Soft strain-insensitive bioelectronics featuring brittle materials.

Advancing electronics to interact with tissue necessitates meeting material constraints in electrochemical, electrical, and mechanical domains simultaneously. Clinical bioelectrodes with established electrochemical functionalities are rigid and mechanically mismatched with tissue. Whereas conductive materials with tissue-like softness and stretchability are demonstrated, when applied to electrochemically probe tissue, their performance is distorted by strain and corrosion. We devise a layered architectural composite design that couples strain-induced cracked films with a strain-isolated out-of-plane conductive pathway and in-plane nanowire networks to eliminate strain effects on device electrochemical performance. Accordingly, we developed a library of stretchable, highly conductive, and strain-insensitive bioelectrodes featuring clinically established brittle interfacial materials (iridium-oxide, gold, platinum, and carbon). We paired these bioelectrodes with different electrochemical probing methods (amperometry, voltammetry, and potentiometry) and demonstrated strain-insensitive sensing of multiple biomarkers and in vivo neuromodulation.

CDKN1A is a target for phagocytosis-mediated cellular immunotherapy in acute leukemia.

Targeting the reprogramming and phagocytic capacities of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) has emerged as a therapeutic opportunity for cancer treatment. Here, we demonstrate that tumor cell phagocytosis drives the pro-inflammatory activation of TAMs and identify a key role for the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor CDKN1A (p21). Through the transcriptional repression of Signal-Regularity Protein α (SIRPα), p21 promotes leukemia cell phagocytosis and, subsequently, the pro-inflammatory reprogramming of phagocytic macrophages that extends to surrounding macrophages through Interferon γ. In mouse models of human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), infusion of human monocytes (Mos) engineered to overexpress p21 (p21TD-Mos) leads to Mo differentiation into phagocytosis-proficient TAMs that, after leukemia cell engulfment, undergo pro-inflammatory activation and trigger the reprogramming of bystander TAMs, reducing the leukemic burden and substantially prolonging survival in mice. These results reveal p21 as a trigger of phagocytosis-guided pro-inflammatory TAM reprogramming and highlight the potential for p21TD-Mo-based cellular therapy as a cancer immunotherapy.

Emerging use of senolytics and senomorphics against aging and chronic diseases.

Senescence is a state of cell cycle arrest that plays an important role in embryogenesis, wound healing and protection against cancer. Senescent cells also accumulate during aging and contribute to the development of age-related disorders and chronic diseases, such as atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and liver disease. Molecules that induce apoptosis of senescent cells, such as dasatinib, quercetin, and fisetin, produce health benefits and extend lifespan in animal models. We describe here the mechanism of action of senolytics and senomorphics, many of which are derived from plants and fungi. We also discuss the possibility of using such compounds to delay aging and treat chronic diseases in humans.

A Mouse Model to Investigate the Role of Cancer-associated Fibroblasts in Tumor Growth.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) can play an important role in tumor growth by creating a tumor-promoting microenvironment. Models to study the role of CAFs in the tumor microenvironment can be helpful for understanding the functional importance of fibroblasts, fibroblasts from different tissues, and specific genetic factors in fibroblasts. Mouse models are essential for understanding the contributors to tumor growth and progression in an in vivo context. Here, a protocol in which cancer cells are mixed with fibroblasts and introduced into mice to develop tumors is provided. Tumor sizes over time and final tumor weights are determined and compared among groups. The protocol described can provide more insight into the functional role of CAFs in tumor growth and progression.

HIV-1 Envelope Overcomes NLRP3-Mediated Inhibition of F-Actin Polymerization for Viral Entry.

Purinergic receptors and nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat containing (NLR) proteins have been shown to control viral infection. Here, we show that the NLR family member NLRP3 and the purinergic receptor P2Y2 constitutively interact and regulate susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. We found that NLRP3 acts as an inhibitory factor of viral entry that represses F-actin remodeling. The binding of the HIV-1 envelope to its host cell receptors (CD4, CXCR4, and/or CCR5) overcomes this restriction by stimulating P2Y2. Once activated, P2Y2 enhances its interaction with NLRP3 and stimulates the recruitment of the E3 ubiquitin ligase CBL to NLRP3, ultimately leading to NLRP3 degradation. NLRP3 degradation is permissive for PYK2 phosphorylation (PYK2Y402∗) and subsequent F-actin polymerization, which is required for the entry of HIV-1 into host cells. Taken together, our results uncover a mechanism by which HIV-1 overcomes NLRP3 restriction that appears essential for the accomplishment of the early steps of HIV-1 entry.

Anticancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy trigger both non-cell-autonomous and cell-autonomous death.

Even though cell death modalities elicited by anticancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy have been extensively studied, the ability of anticancer treatments to induce non-cell-autonomous death has never been investigated. By means of multispectral imaging flow-cytometry-based technology, we analyzed the lethal fate of cancer cells that were treated with conventional anticancer agents and co-cultured with untreated cells, observing that anticancer agents can simultaneously trigger cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous death in treated and untreated cells. After ionizing radiation, oxaliplatin, or cisplatin treatment, fractions of treated cancer cell populations were eliminated through cell-autonomous death mechanisms, while other fractions of the treated cancer cells engulfed and killed neighboring cells through non-cell-autonomous processes, including cellular cannibalism. Under conditions of treatment with paclitaxel, non-cell-autonomous and cell-autonomous death were both detected in the treated cell population, while untreated neighboring cells exhibited features of apoptotic demise. The transcriptional activity of p53 tumor-suppressor protein contributed to the execution of cell-autonomous death, yet failed to affect the non-cell-autonomous death by cannibalism for the majority of tested anticancer agents, indicating that the induction of non-cell-autonomous death can occur under conditions in which cell-autonomous death was impaired. Altogether, these results reveal that chemotherapy and radiotherapy can induce both non-cell-autonomous and cell-autonomous death of cancer cells, highlighting the heterogeneity of cell death responses to anticancer treatments and the unsuspected potential contribution of non-cell-autonomous death to the global effects of anticancer treatment.

NOX2-dependent ATM kinase activation dictates pro-inflammatory macrophage phenotype and improves effectiveness to radiation therapy.

Although tumor-associated macrophages have been extensively studied in the control of response to radiotherapy, the molecular mechanisms involved in the ionizing radiation-mediated activation of macrophages remain elusive. Here we show that ionizing radiation induces the expression of interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) promoting thus macrophage activation toward a pro-inflammatory phenotype. We reveal that the activation of the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase is required for ionizing radiation-elicited macrophage activation, but also for macrophage reprogramming after treatments with γ-interferon, lipopolysaccharide or chemotherapeutic agent (such as cisplatin), underscoring the fact that the kinase ATM plays a central role during macrophage phenotypic switching toward a pro-inflammatory phenotype through the regulation of mRNA level and post-translational modifications of IRF5. We further demonstrate that NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2)-dependent ROS production is upstream to ATM activation and is essential during this process. We also report that the inhibition of any component of this signaling pathway (NOX2, ROS and ATM) impairs pro-inflammatory activation of macrophages and predicts a poor tumor response to preoperative radiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer. Altogether, our results identify a novel signaling pathway involved in macrophage activation that may enhance the effectiveness of radiotherapy through the reprogramming of tumor-infiltrating macrophages.

Entosis: The emerging face of non-cell-autonomous type IV programmed death.

The present review summarizes recent experimental evidences about the existence of the non-cell-autonomous death entosis in physiological and pathophysiological contexts, discusses some aspects of this form of cell death, including morphological, biochemical and signaling pathways that distinguish non-cell-autonomous demises from other death modalities and propose to define this new modality of death as type IV programmed cell death.

Multifaceted roles of purinergic receptors in viral infection.

Extracellular nucleotides and purinergic receptors participate in numerous cellular processes during viral infection. Despite their positive role in the immune response, purinergic signals can also favor the infection of cells by viruses and the pathogeny of viral diseases. Here, we highlight the multiple ambiguous roles of purinergic receptors in viral infections.

Extracellular ATP acts on P2Y2 purinergic receptors to facilitate HIV-1 infection.

Extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) can activate purinergic receptors of the plasma membrane and modulate multiple cellular functions. We report that ATP is released from HIV-1 target cells through pannexin-1 channels upon interaction between the HIV-1 envelope protein and specific target cell receptors. Extracellular ATP then acts on purinergic receptors, including P2Y2, to activate proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) kinase and transient plasma membrane depolarization, which in turn stimulate fusion between Env-expressing membranes and membranes containing CD4 plus appropriate chemokine co-receptors. Inhibition of any of the constituents of this cascade (pannexin-1, ATP, P2Y2, and Pyk2) impairs the replication of HIV-1 mutant viruses that are resistant to conventional antiretroviral agents. Altogether, our results reveal a novel signaling pathway involved in the early steps of HIV-1 infection that may be targeted with new therapeutic approaches.

Estimates of the cancer burden in Europe from radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident.

The Chernobyl accident, which occurred April 26, 1986, resulted in a large release of radionuclides, which were deposited over a very wide area, particularly in Europe. Although an increased risk of thyroid cancer in exposed children has been clearly demonstrated in the most contaminated regions, the impact of the accident on the risk of other cancers as well as elsewhere in Europe is less clear. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the human cancer burden in Europe as a whole from radioactive fallout from the accident. Average country- and region-specific whole-body and thyroid doses from Chernobyl were estimated using new dosimetric models and radiological data. Numbers of cancer cases and deaths possibly attributable to radiation from Chernobyl were estimated, applying state-of-the-art risk models derived from studies of other irradiated populations. Simultaneously, trends in cancer incidence and mortality were examined over time and by dose level. The risk projections suggest that by now Chernobyl may have caused about 1,000 cases of thyroid cancer and 4,000 cases of other cancers in Europe, representing about 0.01% of all incident cancers since the accident. Models predict that by 2065 about 16,000 (95% UI 3,400-72,000) cases of thyroid cancer and 25,000 (95% UI 11,000-59,000) cases of other cancers may be expected due to radiation from the accident, whereas several hundred million cancer cases are expected from other causes. Although these estimates are subject to considerable uncertainty, they provide an indication of the order of magnitude of the possible impact of the Chernobyl accident. It is unlikely that the cancer burden from the largest radiological accident to date could be detected by monitoring national cancer statistics. Indeed, results of analyses of time trends in cancer incidence and mortality in Europe do not, at present, indicate any increase in cancer rates -- other than of thyroid cancer in the most contaminated regions -- that can be clearly attributed to radiation from the Chernobyl accident.