[TRIM59 regulates invasion and migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by targeted modulation of PPM1B]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether TRIM59 regulates invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by targeting PPM1B.

METHOD

We analyzed the expression of TRIM59 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues based on data from TCGA database and detected the expressions of TRIM59 and PPM1B in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and adjacent tissues using Western blotting. We also detected the expressions of TRIM59 and PPM1B at both the mRNA and protein levels in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines using RT-PCR and Western blotting. Stable cell lines with TRIM59 overexpression or knockdown were established in HNE1 cells, in which the targeting relationship between TRIM59 and PPM1B was analyzed using Western blotting and a luciferase reporter gene assay. Transwell chamber assay was used to assess changes in the invasion and migration abilities of HNE1 cells with TRIM59 overexpression or knockdown.

RESULTS

Analysis based on TCGA database showed that TRIM59 expression was significantly higher in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues than in adjacent tissues (P=0.006); the expression of TRIM59 increased (P=0.01) and PPM1B expression decreased significantly (P=0.03) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues. Compared with HNEpC cells, HNE1 cells expressed a significantly higher level of TRIM59 (P=0.04) but a lower level of PPM1B (P=0.01). Luciferase reporter gene assay indicated that PPM1B was a downstream target gene of TRIM59 and its expression was negatively correlated with TRIM59 expression (P=0.01). In HNE1 cells, TRIM59 overexpression significantly promoted cell invasion (P=0.01) and migration (P=0.02) while TRIM59 knockdown obviously suppressed cell invasion (P=0.01) and migration (P=0.01). TRIM59 knockdown with simultaneous PPM1B overexpression more strongly inhibited invasion (P=0.02) and migration (P=0.01) of HNE1 cells as compared with TRIM59 knockdown alone.

CONCLUSION

TRIM59 regulates invasion and migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells through targeted modulation of PPM1B.

[Role of long noncoding RNA SNHG3 in regulating proliferation, migration and invasion of cervical cancer SiHa cells]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the regulatory role of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar host gene 3 (SNHG3) in proliferation, migration and invasion of human cervical cancer cell line SiHa.

OBJECTIVE

Array data were retrieved from GEO database to analyze the expression levels of SNHG3 in cervical cancer and adjacent normal tissues. SiHa cells were transfected with a small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting SNHG3, and the changes in the transcriptional levels of lncRNA SNHG3 and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers N-cadherin, Snail, vimentin and E-cadherin were detected using real-time quantitative PCR; the protein expressions of N-cadherin, Snail, vimentin and E-cadherin were determined using Western blotting. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was utilized to assess the proliferation capacity of the transfected cells. Wound healing assay and Transwell assay were performed to evaluate the transversal and longitudinal migration and invasion abilities of the cells.

OBJECTIVE

SNHG3 was over-expressed in cervical cancer tissues and SiHa cells. In SiHa cells, knocking down SNHG3 significantly inhibited the proliferation (P < 0.001), migration (P < 0.01) and invasion abilities (P < 0.001) of the cells, down-regulated the expression levels of N-cadherin, Snail and vimentin (P < 0.001) and up-regulated the expression of E-cadherin (P < 0.001).

OBJECTIVE

SNHG3 may promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of SiHa cells by activating the EMT signaling pathway.

A review of high-resolution microscopic ghost imaging with a low-dose pseudothermal light

High-resolution imaging is an important issue in various fields of scientific researches and engineering applications. Pseudothermal ghost imaging is one of the subfields of quantum imaging, providing new capabilities beyond conventional imaging methods. Also, it can provide a new viewpoint of imaging physical mechanisms. In this review, we explain the major ideas of pseudothermal ghost imaging, restricting the very important case of high-resolution imaging. We analyse the strategies which can significantly improve the image quality in pseudothermal ghost imaging. It may apply for merging it with common optical imaging methods in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) or X-ray spectral regime for driving the applications to a wider audience in bioscience and nano-physics.

TDP-43 maintains chondrocyte homeostasis and alleviates cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent age-related disorder due to cartilage degradation. Previous studies have identified aberrant chondrocyte homeostasis under extracellular stress as a key pathological mechanism behind cartilage degradation in OA. TDP-43, a DNA/RNA-binding protein has been demonstrated to participate in processing many extracellular stress responses; however, understanding of the role of TDP-43 in OA is limited. This study aims to investigate the role of TDP-43 in chondrocyte homeostasis and cartilage degradation in OA.

METHODS

The role of TDP-43 during degradation of cartilage is examined by experimental posttraumatic OA animal models and human cartilage specimens. Cartilage degradation is assessed by histological analysis, qPCR, and Western blot. The molecular mechanisms are investigated in vitro using human primary chondrocytes.

RESULTS

TDP-43 decreases significantly in degenerated cartilage. TDP-43 concentration is positively correlated with IL-1β concentration in synovial fluid derived from OA patients (Pearson r = 0.95, CI (95%) [0.80, 0.99], P < 0.0001). Intra-articular injection of recombinant TDP-43 significantly alleviates cartilage degradation and subchondral bone remodeling in vivo. In vitro mechanistic analyses show that TDP-43 maintains chondrocyte homeostasis under oxidative stress through regulating stress granule dynamics via G3BP1.

CONCLUSION

The present study indicates that TDP-43 maintains chondrocyte homeostasis under oxidative stress and alleviates cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis, identifying TDP-43 as a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of knee OA.

Fizeau drag in graphene plasmonics

Dragging of light by moving media was predicted by Fresnel¹ and verified by Fizeau's celebrated experiments² with flowing water. This momentous discovery is among the experimental cornerstones of Einstein's special relativity theory and is well understood^3,4 in the context of relativistic kinematics. By contrast, experiments on dragging photons by an electron flow in solids are riddled with inconsistencies and have so far eluded agreement with the theory^5-7. Here we report on the electron flow dragging surface plasmon polaritons^8,9 (SPPs): hybrid quasiparticles of infrared photons and electrons in graphene. The drag is visualized directly through infrared nano-imaging of propagating plasmonic waves in the presence of a high-density current. The polaritons in graphene shorten their wavelength when propagating against the drifting carriers. Unlike the Fizeau effect for light, the SPP drag by electrical currents defies explanation by simple kinematics and is linked to the nonlinear electrodynamics of Dirac electrons in graphene. The observed plasmonic Fizeau drag enables breaking of time-reversal symmetry and reciprocity¹⁰ at infrared frequencies without resorting to magnetic fields^11,12 or chiral optical pumping^13,14. The Fizeau drag also provides a tool with which to study interactions and nonequilibrium effects in electron liquids.

POS0647 EFFICACY, SAFETY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF IGURATIMOD-BASED THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF UA, ERA AND RA PATIENTS FOR 24 WEEKS: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Background:

Experts emphasize early diagnosis and treatment in RA, but the widely used diagnostic criterias fail to meet the accurate judgment of early rheumatoid arthritis. In 2012, Professor Zhanguo Li took the lead in establishing ERA “Chinese standard”, and its sensitivity and accuracy have been recognized by peers. However, the optimal first-line treatment of patients (pts) with undifferentiated arthritis (UA), early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are yet to be established.

Objectives:

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Iguratimod-based (IGU-based) Strategy in the above three types of pts, and to explore the characteristics of the effects of IGU monotherapy and combined treatment.

Methods:

This prospective cohort study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01548001) was conducted in China. In this phase 4 study pts with RA (ACR 1987 criteria[1]), ERA (not match ACR 1987 criteria[1] but match ACR/EULAR 2010 criteria[2] or 2014 ERA criteria[3]), UA (not match classification criteria for ERA and RA but imaging suggests synovitis) were recruited. We applied different treatments according to the patient’s disease activity at baseline, including IGU monotherapy and combination therapies with methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, and prednisone. Specifically, pts with LDA and fewer poor prognostic factors were entered the IGU monotherapy group (25 mg bid), and pts with high disease activity were assigned to combination groups. A Chi-square test was applied for comparison. The primary outcomes were the proportion of pts in remission (REM)or low disease activity (LDA) that is DAS28-ESR<2.6 or 3.2 at 24 weeks, as well as the proportion of pts, achieved ACR20, Boolean remission, and good or moderate EULAR response (G+M).

Results:

A total of 313 pts (26 pts with UA, 59 pts with ERA, and 228 pts with RA) were included in this study. Of these, 227/313 (72.5%) pts completed the 24-week follow-up. The results showed that 115/227 (50.7%), 174/227 (76.7%), 77/227 (33.9%), 179/227 (78.9%) pts achieved DAS28-ESR defined REM and LDA, ACR20, Boolean remission, G+M response, respectively. All parameters continued to decrease in all pts after treatment (Fig 1).

Compared with baseline, the three highest decline indexes of disease activity at week 24 were SW28, CDAI, and T28, with an average decline rate of 73.8%, 61.4%, 58.7%, respectively. Results were similar in three cohorts.

We performed a stratified analysis of which IGU treatment should be used in different cohorts. The study found that the proportion of pts with UA and ERA who used IGU monotherapy were significantly higher than those in the RA cohort. While the proportion of triple and quadruple combined use of IGU in RA pts was significantly higher than that of ERA and UA at baseline and whole-course (Fig 2).

A total of 81/313 (25.8%) pts in this study had adverse events (AE) with no serious adverse events. The main adverse events were infection(25/313, 7.99%), gastrointestinal disorders(13/313, 4.15%), liver dysfunction(12/313, 3.83%) which were lower than 259/2666 (9.71%) in the previous Japanese phase IV study[4].

The most common reasons of lost follow-up were: 1) discontinued after remission 25/86 (29.1%); 2) lost 22/86 (25.6%); 3) drug ineffective 19/86 (22.1%).

Conclusion:

Both IGU-based monotherapy and combined therapies are tolerant and effective for treating UA, ERA, and RA, while the decline in joint symptoms was most significant. Overall, IGU combination treatments were most used in RA pts, while monotherapy was predominant in ERA and UA pts.

References:

[1]Levin RW, et al. Scand J Rheumatol 1996, 25(5):277-281.

[2]Kay J, et al. Rheumatology 2012, 51(Suppl 6):vi5-9.

[3]Zhao J, et al. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2014, 32(5):667-673.

[4]Mimori T, et al. Mod Rheumatol 2019, 29(2):314-323.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

A wide-ranging Pseudomonas aeruginosa PeptideAtlas build: A useful proteomic resource for a versatile pathogen

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic human pathogen with high prevalence in nosocomial infections. This microorganism is a good model for understanding biological processes such as the quorum-sensing response, the metabolic integration of virulence, the mechanisms of global regulation of bacterial physiology, and the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Till now, P. aeruginosa proteomic data, although available in several on-line repositories, were dispersed and difficult to access. In the present work, proteomes of the PAO1 strain grown under different conditions and from diverse cellular compartments have been joined to build the Pseudomonas PeptideAtlas. This resource is a comprehensive mass spectrometry-derived peptide and inferred protein database with 71.3% coverage of the total predicted proteome of P. aeruginosa PAO1, the highest coverage among bacterial PeptideAtlas datasets. The proteins included cover 89% of metabolic proteins, 72% of proteins involved in genetic information processing, 83% of proteins responsible for environmental information processing, more than 88% of the ones related to quorum sensing and biofilm formation, and 89% of proteins responsible for antimicrobial resistance. It exemplifies a necessary tool for targeted proteomics studies, system-wide observations, and cross-species observational studies. The manuscript describes the building of the PeptideAtlas and the contribution of the different proteomic data used. SIGNIFICANCE: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is among the most versatile human bacterial pathogens. Studies of its proteome are very important as they can reveal virulence factors and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. The construction of a proteomic resource such as the PeptideAtlas enables targeted proteomics studies, system-wide observations, and cross-species observational studies.

Responsive Emulsions for Sequential Multienzyme Cascades

Multienzyme cascade biocatalysis is an efficient synthetic process, avoiding the isolation/purification of intermediates and shifting the reaction equilibrium to the product side.. However, multienzyme systems are often limited by their incompatibility and cross-reactivity. Herein, we report a multi-responsive emulsion to proceed multienzyme reactions sequentially for high reactivity. The emulsion is achieved using a CO2 , pH, and thermo-responsive block copolymer as a stabilizer, allowing the on-demand control of emulsion morphology and phase composition. Applying this system to a three-step cascade reaction enables the individual optimal condition for each enzyme, and a high overall conversion (ca. 97 % of the calculated limit) is thereby obtained. Moreover, the multi-responsiveness of the emulsion allows the facile and separate yielding/recycling of products, polymers and active enzymes. Besides, the system could be scaled up with a good yield.

Extracting medications and associated adverse drug events using a natural language processing system combining knowledge base and deep learning

OBJECTIVE

Detecting adverse drug events (ADEs) and medications related information in clinical notes is important for both hospital medical care and medical research. We describe our clinical natural language processing (NLP) system to automatically extract medical concepts and relations related to ADEs and medications from clinical narratives. This work was part of the 2018 National NLP Clinical Challenges Shared Task and Workshop on Adverse Drug Events and Medication Extraction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The authors developed a hybrid clinical NLP system that employs a knowledge-based general clinical NLP system for medical concepts extraction, and a task-specific deep learning system for relations identification using attention-based bidirectional long short-term memory networks.

RESULTS

The systems were evaluated as part of the 2018 National NLP Clinical Challenges challenge, and our attention-based bidirectional long short-term memory networks based system obtained an F-measure of 0.9442 for relations identification task, ranking fifth at the challenge, and had <2% difference from the best system. Error analysis was also conducted targeting at figuring out the root causes and possible approaches for improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrate the generic approaches and the practice of connecting general purposed clinical NLP system to task-specific requirements with deep learning methods. Our results indicate that a well-designed hybrid NLP system is capable of ADE and medication-related information extraction, which can be used in real-world applications to support ADE-related researches and medical decisions.

Clinical trial cohort selection based on multi-level rule-based natural language processing system

OBJECTIVE

Identifying patients who meet selection criteria for clinical trials is typically challenging and time-consuming. In this article, we describe our clinical natural language processing (NLP) system to automatically assess patients' eligibility based on their longitudinal medical records. This work was part of the 2018 National NLP Clinical Challenges (n2c2) Shared-Task and Workshop on Cohort Selection for Clinical Trials.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The authors developed an integrated rule-based clinical NLP system which employs a generic rule-based framework plugged in with lexical-, syntactic- and meta-level, task-specific knowledge inputs. In addition, the authors also implemented and evaluated a general clinical NLP (cNLP) system which is built with the Unified Medical Language System and Unstructured Information Management Architecture.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The systems were evaluated as part of the 2018 n2c2-1 challenge, and authors' rule-based system obtained an F-measure of 0.9028, ranking fourth at the challenge and had less than 1% difference from the best system. While the general cNLP system didn't achieve performance as good as the rule-based system, it did establish its own advantages and potential in extracting clinical concepts.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that a well-designed rule-based clinical NLP system is capable of achieving good performance on cohort selection even with a small training data set. In addition, the investigation of a Unified Medical Language System-based general cNLP system suggests that a hybrid system combining these 2 approaches is promising to surpass the state-of-the-art performance.

Identification of autism spectrum disorder based on short-term spontaneous hemodynamic fluctuations using deep learning in a multi-layer neural network

OBJECTIVE

To classify children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typical development (TD) using short-term spontaneous hemodynamic fluctuations and to explore the abnormality of inferior frontal gyrus and temporal lobe in ASD.

METHODS

25 ASD children and 22 TD children were measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy located on the inferior frontal gyrus and temporal lobe. To extract features used to classify ASD and TD, a multi-layer neural network was applied, combining with a three-layer convolutional neural network, a layer of long and short-term memory network (LSTM) and a layer of LSTM with Attention mechanism. In order to shorten the time of data collection and get more information from limited samples, a sliding window with 3.5 s width was utilized after comparisons, and numerous short (3.5 s) fNIRS time series were then obtained and used as the input of the multi-layer neural network.

RESULTS

A good classification between ASD and TD was obtained with considerably high accuracy by using a multi-layer neural network in different brain regions, especially in the left temporal lobe, where sensitivity of 90.6% and specificity of 97.5% achieved.

CONCLUSIONS

The "CLAttention" multi-layer neural network has the potential to excavate more meaningful features to distinguish between ASD and TD. Moreover, the temporal lobe may be worth further study.

SIGNIFICANCE

The findings in this study may have implications for rapid diagnosis of children with ASD and provide a new perspective for future medical diagnosis.

Tailoring Particle-Enzyme Nanoconjugates for Biocatalysis at the Organic-Organic Interface

Nonaqueous Pickering emulsions (PEs) are a powerful platform for catalysis design, offering both a large interface contact and a preferable environment for water-sensitive synthesis. However, up to now, little progress has been made to incorporate insoluble enzymes into the nonaqueous system for biotransformation. Herein, we present biocatalytically active nonaqueous PEs, stabilized by particle-enzyme nanoconjugates, for the fast transesterification and esterification, and eventually for biodiesel synthesis. Our nanoconjugates are the hybrid biocatalysts tailor-made by loading hydrophilic Candida antarctica lipase B onto hydrophobic silica nanoparticles, resulting in not only catalytically active but highly amphiphilic particles for stabilization of a methanol-decane emulsion. The enzyme activity in these PEs is significantly enhanced, ca. 375-fold higher than in the nonaqueous biphasic control. Moreover, the PEs can be multiply reused without significant loss of enzyme performance. With this proof-of-concept, this system can be expanded for many advanced syntheses using different enzymes in the future.

[Discuss about Key Issues of Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry Evaluation]

The Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry is the most commonly used for measuring bone mineral density. This method involves core clinical functions, phantom and database. This article discusses the three key issues of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry evaluation, including core clinical functions, phantom and database. This article aims at helping manufacturers to scientifically carry out relevant processes during research and development and also manufacturers may refer to this article when they apply for registration.

The STING-IRF3 pathway is involved in lipotoxic injury of pancreatic β cells in type 2 diabetes

Lipotoxic injury of pancreatic β cells is an important pathological feature in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) can recognize its own DNA leaked into the cytoplasm from damaged mitochondria or nuclei of the host cell, thus activating its downstream factor interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), causing inflammation and apoptosis. The STING-IRF3 signaling pathway is closely related to glycolipid metabolism, but its relationship with the lipotoxicity of pancreatic β cells has rarely been reported. Here, we investigated the role of the STING-IRF3 signaling pathway in lipotoxicity-induced inflammation, apoptosis, and dysfunction of pancreatic β cells. We examined the activation of STING and IRF3 in islets of db/db mice and identified the role of the STING-IRF3 signaling pathway in palmitic acid (PA)-induced lipotoxic injury of INS-1, a rat insulinoma cell line. STING and phosphorylated IRF3 including downstream interferon-β were upregulated in islets of db/db mice and PA-induced INS-1 cells. Gene silencing of STING or IRF3 ameliorated PA-induced INS-1 cell inflammation and apoptosis, and reversed impaired insulin synthesis. Additionally, PA induced downregulation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase-AKT signaling pathway, and impaired high glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was reversed after knockdown of STING or IRF3. Our results suggest that activation of the STING-IRF3 pathway triggers inflammation and apoptosis of pancreatic β cells, leading to β-cell damage and dysfunction. Hence, inhibition of this signaling pathway may represent a novel approach for β-cell protection in T2DM.