Cadherin 17 Nanobody-Mediated Near-Infrared-II Fluorescence Imaging-Guided Surgery and Immunotoxin Delivery for Colorectal Cancer.

Surgery and targeted therapy are of equal importance for colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. However, complete CRC tumor resection remains challenging, and new targeted agents are also needed for efficient CRC treatment. Cadherin 17 (CDH17) is a membrane protein that is highly expressed in CRC and, therefore, is an ideal target for imaging-guided surgery and therapeutics. This study utilizes CDH17 nanobody (E8-Nb) with the near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye IRDye800CW to construct a NIR-II fluorescent probe, E8-Nb-IR800CW, and a Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE)-based immunotoxin, E8-Nb-PE38, to evaluate their performance for CRC imaging, imaging-guided precise tumor excision, and antitumor effects. Our results show that E8-Nb-IR800CW efficiently recognizes CDH17 in CRC cells and tumor tissues, produces high-quality NIR-II images for CRC tumors, and enables precise tumor removal guided by NIR-II imaging. Additionally, fluorescent imaging confirms the targeting ability and specificity of the immunotoxin toward CDH17-positive tumors, providing the direct visible evidence for immunotoxin therapy. E8-Nb-PE38 immunotoxin markedly delays the growth of CRC through the induction of apoptosis and immunogenic cell death (ICD) in multiple CRC tumor models. Furthermore, E8-Nb-PE38 combined with 5-FU exerts synergistically antitumor effects and extends survival. This study highlights CDH17 as a promising target for CRC imaging, imaging-guided surgery, and drug delivery. Nanobodies targeting CDH17 hold great potential to construct NIR-II fluorescent probes for surgery navigation, and PE-based toxins fused with CDH17 nanobodies represent a novel therapeutic strategy for CRC treatment. Further investigation is warranted to validate these findings for potential clinical translation.

The spatio-temporal pattern and its influencing factors of production efficiency of health resources in China.

There is always a contradiction between the limited health resources and the unlimited demand of the population for health services, and only by improving the productivity of health resources can the health level of the population be improved as much as possible. Using prefecture-level administrative regions as spatial units, the paper analyzes the spatial pattern and changes of health productivity of health resources in China from 2000 to 2010, and uses a spatial panel Tobit model to examine the effects of factors such as technical level of health institutions, health service accessibility, public health policies and ecological environment quality on health productivity of health resources. The results show that with the Hu Huanyong line as the dividing line, the spatial heterogeneity of "high in the southeast and low in the northwest" in the health productivity of China's health resources is clear; as the regional differences narrow, the spatial correlation increases, and the spatial pattern of "overall dispersion and partial agglomeration" becomes more obvious. The fitting results of the spatial Durbin model reveal the direction and degree of influence of local and adjacent factors on the production efficiency of health resources. The positive influence of technical level of local health institutions and the accessibility of health services, the literacy level and the ability to pay for health services of residents in adjacent areas, the degree of urbanization of regional health resource allocation, climate suitability and the quality of the atmospheric environment are significant. And the negative influence of local residents' literacy and ability to pay for health services, the technical level of health institutions in adjacent areas and the degree of medicalization of health resource allocation are also significant. The influence of the degree of medicalization of local health resource allocation and the accessibility of health services in adjacent areas are significantly spatial-heterogeneous.

Emerging therapeutic strategies for metastatic uveal melanoma: Targeting driver mutations.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary malignant intraocular tumor in adults. Although primary UM can be effectively controlled, a significant proportion of cases (40% or more) eventually develop distant metastases, commonly in the liver. Metastatic UM remains a lethal disease with limited treatment options. The initiation of UM is typically attributed to activating mutations in GNAQ or GNA11. The elucidation of the downstream pathways such as PKC/MAPK, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, and Hippo-YAP have provided potential therapeutic targets. Concurrent mutations in BRCA1 associated protein 1 (BAP1) or splicing factor 3b subunit 1 (SF3B1) are considered crucial for the acquisition of malignant potential. Furthermore, in preclinical studies, actionable targets associated with BAP1 loss or oncogenic mutant SF3B1 have been identified, offering promising avenues for UM treatment. This review aims to summarize the emerging targeted and epigenetic therapeutic strategies for metastatic UM carrying specific driver mutations and the potential of combining these approaches with immunotherapy, with particular focus on those in upcoming or ongoing clinical trials.

Methylobacterium infection-induced peritonitis in a patient with renal insufficiency: A case report and literature review.

Clinical pharmacists participated in the drug therapy of peritonitis caused by Methylobacterium infection in a patient with renal insufficiency. Based on the knowledge of clinical pharmacy, the patient's condition and laboratory parameters, the literature, and the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic characteristics of antibiotics, amikacin in combination with ciprofloxacin was suggested for anti-infection therapy. During the treatment, clinical pharmacists timely evaluated the efficacy of antibiotics, monitored the adverse reactions, and provided individualized pharmaceutical care in the patient.

Inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in peri-pregnancy period: Evaluation of safety for both pregnant women and neonates.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women have been excluded from vaccination of COVID-19 due to the lack of strong clinical evidence, which may place pregnant women at greater risk of contracting COVID-19. We conducted this study in China to investigate the maternal and neonatal safety of inactivated COVID-19 vaccination administered during the peri-pregnancy period. METHODS: This prospective observational cohort study enrolled pregnant women who received pregnancy care between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. Pregnant women were categorized into vaccine group (n = 60) and control group (n = 60) based on whether they had received an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine within peri-pregnancy period. The primary outcomes were the incidence of maternal premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and neonatal adverse events, including induced labor/death, premature birth, low birth weight, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and several secondary outcomes related to pregnant women and neonates. Inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) was employed to adjust for baseline covariates. Linear and logistic regression models were established after IPTW for continuous and binary outcomes, respectively. In sensitivity analysis, E-values were calculated and propensity score matching analysis and multivariate regression analysis used to demonstrate the robustness of IPTW results. Moreover, vaccination time subgroup analysis and medication subgroup analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Out of 120 neonates delivered, there was no significant difference in PROM (25.42 % vs. 19.67 %, p = 0.438) or neonatal adverse events (11.86 % vs. 4.92 %, p = 0.148) between the vaccine and control groups. Moreover, among the secondary outcomes only serum alanine transaminase (ALT) at first trimester had a statistically significant difference between the groups, ALT levels were significantly higher in the vaccine group during the first trimester (20.67 ± 20.34 vs. 13.05 ± 9.43; RR: 5.38; p = 0.04). In sensitivity analysis, the E-values calculated for the primary outcomes PROM and neonatal adverse events are 2.04 and 5.00 respectively. PSM analysis and multivariate regression analysis reached the same conclusion. The results of primary outcomes are both consistent across the vaccination time subgroup and medication subgroup. CONCLUSION: The sensitivity analysis illustrates the robustness of our results, so we can conclude that the vaccination of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine during the peri-pregnancy period is safe for both the pregnant woman and neonates no matter what time of vaccination and the use of medication. In addition, it is recommended to monitor ALT levels throughout the first trimester of pregnancy.

Chrysosplenol D can inhibit the growth of prostate cancer by inducing reactive oxygen species and autophagy.

OBJECTIVE: To uncover the effects of chrysosplenol D (CHD) on the progression of prostate cancer in vitro as well as in mice. METHODS: DU145 and PC-3 cells were treated with increasing doses of CHD for 24, 48, or 72 h. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays were conducted to confirm the effects of CHD on cell viability. Flow cytometry (FCM) and immunostaining assays showed the effects of CHD on cell apoptosis and oxidative stress. Immunoblot was performed to detect the effects of CHD on autophagy. Besides, tumor growth assays were conducted to confirm the role of CHD in tumor growth in mice. GraphPad 6.0 was used for statistical analysis. All data were represented as mean ± SD. p < .05 and the significant difference was indicated by an asterisk. RESULTS: CHD suppressed the viability of prostate cancer cells in CCK-8 assays, decreased colony number in colony formation assays, and induced cell apoptosis in FCM and immunostaining assays. CHD also restrained the oxidative stress with a decreased 2'-7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate staining intensity. CHD restrained the autophagy of prostate cancer cells, as well as suppressed tumor growth in mice. CONCLUSION: CHD could serve as a drug for prostate cancer.

Porcine ß-defensin-2 alleviates aflatoxin B1 induced intestinal mucosal damage via ROS-Erk1/2 signaling pathway.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a highly toxic fungal toxin that causes severe damage to animal intestines. Porcine beta-defensin-2 (pBD-2) is a well-studied antimicrobial peptide in pigs that can protect animal intestines and improve productivity. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of pBD-2 in alleviating AFB1-induced oxidative stress and intestinal mucosal damage using porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2 cells) and Kunming (KM) mice. The maximum destructive concentration of AFB1 for IPEC-J2 cells and the optimal therapeutic concentration of pBD-2 were determined by CCK-8 and RT-qPCR. We then investigated the oxidative stress and intestinal damage induced by AFB1 and the alleviating effect of pBD-2 by detecting changes of reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammatory cytokines, tight junction proteins (TJPs) and mucin. Finally, the molecular mechanism of pBD-2 mitigates AFB1-induced oxidative stress and intestinal mucosal damage were explored by adding ROS and Erk1/2 pathway inhibitors to comparative analysis. In vivo, the therapeutic effect of pBD-2 on AFB1-induced intestinal damage was analyzed from aspects such as average daily gain (ADG), pathological damage, inflammation, and mucosal barrier in KM mice. The study found that low doses of pBD-2 promoted cell proliferation and prevented AFB1-induced cell death, and pBD-2 significantly restored the feed conversion rate and ADG of KM mice reduced by long-term exposed AFB1. Increasing the intracellular ROS and the expression and phosphorylation of Erk1/2, AFB1 promoted inflammation by altering inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-8, and disrupted the mucosal barrier by interfering with Claudin-3, Occludin, and MUC2, while pBD-2 significantly reduced ROS and decreased the expression and phosphorylation of Erk1/2 to restored their expression to alleviate AFB1-induced oxidative stress and intestinal mucosal damage in IPEC-J2 cells and the small intestine of mice.

Pharmaceutical care model in precision medicine in China. / [Artículo traducido] Modelo de atención farmacéutica en medicina de precisión en China.

Pharmacy service is to provide individualized pharmaceutical care for patients, which should follow the current evidence-based pharmacy, and constantly verify the evidence and then produce new evidence. In pharmaceutical care, differences are often found in the efficacy and adverse reactions of drugs among individuals, even within individuals, which are closely related to patients' genetics, liver and kidney functions, disease states, and drug interactions. Back in the 1980s, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has been applied to routinely monitor the blood drug concentration of patients taking antiepileptic drugs or immunosuppressants after transplantation to provide individualized dosage recommendations and accumulate a large amount of pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) data. As individualized pharmaceutical care proceeds, the concept of precision medicine was introduced into pharmacy services in combination with evidence-based pharmacy, PK/PD theories, and big data to further promote the TDM technology and drugs, and carry out pharmacogenomics analysis. The TDM and pharmacogenomics have been applied gradually to the fields of antimicrobial, antitumor, and antipsychotic drugs and immunosuppressants. Based on the concept of precision pharmacy, we adopted approaches including PK/PD, quantitative pharmacology, population pharmacokinetics, and big data machine learning to provide more personalized pharmacy services, which is mainly for special patients, such as critical patients, patients with interaction risk of multiple drugs, patients with liver and renal insufficiency, pregnant women, children, and elderly patients. As the service pattern of precision pharmacy has been constructed and constantly improved, better evidence in clinical practice will be produced to provide patients with better precision pharmacy service.

Selective COX-2 inhibitors do not increase gastrointestinal reactions after colorectal cancer surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of selective COX-2 inhibitors in preventing colorectal cancer recurrence has been demonstrated, however it is unknown how safe and successful they will be over the long term. As a result, we looked at the efficacy, safety, and consequences of adding COX-2 inhibitors to the treatment plan afterward. METHODS: In patients with advanced colorectal cancer, we compared the efficacy of celecoxib at two different doses (200 mg twice day and 400 mg twice daily) with placebo. To evaluate the impacts of post-treatment, several datasets from inception to June 2022 were searched. Response rate, illness control rate, and 3-year survival were the main results. And evaluated several safety outcomes, particularly those that were susceptible to adverse events. RESULTS: The study comprised a total of 9 randomized controlled trials (3206 participants). Celecoxib and rofecoxib doidn't significantly improved the 1-3 year remission rate (OR, 1.57 [95% CI: 0.95-2.57]) and disease control rate (OR, 1.08 [95% CI: 0.99-1.17]). Subgroup analysis of different doses showed that 400 mg of celecoxib significantly improved the response rate (OR, 2.82 [95%CI: 1.20-6.61]). 200 mg celecoxib was not significant (OR, 1.28 [95% CI: 0.66-2.49]). Rofecoxib also did not fully improve disease response rates. Celecoxib at any dose improved 3-year survival (OR, 1.21 [95% CI: 1.02-1.45]). It is important to note that COX-2 inhibitors did not significantly enhance the likelihood of adverse events including gastrointestinal or cardiovascular side effects at any dose. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with advanced colorectal cancer, a reasonable chemoprevention regimen can include celecoxib 400 mg twice daily.

Investigations of Ascorbic Acid Synthesis and Distribution in Broiler Tissues at Different Post-Hatch Days.

Ascorbic acid (AA) is an indispensable nutrient required to sustain optimal poultry health and performance, which is commonly excluded from the diet of broilers. To investigate the synthesis and distribution of AA during broiler growth and clarify its possible turnover, 144 1 d old healthy Arbor Acres broilers with a body weight of approximately 41 g were randomly assigned to eight groups of 18 broilers each. The kidney, liver, ileum, and spleen of one bird from each group were collected every week until 42 d to detect the synthesis capacity, tissue distribution, and transporter gene expression of AA. The results showed that kidney L-gulonolactone oxidase (GLO) activity responded quadratically (p < 0.001), with maximum activity observed at 7 to 21 d old. Hepatic total AA and dehydroascrobate (DHA) concentration increased linearly (p < 0.001) with age, as did splenic total AA (p < 0.001). In the ileum, mRNA expression of sodium vitamin C transporter 1/2 (SVCT1/2) decreased with the growing age of the broilers (p < 0.05). The expression of SVCT1 in the kidney was not influenced by the growing age of the broilers. The progressive buildup of AA in the liver and spleen of broilers as they age implies an amplified demand for this nutrient. The waning synthesis capacity over time, however, raises concerns regarding the possible inadequacy of AA in the latter growth phase of broilers. The addition of AA to the broilers' diet might have the potential to optimize their performance. However, the effectiveness of such dietary supplementation requires further investigation.

Pharmaceutical care model in precision medicine in China.

Pharmacy service is to provide individualized pharmaceutical care for patients, which should follow the current evidence-based pharmacy, and constantly verify the evidence and then produce new evidence. In pharmaceutical care, differences are often found in the efficacy and adverse reactions of drugs among individuals, even within individuals, which are closely related to patient's genetics, liver and kidney functions, disease states, and drug interactions. Back in the 1980s, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has been applied to routinely monitor the blood drug concentration of patients taking antiepileptic drugs or immunosuppressants after transplantation to provide individualized dosage recommendations and accumulate a large amount of pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) data. As individualized pharmaceutical care proceeds, the concept of precision medicine was introduced into pharmacy services in combination with evidence-based pharmacy, PK/PD theories and big data to further promote the TDM technology and drugs, and carry out pharmacogenomics analysis. The TDM and pharmacogenomics have been applied gradually to the fields of antimicrobial, antitumor and antipsychotic drugs and immunosuppressants. Based on the concept of precision pharmacy, we adpoted approaches including PK/PD, quantitative pharmacology, population pharmacokinetics, and big data machine learning to provide more personalized pharmacy services, which is mainly for special patients, such as critical patients, patients with interaction risk of multiple drugs, patients with liver and renal insufficiency, pregnant women, children and elderly patients. As the service pattern of precision pharmacy has been constructed and constantly improved, better evidence in clinical practice will be produced to provide patients with better precision pharmacy service.

Antisense oligonuleotides influences trophoblasts behaviors by changing LncNR_040117 expression in antiphospholipid antibody syndrome-induced recurrent pregnancy loss.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to explore whether antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that reduce LncNR_040117 expression in patients with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS)-induced recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), and further decrease apoptosis and improve trophoblasts invasion through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. This paper aimed to provide a new strategy to treat APS-induced RPL. METHODS: In this study, we used quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to analyze the expression level of LncNR 040117 in HTR-8/SVneo cells following transfection with ASOs. Then we utilized Western blotting to test the expression levels of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), intracellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and key molecules of MAPK pathways, including the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and p38. In addition, we examined the HTR-8/SVneo cells apoptosis by cell apoptosis assay, and migration and invasion by transwell antibody assay. Each experiment was repeated three times. The data are presented as the means ± SDs, and statistical comparisons were performed using Student's t-test. p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULT: Transfected with ASOs, LncNR_040117 was downregulated in trophoblasts compared with APS-induced RPL patients. And LncNR_040117 low expression induced IL-1ß and downstream adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1expression level decreased, as well as MAPK pathways downregulation, including the ERK pathway, JNK pathway and p38/MAPK pathway. Furthermore, all these changes resulted in decreased apoptosis and increased migration and invasion of trophoblasts. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that ASOs that decrease LncNR_040117 expression can reduce apoptosis and enhance the invasion and migration of trophoblasts by regulating the MAPK pathway.

Structural and magnetic properties of Y3(GaAlFe)5O12 liquid-phase epitaxy films with low ferromagnetic resonance losses.

Ultra-thin rare earth iron garnet (RIG) films with a narrow ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) line width and a low damping factor have attracted a great deal of attention for microwave and spintronic applications. In this work, 200 nm Y3(GaAlFe)5O12 garnet (GaAl-YIG) films were prepared on gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) substrates by liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) with low saturation magnetization. The microstructural properties, chemical composition, and magnetostatic and dynamic magnetization characteristics of the films are discussed in detail. According to the structural analysis, these films exhibit a low surface roughness of less than 0.5 nm. The GaAl-YIG films show an obvious temperature dependence of lattice parameter and strain state, and the film's parameter is perfectly matched with that of the GGG substrate at 810°C. There is a clear variation in the Pb level, which brings about a gradual enhancement of the coercivity and a diminution of the squareness ratio of magnetic hysteresis loops as the growth temperature is reduced. Slight changes in surface roughness, strain condition and content of Pb induce the FMR line width and damping factor to vary on a small scale. The line width is less than 10.17 Oe at 12 GHz and the damping factor is of the order of 10-4. All these properties demonstrate that these ultra-thin GaAl-YIG films are of benefit for the development of devices operated at lower frequencies and in lower fields.

Expression analysis of irisin during different development stages of skeletal muscle in mice.

BACKGROUND: As a newly discovered muscle factor secreted by skeletal muscle cells, irisin is a polypeptide fragment formed from hydrolysis of fibronectin type Ⅲ domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5). Irisin can promote beigeing of white adipose tissue (WAT) and regulate glucose and lipid metabolisms. However, the functions of irisin in skeletal muscle development remain largely unknown. In order to characterize the expression of irisin, this study investigated the expression of irisin precursor FNDC5 in myoblasts and skeletal muscles during different developmental stages of SPF mice. RESULTS: The Western blot, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and immunofluorescence assay results showed that FNDC5 was expressed in all the developmental stages of myoblasts and gastrocnemius, but its expression differed at different stages. FNDC5 protein exhibited the highest expression in gastrocnemius of sexually mature mice, followed by elderly mice and adolescent mice, and it displayed the lowest expression in pups. Additionally, FNDC5 protein was mainly expressed in cytoplasm, and it had the highest expression in primary myoblasts, followed by the myotubes with the lowest expression in C2C12 myogenic cells. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, FNDC5 was mainly expressed in cytoplasm and extracellular matrix with different expression levels at different developmental stages of skeletal muscle cells and tissues in mice. This study will provide new strategies for promoting skeletal muscle development and treating muscle- and metabolism-related disease by using irisin.

CDH17 nanobodies facilitate rapid imaging of gastric cancer and efficient delivery of immunotoxin.

BACKGROUND: It is highly desirable to develop new therapeutic strategies for gastric cancer given the low survival rate despite improvement in the past decades. Cadherin 17 (CDH17) is a membrane protein highly expressed in cancers of digestive system. Nanobody represents a novel antibody format for cancer targeted imaging and drug delivery. Nanobody targeting CHD17 as an imaging probe and a delivery vehicle of toxin remains to be explored for its theragnostic potential in gastric cancer. METHODS: Naïve nanobody phage library was screened against CDH17 Domain 1-3 and identified nanobodies were extensively characterized with various assays. Nanobodies labeled with imaging probe were tested in vitro and in vivo for gastric cancer detection. A CDH17 Nanobody fused with toxin PE38 was evaluated for gastric cancer inhibition in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: Two nanobodies (A1 and E8) against human CDH17 with high affinity and high specificity were successfully obtained. These nanobodies could specifically bind to CDH17 protein and CDH17-positive gastric cancer cells. E8 nanobody as a lead was extensively determined for tumor imaging and drug delivery. It could efficiently co-localize with CDH17-positive gastric cancer cells in zebrafish embryos and rapidly visualize the tumor mass in mice within 3 h when conjugated with imaging dyes. E8 nanobody fused with toxin PE38 showed excellent anti-tumor effect and remarkably improved the mice survival in cell-derived (CDX) and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. The immunotoxin also enhanced the anti-tumor effect of clinical drug 5-Fluorouracil. CONCLUSIONS: The study presents a novel imaging and drug delivery strategy by targeting CDH17. CDH17 nanobody-based immunotoxin is potentially a promising therapeutic modality for clinical translation against gastric cancer.

An individualized medication model of sodium valproate for patients with bipolar disorder based on machine learning and deep learning techniques.

Valproic acid/sodium valproate (VPA) is a widely used anticonvulsant drug for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorders. In order to balance the efficacy and adverse events of VPA treatment, an individualized dose regimen is necessary. This study aimed to establish an individualized medication model of VPA for patients with bipolar disorder based on machine learning and deep learning techniques. The sequential forward selection (SFS) algorithm was applied for selecting a feature subset, and random forest was used for interpolating missing values. Then, we compared nine models using XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost, random forest, GBDT, SVM, logistic regression, ANN, and TabNet, and CatBoost was chosen to establish the individualized medication model with the best performance (accuracy = 0.85, AUC = 0.91, sensitivity = 0.85, and specificity = 0.83). Three important variables that correlated with VPA daily dose included VPA TDM value, antipsychotics, and indirect bilirubin. SHapley Additive exPlanations was applied to visually interpret their impacts on VPA daily dose. Last, the confusion matrix presented that predicting a daily dose of 0.5 g VPA had a precision of 55.56% and recall rate of 83.33%, and predicting a daily dose of 1 g VPA had a precision of 95.83% and a recall rate of 85.19%. In conclusion, the individualized medication model of VPA for patients with bipolar disorder based on CatBoost had a good prediction ability, which provides guidance for clinicians to propose the optimal medication regimen.

Reciprocal positive regulation between BRD4 and YAP in GNAQ-mutant uveal melanoma cells confers sensitivity to BET inhibitors.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common intraocular cancer in adults. UMs are usually initiated by a mutation in GNAQ or GNA11 (encoding Gq or G11, respectively), unlike cutaneous melanomas (CMs), which usually carry a BRAF or NRAS mutation. Currently, there are no clinically effective targeted therapies for UM carrying Gq/11 mutations. Here, we identified a causal link between Gq activating mutations and hypersensitivity to bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) inhibitors. BET inhibitors transcriptionally repress YAP via BRD4 regardless of Gq mutation status, independently of Hippo core components LATS1/2. In contrast, YAP/TAZ downregulation reduces BRD4 transcription exclusively in Gq-mutant cells and LATS1/2 double knockout cells, both of which are featured by constitutively active YAP/TAZ. The transcriptional interdependency between BRD4 and YAP identified in Gq-mutated cells is responsible for the preferential inhibitory effect of BET inhibitors on the growth and dissemination of Gq-mutated UM cells compared to BRAF-mutated CM cells in both culture cells and animal models. Our findings suggest BRD4 as a viable therapeutic target for Gq-driven UMs that are addicted to unrestrained YAP function.

Development of γ-Al2O3 with oxygen vacancies induced by amorphous structures for photocatalytic reduction of CO2.

Inducing amorphous components into Al2O3 leads to elongation of the Al-O bond and the formation of oxygen vacancies, which makes Al2O3 an independent photocatalyst for CO2 adsorption and reduction. The generation rate of CO can reach 36.5 µmol g-1 h-1, which is 6.5 times that of P25 TiO2.

Prevalence of Porcine Circoviruses in Slaughterhouses in Central Shanxi Province, China.

Background: Porcine circovirus disease is currently the greatest threat to pig farming. Four main porcine circovirus genotypes are circulating worldwide. Objective: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of porcine circovirus genotypes in the central part of Shanxi province. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3), and porcine circovirus type 4 (PCV4). Porcine circoviruses were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the lung tissues of 180 pigs from 7 slaughterhouses in central Shanxi, China. Results: The prevalence of PCV2, PCV3, and PCV4 were 56.8, 80, and 9.4%, respectively, and the negative rate was 10% for all three pathogens. The co-infection with PCV2 + PCV3, PCV2 + PCV4, PCV3 + PCV4, and PCV2 + PCV3 + PCV4 were 47.2, 7.4, 7.4, and 5.6%, respectively. Among PCV4-positive samples, the positive rate of PCV4 + PCV2 was 52.9% (9/17), whereas that of PCV4 + PCV3 was 100% (17/17). On the other hand, PCV2 and PCV3 were detected in 57.1% (93/163) and in 78.5% (128/163) of PCV4-negative samples, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that PCV2, PCV3, and PCV4 were not in the same clade and were distant from each other. Conclusion: The high positive rates of PCV3, PCV2 + PCV3, and PCV3 + PCV4 suggest that PCV3 may play a decisive role in PCV2 and PCV4 infections. Therefore, further control of PCV3 is needed to reduce the spread of the virus.