Comparison of clinicopathological characteristics, efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy, and prognosis in HER2-low and HER2-ultralow breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to analyze potential differences in clinicopathology, efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT), and clinical outcome among HER2-null, HER2-ultralow and HER2-low breast cancers. METHODS: Consecutive cases of HER2-negative breast cancer that received NAT were included. They were classified as HER2-null (no staining), HER2-ultralow (incomplete faint staining in ≤ 10% of tumour cells) and HER2-low (HER2-1 + or HER2-2+, in situ hybridisation negative). Subgroup analysis was performed based on the HER2 expression level. RESULTS: Out of 302 patients, 215 (71.19%) were HER2-low, 59 (19.54%) were HER2-ultralow, and 28 (9.27%) were HER2-null. In comparison to the HER2-ultralow group, the HER2-low group exhibited higher expression frequencies of ER (p < 0.001), PR (p < 0.001), and AR (p = 0.004), along with a greater prevalence of the luminal subtype (p < 0.001). The HER2-ultralow group also demonstrated a higher prevalence of lymph node metastasis compared to the HER2-null group (p = 0.026). Varied rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) were observed among the three subgroups: HER2-null, HER2-ultralow, and HER2-low, with rates of 35.71%, 22.03%, and 12.56%, respectively. Only the HER2-low subgroup exhibited a significant difference compared to HER2-null (p = 0.001). Despite variations in pCR rates, the three subgroups exhibited comparable disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.571). Importantly, we found HER2-low patients with better treatment response (RCB-0/I) exhibited significantly better DFS than those with significant residual disease (RCB-II/III) (P = 0.036). The overall rate of HER2 immunohistochemical score discordance was 45.24%, mostly driven by the conversion between HER2-0 and HER2-low phenotype. Notably, 32.19% of cases initially classified as HER2-0 phenotype on baseline biopsy were later reclassified as HER2-low after neoadjuvant therapy, and it is noteworthy that 22 out of these cases (78.57%) originally had an HER2-ultralow status in the pretreatment biopsy sample. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate the distinct clinicopathological features of HER2-low and HER2-ultralow breast tumors and confirm that RCB is an effective predictor of prognosis in HER2-low populations for the first time. Notably, our findings demonstrate high instability in both HER2-low and HER2-ultralow expression from the primary baseline biopsy to residual disease after NAT. Furthermore, this study is the first to investigate the clinicopathological feature and the effectiveness of NAT for HER2-ultralow breast cancer.

Rapid and Ultrasensitive Detection of H. aduncum via the RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a Platform.

Hysterothylacium aduncum is one of six pathogens responsible for human anisakiasis. Infection with H. aduncum can cause acute abdominal symptoms and allergic reactions and is prone to misdiagnosis in clinical practice. This study aims to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of detecting H. aduncum in food ingredients. We targeted the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS 1) regions of Anisakis to develop a visual screening method for detecting H. aduncum using recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) combined with the CRISPR/Cas12a system. By comparing the ITS 1 region sequences of eight nematode species, we designed specific primers and CRISPR RNA (crRNA). The specificity of RPA primers was screened and evaluated, and the CRISPR system was optimized. We assessed its specificity and sensitivity and performed testing on commercial samples. The results indicated that the alternative primer ADU 1 was the most effective. The final optimized concentrations were 250 nM for Cas12a, 500 nM for crRNA, and 500 nM for ssDNA. The complete test procedure was achievable within 45 min at 37 °C, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.27 pg/µL. The amplified product could be directly observed using a fluorescence microscope or ultraviolet lamp. Detection results for 15 Anisakis samples were entirely consistent with those obtained via Sanger sequencing, demonstrating the higher efficacy of this method for detecting and identifying H. aduncum. This visual detection method, characterized by simple operation, visual results, high sensitivity, and specificity, meets the requirements for food safety testing and enhances monitoring efficiency.

NCAM and attached polysialic acid affect behaviors of breast epithelial cells through differential signaling pathways.

Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), a common mammalian cell surface glycoprotein, is the major substrate of polysialic acid (polySia). Polysialylated NCAM occurs in many types of cancer, but rarely in normal adult tissues. The functional role of NCAM hypersialylation in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process remains unclear. The present study indicates that NCAM and attached polysialic acid affect behaviors of breast epithelial cells through differential signaling pathways. NCAM and polysialylated NCAM are aberrantly regulated in breast cancer cells. They are both upregulated in normal breast epithelial cells undergoing EMT. Western blot analysis demonstrates that NCAM-140 overexpression induces EMT in breast epithelial cells and promotes cell proliferation and migration through activation of the ß-catenin/slug signaling pathway. Modification of polySia attached to NCAM modulates cell adhesion and promotes cell motility through activation of the EGFR/STAT3 pathway. These observations contribute to clarifying the molecular mechanisms by which polysialic acid and its major substrate, NCAM, modulate cell behaviors, and highlight the significance of increased polysialylated expression on NCAM during EMT and tumor development.

Sialyl Lewis X decorated integrin α3 on small extracellular vesicles promotes metastasis of bladder cancer via enhancing vascular permeability.

The permeability of blood vessels plays a crucial role in the spread of cancer cells, facilitating their metastasis at distant sites. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are known to contribute to the metastasis of various cancers by crossing the blood vessel wall. However, the role of abnormal glycoconjugates on sEVs in tumor blood vessels remains unclear. Our study found elevated levels of fucosyltransferase VII (FUT7) and its product sialyl Lewis X (sLeX) in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (BLCA), with high levels of sLeX promoting the growth and invasion of BLCA cells. Further investigation revealed that sLeX was enriched in sEVs derived from BLCA. sLeX-decorated sEVs increased blood vessel permeability by disrupting the tight junctions of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Using the glycoproteomics approach, we identified integrin α3 (ITGA3) as a sLeX-bearing glycoprotein in BLCA cells and their sEVs. Mechanically, sLeX modification stabilized ITGA3 by preventing its degradation in lysosomes. sEVs carrying sLeX-modified ITGA3 can be effectively internalized by HUVECs, leading to a decrease in the expression of tight junction protein. Conversely, silencing ITGA3 in sLeX-decorated sEVs restored tight junction proteins and reduced blood vessel permeability by inhibiting the MAPK pathway. Moreover, sLeX-modification of ITGA3 at Asn 265 in HUVECs promoted occludin dephosphorylation at Ser/Thr residues, followed by inducing its importin α1-mediated nuclear translocation, which resulted in the disruption of tight junctions. Our findings suggest a potential strategy for disrupting the formation of a metastatic microenvironment and preventing the spread of malignant bladder cancer.

Bisecting GlcNAc modification reverses the chemoresistance via attenuating the function of P-gp.

Rationale: Chemoresistance is a key factor contributing to the failure of anti-breast cancer chemotherapy. Although abnormal glycosylation is closely correlated with breast cancer progression, the function of glycoconjugates in chemoresistance remains poorly understood. Methods: Levels and regulatory roles of bisecting N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) in chemoresistant breast cancer cells were determined in vitro and in vivo. Glycoproteomics guided identification of site-specific bisecting GlcNAc on P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Co-immunoprecipitation coupled mass spectrometry (Co-IP-MS) and proximity labelling MS identified the interactome of P-gp, and the biological function of site-specific bisecting GlcNAc was investigated by site/truncation mutation and structural simulations. Results: Bisecting GlcNAc levels were reduced in chemoresistant breast cancer cells, accompanied by an enhanced expression of P-gp. Enhanced bisecting GlcNAc effectively reversed chemoresistance. Mechanical study revealed that bisecting GlcNAc impaired the association between Ezrin and P-gp, leading to a decreased expression of membrane P-gp. Bisecting GlcNAc suppressed VPS4A-mediated P-gp recruitment into microvesicles, and chemoresistance transmission. Structural dynamics analysis suggested that bisecting GlcNAc at Asn494 introduced structural constraints that rigidified the conformation and suppressed the activity of P-gp. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the crucial role of bisecting GlcNAc in chemoresistance and suggest the possibility of reversing chemoresistance by modulating the specific glycosylation in breast cancer therapy.

Effects of microbiota-testis interactions on the reproductive health of male ruminants: A review.

Ruminants are one of the world's economically important species, and their reproductive health is critical to the economic development of the livestock industry. In recent years, research on the relationship between microbiota and reproductive health has received much attention. Microbiota disruption affects the developmental health of the testes and epididymis, the male reproductive organs of the host, which in turn is related to sperm quality. Maintaining a stable microbiota protects the host from pathogens and increases breeding performance, which in turn promotes the economic development of animal husbandry. In addition, the effects and mechanisms of microbiota on reproduction were further explored. These findings support new approaches to improving and managing reproductive health in ruminants through the microbiota and facilitate further systematic exploration of microbiota-mediated reproductive impacts.

Integrated pan-cancer analysis and experimental verification of the roles of meiotic nuclear divisions 1 in breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: The aberrant up-regulation of meiotic nuclear division 1 (MND1) in somatic cells is considered as one of the driving factors of oncogenesis, whereas its expression and role in breast invasive cancer (BRCA) remain unclear. Hence, this study embarked on a comprehensive evaluation of MND1 across various cancers and identified its roles in BRCA. METHODS: Based on publicly available databases, including but not limited to UCSC Xena, TCGA, GTEx, GEO, STRING, GeneMANIA, and CancerSEA, we evaluated the expression patterns, genomic features, and biological functions of MND1 from a pan-cancer viewpoint and delved into the implications of MND1 in the prognosis and treatment of BRCA. Further molecular biology experiments were undertaken to identify the role of MND1 in proliferation, migration, and apoptosis in BRCA cells. RESULTS: Elevated levels of MND1 were notably observed in a wide array of tumor types, especially in BRCA, COAD, HNSC, LIHC, LUAD, LUSC, STAD, and UCEC. Elevated MND1 expression was markedly associated with shortened OS in several tumors, including BRCA (HR = 1.52 [95%CI, 1.10-2.09], P = 0.011). The up-regulation of MND1 in BRCA was validated in external cohorts and clinical samples. Survival analyses demonstrated that elevated MND1 expression was associated with decreased survival for patients with BRCA. Co-expressed genes of MND1 were identified, and subsequent pathway analyses based on significantly associated genes indicated that MND1 plays key roles in DNA replication, cell cycle regulation, and DNA damage repair. The observed abnormal elevation and activation of MND1 led to increased proliferation and migration, along with decreased apoptosis in BRCA cells. CONCLUSIONS: MND1 emerges as a promising biomarker for diagnostic and therapeutic targeting in various cancers, including BRCA. The abnormal up-regulation and activation of MND1 are linked to carcinogenesis and poor prognosis among BRCA patients, which may be attributed to its involvement in HR-dependent ALT, warranting further scrutiny.

The trajectory of vesicular proteomic signatures from HBV-HCC by chitosan-magnetic bead-based separation and DIA-proteomic analysis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent primary liver cancer often associated with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB) and liver cirrhosis (LC), underscoring the critical need for biomarker discovery to improve patient outcomes. Emerging as a promising avenue for biomarker development, proteomic technology leveraging liquid biopsy from small extracellular vesicles (sEV) offers new insights. Here, we evaluated various methods for sEV isolation and identified polysaccharide chitosan (CS) as an optimal approach. Subsequently, we employed optimized CS-based magnetic beads (Mag-CS) for sEV separation from serum samples of healthy controls, CHB, LC, and HBV-HCC patients. Leveraging data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry coupled with machine learning, we uncovered potential vesicular protein biomarker signatures (KNG1, F11, KLKB1, CAPNS1, CDH1, CPN2, NME2) capable of distinguishing HBV-HCC from CHB, LC, and non-HCC conditions. Collectively, our findings highlight the utility of Mag-CS-based sEV isolation for identifying early detection biomarkers in HBV-HCC.

O-GlcNAcylation determines the function of the key O-GalNAc glycosyltransferase C1GalT1 in bladder cancer.

Protein glycosylation is a type of protein post-translational modification. One specific example is the modification of proteins with O-linked ß-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) and O-linked α-N-acetylgalactosamine (O-GalNAc). Enhanced levels of both O-GalNAc and O-GlcNAc in bladder cancer (BlCa) have been reported previously. However, the interplay between O-GalNAc and O-GlcNAc has yet to be explored. Herein, we find that the expression level of core1 ß-1,3-galactosyltransferase (C1GalT1), which is responsible for extending and maturing mucin-type O-glycans, is increased in BlCa. This increase is accompanied by O-GlcNAc modification of C1GalT1. This modification stabilizes C1GalT1 expression and strengthens its interaction with its chaperone Cosmc. Mutation at Thr229 or Thr233 attenuates C1GalT1 stability and facilitates its degradation via the proteasome pathway. Furthermore, a decrease in C1GalT1 inhibits the pro-tumorigenic effect on bladder cancer cells by suppressing glycolysis.

O-GlcNAc signaling: Implications for stress-induced adaptive response pathway in the tumor microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of tumor cells, non-tumor cells, extracellular matrix, and signaling molecules, which can contribute to tumor initiation, progression, and therapy resistance. In response to starvation, hypoxia, and drug treatments, tumor cells undergo a variety of deleterious endogenous stresses, such as hypoxia, DNA damage, and oxidative stress. In this context, to survive the difficult situation, tumor cells evolve multiple conserved adaptive responses, including metabolic reprogramming, DNA damage checkpoints, homologous recombination, up-regulated antioxidant pathways, and activated unfolded protein responses. In the last decades, the protein O-GlcNAcylation has emerged as a crucial causative link between glucose metabolism and tumor progression. Here, we discuss the relevant pathways that regulate the above responses. These pathways are adaptive adjustments induced by endogenous stresses in cells. In addition, we systematically discuss the role of O-GlcNAcylation-regulated stress-induced adaptive response pathways (SARPs) in TME remodeling, tumor progression, and treatment resistance. We also emphasize targeting O-GlcNAcylation through compounds that modulate OGT or OGA activity to inhibit tumor progression. It seems that targeting O-GlcNAcylated proteins to intervene in TME may be a novel approach to improve tumor prognosis.

Starvation-induced changes in the proteome and transcriptome of the salivary glands of leech (Hirudo nipponia).

Hirudo nipponia is an important medicinal animal in China. Its salivary gland secretions contain a variety of protein bioactive substances. Investigations of its salivary glands are of great significance in the study of the medicinal value and mechanism of leech secretions. Illumina RNA-Seq technology was used to perform transcriptome sequencing of salivary gland tissue of H. nipponia under starvation (D30) and fed (D0) states. A total of 2,650 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened. Using the label-free protein quantification technique and bioinformatics analysis, the expression of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the salivary gland tissue of H. nipponia was compared. A total of 2,021 proteins were identified, among which 181 proteins were differentially expressed between the starvation and fed states, with 72 significantly upregulated and 109 significantly downregulated. The salivary glands of H. nipponia synthesized protein-based active substances after 30 days of starvation and adapted to the starvation environment by weakening respiratory activity and reducing metabolic activity to reduce energy expenditure. Energy was produced by glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle for the synthesis of substances such as antibiotics. This study combined transcriptome and proteome sequencing data to provide a data reference for an in-depth study of the regulatory mechanism of salivary gland secretions of H. nipponia under starvation stress by analyzing DEGs and DEPs.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of chemical constituents in goupi plaster prepared by various extraction methods using UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS and UPLC-MS/MS.

Goupi plaster, a representative preparation of black plaster, has demonstrated promising effects in treating knee osteoarthritis. However, high temperature used in traditional frying extraction may cause decomposition of its effective components, thus limiting the efficacy. This study aimed to explore the scientific nature of the traditional preparation technology of Goupi plaster, and to compare the effects of different extraction methods on the types of chemical components and the content of index components. The UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS and UPLC-MS/MS technologies which have high efficiency, sensitivity and accuracy, were used to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the chemical components of Goupi plaster under different preparation processes. The results show that the extraction solvent approach is different from the traditional frying extraction method, and has a positive effect. However, the mechanism of action of Goupi plaster is complex and its pharmacological effects are diverse. Future studies should explore whether it necessary to change the frying extraction method. This experiment provides a theoretical basis that will guide further scientific discussion and research into the frying extraction of Goupi plaster.

Effect of smoking cessation medications on intracranial aneurysm risk: A Mendelian randomization study.

INTRODUCTION: We aim to assess the association between smoking behavior and intracranial aneurysms (IAs) and the effect of smoking cessation medications on IAs at the genetic level. METHODS: Causal effects of four phenotypes: 1) age at initiation of regular smoking, 2) cigarettes smoked per day, 3) smoking cessation, and 4) smoking initiation on IAs, were analyzed using two-sample inverse-variance weighted Mendelian randomization analyses. The effects of genes interacting with the smoking cessation medications were analyzed using cis-expression quantitative trait loci genetic instruments on IAs using summary statistics-based Mendelian randomization analyses. Colocalization analyses were then used to test whether the genes shared causal variants with IAs. The role of confounding phenotypes as potential causative mechanisms of IAs at these gene loci was tested. RESULTS: Cigarettes smoked per day (OR=2.89; 95% CI:1.85-4.51) and smoking initiation on IAs (OR=4.64; 95% CI: 2.64-8.15) were significantly associated with IA risk. However, age at initiation of regular smoking (OR=0.54; 95% CI: 0.10-2.8) and smoking cessation (OR=6.80; 95% CI: 0.01-4812) had no overall effect on IAs. Of 88 genes that interacted with smoking cessation medications, two had a causal effect on IA risk. Genetic variants affecting HYKK levels showed strong evidence of colocalization with IA risk. Higher HYKK levels in the blood were associated with a lower IA risk. Gene target analyses revealed that cigarettes/day could be a main mediator of HYKK's effect on IA risk. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence supporting that smoking initiation on IAs and cigarettes/day may increase IA risk. Increased HYKK gene expression may reduce IA risk. This can be explained by the increased number of cigarettes consumed daily. HYKK could also reduce IA risk due to the positive effect of continuous abstinence and varenicline therapy on smoking cessation.

Glycosylation Targeting: A Paradigm Shift in Cancer Immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy has shown great potential in cancer treatment. However, even with the intervention of techniques such as immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, tumors can still achieve immune escape, leading to a low response rate. Abnormal glycosylation is a widely recognized hallmark of cancer. The development of a complex "glyco-code" on the surface of tumor cells can potentially influence the immune system's ability to monitor tumors and can impact the anti-tumor immune response. Therefore, abnormal glycosylation has emerged as a promising target for immunotherapy. Many recent studies have shown that targeted glycosylation can reshape the tumor microenvironment (TME) and promote the immune response, thereby improving the response to immunotherapy. This review summarizes how glycosylation affects anti-tumor immune function in the TME and synthesizes the latest research progress on targeted glycosylation in immunotherapy. It is hoped that by elucidating the basic laws and biological connotations of glycosylation, this review will enable researcher to thoroughly analyze the mechanism of its influence on the immune metabolic regulation network, which will provide a theoretical tool for promoting the clinical application of glycosylation codes.

Double-Tube Multiplex TaqMan Real-Time PCR for the Detection of Eight Animal-Derived Dairy Ingredients.

Milk and dairy products represent important sources of nutrition in our daily lives. The identification of species within dairy products holds importance for monitoring food adulteration and ensuring traceability. This study presented a method that integrated double-tube and duplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with multiplex TaqMan probes to enable the high-throughput detection of animal-derived ingredients in milk and dairy products. The detection system utilized one pair of universal primers, two pairs of specific primers, and eight animal-derived specific probes for cow, buffalo, goat, sheep, camel, yak, horse, and donkey. These components were optimized within a double-tube and four-probe PCR multiplex system. The developed double-tube detection system could simultaneously identify the above eight targets with a detection limit of 10-0.1 pg/µL. Validation using simulated adulterated milk samples demonstrated a detection limit of 0.1%. The primary advantage of this method lies in the simplification of the multiplex quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) system through the use of universal primers. This method provides an efficient approach for detecting ingredients in dairy products, providing powerful technical support for market supervision.

Sialylation on vesicular integrin ß1 determined endocytic entry of small extracellular vesicles into recipient cells.

BACKGROUND: Small extracellular vesicles (sEV) are closely associated with the development and metastasis of many types of mammalian cancer. Glycoconjugates are highly expressed on sEV and play important roles in sEV biogenesis and their interaction with other cells. However, the study on vesicular glycoconjugates are far behind proteins and nucleic acids. Especially, the functions of sialic acids which are the terminal components of glycoconjugates, are poorly understood in sEV. METHODS: Sialic acid levels on sEV from plasma and bladder cancer cells were determined by ELISA and lectin blotting. Effects of sialylation on sEV uptake were determined by flow cytometry. Vesicular glycoproteins bearing sialic acids responsible for sEV uptake was identified by proteomics and density gradient centrifugation, and their site-specific sialylation functions were assayed by N-glycosylation site mutation. Effects of integrin ß1 bearing sialic acids on the pro-metastatic function of sEV in vivo were explored using Balb/c nu/nu mice. RESULTS: (1) Increased sialic acid levels were observed in sEV from malignant bladder cancer cells. (2) Elimination of sialic acids on sEV impaired sEV uptake by recipient cells. (3) Vesicular integrin ß1 bearing sialic acids was identified to play a key role in sEV uptake. (4) Desialylation of the hybrid domain of vesicular integrin ß1 inhibited its binding to matrix fibronectin, and reduced sEV entry into recipient cells. (5) Sialylation on integrin ß1 affected pro-metastatic function of sEV in Balb/c nu/nu mice. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings indicate important functional roles of sialic acids in sEV uptake and reprogramming plasticity of surrounding normal epithelial cells.

Integrating transcriptomics, glycomics and glycoproteomics to characterize hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks as the third most common cause of cancer related death globally, representing a substantial challenge to global healthcare systems. In China, the primary risk factor for HCC is the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Aberrant serum glycoconjugate levels have long been linked to the progression of HBV-associated HCC (HBV-HCC). Nevertheless, few study systematically explored the dysregulation of glycoconjugates in the progression of HBV-associated HCC and their potency as the diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. METHODS: An integrated strategy that combined transcriptomics, glycomics, and glycoproteomics was employed to comprehensively investigate the dynamic alterations in glyco-genes, N-glycans, and glycoproteins in the progression of HBV- HCC. RESULTS: Bioinformatic analysis of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets uncovered dysregulation of fucosyltransferases (FUTs) in liver tissues from HCC patients compared to adjacent tissues. Glycomic analysis indicated an elevated level of fucosylated N-glycans, especially a progressive increase in fucosylation levels on IgA1 and IgG2 determined by glycoproteomic analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the abnormal fucosylation plays a pivotal role in the progression of HBV-HCC. Systematic and integrative multi-omic analysis is anticipated to facilitate the discovery of aberrant glycoconjugates in tumor progression.

Recombinase polymerase amplification combined with lateral flow dipstick assay for rapid visual detection of A.simplex (s. s.) and A.pegreffii in sea foods.

Anisakiasis is a food-borne parasitic disease mainly caused by the third stage of Anisakis simplex (s. s.) and Anisakis pegreffii. Traditional methods for detecting of Anisakis involve morphology identification such as visual inspection, enzyme digestion, and molecular methods based on PCR, but they have certain limitations. In this study, the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS 1) regions of Anisakis were targeted to develop a visual screening method for detecting A. simplex (s. s.) and A. pegreffii in fish meat based on recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) combined with lateral flow dipstick (LFD). Specific primers and probes were designed and optimized for temperature, reaction time, and detection threshold. LFD produced clear visual results that were easily identifiable after a consistent incubation of 10-20 min at 37 °C. The whole process of DNA amplification by RPA and readout by LFD did not exceed 30 min. In addition, the detection limit is up to 9.5 × 10-4 ng/µL, and the detection of the artificially contaminated samples showed that the developed assay can effectively and specifically detect A. simplex (s. s.) and A. pegreffii, which fully meet the market's requirements for fish food safety supervision.

Maize requires arogenate dehydratase 2 for resistance to Ustilago maydis and plant development.

Maize (Zea mays) smut is a common biotrophic fungal disease caused by Ustilago maydis and leads to low maize yield. Maize resistance to U. maydis is a quantitative trait. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the resistance of maize to U. maydis is poorly understood. Here, we reported that a maize mutant caused by a single gene mutation exhibited defects in both fungal resistance and plant development. maize mutant highly susceptible to U. maydis (mmsu) with a dwarf phenotype forms tumors in the ear. A map-based cloning and allelism test demonstrated that 1 gene encoding a putative arogenate dehydratase/prephenate dehydratase (ADT/PDT) is responsible for the phenotypes of the mmsu and was designated as ZmADT2. Combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that mmsu had substantial differences in multiple metabolic pathways in response to U. maydis infection compared with the wild type. Disruption of ZmADT2 caused damage to the chloroplast ultrastructure and function, metabolic flux redirection, and reduced the amounts of salicylic acid (SA) and lignin, leading to susceptibility to U. maydis and dwarf phenotype. These results suggested that ZmADT2 is required for maintaining metabolic flux, as well as resistance to U. maydis and plant development in maize. Meanwhile, our findings provided insights into the maize response mechanism to U. maydis infection.

Predicting T-Cell Lymphoma in Children From 18F-FDG PET-CT Imaging With Multiple Machine Learning Models.

This study aimed to examine the feasibility of utilizing radiomics models derived from 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging to screen for T-cell lymphoma in children with lymphoma. All patients had undergone 18F-FDG PET/CT scans. Lesions were extracted from PET/CT and randomly divided into training and validation sets. Two different types of models were constructed as follows: features that are extracted from standardized uptake values (SUV)-associated parameters, and CT images were used to build SUV/CT-based model. Features that are derived from PET and CT images were used to build PET/CT-based model. Logistic regression (LR), linear support vector machine, support vector machine with the radial basis function kernel, neural networks, and adaptive boosting were performed as classifiers in each model. In the training sets, 77 patients, and 247 lesions were selected for building the models. In the validation sets, PET/CT-based model demonstrated better performance than that of SUV/CT-based model in the prediction of T-cell lymphoma. LR showed highest accuracy with 0.779 [0.697, 0.860], area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with 0.863 [0.762, 0.963], and preferable goodness-of-fit in PET/CT-based model at the patient level. LR also showed best performance with accuracy of 0.838 [0.741, 0.936], AUC of 0.907 [0.839, 0.976], and preferable goodness-of-fit in PET/CT-based model at the lesion level. 18F-FDG PET/CT-based radiomics models with different machine learning classifiers were able to screen T-cell lymphoma in children with high accuracy, AUC, and preferable goodness-of-fit, providing incremental value compared with SUV-associated features.