PCK2 induces gefitinib resistance by suppresses ferroptosis in non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the involvement of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 2 (PCK2) in gefitinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and assess its feasibility as a therapeutic target against gefitinib resistance. METHODS: Gefitinib-resistant cell lines, PC9GR and HCC827GR, were generated through progressive exposure of parental cells to escalating concentrations of gefitinib. Transcriptomic analysis encompassed the treatment of PC9 and PC9GR cells with gefitinib or vehicle, followed by RNA extraction, sequencing, and subsequent bioinformatic analysis. Cell viability was determined via CCK-8 assay, while clonogenic assays assessed colony formation. Apoptosis was detected utilizing the Annexin V-FITC/7AAD kit. Iron ion concentrations were quantified using FerroOrange. mRNA analysis was conducted through quantitative RT-PCR. Western blotting was employed for protein analysis. H&E and immunohistochemical staining were performed on tumor tissue sections. RESULTS: The results revealed that depletion or inhibition of PCK2 significantly enhanced gefitinib's efficacy in inducing cell growth arrest, apoptosis, and ferroptosis in resistant NSCLC. Moreover, PCK2 knockdown led to the downregulation of key ferroptosis-related proteins, GPX4 and SLC7A11, while upregulating ASCL4. Conversely, overexpression of PCK2 in gefitinib-sensitive cells rendered resistance to gefitinib. In vivo experiments using a gefitinib-resistant xenograft model demonstrated that PCK2 silencing not only reduced tumor growth but also considerably increased the anti-tumor effect of gefitinib. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our study presents compelling evidence indicating that PCK2 plays a pivotal role in gefitinib resistance in NSCLC. The modulation of ferroptosis-related proteins and the involvement of Akt activation further elucidate the mechanisms underlying this resistance. Consequently, PCK2 emerges as a promising therapeutic target for overcoming gefitinib resistance in NSCLC, offering a new avenue for the development of more effective treatment strategies.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase exerts antistress effects independently of its enzymatic activity.

G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway that can generate cytosolic NADPH for biosynthesis and oxidative defense. Since cytosolic NADPH can be compensatively produced by other sources, the enzymatic activity deficiency alleles of G6PD are well tolerated in somatic cells but the effect of null mutations is unclear. Herein, we show that G6PD KO sensitizes cells to the stresses induced by hydrogen peroxide, superoxide, hypoxia, and the inhibition of the electron transport chain. This effect can be completely reversed by the expressions of natural mutants associated with G6PD deficiency, even without dehydrogenase activity, exactly like the WT G6PD. Furthermore, we demonstrate that G6PD can physically interact with AMPK (AMPK-activated protein kinase) to facilitate its activity and directly bind to NAMPT (nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase) to promote its activity and maintain the NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+ homeostasis. These functions are necessary to the antistress ability of cells but independent of the dehydrogenase activity of G6PD. In addition, the WT G6PD and naturally inactive mutant also can similarly regulate the metabolism of glucose, glutamine, fatty acid synthesis, and GSH and interact with the involved enzymes. Therefore, our findings reveal the previously unidentified functions of G6PD that can act as the important physiological neutralizer of stresses independently of its enzymatic activity.

KLF16 enhances stress tolerance of colorectal carcinomas by modulating nucleolar homeostasis and translational reprogramming.

Translational reprogramming is part of the unfolded protein response (UPR) during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which acts to the advantage of cancer growth and development in different stress conditions, but the mechanism of ER stress-related translational reprogramming in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) progression remains unclear. Here, we identified that Krüppel-like factor 16 (KLF16) can promote CRC progression and stress tolerance through translational reprogramming. The expression of KLF16 was upregulated in CRC tissues and associated with poor prognosis for CRC patients. We found that ER stress inducers can recruit KLF16 to the nucleolus and increase its interaction with two essential proteins for nucleolar homeostasis: nucleophosmin1 (NPM1) and fibrillarin (FBL). Moreover, knockdown of KLF16 can dysregulate nucleolar homeostasis in CRC cells. Translation-reporter system and polysome profiling assays further showed that KLF16 can effectively promote cap-independent translation of ATF4, which can enhance ER-phagy and the proliferation of CRC cells. Overall, our study unveils a previously unrecognized role for KLF16 as an ER stress regulator through mediating translational reprogramming to enhance the stress tolerance of CRC cells and provides a potential therapeutic vulnerability.

Up-regulation of miR-133a-3p promotes ovary insulin resistance on granulosa cells of obese PCOS patients via inhibiting PI3K/AKT signaling.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are a type of non-coding single-stranded RNA, which is involved in the regulation of ovary insulin resistance (IR). This study aims to explore the underlying mechanisms of miR-133a-3p regulating ovary IR in obese polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS: Granulosa cells (GCs) were extracted from follicular fluids of PCOS patients (obese PCOS group and non-obese PCOS group) and healthy women (control group). The expression of miR-133a-3p in GCs was detected by qRT-PCR. The targets and pathways of miR-133a-3p were predicted by bioinformatics analyses. The protein levels of PI3K, p-AKT, GLUT4, p-GSK-3ß, and p-FOXO1 were measured by Western blotting. RESULTS: MiR-133a-3p was highly expressed in GCs from PCOS patients, especially in obese PCOS patients. The protein levels of PI3K and p-AKT was downregulated in GCs from PCOS patients. There were 11 target genes of miR-133a-3p enriching in PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. miR-133a-3p mimic downregulated the expression of PI3K, p-AKT, and GLUT4, and upregulated the protein levels of p-GSK-3ß and p-FOXO1. miR-133a-3p inhibitor presented the opposite effect of miR-133a-3p mimic. CONCLUSION: MiR-133a-3p promotes ovary IR on GCs of obese PCOS patients via inhibiting PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. This study lays a foundation for further research on the mechanism of ovary IR in obese PCOS patients.

Simultaneous 3-Nitrophenylhydrazine Derivatization Strategy of Carbonyl, Carboxyl and Phosphoryl Submetabolome for LC-MS/MS-Based Targeted Metabolomics with Improved Sensitivity and Coverage.

Metabolomics is a powerful and essential technology for profiling metabolic phenotypes and exploring metabolic reprogramming, which enables the identification of biomarkers and provides mechanistic insights into physiology and disease. However, its applications are still limited by the technical challenges particularly in its detection sensitivity for the analysis of biological samples with limited amount, necessitating the development of highly sensitive approaches. Here, we developed a highly sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method based on a 3-nitrophenylhydrazine (3-NPH) derivatization strategy that simultaneously targets carbonyl, carboxyl, and phosphoryl groups for targeted metabolomic analysis (HSDccp-TM) in biological samples. By testing 130 endogenous metabolites including organic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, nucleotides, carnitines, and vitamins, we showed that the derivatization strategy resulted in significantly improved detection sensitivity and chromatographic separation capability. Metabolic profiling of merely 60 oocytes and 5000 hematopoietic stem cells primarily isolated from mice demonstrated that this method enabled routine metabolomic analysis in trace amounts of biospecimens. Moreover, the derivatization strategy bypassed the tediousness of inferring the MS fragmentation patterns and simplified the complexity of monitoring ion pairs of metabolites, which greatly facilitated the metabolic flux analysis (MFA) for glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) in cell cultures. In summary, the novel 3-NPH derivatization-based method with high sensitivity, good chromatographic separation, and broad coverage showed great potential in promoting metabolomics and MFA, especially in trace amounts of biospecimens.

CircLONP2 enhances colorectal carcinoma invasion and metastasis through modulating the maturation and exosomal dissemination of microRNA-17.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis causes the vast majority of colorectal carcinoma (CRC)-related deaths. However, little is known about the specific traits and underlying mechanisms of metastasis-initiating cells in primary CRC. And whether or not circular RNAs (circRNAs) take part in this particular event remain not adequately stated yet. METHODS: A screening method based on Transwell assay was first applied to build CRC subgroups with different metastatic potential. High throughput RNA sequencing was used to find out novel metastatic drivers in CRC metastasis-initiating step. A series of in vitro and in vivo assays were further applied to elucidate the functions and underlying molecular mechanisms of circRNAs in CRC metastasis. RESULTS: A circRNA consisting of exon 8-11 of LONP2, termed as circLONP2, was upregulated in metastasis-initiating CRC subgroups. Aberrant higher expression of circLONP2 was observed in primary CRC tissues with established metastasis, and along the invasive margin in metastatic site. High expression of circLONP2 predicted unfavorable overall survival. Functional studies revealed that circLONP2 could enhance the invasiveness of CRC cells in vitro, and targeting circLONP2 through anti-sense oligonucleotide (ASO) dramatically reduced the penetrance of metastasis to foreign organs in vivo. Mechanically, circLONP2 directly interacted with and promoted the processing of primary microRNA-17 (pri-miR-17), through recruiting DiGeorge syndrome critical region gene 8 (DGCR8) and Drosha complex in DDX1-dependent manner. Meanwhile, upregulated mature miR-17-5p could be assembled into exosomes and internalized by neighboring cells to enhance their aggressiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that circLONP2 acts as key metastasis-initiating molecule during CRC progression through modulating the intracellular maturation and intercellular transfer of miR-17, resulting in dissemination of metastasis-initiating ability in primary site and acceleration of metastasis formation in foreign organs. circLONP2 could serve as an effective prognostic predictor and/or novel anti-metastasis therapeutic target in CRC treatment.

ACT001 can prevent and reverse tamoxifen resistance in human breast cancer cell lines by inhibiting NF-κB activation.

Endocrine therapy is one of the main treatments for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. Tamoxifen is the most commonly used drug for endocrine therapy. However, primary or acquired tamoxifen resistance occurs in a large proportion of breast cancer patients, leading to therapeutic failure. We found that the combination of tamoxifen and ACT001, a nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway inhibitor, effectively inhibited the proliferation of both tamoxifen-sensitive and tamoxifen-resistant cells. The tamoxifen-resistant cell line MCF7R/LCC9 showed active NF-κB signaling and high apoptosis-related gene transcription, especially for antiapoptotic genes, which could be diminished by treatment with ACT001. These results demonstrate that ACT001 can prevent and reverse tamoxifen resistance by inhibiting NF-κB activation.

Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 5A2 Contributes to the Maintenance of CD133(+) Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via the c-Myc/microRNA-29b Axis.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs)/cancer-initiating cells (CICs) are suggested responsible for driving cancer resistance to conventional therapies and for cancer recurrence and/or metastasis. CD133 is served as a key biomarker to identify and characterize this subpopulation of cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our previous study indicated that overexpression of eukaryotic initiation factor 5A2 (EIF5A2) promotes HCC cell metastasis and angiogenesis. In this study, we demonstrated that EIF5A2 might play a crucial role in CSCs regulation and investigated its potential molecular mechanisms. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay, we observed that the expression of EIF5A2 positively correlated with CD133 levels in a cohort of cancerous and noncancerous liver tissues and cells. Next, HCC cells with high expression of EIF5A2 have a strong capacity to form undifferentiated tumor spheres in vitro and show elevated levels of stem cell-related genes, leading to an increased ability to develop tumors when subcutaneously injected into nude mice. Furthermore, differential microRNA expression was profiling between two EIF5A2-depleted HCC cell lines and their control one identified a decreased expression of miR-29b in EIF5A2-depleted cell lines. Further functional studies illustrated that downregulated miR-29b level is responsible for EIF5A2-maintained HCC cell stemness either in vitro or in vivo. Moreover, enforced expression of EIF5A2 in HCC cells largely enhanced the binding of c-Myc on the promoter of miR-29b and downregulation of miR-29b by EIF5A2 was dependent on c-Myc. Our findings, collectively, reveal that EIF5A2 contributes to the maintenance of CD133+ HCC cells via the c-Myc/miR-29b axis. Stem Cells 2018;36:180-191.

Quantitative proteomics suggest a potential link between early embryonic death and trisomy 16.

Activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signalling, alteration of the uterine microenvironment and a reduction in human chorionic gonadotrophin production have been linked with fetal trisomy 16-induced early embryonic death (EED). However, the detailed biological mechanism of EED remains unclear. Using quantitative proteomics we successfully screened differentially expressed proteins in the villous tissues from patients with EED and fetal trisomy 16 (EEDT16), patients with EED but normal fetal chromosomes (EEDNC) and patients undergoing elective abortion with normal fetal chromosomes (EANC) as the reference group. Compared with the reference group, we identified 337 and 220 differentially expressed proteins in EEDT16 patients and EEDNC patients respectively; these were involved in critical biological processes including immune response, superoxide metabolism, inflammatory responses and so on. We found that differential expression of immunological function-related molecules, such as human leukocyte antigen-g (HLA-G), HLA-C, Fc Fragment Of IgG Receptor III (FcγR III), also named CD16, interleukin 18 (IL-18) and transforming growth factor ß1 (TGF-ß1), might induce EED in both EEDT16 and EEDNC patients. More severe immunological dysfunction was observed in EEDT16 patients than that in EEDNC patients. Furthermore, differential expression of implantation and invasion-related molecules, such as cytochrome b-245 light chain (CYBA), neutrophil cytosol factor 2 (NCF2), Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 4 (MAP3K4), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), MMP9 and tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) might induce EED in both EEDT16 and EEDNC patients, although more severe dysfunction in the implantation and invasion ability of villous tissues was observed in EEDT16 patients.

METTL3 promotes ovarian carcinoma growth and invasion through the regulation of AXL translation and epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

OBJECTIVE: As the most prevalent internal modification in mammalian messenger RNA, N6­methyladenosine (m6A) plays an important role in posttranscriptional gene regulation. METTL3 is a key component of the m6A methyltransferase complex and has recently been shown to play important roles in cancer development and progression. The current study was aimed to explore the function and underlying mechanism of METTL3 in ovarian cancer. METHODS: METTL3 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 162 ovarian carcinoma patients. Stable cell lines with METTL3 gene overexpression or knockdown were established to investigate the function of METTL3 in ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: METTL3 was frequently upregulated in ovarian carcinoma and that a high level of METTL3 was significantly associated with tumor grade (P = 0.001), pT status (P = 0.002), pN/pM status (P < 0.001), FIGO stage (P < 0.001), and overall survival rate (P < 0.001). Stable overexpression of METTL3 in the OVCAR3 and COV504 cell lines significantly increased cellular proliferation, focus formation, motility, invasion, and tumor formation in nude mice. Silencing METTL3 expression in the SKOV3 and HO-8910 cell lines with short hairpin RNA effectively inhibited its oncogenic function. Further study found that METTL3 promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by upregulating the receptor tyrosine kinase AXL. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that METTL3 plays very important oncogenic roles in ovarian carcinoma development and/or aggressiveness by stimulating AXL translation and EMT and that METTL3 may serve as a novel prognostic and/or therapeutic target of interest in ovarian cancer.

The depletion of PinX1 involved in the tumorigenesis of non-small cell lung cancer promotes cell proliferation via p15/cyclin D1 pathway.

BACKGROUND: The telomerase/telomere interacting protein PinX1 has been suggested as a tumor suppressor. However, the clinical and biological significance of PinX1 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unclear. METHODS: PinX1 gene/expression pattern and its association with NSCLC patient survival were analyzed in cBioportal Web resource and two cohorts of NSCLC samples. A series of in vivo and in vitro assays were performed to elucidate the function of PinX1 on NSCLC cells proliferation and underlying mechanisms. RESULTS: More frequency of gene PinX1 homozygous deletion and heterozygote deficiency was first retrieved from cBioportal Web resource. Low expression of PinX1 correlated with smoking condition, histological type, T stage, N stage, M stage and TNM stage, and was an independent predictor for overall survival in a learning cohort (n = 93) and a validation cohort (n = 51) of NSCLC patients. Furthermore, knockdown of PinX1 dramatically accelerated NSCLC cell proliferation and G1/S transition, whereas ectopic overexpression of PinX1 substantially inhibited cell viability and cell cycle transition in vitro and in vivo. p15/cyclin D1 pathway and BMP5 might contribute to PinX1-associated cell proliferation and cell cycle transition. CONCLUSION: The cost-effective expression of PinX1 could constitute a novel molecular predictor/marker for NSCLC management.

Proteomics analysis of human placenta reveals glutathione metabolism dysfunction as the underlying pathogenesis for preeclampsia.

Hypertensive disorder in pregnancy (HDP) refers to a series of diseases that cause the hypertension during pregnancy, including HDP, preeclampsia (PE) and eclampsia. This study screens differentially expressed proteins of placenta tissues in PE cases using 2D LC-MS/MS quantitative proteomics strategy. A total of 2281 proteins are quantified, of these, 145 altering expression proteins are successfully screened between PE and control cases (p<0.05). Bioinformatics analysis suggests that these proteins are mainly involved in many biological processes, such as oxidation reduction, mitochondrion organization, and acute inflammatory response. Especially, the glutamine metabolic process related molecules, GPX1, GPX3, SMS, GGCT, GSTK1, NFκB, GSTT2, SOD1 and GCLM, are involved in the switching process from oxidized glutathione (GSSG) conversion to the reduced glutathione (GSH) by glutathione, mercapturic acid and arginine metabolism process. Results of this study revealed that glutathione metabolism disorder of placenta tissues may contribute to the occurrence of PE disease.

CLDN14 is epigenetically silenced by EZH2-mediated H3K27ME3 and is a novel prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27ME3) is a transcription-suppressive histone mark mediated by enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2). We have previously suggested that EZH2-mediated H3K27ME3 plays a critical oncogenic role in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) aggressiveness. However, the direct downstream targets of EZH2-H3K27ME3 and the molecular mechanisms by which regulates HCC pathogenesis remain unclear. In this study, we used chromatin immunoprecipitation together with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) and gene expression profiling by microarray analysis to assess genome-wide chromatin occupancy of H3K27ME3 in HCC cells. We identified that claudin14 (CLDN14) is a potentially direct target for EZH2-mediated H3K27ME3 in HCC. In a large cohort of clinical HCC tissues, we found that low expression of CLDN14 was significantly associated with advanced tumor stage and determined to be an independent predictor of shortened survival of HCC patients. Next, functional experiment demonstrated that depletion of CLDN14 substantially restored EZH2-silenced HCC cells motility and invasive capacities and supported cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, downregulation of CLDN14 dramatically re-enhanced the wnt/ß-catenin signaling activity in EZH2-silenced HCC cells by increasing the levels of active ß-catenin and promoting the nuclear localization of ß-catenin. These results, collectively, uncover that CLDN14 is a novel direct target of EZH2-mediated H3K27ME3, and provide an explanation for the aggressive nature of HCC with downregulation of CLDN14 and the underling mechanism that links the tumor suppressor CLDN14 to the wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Correlation between body composition and disease severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Body composition changes are important extrapulmonary manifestations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of body composition in patients with COPD, and its correlation with disease severity. Methods: A total of 105 COPD patients admitted to Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Dalian University, from May 1, 2021 to January 31, 2023, were included as the COPD group, and 105 subjects without COPD were enrolled as the control group during the same period. According to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) comprehensive assessment indicators, COPD patients were divided into groups: the degree of pulmonary function airflow limitation was grouped according to FEV1%pred; clinical symptoms were grouped according to mMRC scores and CAT scores; the risk of acute exacerbation was divided into low risk and high risk groups. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Results: (1) Concerning body composition, the body mass index (BMI), fat-free mass index (FFMI), and angle of phase (PhA) of COPD patients were lower than those of the control group. Extracellular water-to-total body water ratio (ECW/TBW) and extra-to-intracellular water ratio (ECW/ICW) were higher than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). (2) There were differences in body composition among COPD patients with different severity of disease: FFMI and PhA in the mild/moderate airflow limitation group were higher than those in the severe/very severe airflow limitation group. According to mMRC scores classification, the FFMI and PhA of the less symptomatic group were higher than those of the more symptomatic group, and ECW/TBW and ECW/ICW were lower than those of the more symptomatic group. According to CAT scores classification, FFMI and PhA in the mild/moderate disease group were higher than those in the severe/very severe disease group. The FFMI of the low-risk group was higher than that of the high-risk group, and ECW/TBW was lower than that of the high risk group. (3) Correlation analysis between body composition and disease severity indicators showed that FFMI and PhA were negatively correlated with mMRC scores and CAT scores, and positively correlated with FEV1%pred. ECW/TBW ratio and ECW/ICW ratio were positively correlated with mMRC scores and CAT scores, and negatively correlated with FEV1%pred, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: There are significant differences in body composition between COPD patients and the control group, and there are significant differences in body composition between COPD patients with different severity of disease, with correlations between body composition and severity of disease.

Diverse Mycena Fungi and Their Potential for Gastrodia elata Germination.

It remains to be determined whether there is a geographical distribution pattern and phylogenetic signals for the Mycena strains with seed germination of the orchid plant Gastrodia elata. This study analyzed the community composition and phylogenetics of 72 Mycena strains associated with G. elata varieties (G. elata. f. glauca and G. elata. f. viridis) using multiple gene fragments (ITS+nLSU+SSU). We found that (1) these diverse Mycena phylogenetically belong to the Basidiospore amyloid group. (2) There is a phylogenetic signal of Mycena for germination of G. elata. Those strains phylogenetically close to M. abramsii, M. polygramma, and an unclassified Mycena had significantly higher germination rates than those to M. citrinomarginata. (3) The Mycena distribution depends on geographic site and G. elata variety. Both unclassified Mycena group 1 and the M. abramsii group were dominant for the two varieties of G. elata; in contrast, the M. citrinomarginata group was dominant in G. elata f. glauca but absent in G. elata f. viridis. Our results indicate that the community composition of numerous Mycena resources in the Zhaotong area varies by geographical location and G. elata variety. Importantly, our results also indicate that Mycena's phylogenetic status is correlated with its germination rate.

The effect of enhanced structure in the posterior segment of clear aligners during anterior retraction: a three-dimensional finite element and experimental model analysis.

BACKGROUND: Mesial tipping of posterior teeth occurs frequently during space closure with clear aligners (CAs). In this study, we proposed a new modification of CA by localized thickening of the aligner to form the enhanced structure and investigate its biomechanical effect during anterior retraction. METHODS: Two methods were employed in this study. First, a finite element (FE) model was constructed, which included alveolar bone, the first premolars extracted maxillary dentition, periodontal ligaments (PDL), attachments and aligners. The second method involved an experimental model-a measuring device using multi-axis transducers and vacuum thermoforming aligners. Two groups were formed: (1) The control group used common CAs and (2) the enhanced structure group used partially thickened CAs. RESULTS: FE model revealed that the enhanced structure improved the biomechanics during anterior retraction. Specifically, the second premolar, which had a smaller PDL area, experienced a smaller protraction force and moment, making it less likely to tip mesially. In the same vein, the molars could resist movement due to their larger PDL area even though they were applied larger forces. The resultant force of the posterior tooth was closer to the center of resistance, reducing the tipping moment. The canine was applied a larger retraction force and moment, resulting in sufficient retraction of anterior teeth. The experimental model demonstrated a similar trend in force variation as the FE model. CONCLUSIONS: Enhanced structure allowed force distribution more in accordance with optimal principles of biomechanics during the extraction space closure while permitting less mesial tipping and anchorage loss of posterior teeth and better retraction of anterior teeth. Thus, enhanced structure alleviated the roller coaster effect associated with extraction cases and offered a new possibility for anchorage reinforcement in clear aligner therapy.

Fungal communities associated with early immature tubers of wild Gastrodia elata.

Full myco-heterotrophic orchid Gastrodia elata Bl. is widely distributed in Northeast Asia, and previous research has not fully investigated the symbiotic fungal community of its early immature tubers. This study utilized Illumina sequencing to compare symbiotic fungal communities in natural G. elata immature tubers and their habitats. LEfSe (Linear Discriminant Analysis Effect Size) was used to screen for Biomarkers that could explain variations among different fungal communities, and correlation analyses were performed among Biomarkers and other common orchid mycorrhizal fungi. Our results illustrate that the symbiotic fungal communities of immature G. elata tubers cannot be simply interpreted as subsets of the environmental fungal communities because some key members cannot be traced back to the environment. The early growth of G. elata was related to a small group of fungi, such as Sebacina, Thelephora, and Inocybe, which were also common mycorrhizal fungi from other orchids. In addition, Mycena, Auricularia, and Cryptococcus were unique fungal partners of G. elata, and many new species have yet to be discovered. Possible symbiotic Mycena should be M. plumipes and its sibling species in this case. Our results provide insight into the symbiotic partner switch and trophic pattern change during the development and maturation of G. elata.

Advances in reparative materials for infectious bone defects and their applications in maxillofacial regions.

Infectious bone defects are characterized by the partial loss or destruction of bone tissue resulting from bacterial contaminations subsequent to diseases or external injuries. Traditional bone transplantation and clinical methods are insufficient in meeting the treatment demands for such diseases. As a result, researchers have increasingly focused on the development of more sophisticated biomaterials for improved therapeutic outcomes in recent years. This review endeavors to investigate specific reparative materials utilized for the treatment of infectious bone defects, particularly those present in the maxillofacial region, with a focus on biomaterials capable of releasing therapeutic substances, functional contact biomaterials, and novel physical therapy materials. These biomaterials operate via heightened antibacterial or osteogenic properties in order to eliminate bacteria and/or stimulate bone cells regeneration in the defect, ultimately fostering the reconstitution of maxillofacial bone tissue. Based upon some successful applications of new concept materials in bone repair of other parts, we also explore their future prospects and potential uses in maxillofacial bone repair later in this review. We highlight that the exploration of advanced biomaterials holds promise in establishing a solid foundation for the development of more biocompatible, effective, and personalized treatments for reconstructing infectious maxillofacial defects.

Foxo1 Drives the TGFß1-Dependent Dichotomy of Th17 Cell Fates.

T-helper 17 (Th17) cells play a dual role in immunological responses, serving as essential components in tissue homeostasis and host defense against microbial pathogens while also contributing to pro-inflammatory conditions and autoimmunity. While Transforming Growth Factor-beta 1 (TGFß1) is pivotal for the differentiation of non-pathogenic Th17 cells, the role of TGFß3 and Activin in steering Th17 cells toward a pathogenic phenotype has been acknowledged. However, the molecular mechanisms governing this dichotomy remain elusive. In this study, we demonstrate that the transcription factor Foxo1 is upregulated in a TGFß1 dose-dependent manner, serving as a critical regulator that specifically modulates the fate of pathogenic Th17 cells. Analyses in both uveitis patients and an Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis (EAU) mouse model reveal a strong correlation between disease severity and diminished Foxo1 expression levels. Ectopic expression of Foxo1 selectively attenuates IL-17A production under pathogenic Th17-inducing conditions. Moreover, enhanced Foxo1 expression, triggered by TGFß1 signaling, is implicated in fatty acid metabolism pathways that favor non-pathogenic Th17 differentiation. Our drug screening identifies several FDA-approved compounds can upregulate Foxo1. Collectively, our findings offer evidence that Foxo1 serves as a molecular switch to specifically control pathogenic versus non-pathogenic Th17 differentiation in a TGFß1-dependent manner. Suggest that targeting Foxo1 could be a promising therapeutic strategy for autoimmune diseases.