Endolysosome Localization of ERα Is Involved in the Protective Effect of 17α-Estradiol against HIV-1 gp120-Induced Neuronal Injury

Neurotoxic HIV-1 viral proteins contribute to the development of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), the prevalence of which remains high (30-50%) with no effective treatment available. Estrogen is a known neuroprotective agent; however, the diverse mechanisms of estrogen action on the different types of estrogen receptors is not completely understood. In this study, we determined the extent to which and mechanisms by which 17α-estradiol (17αE2), a natural less-feminizing estrogen, offers neuroprotection against HIV-1 gp120-induced neuronal injury. Endolysosomes are important for neuronal function, and endolysosomal dysfunction contributes to HAND and other neurodegenerative disorders. In hippocampal neurons, estrogen receptor α (ERα) is localized to endolysosomes and 17αE2 acidifies endolysosomes. ERα knockdown or overexpressing an ERα mutant that is deficient in endolysosome localization prevents 17αE2-induced endolysosome acidification. Furthermore, 17αE2-induced increases in dendritic spine density depend on endolysosome localization of ERα. Pretreatment with 17αE2 protected against HIV-1 gp120-induced endolysosome deacidification and reductions in dendritic spines; such protective effects depended on endolysosome localization of ERα. In male HIV-1 transgenic rats, we show that 17αE2 treatment prevents the development of enlarged endolysosomes and reduction in dendritic spines. Our findings demonstrate a novel endolysosome-dependent pathway that governs the ERα-mediated neuroprotective actions of 17αE2, findings that might lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies against HAND.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Extranuclear presence of membrane-bound estrogen receptors (ERs) underlie the enhancing effect of estrogen on cognition and synaptic function. The estrogen receptor subtype ERα is present on endolysosomes and plays a critical role in the enhancing effects of 17αE2 on endolysosomes and dendritic spines. These findings provide novel insight into the neuroprotective actions of estrogen. Furthermore, 17αE2 protected against HIV-1 gp120-induced endolysosome dysfunction and reductions in dendritic spines, and these protective effects of 17αE2 were mediated via endolysosome localization of ERα. Such findings provide a rationale for developing 17αE2 as a therapeutic strategy against HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.

The heat shock response and small molecule regulators

The heat shock response (HSR) is a highly conserved cellular pathway that is responsible for stress relief and the refolding of denatured proteins [1]. When a host cell is exposed to conditions such as heat shock, ischemia, or toxic substances, heat shock factor-1 (HSF-1), a transcription factor, activates the genes that encode for the heat shock proteins (Hsps), which are a family of proteins that work alongside other chaperones to relieve stress and refold proteins that have been denatured (Burdon, 1986) [2]. Along with the refolding of denatured proteins, Hsps facilitate the removal of misfolded proteins by escorting them to degradation pathways, thereby preventing the accumulation of misfolded proteins [3]. Research has indicated that many pathological conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, and aging have a negative impact on HSR function and are commonly associated with misfolded protein aggregation [4,5]. Studies indicate an interplay between mitochondrial homeostasis and HSF-1 levels can impact stress resistance, proteostasis, and malignant cell growth, which further support the role of Hsps in pathological and metabolic functions [6]. On the other hand, Hsp activation by specific small molecules can induce the heat shock response, which can afford neuroprotection and other benefits [7]. This review will focus on the modulation of Hsps and the HSR as therapeutic options to treat these conditions.

Metabolic correlates of late midlife cognitive outcomes: findings from the 1946 British Birth Cohort

Investigating associations between metabolites and late midlife cognitive function could reveal potential markers and mechanisms relevant to early dementia. Here, we systematically explored the metabolic correlates of cognitive outcomes measured across the seventh decade of life, while untangling influencing life course factors. Using levels of 1019 metabolites profiled by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (age 60-64), we evaluated relationships between metabolites and cognitive outcomes in the British 1946 Birth Cohort (N = 1740). We additionally conducted pathway and network analyses to allow for greater insight into potential mechanisms, and sequentially adjusted for life course factors across four models, including sex and blood collection (Model 1), Model 1 + body mass index and lipid medication (Model 2), Model 2 + social factors and childhood cognition (Model 3) and Model 3 + lifestyle influences (Model 4). After adjusting for multiple tests, 155 metabolites, 10 pathways and 5 network modules were associated with cognitive outcomes. Of the 155, 35 metabolites were highly connected in their network module (termed 'hub' metabolites), presenting as promising marker candidates. Notably, we report relationships between a module comprised of acylcarnitines and processing speed which remained robust to life course adjustment, revealing palmitoylcarnitine (C16) as a hub (Model 4: β = -0.10, 95% confidence interval = -0.15 to -0.052, P = 5.99 × 10-5). Most associations were sensitive to adjustment for social factors and childhood cognition; in the final model, four metabolites remained after multiple testing correction, and 80 at P < 0.05. Two modules demonstrated associations that were partly or largely attenuated by life course factors: one enriched in modified nucleosides and amino acids (overall attenuation = 39.2-55.5%), and another in vitamin A and C metabolites (overall attenuation = 68.6-92.6%). Our other findings, including a module enriched in sphingolipid pathways, were entirely explained by life course factors, particularly childhood cognition and education. Using a large birth cohort study with information across the life course, we highlighted potential metabolic mechanisms associated with cognitive function in late midlife, suggesting marker candidates and life course relationships for further study.

Progress and prospect of stem cell therapy for diabetic erectile dysfunction

Diabetic erectile dysfunction (DED) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus, significantly impairing the quality of life of patients. The conventional clinical treatment still has limitations. Stem cells (SCs), as a type of cells with multidirectional or directional differentiation capability and sustainable self-renewal potential, are widely used in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. With the continuous update of regenerative medicine theory and the success of animal experiments, SCs as a treatment for male erectile dysfunction, especially DED, have attracted widespread attention because of curable possibility. This review focus on the current progress in the clinical application of SC treatment for DED. Moreover, we summarize the development prospects of SCs in the field of DMED therapy.

The novel role of the aquaporin water channel in lycopene preventing DEHP-induced renal ionic homeostasis disturbance in mice

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), an extensively used plasticizer, can cause environmental pollution and organ injury. Lycopene (LYC) is a natural carotene that has the potential to prevent chronic diseases. To reveal the effect of DEHP and/or LYC on the kidney, male mice were treated with LYC (5 mg/kg) and/or DEHP (500 mg/kg or 1000 mg/kg) by gavage for 28 days. The study indicated that DEHP caused glomerular atrophy, tubular expansion, disappearance of the mitochondrial membrane, and cristae rupture. DEHP exposure can increase the expression of aquaporin (AQP) subunits and the activity of Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-ATPase and decrease the activity of Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase, which results in ion disorder. However, LYC can relieve kidney injury by regulating the activity of ATPase, the expression of ATPase subunits, and AQP subunit expression. The results indicated that AQP was a target for LYC in antagonizing the disturbance of DEHP-induced renal damage.

Markovian Weighted Ensemble Milestoning (M-WEM): Long-Time Kinetics from Short Trajectories

We introduce a rare-event sampling scheme, named Markovian Weighted Ensemble Milestoning (M-WEM), which inlays a weighted ensemble framework within a Markovian milestoning theory to efficiently calculate thermodynamic and kinetic properties of long-time-scale biomolecular processes from short atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. M-WEM is tested on the Müller-Brown potential model, the conformational switching in alanine dipeptide, and the millisecond time-scale protein-ligand unbinding in a trypsin-benzamidine complex. Not only can M-WEM predict the kinetics of these processes with quantitative accuracy but it also allows for a scheme to reconstruct a multidimensional free-energy landscape along additional degrees of freedom, which are not part of the milestoning progress coordinate. For the ligand-receptor system, the experimental residence time, association and dissociation kinetics, and binding free energy could be reproduced using M-WEM within a simulation time of a few hundreds of nanoseconds, which is a fraction of the computational cost of other currently available methods, and close to 4 orders of magnitude less than the experimental residence time. Due to the high accuracy and low computational cost, the M-WEM approach can find potential applications in kinetics and free-energy-based computational drug design.

A Compendium of Information on the Lysosome

For a long time, lysosomes were considered as mere waste bags for cellular constituents. Thankfully, studies carried out in the past 15 years were brimming with elegant and crucial breakthroughs in lysosome research, uncovering their complex roles as nutrient sensors and characterizing them as crucial multifaceted signaling organelles. This review presents the scientific knowledge on lysosome physiology and functions, starting with their discovery and reviewing up to date ground-breaking discoveries highlighting their heterogeneous functions as well as pending questions that remain to be answered. We also review the roles of lysosomes in anti-cancer drug resistance and how they undergo a series of molecular and functional changes during malignant transformation which lead to tumor aggression, angiogenesis, and metastases. Finally, we discuss the strategy of targeting lysosomes in cancer which could lead to the development of new and effective targeted therapies.

From natural products to HDAC inhibitors: An overview of drug discovery and design strategy

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a key role in the homeostasis of protein acetylation in histones and have recently emerged as a therapeutic target for numerous diseases. The inhibition of HDACs may block angiogenesis, arrest cell growth, and lead to differentiation and apoptosis in tumour cells. Thus, HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) have received increasing attention and many of which are developed from natural sources. In the past few decades, naturally occurring HDACi have been identified to have potent anticancer activities, some of which have demonstrated promising therapeutic effects on haematological malignancies. In this review, we summarized the discovery and modification of HDAC inhibitors from natural sources, novel drug design that uses natural products as parent nuclei, and dual target design strategies that combine HDAC with non-HDAC targets.

Polyphenols inhibiting MAPK signalling pathway mediated oxidative stress and inflammation in depression

Depression is one of the most debilitating psychiatric disorders affecting people of all ages worldwide. Despite significant heterogeneity between studies, increased inflammation and oxidative stress have been found in depression. Oxidative stress and inflammation are involved in the pathogenesis of depression. In the current review, we discussed the markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in depressive disorder and the association between these markers and the antidepressant treatment. The role of natural polyphenols in regulating various cell signaling pathways related to oxidative stress and inflammation has also been reviewed. The inhibitory effect of polyphenols on several cell signaling pathways reveals the vital role of polyphenols in the prevention and treatment of depressive disorder. Understanding the mechanism of polyphenols implicated in the regulation of cell signaling pathways is essential for the identification of lead compounds and the development of novel effective compounds for the prevention and treatment of depressive disorder.

Pulling the Strings of the Tumor Microenvironment

Macrophages are in the spotlight of cancer immunotherapy research because they exert a wide spectrum of protumorigenic functions. In this issue, Pfirschke and colleagues report that macrophage targeting pulls the strings of the tumor microenvironment, ultimately leading to a coordinated antitumorigenic immune reaction in a lung carcinoma mouse model.See related article by Pfirschke et al., p. 40 (4).

Phosphatidylserine liposomes reduce inflammatory response, mycobacterial viability and HIV replication in coinfected human macrophages

Chronic immune activation is the key pathogenetic event of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection. In the present study, we have assessed the therapeutic value of phosphatidylserine-liposome (PS-L) in an in vitro model of MTB/HIV coinfection. Our results show that PS-L reduce NF-κB activation and the downstream production of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in BCG-infected macrophages and of TNF-α and IL-1β in MTB-infected and in MTB/HIV-coinfected macrophages. Importantly, a significant reduction of intracellular MTB viability and HIV replication were also observed. These results support the further exploitation of PS-L as a host directed therapy for MTB/HIV coinfection.

Design and Synthesis of Hybrid Compounds as Epigenetic Modifiers

Epigenetic modifiers acting through polypharmacology mechanisms are promising compounds with which to treat several infectious diseases. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes, mainly class I, and extra-terminal bromodomains (BET) are involved in viral replication and the host response. In the present study, 10 compounds were designed, assisted by molecular docking, to act against HDAC class I and bromodomain-4 (BRD4). All the compounds were synthesized and characterized by analytical methods. Enzymatic assays were performed using HDAC-1, -4, and -11 and BRD4. Compounds (2-10) inhibited both HDAC class I, mainly HDAC-1 and -2, and reduced BRD4 activity. For HDAC-1, the inhibitory effect ranged from 8 to 95%, and for HDAC-2, these values ranged from 10 to 91%. Compounds (2-10) decreased the BRD4 activity by up to 25%. The multi-target effects of these compounds show desirable properties that could help to combat viral infections by acting through epigenetic mechanisms.

Peptide-Functionalized Dendrimer Nanocarriers for Targeted Microdystrophin Gene Delivery

Gene therapy is a good alternative for determined congenital disorders; however, there are numerous limitations for gene delivery in vivo including targeted cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking, and transport through the nuclear membrane. Here, a modified G5 polyamidoamine (G5 PAMAM) dendrimer-DNA complex was developed, which will allow cell-specific targeting to skeletal muscle cells and transport the DNA through the intracellular machinery and the nuclear membrane. The G5 PAMAM nanocarrier was modified with a skeletal muscle-targeting peptide (SMTP), a DLC8-binding peptide (DBP) for intracellular transport, and a nuclear localization signaling peptide (NLS) for nuclear uptake, and polyplexed with plasmid DNA containing the GFP-tagged microdystrophin (µDys) gene. The delivery of µDys has been considered as a therapeutic modality for patients suffering from a debilitating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) disorder. The nanocarrier-peptide-DNA polyplexes were prepared with different charge ratios and characterized for stability, size, surface charge, and cytotoxicity. Using the optimized nanocarrier polyplexes, the transfection efficiency in vitro was determined by demonstrating the expression of the GFP and the µDys protein using fluorescence and Western blotting studies, respectively. Protein expression in vivo was determined by injecting an optimal nanocarrier polyplex formulation to Duchenne model mice, mdx^4Cv. Ultimately, these nanocarrier polyplexes will allow targeted delivery of the microdystrophin gene to skeletal muscle cells and result in improved muscle function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients.

: conjugation with a CO-releasing unit greatly enhances the anti-inflammatory activity of itaconates

Endogenous itaconate as well as the gasotransmitter CO have recently been described as powerful anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating agents. However, each of the two agents comes along with a major drawback: Whereas itaconates only exert beneficial effects at high concentrations above 100 μM, the uncontrolled application of CO has strong toxic effects. To solve these problems, we designed hybrid prodrugs, i.e. itaconates that are conjugated with an esterase-triggered CO-releasing acyloxycyclohexadiene-Fe(CO)₃ unit (ItaCORMs). Here, we describe the synthesis of different ItaCORMs and demonstrate their anti-inflammatory potency in cellular assays of primary murine immune cells in the low μmolar range (<10 μM). Thus, ItaCORMs represent a promising new class of hybrid compounds with high clinical potential as anti-inflammatory agents.

Recent contributions of quinolines to antimalarial and anticancer drug discovery research

Quinoline, a privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry, has always been associated with a multitude of biological activities. Especially in antimalarial and anticancer research, quinoline played (and still plays) a central role, giving rise to the development of an array of quinoline-containing pharmaceuticals in these therapeutic areas. However, both diseases still affect millions of people every year, pointing to the necessity of new therapies. Quinolines have a long-standing history as antimalarial agents, but established quinoline-containing antimalarial drugs are now facing widespread resistance of the Plasmodium parasite. Nevertheless, as evidenced by a massive number of recent literature contributions, they are still of great value for future developments in this field. On the other hand, the number of currently approved anticancer drugs containing a quinoline scaffold are limited, but a strong increase and interest in quinoline compounds as potential anticancer agents can be seen in the last few years. In this review, a literature overview of recent contributions made by quinoline-containing compounds as potent antimalarial or anticancer agents is provided, covering publications between 2018 and 2020.

Engineered Solid Lipid Nanoparticles and Nanostructured Lipid Carriers as New Generations of Blood-Brain Barrier Transmitters

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is considered as the most challenging barrier in brain drug delivery. Indeed, there is a definite link between the BBB integrity defects and central nervous systems (CNS) disorders, such as neurodegenerative diseases and brain cancers, increasing concerns in the contemporary era because of the inability of most therapeutic approaches. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) have already been identified as having several advantages in facilitating the transportation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents across the BBB. This review first explains BBB functions and its challenges in brain drug delivery, followed by a brief description of nanoparticle-based drug delivery for brain diseases. A detailed presentation of recent progressions in optimizing SLNs and NLCs for controlled release drug delivery, gene therapy, targeted drug delivery, and diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases and brain cancers is approached. Finally, the problems, challenges, and future perspectives in optimizing these carriers for potential clinical application were described briefly.

Quaternary ammonium substituted pullulan accelerates wound healing and disinfects Staphylococcus aureus infected wounds in mouse through an atypical 'non-pore forming' pathway of bacterial membrane disruption

The emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens has fueled the search for alternatives to the existing line of antibiotics that can eradicate pathogens without inducing resistance development. Here, we report the accelerated wound healing and disinfection potential of a non-amphiphilic quaternized fungal exopolysaccharide, pullulan, without resistance generation in pathogens. The quaternary ammonium substituted pullulan (CP) derivatives showed excellent bactericidal activity against both Gram negative (MBC₉₀ = 1.5 μg mL^-1) and Gram positive (MBC₉₀ = 0.25 μg mL^-1) bacteria at very low concentrations without showing any toxicity towards mammalian cells. A combined approach of atomistic molecular dynamics simulation and experimental assays revealed that CP exerts a membrane directed bactericidal action through an atypical "non-pore forming" pathway which is not yet established for any known antibacterial polysaccharides. This involves an increase in membrane roughness, disorder among anionic lipid tails, formation of localized anionic lipid clusters and membrane depolarization, finally leading to physical disruption of the membrane integrity. Moreover, CP also displayed biofilm eradication abilities and emerged as an excellent therapeutic material for disinfection and healing of infected wounds. The present work shows the potential of exploiting polysaccharides as next-generation broad-spectrum antimicrobials and provides a platform for further development of rationally designed pullulan-based functional materials for biomedical applications.

Properties of FDA-approved small molecule protein kinase inhibitors: A 2022 update

Owing to the dysregulation of protein kinase activity in many diseases including cancer, this enzyme family has become one of the most important drug targets in the 21st century. There are 68 FDA-approved therapeutic agents that target about two dozen different protein kinases and six of these drugs were approved in 2021. Of the approved drugs, twelve target protein-serine/threonine protein kinases, four are directed against dual specificity protein kinases (MEK1/2), thirteen block nonreceptor protein-tyrosine kinases, and 39 target receptor protein-tyrosine kinases. The data indicate that 58 of these drugs are prescribed for the treatment of neoplasms (49 against solid tumors including breast, lung, and colon, five against nonsolid tumors such as leukemias, and four against both solid and nonsolid tumors: acalabrutinib, ibrutinib, imatinib, and midostaurin). Three drugs (baricitinib, tofacitinib, upadacitinib) are used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. Of the 68 approved drugs, eighteen are used in the treatment of multiple diseases. The following six drugs received FDA approval in 2021 for the treatment of these specified diseases: belumosudil (graft vs. host disease), infigratinib (cholangiocarcinomas), mobocertinib and tepotinib (specific forms of non-small cell lung cancer), tivozanib (renal cell carcinoma), and trilaciclib (to decrease chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression). All of the FDA-approved drugs are orally effective with the exception of netarsudil, temsirolimus, and the newly approved trilaciclib. This review summarizes the physicochemical properties of all 68 FDA-approved small molecule protein kinase inhibitors including lipophilic efficiency and ligand efficiency.

Rheum tanguticum Alleviates Cognitive Impairment in APP/PS1 Mice by Regulating Drug-Responsive Bacteria and Their Corresponding Microbial Metabolites

Drugs targeting intestinal bacteria have shown great efficacy for alleviating symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and microbial metabolites are important messengers. Our previous work indicated that Rheum tanguticum effectively improved cognitive function and reshaped the gut microbial homeostasis in AD rats. However, its therapeutic mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, this study aimed to elaborate the mechanisms of rhubarb for the treatment of AD by identifying effective metabolites associated with rhubarb-responsive bacteria. The results found that rhubarb reduced hippocampal inflammation and neuronal damage in APP/PS1 transgenic (Tg) mice. 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomic analysis revealed that gut microbiota and their metabolism in Tg mice were disturbed in an age-dependent manner. Rhubarb-responsive bacteria were further identified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) sequencing. Four different metabolites reversed by rhubarb were found in the position of the important nodes on rhubarb-responsive bacteria and their corresponding metabolites combined with pathological indicators co-network. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated o-tyrosine not only inhibited the viabilities of primary neurons as well as BV-2 cells, but also increased the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide. In the end, the results suggest that rhubarb ameliorates cognitive impairment in Tg mice through decreasing the abundance of o-tyrosine in the gut owing to the regulation of rhubarb-responsive bacteria. Our study provides a promising strategy for elaborating therapeutic mechanisms of bacteria-targeted drugs for AD.

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Risk Factors, Molecular Alterations, Immunology and Peptide Vaccines

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) arises from the epithelial lining of the oral cavity, hypopharynx, oropharynx, and larynx. There are several potential risk factors that cause the generation of HNSCC, including cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, betel quid chewing, inadequate nutrition, poor oral hygiene, HPV and Epstein–Barr virus, and Candida albicans infections. HNSCC has causative links to both environmental factors and genetic mutations, with the latter playing a more critical role in cancer progression. These molecular changes to epithelial cells include the inactivation of cancer suppressor genes and proto-oncogenes overexpression, resulting in tumour cell proliferation and distant metastasis. HNSCC patients have impaired dendritic cell (DC) and natural killer (NK) cell functions, increased production of higher immune-suppressive molecules, loss of regulatory T cells and co-stimulatory molecules and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class Ι molecules, lower number of lymphocyte subsets, and a poor response to antigen-presenting cells. At present, the standard treatment modalities for HNSCC patients include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and combinatorial therapy. Despite advances in the development of novel treatment modalities over the last few decades, survival rates of HNSCC patients have not increased. To establish effective immunotherapies, a greater understanding of interactions between the immune system and HNSCC is required, and there is a particular need to develop novel therapeutic options. A therapeutic cancer vaccine has been proposed as a promising method to improve outcome by inducing a powerful adaptive immune response that leads to cancer cell elimination. Compared with other vaccines, peptide cancer vaccines are more robust and specific. In the past few years, there have been remarkable achievements in peptide-based vaccines for HNSCC patients. Here, we summarize the latest molecular alterations in HNSCC, explore the immune response to HNSCC, and discuss the latest developments in peptide-based cancer vaccine strategies. This review highlights areas for valuable future research focusing on peptide-based cancer vaccines.

Fully synthetic Mincle-dependent self-adjuvanting cancer vaccines elicit robust humoral and T cell-dependent immune responses and protect mice from tumor development

A new strategy based on a macrophage-inducible C-type lectin (Mincle) agonist was established to construct synthetic cancer vaccines. Using sialyl-Tn (STn) as a model antigen, four conjugates with the Mincle agonist as a built-in adjuvant were designed and synthesized through a facile and efficient method. All conjugates could induce BMDMs to produce inflammatory cytokines in a Mincle-dependent manner and were found to elicit robust humoral and T cell-dependent immune responses alone in mice. The corresponding antibodies could recognize, bind and exhibit complement-dependent cytotoxicity to STn-positive cancer cells, leading to tumor cell lysis. Moreover, all conjugates could effectively inhibit tumor growth and prolong the mice survival time in vivo, with therapeutic effects better than STn-CRM197/Al. Notably, compared to conventional glycoprotein conjugate vaccines, these fully synthetic conjugate vaccines do not cause "epitope suppression." Mincle ligands thus hold great potential as a platform for the development of new vaccine carriers with self-adjuvanting properties for cancer treatment. Preliminary structure-activity relationship analysis shows that a vaccine containing one STn antigen carried by vizantin exhibits the best efficacy, providing support for further optimization and additional investigation into Mincle agonists as the carrier of self-adjuvanting cancer vaccines.

Research progress on the mechanism of ferroptosis and its clinical application

Ferroptosis is a mode of cell death dependent on iron ions, which is mainly induced by the decrease of the biological activity of glutathione peroxidase or the accumulation of lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species (ROS). It is significantly different from autophagy and other forms of cell death in terms of cell morphology and biochemistry. The exact mechanisms of ferroptosis are not clear. More and more studies have shown that various tumor diseases and nervous system diseases are closely related to ferroptosis. The occurrence and development of related diseases can be tolerated by stimulating or inhibiting the occurrence of ferroptosis. Therefore, ferroptosis has occupied a very important position in recent years. This article reviews the discovery process, characteristics, mechanisms, inducers, inhibitors of ferroptosis and its related clinical applications to lay a foundation for follow-up researchers to study ferroptosis and provide some reference value.

HER3 Is an Actionable Target in Advanced Prostate Cancer

It has been recognized for decades that ERBB signaling is important in prostate cancer, but targeting ERBB receptors as a therapeutic strategy for prostate cancer has been ineffective clinically. However, we show here that membranous HER3 protein is commonly highly expressed in lethal prostate cancer, associating with reduced time to castration resistance (CR) and survival. Multiplex immunofluorescence indicated that the HER3 ligand NRG1 is detectable primarily in tumor-infiltrating myelomonocytic cells in human prostate cancer; this observation was confirmed using single-cell RNA sequencing of human prostate cancer biopsies and murine transgenic prostate cancer models. In castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patient-derived xenograft organoids with high HER3 expression as well as mouse prostate cancer organoids, recombinant NRG1 enhanced proliferation and survival. Supernatant from murine bone marrow-derived macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells promoted murine prostate cancer organoid growth in vitro, which could be reversed by a neutralizing anti-NRG1 antibody and ERBB inhibition. Targeting HER3, especially with the HER3-directed antibody-drug conjugate U3-1402, exhibited antitumor activity against HER3-expressing prostate cancer. Overall, these data indicate that HER3 is commonly overexpressed in lethal prostate cancer and can be activated by NRG1 secreted by myelomonocytic cells in the tumor microenvironment, supporting HER3-targeted therapeutic strategies for treating HER3-expressing advanced CRPC. SIGNIFICANCE: HER3 is an actionable target in prostate cancer, especially with anti-HER3 immunoconjugates, and targeting HER3 warrants clinical evaluation in prospective trials.

How does excess phenylalanine affect the packing density and fluidity of a lipid membrane?

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive error of phenylalanine (Phe) metabolism, where untreated Phe becomes cytotoxic. Previous experiments found that excess Phe decreases the packing density and increases the fluidity and permeability of a lipid membrane. It was proposed that Phe forms cytotoxic nanoscopic amyloid-like fibrils. In another study, the Phe fibrils were not visible near the lipid membrane. So, what leads to the deleterious effect of Phe on the lipid membrane? We put forward a molecular mechanism for the observed effect of excess Phe on the lipid membrane using all-atom molecular dynamics simulation. This study suggests that Phe monomers spontaneously intercalate into the membrane and form small hydrogen-bonded clusters, some of which locally perturb the membrane. These local effects result in an overall reduction in the membrane packing density, enhancement of membrane fluidity, and an increase of water permeability, observed in experiments. The present study does not observe any effect of the nanoscopic fibrillar structure of Phe on the membrane. This study, therefore, provides alternative insights into the excess Phe cytotoxicity in PKU disease.

New Roles of Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors in the Treatment of Breast Cancer

ABSTRACT

Since the proof of concept of synthetic lethality between poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibition and loss of BRCA1/2 homologous recombination (HR) function in preclinical models and early phase clinical trials, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) are increasing part of standard-of-care treatment for advanced breast cancers with BRCA gene mutations. The field has also recently seen benefits for PARPi in early breast cancer in those with germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic mutations, and signals that synthetic lethal affects may occur in tumors with deficiencies in HR caused by germline, somatic, or epigenetic dysregulation of a number of HR genes. Despite the evidence of the synthetic lethal effects of PARPi, they are not always effective in HR defective cancers, and as they become part of standard of care in breast cancer, the study of prevalence of distinct mechanisms of resistance to PARPi and cross-resistance with other DNA-damaging agents such as platinum in breast cancer will be important and may inform therapy choices.

Immune Memory in Aging: a Wide Perspective Covering Microbiota, Brain, Metabolism, and Epigenetics

Non-specific innate and antigen-specific adaptive immunological memories are vital evolutionary adaptations that confer long-lasting protection against a wide range of pathogens. Adaptive memory is established by memory T and B lymphocytes following the recognition of an antigen. On the other hand, innate immune memory, also called trained immunity, is imprinted in innate cells such as macrophages and natural killer cells through epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming. However, these mechanisms of memory generation and maintenance are compromised as organisms age. Almost all immune cell types, both mature cells and their progenitors, go through age-related changes concerning numbers and functions. The aging immune system renders the elderly highly susceptible to infections and incapable of mounting a proper immune response upon vaccinations. Besides the increased infectious burden, older individuals also have heightened risks of metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases, which have an immunological component. This review discusses how immune function, particularly the establishment and maintenance of innate and adaptive immunological memory, regulates and is regulated by epigenetics, metabolic processes, gut microbiota, and the central nervous system throughout life, with a focus on old age. We explain in-depth how epigenetics and cellular metabolism impact immune cell function and contribute or resist the aging process. Microbiota is intimately linked with the immune system of the human host, and therefore, plays an important role in immunological memory during both homeostasis and aging. The brain, which is not an immune-isolated organ despite former opinion, interacts with the peripheral immune cells, and the aging of both systems influences the health of each other. With all these in mind, we aimed to present a comprehensive view of the aging immune system and its consequences, especially in terms of immunological memory. The review also details the mechanisms of promising anti-aging interventions and highlights a few, namely, caloric restriction, physical exercise, metformin, and resveratrol, that impact multiple facets of the aging process, including the regulation of innate and adaptive immune memory. We propose that understanding aging as a complex phenomenon, with the immune system at the center role interacting with all the other tissues and systems, would allow for more effective anti-aging strategies.

Secretases Related to Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease whose prevalence increases with age. An increasing number of findings suggest that abnormalities in the metabolism of amyloid precursor protein (APP), a single transmembrane aspartic protein that is cleaved by β- and γ-secretases to produce β-amyloid protein (Aβ), are a major pathological feature of AD. In recent years, a large number of studies have been conducted on the APP processing pathways and the role of secretion. This paper provides a summary of the involvement of secretases in the processing of APP and the potential drug targets that could provide new directions for AD therapy.

Zinc enzymes in medicinal chemistry

In humans, more than three hundred diverse enzymes that require zinc as an essential cofactor have been identified. These zinc enzymes have demonstrated different and important physiological functions and some of them have been considered as valuable therapeutic targets for drug discovery. Indeed, many drugs targeting a few zinc enzymes have been marketed to treat a variety of diseases. This review discusses drug discovery and drug development based on a dozen of zinc enzymes, including their biological functions and pathogenic roles, their best in class inhibitors (and clinical trial data when available), coordination and binding modes of representative inhibitors, and their implications for further drug design. The opportunities and challenges in developing zinc enzyme inhibitors for the treatment of human disorders are highlighted, too.

Probing In Silico the Benzimidazole Privileged Scaffold for the Development of Drug-like Anti-RSV Agents

Targeting the fusion (F) protein has been recognized as a fruitful strategy for the development of anti-RSV agents. Despite the considerable efforts so far put into the development of RSV F protein inhibitors, the discovery of adequate therapeutics for the treatment of RSV infections is still awaiting a positive breakthrough. Several benzimidazole-containing derivatives have been discovered and evaluated in clinical trials, with only some of them being endowed with a promising pharmacokinetic profile. In this context, we applied a computational study based on a careful analysis of a number of X-ray crystallographic data of the RSV F protein, in the presence of different clinical candidates. A deepen comparison of the related electrostatic features and H-bonding motifs allowed us to pave the way for the following molecular dynamic simulation of JNJ-53718678 and then to perform docking studies of the in-house library of potent benzimidazole-containing anti-RSV agents. The results revealed not only the deep flexibility of the biological target but also the most relevant and recurring key contacts supporting the benzimidazole F protein inhibitor ability. Among them, several hydrophobic interactions and π-π stacking involving F140 and F488 proved to be mandatory, as well as H-bonding to D486. Specific requirements turning in RSV F protein binding ability were also explored thanks to structure-based pharmacophore analysis. Along with this, in silico prediction of absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME) properties, and also of possible off-target events was performed. The results highlighted once more that the benzimidazole ring represents a privileged scaffold whose properties deserve to be further investigated for the rational design of novel and orally bioavailable anti-RSV agents.

Transition metal catalysed direct construction of 2-pyridone scaffolds through C-H bond functionalizations

Substituted 2-pyridone is one of the most frequent scaffolds among nitrogen-containing bioactive natural products, pharmaceuticals and organic materials. Besides the classical syntheses to construct this class of molecules, retrosynthetically more straightforward approaches based on transition metal catalysed C-H bond functionalizations have been explored recently. In this review, we have summarized the recent progress in the direct transition metal catalysed construction of substituted 2-pyridone scaffolds via site-selective C-H bond functionalizations.

H2O2-Responsive amphiphilic polymer with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) for DOX delivery and tumor therapy

Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems (DDSs) based on amphiphilic polymers have attracted much attention. In this study, we reported an innovative H₂O₂-responsive amphiphilic polymer (TBP), bearing a H₂O₂-sensitive phenylboronic ester, AIE fluorophore tetraphenylethene (TPE) hydrophobic, and polyethylene glycol hydrophilic (PEG) moieties. TBP could self-assemble into micelles with an encapsulation efficiency as high as 74.9% for doxorubicin (DOX) in aqueous solution. In the presence of H₂O₂, TBP micelles was decomposed by oxidation, hydrolysis and rearrangement, leading to almost 80% DOX release from TBP@DOX micelles. TBP and the corresponding degradation products were biocompatible, while TBP@DOX micelles only displayed obvious toxicity toward cancer cells. Drug delivery process was clearly monitored by confocal laser scanning microscopic (CLSM) and flow cytometry (FCM) analysis. Moreover, in vivo anticancer study showed that TBP@DOX micelles were accumulated in tumor region of nude mice and effectively inhibited tumor growth. The results suggested that the reported H₂O₂-responsive amphiphilic polymer displayed great potential in drug delivery and tumor therapy.

Comparative study on the efficacy and exposure of molecular target agents in non-small cell lung cancer PDX models with driver genetic alterations

Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) can adequately reflect clinical drug efficacy. However, the methods for evaluating drug efficacy are not fully established. We selected five non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) PDXs with genetic alterations from established PDXs and the corresponding molecular targeted therapy was administered orally for 21 consecutive days. Genetic analysis, measurement of drug concentrations in blood and tumors using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry, and analysis of drug distribution in tumors using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry were performed. Fifteen (20%) PDXs were established using samples collected from 76 NSCLC patients with genetic alterations. The genetic alterations observed in original patients were largely maintained in PDXs. We compared the drug efficacy in original patients and PDX models; the efficacies against certain PDXs correlated with the clinical effects, while those against the others did not. We determined blood and intratumor concentrations in the PDX model, but both concentrations were low, and no evident correlation with the drug efficacy could be observed. The intratumoral spatial distribution of the drugs was both homogeneous and heterogeneous for each drug, and the distribution was independent of the expression of the target protein. The evaluation of drug efficacy in PDXs enabled partial reproduction of the therapeutic effect in original patients. A more detailed analysis of systemic and intratumoral pharmacokinetics may help clarify the mode of action of drugs. Further development of evaluation methods and indices to improve the prediction accuracy of clinical efficacy is warranted.

Curcumin and Its Analogs as Potential Epigenetic Modulators: Prevention of Diabetes and Its Complications

BACKGROUND

The pathobiology of diabetes and associated complications has been widely researched in various countries, but effective prevention and treatment methods are still insufficient. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins caused by an absence of insulin or insulin resistance, which mediates an increase of oxidative stress, release of inflammatory factors, and macro- or micro-circulation dysfunctions, ultimately developing into diverse complications.

SUMMARY

In the last decade through pathogenesis research, epigenetics has been found to affect metabolic diseases. Particularly, DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and miRNAs promote or inhibit diabetes and complications by regulating the expression of related factors. Curcumin has a wide range of beneficial pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, anticancer, anti-diabetes, anti-rheumatism, and increased immunity. Key Messages: In this review, we discuss the effects of curcumin and analogs on diabetes and associated complications through epigenetics, and we summarize the preclinical and clinical researches for curcumin and its analogs in terms of management of diabetes and associated complications, which may provide an insight into the development of targeted therapy of endocrine diseases.

Echinacoside Suppresses the Progression of Breast Cancer by Downregulating the Expression of miR-4306 and miR-4508

The main treatment of breast cancer includes surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and molecular targeted therapy, but the outcomes remain unsatisfactory. Previous studies demonstrated that echinacoside, microRNA (miRNA/miR)-4306 and miR-4508 were associated with lymph node metastasis, chemoresistance and self-renewal capability in breast cancer, but in-depth studies on the underlying mechanism of their anticancer effects have not been performed to date. In order to identify the role of miR-4306 and miR-4508, and the mechanism of the antitumor effect of echinacoside in breast cancer, the present study first examined the expression of miR-4306 and miR-4508 in breast cancer tissues to examine their possible role in the development of breast cancer, then evaluated the effect of echinacoside on the expression of miR-4306 and miR-4508 on the viability, apoptosis, cell cycle, migration, and invasion abilities of breast cancer cells to explore the anti-cancer effect of echinacoside and the involvement of miR-4306 and miR-4508. Finally, the breast cancer cells and mice bearing breast cancer xenografts were treated with echinacoside and inhibitors of miR-4508 or miR-4306 to confirm their role on the anticancer effect of echinacoside. The results showed that miR-4306 and miR-4508 were decreased in breast cancer tissues and cells. Echinacoside inhibited cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and promoted the apoptosis of breast cancer cells by downregulating the expression of miR-4306 and miR-4508. In conclusion, this is the first study to show the association between echinacoside and miRNAs in cancer. The present study elucidates an underlying molecular mechanism of the antitumor effect of echinacoside on breast cancer, and thus may contribute to preventive and therapeutic strategies for breast cancer.

Gills full-length transcriptomic analysis of osmoregulatory adaptive responses to salinity stress in Coilia nasus

Salinity changes will threaten the survival of aquatic animals. However, osmoregulatory mechanism of Coilia nasus has not been explored. Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing was performed in C. nasus gills during hypotonic and hyperosmotic stress. 23.8 G clean reads and 27,659 full-length non-redundant sequences were generated via ONT sequencing. Alternative splicing, alternative polyadenylation, transcript factors, and long noncoding RNA were identified. During hypotonic stress, 58 up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 36 down-regulated DEGs were identified. During hypertonic stress, 429 up-regulated DEGs and 480 down-regulated DEGs were identified. These DEGs were associated with metabolism, cell cycle, and transport. The analysis of these DEGs indicated that carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism were activated to provide energy for cell cycle and transport during hypotonic and hypertonic stress. Cell cycle was also promoted during hypotonic and hypertonic stress. To resist hypotonic stress, polyamines metabolism, ion absorption and water transport from extra-cellular to intra-cellular were promoted, while ion secretion was inhibited. During hypotonic stress, glutamine, alanine, proline, and inositol metabolism were activated. Ion absorption and water transport from intra-cellular to extra-cellular were inhibited. Moreover, different transcript isoforms generated from the same gene performed different expression patterns during hypotonic and hypertonic stress. These findings will be beneficial to understand osmoregulatory mechanism of Coilia nasus.

Inhibition of Histone Deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) as a therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease: A review (2010-2020)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, which is characterized by the primary risk factor, age. Several attempts have been made to treat AD, while most of them end in failure. However, with the deepening study of pathogenesis of AD, the expression of HDAC6 in the hippocampus, which plays a major role of the memory formation, is becoming worth of notice. Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), a remarkable lesion in AD, has been characterized in association with the abnormal accumulation of hyperphosphorylated Tau, which is mainly caused by the high expression of HDAC6. On the other hand, the hypoacetylated tubulin induced by HDAC6 is also fatal for the neuronal transport, which is the key impact of the formation of axons and dendrites. Overall, the significantly increased expression of HDAC6 in brain regions is deleterious to neuron survival in AD patients. Based on the above research, the inhibition of HDAC6 seems to be a potential therapeutic method for the treatment of AD. Up to now, various types of HDAC6 inhibitors have been discovered. This review mainly analyzes the HDAC6 inhibitors reported amid 2010-2020 in terms of their structure, selectivity and pharmacological impact towards AD. And we aim at facilitating the design and development of better HDAC6 inhibitors in the future.

Immunometabolism modulation, a new trick of edible and medicinal plants in cancer treatment

The edible and medicinal plants (EMPs) are becoming an abundant source for cancer prevention and treatment since the natural and healthy trend for modern human beings. Currently, there are more than one hundred species of EMPs widely used and listed by the national health commission of China, and most of them indicate immune or metabolic regulation potential in cancer treatment with numerous studies over the past two decades. In the present review, we focused on the metabolic influence in immunocytes and tumor microenvironment, including immune response, immunosuppressive factors and cancer cells, discussing the immunometabolic potential of EMPs in cancer treatment. There are more than five hundred references collected and analyzed through retrieving pharmacological studies deposited in PubMed by medical subject headings and the corresponding names derived from pharmacopoeia of China as a sole criterion. Finally, the immunometabolism modulation of EMPs was sketch out implying an immunometabolic control in cancer treatment.

The link between atopic dermatitis and asthma- immunological imbalance and beyond

Atopic diseases are multifactorial chronic disturbances which may evolve one into another and have overlapping pathogenetic mechanisms. Atopic dermatitis is in most cases the first step towards the development of the atopic march and represents a major socio-economic burden in the industrialized countries. The treatment of atopic diseases is often long-lasting and in some cases with lower effectiveness than expected.

In order to prevent the development of the atopic march, the links between the atopic diseases have to be understood. The aim of this review is to present some major points outlining the link between atopic dermatitis and asthma, through a research in the medical literature from recent years.

Stratifying patient populations according to the clinical phenotype of their disease and according to specific measurable values (biomarkers) can help to establish the main etiopathogenetic mechanisms of the disease in these populations. This will add predictive value for the evolution of the disease, and will allow the use and research of more targeted therapy in order to stop this evolution and comorbidities.

Integrative analysis from multi-center studies identities a consensus machine learning-derived lncRNA signature for stage II/III colorectal cancer

Background

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently emerged as essential biomarkers of cancer progression. However, studies are limited regarding lncRNAs correlated with recurrence and fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) in stage II/III colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

1640 stage II/III CRC patients were enrolled from 15 independent datasets and a clinical in-house cohort. 10 prevalent machine learning algorithms were collected and then combined into 76 combinations. 109 published transcriptome signatures were also retrieved. qRT-PCR assay was performed to verify our model.

Findings

We comprehensively identified 27 stably recurrence-related lncRNAs from multi-center cohorts. According to these lncRNAs, a consensus machine learning-derived lncRNA signature (CMDLncS) that exhibited best power for predicting recurrence risk was determined from 76 kinds of algorithm combinations. A high CMDLncS indicated unfavorable recurrence and mortality rates. CMDLncS not only could work independently of common clinical traits (e.g., AJCC stage) and molecular features (e.g., microsatellite state, KRAS mutation), but also presented dramatically better performance than these variables. qRT-PCR results from 173 patients further verified our in-silico findings and assessed its feasible in different centers. Comparisons of CMDLncS with 109 published transcriptome signatures further demonstrated its predictive superiority. Additionally, patients with high CMDLncS benefited more from fluorouracil-based ACT and were characterized by activation of stromal and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, while patients with low CMDLncS suggested the sensitivity to bevacizumab and displayed enhanced immune activation.

Interpretation

CMDLncS provides an attractive platform for identifying patient at high risk of recurrence and could optimize precision treatment to improve the clinical outcomes in stage II/III CRC.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81,972,663); Henan Province Young and Middle‐Aged Health Science and Technology Innovation Talent Project (YXKC2020037); and Henan Provincial Health Commission Joint Youth Project (SB201902014).

Inhibition of class I HDACs preserves hair follicle inductivity in postnatal dermal cells

Induction of new hair follicles (HFs) may be an ultimate treatment goal for alopecia; however, functional cells with HF inductivity must be expanded in bulk for clinical use. In vitro culture conditions are completely different from the in vivo microenvironment. Although fetal and postnatal dermal cells (DCs) have the potential to induce HFs, they rapidly lose this HF inductivity during culture, accompanied by a drastic change in gene expression. This suggests that epigenetic regulation may be involved. Of the various histone deacetylases (HDACs), Class I HDACs are noteworthy because they are ubiquitously expressed and have the strongest deacetylase activity. This study revealed that DCs from postnatal mice rapidly lose HF inductivity and that this reduction is accompanied by a significant decrease in histone H3 acetylation. However, MS-275, an inhibitor of class I HDACs, preserves HF inductivity in DCs during culture, increasing alkaline phosphatase activity and upregulating HF inductive genes such as BMP4, HEY1, and WIF1. In addition, the inhibition of class I HDACs activates the Wnt signaling pathway, the most well-described molecular pathway in HF development, via increased histone H3 acetylation within the promoter region of the Wnt transcription factor LEF1. Our results suggest that class I HDACs could be a potential target for the neogenesis of HFs.

MicroRNA miR-23b-3p promotes osteosarcoma by targeting ventricular zone expressed PH domain-containing 1 (VEPH1)/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) pathway

Increasing evidence suggests that dysregulated miRNA expression can lead to the tumorigenesis of osteosarcoma (OS). Nevertheless, the potential role of miR-23b-3p in OS is unclear and remains to be explored. Microarray analysis was performed to identify key genes involved in OS. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to examine miR-23b-3p expression, ventricular zone expressed PH domain-containing 1 (VEPH1) transcript (as well as other transcripts as indicated), and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway-related protein expression. A luciferase reporter gene assay was performed to confirm the regulatory relationship between VEPH1 mRNA and miR-23b-3p. Cell viability was evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, cell growth was assessed using the bromodeoxyuridine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and cell migration was tested using a wound healing assay. We found significant upregulation of miR-23b-3p in OS, which prominently promoted the viability, proliferation, and migration of OS cells. Additionally, VEPH1 was found to be a target of miR-23b-3p and its expression was decreased in OS. Lastly, VEPH1 alleviated the promotion effect of miR-23b-3p on the malignancy phenotypes of OS cells via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Thus, miR-23b-3p augmented the viability, proliferation, and migration of OS cells by directly targeting and downregulating VEPH1, which inhibited the activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Bovine mammary alveolar MAC-T cells afford a tool for studies of bovine milk exosomes in drug delivery

Bovine milk exosomes (BMEs) have attracted attention as vehicles for delivering RNA therapeutics. BMEs originate in mammary alveolar cells. Here, we determined whether bovine mammary alveolar MAC-T cells afford a tool to assess RNA delivery by BMEs. MAC-T cells exosomes (MAC-T BMEs) and BMEs were harvested by differential ultracentrifugation. Exosome size, morphology, microRNA content and marker proteins were assessed using nanoparticle tracking analysis, transmission electron microscopy, real-time PCR and immunoblot analysis, respectively. MAC-T cells were genetically engineered to secrete MAC-T BMEs endogenously labeled with a near-infrared fluorescent protein and tissue distribution was compared to fluorophore-labeled BMEs following intravenous injection in C57BL/6 mice. Morphology and size were similar in MAC-T BMEs and BMEs (94 ± 5.8 nm and 101 ± 4.2 nm, p > 0.05). Both preparations expressed miR-320a, miR-200c and let-7a-5p (positive controls) but not miR-1 (negative control). Exosome marker proteins, CD9, CD63, CD81 and Tsg101, were detected in both MAC-T BMEs and BMEs. Distribution in mouse tissues was similar for both preparations, with liver being the primary accumulation site. Collectively, MAC-T BMEs afford a tool for BMEs-based RNA delivery studies.

Conditioned Medium from Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Restored Oxidative Stress-Related Impaired Osteogenic Differentiation

Oxidative stress from high levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been linked to various bone diseases. Previous studies indicate that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) secrete bioactive factors (conditioned medium (MSC-CM)) that have antioxidant effects. However, the antioxidant role of MSC-CM on osteogenesis has not been fully studied. We aimed to identify antioxidant proteins in MSC-CM using mass spectrometry-based proteomics and to explore their effects on osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSC) exposed to oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Our analysis revealed that MSC-CM is comprised of antioxidant proteins that are involved in several biological processes, including negative regulation of apoptosis and positive regulation of cell proliferation. Then, hBMSC exposed to H₂O₂ were treated with MSC-CM, and the effects on their osteogenic differentiation were evaluated. MSC-CM restored H₂O₂-induced damage to hBMSC by increasing the antioxidant enzyme-SOD production and the mRNA expression level of the anti-apoptotic BCL-2. A decrease in ROS production and cellular apoptosis was also shown. MSC-CM also modulated mRNA expression levels of osteogenesis-related genes, runt-related transcription factor 2, collagen type I, bone morphogenic protein 2, and osteopontin. Furthermore, collagen type I protein secretion, alkaline phosphatase activity, and in vitro mineralization were increased. These results indicate that MSC-CM contains several proteins with antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties that restored the impaired hBMSC osteogenic differentiation associated with oxidative stress.

Data Centric Molecular Analysis and Evaluation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Therapeutics Using Machine Intelligence-Based Tools

PURPOSE

Computational approaches have been used at different stages of drug development with the purpose of decreasing the time and cost of conventional experimental procedures. Lately, techniques mainly developed and applied in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), have been transferred to different application domains such as biomedicine.

METHODS

In this study, we conducted an investigative analysis via data-driven evaluation of potential hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapeutics in the context of AI-assisted drug discovery/repurposing. First, we discussed basic concepts, computational approaches, databases, modeling approaches, and featurization techniques in drug discovery/repurposing. In the analysis part, we automatically integrated HCC-related biological entities such as genes/proteins, pathways, phenotypes, drugs/compounds, and other diseases with similar implications, and represented these heterogeneous relationships via a knowledge graph using the CROssBAR system.

RESULTS

Following the system-level evaluation and selection of critical genes/proteins and pathways to target, our deep learning-based drug/compound-target protein interaction predictors DEEPScreen and MDeePred have been employed for predicting new bioactive drugs and compounds for these critical targets. Finally, we embedded ligands of selected HCC-associated proteins which had a significant enrichment with the CROssBAR system into a 2-D space to identify and repurpose small molecule inhibitors as potential drug candidates based on their molecular similarities to known HCC drugs.

CONCLUSIONS

We expect that these series of data-driven analyses can be used as a roadmap to propose early-stage potential inhibitors (from database-scale sets of compounds) to both HCC and other complex diseases, which may subsequently be analyzed with more targeted in silico and experimental approaches.

Association of pigment epithelium derived factor expression with cancer progression and prognosis: a meta-analysis study

BACKGROUND

Pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF) is a secreted protein that strongly suppresses angiogenesis and directly inhibits cancer cells proliferation. The differential expression of PEDF has been observed in multiple types of human tumors. However, it is unclear as to how PEDF expression is associated with cancer progression and if PEDF could serve as a prognostic marker for cancer patients.

METHODS

We performed a comprehensive search for the studies on PEDF expression in 14 top-ranked types of solid tumor cancer with the highest incidence. A systemic approach was used to screen for qualified studies and to extract data. Meta-analysis was performed to investigate if PEDF expression is associated with the TNM staging, tumor size, lymph node invasion, distal metastasis and pathological grade of tumor in a pan-cancer manner. A Kaplan-Meier curve was plotted with the digitally-reconstituted patient survival data to study the effect of PEDF expression on the prognosis of cancer patients.

RESULTS

A total of nine studies were selected, reviewed and analyzed. Meta-analysis suggested that decreased PEDF protein expression was associated with higher TNM staging (OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.61-2.81), larger tumor size (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.1-1.84), larger possibility of lymph node invasion (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.26-2.22) and higher pathological grade (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.13). No correlation was found between PEDF expression and tumor distal metastasis, gender or age. In addition, low PEDF protein level in tumor tissue is correlated with shorter overall survival (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Low PEDF protein expression in cancer is significantly associated with more advanced cancer progression and significantly poorer survival. The differential clinical outcome among patients with various PEDF expression suggests its prognostic value.

Genomic and transcriptomic characterization of heterogeneous immune subgroups of microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancers

Background

Colorectal cancers (CRCs) with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) are hypermutated tumors and are generally regarded as immunogenic. However, their heterogeneous immune responses and underlying molecular characteristics remain largely unexplained.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 73 primary MSI-H CRC tissues to characterize heterogeneous immune subgroups. Based on combined tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) immunoscore and tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) activity, MSI-H CRCs were classified into immune-high, immune-intermediate, and immune-low subgroups. Of these, the immune-high and immune-low subgroups were further analyzed using whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing.

Results

We found considerable variations in immune parameters between MSI-H CRCs, and immune subgrouping of MSI-H CRCs was performed accordingly. The TIL densities and TLS activities of immune-low MSI-H CRCs were comparable to those of an immune-low or immune-intermediate subgroup of microsatellite-stable CRCs. There were remarkable differences between immune-high and immune-low MSI-H CRCs, including their pathological features (medullary vs mucinous), genomic alterations (tyrosine kinase fusions vs KRAS mutations), and activated signaling pathways (immune-related vs Wnt and Notch signaling), whereas no significant differences were found in tumor mutational burden (TMB) and neoantigen load. The immune-low MSI-H CRCs were subdivided by the consensus molecular subtype (CMS1 vs CMS3) with different gene expression signatures (mesenchymal/stem-like vs epithelial/goblet-like), suggesting distinct immune evasion mechanisms. Angiogenesis and CD200 were identified as potential therapeutic targets in immune-low CMS1 and CMS3 MSI-H CRCs, respectively.

Conclusions

MSI-H CRCs are immunologically heterogeneous, regardless of TMB. The unusual immune-low MSI-H CRCs are characterized by mucinous histology, KRAS mutations, and Wnt/Notch activation, and can be further divided into distinct gene expression subtypes, including CMS4-like CMS1 and CMS3. Our data provide novel insights into precise immunotherapeutic strategies for subtypes of MSI-H tumors.

Therapeutic Mechanism and Key Alkaloids of Uncaria rhynchophylla in Alzheimer’s Disease From the Perspective of Pathophysiological Processes

Presently, there is a lack of effective disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Uncaria rhynchophylla (UR) and its predominant active phytochemicals alkaloids have been studied to treat AD. This study used a novel network pharmacology strategy to identify UR alkaloids against AD from the perspective of AD pathophysiological processes and identified the key alkaloids for specific pathological process. The analysis identified 10 alkaloids from UR based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) that corresponded to 127 targets correlated with amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology, tau pathology and Alzheimer disease pathway. Based on the number of targets correlated with AD pathophysiological processes, angustoline, angustidine, corynoxine and isocorynoxeine are highly likely to become key phytochemicals in AD treatment. Among the 127 targets, JUN, STAT3, MAPK3, CCND1, MMP2, MAPK8, GSK3B, JAK3, LCK, CCR5, CDK5 and GRIN2B were identified as core targets. Based on the pathological process of AD, angustoline, angustidine and isocorynoxeine were identified as the key UR alkaloids regulating Aβ production and corynoxine, isocorynoxeine, dihydrocorynatheine, isorhynchophylline and hirsutine were identified as key alkaloids that regulate tau phosphorylation. The findings of this study contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the key alkaloids and mechanisms of UR in the treatment of AD, as well as provide candidate compounds for drug research and development for specific AD pathological processes.

Targeting mutated GTPase KRAS in tumor therapies

Kirsten rat sarcoma virus oncogene (KRAS) mutation accounts for approximately 85% of RAS-driven cancers, and participates in multiple signaling pathways and mediates cell proliferation, differentiation and metabolism. KRAS has been considered as an "undruggable" target due to the lack of effective direct inhibitors, although high frequency of KRAS mutations have been identified in multiple carcinomas in the past decades. Encouragingly, the KRAS^G12C inhibitor AMG510 (sotorasib), which has been approved for treating NSCLC and CRC recently, makes directly targeting KRAS the most promising strategy for cancer therapy. To better understand the current state of KRAS inhibitors, this review summarizes the biological functions of KRAS, the structure-activity relationship studies of the small-molecule inhibitors that directly target KRAS, and highlights the therapeutic agents with improved selectivity, bioavailability and physicochemical properties. Furthermore, the combined medication that can enhance efficacy and overcome drug resistance of KRAS covalent inhibitors is also reviewed.