Cancer-associated fibroblast-derived periostin promotes papillary thyroid tumor growth through integrin-FAK-STAT3 signaling.

Background: Periostin (POSTN) is a critical extracellular matrix protein in various tumor microenvironments. However, the function of POSTN in thyroid cancer progression remains largely unknown. Methods: Postn and Rag1 knock-out mice and orthotopic mouse models were used to determine the role of POSTN on papillary thyroid tumor progression. Immunofluorescence, cell co-culture, fluorescence in situ hybridization, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, recombinant protein and inhibitor treatment were performed to explore the underlying mechanisms of POSTN-promoted papillary thyroid tumor growth. Results: POSTN is up-regulated in papillary thyroid tumors and negatively correlates with the overall survival of patients with thyroid cancer. Cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)-derived POSTN promotes papillary thyroid tumor growth in vivo and in vitro. POSTN deficiency in CAFs significantly impairs CAF-promoted papillary thyroid tumor growth. POSTN promotes papillary thyroid tumor cell proliferation and IL-4 expression through integrin-FAK-STAT3 signaling. In turn, tumor cell-derived IL-4 induces the activation of CAFs and stimulates POSTN expression by activating STAT6. We reveal the crucial role of CAF-derived POSTN and tumor cell-derived IL-4 in driving the development of papillary thyroid tumors through the POSTN-integrin-FAK-STAT3-IL-4 pathway in tumor cells and IL-4-STAT6-POSTN signaling in CAFs. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the significance of POSTN and IL-4 as critical molecular mediators in the dynamic interplay between CAFs and tumor cells, ultimately supporting the growth of papillary thyroid tumors.

Ultrahigh Lithium Selective Transport in Two-Dimensional Confined Ice.

Inspired by selective ion transport in biological membrane proteins, researchers developed artificial ion channels that sieve monovalent cations, catering to the increasing lithium demand. In this work, we engineered an ion transport channel based on the confined ice within two-dimensional (2D) capillaries and found that the permselectivity of monovalent cations depends on the anisotropy of the confined ice. Particularly, the 2D confined ice showed an anomalous lithium selective transport along the (002) direction in the vermiculite capillary, with the Li+/Na+ and Li+/K+ permselectivity reaching up to 556 ± 86 and 901 ± 172, respectively, superior to most ion-selective channels. However, the 2D confined ice along the (100) direction showed less Li+ permselectivity. Additionally, the anisotropy of 2D confined ice can be tuned by adjusting the interlayer spacing. By providing insights into the ion transport in the 2D confined ice, our work may inspire more design of monovalent ion-selective channels for efficient lithium separation.

Redox-associated messenger RNAs identify novel prognostic values and influence the tumor immune microenvironment of lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: An imbalance of redox homeostasis participates in tumorigenesis, proliferation, and metastasis, which results from the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the biological mechanism and prognostic significance of redox-associated messenger RNAs (ramRNAs) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) still remain unclear. Methods: Transcriptional profiles and clinicopathological information were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) of LUAD patients. A total of 31 overlapped ramRNAs were determined, and patients were separated into three subtypes by unsupervised consensus clustering. Biological functions and tumor immune-infiltrating levels were analyzed, and then, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The TCGA cohort was divided into a training set and an internal validation set at a ratio of 6:4. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression were used to compute the risk score and determine the risk cutoff in the training set. Both TCGA and GEO cohort were distinguished into a high-risk or low-risk group at the median cutoff, and then, relationships of mutation characteristics, tumor stemness, immune differences, and drug sensitivity were investigated. Results: Five optimal signatures (ANLN, HLA-DQA1, RHOV, TLR2, and TYMS) were selected. Patients in the high-risk group had poorer prognosis, higher tumor mutational burden, overexpression of PD-L1, and lower immune dysfunction and exclusion score compared with the low-risk group. Cisplatin, docetaxel, and gemcitabine had significantly lower IC50 in the high-risk group. Conclusion: This study constructed a novel predictive signature of LUAD based on redox-associated genes. Risk score based on ramRNAs served as a promising biomarker for prognosis, TME, and anti-cancer therapies of LUAD.

Electrically Modulated Nanofiltration Membrane Based on an Arch-Bridged Graphene Structure for Multicomponent Molecular Separation.

Tunable regulation of molecular penetration through porous membranes is highly desirable for membrane applications in the pharmaceutical and medical fields. However, in most previous reports additional reagents or components are usually needed to provide the graphene-based membranes with responsiveness. Herein, we report tunable arch-bridged reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanofiltration membranes modulated by the applied voltage. Under a finite voltage of 5 V, the rGO membrane could completely reject organic/anionic molecules. With assistance of the voltage, the positive-charge-modified rGO membrane realized the universal rejection of both cationic and anionic dyes, also showing the valid modulation in harsh organic solvents. The efficient electrical modulation depended on the synergetic effects of Donnan repulsion and size exclusion, benefiting from the electric field enhancement in arch-bridged rGO structures. Furthermore, multicomponent separation was achieved by our electrically modulated rGO-based membranes, demonstrating their potential in practical applications such as pharmaceutical industries.

High-performance broadband photodetectors based on all-inorganic perovskite CsPb(Br/I)3 nanocrystal/CdS-microwire heterostructures.

High-performance broadband photodetectors that can operate at UV, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths have been fabricated based on CsPb(Br/I)3 nanocrystal (NC)/CdS-microwire (MW) heterostructures. Under an incident light illumination of 365, 530, and 660 nm, the CsPb(Br/I)3-NC/CdS-MW-heterostructure-based photodetector exhibited a superior photosensitivity and broader spectral response than those of a bare-CdS-MW-based photodetector, which can be attributed to the light-trapping ability of the CsPb(Br/I)3 NCs and charge-transfer efficiency at the CsPb(Br/I)3-NC/CdS-MW-heterojunction interface. The photodetector based on the CsPb(Br/I)3 NC/CdS-MW heterostructure also exhibited a good response to near-infrared light (760 and 810 nm) because the produced heterojunction facilitates the spatial separation of the photogenerated carriers, and the carriers are transferred from the CsPb(Br/I)3 NC part to the CdS MW part through diffusion due to the relatively long diffusion length in the CsPb(Br/I)3 layer. Therefore, the proposed photodetectors are promising for constructing high-performance broadband optoelectronic devices.

In situ enzymatic generation of gold for ultrasensitive amperometric sandwich immunoassay of procalcitonin.

Procalcitonin (PCT) is an important indicator for bacterial inflammatory diseases, and its sensitive, accurate and rapid detection has important clinical value. On the basis of sandwich immunoassay, glucose oxidase-catalyzed gold deposition and in-situ microliter-droplet anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) of the enzyme-generated gold directly on the immunoelectrode, the ultrasensitive electrochemical detection of PCT is achieved. A new method of the chemical dissolution of gold by an appropriately diluted aqua regia and the simultaneous cathodic preconcentration of gold on the immunoelectrode is suggested, which gives the better performance for the ASV analysis of gold than the reported one. Under optimized conditions, the ASV peak current is linear with the common logarithm of PCT concentration from 0.05 fg mL-1 to 500 ng mL-1, with a limit of detection (LOD, S/N = 3) as low as 0.04 fg mL-1. Our method has also been used for detection of PCT in serum samples with satisfactory results.

Analysis of the meiotic transcriptome reveals the genes related to the regulation of pollen abortion in cytoplasmic male-sterile pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

CMS, which refers to the inability to generate functional pollen grains while still producing a normal gynoecium, has been widely used for pepper hybrid seed production. Pepper line 8214A is an excellent CMS line exhibiting 100% male sterility and superior economic characteristics. A TUNEL assay revealed the nuclear DNA is damaged in 8214A PMCs during meiosis. TEM images indicated that the 8214A PMCs exhibited asynchronous meiosis after prophase I, and some PMCs degraded prematurely with morphological features typical of PCD. Additionally, at the end of meiosis, the 8214A PMCs formed abnormal non-tetrahedral tetrads that degraded in situ. To identify the genes involved in the pollen abortion of line 8214A, the transcriptional profiles of the 8214A and the 8214B anthers (i.e., from the fertile maintainer line) during meiosis were analyzed using an RNA-seq approach. A total of 1355 genes were determined to be differentially expressed, including 424 and 931 up- and down- regulated genes, respectively, in the 8214A anthers during meiosis relative to the expression levels in the 8214B. The expression levels of ubiquitin ligase and cell cycle-related genes were apparently down-regulated, while the expression of methyltransferase genes was up-regulated in the 8214A anthers during meiosis, which likely contributed to the PCD of these PMCs during meiosis. Thus, our results may be useful for revealing the molecular mechanism regulating the pollen abortion of CMS pepper.