Single-cell transcriptomic analysis deciphers heterogenous cancer stem-like cells in colorectal cancer and their organ-specific metastasis.

OBJECTIVE: Metastasis is the major cause of cancer death. However, what types of heterogenous cancer cells in primary tumour and how they metastasise to the target organs remain largely undiscovered. DESIGN: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomic analysis in primary colorectal cancer (CRC) and metastases in the liver (lCRC) or ovary (oCRC). We also conducted immunofluorescence staining and functional experiments to examine the mechanism. RESULTS: Integrative analyses of epithelial cells reveal a stem-like cell cluster with high protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type O (PTPRO) and achaete scute-like 2 (ASCL2) expression as the metastatic culprit. This cell cluster comprising distinct subpopulations shows distinct liver or ovary metastatic preference. Population 1 (P1) cells with high delta-like ligand 4 (DLL4) and MAF bZIP transcription factor A (MAFA) expression are enriched in primary CRC and oCRC, thus may be associated with ovarian metastasis. P3 cells having a similar expression pattern as cholangiocytes are found mainly in primary CRC and lCRC, presuming to be likely the culprits that specifically metastasise to the liver. Stem-like cells interacted with cancer-associated fibroblasts and endothelial cells via the DLL4-NOTCH signalling pathway to metastasise from primary CRC to the ovary. In the oCRC microenvironment, myofibroblasts provide cancer cells with glutamine and perform a metabolic reprogramming, which may be essential for cancer cells to localise and develop in the ovary. CONCLUSION: We uncover a mechanism for organ-specific CRC metastasis.

Superlight Ambient Temperature Reversible Hydrogen Storage Media Based on Alkali and Alkali Earth Metal-Functionalized 2D Square-Octagon BCN Monolayer.

Energy has always been the engine of human beings; however, because of the environmental pollution caused by traditional fossil fuels, the development of more sustainable energy resources is urgently needed. The hydrogen storage medium is essential for its realization. Here, we introduce a hydrogen storage material, a two-dimensional (2D) square-octagon BCN (SO-BCN) monolayer, composed of lightweight elements (B, C, and N) and strategically functionalized with alkali and alkali earth metal atoms (Li, Na, Mg, and K). Notably, Li@SO-BCN and Mg@SO-BCN exhibit exceptional reversible hydrogen storage capabilities, surpassing the DOE standard of 5.5 wt %, with gravimetric capacities of 7.129 wt % and an impressive value of 11.656 wt %, alongside low adsorption energies of -0.21 eV/H2 and -0.268 eV/H2 at room temperature, respectively. Our investigation, which combines analysis of the atomic structure, electronic structure, and hydrogen process, reveals distinct mechanisms at play: Li activates the substrate, creating additional adsorption sites on the SO-BCN monolayer. Compared with Li, the functionalization of Mg atoms not only activates SO-BCN via charge transfer but also allows Mg2+ to act as a potent attractor for H2 molecule adsorption. This work provides both promising candidates for future hydrogen storage media based on 2D monolayers and a design paradigm for next-generation hydrogen storage materials, emphasizing the synergy of electron-donating species, substrate activation, and hierarchical porous structures.

Enhancing Swimming Performance of Magnetic Helical Microswimmers by Surface Microstructure.

Artificial bacterial flagella (ABF), also known as a magnetic helical microswimmer, has demonstrated enormous potential in various future biomedical applications (e.g., targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery). Nevertheless, when used for in vivo/in vitro treatment applications, it is essential to achieve the high motion efficiency of the microswimmers for rapid therapy. In this paper, inspired by microorganisms, the surface microstructure was introduced into ABFs to investigate its effect on the swimming behavior. It was confirmed that compared with smooth counterparts, the ABF with surface microstructure reveals a smaller forward velocity below the step-out frequency (i.e., the frequency corresponding to the maximum velocity) but a larger maximum forward velocity and higher step-out frequency. A hydrodynamic model of microstructured ABF is employed to reveal the underlying movement mechanism, demonstrating that the interfacial slippage and the interaction between the fluid and the microstructure are essential to the swimming behavior. Furthermore, the effect of surface wettability and solid fraction of microstructure on the swimming performance of ABFs was investigated experimentally and analytically, which further reveals the influence of surface microstructure on the movement mechanism. The results present an effective approach for designing fast microrobots for in vivo/in vitro biomedical applications.

Targeted phytogenic compounds against Vibrio parahaemolyticus biofilms.

As one of main culprit of seafood-associated human illness, Vibrio parahaemolyticus can readily accumulate on biotic or abiotic surfaces to form biofilms in the seafood processing environment. Biofilm formation on various surfaces can provide a protective barrier for viable bacterial cells that are resistant to most traditional bacteriostatic measures. This underscores the necessity and urgency of developing effective alternative strategies to control V. parahaemolyticus biofilms. Plants have always provided an extensive and infinite source of biologically active compounds for "green" antibiofilm agents. This review summarizes recent developments in promising multitargeted phytogenic compounds against V. parahaemolyticus biofilms. This review provides valuable insights into potential research targets that can be pursued further to identify potent natural antibiofilm agents in the food industry.

Functional Competence of NK Cells via the KIR/MHC Class I Interaction Correlates with DNAM-1 Expression.

The interaction of inhibitory receptors with self-MHC class I (MHC-I) molecules is responsible for NK cell education. The intensity of DNAM-1 expression correlates with NK cell education. However, whether DNAM-1 expression directly influences the functional competence of NK cells via the KIR/MHC-I interaction remains unclear. Based on allogeneic haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, we investigated the intensity of DNAM-1 expression on reconstituted NK cells via the interaction of KIR with both donor HLA and recipient HLA at days 30, 90, and 180 after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The reconstituted NK cells educated by donor and recipient HLA molecules showed the highest DNAM-1 expression, whereas DNAM-1 expression on educated NK cells with only recipient HLA molecules was higher than that on educated NK cells with only donor HLA molecules, indicating that NK cells with donor or recipient HLA molecules regulate DNAM-1 expression and thereby affect NK cell education. Additionally, the effects of recipient cells on NK cell education were greater than those of donor cells. However, only when the DNAM-1, NKP30, and NKG2D receptors were blocked simultaneously was the function of educated and uneducated NK cells similar. Therefore, activating receptors may collaborate with DNAM-1 to induce educated NK cell hyperresponsiveness. Our data, based on in vitro and in vivo studies, demonstrate that the functional competence of NK cells via the KIR/MHC-I interaction correlates with DNAM-1 expression in human NK cells.

Inactivation of Myostatin Delays Senescence via TREX1-SASP in Bovine Skeletal Muscle Cells.

The myostatin (MSTN) gene also regulates the developmental balance of skeletal muscle after birth, and has long been linked to age-related muscle wasting. Many rodent studies have shown a correlation between MSTN and age-related diseases. It is unclear how MSTN and age-associated muscle loss in other animals are related. In this study, we utilized MSTN gene-edited bovine skeletal muscle cells to investigate the mechanisms relating to MSTN and muscle cell senescence. The expression of MSTN was higher in older individuals than in younger individuals. We obtained consecutively passaged senescent cells and performed senescence index assays and transcriptome sequencing. We found that senescence hallmarks and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) were decreased in long-term-cultured myostatin inactivated (MT-KO) bovine skeletal muscle cells (bSMCs). Using cell signaling profiling, MSTN was shown to regulate the SASP, predominantly through the cycle GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of antiviral genes (cGAS-STING) pathway. An in-depth investigation by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis revealed that MSTN influenced three prime repair exonuclease 1 (TREX1) expression through the SMAD2/3 complex. The downregulation of MSTN contributed to the activation of the MSTN-SMAD2/3-TREX1 signaling axis, influencing the secretion of SASP, and consequently delaying the senescence of bSMCs. This study provided valuable new insight into the role of MSTN in cell senescence in large animals.

Watermelon Flesh-Like Ni3 S2 @C Composite Separator with Polysulfide Shuttle Inhibition for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The shuttle effect limits the practical application of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with high specific capacity and cheap price. Herein, a three-dimensional carbon substrate containing Ni3 S2 nanoparticles is created to modify the separator. The in situ optical visualization battery proves that the material can realize the rapid conversion of Li2 S6 . Moreover, the impact of lithium-ion diffusion on the reactions in the cell is investigated, and the mechanism of Ni3 S2 @C in the cell is proposed based on the "adsorption-diffusion-conversion" mechanism. The "adsorption-diffusion-conversion" process of polysulfide is carried out on the surface of the composite separator, showing positive effects on the inhibition of polysulfide shuttle and the promotion of conversion. The separator is modified to improve sulfur utilization and reduce dead sulfur accumulation through a strategy of chemical immobilization and physical blocking. This helps to bridge the existing gaps of Li-S batteries.

M6A2Target: a comprehensive database for targets of m6A writers, erasers and readers.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant posttranscriptional modification in mammalian mRNA molecules and has a crucial function in the regulation of many fundamental biological processes. The m6A modification is a dynamic and reversible process regulated by a series of writers, erasers and readers (WERs). Different WERs might have different functions, and even the same WER might function differently in different conditions, which are mostly due to different downstream genes being targeted by the WERs. Therefore, identification of the targets of WERs is particularly important for elucidating this dynamic modification. However, there is still no public repository to host the known targets of WERs. Therefore, we developed the m6A WER target gene database (m6A2Target) to provide a comprehensive resource of the targets of m6A WERs. M6A2Target provides a user-friendly interface to present WER targets in two different modules: 'Validated Targets', referred to as WER targets identified from low-throughput studies, and 'Potential Targets', including WER targets analyzed from high-throughput studies. Compared to other existing m6A-associated databases, m6A2Target is the first specific resource for m6A WER target genes. M6A2Target is freely accessible at http://m6a2target.canceromics.org.

MeRIPseqPipe: an integrated analysis pipeline for MeRIP-seq data based on Nextflow.

SUMMARY: MeRIPseqPipe is an integrated and automatic pipeline that can provide users a friendly solution to perform in-depth mining of MeRIP-seq data. It integrates many functional analysis modules, range from basic processing to downstream analysis. All the processes are embedded in Nextflow with Docker support, which ensures high reproducibility and scalability of the analysis. MeRIPseqPipe is particularly suitable for analyzing a large number of samples at once with a simple command. The final output directory is structured based on each step and tool. And visualization reports containing various tables and plots are provided as HTML files. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: MeRIPseqPipe is freely available at https://github.com/canceromics/MeRIPseqPipe. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Serum neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2, BA.2.75, BA.2.76, BA.5, BF.7, BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.5 in individuals receiving Evusheld.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant is undergoing continuous evolution and convergent mutation. These new subvariants are raising concerns that they may evade neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We investigated the serum neutralization efficacy of Evusheld (cilgavimab and tixagevimab) against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2, BA.2.75, BA.2.76, BA.5, BF.7, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1.5. A total of 90 serum samples from healthy individuals were collected in Shanghai. Anti-RBD antibodies were measured and symptoms of infection with COVID-19 were compared among those individuals. The neutralizing activity of serum against Omicron variants was analyzed by pseudovirus neutralization assays in 22 samples. Evusheld retained neutralizing activity against BA.2, BA.2.75, and BA.5, albeit with somewhat reduced titers. However, the neutralizing activity of Evusheld against BA.2.76, BF.7, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1.5 significantly decreased, with XBB.1.5 showing the greatest escape activity among the subvariants. We also observed that Evusheld recipients displayed elevated antibody levels in their serum, which efficiently neutralized the original variant, and exhibited different characteristics of infection than those who did not receive Evusheld. The mAb has partial neutralization activity against Omicron sublineages. However, the increasing doses of mAb and a larger size of population should be further investigated.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics study may differentiate pre-eclampsia from gestational hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the findings of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and serum metabolomics for differentiating pre-eclampsia (PE) from gestational hypertension (GH). METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 176 subjects including a primary cohort with healthy non-pregnant women (HN, n = 35), healthy pregnant women (HP, n = 20), GH (n = 27), and PE (n = 39) and a validation cohort with HP (n = 22), GH (n = 22), and PE (n = 11). T1 signal intensity index (T1SI), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value, and the metabolites on MRS were compared. The differentiating performances of single and combined MRI and MRS parameters for PE were evaluated. Serum liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomics was investigated by sparse projection to latent structures discriminant analysis. RESULTS: Increased T1SI, lactate/creatine (Lac/Cr), and glutamine and glutamate (Glx)/Cr and decreased ADC value and myo-inositol (mI)/Cr in basal ganglia were found in PE patients. T1SI, ADC, Lac/Cr, Glx/Cr, and mI/Cr yielded an area under the curves (AUC) of 0.90, 0.80, 0.94, 0.96, and 0.94 in the primary cohort, and of 0.87, 0.81, 0.91, 0.84, and 0.83 in the validation cohort, respectively. A combination of Lac/Cr, Glx/Cr, and mI/Cr yielded the highest AUC of 0.98 in the primary cohort and 0.97 in the validation cohort. Serum metabolomics analysis showed 12 differential metabolites, which are involved in pyruvate metabolism, alanine metabolism, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and glutamate metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: MRS is expected to be a noninvasive and effective tool for monitoring GH patients to avoid the development of PE. KEY POINTS: • Increased T1SI and decreased ADC value in the basal ganglia were found in PE patients than in GH patients. • Increased Lac/Cr and Glx/Cr, and decreased mI/Cr in the basal ganglia were found in PE patients than in GH patients. • LC-MS metabolomics showed that the major differential metabolic pathways between PE and GH were pyruvate metabolism, alanine metabolism, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and glutamate metabolism.

Electrocatalytic activity of MoSi2N4monolayers decorated with single transition metal atoms: a computational study.

Two-dimensional (2D) MoSi2N4is a newly created material that has superstability and ultrahigh carrier mobility. Besides, the hydrogen evolution reaction activity was proved excellent by doping transition metal (TM) atoms and introducing N vacancies. But, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) of 2D MoSi2N4is unclear even. We have explored the electrocatalytic properties (OER/ORR) of MoSi2N4by introducing Si vacancies and attaching various TM atoms. The structure and optoelectronic characteristics of MoSi2N4have been researched in detail using density functional theory calculations. By analyzing the density of states, the free energy change diagram and contour maps of TM@VSi-MoSiN, the results show that Co@VSi-MoSiN has the lowest OER overpotential (0.53 V) among all samples. Additionally, the d-band center is used to explain the electrocatalytic origin of the OER and ORR of TM@VSi-MoSiN. Our discoveries expand the 2D TM@VSi-MoSiN applicability in the realm of catalysis.

Penta-MP5 (M = B, Al, Ga, In) monolayers as high-performance photocatalysts for overall water splitting.

Two-dimensional (2D) phosphorus-rich phosphides generally preserve the excellent electronic properties of phosphorene, making them promising photocatalysts for water splitting. Despite tremendous efforts in the search for potential photocatalysts in 2D phosphides, few known 2D phosphides fully meet the requirements for photocatalytic water splitting. Herein, we systemically investigate a set of penta-MP5 (M = B, Al, Ga, and In) monolayers by first-principles calculations and identify them as potential photocatalysts for water splitting. These penta-MP5 monolayers are found to feature favorable bandgaps of about 2.70 eV with appropriate band edge positions, a high carrier mobility of 1 × 104 cm-2 V-1 s-1, an excellent optical absorption coefficient (OAC) of 1 × 105 cm-1, and a good solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency of 8%. Meanwhile, free energy calculations indicate that these penta-MP5 monolayers present both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) photocatalytic activities under light conditions. All these excellent properties demonstrate that penta-MP5 monolayers are suitable candidates as photocatalysts for promising applications in overall water splitting.

Ferrous sulfate reverses cerebral metabolic abnormality induced by minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

Orally administered ferrous iron was previously reported to significantly improve the cognition and locomotion of patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). However, the metabolic mechanisms of the therapeutic effect of ferrous iron are unknown. In this study, MHE was induced in rats by partial portal vein ligation (PPVL), and was treated with ferrous sulfate. The Morris water maze was used to evaluate the cognitive condition of the rats. The metabolites observed by NMR and validated by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry were defined as the key affected metabolites. The enzyme activities and trace element contents in the rat brains were also investigated. The Mn content was found to be increased but the ferrous iron content decreased in the cortex and striatum in MHE. Decreased oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activity and increased glutamine synthetase (GS) and pyruvate carboxylase (PC) activity were observed in the cortex of MHE rats. Decreased pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and increased GS and PC activity were observed in the striatum of MHE rats. The levels of BCAAs and taurine were significantly decreased, and the contents of GABA, lactate, arginine, aspartate, carnosine, citrulline, cysteine, glutamate, glutamine, glycine, methionine, ornithine, proline, threonine and tyrosine were significantly increased. These metabolic abnormalities described above were restored after treatment with ferrous sulfate. Pathway enrichment analysis suggested that urea cycle, aspartate metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, glycine and serine metabolism, and glutamate metabolism were the major metabolic abnormalities in MHE rats, but these processes could be restored and cognitive impairment could be improved by ferrous sulfate administration.

Effectiveness of convalescent plasma therapy in severe COVID-19 patients.

Currently, there are no approved specific antiviral agents for novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, 10 severe patients confirmed by real-time viral RNA test were enrolled prospectively. One dose of 200 mL of convalescent plasma (CP) derived from recently recovered donors with the neutralizing antibody titers above 1:640 was transfused to the patients as an addition to maximal supportive care and antiviral agents. The primary endpoint was the safety of CP transfusion. The second endpoints were the improvement of clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters within 3 d after CP transfusion. The median time from onset of illness to CP transfusion was 16.5 d. After CP transfusion, the level of neutralizing antibody increased rapidly up to 1:640 in five cases, while that of the other four cases maintained at a high level (1:640). The clinical symptoms were significantly improved along with increase of oxyhemoglobin saturation within 3 d. Several parameters tended to improve as compared to pretransfusion, including increased lymphocyte counts (0.65 × 109/L vs. 0.76 × 109/L) and decreased C-reactive protein (55.98 mg/L vs. 18.13 mg/L). Radiological examinations showed varying degrees of absorption of lung lesions within 7 d. The viral load was undetectable after transfusion in seven patients who had previous viremia. No severe adverse effects were observed. This study showed CP therapy was well tolerated and could potentially improve the clinical outcomes through neutralizing viremia in severe COVID-19 cases. The optimal dose and time point, as well as the clinical benefit of CP therapy, needs further investigation in larger well-controlled trials.

Combined Transcriptome and Metabolome Analysis of Smooth Muscle of Myostatin Knockout Cattle.

Myostatin (MSTN), a growth and differentiation factor, plays an important role in regulating skeletal muscle growth and development. MSTN knockout (MSTN-KO) leads to skeletal muscle hypertrophy and regulates metabolic homeostasis. Moreover, MSTN is also detected in smooth muscle. However, the effect of MSTN-KO on smooth muscle has not yet been reported. In this study, combined metabolome and transcriptome analyses were performed to investigate the metabolic and transcriptional profiling in esophageal smooth muscles of MSTN-KO Chinese Luxi Yellow cattle (n = 5, 24 months, average body weight 608.5 ± 17.62 kg) and wild-type (WT) Chinese Luxi Yellow cattle (n = 5, 24 months, average body weight 528.25 ± 11.03 kg). The transcriptome was sequenced using the Illumina Novaseq™ 6000 sequence platform. In total, 337 significantly up- and 129 significantly down-regulated genes were detected in the MSTN-KO cattle compared with the WT Chinese Luxi Yellow cattle. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the DEGs were mainly enriched in 67 signaling pathways, including cell adhesion molecules, tight junction, and the cGMP-PKG signaling pathway. Metabolomics analysis by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) identified 130 differential metabolites between the groups, with 56 up-regulated and 74 down-regulated in MSTN knockout cattle compared with WT cattle. Differential metabolites were significantly enriched in 31 pathways, including glycerophospholipid metabolism, histidine metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and purine metabolism. Transcriptome and metabolome were combined to analyze the significant enrichment pathways, and there were three metabolically related pathways, including histidine metabolism, purine metabolism, and arginine and proline metabolism. These results provide important references for in-depth research on the effect of MSTN knockout on smooth muscle.

Donor activating killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors genes correlated with Epstein-Barr virus reactivation after haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Natural killer (NK) cells exert anti-viral effects after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The balance between inhibition and activation of NK cells determined by the inherited repertoire of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) genes may influence Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation after transplantation. To evaluate the relative contributions of KIR genotypes to EBV reactivation, we prospectively enrolled 300 patients with malignant haematological disease who were suitable for haploidentical HSCT. Univariate analysis showed that donors with KIR2DS1, KIR2DS3 or KIR3DS1 genes were associated with an increased risk of EBV reactivation [hazard ratio (HR) 1·86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·19-2·9, P = 0·0067; HR 1·78, 95% CI 1·07-2·97, P = 0·027; HR 1·86, 95% CI 1·19-2·91, P = 0·0065 respectively]. Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of KIR2DS1, KIR2DS3 or KIR3DS1 genes was associated with increased EBV reactivation after HSCT. This effect was more evident in the absence of the cognate ligands for the corresponding activating receptors. Our present data firstly showed that donors with activating KIR genes, specifically activating KIR2DS1, KIR2DS3 and KIR3DS1, had an increased risk of EBV reactivation. Precaution for patients whose donors carry activating genes will help prevent EBV reactivation and improve patient prognosis after HSCT.

C23 gene regulates the nucleolin structure and biosynthesis of ribosomes in bovine intraspecific and interspecific somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) can reprogram differentiated somatic cells to produce individual animals, thus having advantages in animal breeding and chromatin reprogramming. Interspecies SCNT (iSCNT) provides extreme cases of reprogramming failure that can be used to understand the basic biological mechanism of genome reprogramming. It is important to understand the possible mechanisms for the failure of zygotic genome activation (ZGA) in iSCNT embryos in order to improve the efficiency of SCNT embryos. In the present study, we compared the development of bovine-bovine (B-B), ovine-ovine (O-O) SCNT, and ovine-bovine (O-B) iSCNT embryos and found that a developmental block existed in the 8-cell stage in O-B iSCNT embryos. RNA sequencing and q-PCR analysis revealed that the large ribosomal subunit genes (RPL) or the small ribosomal subunit genes (RPS) were expressed at lower levels in the O-B iSCNT embryos. The nucleolin (C23) gene that regulates the ribosomal subunit generation was transcribed at a lower level during embryonic development in O-B iSCNT embryos. In addition, the nucleolin exhibited a clear circular-ring structure in B-B 8-cell stage embryos, whereas this was shell-like or dot-like in the O-B embryos. Furthermore, overexpression of C23 could increase the blastocyst rate of both SCNT and iSCNT embryos and partly rectify the ring-like nucleolin structure and the expression of ribosomal subunit related genes were upregulation, while knockdown of C23 increased the shell-like nucleolin-structure in B-B cloned embryos and downregulated the expression of ribosomal subunit related genes. These results implied that abnormal C23 and ribosome subunit gene expression would lead to the developmental block of iSCNT embryos and ZGA failure. Overexpression of the C23 gene could partly improve the blastocyst development and facilitate the nucleolin structure in bovine preimplantation SCNT embryos.

Transient Dux expression facilitates nuclear transfer and induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming.

Cloned animals generated by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) have been reported for many years; however, SCNT is extremely inefficient, and zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is required for SCNT-mediated somatic cell reprogramming. To identify candidate factors that facilitate ZGA in SCNT-mediated reprogramming, we performed siRNA-repressor and mRNA-inducer screenings, which reveal Dux, Dppa2, and Dppa4 as key factors enhancing ZGA in SCNT. We show that direct injection of ZGA inducers has no significant effect on SCNT blastocyst formation; however, following the establishment of an inducible Dux transgenic mouse model, we demonstrate that transient overexpression of Dux not only improves SCNT efficiency but also increases that of chemically induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming. Moreover, transcriptome profiling reveals that Dux-treated SCNT embryos are similar to fertilized embryos. Furthermore, transient overexpression of Dux combined with inactivation of DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) further promotes the full embryonic development of SCNT-derived animals. These findings enhance our understanding of ZGA-regulator function in somatic reprogramming.

Adoptive therapy with cytomegalovirus-specific T cells for cytomegalovirus infection after haploidentical stem cell transplantation and factors affecting efficacy.

Adoptive therapy with cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CMV-CTLs) has emerged as an effective method for CMV infection. However, the efficacy reportedly ranges from 50% to 90%, and factors affecting anti-CMV efficacy have not been established. We investigated the safety and efficacy of adoptive therapy with CMV-CTLs for CMV infection in 190 patients after haploidentical stem cell transplantation (haplo-SCT), and importantly, we analyzed the main factors affecting antiviral efficacy. The CMV peak titer decreased from 19 (range, 1.0-503.0) × 103 copies/mL to 3.9 (range, 0-112) × 103 copies/mL after CMV-CTL infusion. The cumulative complete response (CR) rates in the first, fourth, and sixth weeks after the first CMV-CTL infusion were 37.9% (95% CI 35.0-40.8), 76.8% (95% CI 70.7-82.9), and 89.5% (95% CI 85.2-93.8), respectively. In multivariate analysis, persistent CMV infection prior to CMV-CTL infusion (hazard ratio [HR] 2.29, 95% CI 1.29-4.06, p = .005) and basiliximab treatment within 2 weeks of CMV-CTL infusion (HR 1.87, 95% CI 1.06-3.81, p = .031) were independent predictors of poor antiviral efficacy of CMV-CTL therapy. Our data showed that adoptive therapy with CMV-CTLs is a safe and effective treatment for CMV infection after haplo-SCT. Persistent CMV infection and basiliximab treatment are correlated with poor anti-CMV efficacy of CMV-CTL therapy.