IGSF6 is a novel biomarker to evaluate immune infiltration in mismatch repair-proficient colorectal cancer.

Immunotherapy has dramatically changed the landscape of treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC), but currently lack of effective predictive biomarker, especially for tumors with mismatch repair (MMR) proficiency. The response of immunotherapy is associated with the cell-cell interactions in tumor microenvironment, encompassing processes such as cell-cell recognition, binding, and adhesion. However, the function of immunoglobulin superfamily (IGSF) genes in tumor immune microenvironment remains uncharacterized. This study quantified the immune landscape by leveraging a gene expression matrix from publicly accessible databases. The associations between IGSF6 gene expression and immune cell infiltration were assessed. The expression levels of IGSF6, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells and CD68+ macrophage cells in cancer tissues from CRC patients and CRC cell lines were evaluated. IGSF6 was more highly expressed in CRC tumor tissues than adjacent normal tissues. And IGSF6 was significantly correlated with immune cell infiltration in MMR-proficient patients. Remarkably, MMR-proficient patients with high IGSF6 expression showed more sensitive to immunotherapy and chemotherapy than those with low IGSF6 expression. In summary, IGSF6 could be a novel biomarker to evaluate immune infiltration and predict therapeutic effect for MMR-proficient CRC.

Risk factors analysis of surgical site infections in postoperative colorectal cancer: a nine-year retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients undergoing surgery are at a high risk of developing surgical site infections (SSIs), which contribute to increased morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, and escalated healthcare costs. Understanding the incidence, risk factors, and impact of SSIs is crucial for effective preventive strategies and improved patient outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed data from 431 CRC patients who underwent surgery at Huangshan Shoukang Hospital between 2014 and 2022. The clinical characteristics and demographic information were collected. The incidence and impact of SSIs were evaluated, and independent risk factors associated with SSIs were identified using multivariable logistic regresison. A nomogram plot was constructed to predict the likelihood of SSIs occurrence. RESULTS: The overall incidence rate of SSIs was 7.65% (33/431). Patients with SSIs had significantly longer hospital stays and higher healthcare costs. Risk factors for SSIs included elevated Body Mass Index (BMI) levels (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.02-1.23; P = 0.017), the presence of diabetes (odds ratio, 3.88; 95% CI, 1.42 - 9.48; P = 0.01), as well as specific surgical factors such as open surgical procedures (odds ratio, 2.39; 95% CI [1.09; 5.02]; P = 0.031), longer surgical duration (odds ratio, 1.36; 95% CI [1.01; 1.84]; P = 0.046), and the presence of a colostomy/ileostomy (odds ratio, 3.17; 95% CI [1.53; 6.62]; P = 0.002). Utilizing multivariable regression analysis, which encompassed factors such as open surgical procedures, the presence of diabetes and colostomy/ileostom, the nomogram plot functions as a visual aid in estimating the individual risk of SSIs for patients. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors for SSIs included higher BMI levels, the presence of diabetes, open surgical procedures, longer surgical duration, and the presence of colostomy/ileostomy. The nomogram plot serves as a valuable tool for risk assessment and clinical decision-making.

The complete chloroplast genome of Aster altaicus Willd. (Asteraceae: Aster) and phylogenetic analysis.

Aster altaicus Willd. is an important medicinal plant and can also be used as a forage grass. To better understand the diversity and phylogeny between A. altaicus and other Aster species, we sequenced and annotated the complete chloroplast genome of A. altaicus by using the Illumina Hiseq 2500 platform. This complete chloroplast genome is 152,473 bp long and the GC content is 37.3% presented a negative AT-skew (-0.002) and a positive GC-skew (0.003). The genome contains a large single-copy region (LSC) of 84,235 bp, a small single-copy region (SSC) of 18,212 bp, which separated by a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRA and IRB) of 25,013 bp. Moreover, 129 genes were found in the chloroplast of A. altaicus, including 85 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 36 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), 8 ribosomal RNA unit genes (rRNAs). Phylogenetic analysis showed that A. altaicus was more closely related to A. altaicus and A. altaicus var. uchiyamae. This study lays the foundation for further studies on the evolution and phylogeny of Aster.

Gallbladder microbiota in early vertebrates provides evolutionary insights into mucosal homeostasis.

The gallbladder (GB) microbiota plays critical roles in mammalian metabolism and immune homeostasis, and its relationship with human disease has been extensively studied over the past decade. However, very little is known about the interplay between GB microbiota and the immune functions of teleost fish, the earliest bony vertebrate with a GB. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the composition of the teleost GB microbiota and the potential mechanisms through which it affects mucosal immunity. In our results, we found that the GB mucosa (GM) and bile bacterial community shared a similar microbiological composition with that of the gut mucosa in naïve individuals. IHNV infection induced a profound GB inflammation and disrupted their microbial homeostasis followed by a strong anti-bacterial response. Interestingly, beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillales order showed a significant increase in the abundance of the bile microbial community, whereas the structure of the Mycoplasmatales order in the gut microbial community was markedly changed. All in all, our study characterized the structure of the GB microbial ecosystem in teleost fish, and the fish GB microbiome shared a high similarity with the gut microbiota. More importantly, our findings offer solid evidence that the teleost GB evolved immune functions to preserve its mucosal microbial homeostasis, suggesting that both the microbiota and mucosal immunity of the GB might have co-evolved in early vertebrates.

Small-Molecule Modulated Affinity-Tunable Semisynthetic Protein Switches.

Engineered protein switches have been widely applied in cell-based protein sensors and point-of-care diagnosis for the rapid and simple analysis of a wide variety of proteins, metabolites, nucleic acids, and enzymatic activities. Currently, these protein switches are based on two main types of switching mechanisms to transduce the target binding event to a quantitative signal, through a change in the optical properties of fluorescent molecules and the activation of enzymatic activities. In this paper, we introduce a new affinity-tunable protein switch strategy in which the binding of a small-molecule target with the protein activates the streptavidin-biotin interaction to generate a readout signal. In the absence of a target, the biotinylated protein switch forms a closed conformation where the biotin is positioned in close proximity to the protein, imposing a large steric hindrance to prevent the effective binding with streptavidin. In the presence of the target molecule, this steric hindrance is removed, thereby exposing the biotin for streptavidin binding to produce strong fluorescent signals. With this modular sensing concept, various sulfonamide, methotrexate, and trimethoprim drugs can be selectively detected on the cell surface of native and genetically engineered cells using different fluorescent dyes and detection techniques.

Gut mucosal immune responses and protective efficacy of oral yeast Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) vaccine in Carassius auratus gibelio.

Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) causes herpesviral hematopoietic necrosis (HVHN) disease outbreaks in farmed Cyprinid fish, which leads to serious economic losses worldwide. Although oral vaccination is considered the most suitable strategy for preventing infectious diseases in farmed fish, so far there is no commercial oral vaccine available for controlling HVNN in gibel carp (C. auratus gibelio). In the present study, we developed for the first time an oral vaccine against CyHV-2 by using yeast cell surface display technology and then investigated the effect of this vaccine in gibel carp. Furthermore, the protective efficacy was evaluated by comparing the immune response of a single vaccination with that of a booster vaccination (booster-vaccinated once 2 weeks after the initial vaccination). Critically, the activities of immune-related enzymes and genes expression in vaccine group, especially in the booster vaccine group, were higher than those in the control group. Moreover, strong innate and adaptive immune responses could be elicited in both mucosal and systemic tissues after receipt of the oral yeast vaccine. To further understand the protective efficacy of this vaccine in gibel carp, we successfully developed the challenge model with CyHV-2. Our results showed the relative percent survival was 66.7% in the booster vaccine group, indicating this oral yeast vaccine is a promising vaccine for controlling CyHV-2 disease in gibel carp aquaculture.

Optimal Nutrition Formulas for Patients Undergoing Surgery for Colorectal Cancer: A Bayesian Network Analysis.

Optimal nutrition formulas for colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery remains uncertainty. We constructed an indirect comparison study to assess comparative efficacy of different immunonutrition formulas and standard nutrition in colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov and Web of Science databases were searched to identify RCTs that compared immunonutrition with standard nutrition or different immunonutrition formulas. Data on length of hospital stays (LOS), infectious complications (IC), noninfectious complications (NIC) and anastomotic leakage (AL) were extracted from the included RCTs for Bayesian network analysis using a random-effect model. Twelve articles that included 1032 individuals were incorporated into this study. The indirect comparison confirmed the potential improvement of arginine-based immunonutrition on IC (odds ratios [OR] = 0.43, 95%confidence interval [CI]: 0.17 to 0.95), glutamine on NIC (OR = 0.07 CI: 0.00 to 0.78) and LOS (MD=-3.91 CI: -6.33 to -1.69) and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on LOS (OR=-3.49 CI: -5.46 to -1.00). Results indicated that glutamine had the highest probability of reducing complications and hospital stays. As for colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery, this indirect comparison suggested some superiority of glutamine. Future more RCTs with larger scale are required to provide evidence for the optimal immunonutrition formulas.

Grazing buffers the effect of climate change on the species diversity of seedlings in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau.

Climate change predominated by warming over the past decades has affected plant biodiversity, distribution, and ecosystem functioning in alpine grasslands. Yet, little is known about the interactive effect of climate change and grazing on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Here, we conducted a vegetation translocation experiment (ten soil-vegetation blocks were translocated from high-altitudinal site 3,245 m to low-altitudinal site 3,045 m) combined with grazing treatment in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that (a) translocation induced effect of climate change from harsh, high-altitudinal site to benign, low-altitudinal site significantly promoted species richness, and density of asexual and sexual seedling, with an increase in the proportion of asexual recruitment to sexual recruitment; (b) grazing decreased the proportion of asexual seedling to sexual recruitment within community, led to a shift in the dominant plant functional groups from graminoids and legumes to forbs; and (c) grazing partly offset the increased species richness of seedling, but not seedling density, induced by climate change. These findings suggest that moderate grazing may buffer the effect of climate change on the plant community composition, and thus, functional role in alpine meadows. Further understanding the influence of climate change on grassland ecosystems needs to consider the non-additive effect of grazing and climate change to sustainability of grassland services.

Beating Thermal Deterioration of Magnetization with Mn4C and Exchange Bias in Mn⁻C Nanoparticles.

The magnetization of most materials decreases with increasing temperature due to thermal deterioration of magnetic ordering. Here, we show that Mn4C phase can compensate the magnetization loss due to thermal agitation. The Mn⁻C nanoparticles containing ferrimagnetic Mn4C and other Mn⁻C/Mn-O phases were prepared by using the traditional arc-discharge method. A positive temperature coefficient of magnetization (~0.0026 Am² kg-1 K-1) and an exchange bias up to 0.05 T were observed in the samples. We ascribe the exchange bias to the co-existence of ferrimagnetic Mn4C/Mn3O4 and antiferromagnetic α-Mn(C)/MnO phases. The positive temperature coefficient of magnetization of the samples was ascribed to the presence of Mn4C phase, which is considered as a Néel's P-type ferrimagnet.