The impact of ZTE-based MR attenuation correction compared to CT-AC in 18F-FBPA PET before boron neutron capture therapy.

Tumor-to-normal ratio (T/N) measurement of 18F-FBPA is crucial for patient eligibility to receive boron neutron capture therapy. This study aims to compare the difference in standard uptake value ratios on brain tumors and normal brains using PET/MR ZTE and atlas-based attenuation correction with the current standard PET/CT attenuation correction. Regarding the normal brain uptake, the difference was not significant between PET/CT and PET/MR attenuation correction methods. The T/N ratio of PET/CT-AC, PET/MR ZTE-AC and PET/MR AB-AC were 2.34 ± 0.95, 2.29 ± 0.88, and 2.19 ± 0.80, respectively. The T/N ratio comparison showed no significance using PET/CT-AC and PET/MR ZTE-AC. As for the PET/MRI AB-AC, significantly lower T/N ratio was observed (- 5.18 ± 9.52%; p < 0.05). The T/N difference between ZTE-AC and AB-AC was also significant (4.71 ± 5.80%; p < 0.01). Our findings suggested PET/MRI imaging using ZTE-AC provided superior quantification on 18F-FBPA-PET compared to atlas-based AC. Using ZTE-AC on 18F-FBPA-PET /MRI might be crucial for BNCT pre-treatment planning.

DDX3 regulates cancer immune surveillance via 3' UTR-mediated cell-surface expression of PD-L1.

Programmed death-1 (PD-1)/PD ligand-1 (PD-L1)-mediated immune escape contributes to cancer development and has been targeted as an anti-cancer strategy. Here, we show that inhibition of the RNA helicase DDX3 increased CD8+ T cell infiltration in syngeneic oral squamous cell carcinoma tumors. DDX3 knockdown compromised interferon-γ-induced PD-L1 expression and, in particular, reduced the level of cell-surface PD-L1. DDX3 promoted surface PD-L1 expression by recruiting the adaptor protein 2 (AP2) complex to the 3' UTR of PD-L1 mRNA. DDX3 depletion or 3' UTR truncation increased the binding of the coatomer protein complexes to PD-L1, leading to its intracellular accumulation. Therefore, this 3' UTR-dependent mechanism may counteract cellular negative effects on surface trafficking of PD-L1. Finally, pharmaceutic disruption of DDX3's interaction with AP2 reduced surface PD-L1 expression, supporting that the DDX3-AP2 pathway routes PD-L1 to the cell surface. Targeting DDX3 to modulate surface trafficking of immune checkpoint proteins may provide a potential strategy for cancer immunotherapy.

Neurovascular coupling in eye-open-eye-close task and resting state: Spectral correspondence between concurrent EEG and fMRI.

Neurovascular coupling serves as an essential neurophysiological mechanism in functional neuroimaging, which is generally presumed to be robust and invariant across different physiological states, encompassing both task engagement and resting state. Nevertheless, emerging evidence suggests that neurovascular coupling may exhibit state dependency, even in normal human participants. To investigate this premise, we analyzed the cross-frequency spectral correspondence between concurrently recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, utilizing them as proxies for neurovascular coupling during the two conditions: an eye-open-eye-close (EOEC) task and a resting state. We hypothesized that given the state dependency of neurovascular coupling, EEG-fMRI spectral correspondences would change between the two conditions in the visual system. During the EOEC task, we observed a negative phase-amplitude-coupling (PAC) between EEG alpha-band and fMRI visual activity. Conversely, in the resting state, a pronounced amplitude-amplitude-coupling (AAC) emerged between EEG and fMRI signals, as evidenced by the spectral correspondence between the EEG gamma-band of the midline occipital channel (Oz) and the high-frequency fMRI signals (0.15-0.25 Hz) in the visual network. This study reveals distinct scenarios of EEG-fMRI spectral correspondence in healthy participants, corroborating the state-dependent nature of neurovascular coupling.

Post-translational Modification of PD-1: Potential Targets for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Activation of effector T cells leads to upregulation of PD-1, which can inhibit T-cell activity following engagement with its ligand PD-L1. Post-translational modifications (PTM), including glycosylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and palmitoylation, play a significant role in regulating PD-1 protein stability, localization, and interprotein interactions. Targeting PTM of PD-1 in T cells has emerged as a potential strategy to overcome PD-1-mediated immunosuppression in cancer and enhances antitumor immunity. The regulatory signaling pathways that induce PTM of PD-1 can be suppressed with small-molecule inhibitors, and mAbs can directly target PD-1 PTMs. Preliminary outcomes from exploratory studies suggest that focusing on the PTM of PD-1 has strong therapeutic potential and can enhance the response to anti-PD-1.

Genetic insights into carbohydrate sulfotransferase 8 and its impact on the immunotherapy efficacy of cancer.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is a promising therapy for solid tumors, but its effectiveness depends on biomarkers that are not precise. Here, we utilized genome-wide association study to investigate the association between genetic variants and tumor mutation burden to interpret ICB response. We identified 16 variants (p < 5 × 10-8) probed to 17 genes on 9 chromosomes. Subsequent analysis of one of the most significant loci in 19q13.11 suggested that the rs111308825 locus at the enhancer is causal, as its A allele impairs KLF2 binding, leading to lower carbohydrate sulfotransferase 8 (CHST8) expression. Breast cancer cells expressing CHST8 suppress T cell activation, and Chst8 loss attenuates tumor growth in a syngeneic mouse model. Further investigation revealed that programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and its homologs could be sulfated by CHST8, resulting in M2-like macrophage enrichment in the tumor microenvironment. Finally, we confirmed that low-CHST8 tumors have better ICB response, supporting the genetic effect and clinical value of rs111308825 for ICB efficacy prediction.

Motivated cognitive control during cued anticipation and receipt of unfamiliar musical themes: An fMRI study.

Principal themes, particularly choruses in pop songs, hold a central place in human music. Singing along with a familiar chorus tends to elicit pleasure and a sense of belonging, especially in group settings. These principal themes, which frequently serve as musical rewards, are commonly preceded by distinctive musical cues. Such cues guide listeners' attention and amplify their motivation to receive the impending themes. Despite the significance of cue-theme sequences in music, the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of these sequences in unfamiliar songs remain underexplored. To fill this research gap, we employed fMRI to examine neural activity during the cued anticipation of unfamiliar musical themes and the subsequent receipt of their opening phrase. Twenty-three Taiwanese participants underwent fMRI scans while listening to excerpts of Korean slow pop songs unfamiliar to them, with lyrics they could not understand. Our findings revealed distinct temporal dynamics in lateral frontal activity, with posterior regions being more active during theme anticipation and anterior regions during theme receipt. During anticipation, participants reported substantial increases in arousal levels, aligning with the observed enhanced activity in the midbrain, ventral striatum, inferior frontal junction, and premotor regions. We posit that when motivational musical cues are detected, the ventral striatum and inferior frontal junction played a role in attention allocation, while premotor regions may be engaged in monitoring the theme's entry. Notably, both the anticipation and receipt of themes were associated with pronounced activity in the frontal eye field, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, dorsal caudate, and salience network. Overall, our results highlight that within a naturalistic music-listening context, the dynamic interplay between the frontoparietal, dopaminergic midbrain-striatal, and salience networks could allow for precise adjustments of control demands based on the cue-theme structure in unfamiliar songs.

Inhibition of Galectin-9 sensitizes tumors to anthracycline treatment via inducing antitumor immunity.

Anthracyclines are a class of conventionally and routinely used first-line chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment. In addition to the direct cytotoxic effects, increasing evidence indicates that the efficacy of the drugs also depends on immunomodulatory effects with unknown mechanisms. Galectin-9 (Gal-9), a member of the ß-galactoside-binding protein family, has been demonstrated to induce T-cell death and promote immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. Here, we asked whether anthracycline-mediated immunomodulatory activity might be related to Gal-9. We found that combining doxorubicin with anti-Gal-9 therapy significantly inhibited tumor growth and prolonged overall survival in immune-competent syngeneic mouse models. Moreover, Gal-9 expression was increased in response to doxorubicin in various human and murine cancer cell lines. Mechanistically, doxorubicin induced tumoral Gal-9 by activating the STING/interferon ß pathway. Clinically, Gal-9 and p-STING levels were elevated in the tumor tissues of breast cancer patients treated with anthracyclines. Our study demonstrates Gal-9 upregulation in response to anthracyclines as a novel mechanism mediating immune escape and suggests targeting Gal-9 in combination with anthracyclines as a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment.

Tumor-derived interleukin-1 receptor antagonist exhibits immunosuppressive functions and promotes pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a pernicious disease characterized by an immunosuppressive milieu that is unresponsive to current immunotherapies. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is a natural anti-inflammatory cytokine; however, its contribution to cancer pathogenesis and immunosuppression remains elusive. In this research, we investigated the role and mechanism of IL-1Ra in malignant progression of PDA. RESULTS: Through analyzing clinical dataset and examining the pathological tumor tissues and serum samples, we have demonstrated that IL-1Ra expression is elevated in human PDA and positively associated with malignant progression of PDA. To study the biological function of IL-1Ra in tumors, we generated a set of mouse pancreatic cancer cell lines with a knockout (KO) of the Il1rn gene, encoding IL-1Ra, and compared the tumor growth rates in immune-competent and immune-deficient mice. We found that the Il1rn KO cells exhibited greater tumor inhibition in immune-competent mice, highlighting the crucial role of a functional immune system in Il1rn KO-mediated anti-tumor response. Consistently, we found an increase in CD8+ T cells and a decrease in CD11b+Ly6G- immunosuppressive mononuclear population in the tumor microenvironment of Il1rn KO-derived tumors. To monitor the inhibitory effects of IL-1Ra on immune cells, we utilized a luciferase-based reporter CD4+ T cell line and splenocytes, which were derived from transgenic mice expressing ovalbumin-specific T cell receptors in CD8+ T cells, and mice immunized with ovalbumin. We showed that IL-1Ra suppressed T cell receptor signaling and inhibited antigen-specific interferon-γ (IFN-γ) secretion and cytolytic activity in splenocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings illustrate the immunosuppressive properties of the natural anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-1Ra, and provide a rationale for considering IL-1Ra-targeted therapies in the treatment of PDA.

Prediction errors arising from switches between major and minor modes in music: An fMRI study.

The major and minor modes in Western music have positive and negative connotations, respectively. The present fMRI study examined listeners' neural responses to switches between major and minor modes. We manipulated the final chords of J. S. Bach's keyboard pieces so that each major-mode passage ended with either the major (Major-Major) or minor (Major-Minor) tonic chord, and each minor-mode passage ended with either the minor (Minor-Minor) or major (Minor-Major) tonic chord. If the final major and minor chords have positive and negative reward values respectively, the Major-Minor and Minor-Major stimuli would cause negative and positive reward prediction errors (RPEs) respectively in a listener's brain. We found that activity in a frontoparietal network was significantly higher for Major-Minor than for Major-Major. Based on previous research, these results support the idea that a major-to-minor switch causes negative RPE. The contrast of Minor-Major minus Minor-Minor yielded activation in the ventral insula and visual cortex, speaking against the idea that a minor-to-major switch causes positive RPE. We discuss our results in relation to executive functions and the emotional connotations of major versus minor modes.

Nuclear export signal mutation of epidermal growth factor receptor enhances malignant phenotypes of cancer cells.

Nuclear epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been shown to be correlated with drug resistance and a poor prognosis in patients with cancer. Previously, we have identified a tripartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) within EGFR. To comprehensively determine the functions and underlying mechanism of nuclear EGFR and its clinical implications, we aimed to explore the nuclear export signal (NES) sequence of EGFR that is responsible for interacting with the exportins. We combined in silico prediction with site-directed mutagenesis approaches and identified a putative NES motif of EGFR, which is located in amino acid residues 736-749. Mutation at leucine 747 (L747) in the EGFR NES led to increased nuclear accumulation of the protein via a less efficient release of the exportin CRM1. Interestingly, L747 with serine (L747S) and with proline (L747P) mutations were found in both tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-treated and -naïve patients with lung cancer who had acquired or de novo TKI resistance and a poor outcome. Reconstituted expression of the single NES mutant EGFRL747P or EGFRL747S, but not the dual mutant along with the internalization-defective or NLS mutation, in lung cancer cells promoted malignant phenotypes, including cell migration, invasiveness, TKI resistance, and tumor initiation, supporting an oncogenic role of nuclear EGFR. Intriguingly, cells with germline expression of the NES L747 mutant developed into B cell lymphoma. Mechanistically, nuclear EGFR signaling is required for sustaining nuclear activated STAT3, but not for Erk. These findings suggest that EGFR functions are compartmentalized and that nuclear EGFR signaling plays a crucial role in tumor malignant phenotypes, leading to tumorigenesis in human cancer.

Evaluation of 89Zr-Labeled Anti-PD-L1 Monoclonal Antibodies Using DFO and Novel HOPO Analogues as Chelating Agents for Immuno-PET.

Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a type 1 transmembrane immunosuppressive protein that is expressed on a wide range of cell types, including cancer cells. Anti-PD-L1 antibodies have revolutionized cancer therapy and have led to improved outcomes for subsets of cancer patients, including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. As a result, PET imaging of PD-L1 protein expression in cancer patients has been explored for noninvasive detection of PD-L1 expressing tumors as well as monitoring response to anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint therapy. Previous studies have indicated that the in vivo stability and in vivo target detection of antibody-based radio-conjugates can be dramatically affected by the chelator used. These reports demonstrated that the chelator HOPO diminishes 89Zr de-chelation compared to DFO. Herein, we report an improved HOPO synthesis and evaluated a series of novel analogues for thermal stability, serum stability, PD-L1-specific binding using the BT-549 TNBC cell line, PET imaging in vivo, as well as biodistribution of 89Zr-labeled anti-PD-L1 antibodies in BT-549 xenograft murine models. A new chelator, C5HOPO, demonstrated high stability in vitro and afforded effective PD-L1 targeting in vivovia immuno-PET. These results demonstrated that an improved HOPO chelator is an effective chelating agent that can be utilized to image therapeutically relevant targets in vivo.

Temporal consistency of neurovascular components on awakening: preliminary evidence from electroencephalography, cerebrovascular reactivity, and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Sleep inertia (SI) is a time period during the transition from sleep to wakefulness wherein individuals perceive low vigilance with cognitive impairments; SI is generally identified by longer reaction times (RTs) in attention tasks immediately after awakening followed by a gradual RT reduction along with waking time. The sluggish recovery of vigilance in SI involves a dynamic process of brain functions, as evidenced in recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in within-network and between-network connectivity. However, these fMRI findings were generally based on the presumption of unchanged neurovascular coupling (NVC) before and after sleep, which remains an uncertain factor to be investigated. Therefore, we recruited 12 young participants to perform a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and a breath-hold task of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) before sleep and thrice after awakening (A1, A2, and A3, with 20 min intervals in between) using simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG)-fMRI recordings. If the NVC were to hold in SI, we hypothesized that time-varying consistencies could be found between the fMRI response and EEG beta power, but not in neuron-irrelevant CVR. Results showed that the reduced accuracy and increased RT in the PVT upon awakening was consistent with the temporal patterns of the PVT-induced fMRI responses (thalamus, insula, and primary motor cortex) and the EEG beta power (Pz and CP1). The neuron-irrelevant CVR did not show the same time-varying pattern among the brain regions associated with PVT. Our findings imply that the temporal dynamics of fMRI indices upon awakening are dominated by neural activities. This is the first study to explore the temporal consistencies of neurovascular components on awakening, and the discovery provides a neurophysiological basis for further neuroimaging studies regarding SI.

A novel protocol for abdominal low-dose CT scans adapted with a model-based iterative reconstruction method.

PURPOSE: This study aims to introduce a novel low-dose abdominal computed tomography (CT) protocol adapted with model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR), To validate the adaptability of this protocol, objective image quality and subjective clinical scores of low-dose MBIR images are compared with the normal-dose images. METHODS: Normal-dose abdominal CT images of 58 patients and low-dose abdominal CT images of 52 patients are reconstructed using both conventional filtered back projection (FBP) and MBIR methods with and without smooth applying. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) are used to compare image quality between the normal-dose and low-dose CT scans. CT dose indices (CTDI) of normal-dose and low-dose abdominal CT images on post-contrast venous phase are also compared. RESULTS: The SNR, CNR and clinical score of low-dose MBIR images all show significant higher values (Bonferroni p < 0.05) than those of normal-dose images with conventional FBP method. A total of around 40% radiation dose reduction (CTDI: 5.3 vs 8.7 mGy) could be achieved via our novel abdominal CT protocol. CONCLUSIONS: With the higher SNR/CNR and clinical scores, the low-dose CT abdominal imaging protocol with MBIR could effectively reduce the radiation for patients and provide equal or even higher image quality and also its adaptability in clinical abdominal CT image diagnosis.

Upregulation of PD-L1 by SARS-CoV-2 promotes immune evasion.

Patients with severe COVID-19 often suffer from lymphopenia, which is linked to T-cell sequestration, cytokine storm, and mortality. However, it remains largely unknown how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induces lymphopenia. Here, we studied the transcriptomic profile and epigenomic alterations involved in cytokine production by SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. We adopted a reverse time-order gene coexpression network approach to analyze time-series RNA-sequencing data, revealing epigenetic modifications at the late stage of viral egress. Furthermore, we identified SARS-CoV-2-activated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) pathways contributing to viral infection and COVID-19 severity through epigenetic analysis of H3K4me3 chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing. Cross-referencing our transcriptomic and epigenomic data sets revealed that coupling NF-κB and IRF1 pathways mediate programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) immunosuppressive programs. Interestingly, we observed higher PD-L1 expression in Omicron-infected cells than SARS-CoV-2 infected cells. Blocking PD-L1 at an early stage of virally-infected AAV-hACE2 mice significantly recovered lymphocyte counts and lowered inflammatory cytokine levels. Our findings indicate that targeting the SARS-CoV-2-mediated NF-κB and IRF1-PD-L1 axis may represent an alternative strategy to reduce COVID-19 severity.

Incorporating gerontological and geriatrics information into picture books for 9-12 year-old children: A stakeholder engagement design.

This study explored the preferences of different stakeholders when translating geriatrics and gerontology concepts into children's picture books, with the aim of developing a feasible model. Following the stakeholder engagement design and qualitative method, three types of stakeholders were enrolled: medical and educational professionals (n = 9), older adults aged over 65 (n = 9), and children aged 9 to 12 (n = 7). Individual interviews and focus groups were used to collect the views of the stakeholders as a basis for revising the picture book, as well as to analyze the opinions of different stakeholders. Results show that medical professionals' recommendations focused on intellectual content (18.0%) and written verbal narratives (16.5%). Education experts tended to recommend textual verbal narratives (18.8%) and storyline (6.0%). Older adults's suggestions focused on story content (6.8%) and included detailed descriptions of older adults. Children's suggestions were focused on plot arrangement (2.3%) and text size (2.3%). Mean scores for the appropriateness of the three picture book materials increased after the stakeholder engagement, with the communication literacy picture book achieved statistical significance (p = .042). It is concluded that the stakeholder engagement design is a viable development model for achieving intergenerational understanding, realistic and theoretical goals, and bridging heterogeneity across the stakeholders.

Deglycosylation of SLAMF7 in breast cancers enhances phagocytosis.

N-linked glycosylation of proteins is one of the post-translational modifications (PTMs) that shield tumor antigens from immune attack. Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family 7 (SLAMF7) suppresses cancer cell phagocytosis and is an ideal target under clinical development. PTM of SLAMF7, however, remains less understood. In this study, we investigated the role of N-glycans on SLAMF7 in breast cancer progression. We identified seven N-linked glycosylation motifs on SLAMF7, which are majorly occupied by complex structures. Evolutionally conserved N98 residue is enriched with high mannose and sialylated glycans. Hyperglycosylated SLAMF7 was associated with STT3A expression in breast cancer cells. Inhibition of STT3A by a small molecule inhibitor, N-linked glycosylation inhibitor-1 (NGI-1), reduced glycosylation of SLAMF7, resulting in enhancing antibody affinity and phagocytosis. To provide an on-target effect, we developed an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) by coupling the anti-SLAMF7 antibody with NGI-1. Deglycosylation of SLAMF7 increases antibody recognition and promotes macrophage engulfment of breast cancer cells. Our work suggests deglycosylation by ADC is a potential strategy to enhance the response of immunotherapeutic agents.

A Novel mRNA Signature Related to Immunity to Predict Survival and Immunotherapy Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background and Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and the incidence and mortality rates are increasing. Given the limited treatments of HCC and promising application of immunotherapy for cancer, we aimed to identify an immune-related prognostic signature that can predict overall survival (OS) rates and immunotherapy response in HCC. Methods: The initial signature development was conducted using a training dataset from the Cancer Genome Atlas followed by independent internal and external validations from that resource and the Gene Expression Omnibus. A signature based nomogram was generated using multivariate Cox regression analysis. The associations of signature score with tumor immune phenotype and response to immunotherapy were analyzed using single-sample gene set enrichment analysis and tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion algorithm. A cohort from Zhongshan Hospital was employed to verify the predictive robustness of the signature regarding prognostic risk and immunotherapy response. Results: The prognostic signature, IGSHCC, consisting of 22 immune-related genes, had independent prognostic ability, with training and validation cohorts. Also, IGSHCC stratified HCC patients with different outcomes in subgroups. The prognostic accuracy of IGSHCC was better than three reported prognostic signatures. The IGSHCC-based nomogram had high accuracy and significant clinical benefits in predicting 3- and 5-year OS. IGSHCC reflected distinct immunosuppressive phenotypes in low- and high-score groups. Patients with low IGSHCC scores were more likely than those with high scores to benefit from immunotherapy. Conclusions: IGSHCC predicted HCC prognosis and response to immunotherapy, and contributed to individualized clinical management.

GTPBP4 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression and metastasis via the PKM2 dependent glucose metabolism.

Guanosine triphosphate binding protein 4 (GTPBP4) is a key regulator of cell cycle progression and MAPK activation. However, how its biological properties intersect with cellular metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development remains poorly unexplained. Here, high GTPBP4 expression is found to be significantly associated with worse clinical outcomes in patients with HCC. Moreover, GTPBP4 upregulation is paralleled by DNA promoter hypomethylation and regulated by DNMT3A, a DNA methyltransferase. Additionally, both gain- and loss-of-function studies demonstrate that GTPBP4 promotes HCC growth and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, GTPBP4 can induce dimeric pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) formation through protein sumoylation modification to promote aerobic glycolysis in HCC. Notably, active GTPBP4 facilitates SUMO1 protein activation by UBA2, and acts as a linker bridging activated SUMO1 protein and PKM2 protein to induce PKM2 sumoylation. Furthermore, SUMO-modified PKM2 relocates from the cytoplasm to the nucleus may also could contribute to HCC progression through activating epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and STAT3 signaling pathway. Shikonin, a PKM2-specific inhibitor, can attenuate PKM2 dependent HCC glycolytic reprogramming, growth and metastasis promoted by GTPBP4, which offers a promising therapeutic candidate for HCC patients. Our findings indicate that GTPBP4-PKM2 regulatory axis plays a vital role in promoting HCC proliferation as well as metastasis by aerobic glycolysis and offer a promising therapeutic target for HCC patients.

Mutant p53-microRNA-200c-ZEB2-Axis-Induced CPT1C Elevation Contributes to Metabolic Reprogramming and Tumor Progression in Basal-Like Breast Cancers.

TP53 is mutated in more than 80% of basal-like breast cancers (BLBCs). BLBCs with TP53 mutation are usually high-grade and have worse responses to chemotherapy, leading to poor clinical outcomes. Wild-type p53 (WTp53) is well-accepted to promote fatty acid oxidation (FAO); however, in this study, we demonstrate that mutant p53 (Mutp53) enhances FAO activity through constitutively upregulating CPT1C via dysregulating the miR-200c-ZEB2 axis. Sustained CPT1C expression contributes to the metabolic preference of FAO, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotypes, migration, invasion, and cancer stemness in BLBC, which is mediated by modulating the redox status. Furthermore, interference of CPT1C expression impairs tumor growth and pulmonary colonization of BLBC cells in vivo, and even postpones the occurrence of spontaneous metastasis, resulting in a prolonged disease-specific survival (DSS). Consistently, clinical validation reveals that high CPT1C is observed in breast cancer patients with metastasis and is correlated with poor overall, disease-free, progression-free, and disease-specific survival in BLBC patients. Together, unlike WTp53 which transiently transactivates CPT1C, Mutp53 provides long-term benefits through sustaining CPT1C expression by disturbing the miR-200c-ZEB2 axis, which potentiates FAO and facilitates tumor progression in BLBC, suggesting that targeting Mutp53-CPT1C-driven metabolic reprogramming is promising to serve as novel therapeutic strategies for BLBC in the future.

Prognostic serum biomarkers in cancer patients with COVID-19: A systematic review.

PURPOSE: Cancer patients with COVID-19 likely express biomarker changes in circulation. However, the biomarkers used in SARS-CoV-2 infected cancer patients for COVID-19 severity and prognosis are largely unclear. Therefore, this systematic review aims to determine what biomarkers were measured in cancer patients with COVID-19 and their prognostic utility. METHODS: A systematic literature review in PubMed, Embase, and Scopus was performed on June 16th, 2021. The search keywords coronavirus, neoplasm, biomarkers, and disease progression were used to filter out 17 eligible studies, which were then carefully evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 4,168 patients, 16 types of cancer, and 60 biomarkers were included. Seven up-regulated markers, including CRP, d-dimer, ferritin, IL-2R, IL-6, LDH, and PCT, were identified in eligible studies. Albumin and hemoglobin were significantly down-regulated in cancer patients with COVID-19. Moreover, we observed that the SARS-CoV-2 infected cancer patients with lower CRP, ferritin, and LDH levels successfully survived from COVID-19 treatments. CONCLUSION: Several important clinical biomarkers, such as CRP, ferritin, and LDH, may serve as the prognostic markers to predict the outcomes following COVID-19 treatment and monitor the deterioration of COVID-19 in cancer patients.