Breaching bacterial biofilm with neutrophil α-mannosidase

Analysis of the Differentially Expressed Proteins in Donkey Milk in Different Lactation Stages

Proteins in donkey milk (DM) have special biological activities. However, the bioactive proteins and their expression regulation in donkey milk are still unclear. Thus, the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in DM in different lactation stages were first investigated by data-independent acquisition (DIA) proteomics. A total of 805 proteins were characterized in DM. The composition and content of milk proteins varied with the lactation stage. A total of 445 candidate DEPs related to biological processes and molecular functions were identified between mature milk and colostrum. The 219 down-regulated DEPs were mainly related to complement and coagulation cascades, staphylococcus aureus infection, systemic lupus erythematosus, prion diseases, AGE-RAGE signaling pathways in diabetic complications, and pertussis. The 226 up-regulated DEPs were mainly involved in metabolic pathways related to nutrient (fat, carbohydrate, nucleic acid, and vitamin) metabolism. Some other DEPs in milk from the lactation period of 30 to 180 days also had activities such as promoting cell proliferation, promoting antioxidant, immunoregulation, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects, and enhancing skin moisture. DM can be used as a nutritional substitute for infants, as well as for cosmetic and medical purposes. Our results provide important insights for understanding the bioactive protein differences in DM in different lactation stages.

Identification of MAN1B1 as a Novel Marker for Bladder Cancer and Its Relationship with Immune Cell Infiltration

Bladder cancer (BC) is a common malignant tumor of the genitourinary system, and there are not enough tumor biomarker tests that are specific, trustworthy, and noninvasive for the diagnosis and prognosis. The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical relevance, prognostic value, and immunological signature of Mannosidase alpha class 1B member 1(MAN1B1) expressions in BC. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases provided the raw information that was used to analyze the expression of MAN1B1 in tumor patients. Then, a statistical study was carried out to assess the correlations of MAN1B1 expression with the clinical characteristics and the prognosis of BC. The correlation between MAN1B1 expression and tumor immune infiltration was explored via single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). In human cancers, MAN1B1 expressions were shown to be generally higher in tumors than in normal specimens. We confirmed that MAN1B1 expression was distinctly increased in BC specimens compared with nontumor specimens. BC specimens with advanced T stage and M stage showed a higher level of MAN1B1. Survival analysis revealed that the overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI) of patients with high MAN1B1 expressions were distinctly worse than those with low MAN1B1 expressions. Importantly, multivariate analyses only confirmed that MAN1B1 expression was an independent prognostic factor for OS of the patients with BC. Furthermore, we observed that MAN1B1 expression level was significantly correlated with abundance of multiple immune infiltrates including Th2 cells, macrophages, Th1 cells, neutrophils, T helper cells, and NK CD56 bright cells. In conjunction with all of these findings, elevated MAN1B1 expression is associated with a poor prognosis and a higher number of immune cells in BC. MAN1B1 has the potential to act as a biomarker that can evaluate both the patient's prognosis and the degree of immune infiltration in BC.