Selenium-binding protein 1 inhibits malignant progression and induces apoptosis via distinct mechanisms in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Selenium is an essential trace element in the human body. In epidemiological and clinical studies, Se supplementation significantly reduced the incidence of lung cancer in individuals with low baseline Se levels. The significant action of selenium is based on the selenium-containing protein as a mediator. Of note, the previous studies reported that the expression of selenium-binding protein 1 (SELENBP1) was obviously decreased in many human cancer tissues including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, its roles in the origin and development of NSCLC are still unclear. METHODS: The expression of SELENBP1 was measured by qRT-PCR, Western blotting and IHC in our collected clinical NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Next, the CCK-8, colony formation, wound-haeling, Millicell, Transwell, FCM assay, and in vivo xenograft model were performed to explore the function of SELENBP1 in NSCLC. The molecular mechanisms of SELENBP1 were investigated by Western blotting or IF assay. RESULTS: We further identified that the expression of SELENBP1 was significantly decreased in NSCLC tissues in TCGA database and 45 out of 59 collected clinical NSCLC tissues compared with adjacent nontumor tissues, as well as in four NSCLC cell lines compared with normal lung cells. Particularly, we unexpectedly discovered that SELENBP1 was obviously expressed in alveolar type 2 (AT-II) cells for the first time. Then, a series of in vitro experiments uncovered that overexpression of SELENBP1 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NSCLC cells, and induced cell apoptosis. Moreover, overexpression of SELENBP1 also inhibited growth and induced apoptosis of NSCLC cells in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that overexpression of SELENBP1 inhibited the malignant characteristics of NSCLC cells in part via inactivating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signal pathway. Meanwhile, we found that overexpression of SELENBP1 inducing the apoptosis of NSCLC cells was associated with the activation of caspase-3 signaling pathway under nonhigh level of oxidative stress, but overexpression of SELENBP1 facilitating the cell apoptosis might be related to its combining with GPX1 and colocalizing in the nucleus under high level of oxidative stress. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlighted that SELENBP1 was an important tumor suppressor during the origin and development of NSCLC. It may help to discover novel biomarkers or drug therapy targets for NSCLC.

Expert consensus on indocyanine green fluorescence imaging for thoracoscopic lung resection (The Version 2022).

The use of the white-light thoracoscopy is hampered by the low contrast between oncologic margins and surrounding normal parenchyma. As a result, many patients with in situ or micro-infiltrating adenocarcinoma have to undergo lobectomy due to a lack of tactile and visual feedback in the resection of solitary pulmonary nodules. Near-infrared (NIR) guided indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging technique has been widely investigated due to its unique capability in addressing the current challenges; however, there is no special consensus on the evidence and recommendations for its preoperative and intraoperative applications. This manuscript will describe the development process of a consensus on ICG fluorescence-guided thoracoscopic resection of pulmonary lesions and make recommendations that can be applied in a greater number of centers. Specifically, an expert panel of thoracic surgeons and radiographers was formed. Based on the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations, the consensus was developed in conjunction with the Chinese Guidelines on Video-assisted Thoracoscopy, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines on the management of pulmonary lesions. Each of the statements was discussed and agreed upon with a unanimous consensus amongst the panel. A total of 6 consensus statements were developed. Fluorescence-guided thoracoscopy has unique advantages in the visualization of pulmonary nodules, and recognition and resection of the anterior plane of the pulmonary segment. The expert panel agrees that fluorescence-guided thoracoscopic surgery has the potential to become a routine operation for the treatment of pulmonary lesions.

Temporal Dynamics of Antibiotic Resistome in the Plastisphere during Microbial Colonization.

The increasing and simultaneous pollution of plastic debris and antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments makes plastisphere a great health concern. However, the development process of antibiotic resistome in the plastisphere is largely unknown, impeding risk assessment associated with plastics. Here, we profiled the temporal dynamics of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and microbial composition in the plastisphere from initial microbial colonization to biofilm formation in urban water. A total of 82 ARGs, 12 MGEs, and 63 bacterial pathogens were detected in the plastisphere and categorized as the pioneering, intermediate, and persistent ones. The high number of five MGEs and six ARGs persistently detected in the whole microbial colonization process was regarded as a major concern because of their potential role in disseminating antibiotic resistance. In addition to genomic analysis, D2O-labeled single-cell Raman spectroscopy was employed to interrogate the ecophysiology of plastisphere in a culture-independent way and demonstrated that the plastisphere was inherently more tolerant to antibiotics than bacterioplankton. Finally, by combining persistent MGEs, intensified colonization of pathogenic bacteria, increased tolerance to antibiotic, and potential trophic transfer into a holistic risk analysis, the plastisphere was indicated to constitute a hot spot to acquire and spread antibiotic resistance and impose a long-term risk to ecosystems and human health. These findings provide important insights into the antibiotic resistome and ecological risk of the plastisphere and highlight the necessity for comprehensive surveillance of plastisphere.

Prognostic Value of Pre-Treatment Prognostic Nutritional Index in Esophageal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Prognostic nutritional index (PNI), combining albumin and lymphocyte counts, which represent the nutritional and immune status, was considered as an effective predictor for the patient's prognosis after surgery. To comprehensively analyze the relative effectiveness of prognostic performance of pretreatment PNI in esophageal cancer (EC), we performed this meta-analysis. Methods: We performed a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, CNKI, and Web of Science. The hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted to explore the correlation between PNI and the post-operative survival of patients with EC, including overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and post-operative complications. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was applied to estimate the quality of the included studies. The Begg's test was applied to assess the publication bias. Results: A total of 13 articles with 3,543 patients, were included in our meta-analysis, and nine studies reported OS in 2,731 EC patients. The pooled results of the nine studies suggested that EC patients with a low PNI would have a worse overall survival (HR = 1.14, 95% CI 0.99-1.31, p < 0.05). The integrated results also indicated that the PNI was a negative predictor for RFS. Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicated a high correlation between PNI and post-operative survival of EC. EC patients with low PNI values tend to have worse OS and may be at a higher risk of EC recurrence. However, more relevant researches are needed to confirm the association between PNI and post-operative complications of EC.

Optimization of Cultivating Conditions for Triterpenoids Production from Antrodia cinnmomea.

The submerged cultivating conditions for triterpenoids production from Antrodia cinnamomea were optimized using uniform design method and the one-factor-at-a-time method was adopted to investigate the effect of plants oils and glucose supply on triterpenoids production and mycelia growth. Corn starch and culturing time were identified as more significant variables for triterpenoids production. The optimal conditions for triterpenoids production was 20.0 g/L corn starch, 20.0 g/L wheat bran, 1.85 g/L MgSO4, initial pH 3 and 16 days of cultivation. In addition, investigation of plant oils and glucose supply showed that 0.3 % (v/v) olive oil supply at the beginning of fermentation stimulated mycelia growth and significantly increased triterpenoids production; 0.2 % (w/v) glucose supplement at 10th day enhanced production of triterpenoids with slight effect on biomass, which is reported for the first time. The triterpenoids production experimentally obtained under the optimal conditions was 7.23 % (w/w). The uniform design method may be used to optimize many environmental and genetic factors such as temperature and agitation that can also affect the triterpenoids production from A. cinnamomea.

Dihydroagarofuran derivatives from the dried roots of Tripterygium wilfordii.

Five new sesquiterpene derivatives, including dihydroagarofuran pyridine macrolides 1-4 and dihydroagarofuran ester 18, and 13 known dihydroagarofuran derivatives were isolated from the aqueous EtOH extract of the dried roots of Tripterygium wilfordii. An in vitro antiherpetic activity assay indicated that compounds 11 and 17 displayed weak and moderate inhibition against herpes simplex virus type II, respectively.