FGD5 in basal cells induces CXCL14 secretion that initiates a feedback loop to promote murine mammary epithelial growth and differentiation.

The interactions of environmental compartments with epithelial cells are essential for mammary gland development and homeostasis. Currently, the direct crosstalk between the endothelial niche and mammary epithelial cells remains poorly understood. Here, we show that faciogenital dysplasia 5 (FGD5) is enriched in mammary basal cells (BCs) and mediates critical interactions between basal and endothelial cells (ECs) in the mammary gland. Conditional deletion of Fgd5 reduced, whereas conditional knockin of Fgd5 increased, the engraftment and expansion of BCs, regulating ductal morphogenesis in the mammary gland. Mechanistically, murine mammary BC-expressed FGD5 inhibited the transcriptional activity of activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), leading to subsequent transcriptional activation and secretion of CXCL14. Furthermore, activation of CXCL14/CXCR4/ERK signaling in primary murine mammary stromal ECs enhanced the expression of HIF-1α-regulated hedgehog ligands, which initiated a positive feedback loop to promote the function of BCs. Collectively, these findings identify functionally important interactions between BCs and the endothelial niche that occur through the FGD5/CXCL14/hedgehog axis.

Non-peptidic immunoproteasome ß5i-selective inhibitor as potential treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Virtual screening, hit evolution and lead identification.

The immunoproteasome has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We report herein our efforts to discover novel non-peptidic immunoproteasome inhibitors as potential treatment for IPF. A structure-based virtual screening was initially performed and the hit compound VS-7 with an IC50 of 9.437 µM against ß5i was identified. Hit evolution based on the interaction mode of VS-7 proceeded, and a potent ß5i inhibitor 54 (IC50 = 8.463 nM) with favorable subunit-selective profiles was obtained. Compound 54 also imposed significant effects on the release of TNF-α and IL-6, the transcriptional activity of NF-κB, as well as TGF-ß1 induced fibroblast proliferation, activation and collagen synthesis. Notably, when administered at 30 mg/kg in a bleomycin-induced IPF mouse model, compound 54 showed anti-fibrotic effects comparable to the clinical drug nintedanib. The results suggest that selective inhibition of immunoproteasome could be an effective approach to treat IPF.

SCARB2 drives hepatocellular carcinoma tumor initiating cells via enhanced MYC transcriptional activity.

CSCs (Cancer stem cells) with distinct metabolic features are considered to cause HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma) initiation, metastasis and therapeutic resistance. Here, we perform a metabolic gene CRISPR/Cas9 knockout library screen in tumorspheres derived from HCC cells and find that deletion of SCARB2 suppresses the cancer stem cell-like properties of HCC cells. Knockout of Scarb2 in hepatocytes attenuates HCC initiation and progression in both MYC-driven and DEN (diethylnitrosamine)-induced HCC mouse models. Mechanistically, binding of SCARB2 with MYC promotes MYC acetylation by interfering with HDCA3-mediated MYC deacetylation on lysine 148 and subsequently enhances MYC transcriptional activity. Screening of a database of FDA (Food and Drug Administration)-approved drugs shows Polymyxin B displays high binding affinity for SCARB2 protein, disrupts the SCARB2-MYC interaction, decreases MYC activity, and reduces the tumor burden. Our study identifies SCARB2 as a functional driver of HCC and suggests Polymyxin B-based treatment as a targeted therapeutic option for HCC.

Plasma osteoprotegerin predicts adverse cardiovascular events in stable coronary artery disease: the PEACE trial.

Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a secretory glycoprotein and participates in the progression of atherosclerotic lesions. We aim to explore the relationship between OPG and the prognosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: Plasma OPG concentrations were measured in 3,766 patients with stable CAD enrolled in the PEACE trial. The PEACE trial (NCT00000558) group followed up the patients and examined their future clinical outcomes. Results: In summary, 208 (5.5%) primary outcomes occurred, 295 patients (7.8%) died from all-cause death, 128 (3.4%) died from cardiovascular causes, and 94 (2.5%) experienced heart failure during a median follow-up of 1,892 days. In addition, we found that higher plasma levels of OPG were associated with a higher incidence of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and heart failure, even after adjusting clinical cofounders. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that elevated plasma OPG levels were associated with an increased incidence of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and heart failure in patients with stable CAD. Systematic Review Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00000558?term=NCT00000558&draw=2&rank=1, identifier: NCT00000558.

A high-spatial-resolution dataset of human thermal stress indices over South and East Asia.

Thermal stress poses a major public health threat in a warming world, especially to disadvantaged communities. At the population group level, human thermal stress is heavily affected by landscape heterogeneities such as terrain, surface water, and vegetation. High-spatial-resolution thermal-stress indices, containing more detailed spatial information, are greatly needed to characterize the spatial pattern of thermal stress to enable a better understanding of its impacts on public health, tourism, and study and work performance. Here, we present a 0.1° × 0.1° gridded dataset of multiple thermal stress indices derived from the newly available ECMWF ERA5-Land and ERA5 reanalysis products over South and East Asia from 1981 to 2019. This high-spatial-resolution database of human thermal stress indices over South and East Asia (HiTiSEA), which contains the daily mean, maximum, and minimum values of UTCI, MRT, and eight other widely adopted indices, is suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications and allows researchers and practitioners to investigate the spatial and temporal evolution of human thermal stress and its impacts on densely populated regions over South and East Asia at a finer scale.

3D-transition metal mono-substituted Keggin polyoxotungstate with an antenna molecule: synthesis, structure and characterization.

Three new organic-inorganic hybrid complexes based on 3d-transition metal monosubstituted Keggin polyoxometalates (POMs) with imidazole (Im) as pendant ligands, formulated as (HIm)(6-)[SiW11O39NiIm]0.8[SiW11O39Ni(H2O)]0.2.7H2O (1), (Im)4Na6[SiW11O39MnIm]0.69[SiW11O39Mn(H2O)]0.31.7.5H2O (2) and (HIm)6[SiW11O39CoIm]0.63[SiW11O39Co(H2O)]0.37.7H2O (3), have been synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, elemental analysis, TG analysis, cyclic voltammetry, magnetic properties, EPR and single-crystal/powder X-ray diffraction. The structural analyses indicate that the 3d metal atoms are incorporated into the vacancy of the alpha-[SiW11O39](8-) (SiW11). Complexes 1-3 are the first examples of crystallographically characterized 3d-transition metal mono-substituted POMs with an antenna organic ligand synthesized under normal bench conditions.