Characteristics of attentional bias in adolescents with major depressive disorders: differentiating the impact of anxious distress specifier

Background

No consistent conclusion has been reached regarding the attentional bias characteristics of adolescents with major depressive disorders (MDD), and unexamined co-occurring anxiety distress may contribute to this inconsistency.

Methods

We enrolled 50 MDD adolescents with anxiety distress, 47 MDD adolescents without anxiety distress and 48 healthy adolescents. We measured attentional bias using a point-probe paradigm during a negative-neutral emotional face task. Reaction time, correct response rate and attentional bias value were measured.

Results

MDD adolescents did not show a negative attentional bias; MDD adolescents with anxiety distress exhibited longer reaction time for negative and neutral stimuli, lower correct response rate for negative stimuli. Hamilton Anxiety Scale scores were positively correlated with reaction time, negatively correlated with correct response rate, and not significantly correlated with attentional bias value.

Limitations

The cross-sectional design hinders causal attribution, and positive emotional faces were not included in our paradigm.

Conclusion

Negative attentional bias is not a stable cognitive trait in adolescents with MDD, and avoidance or difficulty in disengaging attention from negative emotional stimuli may be the attentional bias characteristic of MDD adolescents with anxiety distress.

The 'Other' subfamily of HECT E3 ubiquitin ligases evaluate the tumour immune microenvironment and prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Primary liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The role of the 'Other' subfamily of HECT E3 ligases (E3s) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. The expression of the 'Other' HECT E3s was performed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data, and the authors found that the 'Other' HECT E3s were differentially expressed in HCC. Prognostic values were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and indicated that the high expressions of HECTD2, HECTD3, and HACE1 were associated with a worse clinical prognosis of HCC patients. The expression of HECTD2 was significantly correlated with the infiltration of CD4+ T cells and neutrophils. The levels of HECTD3 and HACE1 were notably related to the dendritic cells and memory B cells infiltrated in HCC. In addition, the three previously mentioned genes have shown to be associated with immune checkpoint genes, such as FOXP3, CCR8, STAT5B, TGFB1 and TIM-3. Moreover, HECTD2 could promote the proliferative activity, cell migration and invasive ability of HCC cells. Collectively, the authors' study demonstrated that HECTD2 was a novel immune-related prognostic biomarker for HCC, providing new insight into the treatment and prognosis of HCC.

Interactions between microglia and glioma in tumor microenvironment

Gliomas, the most prevalent primary tumors in the central nervous system, are marked by their immunosuppressive properties and consequent poor patient prognosis. Current evidence emphasizes the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment in the progression of gliomas, largely attributed to tumor-associated macrophages (brain-resident microglia and bone marrow-derived macrophages) that create a tumor microenvironment conducive to the growth and invasion of tumor cells. Yet, distinguishing between these two cell subgroups remains a challenge. Thus, our review starts by analyzing the heterogeneity between these two cell subsets, then places emphasis on elucidating the complex interactions between microglia and glioma cells. Finally, we conclude with a summary of current attempts at immunotherapy that target microglia. However, given that independent research on microglia is still in its initial stages and has many shortcomings at the present time, we express our related concerns and hope that further research will be carried out to address these issues in the future.

Conversion therapy for massive hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report and literature review

Key Clinical Message

For potentially resectable HCC, a more aggressive conversion therapy strategy (high-intensity combined with multiple treatment modalities) can be used.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. The best treatment for HCC is radical surgical resection, but 70%-80% of patients are ineligible for surgery. Although conversion therapy is an established treatment strategy for various solid tumors, there is no uniform protocol for treating HCC. In this case, we present a 69-year-old male patient diagnosed with massive HCC with Barcelona clinical liver cancer (BCLC) stage B. Because of the insufficient volume of the future liver remnant, we believed radical surgical resection was temporarily impossible. Therefore, the patient received conversion therapy, including four cycles of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) and hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC-Folfox), lenvatinib (8 mg orally once a day), and tislelizumab (an anti-PD-1 antibody, 200 mg intravenously once every 3 weeks). Fortunately, the patient achieved a good treatment response (smaller lesions and improved liver function) and underwent radical surgery finally. There was no clinical evidence of recurrence at 6 months of follow-up. For potentially resectable HCC, this case reveals that a more aggressive conversion therapy strategy (high-intensity combined with multiple treatment modalities) can be used.

Competition between FLS and DFR regulates the distribution of flavonols and proanthocyanidins in Rubus chingii Hu

Rubus chingii Hu is a berry plant of the genus Rubus of the Rosaceae family, which has high nutritional and medicinal value and is rich in flavonoids. Flavonol synthase (FLS) and dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) compete for the common substrate dihydroflavonols to regulate the metabolic flux of flavonoids. However, the competition between FLS and DFR based on enzyme is rarely reported. Here, we isolated and identified two FLS genes (RcFLS1 and RcFLS2) and one DFR gene (RcDFR) from Rubus chingii Hu. RcFLSs and RcDFR were highly expressed in stems, leaves, and flowers, although the flavonol accumulation in these organs was significantly higher than that of proanthocyanidins (PAs). The recombinant RcFLSs demonstrated bifunctional activities via hydroxylation and desaturation at the C-3α position having a lower Michaelis constant (Km) for dihydroflavonols than RcDFR. We also found that a low concentration of flavonols could significantly inhibit RcDFR activity. To investigate the competitive relationship between RcFLSs and RcDFR, we used a prokaryotic expression system (E. coli) to co-express these proteins. The transgenic cells expressing recombinant proteins were incubated with substrates, and the reaction products were analyzed. Furthermore, two transient expression systems (tobacco leaves and strawberry fruits) and a stable genetic system (Arabidopsis thaliana) were used to co-express these proteins in vivo. The results showed that RcFLS1 was dominant in the competition with RcDFR. Our results demonstrated that the competition between FLS and DFR regulated the metabolic flux distribution of flavonols and PAs, which will be of great significance for the molecular breeding of Rubus plants.

Genome-wide analysis of 14-3-3 gene family in four gramineae and its response to mycorrhizal symbiosis in maize

14-3-3 proteins (regulatory protein family) are phosphate serine-binding proteins. A number of transcription factors and signaling proteins have been shown to bind to the 14-3-3 protein in plants, which plays a role in regulating their growth (seed dormancy, cell elongation and division, vegetative and reproduction growth and stress response (salt stress, drought stress, cold stress). Therefore, the 14-3-3 genes are crucial in controlling how plants respond to stress and develop. However, little is known about the function of 14-3-3 gene families in gramineae. In this study, 49 14-3-3 genes were identified from four gramineae, including maize, rice, sorghum and brachypodium, and their phylogeny, structure, collinearity and expression patterns of these genes were systematically analyzed. Genome synchronization analysis showed large-scale replication events of 14-3-3 genes in these gramineae plants. Moreover, gene expression revealed that the 14-3-3 genes respond to biotic and abiotic stresses differently in different tissues. Upon arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, the expression level of 14-3-3 genes in maize significantly increased, suggesting the important role of 14-3-3 genes in maize-AM symbiosis. Our results provide a better understanding on the occurrence of 14-3-3 genes in Gramineae plants, and several important candidate genes were found for futher study on AMF symbiotic regulation in maize.

Postharvest chilling diminishes melon flavor via effects on volatile acetate ester biosynthesis

In postharvest handling systems, refrigeration can extend fruit shelf life and delay decay via slowing ripening progress; however, it selectively alters the biosynthesis of flavor-associated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which results in reduced flavor quality. Volatile esters are major contributors to melon fruit flavor. The more esters, the more consumers enjoy the melon fruit. However, the effects of chilling on melon flavor and volatiles associated with consumer liking are yet to be fully understood. In the present study, consumer sensory evaluation showed that chilling changed the perception of melon fruit. Total ester content was lower after chilling, particularly volatile acetate esters (VAEs). Transcriptomic analysis revealed that transcript abundance of multiple flavor-associated genes in fatty acid and amino acid pathways was reduced after chilling. Additionally, expression levels of the transcription factors (TFs), such as NOR, MYB, and AP2/ERF, also were substantially downregulated, which likely altered the transcript levels of ester-associated pathway genes during cold storage. VAE content and expression of some key genes recover after transfer to room temperature. Therefore, chilling-induced changes of VAE profiles were consistent with expression patterns of some pathway genes that encode specific fatty acid- and amino acid-mobilizing enzymes as well as TFs involved in fruit ripening, metabolic regulation, and hormone signaling.

Prognostic value of inflammatory markers and clinical features for survival in advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients receiving anti-programmed death 1 treatment

Purpose

This study aims to assess the prognostic value of inflammatory markers and clinical features in advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients receiving anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) treatment.

Methods

Based on receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, Youden's indexes were applied to determine the cut-off values for inflammatory markers, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived neutrophil-to-lymphocye ratio (dNLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII). Wilcoxon test was conducted to evaluate the changes in above inflammatory markers. Kaplan-Meier method was utilized to estimate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and the Log-rank test was used to compare the different survival between groups. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the prognostic value of inflammatory markers and clinical features.

Results

162 advanced or metastatic ESCC patients receiving anti-PD-1 treatment were enrolled in this retrospective study. The cut-off values of NLR, dNLR, MLR, PLR, and SII were 4.748, 2.214, 0.309, 250.505, and 887.895, respectively. NLR, dNLR, PLR, and SII declined significantly among the partial response (PR) (P<0.001, P<0.001, P=0.036, P<0.001), objective response rate (ORR) (P<0.001, P<0.001, P=0.036, P<0.001), and disease control rate (DCR) (P<0.001, P<0.001, P=0.038, P<0.001) groups, respectively. Significant increases were found in NLR (P<0.001), dNLR (P<0.001), MLR (P=0.001), and SII (P=0.024) when anti-PD-1 treatment failed. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that NLR (P<0.001, P=0.002), lymph node metastasis (P=0.013, P=0.001), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) (P=0.008, P=0.002), and treatment lines (P=0.037, P=0.048) were significant prognostic indicators of PFS and OS. Additionally, SII (P=0.016) was also significantly related to OS in ESCC patients. The risk score model showed that low risk patients prolonged PFS and OS than those with middle or high risk (P<0.001, P<0.001).

Conclusion

Inflammatory markers can reflect short-term outcomes of anti-PD-1 treatment for ESCC patients. NLR, lymph node metastases, ECOG PS, and treatment lines are significant prognostic indicators for PFS and OS. And the risk score model constructed based on the above factors has favourable prognostic predictive value.

Immune microenvironment and clinical feature analyses based on a prognostic model in lymph node-positive breast cancer

Background

If lymph node metastasis occurs in breast cancer patients, the disease can progress rapidly. Based on the infiltrative immune cells of breast cancer patients with lymph node positivity, we constructed the LNPRS for selecting prognostic predictors.

Methods

The LNPRS was established and the predictive value of the LNPRS was verified by independent testing cohorts. A nomogram was also established to confirm the therapeutic guidance significance of the LNPRS. The correlation of the LNPRS with tumor mutation burden, immune microenvironment score, immune checkpoints, the proportion of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, and GSEA and GSVA enrichment pathways were also evaluated.

Results

In the training cohort, the overall survival of breast cancer patients who had high LNPRS was shorter than that of patients who had low LNPRS (7.98 years versus 20.42 years, P-value< 8.16E-11). The AUC values for 5-, 10-, and 15-years were 0.787, 0.739, and 0.800, respectively. The ability to predict prognosis for the LNPRS was also tested in 3 independent testing cohorts. Furthermore, the predictive value of the LNPRS for chemotherapy and immunotherapy was also proven. The GSEA and GSVA showed that the LNPRS was closely related to the activation of T and B lymphocytes and IFN-γ secretion. Moreover, breast cancer patients with low LNPRS had higher TME scores than those with high LNPRS.

Conclusion

We can conclude that the LNPRS is a robust prognostic biomarker in breast cancer patients with positive lymph nodes and may be helpful for patients to make a clinical decision.

Platycodon grandiflorus polysaccharides deeply participate in the anti-chronic bronchitis effects of platycodon grandiflorus decoction, a representative of “the lung and intestine are related”

Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A. DC. (PG) root is one of the most commonly used medicine-food materials for respiratory discomfort in Asia, usually in the form of a decoction or leaching solution. As everyone knows, both of decoction and leaching solution is a polyphase dispersion system, containing low-molecular-weight water-soluble active ingredients and hydrophilic macromolecules. This study aimed to discuss the synergistic effect of Platycodon grandiflorus polysaccharide (PGP) and platycodin D (PD) in PG decoction against chronic bronchitis (CB) and the mechanism underlying. A series of PGP, PD, and PGD + PD suspensions were administrated to CB model rats, on the levels of whole animal and in situ intestinal segment with or without mesenteric lymphatic vessels ligation. It exhibited that PGP exhibited synergistic effects with PD, on improving the histopathological abnormity, mucus secretion excess, and immunological imbalance in lung of CB model rat, closely associated with its modulations on the mucosal immunity status in small intestine. The polysaccharide macromolecules in PG decoction or leaching solution should be responsible for the modulation of pulmonary immune state, possibly through the common mucosal immune between small intestine and lung. These results might be a new perspective that illustrates the classical theory of “the lung and intestine are related” in traditional Chinese medicine.

Z1456467176 alleviates gouty arthritis by allosterically modulating P2X7R to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation

NLRP3 inflammasome activation is a central process in initiating gout flares. The unique conformational rearrangement of the P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) upon ATP binding is critical for the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. However, studies on allosteric modulation of P2X7R in gout treatment are limited. Here, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic implications of targeting P2X7R in gout by designing a P2X7R allosteric inhibitor and validating the inhibitory function on NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Through virtual screening, we identified Z1456467176 (N-{3-[(2-aminoethyl) sulfamoyl] phenyl}-2-methyl-3-[3-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl] propanamide hydrochloride) bound to the drug-binding pocket as a potential antagonist of P2X7R. In functional assays, ATP- or BzATP-induced P2X7R function was assessed in vitro in HEK-293T cells overexpressing hP2X7R (dye uptake assay) and macrophages (IL-1β release assay). Z1456467176 exhibited a stable and significant P2X7R inhibitory effect. Importantly, in MSU crystal-induced gout, the presence and involvement of ATP were confirmed. Z1456467176 blocked ATP-induced activation of the NLRP3-caspase-1-IL-1β pathway and exerted promising effects in reducing gouty joint inflammation in rats. In addition, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies showed that the P27XR protein conformation was remodeled by Z1456467176 binding. Collectively, our results provide a potent P2X7R allosteric inhibitor that facilitates the remission of MSU crystal-induced gout inflammation by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation, suggesting that allosteric inhibition of P2X7R represents a new direction in gout treatment.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Odorant-Binding Proteins and Chemosensory Proteins in the Bean bug Riptortus pedestris

Insects have sensitive olfactory systems to interact with environment and respond to the change in host plant conditions. Key genes in the system can be potential targets for developing new and efficient pest behaviour control methods. Riptortus pedestris is an important soybean pest in East Asia and has caused serious damage to the soybean plants in Huang-Huai-Hai region of China. However, the current treatment of pests is dominated by chemical insecticides and lacks efficient sustainable prevention and control technologies. In this study, we identified 49 putative odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) (43 were new genes) and 25 chemosensory proteins (CSPs) (17 were new genes) in R. pedestris genome. These OBP and CSP genes are clustered in highly conserved groups from other hemipteran species in phylogenetic trees. Most RpedOBPs displayed antennal-biased expression. Among the 49 RpedOBPs, 33 were significantly highly expressed in the antennae, including three male-biased and nine female-biased. While many RpedCSPs were detected both in the antennae and in non-antennal tissues, only 11 RpedCSPs displayed antennal-biased expression, in which four RpedCSPs were male-biased and five RpedCSPs were female-biased. Some OBP and CSP genes showed sex-biased expression profiles. Our results not only provide a foundation for future exploration of the functions of RpedOBPs and RpedCSPs but also aid in developing environmentally friendly insecticides in the future.

Development and Validation of a Pyroptosis-Related Signature for Predicting Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has emerged as a primary health problem and threat to global mortality, especially in China. Since pyroptosis as a new field for HCC prognosis is not well studied, it is important to open a specific prognostic model. In this study, consensus clustering method for 42 pyroptosis-related genes to classify 374 HCC patients in the TCGA database. After cox regression analysis of the differentially expressed genes between the two clusters, LASSO-Cox analysis was then performed to construct a pyroptosis-related prognostic model with 11 genes including MMP1, KPNA2, LPCAT1, NEIL3, CDCA8, SLC2A1, PSRC1, CBX2, HAVCR1, G6PD, MEX3A. The ICGC dataset was served as the validation cohort. Patients in the high-risk group had significantly lower overall survival (OS) rates than those in the low-risk group (p &lt; 0.05). COX regression analysis showed that our model could be used as an independent prognostic factor to predict prognosis of patients and was significantly correlated with clinicopathological characteristics. Nomogram showing the stability of the model predicting the 1, 3, 5 year survival probability of patients. In addition, based on the risk model, ssGSEA analysis revealed significant differences in the level of immune cell infiltration and activation of immune-related functional pathways between high and low-risk groups, and patients with the high-risk score may benefit more from treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Furthermore, patients in the high-risk group were more tend to develop chemoresistance. Overall, we identified a novel pyroptosis-related risk signature for prognosis prediction in HCC patients and revealed the overall immune response intensity of the tumor microenvironment. All these findings make the pyroptosis signature shed light upon a latent therapeutic strategy aimed at the treatment and prevention of cancers.

Purinergic Signaling in the Regulation of Gout Flare and Resolution

Gout flares require monosodium urate (MSU) to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome and secrete sufficient IL-1β. However, MSU alone is not sufficient to cause a flare. This is supported by the evidence that most patients with hyperuricemia do not develop gout throughout their lives. Recent studies have shown that, besides MSU, various purine metabolites, including adenosine triphosphate, adenosine diphosphate, and adenosine bind to different purine receptors for regulating IL-1β secretion implicated in the pathogenesis of gout flares. Purine metabolites such as adenosine triphosphate mainly activate the NLRP3 inflammasome through P2X ion channel receptors, which stimulates IL-1β secretion and induces gout flares, while some purine metabolites such as adenosine diphosphate and adenosine mainly act on the G protein-coupled receptors exerting pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects to regulate the onset and resolution of a gout flare. Given that the purine signaling pathway exerts different regulatory effects on inflammation and that, during the inflammatory process of a gout flare, an altered expression of purine metabolites and their receptors was observed in response to the changes in the internal environment. Thus, the purine signaling pathway is involved in regulating gout flare and resolution. This study was conducted to review and elucidate the role of various purine metabolites and purinergic receptors during the process.

Locally Adjust Networks Based on Connectivity and Semantic Similarities for Disease Module Detection

For studying the pathogenesis of complex diseases, it is important to identify the disease modules in the system level. Since the protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks contain a number of incomplete and incorrect interactome, most existing methods often lead to many disease proteins isolating from disease modules. In this paper, we propose an effective disease module identification method IDMCSS, where the used human PPI networks are obtained by adding some potential missing interactions from existing PPI networks, as well as removing some potential incorrect interactions. In IDMCSS, a network adjustment strategy is developed to add or remove links around disease proteins based on both topological and semantic information. Next, neighboring proteins of disease proteins are prioritized according to a suggested similarity between each of them and disease proteins, and the protein with the largest similarity with disease proteins is added into a candidate disease protein set one by one. The stopping criterion is set to the boundary of the disease proteins. Finally, the connected subnetwork having the largest number of disease proteins is selected as a disease module. Experimental results on asthma demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in comparison to existing algorithms for disease module identification. It is also shown that the proposed IDMCSS can obtain the disease modules having crucial biological processes of asthma and 12 targets for drug intervention can be predicted.