Evolution of genome and immunogenome in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas driven by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) followed by surgery is a standard treatment for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs). However, the evolution of genome and immunogenome in ESCCs driven by NCRT remains incompletely elucidated. We performed whole-exome sequencing of 51 ESCC tumors collected before and after NCRT, 36 of which were subjected to transcriptome sequencing. Clonal analysis identified clonal extinction in 13 ESCC patients wherein all pre-NCRT clones disappeared after NCRT, and clonal persistence in 9 patients wherein clones endured following NCRT. The clone-persistent patients showed higher pre-NCRT genomic intratumoral heterogeneity and worse prognosis than the clone-extinct ones. In contrast to the clone-extinct patients, the clone-persistent patients demonstrated a high proportion of subclonal neoantigens within pre-treatment specimens. Transcriptome analysis revealed increased immune infiltrations and up-regulated immune-related pathways after NCRT, especially in the clone-extinct patients. The number of T cell receptor-neoantigen interactions was higher in the clone-extinct patients than in the clone-persistent ones. The decrease in T cell repertoire evenness positively correlated to the decreased number of clonal neoantigens after NCRT, especially in the clone-extinct patients. In conclusion, we identified two prognosis-related clonal dynamic modes driven by NCRT in ESCCs. This study extended our knowledge of the ESCC genome and immunogenome evolutions driven by NCRT.

Combatting ageing in dermal papilla cells and promoting hair follicle regeneration using exosomes from human hair follicle dermal sheath cup cells.

Dermal papilla cells (DPCs) undergo premature ageing in androgenetic alopecia and senescent alopecia. As critical components of hair follicle reconstruction, DPCs are also prone to senescence in vitro, resulting in a diminished hair follicle inductivity capacity. Dermal sheath cup cells (DSCCs), a specific subset of hair follicle mesenchymal stem cells, intimately linked to the function of DPCs. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the anti-ageing effect of exosomes derived from DSCCs (ExoDSCCs ) on DPCs. Exosomes were utilized to treat H2 O2 -induced DPCs or long-generation DPCs(P10). Our findings demonstrate that ExoDSCCs(P3) promote the proliferation, viability and migration of senescent DPCs while inhibiting cell apoptosis. The expression of senescence marker SA-ß-Gal were significantly downregulated in senescent DPCs. When treated with ExoDSCCs(P3) , expression of inducibility related markers alkaline phosphatase and Versican were significantly upregulated. Additionally, ExoDSCCs(P3) activated the Wnt/ß-catenin signalling in vitro. In patch assay, ExoDSCCs(P3) significantly promoted hair follicle reconstruction in senescent DPCs. In summary, our work highlights that ExoDSCCs(P3) may restore the biological functions and improve the hair follicle induction ability of senescent DPCs. Therefore, ExoDSCCs(P3) may represent a new strategy for intervening in the ageing process of DPCs, contributing to the prevention of senile alopecia.

Sirtuin 1, as a potential prognosis marker in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, regulates lipid metabolism and immune infiltration.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a malignancy with a dismal prognosis, caused by the buildup of fat and glycogen. Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) is a deacetylase that regulates lipid metabolism. In this study, we collected tumor and paracancer tissues from 386 ccRCC patients and followed their prognosis over an extended time period. The expression of Sirt1 in these tissues was assessed using immunohistochemistry, and LinkedOmics database analysis identified differentially expressed genes associated with Sirt1. The survival curve was generated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and immune infiltration was analyzed using the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) web tool. Our findings revealed that Sirt1 was expressed in tumor tissues, but not in normal tissues, and its high expression was associated with a worse prognosis. Furthermore, we observed a positive correlation between high Sirt1 expression and perirenal fat invasion and necrosis, leading to poorer survival outcomes. We established a nomogram to predict prognosis, and a correlation was observed with immune infiltration. In conclusion, our results suggest that high Sirt1 expression is associated with lipid metabolism disorder and immune infiltration, ultimately contributing to a dismal prognosis in ccRCC.

Body mass index, as a novel predictor of hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with Anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.

Immunocheckpoint inhibitors have shown significant efficacy in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but there are individual differences. The aim of this study was to explore body mass index (BMI) as a predictor of anti-PD-1 efficacy in patients with HCC. We retrospectively analyzed 101 HCC patients who treated with anti-PD-1 at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from July 2018 to November 2019 and divided them into overweight (BMI > 24.9) and non-overweight (BMI ≤ 24.9) groups based on baseline BMI levels. BMI > 24.9 accounted for 22 cases (21.8%) and BMI ≤ 24.9 accounted for 79 cases (78.2%) in the study cohort. Overweight patients had higher disease control rates than non-overweight patients (P = 0.019, respectively). The mean progression-free survival (PFS) in overweight patients (10.23 months) was significantly longer than that of non-overweight patients (6.85 months; P = 0.027). Among patients with immune-related adverse events (irAEs), the mean PFS was also significantly longer in overweight patients (7.72 months) than in non-overweight patients (5.31 months, P = 0.034). Multivariate analysis showed that BMI was an independent prognostic factor for PFS in HCC patients treated with anti-PD-1 (hazard ratio: 0.47, P = 0.044). Thus, higher BMI predicts a better prognosis among HCC patients treated with anti-PD-1. In clinical practice, patients' BMI can provide a useful tool for predicting the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy.