Fluid nanoporous microinterface enables multiscale-enhanced affinity interaction for tumor-derived extracellular vesicle detection.

Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (T-EVs) represent valuable markers for tumor diagnosis and treatment guidance. However, nanoscale sizes and the low abundance of marker proteins of T-EVs restrict interfacial affinity reaction, leading to low isolation efficiency and detection sensitivity. Here, we engineer a fluid nanoporous microinterface (FluidporeFace) in a microfluidic chip by decorating supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) on nanoporous herringbone microstructures with a multiscale-enhanced affinity reaction for efficient isolation of T-EVs. At the microscale level, the herringbone micropattern promotes the mass transfer of T-EVs to the surface. At the nanoscale level, nanoporousity can overcome boundary effects for close contact between T-EVs and the interface. At the molecular level, fluid SLBs afford clustering of recognition molecules at the binding site, enabling multivalent binding with an ∼83-fold increase of affinity compared with the nonfluid interface. With the synergetic enhanced mass transfer, interface contact, and binding affinity, FluidporeFace affords ultrasensitive detection of T-EVs with a limit of detection of 10 T-EVs µL-1, whose PD-L1 expression levels successfully distinguish cancer patients from healthy donors. We expect this multiscale enhanced interfacial reaction strategy will inspire the biosensor design and expand liquid biopsy applications, especially for low-abundant targets in clinical samples.

KdPT alleviates imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin lesion in mice via inhibiting proliferation and inflammation response.

Psoriasis is a complex chronic skin inflammatory disease characterized by abnormal proliferation, differentiation of keratinocytes and infiltration of lymphocytes and neutrophils. The tripeptide KdPT, structurally derived from the C-terminal amino acid of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, has shown a significant anti-inflammatory effect on mild-to-moderate active ulcerative colitis in previous reports. In this research, we investigated whether KdPT could consistently ameliorate disease in a mouse model of imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis by inhibiting proliferation and inflammation response. We demonstrated that KdPT in vitro significantly inhibited the proliferation of human keratinocytes and endothelial cells, and also downgraded the expression of inflammatory factors in LPS-induced RAW264.7, including IL-6, TNF-α and NO. In vivo, KdPT attenuates the severity of IMQ-induced psoriasis-like phenotype in mice. Such an effect was achieved by downregulating the expression of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, TNF-α, and the proliferation marker Ki67. These results suggested that KdPT might be useful in the treatment for psoriasis.

miR-19 regulates the expression of interferon-induced genes and MHC class I genes in human cancer cells.

MicroRNA-19 (miR-19) is identified as the key oncogenic component of the miR-17-92 cluster. When we explored the functions of the dysregulated miR-19 in lung cancer, microarray-based data unexpectedly demonstrated that some immune and inflammatory response genes (i.e., IL32, IFI6 and IFIT1) were generally down-regulated by miR-19 overexpression in A549 cells, which prompted us to fully investigate whether the miR-19 family (i.e., miR-19a and miR-19b-1) was implicated in regulating the expression of immune and inflammatory response genes in cancer cells. In the present study, we observed that miR-19a or miR-19b-1 overexpression by miRNA mimics in the A549, HCC827 and CNE2 cells significantly downregulated the expression of interferon (IFN)-regulated genes (i.e., IRF7, IFI6, IFIT1, IFITM1, IFI27 and IFI44L). Furthermore, the ectopic miR-19a or miR-19b-1 expression in the A549, HCC827, CNE2 and HONE1 cells led to a general downward trend in the expression profile of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes (such as HLA-B, HLA-E, HLA-F or HLA-G); conversely, miR-19a or miR-19b-1 inhibition by the miRNA inhibitor upregulated the aforementioned MHC Class I gene expression, suggesting that miR-19a or miR-19b-1 negatively modulates MHC Class I gene expression. The miR-19a or miR-19b-1 mimics reduced the expression of interleukin (IL)-related genes (i.e., IL1B, IL11RA and IL6) in the A549, HCC827, CNE2 or HONE1 cells. The ectopic expression of miR-19a or miR-19b-1 downregulated IL32 expression in the A549 and HCC827 cells and upregulated IL32 expression in CNE2 and HONE1 cells. In addition, enforced miR-19a or miR-19b-1 expression suppressed IL-6 production by lung cancer and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells. Taken together, these findings demonstrate, for the first time, that miR-19 can modulate the expression of IFN-induced genes and MHC class I genes in human cancer cells, suggesting a novel role of miR-19 in linking inflammation and cancer, which remains to be fully characterized.

Long-Term Bioavailability of Single Doses of Intramuscular Vitamin D2.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the long-term bioavailability of single doses of intramuscular (IM) vita-min D2 (D2) in healthy adults. METHODS: Forty healthy volunteers with hypovitaminosis D received a single dose of 200,000, 400,000, or 600,000 IU intramuscular D2 or no treatment. Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (25[OH]D2) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25[OH]D3) in serum were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Vitamin D binding protein (DBP) and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), bone turnover markers (BTMs), and serum and urinary calcium were also measured. RESULTS: After a single dose of D2 injection, the level of 25(OH)D2 increased slowly and reached a plateau at 8 weeks. The plateau remained stable for 12 weeks. The mean increase in 25(OH)D2 was 6.8, 9.6, or 15.6 ng/mL after injection of 200,000 IU, 400,000 IU, or 600,000 IU D2. Although endogenous 25(OH)D3 levels were reduced by IM D2, the total 25(OH)D levels increased by 5.0, 7.0, or 10.3 ng/mL in average after injection of 200,000 IU, 400,000 IU, or 600,000 IU D2. The iPTH levels were also decreased by IM D2. However, levels of serum calcium, BTMs, and DBP and urinary calcium were not altered by IM D2. CONCLUSION: A single dose of 200,000 IU, 400,000 IU, or 600,000 IU IM D2 raises total 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels by 5.0, 7.0, or 10.3 ng/mL on average for at least 12 weeks and reduces iPTH and endogenous 25(OH)D3 levels without affecting levels of serum calcium, BTMs, DBP, and urinary calcium.

miR-26a promotes hepatocellular carcinoma invasion and metastasis by inhibiting PTEN and inhibits cell growth by repressing EZH2.

A previous study revealed that therapeutic miR-26a delivery suppresses tumorigenesis in a murine liver cancer model, whereas we found that forced miR-26a expression increased hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell migration and invasion, which prompted us to characterize the causes and mechanisms underlying enhanced invasion due to ectopic miR-26a expression. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that miR-26a promoted migration and invasion of BEL-7402 and HepG2 cells in vitro and positively modulated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-10 expression. In addition, exogenous miR-26a expression significantly enhanced the metastatic ability of HepG2 cells in vivo. miR-26a negatively regulated in vitro proliferation of HCC cells, and miR-26a overexpression suppressed HepG2 cell tumor growth in nude mice. Further studies revealed that miR-26a inhibited cell growth by repressing the methyltransferase EZH2 and promoted cell migration and invasion by inhibiting the phosphatase PTEN. Furthermore, PTEN expression negatively correlated with miR-26a expression in HCC specimens from patients with and without metastasis. Thus, our findings suggest for the first time that miR-26a promotes invasion/metastasis by inhibiting PTEN and inhibits cell proliferation by repressing EZH2 in HCC. More importantly, our data also suggest caution if miR-26a is used as a target for cancer therapy in the future.

Novel UCHL1 mutations reveal new insights into ubiquitin processing.

Recessive loss of function of the neuronal ubiquitin hydrolase UCHL1 has been implicated in early-onset progressive neurodegeneration (MIM no. 615491), so far only in one family. In this study a second family is characterized, and the functional consequences of the identified mutations in UCHL1 are explored. Three siblings developed childhood-onset optic atrophy, followed by spasticity and ataxia. Whole exome sequencing identified compound heterozygous variants in UCHL1, c.533G > A (p.Arg178Gln) and c.647C > A (p.Ala216Asp), cosegregating with the phenotype. Enzymatic activity of purified recombinant proteins analysed by ubiquitin hydrolase assays showed a 4-fold increased hydrolytic activity of the recombinant UCHL1 mutant Arg178Gln compared to wild type, whereas the Ala216Asp protein was insoluble. Structural 3D analysis of UCHL1 by computer modelling suggests that Arg178 is a rate-controlling residue in catalysis which is partly abolished in the Arg178Gln mutant and, consequently, the Arg178Gln mutant increases the enzymatic turnover. UCHL1 protein levels in fibroblasts measured by targeted mass spectrometry showed a total amount of UCHL1 in control fibroblasts about 4-fold higher than in the patients. Hence, studies of the identified missense variants reveal surprisingly different functional consequences as the insoluble Ala216Asp variant leads to loss of function, whereas the Arg178Gln leads to increased enzyme activity. The reported patients have remarkably preserved cognition, and we propose that the increased enzyme activity of the Arg178Gln variant offers a protective effect on cognitive function. This study establishes the importance of UCHL1 in neurodegeneration, provides new mechanistic insight about ubiquitin processing, and underlines the complexity of the different roles of UCHL1.

MicroRNA-155 suppresses the catabolic effect induced by TNF-α and IL-1ß by targeting C/EBPß in rat nucleus pulposus cells.

AIM: miR-155 is a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory factor depending on the cell type in which it is expressed. miR-155 controls apoptosis and matrix degradation in nucleus pulposus (NP) cells in vitro. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of miR-155 in vivo and further investigate the mechanism of miR-155 in vitro. METHODS: MRI, hematoxylin-eosin staining, or Collagen-II immunochemistry were performed to observe intervertebral disk degeneration in conditional miR-155 overexpression mice and miR-155 knockout mice. In vitro, a dual luciferase reporter assay, real-time PCR and western blot experiments were performed to demonstrate the effect of miR-155 on the expression of catabolic genes induced by inflammatory cytokines and determine the role of ß-catenin and C/EBPß in the miR-155-mediated modulation of the expression of catabolic genes. RESULTS: Degeneration was observed in the lumbar disks of 1-year-old miR-155 knockout mice but not in the conditional miR-155 overexpression mice. miR-155 overexpression repressed the catabolic effect induced by TNF-α or IL-1ß in vitro. Furthermore, specifically in NP cells, miR-155 overexpression suppressed the expression of C/EBPß but not of ß-catenin. Additionally, in the loss-of-function experiments using C/EBPß siRNA, C/EBPß knockdown repressed the expression of catabolic genes induced by TNF-α and IL-1ß, which is consistent with the miR-155 results. CONCLUSION: miR-155 is a sustainable factor for intervertebral disk and suppresses the expression of catabolic genes induced by TNF-α and IL-1ß by targeting C/EBPß in rat NP cells.

MiR-155 Enhances Insulin Sensitivity by Coordinated Regulation of Multiple Genes in Mice.

miR-155 plays critical roles in numerous physiological and pathological processes, however, its function in the regulation of blood glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity and underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we reveal that miR-155 levels are downregulated in serum from type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients, suggesting that miR-155 might be involved in blood glucose control and diabetes. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function studies in mice demonstrate that miR-155 has no effects on the pancreatic ß-cell proliferation and function. Global transgenic overexpression of miR-155 in mice leads to hypoglycaemia, improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Conversely, miR-155 deficiency in mice causes hyperglycemia, impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. In addition, consistent with a positive regulatory role of miR-155 in glucose metabolism, miR-155 positively modulates glucose uptake in all cell types examined, while mice overexpressing miR-155 transgene show enhanced glycolysis, and insulin-stimulated AKT and IRS-1 phosphorylation in liver, adipose tissue or skeletal muscle. Furthermore, we reveal these aforementioned phenomena occur, at least partially, through miR-155-mediated repression of important negative regulators (i.e. C/EBPß, HDAC4 and SOCS1) of insulin signaling. Taken together, these findings demonstrate, for the first time, that miR-155 is a positive regulator of insulin sensitivity with potential applications for diabetes treatment.

miR-155 accelerates proliferation of mouse hepatocytes during liver regeneration by directly targeting SOCS1.

Liver regeneration after two-thirds partial hepatectomy (PH) is a clinically significant repair process for restoring proper liver architecture. Although microRNA-155 (miR-155) has been found to serve as a crucial microRNA regulator that controls liver cell function and proliferation, little is known about its specific role in the regenerating liver. Using a mouse model with miR-155 overexpression or miR-155 knockout, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of miR-155 in liver regeneration. We found a marked induction of miR-155 in C57BL/6 mice after PH. Furthermore, RL-m155 mice showed enhanced liver regeneration as a result of accelerated progression of hepatocytes into the cell cycle, mainly through an increase in cyclin levels. However, proliferation of hepatocytes was delayed in miR-155-deficient livers. Expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) was dramatically downregulated in the process of liver regeneration, and enhancement of SOCS1 contributed to impaired proliferation of hepatocytes. Additionally, in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that adenovirus- or adeno-associated virus-mediated overexpression of SOCS1 attenuated improved liver regeneration induced by miR-155 overexpression. Our study shows that miR-155 is a pro-proliferative regulator in liver regeneration by facilitating the cell cycle and directly targeting SOCS1. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our findings suggest a microRNA-155 (miR-155)-mediated positive regulation pattern in liver regeneration. A series of in vivo and in vitro studies showed that miR-155 upregulation enhanced partial hepatectomy-induced proliferation of hepatocytes by promoting the cell cycle without inducing DNA damage or apoptosis. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 1, a target gene of miR-155, antagonized the proliferation-promoting effect of miR-155. Therefore, pharmacological intervention targeting miR-155 may be therapeutically beneficial in various liver diseases.

Influences of adding negative couplings between cliques of Kuramoto-like oscillators.

We study the dynamics in a clustered network of coupled oscillators by considering positive and negative coupling schemes. Second order oscillators can be interpreted as a model of consumers and generators working in a power network. Numerical results indicate that coupling strategies play an important role in the synchronizability of the clustered power network. It is found that the synchronizability can be enhanced as the positive intragroup connections increase. Meanwhile, when the intragroup interactions are positive and the probability p that two nodes belonging to different clusters are connected is increased, the synchronization has better performance. Besides, when the intragroup connections are negative, it is observed that the power network has poor synchronizability as the probability p increases. Our simulation results can help us understand the collective behavior of the power network with positive and negative couplings.

[Analysis on prescription rules of Chen Baogui's prescriptions for treating epigastric fullness based on data mining].

To summary and analyze the prescription rules of Professor Chen Baogui, a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor, for treating epigastric fullness. Professor Chen Baogui's prescriptions for treating epigastric fullness were collected and the treatment data were input into traditional Chinese medicine inheritance support system (TCMISS) to analyze the rules of the prescriptions by using data mining methods. Based on the screened 214 cases, the treatment experience of Professor Chen Baogui for treating epigastric fullness was summarized and analyzed. It was found that Professor Chen gave priority to recuperation of Qi activity. The results of four properties and five tastes showed Professor Chen's medication compatibility rules: one was simultaneous use of cold and warm drugs, and the other was simultaneous use of pungent drugs for dispersion and bitter drugs for purgation. In drug use, the basic prescriptions had the efficacy of promoting Qi circulation and regulating viscera function, additionally with the drugs with functions of eliminating digestion and inducing stagnation, activating blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis, replenishing Qi and nourishing Yin, tranquilizing mind, strengthening muscles and bones according to the TCM syndrome type. The clinical experience of Professor Chen for treating epigastric fullness was objectively summarized with the help of TCMISS, which was significant for analyzing and inheriting academic thinking and medication experience from famous TCM doctors.

R/L, a double reporter mouse line that expresses luciferase gene upon Cre-mediated excision, followed by inactivation of mRFP expression.

The Cre/loxP system has become an important tool for the conditional gene knockout and conditional gene expression in genetically engineered mice. The applications of this system depend on transgenic reporter mouse lines that provide Cre recombinase activity with a defined cell type-, tissue-, or developmental stage-specificity. To develop a sensitive assay for monitoring Cre-mediated DNA excisions in mice, we generated Cre-mediated excision reporter mice, designated R/L mice (R/L: mRFP(monomeric red fluorescent protein)/luciferase), express mRFP throughout embryonic development and adult stages, while Cre-mediated excision deletes a loxP-flanked mRFP reporter gene and STOP sequence, thereby activating the expression of the second reporter gene luciferase, as assayed by in vivo and ex vivo bioluminescence imaging. After germ line deletion of the floxed mRFP and STOP sequence in R/L mice by EIIa-Cre mice, the resulting luciferase transgenic mice in which the loxP-mRFP-STOP-loxP cassette is excised from all cells express luciferase in all tissues and organs examined. The expression of luciferase transgene was activated in liver of RL/Alb-Cre double transgenic mice and in brain of RL/Nestin-Cre double transgenic mice when R/L reporter mice were mated with Alb-Cre mice and Nestin-Cre mice, respectively. Our findings reveal that the double reporter R/L mouse line is able to indicate the occurrence of Cre-mediated excision from early embryonic to adult lineages. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the R/L mice serve as a sensitive reporter for Cre-mediated DNA excision both in living animals and in organs, tissues, and cells following necropsy.

MicroRNA-19 triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition of lung cancer cells accompanied by growth inhibition.

The miR-19 family (miR-19a and miR-19b-1) are key oncogenic components of the miR-17-92 cluster. Overexpression of miR-19 is strongly associated with cancer invasion and metastasis, and poor prognosis of cancer patients. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. In the present study, we found that enforced expression of miR-19 including miR-19a and miR-19b-1 triggered epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of lung cancer cells A549 and HCC827 as shown by mesenchymal-like morphological conversion, downregulation of epithelial proteins (e.g., E-cadherin, ZO-1 (zona occludens 1), and α-catenin), upregulation of mesenchymal proteins (e.g., vimentin, fibronectin 1, N-cadherin, and snail1), formation of stress fibers, and reduced cell adhesion. In addition, enhanced migration and invasion were observed in the cancer cells A549 and HCC827 undergoing EMT. In contrast, silencing of endogenous miR-19 reversed EMT and reduced the migration and invasion abilities of A549 and HCC827 cells. DNA microarray results revealed significant changes of the expression of genes related to EMT, migration, and metastasis of miR-19-expressing A549 cells. Moreover, siRNA-mediated knockdown of PTEN, a target of miR-19, also resulted in EMT, migration, and invasion of A549 and HCC827 cells, suggesting that PTEN is involved in miR-19-induced EMT, migration and invasion of lung cancer cells. Furthermore, lung cancer cells undergoing EMT induced by miR-19 demonstrated reduced proliferation in vitro and in vivo, and enhanced resistance to apoptosis caused by TNF-α. Taken together, these findings suggest that miR-19 triggers EMT, which has an important role in the invasion and migration of lung cancer cells, accompanied by the reduced proliferation of cells.

Generation of Rm21LG transgenic mice: a powerful tool to generate conditional overexpression of miR-21 that is involved in oncogenesis.

miR-21 is highly expressed in a variety of cancers, suggesting that it might play a role in the process of oncogenesis, as supported by it directly causing pre-B cell lymphomas in transgenic mice. Rm21LG transgenic mice for the conditional co-expression of miR-21 and luciferase (Luc) mediated by Cre/lox P system were generated. The homozygous Rm21LG transgenic mice were visually and readily characterized immediately after birth by whole-body fluorescence imaging. More importantly, miR-21 and Luc were successfully activated in the liver of Rm21LG/Alb-Cre double-transgenic mice, demonstrating that Rm21LG conditional transgenic system could work in a Cre-dependent manner. The combined use of this conditional miR-21 transgenic mouse line, various cell/tissue-specific Cre mouse lines and bioluminescence imaging will be a valuable tool in vivo to uncover the functions of miR-21 as oncomiR in initiating tumors.

Predictive value of positive lymph node ratio in patients with locally advanced gastric remnant cancer.

BACKGROUND: Traditional lymph node stage (N stage) has limitations in advanced gastric remnant cancer (GRC) patients; therefore, establishing a new predictive stage is necessary. AIM: To explore the predictive value of positive lymph node ratio (LNR) according to clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of locally advanced GRC. METHODS: Seventy-four patients who underwent radical gastrectomy and lymphadenectomy for locally advanced GRC were retrospectively reviewed. The relationship between LNR and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. The survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression model. RESULTS: Number of metastatic LNs, tumor diameter, depth of tumor invasion, Borrmann type, serum tumor biomarkers, and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage were correlated with LNR stage and N stage. Univariate analysis revealed that the factors affecting survival included tumor diameter, anemia, serum tumor biomarkers, vascular or neural invasion, combined resection, LNR stage, N stage, and TNM stage (all P < 0.05). The median survival time for those with LNR0, LNR1, LNR2 and LNR3 stage were 61, 31, 23 and 17 mo, respectively, and the differences were significant (P = 0.000). Anemia, tumor biomarkers and LNR stage were independent prognostic factors for survival in multivariable analysis (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The new LNR stage is uniquely based on number of metastatic LNs, with significant prognostic value for locally advanced GRC, and could better differentiate overall survival, compared with N stage.

Building consensus on the application of organoid-based drug sensitivity testing in cancer precision medicine and drug development.

Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) have emerged as a promising platform for clinical and translational studies. A strong correlation exists between clinical outcomes and the use of PDOs to predict the efficacy of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. To standardize interpretation and enhance scientific communication in the field of cancer precision medicine, we revisit the concept of PDO-based drug sensitivity testing (DST). We present an expert consensus-driven approach for medication selection aimed at predicting patient responses. To further standardize PDO-based DST, we propose guidelines for clarification and characterization. Additionally, we identify several major challenges in clinical prediction when utilizing PDOs.

Gut microbiome for predicting immune checkpoint blockade-associated adverse events.

BACKGROUND: The impact of the gut microbiome on the initiation and intensity of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) prompted by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is widely acknowledged. Nevertheless, there is inconsistency in the gut microbial associations with irAEs reported across various studies. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive analysis leveraging a dataset that included published microbiome data (n = 317) and in-house generated data from 16S rRNA and shotgun metagenome samples of irAEs (n = 115). We utilized a machine learning-based approach, specifically the Random Forest (RF) algorithm, to construct a microbiome-based classifier capable of distinguishing between non-irAEs and irAEs. Additionally, we conducted a comprehensive analysis, integrating transcriptome and metagenome profiling, to explore potential underlying mechanisms. RESULTS: We identified specific microbial species capable of distinguishing between patients experiencing irAEs and non-irAEs. The RF classifier, developed using 14 microbial features, demonstrated robust discriminatory power between non-irAEs and irAEs (AUC = 0.88). Moreover, the predictive score from our classifier exhibited significant discriminative capability for identifying non-irAEs in two independent cohorts. Our functional analysis revealed that the altered microbiome in non-irAEs was characterized by an increased menaquinone biosynthesis, accompanied by elevated expression of rate-limiting enzymes menH and menC. Targeted metabolomics analysis further highlighted a notably higher abundance of menaquinone in the serum of patients who did not develop irAEs compared to the irAEs group. CONCLUSIONS: Our study underscores the potential of microbial biomarkers for predicting the onset of irAEs and highlights menaquinone, a metabolite derived from the microbiome community, as a possible selective therapeutic agent for modulating the occurrence of irAEs.

Hepatocyte-specific METTL3 ablation by Alb-iCre mice (GPT), but not by Alb-Cre mice (JAX), resulted in acute liver failure (ALF) and postnatal lethality.

AIM: In 2019, to examine the functions of METTL3 in liver and underlying mechanisms, we generated mice with hepatocyte-specific METTL3 homozygous knockout (METTL3Δhep) by simultaneously crossing METTL3fl/fl mice with Alb-iCre mice (GPT) or Alb-Cre mice (JAX), respectively. In this study, we explored the potential reasons why hepatocyte-specific METTL3 homozygous disruption by Alb-iCre mice (GPT), but not by Alb-Cre mice (JAX), resulted in acute liver failure (ALF) and then postnatal lethality. MAIN METHODS: Mice with hepatocyte-specific METTL3 knockout were generated by simultaneously crossing METTL3fl/fl mice with Alb-iCre mice (GPT; Strain No. T003814) purchased from the GemPharmatech Co., Ltd., (Nanjing, China) or with Alb-Cre mice (JAX; Strain No. 003574) obtained from The Jackson Laboratory, followed by combined-phenotype analysis. The publicly available RNA-sequencing data deposited in the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database under the accession No.: GSE198512 (postnatal lethality), GSE197800 (postnatal survival) and GSE176113 (postnatal survival) were mined to explore the potential reasons why hepatocyte-specific METTL3 homozygous deletion by Alb-iCre mice (GPT), but not by Alb-Cre mice (JAX), leads to ALF and then postnatal lethality. KEY FINDINGS: Firstly, we observed that hepatocyte-specific METTL3 homozygous deficiency by Alb-iCre mice (GPT) or by Alb-Cre mice (JAX) caused liver injury, abnormal lipid accumulation and apoptosis. Secondly, we are surprised to find that hepatocyte-specific METTL3 homozygous deletion by Alb-iCre mice (GPT), but not by Alb-Cre mice (JAX), led to ALF and then postnatal lethality. Our findings clearly demonstrated that METTL3Δhep mice (GPT), which are about to die, exhibited the severe destruction of liver histological structure, suggesting that METTL3Δhep mice (GPT) nearly lose normal liver function, which subsequently contributes to ALF, followed by postnatal lethality. Finally, we unexpectedly found that as the compensatory growth responses of hepatocytes to liver injury induced by METTL3Δhep (GPT), the proliferation of METTL3Δhep hepatocytes (GPT), unlike METTL3Δhep hepatocytes (JAX), was not evidenced by the significant increase of Ki67-positive hepatocytes, not accompanied by upregulation of cell-cycle-related genes. Moreover, GO analysis revealed that upregulated genes in METTL3Δhep livers (GPT), unlike METTL3Δhep livers (JAX), are not functionally enriched in terms associated with cell cycle, cell division, mitosis, microtubule cytoskeleton organization, spindle organization, chromatin segregation and organization, and nuclear division, consistent with the loss of compensatory proliferation of METTL3Δhep hepatocytes (GPT) observed in vivo. Thus, obviously, the loss of the compensatory growth capacity of METTL3Δhep hepatocytes (GPT) in response to liver injury might contribute to, at least partially, ALF and subsequently postnatal lethality of METTL3Δhep mice (GPT). SIGNIFICANCE: These findings from this study and other labs provide strong evidence that these phenotypes (i.e., ALF and postnatal lethality) of METTL3Δhep mice (GPT) might be not the real functions of METTL3, and closely related with Alb-iCre mice (GPT), suggesting that we should remind researchers to use Alb-iCre mice (GPT) with caution to knockout gene in hepatocytes in vivo.

ThermomiR-377-3p-induced suppression of Cirbp expression is required for effective elimination of cancer cells and cancer stem-like cells by hyperthermia.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the development of adjunctive therapeutic hyperthermia for cancer therapy has received considerable attention. However, the mechanisms underlying hyperthermia resistance are still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the roles of cold­inducible RNA binding protein (Cirbp) in regulating hyperthermia resistance and underlying mechanisms in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, tumor sphere formation assay, qRT-PCR, Western blot were employed to examine the effects of hyperthermia (HT), HT + oridonin(Ori) or HT + radiotherapy (RT) on the proliferation and stemness of NPC cells. RNA sequencing was applied to gain differentially expressed genes upon hyperthermia. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments were used to evaluate the effects of RNAi-mediated Cirbp silencing or Cirbp overexpression on the sensitivity or resistance of NPC cells and cancer stem-like cells to hyperthermia by CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, tumorsphere formation assay and apoptosis assay, and in subcutaneous xenograft animal model. miRNA transient transfection and luciferase reporter assay were used to demonstrate that Cirbp is a direct target of miR-377-3p. The phosphorylation levels of key members in ATM-Chk2 and ATR-Chk1 pathways were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Our results firstly revealed that hyperthermia significantly attenuated the stemness of NPC cells, while combination treatment of hyperthermia and oridonin dramatically increased the killing effect on NPC cells and cancer stem cell (CSC)­like population. Moreover, hyperthermia substantially improved the sensitivity of radiation­resistant NPC cells and CSC­like cells to radiotherapy. Hyperthermia noticeably suppressed Cirbp expression in NPC cells and xenograft tumor tissues. Furthermore, Cirbp inhibition remarkably boosted anti­tumor­killing activity of hyperthermia against NPC cells and CSC­like cells, whereas ectopic expression of Cirbp compromised tumor­killing effect of hyperthermia on these cells, indicating that Cirbp overexpression induces hyperthermia resistance. ThermomiR-377-3p improved the sensitivity of NPC cells and CSC­like cells to hyperthermia in vitro by directly suppressing Cirbp expression. More importantly, our results displayed the significantly boosted sensitization of tumor xenografts to hyperthermia by Cirbp silencing in vivo, but ectopic expression of Cirbp almost completely counteracted hyperthermia-mediated tumor cell-killing effect against tumor xenografts in vivo. Mechanistically, Cirbp silencing-induced inhibition of DNA damage repair by inactivating ATM-Chk2 and ATR-Chk1 pathways, decrease in stemness and increase in cell death contributed to hyperthermic sensitization; conversely, Cirbp overexpression-induced promotion of DNA damage repair, increase in stemness and decrease in cell apoptosis contributed to hyperthermia resistance. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these findings reveal a previously unrecognized role for Cirbp in positively regulating hyperthermia resistance and suggest that thermomiR-377-3p and its target gene Cirbp represent promising targets for therapeutic hyperthermia.