observed via methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry in vitro. Moreover, Dual-Luciferase reporter assay and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were performed to detect the targeting relationship between LINC00460 and micro RNA (miR)-539. The biological role of the LINC00460/miR-539 axis in the proliferation of A549 cells was examined using MTT assay.

RESULTS

It was found that the expression level of LINC00460 was significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines, and particularly negatively correlated with the overall survival (OS). According to the in vitro experimental results, LINC00460 knockdown inhibited the proliferation of A549 cells, but promoted their apoptosis. Dual-Luciferase reporter assay results revealed that miR-539 was directly targeted by LINC00460 and involved in the LINC00460-mediated proliferation of A549 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

LINC00460 is overexpressed in NSCLC tissues and can promote the growth of NSCLC cells by targeting miR-539.

Health-related quality of life in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: treatment with daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in the phase 3 POLLUX trial

In the phase 3 POLLUX trial, daratumumab in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (D-Rd) significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) compared with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd) alone. Here, we present patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from POLLUX, assessed using the validated European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30-item (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the EuroQol 5-dimensional descriptive system (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaires. Changes from baseline are presented as least-squares mean changes with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) derived from a mixed-effects model. PRO assessment compliance rates were high and similar in both D-Rd and Rd groups through cycle 40 (week 156). In this on-treatment analysis, mean changes from baseline were significantly greater in EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status, physical functioning, and pain scores in the D-Rd group versus the Rd group at multiple time points; however, magnitude of changes was low, suggesting no meaningful impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Subgroup results were similar to those in the overall population. In the POLLUX study, baseline HRQoL was maintained with prolonged D-Rd treatment. These findings complement the sustained and significant improvement in progression-free survival observed with D-Rd and supports its use in patients with RRMM. Clinical trial registration: NCT02076009.

Electrofluorochromic Imaging Analysis of Glycan Expression on Living Single Cell with Bipolar Electrode Arrays

The in situ glycan profiling of a single tumor cell plays an important role in personalized cancer treatment. Herein, an integrated microfluidic system was designed for living single-cell trapping and real-time monitoring of galactosyl expression on the surface, combining closed bipolar electrode (BPE) arrays and electrofluorochromic (EFC) imaging. Galactosyl groups on human liver cancer HepG2 cells were used as the model analysts, galactose oxidase (GAO) could selectively oxidize hydroxyl sites of galactosyl groups on the cell surface to aldehydes, and then biotin hydrazide (BH) was used to label the aldehydes by aniline-catalyzed hydrazone ligation. With the biotin-avidin system, nanoprobes were finally introduced to the galactosyl groups on the cell surface with avidin as a bridge, which was prepared by simultaneously assembling ferrocene-DNA (Fc-DNA) and biotin-DNA (Bio-DNA) on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) due to their large surface area and excellent electrical conductivity. After a labeled single cell was captured in the anodic microchannel, the Fc groups attached on the cell surface were oxidized under suitable potential, and the nonfluorescent resazurin on the cathode was correspondingly reduced to produce highly fluorescent resorufin, collected by fluorescence confocal microscope. The combination of EFC imaging and BPE realized monitoring galactosyl group expression of 5.0 × 10⁸ molecules per cell. Furthermore, the proposed platform had the ability to distinguish a single cancer cell from a normal cell according to the expression level of galactosyl groups and to dynamically monitor the galactosyl group variation on the cell surface, providing a simple and accessible method for the single-cell analysis.

Properties of Heavy Secondary Fluorine Cosmic Rays: Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

Precise knowledge of the charge and rigidity dependence of the secondary cosmic ray fluxes and the secondary-to-primary flux ratios is essential in the understanding of cosmic ray propagation. We report the properties of heavy secondary cosmic ray fluorine F in the rigidity R range 2.15 GV to 2.9 TV based on 0.29 million events collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment on the International Space Station. The fluorine spectrum deviates from a single power law above 200 GV. The heavier secondary-to-primary F/Si flux ratio rigidity dependence is distinctly different from the lighter B/O (or B/C) rigidity dependence. In particular, above 10 GV, the F/Si/B/O ratio can be described by a power law R^{δ} with δ=0.052±0.007. This shows that the propagation properties of heavy cosmic rays, from F to Si, are different from those of light cosmic rays, from He to O, and that the secondary cosmic rays have two classes.

Subcutaneous daratumumab in Asian patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma: subgroup analyses of the noninferiority, phase 3 COLUMBA study

The phase 3 COLUMBA study demonstrated noninferiority of subcutaneous daratumumab (DARA SC) to intravenous daratumumab (DARA IV) in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. We present a subgroup analysis of Asian patients from COLUMBA. Eligible patients had ≥ 3 prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory drug, or were double refractory. Co-primary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR) and maximum trough concentration (C_trough). Secondary endpoints included rates of infusion-related reactions, progression-free survival, and patient-reported satisfaction with therapy. Sixty-seven Asian patients (DARA SC, n = 30; DARA IV, n = 37) were randomized, including 42 Japanese patients (DARA SC, n = 18; DARA IV, n = 24). Comparable ORRs for DARA SC versus DARA IV were seen in the Asian cohort (66.7% vs 43.2%) and Japanese-only cohort (61.1% vs 54.2%), including patients weighing ≤ 65 kg. Similarity of C_trough was seen in both Asian and Japanese-only cohorts; the ratio of the geometric mean of the C_trough concentrations for DARA SC/DARA IV was 143.96% (90% confidence interval (CI), 112.03–185.00%) and 148.02% (90% CI, 113.32–193.34%), respectively. The Asian cohort (both treatment groups) and Japanese-only cohort (DARA SC group) experienced higher rates of grade 3/4 cytopenias compared with the global COLUMBA population, occurring predominantly in patients of low bodyweight; no patients discontinued treatment due to cytopenias. The Cancer Therapy Satisfaction Questionnaire results generally favored DARA SC. In the Asian and Japanese-only cohorts, DARA SC was comparable to DARA IV. The efficacy, pharmacokinetic, safety, and satisfaction results were generally consistent with the global COLUMBA population regardless of patient bodyweight. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03277105

Health-related quality of life maintained over time in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma treated with daratumumab in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone: results from the phase III CASTOR trial

In the phase III CASTOR trial, daratumumab, bortezomib and dexamethasone (D-Vd) significantly extended progression-free survival compared with bortezomib and dexamethasone (Vd) alone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Here, we present patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from the CASTOR trial. PROs were assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30-item (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the EuroQol 5-dimensional descriptive system questionnaire. Treatment effects through Cycle 8 were measured by a repeated measures mixed-effects model. After Cycle 8, PROs were only collected for patients in the D-Vd group who continued on daratumumab monotherapy. Compliance rates for PRO assessments were high and similar between treatment groups. Mean changes from baseline were generally similar between treatment groups for EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status (GHS), functioning and symptoms, and did not exceed 10 points for either treatment group. Subgroup analyses were consistent with the results observed in the overall population. There was no change in patients' health-related quality of life for the first eight cycles of therapy; thereafter, patients treated with daratumumab over the long-term reported improvements in GHS and pain. These results complement the significant clinical benefits observed with D-Vd in patients with RRMM and support its use in this patient population.