Sulfur vacancy-rich (α/ß-CdS)/SiO2 photocatalysts for enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B.

The development of highly efficient photocatalysts for visible-light-driven degradation of organic pollution is of great interest for wastewater purification. In this work, a sulfur vacancy-rich (α/ß-CdS)/SiO2 (α: hexagonal & ß: cubic) photocatalyst with a high catalytic activity was novelly synthesized on a nano-SiO2 carrier by the reaction of Cd2+ with a CS2 storage material (CS2SM) as sulfur source and crystalline modifiers. The dispersion of α/ß-CdS on the nano-SiO2 carrier significantly enhanced the visible-light-driven catalytic activity of (α/ß-CdS)/SiO2 photocatalyst, and 93.37 % rhodamine B (RhB) conversion was determined over 50 mg (α/ß-CdS)/SiO2 photocatalyst for 30 mL 400 mg/L RhB solution at light intensity of 150 mW/cm2 and 298.15 K. After five cycle tests, the (α/ß-CdS)/SiO2 photocatalyst still owned excellent visible-light-driven catalytic degradation stability (>90 %). The characterizations of morphology, functional groups, and photo-electrochemistry of (α/ß-CdS)/SiO2 photocatalyst demonstrated that nano-SiO2 as a carrier played meaningful role in dispersing α/ß-CdS and reducing agglomeration, thus increasing the active site of photocatalytic degradation reaction, and the presence of α/ß hetero-phase junctions and sulfur vacancies allows the rapid separation of photo-generated carriers and inhibits photo-generated electron-holes recombination. Meanwhile, the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and free radical masking test have also proved that the main active species is ·O2- for the oxidation of RhB. Therefore, the work is providing a new reference to the visible-light-driven degradation of wastewater with high RhB concentration at room temperature.

Circulating CD45+EpCAM+ cells as a diagnostic marker for early-stage primary lung cancer.

Lung cancer is a highly prevalent type of cancer, accounting for 11.6% of all cancer incidences. Early detection and treatment can significantly improve the survival rate and quality of life of patients; however, there is no accurate, effective, and easy-to-use test for early lung cancer screening. In this study, flow cytometry was used to detect the presence of CD45+EpCAM+ cells in tumor tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with lung cancer. Moreover, the proportion of CD45+EpCAM+ cells in PBMCs of patients with lung cancer was found to be significantly higher than that of healthy volunteers. Tumor-related serum markers level was also measured in the peripheral blood of these patients using an electrochemiluminescence assay. The correlation between CD45+EpCAM+ cells, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and lung cancer was investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, which showed the sensitivity and specificity of the CD45+EpCAM+ cell to be 81.58% and 88.89%, respectively. Further analysis yielded an area under the ROC curve (ROC/area under the curve [AUC]) of 0.845 in patients PBMCs with lung cancer, which was slightly higher than that of CEA (0.732). Therefore, the detection of CD45+EpCAM+ cells in PBMCs may be helpful for the early screening and auxiliary diagnosis of lung cancer.

Tumor-Derived Exosomes Regulate Apoptosis of CD45+EpCAM+ Cells in Lung Cancer.

Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate among human cancers, and the majority of deaths result from metastatic spread. The tumor microenvironment plays an important role in suppressing the immune surveillance and elimination of tumor cells. A few studies have reported the presence of CD45+EpCAM+ double-positive cells in cancer, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear with respect to how these cells originate and their function in cancer biology. In this study, we analyzed 25 lung tumor samples. We confirmed the presence of CD45+EpCAM+ cells in lung cancer, and these cells exhibited higher apoptosis than CD45+EpCAM- cells. Using co-culture of lung cancer cell-derived exosomes with healthy donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we recapitulated CD45+EpCAM+ cell formation and increased apoptosis that occurs in patients with primary lung cancer. Further analysis suggested that microRNAs in lung cancer cell-derived exosomes may alter the gene expression profile of CD45+EpCAM+ cells, resulting in elevated TP53 expression and increased apoptosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cancer cell-derived exosomes that can inhibit the immune system by promoting immune cell apoptosis.

Comparative clinical analysis of fever in tumor patients, normal patients, and those infected with new coronavirus pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Under the current epidemic of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), there is a need to distinguish the differences between the laboratory examinations of COVID-19-infected patients, tumor patients with fever, and those with normal fever patients. We aimed to investigate the temperature of tumor patients with different tumor burdens, stages, and cancer types. METHODS: We recruited 3 groups of patients to this study: fever patients with malignant tumors, ordinary fever patients, and confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 31, 55, and 28 cases in each group, respectively. RESULTS: The levels of leukocytes and neutrophils were the highest among non-tumor patients, and the count of COVID-19 was the lowest, with a P value of 0.000. Among the leukocytosis group, non-tumor patients had the highest proportion (43.6%), while that of COVID-19 was only 3.6% (P=0.000). Similarly, there were significant differences in the grading of neutrophils, where most of the infected patients were in the normal group and the P value was 0.000. The lymphocyte count of the tumor group was significantly reduced, with an average of (0.97±0.66) ×109/L (P=0.004). In the lymphocyte grades, most of the infected patients were the normal group (71.4%), while tumor patients in the lymphocytopenia group accounted for 63.1% (P=0.006). There were also significant differences in the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (P=0.006). There was a significant difference in temperature between different tumor burden groups (P=0.014). CONCLUSIONS: The normal fever group had the highest count of leukocyte and neutrophils, whereas the infected group had the lowest relative count. The NLR was the lowest in the infected group. The NLR was higher in the bigger tumor load group.

A review of current progress in triple-negative breast cancer therapy.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive subtype known for its extremely high drug resistance, progression, poor prognosis, and lack of clear therapeutic targets. Researchers are aiming to advance TNBC treatment worldwide. In the past 2-3 years, more positive results have emerged in the clinical research on TNBC treatment. Based on the results, several impressive drugs have been approved to benefit patients with TNBC, including the PARP inhibitors olaparib and talazoparib for germline BRCA mutation-associated breast cancer (gBRCAm-BC) and immunotherapy using the checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab in combination with nab-paclitaxel for programmed cell death-ligand 1-positive (PD-L1+) advanced TNBC. Although neoadjuvant therapy has focused on combinations of systemic agents to optimize pathologically complete response, metastatic TNBC still has a poor prognosis. Innovative multidrug combination systemic therapies based on neoadjuvants and adjuvants have led to significant improvements in outcomes, particularly over the past decade.

A novel nuclear factor Akirin regulating the expression of antimicrobial peptides in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis.

Akirin, a recently discovered nuclear factor, participates in regulating various processes, including cell proliferation and differentiation, embryonic development, and immunity. In the present study, a novel Akirin was identified from Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis (designated as EsAkirin), and its primary functions in regulating antimicrobial peptides were explored. The open reading frame of EsAkirin was of 615 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 204 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of EsAkirin shared high similarities ranging from 44.1% to 89.2% with other Akirins. In the phylogenetic tree, EsAkirin was firstly clustered with Akirins from shrimp and then assigned into the invertebrate branch. The mRNA transcripts of EsAkirin were constitutively expressed in all the tested tissues, with the highest expression level (5.07-fold compared to the stomach, p < 0.01) in hepatopancreas. The mRNA expression of EsAkirin in hemocytes was significantly increased at 6 h, and reached the maximum level at 24 h post stimulations with either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5.04-fold, p < 0.01) or Aeromonas hydrophila (3.10-fold, p < 0.01). After the injection of EsAkirin-dsRNA, the mRNA expressions of EsALF2, EsLYZ, EsCrus2 and EsDWD1 were significantly decreased (p < 0.01) upon LPS stimulation. EsAkirin protein was prominently distributed in the nucleus of E. sinensis hemocytes after LPS and A. hydrophila stimulations. The relative luciferase reporter system analysis revealed that the activity of nuclear factor-κB was significantly up-regulated (2.64-fold, p < 0.01) in human embryonic kidney (HEK293T) cells after the over-expression of EsAkirin. Collectively, these results suggested that EsAkirin might play an important role in the immune responses of E. sinensis by regulating the expression of antimicrobial peptides.

A novel globular C1q domain containing protein (C1qDC-7) from Crassostrea gigas acts as pattern recognition receptor with broad recognition spectrum.

The globular C1q domain containing (C1qDC) proteins are a family of versatile pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) to bind various ligands by their globular C1q (gC1q) domain. In the present study, a novel globular C1qDC (CgC1qDC-7) was characterized from Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. The open reading frame of CgC1qDC-7 was of 555 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 185 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that CgC1qDC-7 shared high homology with C1qDCs from Crassostrea virginica, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and Mizuhopecten yessoensis. The mRNA transcripts of CgC1qDC-7 were widely expressed in all the tested tissues including mantle, gonad, gills, adductor muscle, hemocytes, hepatopancreas and labial palps, with the highest expression level in hemocytes and gills. The recombinant protein of CgC1qDC-7 (rCgC1qDC-7) exhibited binding activity towards Gram-negative bacteria (Vibrio splendidus, V. anguillarum, Escherichia coli, V. alginolyticus, and Aeromonas hydrophila), Gram-positive bacteria (Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungi (Pichia pastoris and Yarrowia lipolytica), and displayed strongest binding affinity towards Gram-negative bacteria V. splendidus and V. anguillarum. It also exhibited affinity to vital pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), peptidoglycan (PGN), mannan (MAN) and Poly (I:C) with high affinity towards LPS and PGN, and low affinity to MAN and Poly (I:C). These results collectively indicated that CgC1qDC-7 was a novel PRR in C. gigas with high binding affinity towards LPS and PGN as well as Gram-negative bacteria.

P38 is involved in immune response by regulating inflammatory cytokine expressions in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas.

P38 mitogen-activated protein kinases are serine/threonine protein kinases reportedly involved in the innate immunity of vertebrates and invertebrates. In the present study, a P38 homolog (CgP38) was characterized from the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. The full-length cDNA of CgP38 was of 1515 bp containing a 1101 bp open reading frame. A serine/threonine protein kinase (S_TKc) domain with a conserved Thr-Gly-Tyr motif and an ATRW substrate-binding site was found in the deduced amino acid sequence of CgP38. CgP38 shared a close evolutionary relationship with ChP38 from the Hong Kong oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis. The transcript levels of CgP38 in hemocytes increased significantly from 12 h to 48 h after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation and from 12 h to 24 h after Vibrio splendidus stimulation. The phosphorylation level of CgP38 in oyster hemocytes increased significantly at 2 h after LPS stimulation. CgP38 positively regulated the expression of interleukins, such as CgIL17-1, CgIL17-2, CgIL17-3, CgIL17-4 and CgIL17-6, and tumor necrosis factor CgTNF after LPS or V. splendidus stimulation. These results suggested that CgP38 participated in oyster immune response by regulating the expressions of inflammatory cytokines.

Synthesis of selenazolopyridine derivatives with capability to induce apoptosis in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells through scavenge of intracellular ROS.

A series of selenazolopyridine derivatives have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction, high resolution NMR and Mass spectrum. The in vitro anticancer activities of the synthetic compounds were screened against a panel of human cancer cell lines, human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells, human liver carcinoma HepG2 cells and L02 normal cell line by MTT assay. By analyzing the structure-activity relationship among the synthetic compounds, it was found that 2-(phenylamino) selenazolo [5,4-b] pyridine, (PSeD, 7) had higher growth inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cells. The intracellular mechanism of cell death was evaluated by flow cytometric analysis and ROS assay, which revealed that PSeD could induce MCF-7 cells apoptosis by scavenging intracellular ROS. Taken together, we regard PSeD as an antioxidant which could inhibit cancer cell growth through induction of apoptosis.