EphA2 promotes the transcription of KLF4 to facilitate stemness in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Ephrin receptor A2 (EphA2), a member of the Ephrin receptor family, is closely related to the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play essential roles in OSCC development and occurrence. The underlying mechanisms between EphA2 and CSCs, however, are not yet fully understood. Here, we found that EphA2 was overexpressed in OSCC tissues and was associated with poor prognosis. Knockdown of EphA2 dampened the CSC phenotype and the tumour-initiating frequency of OSCC cells. Crucially, the effects of EphA2 on the CSC phenotype relied on KLF4, a key transcription factor for CSCs. Mechanistically, EphA2 activated the ERK signalling pathway, promoting the nuclear translocation of YAP. Subsequently, YAP was bound to TEAD3, leading to the transcription of KLF4. Overall, our findings revealed that EphA2 can enhance the stemness of OSCC cells, and this study identified the EphA2/KLF4 axis as a potential target for treating OSCC.

The potential therapeutic targets of glutamine metabolism in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Targeting metabolic reprogramming may be an effective strategy to enhance cancer treatment efficacy. Glutamine serves as a vital nutrient for cancer cells. Inhibiting glutamine metabolism has shown promise in preventing tumor growth both in vivo and in vitro through various mechanisms. Therefore, this review collates recent scientific literature concerning the correlation between glutamine metabolism and cancer treatment. Novel treatment modalities based on amino acid transporters, metabolites, and glutaminase are discussed. Moreover, we demonstrate the relationship between glutamine metabolism and tumor proliferation, drug resistance, and the tumor immune microenvironment, offering new perspectives for the clinical treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, particularly for combined therapies. Identifying innovative approaches for enhancing the efficacy of glutamine-based metabolic therapy is crucial to improving HNSCC treatment.

Lactate-driven type I collagen deposition facilitates cancer stem cell-like phenotype of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Lactate is known to play a crucial role in the progression of malignancies. However, its mechanism in regulating the malignant phenotype of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. This study found that lactate increases cancer stem cell (CSC) characteristics of HNSCC by influencing the deposition of type I collagen (Col I). Lactate promotes Col I deposition through two distinct pathways. One is to convert lactate to pyruvate, a substrate for Col I hydroxylation. The other is the activation of HIF1-α and P4HA1, the latter being a rate-limiting enzyme for Col I synthesis. Inhibition of these two pathways effectively counteracts lactate-induced enhanced cell stemness. Further studies revealed that Col I affects CSC properties by regulating cell cycle dynamics. In conclusion, our research proposes that lactate-driven Col I deposition is essential for the acquisition of CSC properties, and lactate-centric Col I deposition may be an effective target for CSCs.

Mitophagy-Mediated Tumor Dormancy Protects Cancer Cells from Chemotherapy.

Despite obvious tumor shrinkage, relapse after chemotherapy remains a main cause of cancer-related mortality, indicating that a subpopulation of cancer cells acquires chemoresistance and lingers after treatment. However, the mechanism involved in the emergence of chemoresistant cells remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the degradation of mitochondria via autophagy leads to a dormant state in a subpopulation of cancer cells and confers on them resistance to lethal cisplatin (DDP) exposure. The surviving DDP-resistant cells (hereafter, DRCs) have a lower metabolic rate but a stronger potential malignant potential. In the absence of DDP, these DRCs exhibit an ever-increasing self-renewal ability and heightened tumorigenicity. The combination of chloroquine and DDP exerts potent tumor-suppressive effects. In summary, our findings illuminate the mechanism between mitophagy and tumor dormancy and prove that targeting mitophagy might be a promising approach for overcoming chemoresistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Roles of Mitochondria in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Therapy: Friend or Foe?

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) therapy is unsatisfactory, and the prevalence of the disease is increasing. The role of mitochondria in OSCC therapy has recently attracted increasing attention, however, many mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, we elaborate upon relative studies in this review to achieve a better therapeutic effect of OSCC treatment in the future. Interestingly, we found that mitochondria not only contribute to OSCC therapy but also promote resistance, and targeting the mitochondria of OSCC via nanoparticles is a promising way to treat OSCC.

A Review of Riemann Solvers for Hypersonic Flows.

In the design of the hypersonic airliner which can greatly shorten the flight time and conduct space travel, it is of great significance for a Riemann solver to accurately simulate hypersonic flows. In this survey, the research process on the Riemann solver for hypersonic flows is reviewed, including the constructions of the traditional Riemann solvers, improvements of the traditional Riemann solvers for the shock anomaly, and the importance of the all-speed Riemann solver for hypersonic flows. Moreover, constructions and applications of the all-speed Riemann solvers are presented. It is obvious that the Riemann solver should be capable of obtaining physical solutions at low speeds and be robust against shock anomaly near strong shocks at the same time in simulating hypersonic flows.

Multi-factor study of the effects of a trace amount of water vapor on low concentration CO2 capture by 5A zeolite particles.

Water vapor is ubiquitous and affects the performance of an adsorbent. In this work, a grand-canonical Monte Carlo method (GCMC) combining with dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DC-DFT) calculation is adopted to investigate the effect of a trace amount of water vapor on low concentration CO2 capture in 5A zeolite particles. The force field parameters for the interactions among CO2, water, and 5A zeolite are obtained via DC-DFT calculations. The effects of the charges of water molecules on the CO2 and N2 adsorption amounts and the selectivity of the CO2/(N2 + O2) gas mixture under different trace amounts of water vapor ranging from 0.05 ppm to 5 ppm are studied. The results show that the presence of the water vapor in 5A zeolite particles increases or decreases the CO2 adsorption amount, which is strongly determined by the trace amount of water. Specifically, when the water vapor concentration is less than 0.1 ppm, the CO2 adsorption amount is increased by 0.7-53.4%, whereas when the water vapor concentration is greater than 0.3 ppm, the amount of adsorbed CO2 decreases, with the reduction proportional to the amount of trace water. However, the N2 adsorption amount and the selectivity of the CO2/(N2 + O2) gas mixture decrease with an increasing amount of trace water. This indicates that the electrostatic interactions induced by the water molecules are the dominant factor influencing the CO2 and N2 adsorption amount and the selectivity of the CO2/(N2 + O2) gas mixture. Therefore, to achieve the desired adsorption performance, a trace amount of water vapor (<0.1 ppm) is recommended for CO2 adsorption, whereas low trace amounts of water vapor (<0.1 ppm) are also recommended for the selectivity of the CO2/(N2 + O2) gas mixture in the 5A zeolite particle.

Research on mouse model of grade II corneal alkali burn.

AIM: To choose appropriate concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution to establish a stable and consistent corneal alkali burn mouse model in grade II. METHODS: The mice (n=60) were randomly divided into four groups and 15 mice each group. Corneal alkali burns were induced by placing circle filter paper soaked with NaOH solutions on the right central cornea for 30s. The concentrations of NaOH solutions of groups A, B, C, and D were 0.1 mol/L, 0.15 mol/L, 0.2 mol/L, and 1.0 mol/L respectively. Then these corneas were irrigated with 20 mL physiological saline (0.9% NaCl). On day 7 postburn, slit lamp microscope was used to observe corneal opacity, corneal epithelial sodium fluorescein staining positive rate, incidence of corneal ulcer and corneal neovascularization, meanwhile pictures of the anterior eyes were taken. Cirrus spectral domain optical coherence tomography was used to scan cornea to observe corneal epithelial defect and corneal ulcer. RESULTS: Corneal opacity scores (x±s) were not significantly different between the group A and group B (P=0.097). Incidence of corneal ulcer in group B was significantly higher than that in group A (P=0.035). Incidence of corneal ulcer and perforation rate in group B was lower than that in group C. Group C and D had corneal neovascularization, and incidence of corneal neovascularization in group D was significantly higher than that in group C (P=0.000). CONCLUSION: Using 0.15 mol/L NaOH can establish grade II mouse model of corneal alkali burns.

Anatase TiO2 ultrathin nanobelts derived from room-temperature-synthesized titanates for fast and safe lithium storage.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are promising energy storage devices for portable electronics, electric vehicles, and power-grid applications. It is highly desirable yet challenging to develop a simple and scalable method for constructions of sustainable materials for fast and safe LIBs. Herein, we exploit a novel and scalable route to synthesize ultrathin nanobelts of anatase TiO2, which is resource abundant and is eligible for safe anodes in LIBs. The achieved ultrathin nanobelts demonstrate outstanding performances for lithium storage because of the unique nanoarchitecture and appropriate composition. Unlike conventional alkali-hydrothermal approaches to hydrogen titanates, the present room temperature alkaline-free wet chemistry strategy guarantees the ultrathin thickness for the resultant titanate nanobelts. The anatase TiO2 ultrathin nanobelts were achieved simply by a subsequent calcination in air. The synthesis route is convenient for metal decoration and also for fabricating thin films of one/three dimensional arrays on various substrates at low temperatures, in absence of any seed layers.