The top 100 most-cited papers in incisional hernia: a bibliometric analysis from 2003 to 2023

PURPOSE

Incisional hernia (IH) is one of the most common complications after abdominal surgeries and may bring great suffering to patients. This study aims to evaluate the global trends in IH research from 2003 to 2023 and visualize the frontiers using bibliometric analysis.

METHODS

The literature search was conducted on the Web of Science for IH studies published from 2003 to 2023 and sorted by citation frequency. The top 100 most-cited articles were analyzed by the annual publication number, prolific countries and institutions, influential author and journal, and the number of citations through descriptive statistics and visualization.

RESULTS

The top paper was cited 1075 times and the median number of citations was 146. All studies were published between 2003 and 2019 and the most prolific year was 2003 with 14 articles. Jeekel J and Rosen M were regarded as the most productive authors with ten articles each and acquired 2738 and 2391 citations, respectively. The top three institutions with the most productive articles were Erasmus Mc, Carolinas Med Ctr, and Univ Utah, while the top three countries were the United States, Netherlands and Germany. The most frequent keyword was "incisional hernia" with 55 occurrences, followed by "mesh repair", "randomized controlled trial", and "polypropylene".

CONCLUSION

The 100 most-cited papers related to IH were published predominantly by USA and European countries, with randomized controlled trial (RCT) and observational study designs, addressing topics related to risk factors, complications, mesh repair, and mesh components.

The causal association between body fat distribution and risk of abdominal wall hernia: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

PURPOSE

Obesity and a high body mass index (BMI) are considered as risk factors for abdominal wall hernia (AWH). However, anthropometric measures of body fat distribution (BFD) seem to be better indicators in the hernia field. This Mendelian randomization analysis aimed to generate more robust evidence for the impact of waist circumstance (WC), body, trunk, arm, and leg fat percentages (BFP, TFP, AFP, LFP) on AWH.

METHODS

A univariable MR design was employed and the summary statistics allowing for assessment were obtained from the genome-wide association studies (GWASs). An inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was applied as the primary analysis, and the odds ratio value was used to evaluate the causal relationship between BFD and AWH.

RESULTS

None of the MR-Egger regression intercepts deviated from null, indicating no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy (p > 0.05). The Cochran Q test showed heterogeneity between the genetic IVs for WC (p = 0.005; p = 0.005), TFP (p < 0.001; p < 0.001), AFP-L (p = 0.016; p = 0.015), LFP-R (p = 0.012; p = 0.009), and LFP-L (p < 0.001; p < 0.001). Taking the IVW random-effects model as gold standard, each standard deviation increment in genetically determined WC, BFP, TFP, AFP-R, AFP-L, LFP-R, and LFP-L raised the risk of AWH by 70.9%, 70.7%, 56.5%, 69.7%, 78.3%, 87.7%, and 72.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study proves the causal relationship between AWH and BFD, attracting more attention from BMI to BFD. It provides evidence-based medical evidence that healthy figure management can prevent AWH.

Tree growth and density enhanced, while diversity and spatial clustering reduced soil mycorrhizal C and N sequestration: Strong interaction with soil properties in northeastern China

In this paper, the effects of species diversity, tree growth, and spatial clustering on mycorrhizal carbon and nitrogen sequestration and the interaction of soil physicochemical properties in Northeast China were investigated. Based on 720 10 m ∗ 10 m plots in Harbin Experimental Forest Farm of Northeast Forestry University, we determined mycorrhizal biomarkers of easily extractable Glomalin-related soil protein (EEG) and total Glomalin-related soil protein (TG). Four plant diversity indices, seven structural metrics, and five soil properties were also measured. We found that: 1) The low tree diversity plots had 1.08-1.23 times higher TG, EEG, TG-N/TN (proportion of N in TG to TN), and TG-C/SOC (proportion of C in TG to SOC) than the high plots. 2) Tree diameter was negatively correlated with EEG and TG, but positively correlated with the EEG and TG contribution to soil TN and SOC. Soil EEG and TG were positively correlated with under-branch height and tree density. W (Uniform Angle Index, higher W indicates more clustering of tree distribution in the plot) was negatively correlated with the above four ratios and positively correlated with EEG/TG. 3) pH was the most powerful explainer for the GRSP variations (6.8 %, strongest negative association with GRSP/TN, R2 > 0.13), followed by soil electrical conductance (6.5 %, positive relation with TG, p < 0.05), AP (3.2 %). 4) Plant diversity mainly affected GRSP traits through the interaction with soils (0.07), tree growth and density directly increased TG, TG-N/TN, and TG-C/SOC, while tree spatial distribution directly reduced TG-N/TN. Our finding highlighted the important effects of tree diversity and forest structural traits on GRSP amount, carbon sequestration, and nutrient retentions, and could support glomalin-related forest soil management of temperate forests in the high-latitude northern hemisphere.

Risk factors for incisional hernia after gastrointestinal surgeries in non-tumor patients

PURPOSE

Incisional hernia (IH) is a common secondary ventral hernia after abdominal incisions and there is still little reliable evidence to predict and prevent IH. This study aimed to estimate risk factors of its incidence, especially concentrating on blood results.

METHODS

96 patients received midline laparotomy for gastrointestinal benign diseases and suffered from IH were enrolled in the IH group. A control group of 192 patients were randomly selected from patients underwent midline laparotomy for gastrointestinal benign diseases without IH.

RESULTS

Patients in the IH group exhibited higher age (P < 0.001), BMI (P < 0.001), hernia history (P = 0.001) and laparotomy history (P < 0.001). Rate of coronary heart disease (P = 0.046), hypertension (P < 0.001), diabetes (P = 0.008), incisional infection (P = 0.004) and emergency surgery (P = 0.041) were also higher in the IH group. Patients with IH had lower levels of Hb (P = 0.002), TP (P = 0.013), ALB (P < 0.001), A/G (P = 0.019), PA (P < 0.001), HDL-C (P = 0.008) and ApoA1 (P = 0.005). Meanwhile, patients in the control group bore lower levels of LDH (P = 0.008), GLU (P = 0.007), BUN (P = 0.048), UA (P = 0.021), TG (P = 0.011), TG/HDL-C (P = 0.002), TC/HDL-C (P = 0.013), ApoB/ApoA1 (P = 0.001) and Lp(a) (P = 0.001). A multivariate logistic regression revealed that high BMI, laparotomy history, incisional infection, decreased PA, elevated levels of UA, Lp(a) and ApoB/ApoA1 were independent risk factors of IH.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to reveal the relationship between IH and serum biochemical levels, and give a prediction through the nomograph model. These results will help surgeons identify high-risk patients, and take measures to prevent IH during the perioperative period.

Deep Kernel Principal Component Analysis for multi-level feature learning

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and its nonlinear extension Kernel PCA (KPCA) are widely used across science and industry for data analysis and dimensionality reduction. Modern deep learning tools have achieved great empirical success, but a framework for deep principal component analysis is still lacking. Here we develop a deep kernel PCA methodology (DKPCA) to extract multiple levels of the most informative components of the data. Our scheme can effectively identify new hierarchical variables, called deep principal components, capturing the main characteristics of high-dimensional data through a simple and interpretable numerical optimization. We couple the principal components of multiple KPCA levels, theoretically showing that DKPCA creates both forward and backward dependency across levels, which has not been explored in kernel methods and yet is crucial to extract more informative features. Various experimental evaluations on multiple data types show that DKPCA finds more efficient and disentangled representations with higher explained variance in fewer principal components, compared to the shallow KPCA. We demonstrate that our method allows for effective hierarchical data exploration, with the ability to separate the key generative factors of the input data both for large datasets and when few training samples are available. Overall, DKPCA can facilitate the extraction of useful patterns from high-dimensional data by learning more informative features organized in different levels, giving diversified aspects to explore the variation factors in the data, while maintaining a simple mathematical formulation.

Metformin Antagonizes Radiotherapy-Induced Anti-Tumor Effects via Inhibition of cGAS-STING Pathway Mediated Immune Responses

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Radiotherapy induced anti-tumor effects depend on both direct tumor cell death caused by radiation and immune activation mediated by cGAS-STING pathway. Metformin (MTF), which could augment the tumoricidal efficiency of radiation, is indicated to be a radiosensitizer by basic research. However, several large prospective clinical trials proved otherwise. In present study, we intend to interrogate the effects of MTF on radiotherapy-induced anti-tumor immune responses and try to explain the inconsistent outcomings of radiotherapy combined with MTF in basic research and clinical practice.

MATERIALS/METHODS

To explore the effects of MTF on radiotherapy induced anti-tumor effects, tumor models were established using E0771, B16F10 and LLC cell lines in both immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice. To investigate the composition and function of immune cells in tumor microenvironments, single-cell transcriptome sequencing of CD45+ cells sorted from tumor microenvironments were carried out, and flow cytometry and multiple immunofluorescence analysis were then performed for validation. To reveal the possible mechanisms, tumor cells were subjected to radiotherapy in the presence or absence of MTF in vitro, and RNA-sequencing was then employed followed by subsequent validation with western blotting, real-time qPCR and flow cytometry.

RESULTS

We found that systematic administration of MTF could significantly inhibit radiotherapy-induced anti-tumor effects in immunocompetent mouse models. Single cell sequencing of CD45+ cells sorted from tumor microenvironments and further validation showed that administration of MTF dramatically attenuated the infiltration and cytotoxic capacity of CD8+ T cells after radiotherapy. cGAS-STING pathway in tumor cells was required for maximum efficiency of radiotherapy, while MTF curbed cGAS-STING pathway after radiotherapy in a dose-dependent pattern by enhancing autophagy and reducing cytoplasmic mitochondrial DNA accumulation, which contributed to compromised anti-tumor effects.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicated that MTF could antagonize radiotherapy-mediated anti-tumor effects by inhibiting the activation of cGAS-STING pathway and subsequent immune responses, which may partially explain the unsatisfied outcomes of radiotherapy combined with MTF in clinical practices. Since the anti-tumor effects of radiotherapy rely not only on the tumor-killing efficiency of radiation but also on systematic immune responses, our findings suggest that cautions are needed when MTF is administrated with radiotherapy in clinical practice.

Effects of overfeeding on liver lipid metabolism in mule ducks based on transcriptomics and metabolomics

1. In this study, transcriptomics and metabolomics were used to analyse changes in gene expression and metabolites in the liver of 70-d-old mule ducks after 10 and 20 d of continuous overfeeding.2. In the free-feeding group, 995 differentially expressed genes and 51 metabolites (VIP>1, P<0.05) were detected in the early stage, and 3,448 differentially expressed genes and 55 metabolites (VIP>1, P<0.05) were detected in the later stage. There were 775 differentially expressed genes and 47 metabolites (VIP>1, P<0.05) detected in the early stage of the overfeeding group, and 6,719 differentially expressed genes and 57 metabolites (VIP>1, P<0.05) detected in the later stage.3. There were no significant differences between the early stage in the overfeeding and free-feeding groups at the transcriptional and metabolic levels. Oleic acid and palmitic acid synthesis increased in the early stage of the overfeeding and free-feeding groups, however, these were inhibited in the late stage. Fatty acid oxidation and β-oxidation pathways were inhibited and insulin resistance was enhanced significantly in the late overfeeding stage.4. In the early stage, the digestion and absorption of fat in the overfeeding and free-feeding groups were enhanced. In the later stage, the ability to store triglyceride in the overfeeding group was greater than in the free-feeding group.5. The expression of nuclear factor κB (NFκB), a key inflammatory factor, was inhibited in the late stage of overfeeding, while arachidonic acid (AA), a metabolite with anti-inflammatory properties, increased in the late stage of overfeeding to inhibit the inflammatory effects caused by excessive lipid accumulation. These results add to the understanding of the mechanism of production of fatty liver in mule ducks and facilitate the development of treatments for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Low Dimensional Trajectory Hypothesis is True: DNNs Can Be Trained in Tiny Subspaces

Deep neural networks (DNNs) usually contain massive parameters, but there is redundancy such that it is guessed that they could be trained in low-dimensional subspaces. In this paper, we propose a Dynamic Linear Dimensionality Reduction (DLDR) based on the low-dimensional properties of the training trajectory. The reduction method is efficient, supported by comprehensive experiments: optimizing DNNs in 40-dimensional spaces can achieve comparable performance as regular training over thousands or even millions of parameters. Since there are only a few variables to optimize, we develop an efficient quasi-Newton-based algorithm, obtain robustness to label noise, and improve the performance of well-trained models, which are three follow-up experiments that can show the advantages of finding such low-dimensional subspaces. The code is released (Pytorch: https://github.com/nblt/DLDR and Mindspore: https://gitee.com/mindspore/docs/tree/r1.6/docs/sample_code/dimension_reduce_training).

[The surveillance analysis of the adverse events following immunization of the domestic 13-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine in Zhejiang Province]

To evaluate the safety of the domestic 13-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine-tetanus toxoid protein (PCV13-TT) after its licensure. The adverse event following immunization (AEFI) and the vaccination data of PCV13-TT in Zhejiang province from July 2020 to October 2021 were collected from national adverse event following immunization surveillance system and Zhejiang provincial immunization information system. Descriptive epidemiological method was used for this analysis. From July 2020 to October 2021, 302 317 doses of PCV13-TT were administered in children under 6 years old in Zhejiang Province and 636 AEFI case reports were received, with a reporting rate of 21.04 per 10 000 doses. Of these AEFI cases, 97.17% were mild vaccine product-related reaction (20.54 per 10 000 doses) and 95.44% occurred in the 0-1 d after vaccination (20.08 per 10 000 doses). The most common clinical diagnoses of AEFI included fever (224 cases), redness (204 cases), and induration (190 cases), while allergic rash (11 cases) was the most common diagnosis among the abnormal reactions. In conclusion,the present results bolstered that the domestic PCV13-TT was generally well tolerated in children under 6 years old in Zhejiang Province.

Toward Deep Adaptive Hinging Hyperplanes

The adaptive hinging hyperplane (AHH) model is a popular piecewise linear representation with a generalized tree structure and has been successfully applied in dynamic system identification. In this article, we aim to construct the deep AHH (DAHH) model to extend and generalize the networking of AHH model for high-dimensional problems. The network structure of DAHH is determined through a forward growth, in which the activity ratio is introduced to select effective neurons and no connecting weights are involved between the layers. Then, all neurons in the DAHH network can be flexibly connected to the output in a skip-layer format, and only the corresponding weights are the parameters to optimize. With such a network framework, the backpropagation algorithm can be implemented in DAHH to efficiently tackle large-scale problems and the gradient vanishing problem is not encountered in the training of DAHH. In fact, the optimization problem of DAHH can maintain convexity with convex loss in the output layer, which brings natural advantages in optimization. Different from the existing neural networks, DAHH is easier to interpret, where neurons are connected sparsely and analysis of variance (ANOVA) decomposition can be applied, facilitating to revealing the interactions between variables. A theoretical analysis toward universal approximation ability and explicit domain partitions are also derived. Numerical experiments verify the effectiveness of the proposed DAHH.

HMCES modulates the transcriptional regulation of nodal/activin and BMP signaling in mESCs

Despite the fundamental roles of TGF-β family signaling in cell fate determination in all metazoans, the mechanism by which these signals are spatially and temporally interpreted remains elusive. The cell-context-dependent function of TGF-β signaling largely relies on transcriptional regulation by SMAD proteins. Here, we discover that the DNA repair-related protein, HMCES, contributes to early development by maintaining nodal/activin- or BMP-signaling-regulated transcriptional network. HMCES binds with R-SMAD proteins, co-localizing at active histone marks. However, HMCES chromatin occupancy is independent on nodal/activin or BMP signaling. Mechanistically, HMCES competitively binds chromatin to limit binding by R-SMAD proteins, thereby forcing their dissociation and resulting in repression of their regulatory effects. In Xenopus laevis embryo, hmces KD causes dramatic development defects with abnormal left-right axis asymmetry along with increasing expression of lefty1. These findings reveal HMCES transcriptional regulatory function in the context of TGF-β family signaling.

Structure of the cytoplasmic ring of the Xenopus laevis nuclear pore complex

INTRODUCTION The nuclear pore complex (NPC) resides on the nuclear envelope (NE) and mediates nucleocytoplasmic cargo transport. As one of the largest cellular machineries, a vertebrate NPC consists of cytoplasmic filaments, a cytoplasmic ring (CR), an inner ring, a nuclear ring, a nuclear basket, and a luminal ring. Each NPC has eight repeating subunits. Structure determination of NPC is a prerequisite for understanding its functional mechanism. In the past two decades, integrative modeling, which combines x-ray structures of individual nucleoporins and subcomplexes with cryo-electron tomography reconstructions, has played a crucial role in advancing our knowledge about the NPC. The CR has been a major focus of structural investigation. The CR subunit of human NPC was reconstructed by cryo-electron tomography through subtomogram averaging to an overall resolution of ~20 Å, with local resolution up to ~15 Å. Each CR subunit comprises two Y-shaped multicomponent complexes known as the inner and outer Y complexes. Eight inner and eight outer Y complexes assemble in a head-to-tail fashion to form the proximal and distal rings, respectively, constituting the CR scaffold. To achieve higher resolution of the CR, we used single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to image the intact NPC from the NE of Xenopus laevis oocytes. Reconstructions of the core region and the Nup358 region of the X. laevis CR subunit had been achieved at average resolutions of 5 to 8 Å, allowing identification of secondary structural elements. RATIONALE Packing interactions among the components of the CR subunit were poorly defined by all previous EM maps. Additional components of the CR subunit are strongly suggested by the EM maps of 5- to 8-Å resolution but remain to be identified. Addressing these issues requires improved resolution of the cryo-EM reconstruction. Therefore, we may need to enhance sample preparation, optimize image acquisition, and develop an effective data-processing strategy. RESULTS To reduce conformational heterogeneity of the sample, we spread the opened NE onto the grids with minimal force and used the chemical cross-linker glutaraldehyde to stabilize the NPC. To alleviate orientation bias of the NPC, we tilted sample grids and imaged the sample with higher electron dose at higher angles. We improved the image-processing protocol. With these efforts, the average resolutions for the core and the Nup358 regions have been improved to 3.7 and 4.7 Å, respectively. The highest local resolution of the core region reaches 3.3 Å. In addition, a cryo-EM structure of the N-terminal α-helical domain of Nup358 has been resolved at 3.0-Å resolution. These EM maps allow the identification of five copies of Nup358, two copies of Nup93, two copies of Nup205, and two copies of Y complexes in each CR subunit. Relying on the EM maps and facilitated by AlphaFold prediction, we have generated a final model for the CR of the X. laevis NPC. Our model of the CR subunit includes 19,037 amino acids in 30 nucleoporins. A previously unknown C-terminal fragment of Nup160 was found to constitute a key part of the vertex, in which the short arm, long arm, and stem of the Y complex meet. The Nup160 C-terminal fragment directly binds the β-propeller proteins Seh1 and Sec13. Two Nup205 molecules, which do not contact each other, bind the inner and outer Y complexes through distinct interfaces. Conformational elasticity of the two Nup205 molecules may underlie their versatility in binding to different nucleoporins in the proximal and distal CR rings. Two Nup93 molecules, each comprising an N-terminal extended helix and an ACE1 domain, bridge the Y complexes and Nup205. Nup93 and Nup205 together play a critical role in mediating the contacts between neighboring CR subunits. Five Nup358 molecules, each in the shape of a shrimp tail and named "the clamp," hold the stems of both Y complexes. The innate conformational elasticity allows each Nup358 clamp to adapt to a distinct local environment for optimal interactions with neighboring nucleoporins. In each CR subunit, the α-helical nucleoporins appear to provide the conformational elasticity; the 12 β-propellers may strengthen the scaffold. CONCLUSION Our EM map-based model of the X. laevis CR subunit substantially expands the molecular mass over the reported composite models of vertebrate CR subunit. In addition to the Y complexes, five Nup358, two Nup205, and two Nup93 molecules constitute the key components of the CR. The improved EM maps reveal insights into the interfaces among the nucleoporins of the CR. [Figure: see text].

Center-Aware Adversarial Autoencoder for Anomaly Detection

Anomaly detection based on subspace learning has attracted much attention, in which the compactness of subspace is commonly considered as the core concern. Most related studies directly optimize the distance from the subspace representation to the fixed center, and the influence of the anomaly level of each normal sample is not considered to adjust the normal concentrated areas. In such cases, it is difficult to isolate the normal areas from the anomaly ones by making the subspace compact. To this end, we propose a center-aware adversarial autoencoder (CA-AAE) method, which detects anomaly samples by acquiring more compact and discriminative subspace representations. To fully exploit the subspace information to improve the compactness, anomaly-level description and feature learning are novelly integrated herein by dividing the output space of the encoder into presubspace and postsubspace. In presubspace, the toward-center prior distribution is imposed by the adversarial learning mechanism, and the anomaly level of normal samples can be described from a probabilistic perspective. In postsubspace, a novel center-aware strategy is established to enhance the compactness of the postsubspace, which achieves adaptive adjustment of the normal areas by constructing a weighted center based on the anomaly level. Then, a flexible anomaly score function is constructed in the testing stage, in which both the toward-center loss and the reconstruction loss are combined to balance the information in the learned subspace and the original space. Compared to other related methods, the proposed CA-AAE shows the effectiveness and advantages in numerical experiments.

[Multimodal Magnetic Resonance and Fluorescence Imaging of the Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Transplantation in the Brain]

The understanding of the engrafted cell behaviors such as the survival, growth and distribution is the prerequisite to optimize cell therapy, and a multimodal imaging at both anatomical and molecular levels is designed to achieve this goal. We constructed a lentiviral vector carrying genes of ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1), near-infrared fluorescent protein (iRFP) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (egfp), and established the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) culture stably expressing these three reporter genes. These iPSCs showed green and near-infrared fluorescence as well as the iron uptake capacity in vitro. After transplanted the labeled iPSCs into the rat brain, the engrafted cells could be in vivo imaged using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and near-infrared fluorescent imaging (NIF) up to 60 days at the anatomical level. Moreover, these cells could be detected using EGFP immunostaining and Prussian blue stain at the cellular level. The developed approach provides a novel tool to study behaviors of the transplanted cells in a multi-modal way, which will be valuable for the effectiveness and safety evaluation of cell therapy.

Cryo-EM structure of the inner ring from the Xenopus laevis nuclear pore complex

Nuclear pore complex (NPC) mediates nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. Here we present single-particle cryo-electron microscopy structure of the inner ring (IR) subunit from the Xenopus laevis NPC at an average resolution of 4.2 Å. A homo-dimer of Nup205 resides at the center of the IR subunit, flanked by two molecules of Nup188. Four molecules of Nup93 each places an extended helix into the axial groove of Nup205 or Nup188, together constituting the central scaffold. The channel nucleoporin hetero-trimer of Nup62/58/54 is anchored on the central scaffold. Six Nup155 molecules interact with the central scaffold and together with the NDC1-ALADIN hetero-dimers anchor the IR subunit to the nuclear envelope and to outer rings. The scarce inter-subunit contacts may allow sufficient latitude in conformation and diameter of the IR. Our structure reveals the molecular basis for the IR subunit assembly of a vertebrate NPC.

Multimodal Magnetic Resonance and Fluorescence Imaging of the Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Transplantation in the Brain

Abstract

The understanding of the engrafted cell behaviors such as the survival, growth and distribution is the prerequisite to optimize cell therapy, and a multimodal imaging at both anatomical and molecular levels is designed to achieve this goal. We constructed a lentiviral vector carrying genes of ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1), near-infrared fluorescent protein (iRFP) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (egfp), and established the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) culture stably expressing these three reporter genes. These iPSCs showed green and near-infrared fluorescence as well as the iron uptake capacity in vitro. After transplanted the labeled iPSCs into the rat brain, the engrafted cells could be in vivo imaged using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and near-infrared fluorescent imaging (NIF) up to 60 days at the anatomical level. Moreover, these cells could be detected using EGFP immunostaining and Prussian blue stain at the cellular level. The developed approach provides a novel tool to study behaviors of the transplanted cells in a multimodal way, which will be valuable for the effectiveness and safety evaluation of cell therapy.

Cryo-EM structure of the nuclear ring from Xenopus laevis nuclear pore complex

Nuclear pore complex (NPC) shuttles cargo across the nuclear envelope. Here we present single-particle cryo-EM structure of the nuclear ring (NR) subunit from Xenopus laevis NPC at an average resolution of 5.6 Å. The NR subunit comprises two 10-membered Y complexes, each with the nucleoporin ELYS closely associating with Nup160 and Nup37 of the long arm. Unlike the cytoplasmic ring (CR) or inner ring (IR), the NR subunit contains only one molecule each of Nup205 and Nup93. Nup205 binds both arms of the Y complexes and interacts with the stem of inner Y complex from the neighboring subunit. Nup93 connects the stems of inner and outer Y complexes within the same NR subunit, and places its N-terminal extended helix into the axial groove of Nup205 from the neighboring subunit. Together with other structural information, we have generated a composite atomic model of the central ring scaffold that includes the NR, IR, and CR. The IR is connected to the two outer rings mainly through Nup155. This model facilitates functional understanding of vertebrate NPC.

The relationship between dairy products intake and breast cancer incidence: a meta-analysis of observational studies

Background

The effect of dairy products intake on breast cancer (BC) is highly controversial. This study aims to investigate the relationship between dairy intake and BC incidence.

Methods

A search was carried out in PubMed, EBSCO, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases before January 2021. The primary objective was the risk of BC and intake of dairy products were exposure variables.

Results

The meta-analysis comprised 36 articles with 1,019,232 participants. Total dairy products have a protective effect on female population (hazard ratio (HR) =0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) =0.91–0.99, p = 0.019), especially for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) (HR = 0.79, p = 0.002) and progesterone receptor-positive (PR+) BC (HR = 0.75, p = 0.027). For ER+/PR+ BC, there is a trend of protection, but it has not reached statistical significance (HR = 0.92, p = 0.075). Fermented dairy products can reduce BC risk in postmenopausal population (HR = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.93–0.99, p = 0.021), but have no protective effect on premenopausal population (HR = 0.98, 95%CI = 0.94–1.03, p = 0.52). Non-fermented dairy products have no significant effect on BC occurrence (p > 0.05). High-fat dairy products are harmful to women, without statistical difference (HR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.00–1.13, p = 0.066). On the contrary, low-fat dairy products can protect the premenopausal population (HR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.89–1.00, p = 0.048).

Conclusion

The intake of dairy products can overall reduce BC risk in the female population, but different dairy products have varying effects on different BC subtypes and menopausal status.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08854-w.

Lysosomal degradation of the maternal dorsal determinant Hwa safeguards dorsal body axis formation

The Spemann and Mangold Organizer (SMO) is of fundamental importance for dorsal ventral body axis formation during vertebrate embryogenesis. Maternal Huluwa (Hwa) has been identified as the dorsal determinant that is both necessary and sufficient for SMO formation. However, it remains unclear how Hwa is regulated. Here, we report that the E3 ubiquitin ligase zinc and ring finger 3 (ZNRF3) is essential for restricting the spatial activity of Hwa and therefore correct SMO formation in Xenopus laevis. ZNRF3 interacts with and ubiquitinates Hwa, thereby regulating its lysosomal trafficking and protein stability. Perturbation of ZNRF3 leads to the accumulation of Hwa and induction of an ectopic axis in embryos. Ectopic expression of ZNRF3 promotes Hwa degradation and dampens the axis-inducing activity of Hwa. Thus, our findings identify a substrate of ZNRF3, but also highlight the importance of the regulation of Hwa temporospatial activity in body axis formation in vertebrate embryos.

Phase separation of Axin organizes the β-catenin destruction complex

In Wnt/β-catenin signaling, the β-catenin protein level is deliberately controlled by the assembly of the multiprotein β-catenin destruction complex composed of Axin, adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), casein kinase 1α (CK1α), and others. Here we provide compelling evidence that formation of the destruction complex is driven by protein liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of Axin. An intrinsically disordered region in Axin plays an important role in driving its LLPS. Phase-separated Axin provides a scaffold for recruiting GSK3β, CK1α, and β-catenin. APC also undergoes LLPS in vitro and enhances the size and dynamics of Axin phase droplets. The LLPS-driven assembly of the destruction complex facilitates β-catenin phosphorylation by GSK3β and is critical for the regulation of β-catenin protein stability and thus Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

[Mn2+-doped Prussian blue nanoparticles for T1-T2 dual-mode magnetic resonance imaging and photothermal therapy in vitro]

OBJECTIVE

To prepare Mn²⁺-doped Prussian blue nanoparticles (Mn-PB NPs) for T1-T2 dual-mode magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and photothermal therapy in vitro.

OBJECTIVE

Mn-PB NPs were prepared based on manganese chloride, ferrous chloride and potassium ferricyanide using the microemulsion method. The performance of T1-T2 dual-mode MRI with Mn-PB NPs and the photothermal property of the nanoparticles were assessed. CCK-8 assay and AM/PI double staining were used to evaluate the effect of photothermal therapy in vitro using the parepared nanoparticles.

OBJECTIVE

The prepared Mn-PB NPs had a mean particle size of 39.46±0.42 nm with a Zeta potential of -25.9±1.2 mV and exhibited a good dispersibility and uniform particle size. In MRI using the nanoparticles, the r1 and r2 values reached 0.68 and 3.65 (mmol/L)^-1s^-1, respectively, indicating good performance of Mn-PB NPs for T1 and T2 enhancement in MRI. When irradiated with 808 nm laser for 10 min, Mn-PB NPs showed a temperature rise to 90 ℃ to cause significant reduction of cell survival. CCK-8 assay and AM/PI double staining confirmed that Mn-PB NPs were capable of efficient killing of HepG2 cells upon 808 nm laser irradiation.

OBJECTIVE

The Mn-PB NPs prepared in this work have uniform particle size and show good performances both in MRI for T1 and T2 enhancement and in photothermal therapy in vitro without obvious cytotoxicity.

[Feasibility on the diagnosis of non-calcified plaque based on radiomics of pericoronary adipose tissue on plain CT scan image]

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of radiomics model based on plain CT scan of peripheral coronary artery adipose tissue for non-calcified plaque. Methods: The image data of 461 patients undergoing coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in the Department of Radiology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University from August 1,2019 to July 31,2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Two hundred and six cases (355 branches) with non-calcified plaques, and 255 cases (510 branches) with no coronary artery disease were detected by CCTA. The regions of interest (ROI) of the pericoronary adipose tissue were segmented on the plain CT scan images (coronary calcification score (CCS) sequence). The coronary ROI was determined by selecting the coronary artery with a length of 40 mm and starting at 10 mm from the opening of the coronary artery, and the pericoronary adipose ROI was generated automatically. The pericoronary fat attenuation index (FAI) was then performed, and the radiomics features were extracted. The 865 coronary arteries were divided into the training group (n=606) and the testing group (n=259) at a ratio of 7∶3, and the radiomics model was carried out. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess the FAI value and the diagnostic efficacy of the radiomics model for non-calcified plaque. Results: A total of 1 692 features were extracted from images of pericoronary adipose based on plain scan. All features were screened by using max-relevance and min-redundancy (mRMR) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and 14 features were selected for the establishment of the radiomics model. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC) of the model in distinguishing patients with non-calcified plaque and those without coronary stenosis in the testing group were 70.3%, 63.2%, 75.2% and 0.75, respectively. Conclusion: The radiomics model based on plain CT scan of the pericoronary adipose tissue had good diagnostic efficacy for non-calcified plaque.

Efficacy of Huanglian root decoction on kidney injury in rat's model of metabolic syndrome

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficacy of Huanglian root decoction (, HLD) on kidney injury in rat's model of metabolic syndrome (MetS), and investigate the possible mechanism.

METHODS

A fructose-induced MetS rat model and human renal tubular epithelial cell-line model were used to compare the efficacy of HLD with that of berberine and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA). Blood pressure, biochemical parameters, histopathological changes and the expression levels of oxidative stress markers were evaluated in the animal model at the end of an 8-week treatment regimen. Oxidative stress markers and molecules of the signal pathway of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress were evaluated in the human cell-line model.

RESULTS

Levels of fasting insulin, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were significantly decreased in rats in the Huanglian group compared to those in the MetS group (P < 0.05). Rats treated with HLD and TUDCA exhibited a significant reduction in blood levels of malondialdehyde compared to those in rats in the MetS group (P < 0.05). Significant increases in glutathione peroxidase in human tubular epithelial cells was found in the Huanglian group compared to that in the MetS group (14.02 vs 18.31, P < 0.05). The mRNA expression of protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 α decreased significantly in Huanglian groups compared with that in the MetS group.

CONCLUSION

HLD has therapeutic efficacy on kidney injury in the MetS rat's model, and is non-inferior to berberine and TUDCA.

Microscopic evidence for Mn-induced long range magnetic ordering in MAX phase compounds

Zero and low field nuclear magnetic resonance measurements have been performed on MAX phase samples (Cr_1-x Mn _x )₂AC with A = Ge and Ga in order to obtain local microscopic information on the nature of magnetism in this system. Our results unambiguously provide evidence for the existence of long-range magnetic order in (Cr_0.96Mn_0.04)₂GeC and for (Cr_0.93Mn_0.07)₂GaC, but not for (Cr_0.97Mn_0.03)₂GaC. We point to a possible dependence of long range magnetic order in these MAX phase compounds on the A atom.

Anti-CD19 mAb-conjugated human serum albumin nanoparticles effectively deliver doxorubicin to B-lymphoblastic leukemia cells

B-Lymphoblastic leukemia (B-LL) is the most common childhood hematological malignancy. Although its overall prognosis is good, the outcome after relapse is poor. CD19 is highly expressed on the membrane of most malignant B-cells, and was shown to be a promising therapeutic target of B-LL. In this present work, we designed and synthesized a novel drug carrier, anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody-conjugated human serum albumin nanoparticles (HSA-CD19 NPs). Doxorubicin (DOX) was well encapsulated into the HSA-CD19 NPs to form an anticancer nanodrug DOX/HSA-CD19. DOX/HSA-CD19 was preferentially uptaken by CD19⁺ B-LL cell line KOPN-8. DOX/HSA-CD19 showed strong antiproliferative effect on KOPN-8 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 4.1 μg/mL. Further, proapoptotic Bax and caspase-3 were significantly elevated, but antiapoptotic Bcl2 was reduced in DOX/HSA-CD19 treated KOPN-8 cells, indicating the activation of the apoptosis pathway by the nanodrug. By contrast, DOX/HSA-CD19 did not show affinity to CD19-monocytic cell line, U937, and did not affect its proliferation. Collectively, HSA-CD19 NPs are a kind of effective novel drug carrier, and DOX/HSA-CD19 is a promising antitumor nanodrug for the treatment of B-LL.

Maternal Huluwa dictates the embryonic body axis through β-catenin in vertebrates

The vertebrate body is formed by cell movements and shape change during embryogenesis. It remains undetermined which maternal signals govern the formation of the dorsal organizer and the body axis. We found that maternal depletion of huluwa, a previously unnamed gene, causes loss of the dorsal organizer, the head, and the body axis in zebrafish and Xenopus embryos. Huluwa protein is found on the plasma membrane of blastomeres in the future dorsal region in early zebrafish blastulas. Huluwa has strong dorsalizing and secondary axis–inducing activities, which require β-catenin but can function independent of Wnt ligand/receptor signaling. Mechanistically, Huluwa binds to and promotes the tankyrase-mediated degradation of Axin. Therefore, maternal Huluwa is an essential determinant of the dorsal organizer and body axis in vertebrate embryos.

Expression of the hormonal FGF co-receptor Klotho beta in the Xenopus laevis model

Klotho beta (Klb), a single-pass transmembrane protein, has been described as a co-receptor for endocrine FGFs, such as FGF15/19 and FGF21, to regulate critical metabolic processes in multiple organs and tissues in adult mice. However, its function during early embryonic development remains largely unknown. In this paper, we evaluated for the first time the expression of klb mRNA during early development of Xenopus laevis by RT-PCR and whole mount in situ hybridization. RT-PCR experiments showed that the expression of klb was initially detected at late gastrula stage followed by a quick increasing and continued expression throughout embryonic development. Whole mount in situ hybridization detected specific expression of klb in many primordial organs at tailbud stage such as liver primordium and pancreatic buds, implying that the hormonal FGF signaling may play a role in the foregut development. The dynamic and specific expression patterns of klb also suggest that Xenopus laevis can serve a convenient model for the function of the hormonal FGF signaling in organogenesis and metabolism regulation during embryonic development.

KDM3A-mediated demethylation of histone H3 lysine 9 facilitates the chromatin binding of Neurog2 during neurogenesis

Neurog2 is a crucial regulator of neuronal fate specification and differentiation in vivo and in vitro. However, it remains unclear how Neurog2 transactivates neuronal genes that are silenced by repressive chromatin. Here, we provide evidence that the histone H3 lysine 9 demethylase KDM3A facilitates the Xenopus Neurog2 (formerly known as Xngnr1) chromatin accessibility during neuronal transcription. Loss-of-function analyses reveal that KDM3A is not required for the transition of naive ectoderm to neural progenitor cells but is essential for primary neuron formation. ChIP series followed by qPCR analyses reveal that Neurog2 promotes the removal of the repressive H3K9me2 marks and addition of active histone marks, including H3K27ac and H3K4me3, at the NeuroD1 and Tubb2b promoters; this activity depends on the presence of KDM3A because Neurog2, via its C-terminal domain, interacts with KDM3A. Interestingly, KDM3A is dispensable for the neuronal transcription initiated by Ascl1, a proneural factor related to neurogenin in the bHLH family. In summary, our findings uncover a crucial role for histone H3K9 demethylation during Neurog2-mediated neuronal transcription and help in the understanding of the different activities of Neurog2 and Ascl1 in initiating neuronal development.

Epigenetic regulation of left-right asymmetry by DNA methylation

DNA methylation is a major epigenetic modification; however, the precise role of DNA methylation in vertebrate development is still not fully understood. Here, we show that DNA methylation is essential for the establishment of the left-right (LR) asymmetric body plan during vertebrate embryogenesis. Perturbation of DNA methylation by depletion of DNA methyltransferase 1 (dnmt1) or dnmt3bb.1 in zebrafish embryos leads to defects in dorsal forerunner cell (DFC) specification or collective migration, laterality organ malformation, and disruption of LR patterning. Knockdown of dnmt1 in Xenopus embryos also causes similar defects. Mechanistically, loss of dnmt1 function induces hypomethylation of the lefty2 gene enhancer and promotes lefty2 expression, which consequently represses Nodal signaling in zebrafish embryos. We also show that Dnmt3bb.1 regulates collective DFC migration through cadherin 1 (Cdh1). Taken together, our data uncover dynamic DNA methylation as an epigenetic mechanism to control LR determination during early embryogenesis in vertebrates.

c‑Myc promotes cholangiocarcinoma cells to overcome contact inhibition via the mTOR pathway

The loss of contact inhibition is a hallmark of a wide range of human cancer cells. Yet, the precise mechanism behind this process is not fully understood. c‑Myc plays a pivotal role in carcinogenesis, but its involvement in regulating contact inhibition has not been explored to date. Here, we report that c‑Myc plays an important role in abrogating contact inhibition in human cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) cells. Our data show that the protein level of c‑Myc obviously decreased in contact-inhibited normal biliary epithelial cells. However, CCA cells sustain high protein levels of c‑Myc and keep strong proliferation ability in confluent conditions. Importantly, the suppression of c‑Myc by inhibitor or siRNA induced G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in confluent CCA cells. We demonstrate that the inhibition of c‑Myc suppressed the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in confluent CCA cells, and mTOR inhibition induced G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in confluent CCA cells. In confluent CCA cells, the activity of Merlin is downregulated, and Yes-associated protein (YAP) sustains high levels of activity. Furthermore, YAP inhibition not only induced G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest, but also decreased c‑Myc expression in confluent CCA cells. These results indicate that Merlin/YAP/c‑Myc/mTOR signaling axis promotes human CCA cell proliferation by overriding contact inhibition. We propose that overriding c‑Myc‑mediated contact inhibition is implicated in the development of CCA.

Ascl1 represses the mesendoderm induction in Xenopus

Ascl1 is a multi-functional regulator of neural development in invertebrates and vertebrates. Ectopic expression of Ascl1 can generate functional neurons from non-neural somatic cells. The abnormal expression of ASCL1 has been reported in several types of carcinomas. We have previously identified Ascl1 as a crucial maternal regulator of the germ layer pattern formation in Xenopus Functional studies have indicated that the maternally-supplied Ascl1 renders embryonic cells a propensity to adopt neural fates on one hand, and represses the mesendoderm formation on the other. However, it remains unclear how Ascl1 achieves its repressor function during the activation of mesendoderm genes by VegT. Here, we performed series of gain- and loss-of-function experiments and found that: (i) VegT, the maternal mesendoderm determinant in Xenopus, is required for the deposition of H3K27ac and H3K9ac at its target gene loci during mesendoderm induction; (ii) Ascl1 and VegT antagonistically modulate the deposition of acetylated histone marks at mesendoderm gene loci; (iii) Ascl1 overexpression reduces the VegT-occupancy at mesendoderm gene loci; (iv) Ascl1 but not Neurog2 possesses a repressive activity during mesendoderm induction. These findings reveal a novel repressive function for Ascl1 in inhibiting non-neural fates during early Xenopus embryogenesis.

Proceedings of the 7th Biannual International Symposium on Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma 2015

A1 Hope and despair in the current treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer

IB Tan

I1 NPC international incidence and risk factors

Ellen T Chang

I2 Familial nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the use of biomarkers

Chien-Jen Chen, Wan-Lun Hsu, Yin-Chu Chien

I3 Genetic susceptibility risk factors for sporadic and familial NPC: recent findings

Allan Hildesheim

I5 Genetic and environmental risk factors for nasopharyngeal cancer in Southeast Asia

James D McKay, Valerie Gaborieau, Mohamed Arifin Bin Kaderi, Dewajani Purnomosari, Catherine Voegele, Florence LeCalvez-Kelm, Graham Byrnes, Paul Brennan, Beena Devi

I6 Characterization of the NPC methylome identifies aberrant epigenetic disruption of key signaling pathways and EBV-induced gene methylation

Li L, Zhang Y, Fan Y, Sun K, Du Z, Sun H, Chan AT, Tsao SW, Zeng YX, Tao Q

I7 Tumor exosomes and translational research in NPC

Pierre Busson, Claire Lhuillier, Olivier Morales, Dhafer Mrizak, Aurore Gelin, Nikiforos Kapetanakis, Nadira Delhem

I8 Host manipulations of the Epstein-Barr virus EBNA1 protein

Sheila Mansouri, Jennifer Cao, Anup Vaidya, and Lori Frappier

I9 Somatic genetic changes in EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Lo Kwok Wai

I10 Preliminary screening results for nasopharyngeal carcinoma with ELISA-based EBV antibodies in Southern China

Sui-Hong Chen, Jin-lin Du, Ming-Fang Ji, Qi-Hong Huang, Qing Liu, Su-Mei Cao

I11 EBV array platform to screen for EBV antibodies associated with NPC and other EBV-associated disorders

Denise L. Doolan, Anna Coghill, Jason Mulvenna, Carla Proietti, Lea Lekieffre, Jeffrey Bethony, and Allan Hildesheim

I12 The nasopharyngeal carcinoma awareness program in Indonesia

Renske Fles, Sagung Rai Indrasari, Camelia Herdini, Santi Martini, Atoillah Isfandiari, Achmad Rhomdoni, Marlinda Adham, Ika Mayangsari, Erik van Werkhoven, Maarten Wildeman, Bambang Hariwiyanto, Bambang Hermani, Widodo Ario Kentjono, Sofia Mubarika Haryana, Marjanka Schmidt, IB Tan

I13 Current advances and future direction in nasopharyngeal cancer management

Brian O’Sullivan

I14 Management of juvenile nasopharyngeal cancer

Enis Ozyar

I15 Global pattern of nasopharyngeal cancer: correlation of outcome with access to radiotherapy

Anne WM Lee

I16 The predictive/prognostic biomarker for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Mu-Sheng Zeng

I17 Effect of HLA and KIR polymorphism on NPC risk

Xiaojiang Gao, Minzhong Tang, Pat Martin, Yi Zeng, Mary Carrington

I18 Exploring the Association between Potentially Neutralizing Antibodies against EBV Infection and Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Anna E Coghill, Wei Bu, Hanh Nguyen, Wan-Lun Hsu, Kelly J Yu, Pei-Jen Lou, Cheng-Ping Wang, Chien-Jen Chen, Allan Hildesheim, Jeffrey I Cohen

I19 Advances in MR imaging in NPC

Ann D King

O1 Epstein-Barr virus seromarkers and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: the gene-environment interaction study on nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Taiwan

Yin-Chu Chien, Wan-Lun Hsu, Kelly J Yu, Tseng-Cheng Chen, Ching-Yuan Lin, Yung-An Tsou, Yi-Shing Leu, Li-Jen Laio, Yen-Liang Chang, Cheng-Ping Wang, Chun-Hun Hua, Ming-Shiang Wu, Chu-Hsing Kate Hsiao, Jehn-Chuan Lee, Ming-Hsui Tsai, Skye Hung-Chun Cheng, Pei-Jen Lou, Allan Hildesheim, Chien-Jen Chen

O2 Familial tendency and environmental co-factors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: the gene-environment interaction study on nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Taiwan

Wan-Lun Hsu, Kelly J Yu, Yin-Chu Chien, Tseng-Cheng Chen, Ching-Yuan Lin, Yung-An Tsou, Yi-Shing Leu, Li-Jen Liao, Yen-Liang Chang, Tsung-Lin Yang, Chun-Hun Hua, Ming-ShiangWu, Chu-Hsing Kate Hsiao, Jehn-ChuanLee, Ming-Hsui Tsai, Skye Hung-Chun Cheng, Jenq-Yuh Ko, Allan Hildesheim, Chien-Jen Chen

O3 The genetic susceptibility and prognostic role of TERT-CLPTM1L and genes in DNA damage pathways in NPC

Josephine Mun Yee Ko, Wei Dai, Dora Kwong, Wai Tong Ng, Anne Lee, Roger Kai Cheong Ngan, Chun Chung Yau, Stewart Tung, Maria Li Lung

O4 Long term effects of NPC screening

Mingfang Ji, Wei Sheng, Mun Hon Ng, Weimin Cheng, Xia Yu, Biaohua Wu, Kuangrong Wei, Jun Zhan, Yi Xin Zeng, Su Mei Cao, Ningshao Xia, Yong Yuan

O5 Risk prediction of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by detecting host genetic and Epstein-Barr virus variation in saliva

Qian Cui, Miao Xu, Jin-Xin Bei, Yi-Xin Zeng

O6 Patterns of care study in Turkish nasopharyngeal cancer patients (NAZOTURK): A Turkish Radiation Oncology Association Head and Neck Cancer Working Group Study

B Şahin, A Dizman, M Esassolak, A Saran İkizler, HC Yıldırım, M Çaloğlu, B Atalar, F Akman, C Demiroz, BM Atasoy, E Canyilmaz, S Igdem, G Ugurluer, T Kütük, M Akmansoy, E Ozyar

O7 Long term outcome of intensity modulated radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in National Cancer Centre Singapore

Kiattisa Sommat, Fu Qiang Wang, Li-Lian Kwok, Terence Tan, Kam Weng Fong, Yoke Lim Soong, Shie Lee Cheah, Joseph Wee

O8 International phase II randomized study on the addition of docetaxel to the combination of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil in the induction treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in children and adolescents

M Casanova, E Özyar, C Patte, D Orbach, A Ferrari, VF Cristine, H Errihani, J Pan, L Zhang, S Liji, K Grzegorzewski, L Gore, A Varan

O9 Prognostic impact of metastatic status in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Susanna Hilda Hutajulu, Guntara Khuzairi, Camelia Herdini, Henry Kusumo, Mardiah Suci Hardianti, Kartika Widayati Taroeno-Hariadi, Ibnu Purwanto, Johan Kurnianda

O10 Development of small molecule inhibitors of latent Epstein-Barr virus infection for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Troy E. Messick, Kimberly Malecka, Lois Tolvinski, Samantha Soldan, Julianna Deakyne, Hui Song, Antonio van den Heuvel, Baiwei Gu, Joel Cassel, Mark McDonnell, Garry R Smith, Venkata Velvadapu, Haiyan Bian, Yan Zhang, Marianne Carlsen, Shuai Chen, Alastair Donald, Christian Lemmen, Allen B Reitz, Paul M Lieberman

O11 Therapeutic targeting of cancer stem-like cells using a Wnt modulator, ICG-001, enhances the treatment outcome of EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma

King Chi Chan, Lai Sheung Chan, Kwok Wai Lo, Timothy Tak Chun Yip, Roger Kai Cheong Ngan, Michael Kahn, Maria Li Lung, Nai Ki Mak

O12 Role of micro-RNA in NPC biology

Fei-Fei Liu

O13 Expansion of EBNA1- and LMP2-specific effector T lymphocytes from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma without enhancement of regulatory T cells

Wafa Khaali; Juliette Thariat; Laurence Fantin; Flavia Spirito; Meriem Khyatti; El Khalil Ben Driss; Sylvain Olivero; Janet Maryanski; Alain Doglio

O14 The experience of patients’ life after amifostine radiotherapy treatment (ART) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)

Mengxue Xia, Yunfei Xia, Hui Chang, Rachel Shaw

O15 Analysis of mitochondrial DNA mutation in latent membrane protein-1 positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Pudji Rahaju

O16 Factors influencing treatment adherence of nasopharyngeal cancer and the clinical outcomes: a hospital-based study

Mardiah Suci Hardianti, Sindhu Wisesa, Kartika Widayati Taroeno-Harijadi, Ibnu Purwanto, Bambang Hariwiyanto, Wigati Dhamiyati, Johan Kurnianda

O17 Chromosomal breaks mediated by bile acid-induced apoptosis in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells: in relation to matrix association region/scaffold attachment region

Sang-Nee Tan, Sai-Peng Sim

O18 Expression of p53 (wild type) on nasopharyngeal carcinoma stem cell that resistant to radiotherapy

Muhtarum Yusuf, Ahmad C Romdhoni, Widodo Ario K, Fedik Abdul Rantam

O19 Mathematical model of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in cellular level

Sugiyanto, Lina Aryati, Fajar Adi-Kusumo, Mardiah Suci Hardianti

O20 Differential expression of microRNA-21 on nasopharyngeal carcinoma plasma patient

SY Bintoro, R Oktriani, C. Herawati, A Surono, Sofia M. Haryana

O21 Therapeutic targeting of an oncogenic fibroblast growth factor-FGF19, which promotes proliferation and induces EMT of carcinoma cells through activating ERK and AKT signaling

L. Zhong, L. Li, B. B. Ma, A. T. Chan, Q. Tao

O22 Resist nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC): next generation T cells for the adoptive immunotherapy of NPC

M. Kalra, M. Ngo, S. Perna, A. Leen, N. Lapteva, C. M. Rooney, S. Gottschalk

O23 The correlation of heat shock protein 70 expressions and staging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Elida Mustikaningtyas, Sri Herawati, Achmad C Romdhoni

O24 Epstein-Barr virus serological profiles of nasopharyngeal carcinoma - A tribute to Werner Henle

Mingfang Ji, YaruiXu, Weimin Cheng, ShengxiangGe, Fugui Li, M. H. Ng

O25 Targeting the apoptosis pathway using combination TLR3 agonist with anti-survivin molecule (YM-155) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Louise SY Tan, Benjamin Wong, CM Lim

O26 The resistance mechanism of nasopharyngeal cancer stem cells to cisplatin through expression of CD44, Hsp70, p53 (wild type), Oct-4, and ß-catenin encoded-genes

Achmad C Romdhoni, Fedik A. Rantam, Widodo Ario Kentjono

P1 Prevalence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients at Departement of Otorhinolaringology-Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Hasan Sadikin general hospital, Bandung, Indonesia in 2010-2014

Deasy Z Madani, Nur Akbar, Agung Dinasti Permana

P2 Case report on pediatric nasopharyngeal carcinoma at Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta

Camelia Herdini, Sagung Rai Indrasari, Jajah Fachiroh, Dwi Hartati, T. Baning Rahayudjati

P3 Report on loco regionally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer patients treated with induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemo-radiation therapy

Iswandi Darwis, Susanna Hilda Hutajulu, Bambang Hariwiyanto, Wigati Dhamiyati, Ibnu Purwanto, Kartika Widayati Taroeno-Hariadi, Johan Kurnianda

P4 Sex and age differences in the survival of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Sindhu Wisesa, Mardiah Suci Hardianti, Susanna Hilda Hutajulu, Kartika Widayati Taroeno-Harijadi, Ibnu Purwanto, Camelia Herdini, Wigati Dhamiyati, Johan Kurnianda

P5 Impact of delayed diagnosis and delayed therapy in the treatment outcome of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Khoirul Anwar, Susanna Hilda Hutajulu, Sagung Rai Indrasari, Sri Retna Dwidanarti, Ibnu Purwanto, Kartika Widayati Taroeno-Hariadi, Johan Kurnianda

P6 Anaysis of pretreatment anemia in nasopharyngeal cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy

Dominicus Wendhy Pramana, Susanna Hilda Hutajulu, Bambang Hariwiyanto, Wigati Dhamiyati, Ibnu Purwanto, Kartika Widayati Taroeno-Hariadi, Johan Kurnianda

P7 Results of treatment with neoadjuvant cisplatin-5FU in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a local experience

Diah Ari Safitri, Susanna Hilda Hutajulu, Camelia Herdini, Sri Retna Dwi Danarti, Ibnu Purwanto, Kartika Widayati Taroeno-Hariadi, Johan Kurnianda

P8 Geriatrics with nasopharyngeal cancer

Suryo A Taroeno, Sindhu Wisesa, Kartika Widayati Taroeno-Hariadi, Ibnu Purwanto, Bambang Hariwiyanto, Wigati Dhamiyati, Johan Kurnianda

P9 Correlation of lymphocyte to monocyte and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio to the response of cisplatin chemoradiotheraphy in locally advance nasopharyngeal carcinoma

I. Wijaya, A. Oehadian, D. Prasetya

P10 Prediction of nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk by Epstein-Barr virus seromarkers and environmental co-factors: the gene-environment interaction study on nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Taiwan

Wan-Lun Hsu, Yin-Chu Chien, Kelly J Yu, Cheng-Ping Wang, Ching-Yuan Lin, Yung-An Tsou, Yi-Shing Leu, Li-Jen Liao, Yen-Liang Chang^191,192, Jenq-Yuh Ko, Chun-Hun Hua, Ming-Shiang Wu, Chu-Hsing Kate Hsiao, Jehn-Chuan Lee, Ming-Hsui Tsai, Skye Hung-Chun Cheng, Pei-Jen Lou, Allan Hildesheim, Chien-Jen Chen

P11 Non-viral risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Sukri Rahman, Bestari J. Budiman, Novialdi, Rahmadona, Dewi Yuri Lestari

P12 New prototype Vidas EBV IgA quick: performance on Chinese and Moroccan populations

C. Yin, A. Foussadier, E. Blein, C. Chen, N. Bournet Ammour, M. Khiatti, S. Cao

P13 The expression of EBV-LMP1 and VEGF as predictors and plasma EBV-DNA levels as early marker of distant metastasis after therapy in nasopharyngeal cancer

Dewi Syafriyetti Soeis Marzaini

P14 Characteristics and factors influencing subjects refusal for blood samples retrieval: lesson from NPC case control study in Yogyakarta – Indonesia

Dwi Hartati, Baning Rahayujati, Camelia Herdini, Jajah Fachiroh

P15 Expression of microRNA BART-7-3p and mRNA PTEN on blood plasma of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

L. Gunawan, S. Mubarika Haryana, A. Surono, C. Herawati

P16 IgA response to native early antigen (IgA-EAext) of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in healthy population and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients: the potential for diagnosis and screening tools

Michael Hartono, Jajah Fachiroh, Umi Intansari, Dewi Kartikawati Paramita

P17 IgA responses against Epstein-Barr Virus Early Antigen (EBV-EA) peptides as potential candidates of nasopharyngeal carcinoma detection marker

Akmal Akbar, Jajah Fachiroh, Dewi Kartikawati Paramita

P18 Association between smoking habit and IgA-EBV titer among healthy individuals in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Benny Hermawan, T Baning Rahayudjati, Dewi K Paramita, Jajah Fachiroh

P19 Epstein-Barr virus IgA titer comparison of healthy non-family individuals and healthy first degree family of NPV patients

Gabriella Argy, Jajah Fachiroh, Dewi Kartikawati Paramita, Susanna Hilda Hutajulu

P20 Identification of EBV Early Antigen (EA) derived peptides for NPC diagnosis

Theodora Caroline Sihotang, Jajah Fachiroh, Umi Intansari, Dewi Kartikawati Paramita

P21 Host-pathogen study: relative expression of mRNA BRLF1 Epstein-Barr virus as a potential biomarker for tumor progressivity and polymorphisms of TCRBC and TCRGC2 host genes related to genetic susceptibility on nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Daniel Joko Wahyono, Purnomo Soeharso, Dwi Anita Suryandari, Lisnawati, Zanil Musa, Bambang Hermani

P22 In vitro efficacy of silvestrol and episilvestrol, isolated from Borneo, on nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a major cancer in Borneo

Maelinda Daker, Yeo Jiun Tzen, Norhasimah Bakar, Asma’ Saiyidatina Aishah Abdul Rahman, Munirah Ahmad, Yeo Tiong Chia, Alan Khoo Soo Beng

P23 The expression of mir-141 in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer

Widyandani Sasikirana, Tirta Wardana, Muhammad Radifar, Cita Herawati, Agus Surono, Sofia Mubarika Haryana

A novel role for Ascl1 in the regulation of mesendoderm formation via HDAC-dependent antagonism of VegT

Maternally expressed proteins function in vertebrates to establish the major body axes of the embryo and to establish a pre-pattern that sets the stage for later-acting zygotic signals. This pre-patterning drives the propensity of Xenopus animal cap cells to adopt neural fates under various experimental conditions. Previous studies found that the maternally expressed transcription factor, encoded by the Xenopus achaete scute-like gene ascl1, is enriched at the animal pole. Asc1l is a bHLH protein involved in neural development, but its maternal function has not been studied. Here, we performed a series of gain- and loss-of-function experiments on maternal ascl1, and present three novel findings. First, Ascl1 is a repressor of mesendoderm induced by VegT, but not of Nodal-induced mesendoderm. Second, a previously uncharacterized N-terminal domain of Ascl1 interacts with HDAC1 to inhibit mesendoderm gene expression. This N-terminal domain is dispensable for its neurogenic function, indicating that Ascl1 acts by different mechanisms at different times. Ascl1-mediated repression of mesendoderm genes was dependent on HDAC activity and accompanied by histone deacetylation in the promoter regions of VegT targets. Finally, maternal Ascl1 is required for animal cap cells to retain their competence to adopt neural fates. These results establish maternal Asc1l as a key factor in establishing pre-patterning of the early embryo, acting in opposition to VegT and biasing the animal pole to adopt neural fates. The data presented here significantly extend our understanding of early embryonic pattern formation.

Summary: The proneural factor ASCL1 recruits HDAC1 to repress VegT-induced, but not Nodal-induced, mesendoderm formation via a previously uncharacterized N-terminal domain.