Targeting metabolism to enhance immunotherapy within tumor microenvironment.

Cancer metabolic reprogramming has been considered an emerging hallmark in tumorigenesis and the antitumor immune response. Like cancer cells, immune cells within the tumor microenvironment or premetastatic niche also undergo extensive metabolic reprogramming, which profoundly impacts anti-tumor immune responses. Numerous evidence has illuminated that immunosuppressive TME and the metabolites released by tumor cells, including lactic acid, Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), fatty acids (FAs), cholesterol, D-2-Hydroxyglutaric acid (2-HG), adenosine (ADO), and kynurenine (KYN) can contribute to CD8+ T cell dysfunction. Dynamic alterations of these metabolites between tumor cells and immune cells can similarly initiate metabolic competition in the TME, leading to nutrient deprivation and subsequent microenvironmental acidosis, which impedes immune response. This review summarizes the new landscape beyond the classical metabolic pathways in tumor cells, highlighting the pivotal role of metabolic disturbance in the immunosuppressive microenvironment, especially how nutrient deprivation in TME leads to metabolic reprogramming of CD8+ T cells. Likewise, it emphasizes the current therapeutic targets or strategies related to tumor metabolism and immune response, providing therapeutic benefits for tumor immunotherapy and drug development in the future. Cancer metabolic reprogramming has been considered an emerging hallmark in tumorigenesis and the antitumor immune response. Dynamic alterations of metabolites between tumor cells and immune cells initiate metabolic competition in the TME, leading to nutrient deprivation and subsequent microenvironmental acidosis, which impedes immune response.

Targeted Protein Degradation Technology and Nanomedicine: Powerful Allies against Cancer.

Targeted protein degradation (TPD) is an emerging therapeutic strategy with the potential of targeting undruggable pathogenic proteins. After the first proof-of-concept proteolysis-targeting chimeric (PROTAC) molecule was reported, the TPD field has entered a new era. In addition to PROTAC, numerous novel TPD strategies have emerged to expand the degradation landscape. However, their physicochemical properties and uncontrolled off-target side effects have limited their therapeutic efficacy, raising concerns regarding TPD delivery system. The combination of TPD and nanotechnology offers great promise in improving safety and therapeutic efficacy. This review provides an overview of novel TPD technologies, discusses their clinical applications, and highlights the trends and perspectives in TPD nanomedicine.

Room-Temperature Magnetic Phase Transition in an Electrically Tuned van der Waals Ferromagnet.

Finding tunable van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets that operate at above room temperature is an important research focus in physics and materials science. Most vdW magnets are only intrinsically magnetic far below room temperature and magnetism with square-shaped hysteresis at room temperature has yet to be observed. Here, we report magnetism in a quasi-2D magnet Cr_{1.2}Te_{2} observed at room temperature (290 K). This magnetism was tuned via a protonic gate with an electron doping concentration up to 3.8×10^{21} cm^{-3}. We observed nonmonotonic evolutions in both coercivity and anomalous Hall resistivity. Under increased electron doping, the coercivities and anomalous Hall effects (AHEs) vanished, indicating a doping-induced magnetic phase transition. This occurred up to room temperature. DFT calculations showed the formation of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase caused by the intercalation of protons which induced significant electron doping in the Cr_{1.2}Te_{2}. The tunability of the magnetic properties and phase in room temperature magnetic vdW Cr_{1.2}Te_{2} is a significant step towards practical spintronic devices.

Neutrophils as potential therapeutic targets for breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) remains the foremost cause of cancer mortality globally, with neutrophils playing a critical role in its pathogenesis. As an essential tumor microenvironment (TME) component, neutrophils are emerging as pivotal factors in BC progression. Growing evidence has proved that neutrophils play a Janus- role in BC by polarizing into the anti-tumor (N1) or pro-tumor (N2) phenotype. Clinical trials are evaluating neutrophil-targeted therapies, including Reparixin (NCT02370238) and Tigatuzumab (NCT01307891); however, their clinical efficacy remains suboptimal. This review summarizes the evidence regarding the close relationship between neutrophils and BC, emphasizing the critical roles of neutrophils in regulating metabolic and immune pathways. Additionally, we summarize the existing therapeutic approaches that target neutrophils, highlighting the challenges, and affirming the rationale for continuing to explore neutrophils as a viable therapeutic target in BC management.

Clinical characteristics of severe influenza virus-associated pneumonia complicated with bacterial infection in children: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of severe influenza virus-associated pneumonia complicated with bacterial infection in children. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed data concerning 64 paediatric patients with severe influenza virus-associated pneumonia who had been treated at our hospital. The patients were divided into observation (44 patients) and control (20 patients) groups, based on the presence or absence of concomitant bacterial infection, and clinical data were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The mean age in the observation group was 2.71 ± 1.44 years, 42 (95.45%) were aged ≤ 5 years, and 18 (40.9%) had underlying diseases. The mean age in the control group was 4.05 ± 2.21 years, 13 (65%) were aged ≤ 5 years, and 3 (15%) had underlying diseases. There was a statistically significant difference in patient age and the proportion of patients with underlying diseases (P < 0.05). The observation group had higher duration of fever values, a higher number of patients with duration of fever ≥ 7 days, a higher incidence of gasping, and a higher incidence of seizures/consciousness disturbance, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Secondary bacterial infections in the observation group were mainly due to gram-negative bacteria, with Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis being the most common pathogens. The observation group had a higher proportion of patients treated in the paediatric intensive care unit and a longer hospital stay, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Severe influenza virus-associated pneumonia complicated with bacterial infection was more common in children aged ≤ 5 years. Younger patients with underlying diseases were more susceptible to bacterial infection (mainly due to gram-negative bacteria). The timely administration of neuraminidase inhibitors and antibiotics against susceptible bacteria is likely to help improve cure rates.

[Stapled anoplin peptide combined with photothermal therapy enhances oncolytic immunotherapy of triple-negative breast cancer].

This study constructed a nano-drug delivery system, A3@GMH, by co-delivering the stapled anoplin peptide(Ano-3, A3) with the light-harvesting material graphene oxide(GO), and evaluated its oncolytic immunotherapy effect on triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC). A3@GMH was prepared using an emulsion template method and its physicochemical properties were characterized. The in vivo and in vitro photothermal conversion abilities of A3@GMH were investigated using an infrared thermal imager. The oncoly-tic activity of A3@GMH against TNBC 4T1 cells was evaluated through cell counting kit-8(CCK-8), lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) release, live/dead cell staining, and super-resolution microscopy. The targeting properties of A3@GMH on 4T1 cells were assessed using a high-content imaging system and flow cytometry. In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to investigate the antitumor mechanism of A3@GMH in combination with photothermal therapy(PTT) through inducing immunogenic cell death(ICD) in 4T1 cells. The results showed that the prepared A3@GMH exhibited distinct mesoporous and coated structures with an average particle size of(308.9±7.5) nm and a surface potential of(-6.79±0.58) mV. The encapsulation efficiency and drug loading of A3 were 23.9%±0.6% and 20.5%±0.5%, respectively. A3@GMH demonstrated excellent photothermal conversion ability and biological safety. A3@GMH actively mediated oncolytic features such as 4T1 cell lysis and LDH release, as well as ICD effects, and showed enhanced in vitro antitumor activity when combined with PTT. In vivo, A3@GMH efficiently induced ICD effects with two rounds of PTT, activated the host's antitumor immune response, and effectively suppressed tumor growth in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, achieving an 88.9% tumor inhibition rate with no apparent toxic side effects. This study suggests that the combination of stapled anoplin peptide and PTT significantly enhances the oncolytic immunotherapy for TNBC and provides a basis for the innovative application of anti-tumor peptides derived from TCM in TNBC treatment.

High-level production and extraction of C-phycocyanin from cyanobacteria Synechococcus sp. PCC7002 for antioxidation, antibacterial and lead adsorption.

Global warming and climate change because carbon dioxide (CO2) release to atmosphere is the forecasting challenges to human being. We are facing how to overcome the dilemma on the balance between economic and environment, thus taking more efforts on green processes to meet agreement of sustainable society are urgent and crucial. The absorption of CO2 by microalgae reduces the impact of CO2 on the environment. In this study, the CO2 removal efficiency was the highest in the culture of Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC7002 (also called blue-green algae), at 2% CO2 to reach a value of 0.86 g-CO2/g-DCW. The main product of PCC7002 is C-phycocyanin (C-PC) which regarding to phycobilisome complex in all cyanobacterial species. A 160% increasing C-PC was achieved in the cultivation under 100 µmol/m2/s light intensity, 12:12 light-period with 2% CO2 at 30 °C. The mix-culture of nitric and ammonia ions had positive effect on the cell growth and C-PC accumulation, thus realized the highest yield of 0.439 g-CPC/g-DCW. Additionally, the partial purified C-PC displayed 89% antioxidant activity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) and 11% of superoxide free radical scavenging activity, respectively. The production of C-PC from PCC7002 reduced the CO2 emission and exhibited antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and lead ion adsorption at room temperature, which has the great potential for eco-friendly application.

Left ventricular function recovery in peripartum cardiomyopathy: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance study by myocardial T1 and T2 mapping.

BACKGROUND: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is rare and potentially life-threatening; its etiology remains unclear. Imaging characteristics on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and their prognostic significance have rarely been studied. We sought to determine CMR's prognostic value in PPCM by using T1 and T2 mapping techniques. METHODS: Data from 21 PPCM patients from our CMR registry database were analyzed. The control group comprised 20 healthy age-matched females. All subjects underwent comprehensive contrast-enhanced CMR. T1 and T2 mapping using modified Look-Locker inversion recovery and T2 prep balanced steady-state free precession sequences, respectively. Ventricular size and function, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), myocardial T1 value, extracellular volume (ECV), and T2 value were analyzed. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed at baseline and during follow-up. The recovered left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was defined as LVEF ≥50% on echocardiography follow-up after at least 6 months of the diagnosis. RESULTS: CMR imaging showed that the PPCM patients had severely impaired LVEF and right ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF: 26.8 ± 10.6%; RVEF: 33.9 ± 14.6%). LGE was seen in eight (38.1%) cases. PPCM patients had significantly higher native T1 and ECV (1345 ± 79 vs. 1212 ± 32 ms, P < 0.001; 33.9 ± 5.2% vs. 27.1 ± 3.1%, P < 0.001; respectively) and higher myocardial T2 value (42.3 ± 3.7 vs. 36.8 ± 2.3 ms, P < 0.001) than did the normal controls. After a median 2.5-year follow-up (range: 8 months-5 years), six patients required readmission for heart failure, two died, and 10 showed left ventricular function recovery. The LVEF-recovered group showed significantly lower ECV (30.7 ± 2.1% vs. 36.8 ± 5.6%, P = 0.005) and T2 (40.6 ± 3.0 vs. 43.9 ± 3.7 ms, P = 0.040) than the unrecovered group. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed ECV (OR = 0.58 for per 1% increase, P = 0.032) was independently associated with left ventricular recovery in PPCM. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to normal controls, PPCM patients showed significantly higher native T1, ECV, and T2. Native T1, ECV, and T2 were associated with LVEF recovery in PPCM. Furthermore, ECV could independently predict left ventricular function recovery in PPCM.

Oncolytic Peptide-Nanoplatform Drives Oncoimmune Response and Reverses Adenosine-Induced Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment.

The application of oncolytic peptides has become a powerful approach to induce complete and long-lasting remission in multiple types of carcinomas, as affirmed by the appearance of tumor-associated antigens and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in large quantities, which jumpstarts the cancer-immunity cycle. However, the ATP breakdown product adenosine is a significant contributor to forming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which substantially weakens peptide-driven oncolytic immunotherapy. In this study, a lipid-coated micelle (CA@TLM) loaded with a stapled oncolytic peptide (PalAno) and an adenosine 2A receptor (A2AR) inhibitor (CPI-444) is devised to enact tumor-targeted oncolytic immunotherapy and to overcome adenosine-mediated immune suppression simultaneously. The CA@TLM micelle accumulates in tumors with high efficiency, and the acidic lysosomal environment prompts the rapid release of PalAno and CPI-444. Subsequently, PalAno induces swift membrane lysis of tumor cells and the release of antigenic materials. Meanwhile, CPI-444 blocks activation of the immunosuppressive adenosine-A2AR signaling pathway. This combined approach exhibit pronounced synergy at stalling tumor growth and metastasis in animal models for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and melanoma, providing a novel strategy for enhanced oncolytic immunotherapy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

DCAF7 Acts as A Scaffold to Recruit USP10 for G3BP1 Deubiquitylation and Facilitates Chemoresistance and Metastasis in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Despite docetaxel combined with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (TPF) being the established treatment for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), there are patients who do not respond positively to this form of therapy. However, the mechanisms underlying this lack of benefit remain unclear. DCAF7 is identified as a chemoresistance gene attenuating the response to TPF therapy in NPC patients. DCAF7 promotes the cisplatin resistance and metastasis of NPC cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, DCAF7 serves as a scaffold protein that facilitates the interaction between USP10 and G3BP1, leading to the elimination of K48-linked ubiquitin moieties from Lys76 of G3BP1. This process helps prevent the degradation of G3BP1 via the ubiquitin‒proteasome pathway and promotes the formation of stress granule (SG)-like structures. Moreover, knockdown of G3BP1 successfully reversed the formation of SG-like structures and the oncogenic effects of DCAF7. Significantly, NPC patients with increased levels of DCAF7 showed a high risk of metastasis, and elevated DCAF7 levels are linked to an unfavorable prognosis. The study reveals DCAF7 as a crucial gene for cisplatin resistance and offers further understanding of how chemoresistance develops in NPC. The DCAF7-USP10-G3BP1 axis contains potential targets and biomarkers for NPC treatment.

Dbl family RhoGEFs in cancer: different roles and targeting strategies.

Small Ras homologous guanosine triphosphatase (Rho GTPase) family proteins are highly associated with tumorigenesis and development. As intrinsic exchange activity regulators of Rho GTPases, Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factors (RhoGEFs) have been demonstrated to be closely involved in tumor development and received increasing attention. They mainly contain two families: the diffuse B-cell lymphoma (Dbl) family and the dedicator of cytokinesis (Dock) family. More and more emphasis has been paid to the Dbl family members for their abnormally high expression in various cancers and their correlation to poor prognosis. In this review, the common and distinctive structures of Dbl family members are discussed, and their roles in cancer are summarized with a focus on Ect2, Tiam1/2, P-Rex1/2, Vav1/2/3, Trio, KALRN, and LARG. Significantly, the strategies targeting Dbl family RhoGEFs are highlighted as novel therapeutic opportunities for cancer.

Radiotherapy alone versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with stage II and T3N0 nasopharyngeal carcinoma with adverse features: A propensity score-matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Whether concurrent chemoradiotherapy would provide survival benefits in patients with stage II and T3N0 NPC with adverse factors remains unclear in IMRT era. We aimed to assess the value of concurrent chemotherapy compared to IMRT alone in stage II and T3N0 NPC with adverse features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 287 patients with stage II and T3N0 NPC with adverse factors were retrospectively analyzed, including 98 patients who received IMRT alone (IMRT alone group) and 189 patients who received cisplatin-based concurrent chemotherapy (CCRT group). The possible prognostic factors were balanced using propensity score matching (PSM). Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate the survival rates, and log-rank tests were employed to compare differences between groups. RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 90.8 months (interquartile range = 75.6-114.7 months). The IMRT alone and the CCRT group were well matched; however, for all survival-related endpoints, there were no significant differences between them (5-year failure-free survival: 84.3% vs. 82.7%, P value = 0.68; 5-year overall survival: 87.3% vs. 90.6%, P value = 0.11; 5-year distant metastasis-free survival: 92.8% vs. 92.5%, P value = 0.97; 5-year locoregional relapse-free survival: 93.4% vs. 89.9%, P value = 0.30). The incidence of acute toxicities in the IMRT alone group was significantly lower than that in the CCRT group. CONCLUSION: For patients with stage II and T3N0 NPC with adverse features treated using IMRT, no improvement in survival was gained by adding concurrent chemotherapy; however, the occurrence of acute toxicities increased significantly. For those combined with non-single adverse factors, the comprehensive treatment strategy needs further exploration.

Impact of occupational noise exposure on the hearing level in hospital staffs: a longitudinal study.

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of occupational noise on hearing loss among healthcare workers using audiometry. A longitudinal study was conducted with a six-month follow-up period in a hospital with 21 participants, divided into high-noise-exposure (HNE) and low-noise-exposure (LNE) groups. Mean noise levels were higher in the HNE group (70.4 ± 4.5 dBA), and hearing loss was measured using pure-tone audiometry at baseline and follow-up. The HNE group had significantly higher mean threshold levels at frequencies of 0.25 kHz, 0.5 kHz, 4.0 kHz, and an average of 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz (all p-values < 0.05) after the follow-up period. After adjusting for confounding factors, the HNE group had significantly higher hearing loss levels at 0.25 kHz, 0.5 kHz, and average frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz compared to the LNE group at the second measurement. Occupational noise levels above 65 dBA over six months were found to cause significant threshold changes at frequencies of 0.25 kHz, 0.5 kHz, and an average of 0.5-4.0 kHz. This study highlights the risk of noise-induced hearing loss among healthcare workers and emphasizes the importance of implementing effective hearing conservation programs in the workplace. Regular monitoring and assessment of noise levels and hearing ability, along with proper use of personal protective equipment, are crucial steps in mitigating the impact of occupational noise exposure on the hearing health of healthcare workers.

Transcription factor ATMIN facilitates chemoresistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Despite that the docectaxel-cisplatin-5-fluorouracil (TPF) induction chemotherapy has greatly improved patients' survival and became the first-line treatment for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), not all patients could benefit from this therapy. The mechanism underlying the TPF chemoresistance remains unclear. Here, by analyzing gene-expression microarray data and survival of patients who received TPF chemotherapy, we identify transcription factor ATMIN as a chemoresistance gene in response to TPF chemotherapy in NPC. Mass spectrometry and Co-IP assays reveal that USP10 deubiquitinates and stabilizes ATMIN protein, resulting the high-ATMIN expression in NPC. Knockdown of ATMIN suppresses the cell proliferation and facilitates the docetaxel-sensitivity of NPC cells both in vitro and in vivo, while overexpression of ATMIN exerts the opposite effect. Mechanistically, ChIP-seq combined with RNA-seq analysis suggests that ATMIN is associated with the cell death signaling and identifies ten candidate target genes of ATMIN. We further confirm that ATMIN transcriptionally activates the downstream target gene LCK and stabilizes it to facilitate cell proliferation and docetaxel resistance. Taken together, our findings broaden the insight into the molecular mechanism of chemoresistance in NPC, and the USP10-ATMIN-LCK axis provides potential therapeutic targets for the management of NPC.

Enhanced carbon capture, lipid and lutein production in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii under meso-thermophilic conditions using chaperone and CRISPRi system.

Microalgae are widely recognized as a promising bioresource for producing renewable fuels and chemicals. Microalgal biorefinery has tremendous potential for incorporation into circular bioeconomy, including sustainability, cascading use, and waste reduction. In this study, genetic engineering was used to enhance the growth, lipid and lutein productivity of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii including strains of CC400, PY9, pCHS, and PG. Notably, CRISPRi mediated on phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC1) gene to down-regulate the branch pathway from glycolysis to partitioning more carbon flux to lipid was explored under meso-thermophilic condition. The best chassis PGi, which has overexpressed chaperone GroELS and applied CRISPRi resulting in the highest biomass of 2.56 g/L and also boosted the lipids and lutein with 893 and 23.5 mg/L, respectively at 35°C. Finally, all strains with CRISPRi exhibited higher transcriptional levels of the crucial genes from photosynthesis, starch, lipid and lutein metabolism, thus reaching a CO2 assimilation of 1.087 g-CO2/g-DCW in mixotrophic condition.

Associations of road traffic noise and its frequency spectrum with prevalent depression in Taichung, Taiwan.

Introduction: Exposure to road traffic noise has been reported to be associated with depression in many epidemiological studies, but the association between noise frequency spectrum and depression remains unclear. This community-based study investigated the associations between road traffic noise exposure and its frequency components with prevalent depression. Methods: A total of 3,191 residents living in Taichung who participated in the Taiwan Biobank between 2010 and 2017, were included as study participants. The land-use regression models were used to evaluate individual annual average values of A-weighted equivalent sound level over 24 h (Leq,24h) and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm (PM2.5) using the geographic information system. Multiple logistic regression was applied to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) for depression after adjusting for potential risk factors and PM2.5. Results: An interquartile range increase in Leq,24h at full frequency (4.7 dBA), 1,000 Hz (5.2 dB), and 2,000 Hz (4.8 dB) was significantly associated with an elevated risk for depression with ORs of 1.62 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03, 2.55), 1.58 (95% CI: 1.05, 2.37), and 1.58 (95% CI:1.03, 2.43), respectively, by controlling for PM2.5. The high-exposure group (≥3rd quartile median of noise levels) at full frequency, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz had an increased risk for depression with ORs of 2.65 (95% CI: 1.16-6.05), 2.47 (95% CI: 1.07-5.70), and 2.60 (95% CI: 1.10-6.12), respectively, compared with the reference group (<1st quartile of noise levels) after adjustment for PM2.5. Significant exposure-response trends were observed between the prevalent depression and noise exposure by quartiles at full frequency, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: Exposure to road traffic noise may be associated with an increased prevalence of depression, particularly at 1,000 and 2,000 Hz.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology and genetic engineering strategies for microalgae towards carbon neutrality: A critical review.

Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas and regards as the critical issue of global warming and climate changes. The inconspicuous microalgae are responsible for 40% of carbon fixation among all photosynthetic plants along with a higher photosynthetic efficiency and convert the carbon into lipids, protein, pigments, and bioactive compounds. Genetic approach and metabolic engineering are applied to accelerate the growth rate and biomass of microalgae, hence achieve the mission of carbon neutrality. Meanwhile, CRISPR/Cas9 is efficiently to enhance the productivity of high-value compounds in microalgae for it is easier operation, more affordable and is able to regulate multiple genes simultaneously. The genetic engineering strategies provide the multidisciplinary concept to evolute and increase the CO2 fixation rate through Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. Therefore, the technologies, bioinformatics tools, systematic engineering approaches for carbon neutrality and circular economy are summarized and leading one step closer to the decarbonization society in this review.

High Concentration Intrinsic Defects in MnSb2Te4.

MnSb2Te4 has a similar structure to an emerging material, MnBi2Te4. According to earlier theoretical studies, the formation energy of Mn antisite defects in MnSb2Te4 is negative, suggesting its inherent instability. This is clearly in contrast to the successful synthesis of experimental samples of MnSb2Te4. Here, the growth environment of MnSb2Te4 and the intrinsic defects are correspondingly investigated. We find that the Mn antisite defect is the most stable defect in the system, and a Mn-rich growth environment favors its formation. The thermodynamic equilibrium concentrations of the Mn antisite defects could be as high as 15% under Mn-poor conditions and 31% under Mn-rich conditions. It is also found that Mn antisite defects prefer a uniform distribution. In addition, the Mn antisite defects can modulate the interlayer magnetic coupling in MnSb2Te4, leading to a transition from the ideal antiferromagnetic ground state to a ferromagnetic state. The ferromagnetic coupling effect can be further enhanced by controlling the defect concentration.

Multiple Magnetic Topological Phases in the van der Waals Crystal Mn(Bi,Sb)4Se7.

Magnetic topological materials have drawn markedly attention recently due to the strong coupling of their novel topological properties and magnetic configurations. In particular, the MnBi2Te4/(Bi2Te3)n family highlights the researches of multiple magnetic topological materials. Via first-principles calculations, we predict that Mn(Bi, Sb)4Se7, the close relatives of MnBi2Te4/(Bi2Te3)n family, are topological nontrivival in both antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic configurations. In the antiferromagnetic ground state, Mn(Bi, Sb)4Se7 are simultaneously topological insulators and axion insulators. Massless Dirac surface states emerge on the surfaces parallel to the z axis. In ferromagnetic phases, they are axion insulators. Particularly, when the magnetization direction is along the x axis, they are also topological crystalline insulators. Mirror-symmetry-protected gapless surface states exist on the mirror-invariant surfaces. Hence, the behaviors of surface states are strongly dependent on the magnetization directions and surface orientations. Our work provides more opportunities for the study of magnetic topological physics.

Nanotechnology-based photo-immunotherapy: a new hope for inhibition of melanoma growth and metastasis.

Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and there is a need for the development of effective anti-melanoma therapies as it shows high metastatic ability and low response rate. In addition, it has been identified that traditional phototherapy could trigger immunogenic cell death (ICD) to activate antitumor immune response, which could not only effectively arrest primary tumour growth, but also exhibit superior effects in terms of anti-metastasis, anti-recurrence for metastatic melanoma treatment. However, the limited tumour accumulation of photosensitizers/photothermal agents and immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment severely weaken the immune effects. The application of nanotechnology facilitates a higher accumulation of photosensitizers/photothermal agents at the tumour site, which can thus improve the antitumor effects of photo-immunotherapy (PIT). In this review, we summarise the basic principles of nanotechnology-based PIT and highlight novel nanotechnologies that are expected to enhance the antitumor immune response for improved therapeutic efficacy.