Immune Responses to the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2 Vaccines and to Natural Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infections Over a 3-Month Period.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data directly comparing immune responses to vaccines and to natural infections with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study assessed the immunogenicity of the BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccines over a 3-month period and compared the immune responses with those to natural infections. METHOD: We enrolled healthcare workers who received BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccines and patients with confirmed COVID-19 and then measured S1 immunoglobulin (Ig) G and neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses. RESULTS: A total of 121 vaccinees and 26 patients with confirmed COVID-19 were analyzed. After the second dose, the BNT162b2 vaccine yielded S1 IgG antibody responses similar to those achieved with natural infections (mean IgG titer [standard deviation], 2241 [899] vs 2601 [5039]; P = .68) but significantly stronger than responses to the ChAdOx1 vaccine (174 [96]; P < .001). The neutralizing antibody titer generated by BNT162b2 was 6-fold higher than that generated by ChAdOx1 but lower than that by natural infection. T-cell responses persisted for 3 months with BNT162b2 and natural infection but decreased with ChAdOx1. CONCLUSIONS: Antibody responses after the second dose of BNT162b2 are higher than after the second dose of ChAdOx1 and like those occurring after natural infection. T-cell responses are maintained longer in BNT162b2 vaccinees than in ChAdOx1 vaccinees.

Cytotoxic Properties of C17 Polyacetylenes from the Fresh Roots of Panax ginseng on Human Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Cells.

Although C17 polyacetylenes from Panax ginseng exhibit cytotoxic properties against various tumor cells, there have been few experiments on epithelial ovarian carcinoma cells. This study aimed to investigate the cytotoxic effects of C17 polyacetylenes from P. ginseng against ovarian cancer cell lines. Four unreported (1-4) and fifteen known (5-19) C17 polyacetylenes were obtained from the roots of P. ginseng using repeated chromatography (open column, MPLC, and preparative HPLC). The chemical structures of all the compounds were determined by analyzing their spectroscopic data (NMR, IR, and optical rotation) and HR-MS. The structures of new polyacetylenes were elucidated as (3S,8S,9R,10R)-(-)-heptadeca-9,10-epoxy-4,6-diyne-3,8-diyl diacetate (1), (3S,8S,9R,10R)-(-)-heptadeca-1-en-9,10-epoxy-4,6-diyne-3,8-diyl diacetate (2), (-)-haptadeca-9,10-epoxy-8-methoxy-4,6-diyne-3,11-diol (3), and (3R,9R,10R)-(+)-3-acetoxy-9,10-dihydroxyheptadeca-1-en-4,6-diyne (4), named ginsenoynes O, P, and Q, and 3-acetyl panaxytriol, respectively. Subsequently, in vitro experiments on A2780 and SKOV3 human epithelial ovarian carcinoma cells were performed to assess the cytotoxic properties of the isolates. Among the isolates, panaquinquecol 4 (15) exhibited the most remarkable cytotoxic effects on both human ovarian cancer cells A2780 (IC50 value of 7.60 µM) and SKOV3 (IC50 value of 27.53 µM). Therefore, C17 polyacetylenes derived from P. ginseng may warrant further investigation for their therapeutic potential in epithelial ovarian cancer.

FOXO3a Mediates Homologous Recombination Repair (HRR) via Transcriptional Activation of MRE11, BRCA1, BRIP1, and RAD50.

To test whether homologous recombination repair (HRR) depends on FOXO3a, a cellular aging model of human dermal fibroblast (HDF) and tet-on flag-h-FOXO3a transgenic mice were studied. HDF cells transfected with over-expression of wt-h-FOXO3a increased the protein levels of MRE11, BRCA1, BRIP1, and RAD50, while knock-down with siFOXO3a decreased them. The protein levels of MRE11, BRCA1, BRIP1, RAD50, and RAD51 decreased during cellular aging. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay was performed on FOXO3a binding accessibility to FOXO consensus sites in human MRE11, BRCA1, BRIP1, and RAD50 promoters; the results showed FOXO3a binding decreased during cellular aging. When the tet-on flag-h-FOXO3a mice were administered doxycycline orally, the protein and mRNA levels of flag-h-FOXO3a, MRE11, BRCA1, BRIP1, and RAD50 increased in a doxycycline-dose-dependent manner. In vitro HRR assays were performed by transfection with an HR vector and I-SceI vector. The mRNA levels of the recombined GFP increased after doxycycline treatment in MEF but not in wt-MEF, and increased in young HDF comparing to old HDF, indicating that FOXO3a activates HRR. Overall, these results demonstrate that MRE11, BRCA1, BRIP1, and RAD50 are transcriptional target genes for FOXO3a, and HRR activity is increased via transcriptional activation of MRE11, BRCA1, BRIP1, and RAD50 by FOXO3a.

Severe Atrophy of the Ipsilateral Psoas Muscle Associated with Hip Osteoarthritis and Spinal Stenosis-A Case Report.

Pathology of the lumbar spine and hip joint can commonly coexist in the elderly. Anterior and lateral leg pain as symptoms of hip osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis can closely resemble each other, with only subtle differences in both history and physical examinations. It is not easy to identify the origin of this kind of hip pain. The possibility of hip osteoarthritis should not be underestimated, as this could lead to an incorrect diagnosis and inappropriate spinal surgery. We report the case of a 54-year-old female with chronic right anterior and lateral leg pain who did not respond to repeated spinal blocks based on lumbar MRI, but in whom hip osteoarthritis was considered since severe atrophy of the ipsilateral psoas muscle was identified. We suggest that severe psoas muscle atrophy can be a clinical clue to identify hip osteoarthritis and is related to lower extremity pain, even if there is a coexisting lumbar spine pathology.

In Vitro and in Vivo Activity of mTOR Kinase and PI3K Inhibitors Against Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma brucei.

Kinetoplastid parasites, including Leishmania and Trypanosoma spp., are life threatening pathogens with a worldwide distribution. Next-generation therapeutics for treatment are needed as current treatments have limitations, such as toxicity and drug resistance. In this study, we examined the activities of established mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors against these tropical diseases. High-throughput screening of a library of 1742 bioactive compounds against intracellular L. donovani was performed, and seven mTOR/PI3K inhibitors were identified. Dose-dilution assays revealed that these inhibitors had half maximal effective concentration (EC50) values ranging from 0.14 to 13.44 µM for L. donovani amastigotes and from 0.00005 to 8.16 µM for T. brucei. The results of a visceral leishmaniasis mouse model indicated that treatment with Torin2, dactolisib, or NVP-BGT226 resulted in reductions of 35%, 53%, and 54%, respectively, in the numbers of liver parasites. In an acute T. brucei mouse model using NVP-BGT226 parasite numbers were reduced to under the limits of detection by five consecutive days of treatment. Multiple sequence and structural alignment results indicated high similarities between mTOR and kinetoplastid TORs; the inhibitors are predicted to bind in a similar manner. Taken together, these results indicated that the TOR pathways of parasites have potential for the discovery of novel targets and new potent inhibitors.

Therapeutic Cell Protective Role of Histochrome under Oxidative Stress in Human Cardiac Progenitor Cells.

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) are resident stem cells present in a small portion of ischemic hearts and function in repairing the damaged heart tissue. Intense oxidative stress impairs cell metabolism thereby decreasing cell viability. Protecting CPCs from undergoing cellular apoptosis during oxidative stress is crucial in optimizing CPC-based therapy. Histochrome (sodium salt of echinochrome A-a common sea urchin pigment) is an antioxidant drug that has been clinically used as a pharmacologic agent for ischemia/reperfusion injury in Russia. However, the mechanistic effect of histochrome on CPCs has never been reported. We investigated the protective effect of histochrome pretreatment on human CPCs (hCPCs) against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress. Annexin V/7-aminoactinomycin D (7-AAD) assay revealed that histochrome-treated CPCs showed significant protective effects against H2O2-induced cell death. The anti-apoptotic proteins B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and Bcl-xL were significantly upregulated, whereas the pro-apoptotic proteins BCL2-associated X (Bax), H2O2-induced cleaved caspase-3, and the DNA damage marker, phosphorylated histone (γH2A.X) foci, were significantly downregulated upon histochrome treatment of hCPCs in vitro. Further, prolonged incubation with histochrome alleviated the replicative cellular senescence of hCPCs. In conclusion, we report the protective effect of histochrome against oxidative stress and present the use of a potent and bio-safe cell priming agent as a potential therapeutic strategy in patient-derived hCPCs to treat heart disease.

Does the relative muscle activation of the vastus medialis, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis, during the various activities, change in relation to the quadriceps angle?

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between the quadriceps angle and muscle-activation ratios for the vastus medialis, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis during various activities. [Subjects and Methods] Seventeen heathy females were recruited. The quadriceps angles were measured with long-arm goniometers. The muscle activity of the vastus medialis, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis were measured using electromyography under four different activity settings: walking, squatting, step-up, and sit-to-stand. The muscle activation ratios were calculated and their correlations with the quadriceps angles were analyzed. [Results] The activation ratio of the rectus femoris to the vastus medialis (and, although less significant, of the vastus lateralis to the vastus medialis) was positively correlated with the quadriceps angle during the step-up and sit-to-stand. A similar tendency was also seen during squatting. The activation ratio of the vastus lateralis to the rectus femoris was negatively correlated with the quadriceps angle during walking. [Conclusion] The relative muscle activity among the muscles composing the quadriceps was correlated with the quadriceps angle. During activities involving deeper knee flexion like the step-up, sit-to-stand, and squatting, the relative activity of the lateral muscles tended to increase as the quadriceps angle increased. Meanwhile, during walking the activity of the medial muscles seemed to increase with a larger quadriceps angle.

GuaRD: Guaranteed robustness of image retrieval system under data distortion turbulence.

Image search systems could be endangered by adversarial attacks and data perturbations. The image retrieval system can be compromised either by distorting the query or hacking the ranking system. However, existing literature primarily discusses attack methods, whereas the research on countermeasures to defend against such adversarial attacks is rare. As a defense mechanism against the intrusions, quality assessment can complement existing image retrieval systems. "GuaRD" is proposed as an end-to-end framework that uses the quality metric as a weighted-regularization term. Proper utilization and balance of the two features could lead to reliable and robust ranking; the original image is assigned a higher rank while the distorted image is assigned a relatively lower rank. Meanwhile, the primary goal of the image retrieval system is to prioritize searching the relevant images. Therefore, the use of leveraged features should not compromise the accuracy of the system. To evaluate the generality of the framework, we conducted three experiments on two image quality assessment(IQA) benchmarks (Waterloo and PieAPP). For the first two tests, GuaRD achieved enhanced performance than the existing model: the mean reciprocal rank(mRR) value of the original image predictions increased by 61%, and the predictions for the distorted input query decreased by 18%. The third experiment was conducted to analyze the mean average precision (mAP) score of the system to verify the accuracy of the retrieval system. The results indicated little deviation in performance between the tested methods, and the score was not effected or slightly decreased by 0.9% after the GuaRD was applied. Therefore, GuaRD is a novel and robust framework that can act as a defense mechanism for data distortions.

Upregulation of SPI1 in Ectopic Endometrium Contributes to an Invasive Phenotype.

BACKGROUD AND AIM: Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases associated with chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and cancer. However, its molecular pathogenesis remains unclear. This study aimed to identify key genes involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. METHODS: Bioinformatic analyses were perfomed to identify key differentially expressed genes (DEGs), transcription factors (TFs), and functionally enriched pathways. Effect of SPI1 on migration, invasion, expression of ADH1B, MYH11, and PLN were analyzed in human endometriotic cells. RESULTS: By screening three transcriptome datasets from the GEO for overlapping DEGs between eutopic and ectopic endometria in patients with endometriosis, we found that the expression of ADH1B, MYH11, and PLN was markedly upregulated in the ectopic endometrium. Knockdown of ADH1B, MYH11, and PLN significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of human endometriotic 12Z cells. Additionally, gene set enrichment analysis revealed that epithelial-mesenchymal transition gene signature was positively correlated with ADH1B, MYH11, and PLN expression. Notably, the TF SPI1 was found to regulate the expression of these three genes in the endometriotic tissues and 12TZ cells. Moreover, SPI1 expression was associated with the invasion of endometriotic cells and was increased in the ectopic endometrium of patients with endometriosis. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that SPI1 plays a key role in the progression of endometriosis by regulating ADH1B, MYH11, and PLN expression and may therefore serve as a potential prognostic and therapeutic factor for endometriosis.

Immunogenicity and Durability of Antibody Responses to Homologous and Heterologous Vaccinations with BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 Vaccines for COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines were developed based on various platform technologies and were approved for emergency use. However, the comparative analysis of immunogenicity and durability of vaccine-induced antibody responses depending on vaccine platforms or vaccination regimens has not been thoroughly examined for mRNA- or viral vector-based vaccines. In this study, we assessed spike-binding IgG levels and neutralizing capacity in 66 vaccinated individuals prime-boost immunized either by homologous (BNT162b2-BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1-ChAdOx1) or heterologous (ChAdOx1-BNT162b2) vaccination for six months after the first vaccination. Despite the discrepancy in intervals for the prime-boost vaccination regimen of different COVID-19 vaccines, we found stronger induction and relatively rapid waning of antibody responses by homologous vaccination of the mRNA vaccine, while weaker boost effect and stable maintenance of humoral immune responses were observed in the viral vector vaccine group over 6 months. Heterologous vaccination with ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2 resulted in an effective boost effect with the highest remaining antibody responses at six months post-primary vaccination.

1'-Acetoxyeugenol Acetate Isolated from Thai Ginger Induces Apoptosis in Human Ovarian Cancer Cells by ROS Production via NADPH Oxidase.

The rhizomes of Alpinia galanga (Thai ginger) have been used extensively as a spice in Southeast Asian and Arabian cuisines and reported to possess a wide range of biological properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antibacterial. However, the specific molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the anti-tumor effects induced by Thai ginger and its corresponding active compounds have been poorly characterized. We found that upon EtOH extraction, Thai ginger extract exhibits cytotoxic activity (IC50 < 10 µg/mL) and triggers cell death via caspase-dependent apoptosis in human ovarian cancer cells. Among the three major compounds isolated from the extract, 1'-acetoxyeugenol acetate (AEA) exhibited potent cytotoxic activity in human ovarian cancer cells, SKOV3 and A2780. AEA induced apoptotic cell death through the activation of caspases-3 and -9. Notably, AEA enhanced the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the application of an antioxidant markedly reversed AEA-induced apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells. The knockdown of p47phox, a subunit of NADPH oxidase, suppressed both the pro-apoptotic and ROS-inducing effects of AEA. Additionally, the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway by AEA through ROS regulation was found to be involved in AEA-induced apoptosis. Altogether, these results suggest that AEA exhibits potent apoptosis-inducing activity through the activation of the intrinsic pathway via ROS-mediated MAPK signaling in human ovarian cancer cells.

The Translational Landscape of SARS-CoV-2-infected Cells Reveals Suppression of Innate Immune Genes.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) utilizes a number of strategies to modulate viral and host mRNA translation. Here, we used ribosome profiling in SARS-CoV-2-infected model cell lines and primary airway cells grown at an air-liquid interface to gain a deeper understanding of the translationally regulated events in response to virus replication. We found that SARS-CoV-2 mRNAs dominate the cellular mRNA pool but are not more efficiently translated than cellular mRNAs. SARS-CoV-2 utilized a highly efficient ribosomal frameshifting strategy despite notable accumulation of ribosomes within the slippery sequence on the frameshifting element. In a highly permissive cell line model, although SARS-CoV-2 infection induced the transcriptional upregulation of numerous chemokine, cytokine, and interferon-stimulated genes, many of these mRNAs were not translated efficiently. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on host mRNA translation was more subtle in primary cells, with marked transcriptional and translational upregulation of inflammatory and innate immune responses and downregulation of processes involved in ciliated cell function. Together, these data reveal the key role of mRNA translation in SARS-CoV-2 replication and highlight unique mechanisms for therapeutic development. IMPORTANCE SARS-CoV-2 utilizes a number of strategies to modulate host responses to ensure efficient propagation. Here, we used ribosome profiling in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells to gain a deeper understanding of the translationally regulated events in infected cells. We found that although viral mRNAs are abundantly expressed, they are not more efficiently translated than cellular mRNAs. SARS-CoV-2 utilized a highly efficient ribosomal frameshifting strategy and alternative translation initiation sites that help increase the coding potential of its RNAs. In permissive cells, SARS-CoV-2 infection induced the translational repression of numerous innate immune mediators. Though the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on host mRNA translation was more subtle in primary airway cell cultures, we noted marked transcriptional and translational upregulation of inflammatory and innate immune responses and downregulation of processes involved in ciliated cell function. Together, these data provide new insight into how SARS-CoV-2 modulates innate host responses and highlight unique mechanisms for therapeutic intervention.

The translational landscape of SARS-CoV-2 and infected cells.

SARS-CoV-2 utilizes a number of strategies to modulate viral and host mRNA translation. Here, we used ribosome profiling in SARS-CoV-2 infected model cell lines and primary airway cells grown at the air-liquid interface to gain a deeper understanding of the translationally regulated events in response to virus replication. We find that SARS-CoV-2 mRNAs dominate the cellular mRNA pool but are not more efficiently translated than cellular mRNAs. SARS-CoV-2 utilized a highly efficient ribosomal frameshifting strategy in comparison to HIV-1, suggesting utilization of distinct structural elements. In the highly permissive cell models, although SARS-CoV-2 infection induced the transcriptional upregulation of numerous chemokines, cytokines and interferon stimulated genes, many of these mRNAs were not translated efficiently. Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on host mRNA translation was more subtle in primary cells, with marked transcriptional and translational upregulation of inflammatory and innate immune responses and downregulation of processes involved in ciliated cell function. Together, these data reveal the key role of mRNA translation in SARS-CoV-2 replication and highlight unique mechanisms for therapeutic development.

Correlation between Reactogenicity and Immunogenicity after the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccination.

Correlation between vaccine reactogenicity and immunogenicity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unclear. Thus, we investigated to determine whether the reactogenicity after coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination is associated with antibody (Ab) titers and T cell responses. This study was prospective cohort study done with 131 healthcare workers at tertiary center in Seoul, South Korea. The degrees of the local reactions after the 1st and 2nd doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 (ChAdOx1) vaccination were significantly associated with the S1-specific IgG Ab titers (p=0.003 and 0.01, respectively) and neutralizing Ab (p=0.04 and 0.10, respectively) in age- and sex-adjusted multivariate analysis, whereas those after the BNT162b2 vaccination did not show significant associations. T cell responses did not show significant associations with the degree of reactogenicity after the ChAdOx1 vaccination or the BNT162b2 vaccination. Thus, high degree of local reactogenicity after the ChAdOx1 vaccine may be used as an indicator of strong humoral immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.

Comparison of Antibody and T Cell Responses Induced by Single Doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2 Vaccines.

There are limited data directly comparing humoral and T cell responses to the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2 vaccines. We compared Ab and T cell responses after first doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vs. BNT162b2 vaccines. We enrolled healthcare workers who received ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 vaccine in Seoul, Korea. Anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) S1 protein-specific IgG Abs (S1-IgG), neutralizing Abs (NT Abs), and SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell response were evaluated before vaccination and at 1-wk intervals for 3 wks after vaccination. A total of 76 persons, comprising 40 injected with the ChAdOx1 vaccine and 36 injected with the BNT162b2 vaccine, participated in this study. At 3 wks after vaccination, the mean levels (±SD) of S1-IgG and NT Abs in the BNT162b2 participants were significantly higher than in the ChAdOx1 participants (S1-IgG, 14.03±7.20 vs. 6.28±8.87, p<0.0001; NT Ab, 183.1±155.6 vs. 116.6±116.2, p=0.035), respectively. However, the mean values of the T cell responses in the 2 groups were comparable after 2 wks. The humoral immune response after the 1st dose of BNT162b2 developed faster and was stronger than after the 1st dose of ChAdOx1. However, the T cell responses to BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 were similar.

Systematic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection of an ACE2-negative human airway cell.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) variants govern transmissibility, responsiveness to vaccination, and disease severity. In a screen for new models of SARS-CoV-2 infection, we identify human H522 lung adenocarcinoma cells as naturally permissive to SARS-CoV-2 infection despite complete absence of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression. Remarkably, H522 infection requires the E484D S variant; viruses expressing wild-type S are not infectious. Anti-S monoclonal antibodies differentially neutralize SARS-CoV-2 E484D S in H522 cells as compared to ACE2-expressing cells. Sera from vaccinated individuals block this alternative entry mechanism, whereas convalescent sera are less effective. Although the H522 receptor remains unknown, depletion of surface heparan sulfates block H522 infection. Temporally resolved transcriptomic and proteomic profiling reveal alterations in cell cycle and the antiviral host cell response, including MDA5-dependent activation of type I interferon signaling. These findings establish an alternative SARS-CoV-2 host cell receptor for the E484D SARS-CoV-2 variant, which may impact tropism of SARS-CoV-2 and consequently human disease pathogenesis.

Systematic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection of an ACE2-negative human airway cell.

Established in vitro models for SARS-CoV-2 infection are limited and include cell lines of non-human origin and those engineered to overexpress ACE2, the cognate host cell receptor. We identified human H522 lung adenocarcinoma cells as naturally permissive to SARS-CoV-2 infection despite complete absence of ACE2. Infection of H522 cells required the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, though in contrast to ACE2-dependent models, spike alone was not sufficient for H522 infection. Temporally resolved transcriptomic and proteomic profiling revealed alterations in cell cycle and the antiviral host cell response, including MDA5-dependent activation of type-I interferon signaling. Focused chemical screens point to important roles for clathrin-mediated endocytosis and endosomal cathepsins in SARS-CoV-2 infection of H522 cells. These findings imply the utilization of an alternative SARS-CoV-2 host cell receptor which may impact tropism of SARS-CoV-2 and consequently human disease pathogenesis.

Engineered M13 Peptide Carrier Promotes Angiogenic Potential of Patient-Derived Human Cardiac Progenitor Cells and In Vivo Engraftment.

BACKGROUND: Despite promising advances in stem cell-based therapy, the treatment of ischemic cardiovascular diseases remains a big challenge due to both the insufficient in vivo viability of transplanted cells and poor angiogenic potential of stem cells. The goal of this study was to develop therapeutic human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) for ischemic cardiovascular diseases with a novel M13 peptide carrier. METHOD: In this study, an engineered M13 peptide carrier was successfully generated using a QuikChange Kit. The cellular function of M13 peptide carrier-treated hCPCs was assessed using a tube formation assay and scratch wound healing assay. The in vivo engraftment and cell survival bioactivities of transplanted cells were demonstrated by immunohistochemistry after hCPC transplantation into a myocardial infarction animal model. RESULTS: The engineered M13RGD+SDKP peptide carrier, which expressed RGD peptide on PIII site and SDKP peptide on PVIII site, did not affect morphologic change and proliferation ability in hCPCs. In contrast, hCPCs treated with M13RGD+SDKP showed enhanced angiogenic capacity, including tube formation and migration capacity. Moreover, transplanted hCPCs with M13RGD+SDKP were engrafted into the ischemic region and promoted in vivo cell survival. CONCLUSION: Our present data provides a promising protocol for CPC-based cell therapy via short-term cell priming of hCPCs with engineered M13RGD+SDKP before cell transplantation for treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Transforming in awareness of relationship problems due to excessive private education in Korea.

PURPOSE: This study sought to use child and parent counselling to investigate aspects of maladjustment in parent-child and peer relationships of children who had been exposed to excessive private education in early life. METHOD: The Case study method was used for three children and their mothers, analyzing the process of transformation in awareness of the issue of excessive education, based on the content of the counselling session. RESULT: The process of change in awareness of problems due to their experiences of excessive private education experiences was divided into five domains and 13 categories. The participants showed that they were aware of the problems in their relationship and consequently made changes to their lives. CONCLUSION: This study found that counselling helped alleviate the aforementioned problems, which suggests the need for preventive interventions on parent-child relationship in the context of the negative effects of excessive private education.

High-throughput drug screening using the Ebola virus transcription- and replication-competent virus-like particle system.

The massive epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa, followed in recent months by two outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, underline the importance of this severe disease. Because Ebola virus (EBOV) must be manipulated under biosafety level 4 (BSL4) containment, the discovery and development of virus-specific therapies have been hampered. Recently, a transient transfection-based transcription- and replication competent virus-like particle (trVLP) system was described, enabling modeling of the entire EBOV life cycle under BSL2 conditions. Using this system, we optimized the condition for bulk co-transfection of multiple plasmids, developed a luciferase reporter-based assay in 384-well microtiter plates, and performed a high-throughput screening (HTS) campaign of an 8,354-compound collection consisting of U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) -approved drugs, bioactives, kinase inhibitors, and natural products in duplicates. The HTS achieved a good signal-to-background ratio with a low percent coefficient of variation resulting in Z' = 0.7, and data points were reproducible with R2 = 0.89, indicative of a robust assay. After applying stringent hit selection criteria of ≥70% EBOV trVLP inhibition and ≥70% cell viability, 381 hits were selected targeting early, entry, and replication steps and 49 hits targeting late, maturation, and secretion steps in the viral life cycle. Of the total 430 hits, 220 were confirmed by dose-response analysis in the primary HTS assay. They were subsequently triaged by time-of-addition assays, then clustered and ranked according to their chemical structures, biological functions, therapeutic index, and maximum inhibition. Several novel drugs have been identified to very efficiently inhibit EBOV. Interestingly, most showed pharmacological activity in treatments for central nervous system-related diseases. We developed and screened an HTS assay using the novel EBOV trVLP system. Newly identified inhibitors are useful tools to study the poorly understood EBOV life cycle. In addition, they also provide opportunities to either repurpose FDA-approved drugs or develop novel viral interventions to combat EVD.