Bone Marrow and Fetal Liver Radiation Chimeras

Targeting the chromatin structural changes of antitumor immunity

Epigenomic imbalance drives abnormal transcriptional processes, promoting the onset and progression of cancer. Although defective gene regulation generally affects carcinogenesis and tumor suppression networks, tumor immunogenicity and immune cells involved in antitumor responses may also be affected by epigenomic changes, which may have significant implications for the development and application of epigenetic therapy, cancer immunotherapy, and their combinations. Herein, we focus on the impact of epigenetic regulation on tumor immune cell function and the role of key abnormal epigenetic processes, DNA methylation, histone post-translational modification, and chromatin structure in tumor immunogenicity, and introduce these epigenetic research methods. We emphasize the value of small-molecule inhibitors of epigenetic modulators in enhancing antitumor immune responses and discuss the challenges of developing treatment plans that combine epigenetic therapy and immunotherapy through the complex interaction between cancer epigenetics and cancer immunology.

Generation of Bone Marrow Chimeras

Bone marrow chimeras are widely used in immunological studies, to dissect the contributions of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells in immune cell development or functions, to quantify the impact of a given mutation, or in preclinical studies for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Here we describe a set of procedures for the generation of bone marrow chimeras.

N-acetylcysteine attenuates atherosclerosis progression in aging LDL receptor deficient mice with preserved M2 macrophages and increased CD146

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Inflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The effect of antioxidants on atherosclerosis is inconsistent, and sometimes controversial. We aimed to test the hypothesis that attenuation of atherosclerosis by N-acetylcysteine (NAC) depends on NAC treatment timing and duration.

METHODS

Male LDL receptor deficient (LDLR^-/-) mice were fed a normal diet (ND) and divided into controls (on ND for 24 months), models 1-2 (at age of 9 months, starting NAC treatment for 3 or 6 months), and model 3 (at age of 18 months, starting NAC treatment for 6 months). To determine if hyperlipidemia compromises NAC treatment outcome, mice were fed a high fat diet (HFD) starting at age of 6 weeks and treated with NAC starting at 9 months of age for 6 months.

RESULTS

NAC treatment for 6 months, not for 3 months, significantly attenuated atherosclerosis progression, but did not reverse atherosclerotic lesions, in aging LDLR^-/- mice on ND. NAC had no effect on atherosclerotic lesions in mice on HFD. NAC treatment significantly decreased aortic ROS production, and the levels of inflammatory cytokines in serum and aorta of aging LDLR^-/- mice with increased CD146 level. Bone marrow transplantation study with GFP-positive bone marrow cells showed that NAC treatment preserved M2 population and M2 polarization in the aorta of LDLR^-/- mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Early and adequate NAC treatment could effectively attenuate inflammation and atherosclerosis progression with preserved M2 population and increased CD146 level in aging LDLR^-/- mice without extreme hyperlipidemia.

Stem cell based therapies for liver diseases: Current status and perspectives

The clinical applications of stem cells have attracted wide attention for years. Stem cells could be used to treat many diseases, such as nervous diseases, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, liver diseases, and cancer. There have been many reports about the applications of stem cells in liver diseases, although there are still many problems. Stem cell based therapies will emerge as a promising option for the treatment of liver diseases.