Blocking the MIF-CD74 axis augments radiotherapy efficacy for brain metastasis in NSCLC via synergistically promoting microglia M1 polarization.

BACKGROUND: Brain metastasis is one of the main causes of recurrence and death in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although radiotherapy is the main local therapy for brain metastasis, it is inevitable that some cancer cells become resistant to radiation. Microglia, as macrophages colonized in the brain, play an important role in the tumor microenvironment. Radiotherapy could activate microglia to polarize into both the M1 and M2 phenotypes. Therefore, searching for crosstalk molecules within the microenvironment that can specifically regulate the polarization of microglia is a potential strategy for improving radiation resistance. METHODS: We used databases to detect the expression of MIF in NSCLC and its relationship with prognosis. We analyzed the effects of targeted blockade of the MIF/CD74 axis on the polarization and function of microglia during radiotherapy using flow cytometry. The mouse model of brain metastasis was used to assess the effect of targeted blockade of MIF/CD74 axis on the growth of brain metastasis. RESULT: Our findings reveals that the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was highly expressed in NSCLC and is associated with the prognosis of NSCLC. Mechanistically, we demonstrated CD74 inhibition reversed radiation-induced AKT phosphorylation in microglia and promoted the M1 polarization in combination of radiation. Additionally, blocking the MIF-CD74 interaction between NSCLC and microglia promoted microglia M1 polarization. Furthermore, radiation improved tumor hypoxia to decrease HIF-1α dependent MIF secretion by NSCLC. MIF inhibition enhanced radiosensitivity for brain metastasis via synergistically promoting microglia M1 polarization in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that targeting the MIF-CD74 axis promoted microglia M1 polarization and synergized with radiotherapy for brain metastasis in NSCLC.

Mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies for treating well-studied neurological disorders: a systematic review.

Background: Millions of people across the globe are affected by conditions like Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's Disease (PD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), although most occurrences are common in the elderly population. This systematic review aims to highlight the safety of the procedures, their tolerability, and efficacy of the available therapies conducted over the years using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in treating the neurological conditions mentioned above. Methods: PubMed was used to search for published data from clinical trials performed using mesenchymal stem cells. Studies that provided the necessary information that mentioned the efficacy and adverse effects of the treatment in patients were considered for this review. Results: In total, 43 manuscripts were selected after a strategic search, and these studies have been included in this systematic review. Most included studies reported the safety of the procedures used and the treatment's good tolerability, with mild adverse events such as fever, headache, mild pain at the injection site, or nausea being common. A few studies also reported death of some patients, attributed to the progression of the disease to severe stages before the treatment. Other severe events, such as respiratory or urinary infections reported in some studies, were not related to the treatment. Different parameters were used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment based on the clinical condition of the patient. Conclusion: Mesenchymal stem cells transplantation has so far proven to be safe and tolerable in select studies and patient types. This systematic review includes the results from the 43 selected studies in terms of safety and tolerability of the procedures, and several adverse events and therapeutic benefits during the follow-up period after administration of MSCs.

Three-Dimensional Manipulation of Micromodules Using Twin Optothermally Actuated Bubble Robots.

A 3D manipulation technique based on two optothermally generated and actuated surface-bubble robots is proposed. A single laser beam can be divided into two parallel beams and used for the generation and motion control of twin bubbles. The movement and spacing control of the lasers and bubbles can be varied directly and rapidly. Both 2D and 3D operations of micromodules were carried out successfully using twin bubble robots. The cooperative manipulation of twin bubble robots is superior to that of a single robot in terms of stability, speed, and efficiency. The operational technique proposed in this study is expected to play an important role in tissue engineering, drug screening, and other fields.

Exploring DNA Damage and Repair Mechanisms: A Review with Computational Insights.

DNA damage is a critical factor contributing to genetic alterations, directly affecting human health, including developing diseases such as cancer and age-related disorders. DNA repair mechanisms play a pivotal role in safeguarding genetic integrity and preventing the onset of these ailments. Over the past decade, substantial progress and pivotal discoveries have been achieved in DNA damage and repair. This comprehensive review paper consolidates research efforts, focusing on DNA repair mechanisms, computational research methods, and associated databases. Our work is a valuable resource for scientists and researchers engaged in computational DNA research, offering the latest insights into DNA-related proteins, diseases, and cutting-edge methodologies. The review addresses key questions, including the major types of DNA damage, common DNA repair mechanisms, the availability of reliable databases for DNA damage and associated diseases, and the predominant computational research methods for enzymes involved in DNA damage and repair.

Efficacy and safety of radiotherapy combined with anti-angiogenic therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors in MSS/pMMR metastatic colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of anti-angiogenic drugs in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) or mismatch repair proficient (pMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, whether combination radiotherapy (RT) can further improve the prognosis of mCRC patients after second-line treatment remains to be explored. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of data from mCRC patients who received anti-angiogenic targeted therapy (TT) and immunotherapy (IT) with or without RT after the failure of standard therapy. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 82 patients who received TT + IT were analyzed. For RT group (n = 42) versus NRT group (n = 40), ORR was 21.4% (9/42) versus 5.0% (2/40); DCR was 83.8% (35/42) versus 65.0% (26/40). Compared with NRT group, RT improved PFS (median: 5.0 vs. 3.6 months; p = 0.04) and OS (median: 15.2 vs. 7.2 months; p = 0.01). In addition, in the population receiving RT, the PFS of RT sequential/simultaneous TT + IT was superior to TT + IT sequential RT (median: 7.1 vs. 6.2 vs. 3.5 months, p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis suggested RT was an independent prognostic factor for PFS and OS. No treatment-related deaths were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with TT + IT, RT combined with TT + IT improved survival outcomes in MSS/pMMR mCRC patients, with manageable toxicity. RT sequential/simultaneous TT + IT treatment is expected to be the optimal strategy for MSS/PMMR mCRC.

Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and indirect bilirubin may participate in systemic inflammation of patients with psoriatic arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that systemic metabolic abnormalities are closely related to psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and indirect bilirubin (IBIL), two essential active substances in hepatic metabolism that have been demonstrated as an oxidative and anti-oxidative factor respectively, have been proved to be involved in oxidative stress damage and inflammation in several human diseases. However, their role in PsA remains unclear. METHODS: In this retrospective comparative cohort study, a case group of 68 PsA patients and a control group of 73 healthy volunteers from the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University were enrolled. Serum GGT, IBIL, GGT/IBIL ratio and C-reactive protein (CRP), a well applied bio-marker of systemic inflammatory in PsA, were compared between the two groups. Furthermore, the relationship of GGT, IBIL and GGT/IBIL with CRP were explored in PsA patients. Finally, the patients were divided into high inflammation group and low inflammation group according to the median value of CRP. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used for the association of systemic inflammation level with GGT, IBIL and GGT/IBIL. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, PsA patients exhibited significantly higher serum GGT, GGT/IBIL, and CRP levels and lower IBIL levels. Serum GGT and GGT/IBIL were positively correlated with CRP, whereas IBIL were negatively correlated with CRP. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that serum GGT was a risk factor for high CRP in PsA, whereas IBIL was a protective factor. Furthermore, GGT/IBIL was a better indicator of high CRP condition in PsA patients than either GGT or IBIL alone, as determined by the receiver operating characteristic curves. CONCLUSION: GGT and IBIL may participate in the pathogenesis of PsA. Additionally, GGT, IBIL and the balance of the two may reflect systemic inflammation mediated by oxidative stress events related to metabolic abnormalities to a certain extent.

Coarse-to-fine prior-guided attention network for multi-structure segmentation on dental panoramic radiographs.

Objective. Accurate segmentation of various anatomical structures from dental panoramic radiographs is essential for the diagnosis and treatment planning of various diseases in digital dentistry. In this paper, we propose a novel deep learning-based method for accurate and fully automatic segmentation of the maxillary sinus, mandibular condyle, mandibular nerve, alveolar bone and teeth on panoramic radiographs.Approach. A two-stage coarse-to-fine prior-guided segmentation framework is proposed to segment multiple structures on dental panoramic radiographs. In the coarse stage, a multi-label segmentation network is used to generate the coarse segmentation mask, and in the fine-tuning stage, a prior-guided attention network with an encoder-decoder architecture is proposed to precisely predict the mask of each anatomical structure. First, a prior-guided edge fusion module is incorporated into the network at the input of each convolution level of the encode path to generate edge-enhanced image feature maps. Second, a prior-guided spatial attention module is proposed to guide the network to extract relevant spatial features from foreground regions based on the combination of the prior information and the spatial attention mechanism. Finally, a prior-guided hybrid attention module is integrated at the bottleneck of the network to explore global context from both spatial and category perspectives.Main results. We evaluated the segmentation performance of our method on a testing dataset that contains 150 panoramic radiographs collected from real-world clinical scenarios. The segmentation results indicate that our proposed method achieves more accurate segmentation performance compared with state-of-the-art methods. The average Jaccard scores are 87.91%, 85.25%, 63.94%, 93.46% and 88.96% for the maxillary sinus, mandibular condyle, mandibular nerve, alveolar bone and teeth, respectively.Significance. The proposed method was able to accurately segment multiple structures on panoramic radiographs. This method has the potential to be part of the process of automatic pathology diagnosis from dental panoramic radiographs.

Short-term mucosal disruption enables colibactin-producing E. coli to cause long-term perturbation of colonic homeostasis.

Colibactin, a bacterial genotoxin produced by E. coli strains harboring the pks genomic island, induces cytopathic effects, such as DNA breaks, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, display changes in their microbiota with the expansion of E. coli. Whether and how colibactin affects the integrity of the colonic mucosa and whether pks+ E. coli contributes to the pathogenesis of colitis is not clear. Using a gnotobiotic mouse model, we show that under homeostatic conditions, pks+ E. coli do not directly interact with the epithelium or affect colonic integrity. However, upon short-term chemical disruption of mucosal integrity, pks+ E. coli gain direct access to the epithelium, causing epithelial injury and chronic colitis, while mice colonized with an isogenic ΔclbR mutant incapable of producing colibactin show a rapid recovery. pks+ E. coli colonized mice are unable to reestablish a functional barrier. In turn, pks+ E. coli remains in direct contact with the epithelium, perpetuating the process and triggering chronic mucosal inflammation that morphologically and transcriptionally resembles human ulcerative colitis. This state is characterized by impaired epithelial differentiation and high proliferative activity, which is associated with high levels of stromal R-spondin 3. Genetic overexpression of R-spondin 3 in colon myofibroblasts is sufficient to mimic barrier disruption and expansion of E. coli. Together, our data reveal that pks+ E. coli are pathobionts that promote severe injury and initiate a proinflammatory trajectory upon contact with the colonic epithelium, resulting in a chronic impairment of tissue integrity.

Global Phosphoproteomic Analysis Reveals the Defense and Response Mechanisms of Japonica Rice under Low Nitrogen Stress.

Nitrogen-based nutrients are the main factors affecting rice growth and development. As the nitrogen (N) application rate increased, the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of rice decreased. Therefore, it is important to understand the molecular mechanism of rice plant morphological, physiological, and yield formation under low N conditions to improve NUE. In this study, changes in the rice morphological, physiological, and yield-related traits under low N (13.33 ppm) and control N (40.00 ppm) conditions were performed. These results show that, compared with control N conditions, photosynthesis and growth were inhibited and the carbon (C)/N and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) were enhanced under low N conditions. To understand the post-translational modification mechanism underlying the rice response to low N conditions, comparative phosphoproteomic analysis was performed, and differentially modified proteins (DMPs) were further characterized. Compared with control N conditions, a total of 258 DMPs were identified under low N conditions. The modification of proteins involved in chloroplast development, chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, phytohormones, and morphology-related proteins were differentially altered, which was an important reason for changes in rice morphological, physiological, and yield-related traits. Additionally, inconsistent changes in level of transcription and protein modification, indicates that the study of phosphoproteomics under low N conditions is also important for us to better understand the adaptation mechanism of rice to low N stress. These results provide insights into global changes in the response of rice to low N stress and may facilitate the development of rice cultivars with high NUE by regulating the phosphorylation level of carbon metabolism and rice morphology-related proteins.

Maturation, Morphology, and Function: The Decisive Role of Intestinal Flora on Microglia: A Review.

Recent studies have shown that the gut microbiota regulates intestinal function and maintains intestinal homeostasis, as well as interacting with the central nervous system to affect brain function and human behavior. Microglia are the most common immune cell type in the central nervous system during homeostasis. These cells play an important role in immune surveillance by responding to infections and other pathological conditions. Microglia also play a major role in maintaining brain homeostasis in both developing and adult mice by phagocytosing cell debris and regulating the formation of neural networks. The specific signaling pathways and cytokines that control the maturation and activation of microglia are currently not fully established. However, research on germ-free (GF) mice and specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice indicate that gut microbiota have important interactions with microglia. Here, we review the latest research findings on how gut microbiota can affect the morphology, maturation, phenotype and function of microglia. We also discuss recent advances in the gut microbiota-microglia-disease axis.

Establishment of gastrointestinal assembloids to study the interplay between epithelial crypts and their mesenchymal niche.

The cellular organization of gastrointestinal crypts is orchestrated by different cells of the stromal niche but available in vitro models fail to fully recapitulate the interplay between epithelium and stroma. Here, we establish a colon assembloid system comprising the epithelium and diverse stromal cell subtypes. These assembloids recapitulate the development of mature crypts resembling in vivo cellular diversity and organization, including maintenance of a stem/progenitor cell compartment in the base and their maturation into secretory/absorptive cell types. This process is supported by self-organizing stromal cells around the crypts that resemble in vivo organization, with cell types that support stem cell turnover adjacent to the stem cell compartment. Assembloids that lack BMP receptors either in epithelial or stromal cells fail to undergo proper crypt formation. Our data highlight the crucial role of bidirectional signaling between epithelium and stroma, with BMP as a central determinant of compartmentalization along the crypt axis.

Classification of the immune microenvironment associated with 12 cell death modes and construction of a prognostic model for squamous cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: An increasing number of patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) are benefiting from immunotherapy. However, the individual immune profile of patients who respond to treatment is unclear. Multiple programmed cell death (PCD) patterns play an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of tumor cells, predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy using a risk model for programmed cell death gene combinations LUSC risk model. METHODS: Genes associated with 12 types of PCD were analyzed to establish a prognostic model. Risk scores were calculated using PCDG-based expression profiles, and LUSC patients were classified into two groups. Tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) characteristics and immunotherapy responses were compared between the two groups. Finally, staging was predicted using the extreme gradient boosting tree algorithm (eXtreme Gradient Boosting, XGBoost), and an algorithmic model was constructed to predict the prognosis of LUSC patients based on the PCDG risk score. RESULTS: A stepwise downscaling of 1256 PCDGs was performed to screen out 16 genes associated with LUSC prognosis to construct a risk model. Immune cell infiltration levels, the immunotherapy response, and prognostic differences were different between these two groups of patients. The classification prediction model based on the XGBoost algorithm and the prognostic model based on the risk score were able to distinguish the risk subtypes and individual prognosis of LUSC patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PCD patterns exert a crucial effect on the development of LUSC. An evaluation of different PCD patterns in LUSC improves the understanding of the characteristics of infiltrating immune cells and mutational features of the TIME, distinguishes LUSC patients who might benefit from immunotherapy, and predicts their future survival.

Morusinol extracted from Morus alba induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via inhibition of DNA damage response in melanoma by CHK1 degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.

BACKGROUD: Flavonoids have a variety of biological activities, such as anti-inflammation, anti-tumor, anti-thrombosis and so on. Morusinol, as a novel isoprene flavonoid extracted from Morus alba root barks, has the effects of anti-arterial thrombosis and anti-inflammatory in previous studies. However, the anti-cancer mechanism of morusinol remains unclear. PURPOSE: In present study, we mainly studied the anti-tumor effect of morusinol and its mode of action in melanoma. METHODS: The anti-cancer effect of morusinol on melanoma were evaluated by using the MTT, EdU, plate clone formation and soft agar assay. Flow cytometry was used for detecting cell cycle and apoptosis. The É£-H2AX immunofluorescence and the alkaline comet assay were used to detect DNA damage and the Western blotting analysis was used to investigate the expressions of DNA-damage related proteins. Ubiquitination and turnover of CHK1 were also detected by using the immunoprecipitation assay. The cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) mouse models were used in vivo to evaluate the effect of morusinol on tumorigenicity. RESULTS: We demonstrated that morusinol not only had the ability to inhibit cell proliferation, but also induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, caspase-dependent apoptosis and DNA damage in human melanoma cells. In addition, morusinol effectively inhibited the growth of melanoma xenografts in vivo. More strikingly, CHK1, which played an important role in maintaining the integrity of cell cycle, genomic stability and cell viability, was down-regulated in a dose- and time-dependent manner after morusinol treatment. Further research showed that CHK1 was degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Whereafter, morusinol-induced cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and DNA damage were partially salvaged by overexpressing CHK1 in melanoma cell lines. Herein, further experiments demonstrated that morusinol increased the sensitivity of dacarbazine (DTIC) to chemotherapy for melanoma in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION: Morusinol induces CHK1 degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, thereby inducing cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and DNA damage response in melanoma. Our study firstly provided a theoretical basis for morusinol to be a candidate drug for clinical treatment of cancer, such as melanoma, alone or combinated with dacarbazine.

Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and indirect bilirubin may participate in systemic inflammation of patients with psoriatic arthritis

Abstract Background Previous studies have suggested that systemic metabolic abnormalities are closely related to psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and indirect bilirubin (IBIL), two essential active substances in hepatic metabolism that have been demonstrated as an oxidative and anti-oxidative factor respectively, have been proved to be involved in oxidative stress damage and inflammation in several human diseases. However, their role in PsA remains unclear. Methods In this retrospective comparative cohort study, a case group of 68 PsA patients and a control group of 73 healthy volunteers from the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University were enrolled. Serum GGT, IBIL, GGT/IBIL ratio and C-reactive protein (CRP), a well applied bio-marker of systemic inflammatory in PsA, were compared between the two groups. Furthermore, the relationship of GGT, IBIL and GGT/IBIL with CRP were explored in PsA patients. Finally, the patients were divided into high inflammation group and low inflammation group according to the median value of CRP. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used for the association of systemic inflammation level with GGT, IBIL and GGT/IBIL. Results Compared with healthy controls, PsA patients exhibited significantly higher serum GGT, GGT/IBIL, and CRP levels and lower IBIL levels. Serum GGT and GGT/IBIL were positively correlated with CRP, whereas IBIL were negatively correlated with CRP. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that serum GGT was a risk factor for high CRP in PsA, whereas IBIL was a protective factor. Furthermore, GGT/IBIL was a better indicator of high CRP condition in PsA patients than either GGT or IBIL alone, as determined by the receiver operating characteristic curves. Conclusion GGT and IBIL may participate in the pathogenesis of PsA. Additionally, GGT, IBIL and the balance of the two may reflect systemic inflammation mediated by oxidative stress events related to metabolic abnormalities to a certain extent.

Identification of a rickettsial endosymbiont in a soft tick Ornithodoros turicata americanus.

Bacterial endosymbionts are abundantly found in both hard and soft ticks. Occidentia massiliensis, a rickettsial endosymbiont, was first identified in the soft tick Ornithodoros sonrai collected from Senegal and later was identified in a hard tick Africaniella transversale. In this study, we noted the presence of Occidentia species, designated as Occidentia-like species, in a soft tick O. turicata americanus. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the two genetic markers, 16S rRNA and groEL confirmed the presence of Occidentia-like species in O. turicata americanus ticks. The Occidentia-like species was noted to be present in all developmental stages of O. turicata americanus and in different tick tissues including ovaries, synganglion, guts and salivary gland. The levels of Occidentia-like species 16S rRNA transcripts were noted to be significantly higher in ovaries than in a gut tissue. In addition, Occidentia-like species groEL expression was noted to be significantly higher in tick synganglion than in ovaries and gut tissues. Furthermore, levels of Occidentia-like species 16S rRNA transcripts increased significantly upon O. turicata americanus blood feeding. Taken together, our study not only shows that Occidentia-like species is present in O. turicata americanus but also suggests that this bacterium may play a role in tick-bacteria interactions.

T Cell-Mediated Tumor Killing-Related Classification of the Immune Microenvironment and Prognosis Prediction of Lung Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are a promising therapeutic strategy for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), individual subgroups that might benefit from them are yet to be identified. As T cell-mediated tumor killing (TTK) is an underlying mechanism of ICI, we identified subtypes based on genes associated with TTK sensitivity and assessed their predictive significance for LUAD immunotherapies. METHODS: Using high-throughput screening techniques, genes regulating the sensitivity of T cell-mediated tumor killing (GSTTK) with differential expression and associations with prognosis were discovered in LUAD. Furthermore, patients with LUAD were divided into subgroups using unsupervised clustering based on GSTTK. Significant differences were observed in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), genetic mutation and immunotherapy response across subgroups. Finally, the prognostic significance of a scoring algorithm based on GSTTK was assessed. RESULTS: A total of 6 out of 641 GSTTK exhibited differential expression in LUAD and were associated with prognosis. Patients were grouped into two categories based on the expression of the six GSTTK, which represented different TTK immune microenvironments in LUAD. Immune cell infiltration, survival difference, somatic mutation, functional enrichment and immunotherapy responses also varied between the two categories. Additionally, a scoring algorithm accurately distinguished overall survival rates across populations. CONCLUSIONS: TTK had a crucial influence on the development of the varying TIME. Evaluation of the varied TTK modes of different tumors enhanced our understanding of TIME characteristics, wherein the changes in T cell activity in LUAD are reflected. Thus, this study guides the development of more effective therapeutic methods.

Case report: A rare case of neutropenia caused by pembrolizumab in squamous lung cancer and literature review.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including anti-PD-1 therapies, have prolonged overall survival in patients with a variety of cancers, and immunotherapy is sometimes associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs); however, hematological toxicity, especially neutropenia, is rare. Case presentation: A 78-year-old man with squamous lung cancer, with brain metastasis, was treated with pembrolizumab and albumin-bound paclitaxel as first-line treatment for one cycle and changed to pembrolizumab plus anlotinib at the second cycle. After two therapy cycles, grade 4 neutropenia developed, which mainly contributed to irAEs. The patient was started on granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) but did not improve; he was then treated with corticosteroids, and neutrophil counts gradually returned to normal levels. However, the patient eventually died because of neurological problems. Conclusion: Grade 4 neutropenia associated with ICI, although rare, is often severe and presents with infectious complications; it needs to be diagnosed early, and clinicians should ensure prompt and proper management to such patients.

Corrigendum: Dihydrocapsaicin inhibits cell proliferation and metastasis in melanoma via down-regulating ß-catenin pathway.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.648052.].

A novel adipokine WISP1 attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced cell injury in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway.

BACKGROUND: To study the effect of WISP1 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cell injury in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. METHOD: Lentivirus was transiently transfected into log phase 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which were then treated with LPS at a concentration of 10 µg/mL for 24 h. The cells were divided into the following groups: group A (control, untreated cells); group B (LPS-treated cells); group C (GFP), cells transfected with lentivirus-containing GFP; group D (GFP+LPS), group C treated with LPS;group E (WISP1OE), cells transfected with lentivirus, group F (shNC+LPS), cells transfected with lentivirus-containing nshRNA treated with LPS; group G (shWISP1 +LPS), cells transfected with lentivirus-containing shRNA treated with LPS; group H (WISP1OE+LPS), group E treated with LPS; group I (WISP1OE+LPS+LY294002), group E treated with LPS followed by LY294002 for 24 h. RESULTS: WISP1 overexpression notably ameliorated cell apoptosis, accompanied with the increased expression of bcl-2, the decreased expressions of bax and cleaved-caspase-3, and promoted the release of inflammatory factors, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in LPS-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. WISP1 knockdown exhibited the opposite results. In addition, WISP1 stimulated Akt phosphorylation and reduced nuclear translocation of Fork head box protein O3 (FoxO3a) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated by LPS. The inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway diminished the protective effect of WISP1. CONCLUSION: WISP1 prevents 3T3-L1 adipocytes from being injured by LPS by regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway.