Skin-associated adipocytes in skin barrier immunity: A mini-review.

The skin contributes critically to health via its role as a barrier tissue against a multitude of external pathogens. The barrier function of the skin largely depends on the uppermost epidermal layer which is reinforced by skin barrier immunity. The integrity and effectiveness of skin barrier immunity strongly depends on the close interplay and communication between immune cells and the skin environment. Skin-associated adipocytes have been recognized to play a significant role in modulating skin immune responses and infection by secreting cytokines, adipokines, and antimicrobial peptides. This review summarizes the recent understanding of the interactions between skin-associated adipocytes and other skin cells in maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of skin barrier immunity.

Exosomes treating osteoarthritis: hope with challenge.

Osteoarthritis (OA) has been proven as the second primary cause of pain and disability in the elderly population, impact patients both physically and mentally, as well as imposing a heavy burden on the global healthcare system. Current treatment methods, whether conservative or surgical, that aim at relieving symptoms can not delay or reverse the degenerative process in the structure. Scientists and clinicians are facing a revolution in OA treatment strategies. The emergence of exosomes brings hope for OA treatment based on pathology, which is attributed to its full potential in protecting chondrocytes from excessive death, alleviating inflammation, maintaining cartilage matrix metabolism, and regulating angiogenesis and subchondral bone remodeling. Therefore, we summarized the recent studies of exosomes in OA, aiming to comprehensively understand the functions and mechanisms of exosomes in OA treatment, which may provide direction and theoretical support for formulating therapeutic strategies in the future.

Revealing the potential of necroptosis-related genes in prognosis, immune characteristics, and treatment strategies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Necroptosis is a recently discovered apoptotic mechanism that has been linked to tumor formation, prognosis, and treatment response. However, the relationship between the TME and NRGs remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed the expression patterns of NRGs in 769 HNSCC cases from two distinct data sets. Our findings revealed distinct genetic groups and a correlation between patient clinical features, prognosis, TME cell infiltration characteristics, and NRG alterations. We then developed an NRG model to predict OS and confirmed its accuracy in predicting OS in HNSCC patients. Moreover, we have devised a precise nomogram that enhances the clinical utility of the NRG model substantially. The low-risk group had a better OS, and they were associated with immune suppression, more mutated genes, and higher TIDE scores. The risk score also had a significant correlation with the CSC index and susceptibility to anti-tumor agents. Our study provides insights into how NRGs affect prognosis, clinically significant features, TME, and immunotherapy response in HNSCC. With a better knowledge of NRGs in HNSCC, we could assess the prognosis and develop immunotherapy regimens that are more successful at opening up new doors.

Identification of Ferroptosis-Related lncRNA Pairs for Predicting the Prognosis of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Background: Ferrogenesis was strongly associated with tumorigenesis and development, and activating the ferrogenic process was a novel regimen in treating cancer, especially conventional treatment-resistant cancers. The purpose of the article was to construct a ferroptosis-related long noncoding RNAs (FRlncRNAs) signature, regardless of expression levels to effectively predict prognosis and immunotherapeutic response for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Methods: The RNA-seq data for HNSCC and corresponding clinical information were obtained in the TCGA database, and ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) were extracted in the ferroptosis database. On this basis, differentially expressed FRlncRNAs (DEFRlncRNAs) pairs were identified through coexpression analysis, differential expression analysis, and a fresh pairing algorithm. Then, a risk assessment model was established with univariate Cox, LASSO, and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Finally, we evaluated the model from various aspects, including survival status, clinicopathological characteristics, infiltration status of immune cells, immune functions, chemotherapeutic sensitivity, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)-related molecules, and N6-methyladenosine (m6A) mRNA status. Result: We established a signature of 11-DEFRlncRNA pairs related to the prognosis of HNSCC that had AUC values above 0.75 in the one-, three-, and five-year ROC curves, underscoring the high susceptibility and specifiability of predicting HNSCC prognosis. Survival rates were remarkably higher for the low-risk patients than for the high-risk patients, and the signature was significantly correlated with survival, clinical, T, and N stages. Finally, immune cell infiltration status, immune functions, chemotherapeutic sensitivity, and expression levels of ICIs-related and m6A-related molecules were statistically different among different groups. Conclusion: Our study established a novel lncRNA signature, which is independent of specific expression levels, could predict patient prognosis, and might have promising clinical applications in HNCSS.