Machine learning based on metabolomics unveils neutrophil extracellular trap-related metabolic signatures in non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing chemoimmunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the primary form of lung cancer, and the combination of chemotherapy with immunotherapy offers promising treatment options for patients suffering from this disease. However, the emergence of drug resistance significantly limits the effectiveness of these therapeutic strategies. Consequently, it is imperative to devise methods for accurately detecting and evaluating the efficacy of these treatments. AIM: To identify the metabolic signatures associated with neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and chemoimmunotherapy efficacy in NSCLC patients. METHODS: In total, 159 NSCLC patients undergoing first-line chemoimmunotherapy were enrolled. We first investigated the characteristics influencing clinical efficacy. Circulating levels of NETs and cytokines were measured by commercial kits. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry quantified plasma metabolites, and differential metabolites were identified. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, support vector machine-recursive feature elimination, and random forest algorithms were employed. By using plasma metabolic profiles and machine learning algorithms, predictive metabolic signatures were established. RESULTS: First, the levels of circulating interleukin-8, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and NETs were closely related to poor efficacy of first-line chemoimmunotherapy. Patients were classed into a low NET group or a high NET group. A total of 54 differential plasma metabolites were identified. These metabolites were primarily involved in arachidonic acid and purine metabolism. Three key metabolites were identified as crucial variables, including 8,9-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid, L-malate, and bis(monoacylglycerol)phosphate (18:1/16:0). Using metabolomic sequencing data and machine learning methods, key metabolic signatures were screened to predict NET level as well as chemoimmunotherapy efficacy. CONCLUSION: The identified metabolic signatures may effectively distinguish NET levels and predict clinical benefit from chemoimmunotherapy in NSCLC patients.

Perfluorodecanoic acid induces meiotic defects and deterioration of mice oocytes in vitro.

Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) is a member of the perfluoroalkyl substances, which are toxic to organic functions. Recently, it has been found in follicular fluid, seriously interfering with reproduction. Follicular fluid provides the oocyte with necessary resources during the process of oocytes maturation. However, the effects of PFDA on the oocyte need investigation. Our study evaluated the impacts of PFDA on the meiosis and development potential of mouse oocytes by exposing oocytes to PFDA in vitro at 350, 400, and 450 µM concentrations. The results showed that exposure to PFDA resulted in the first meiotic prophase arrest by obstructing the function of the maturation-promoting factor. It also induced the dysfunction of the spindle assembly checkpoint, expedited the progression of the first meiotic process, and increased the risk of aneuploidy. The oocytes treated with PFDA had a broken cytoskeleton which also contributed to meiotic maturation failure. Besides, PFDA exposure caused mitochondria defections, increased the reactive oxygen species level in oocytes, and consequently induced oocyte apoptosis. Moreover, PFDA produced epigenetic modifications in oocytes and increased the frequency of mature oocytes with declined development potential. In summary, our data indicated that PFDA disturbs the meiotic process and induces oocyte quality deterioration.

Penicidones A-C, three cytotoxic alkaloidal metabolites of an endophytic Penicillium sp.

Along with the known secondary metabolites lumichrome, physcion, and emodin-1,6-dimethyl ether, three alkaloids named penicidones A-C (1-3) were isolated from the culture of Penicillium sp. IFB-E022, an endophytic fungal strain residing in the stem of Quercus variabilis (Fagaceae). The structures of penicidones A-C were established by a correlative interpretation of spectroscopic data including IR, UV and HR-ESI-MS, as well as by analysis of a set of 1D and 2D NMR experiments. The stereochemistry of compounds 1 and 2 was obtained by comparison of the optical rotation with those of vermistatin and its analogues. Penicidones A-C were the first group of natural products possessing a penicidone framework. Compounds 1-3 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against four cancer cell lines.

Synthesis and antimicrobial activities of 7-O-modified genistein derivatives.

Three series of genistein derivatives with heterocycles were prepared, in which genistein and heterocyclic moieties were separated by 2-carbon, 3-carbon and 4-carbon spacers. Among the 33 compounds we prepared 11 of them (2c and 5a-j) are reported for the first time, while the preparation of 2a,b, 3a-j and 4a-j was reported in our recent paper. All the derivatives were screened for antibacterial (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas fluorescence) and antifungal (Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans and Trichophyton rubrum) activities by MTT method. Among the compounds tested, 4a, 4e, 4f, 4h, 5e and 5f exhibited good antibacterial activities while 4a also showed notable antifungal activity. Especially, 5f exhibited stronger antibacterial activity against B. subtilis and S. aureus comparable to positive controls.

Synthesis and antimicrobial activities of Schiff bases derived from 5-chloro-salicylaldehyde.

A series of Schiff bases (compounds 1-26) were synthesized by reacting 5-chloro-salicylaldehyde and primary amines, 15 (compounds 2-4, 6, 7, 10, 12-17, 23, 25 and 26) of which were first reported. The chemical structures of these compounds were confirmed by means of (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, ESI-MS and elemental analyses. The compounds were assayed for antibacterial (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescence and Staphylococcus aureus) and antifungal (Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans and Trichophyton rubrum) activities by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl trtrazolium bromide) method. Among the compounds tested, (E)-4-chloro-2-((4-fluorobenzylimino)methyl)phenol (2) showed the most favorable antimicrobial activity with MICs of 45.2, 1.6, 2.8, 3.4, and 47.5 microg/mL against B. subtilis, E. coli, P. fluorescence, S. aureus and A. niger, respectively.

[Effects of Cd2+ on antioxidant system in hepatopancreas of Procambarus clarkii].

By the method of toxicity bioassay, this paper studied the effects of different concentration (1.72, 3.44, 6.89, 13.77, and 27.55 mg x L(-1)) Cd2+ on the activities of antioxidative enzymes (SOD, CAT, and GSH-PX) and the antioxidation substances (GSH and Vc) in hepatopancreas of freshwater crayfish Procambarus clarkii. The results showed that the SOD activity was induced at the lowest concentration (1.72 mg x L(-1)) Cd2+ but inhibited at all other test concentrations Cd2+, and the inhibition degree was positively correlated with the Cd2+ concentration. Under all test concentrations Cd2+, the CAT activity decreased after an initial increase, with a peak 3 days after exposure. The CAT activity was sensitive to lower concentrations (< or = 6.89 mg x L(-1)) Cd2+, but had no significant difference at higher concentrations (>6.89 mg x L(-1)) Cd2+. When the Cd2+ concentration was < or = 6.89 mg x L(-1), the GSH-PX activity showed a trend of increasing first and then decreased; when the Cd2+ concentration was 13.77 or 27.55 mg x L(-1), the GSH-PX activity was depressed during the first day of exposure. When the Cd2+ concentration was < or = 6.89 mg x L(-1), the GSH content reached the highest value on the first day of exposure, and maintained at a higher level than the control group. However, when the Cd2+ concentration was > or = 13.77 mg x L(-1), the GSH content had no significant difference with the control. The Vc content was very sensitive to all test concentrations Cd2+. It decreased significantly on the first day of exposure, with the decrement positively correlated to Cd2+ concentration, but showed a recovering trend with exposure time. The results indicated that both the antioxidative enzymes and the antioxidation substances in the hepatopancreas of P. clarkii played important roles in coping with Cd2+ stress, and in most cases, showed a time- and dose-dependent relationship with Cd2+ concentration. The GSH-PX activity and Vc content of P. clarkii could be used as the potential bio-indicators in evaluating Cd2+ contamination.

Synthesis, structure, and structure-activity relationship analysis of enamines as potential antibacterials.

Twenty-four enamines were synthesized and reported for the first time. Their chemical structures were confirmed by means of 1H NMR, ESI mass spectra, and elemental analyses, and four of them were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. All of the compounds were assayed for antibacterial (Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 35218, Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC 13525, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538) and antifungal (Aspergillus niger ATCC 16404, Candida albicans ATCC 10231, and Trichophyton rubrum ATCC 10218) activities by MTT method. Compounds (E)-ethyl 3-(4-hydroxyphenylamino)-2-(4-methoxyphenyl)acrylate (9b), (E)-ethyl 3-(3,5-difluorophenylamino)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)acrylate (11b), (E)-ethyl 3-(3,5-dichlorophenylamino)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)acrylate (12b), and (E)-ethyl 3-(4-methylphenylamino)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)acrylate (15b) showed considerable antibacterial activities against S. aureus ATCC 6538 with MICs of 3.8, 1.9, 1.1, and 0.9 microg/mL, respectively. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis disclosed, generally, an E-isomer exhibited higher antibacterial activity than the corresponding Z-isomer. An electron-withdrawing group on A-ring led to some decrease in activity, while on B-ring, a similar substitution provided higher activity.

Bioactive oligostilbenoids from the stem bark of Hopea exalata.

Hopeanolin (1), an unusual resveratral trimer with an ortho-quinone nucleus, was isolated and characterized from the stem bark of Hopea exalata. Also obtained were six known stibenoids, shoreaphenol (2), vaticanol G (3), alpha-viniferin (4), pauciflorol A (5), vaticanol A (6), and trans-3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene 2-C-glucoside (7). The structure of 1 was determined by spectroscopic data interpretation. Compounds 1-7 were tested for antifungal activity and inhibitory effects against jack bean urease. Hopeanolin (1) demonstrated antifungal activity in the MIC value range 0.1-22.5 microg/mL.