Unsupervised Bidirectional Contrastive Reconstruction and Adaptive Fine-Grained Channel Attention Networks for image dehazing.

Recently, Unsupervised algorithms has achieved remarkable performance in image dehazing. However, the CycleGAN framework can lead to confusion in generator learning due to inconsistent data distributions, and the DisentGAN framework lacks effective constraints on generated images, resulting in the loss of image content details and color distortion. Moreover, Squeeze and Excitation channel attention employs only fully connected layers to capture global information, lacking interaction with local information, resulting in inaccurate feature weight allocation for image dehazing. To solve the above problems, in this paper, we propose an Unsupervised Bidirectional Contrastive Reconstruction and Adaptive Fine-Grained Channel Attention Networks (UBRFC-Net). Specifically, an Unsupervised Bidirectional Contrastive Reconstruction Framework (BCRF) is proposed, aiming to establish bidirectional contrastive reconstruction constraints, not only to avoid the generator learning confusion in CycleGAN but also to enhance the constraint capability for clear images and the reconstruction ability of the unsupervised dehazing network. Furthermore, an Adaptive Fine-Grained Channel Attention (FCA) is developed to utilize the correlation matrix to capture the correlation between global and local information at various granularities promotes interaction between them, achieving more efficient feature weight assignment. Experimental results on challenging benchmark datasets demonstrate the superiority of our UBRFC-Net over state-of-the-art unsupervised image dehazing methods. This study successfully introduces an enhanced unsupervised image dehazing approach, addressing limitations of existing methods and achieving superior dehazing results. The source code is available at https://github.com/Lose-Code/UBRFC-Net.

Intratumor tertiary lymphatic structure evaluation predicts the prognosis and immunotherapy response of patients with colorectal cancer.

Background: Immune checkpoint therapy, involving the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody, has revolutionized the treatment of cancer. Tertiary lymphatic structure (TLS) serves as an immune indicator to predict the efficacy of PD-1 antibody therapy. However, there is no clear result whether the distribution, quantity, and maturity of TLS can be effective indicators for predicting the clinical efficacy of anti-PD1 immunotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: Fifty-seven patients who underwent surgical resection and thirty-nine patients who received anti-PD-1 immunotherapy were enrolled in this retrospective study. Immunohistochemical staining and multiple fluorescence immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the mismatch repair (MMR) subtypes and TLS distribution, quantity, and maturity, respectively. Results: A comprehensive patient score system was built based on TLS quantity and maturity. We found that the proportion of patients with score >1 was much higher in the deficient mismatch repair(dMMR) group than in the proficient mismatch repair(pMMR) group, and this difference was mainly due to intratumoral TLS. Patient score, based on the TLS evaluation of whole tumor, peritumor, or intratumor, was used to evaluate the efficacy of anti-PD1 immunotherapy. Based only on the intratumor TLS evaluation, the proportion of patients with a score >1 was higher in the response (PR + CR) group than in the non-response (PD) group. Multivariate analysis revealed that patient scores were positively correlated with the clinical efficacy of immunotherapy. Further analysis of immune-related progression-free survival was performed in patients with CRC who received anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Patients with score >1 based on the intratumor TLS evaluation had significantly better survival. Conclusions: These results suggest that the patient score based on intratumor TLS evaluation may be a good immune predictive indicator for PD-1 antibody therapy in patients with CRC.

TP53 Exon 5 Mutation Indicates Poor Progression-Free Survival for Patients with Stage IV NSCLC.

BACKGROUND: Genetic mutations are quite common in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), however, their prognostic value remains controversial. METHODS: This study explored the mutational landscape of tumor samples from patients with advanced NSCLC by next-generation sequencing (NGS). A total of 101 NSCLC patients in stage III or IV receiving first-line treatment were included. RESULTS: TP53 mutation was the most frequent genetic alteration in NSCLC tumors (68%), followed by EGFR (49%), CDKN2A (12%), LRP1B (9%), and FAT3 (9%) mutations. Among 85 patients with stage IV NSCLC, first-line targeted therapy remarkably prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) of patients compared with first-line chemotherapy (p = 0.0028). Among 65 patients with stage IV NSCLC whose tumors harbored EGFR, ALK, ROS, or BRAF mutations, first-line targeted therapy substantially prolonged the PFS of patients (p = 0.0027). In patients with TP53 mutations who received first-line targeted therapy or chemotherapy, missense mutation was the most common mutation type (36/78), and exon 5 represented the most common mutated site (16/78). CONCLUSIONS: TP53 mutation in exon 5 could independently predict poor PFS of patients with stage IV NSCLC after the first- line treatment. Moreover, mutations in TP53 exon 5 and LRP1B were associated with shorter PFS of such patients whether after first-line chemotherapy or targeted therapy, respectively. Thus, these patients should be given immunotherapy or immunochemotherapy.

COTE-1 promotes the proliferation and invasion of small cell lung cancer by regulating autophagy activity via the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: COTE-1 has been found to promote the proliferation and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer. However, the mechanism of COTE-1 in SCLC is still unclear. Exploring the role of COTE-1 in SCLC is expected to provide a potential target for the prognosis and treatment of SCLC. METHODS: The expression of COTE-1 and ki-67 was detected by immunohistochemical staining. PCR detected COTE-1 expression level. Cell proliferation activity was detected by CCK8 assay. A wound healing test detected cell migrative ability. Transwell invasion assay detected cell invasive ability. The numbers of autophagosomes were observed by transmission electron microscopy. WB detected the expression levels of autophagy-related proteins and AMPK/mTOR pathway-related proteins. The effect of COTE-1 expression level on the proliferation of SCLC tumor tissues was investigated by establishing a mouse SCLC xenograft tumor model. RESULTS: The expression of COTE-1 in SCLC tissues and cells was higher than that in normal tissues and cells. In SCLC cells with high COTE-1 expression, the expression level of autophagy proteins was notably increased, the number of intracellular autophagosomes increased, and the proliferative activity, migration and invasion abilities were enhanced. COTE-1 promotes autophagy, proliferation, and invasion of SCLC cells under nutrient deprivation by activating the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. Activation of autophagy by COTE-1 promotes the proliferation and development of xenograft tumors in a mouse model of SCLC. CONCLUSION: COTE-1 promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of small cell lung cancer by mediating autophagy based on the AMPK/mTOR pathway.

Chinese expert consensus on the multidisciplinary management of pneumonitis associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have successfully treated a number of different types of cancer, which is of great significance for cancer treatment. With the widespread use of ICIs in clinical practice, the increasing checkpoint inhibitor pneumonia (CIP) will be a challenge to clinicians. To guide the diagnosis and treatment of CIP, we conducted in-depth discussions based on the latest evidence, forming a consensus among Chinese experts on the multidisciplinary management of CIP.

The Rice Malectin Regulates Plant Cell Death and Disease Resistance by Participating in Glycoprotein Quality Control.

In animals, malectin is well known to play an essential role in endoplasmic reticulum quality control (ERQC) by interacting with ribophorin I, one unit of the oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) complex. However, the functions of malectin in plants remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate the rice OsMLD1 is an ER- and Golgi-associated malectin protein and physically interacts with rice homolog of ribophorin I (OsRpn1), and its disruption leads to spontaneous lesion mimic lesions, enhanced disease resistance, and prolonged ER stress. In addition, there are many more N-glycosites and N-glycoproteins identified from the mld1 mutant than wildtype. Furthermore, OsSERK1 and OsSERK2, which have more N-glycosites in mld1, were demonstrated to interact with OsMLD1. OsMLD1 can suppress OsSERK1- or OsSERK2-induced cell death. Thus, OsMLD1 may play a similar role to its mammalian homologs in glycoprotein quality control, thereby regulating cell death and immunity of rice, which uncovers the function of malectin in plants.

Prediction of immune-related adverse events in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors based on clinical and hematological markers: Real-world evidence.

Clinical and hematological parameters can predict immune-related adverse events (irAEs) caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, the exact correlation between these parameters and irAEs is unclear. This study aimed to establish a prediction model for irAEs in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with ICIs. This retrospective study included patients with NSCLC treated with a minimum of one dose of ICIs at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Shanxi Bethune Hospital from 2016 to 2020. Baseline characteristics, treatment details, and adverse events were evaluated. The Student's t-test, Chi-square test, and logistic regression were used to identify risk factors for irAEs to establish a prediction model. A total of 667 patients were included; the median age was 62.47 (range, 27-85) years. Most patients were men (74.5%) with stage IV cancer (93.1%). The incidence of any grade and grade 3 or higher irAEs was 21.74% (145/667) and 5.25% (35/667), respectively. A total of 145 patients experienced 220 irAEs; the incidence of endocrinopathies (35.91%, 79/220) was highest in all grade irAEs, while that of pneumonitis (7.73%, 17/220) was the highest in grade 3 or higher irAEs. A prediction model based on treatment lines, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), and systemic immune inflammation index was established. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.722 (95% confidence interval: 0.650-0.793), with a cut-off value of 0.247 and a sensitivity and specificity of 62.9% and 74.6%, respectively. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of irAEs was higher in patients undergoing second-line therapy than in those undergoing treatment with adjuvant therapy (odds ratio [OR] = 8.239, p = 0.011). AST (OR = 1.053, p = 0.007) and ALC (OR = 2.556, p = 0.001) showed a positive correlation with the risk of irAEs, while LDH showed a negative correlation with irAEs (OR = 0.994, p = 0.007). The model showed good prediction efficiency, whereas the treatment lines, AST, ALC, and LDH were independent risk factors for the onset of irAEs.

The prognostic impact of mild and severe immune-related adverse events in non-small cell lung cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a multicenter retrospective study.

Patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) often experience unique immune-related adverse events (irAEs), and the previous studies demonstrated an association between irAEs and better outcomes in patients with ICI treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the correlation between the occurrence of mild and severe irAEs and prognosis remains unclear. Additionally, little is known regarding the association between the timing of mild and severe irAEs and clinical outcomes. We retrospectively conducted a multicenter study of advanced NSCLC patients treated with ICI monotherapy. Of the 222 patients, 79 patients (35.6%) experienced at least one irAE, and most were of grade 1 or 2 (mild) (26.6%). The most common irAEs were pneumonitis (n = 21, 9.5%) and skin-related adverse reactions (n = 19, 8.6%). The median progression-free survival of all patients treated with ICIs was 3.2 months. Patients experiencing irAEs had a better prognosis than those without such events (6.5 vs. 2.6 months, p = 0.004), and mild irAEs were associated with the best prognosis. The difference in overall survival between mild and severe irAEs was significant (34.3 vs. 17.3 months, p = 0.021). We further analyzed differences between patients with irAEs occurring at 3 or 6 weeks, and found that the earlier the occurrence of mild irAEs, the better the prognosis; however, the opposite was true for severe irAEs. In summary, patients with early occurring mild irAEs showed better clinical outcomes, whereas those with early severe irAEs tended to show poorer clinical outcomes.

Plasma D-Dimer Level Correlates with Age, Metastasis, Recurrence, Tumor-Node-Metastasis Classification (TNM), and Treatment of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at teasing out the correlation of plasma D-dimer (D-D) levels to age, metastasis, TNM stage (tumor-node-metastasis classification), and treatment in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients of different ages, to facilitate early diagnosis of hypercoagulable state, choose appropriate treatment, and use appropriate anticoagulants. Hence, thrombosis and complications caused by excessive anticoagulants can be prevented; thrombus or disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and other complications in elderly patients with NSCLC can be reduced or avoided. By monitoring the level of plasma D-D in patients with NSCLC, recurrence and metastasis can be predicted in the early stage and the TNM stage can be evaluated. METHODS: A total of 670 patients with NSCLC were selected in Shanxi Bethune Hospital from March 2014 to October 2020 as the experimental group, and 950 healthy people were selected from the physical examination center of the same hospital as the control group. The data of patients with NSCLC diagnosed for the first time without any treatment were collected and grouped based on metastasis, TNM stage, treatment, and pathological type, and the correlation with plasma D-D level was analyzed. Plasma D-D levels were measured by immunoturbidimetry on an ACL TOP 700 Automatic Coagulation Analyzer. The patients were further divided into two groups according to different treatment methods, and the differences in plasma D-D levels between patients receiving chemotherapy and those receiving targeted therapy in different treatment cycles were analyzed. The correlation between D-D levels and age in healthy controls was analyzed. The difference in D-D levels between NSCLC patients and healthy controls of the same age was analyzed. RESULTS: All data of both the experimental group and the control group were normally distributed. The average age of the experimental group was 61.31 ± 6.23 (range: 36-92) years. The average age of the control group was 61.14 ± 11.12 (range: 35-85) years. There was no significant difference in gender between the experimental group and the control group (p > 0.05). The plasma D-D level of NSCLC patients was significantly higher than that of the healthy controls (p < 0.05). No significant difference in plasma D-D level was found between NSCLC patients of different genders, and the finding was similar between healthy controls of different genders (p > 0.05). Significant difference in the D-D level was found between the groups of 30-59 years and 60-69 years (p < 0.05), between groups of 60-69 years and 70-79 years (p < 0.05), and between 70-79 years and ≥80 years (p < 0.05). The plasma D-D level of patients ≤ 79 years old increased with age, but it decreased in those over 80 years old. According to Pearson correlation analysis, there was a positive correlation between the D-D level and the age of NSCLC patients under 79 years old (p < 0.05). The differences in D-D levels between the four age groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05), showing an upward trend of the D-D level in healthy controls with the increase of age. There were statistically significant differences in D-D levels between NSCLC patients and healthy controls of the matching age group (p < 0.05), suggesting that NSCLC patients had significantly higher D-D levels than healthy people of the same age group. The differences in D-D levels between NSCLC patients without metastasis, NSCLC patients with metastasis, and healthy people were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The patients with metastasis had the highest D-D level, and healthy people had the lowest D-D level. The difference in plasma D-D levels between patients of different TNM stages was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Patients with an advanced TNM stage tended to have higher D-D levels. The TNM stage and D-D level of NSCLC patients changed significantly before and after treatment. An earlier stage was related to a more obvious change in D-D levels after treatment with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). A more advanced stage was associated with a smaller change in the D-D level after treatment, with no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). The plasma D-D levels before and after four cycles of chemotherapy or targeted therapy were higher than those of the healthy control group, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The D-D level of patients after chemotherapy was significantly lower than that before chemotherapy (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference before and after targeted therapy (p > 0.05). The D-D level after the first cycle of chemotherapy was higher than that before chemotherapy. The level of D-D after the third and fourth cycles was significantly lower than that before chemotherapy (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found between the D-D level before treatment and that after four cycles of chemotherapy (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: It is suggested that coagulation test indexes should be included to evaluate the treatment regimen for NSCLC patients. Most patients with NSCLC are in a hypercoagulable state, which is related to age, tumor invasion and metastasis, recurrence, and treatment. Regular monitoring of plasma D-D levels can facilitate early diagnosis of a hypercoagulable state and timely and appropriate use of anticoagulants, to avoid or reduce complications such as venous thromboembolism in NSCLC patients and to prevent the risk of bleeding caused by excessive anticoagulants. Clinicians can choose the treatment with less harm and maximum benefit for NSCLC patients based on the plasma D-D level. When in a hypercoagulable state, the body's blood viscosity increases, making it more conducive to the growth and infiltration of tumor cells. Our study shows that the recurrence and metastasis of NSCLC are related to coagulation indexes, which provides a theoretical basis for the early diagnosis and treatment of recurrent and metastatic NSCLC.

Genomic Landscape and Tumor Mutational Burden Determination of Circulating Tumor DNA in Over 5,000 Chinese Patients with Lung Cancer.

PURPOSE: Having emerged as a noninvasive and clinically applicable approach for molecular determination of lung cancer, a genomic overview of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) of large-scale cohort may be helpful in novel biomarker development and therapeutic innovation. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Primary cohort encompasses 5,671 blood samples from 4,892 patients with lung cancer. Pair-wise tissue samples from 579 patients and additional 358 sample pairs were collected to evaluate the correlation between blood and tissue tumor mutational burden (TMB). Parallel sequencing with plasma/tissue and white blood cells was performed using a 1,021-gene panel. RESULTS: Histologic subtyping was the most relevant to ctDNA detectability independent of other demographic characteristics, with small cell lung cancer showing the highest detectability, ctDNA abundance, and blood TMB (bTMB). Mutational landscape demonstrated significant differences, and integrated clonality analysis highlighted distinct driver-pattern and functional pathway interaction among various subtypes. The clonality and concurrent genes of EGFR mutations could predict the therapeutic efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), and RB1 mutations in non-small cell lung cancer characterized a subset with high bTMB, elevated ctDNA level, and potential small cell transformation. Most importantly, we developed an adjusted algorithm for bTMB in samples with extremely low ctDNA level and validated its correlation with tissue TMB in an independent cohort. CONCLUSIONS: ctDNA could serve as a promising alternative in genomic profiling for lung cancer. The novel identification of ctDNA clonality and adjusted bTMB might improve therapeutic and prognostic evaluation. This dataset was also a valuable resource for the development of new therapeutic targets and new genomically guided clinical trials.

OsNBL3, a mitochondrion-localized pentatricopeptide repeat protein, is involved in splicing nad5 intron 4 and its disruption causes lesion mimic phenotype with enhanced resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Lesion mimic mutants are used to elucidate mechanisms controlling plant responses to pathogen attacks and environmental stresses. Although dozens of genes had been functionally demonstrated to be involved in lesion mimic phenotype in several plant species, the molecular mechanisms underlying the hypersensitive response are largely unknown. Here, a rice (Oryza sativa) lesion mimic mutant natural blight leaf 3 (nbl3) was identified from T-DNA insertion lines. The causative gene, OsNBL3, encodes a mitochondrion-localized pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein. The nbl3 mutant exhibited spontaneous cell death response and H2 O2 accumulation, and displayed enhanced resistance to the fungal and bacterial pathogens Magnaporthe oryzae and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. This resistance was consistent with the up-regulation of several defence-related genes; thus, defence responses were induced in nbl3. RNA interference lines of OsNBL3 exhibited enhanced disease resistance similar to that of nbl3, while the disease resistance in overexpression lines did not differ from that of the wild type. In addition, nbl3 displayed improved tolerance to salt, accompanied by up-regulation of several salt-associated marker genes. OsNBL3 was found to mainly participate in the splicing of mitochondrial gene nad5 intron 4. Disruption of OsNBL3 leads to the reduction in complex I activity, the elevation of alternative respiratory pathways and the destruction of mitochondrial morphology. Overall, the results demonstrated that the PPR protein-coding gene OsNBL3 is essential for mitochondrial development and functions, and its disruption causes the lesion mimic phenotype and enhances disease resistance and tolerance to salt in rice.

Genomic alterations and clinical outcomes in patients with lung adenocarcinoma with transformation to small cell lung cancer after treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors: A multicenter retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Transformation to small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a resistance mechanism to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment that develops in lung adenocarcinoma. The genomic and treatment outcomes in these populations have not been comprehensively reported in China. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study analyzing patients with advanced non-SCLC (NSCLC) from eight sites who were diagnosed with SCLC transformation after receiving epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-TKI treatment including first/second- or third-generation EGFR-TKIs. We assessed the genomic features and clinical prognosis in these patients with EGFR-mutated lung cancer. RESULTS: Thirty-two eligible patients with EGFR mutations were identified, 25 of whom had sufficient tumor tissues for detection of genes by next-generation sequencing. The median progression free survival (mPFS) for first/second-generation TKIs was 14.0 months. The most common mutations identified in samples with transformation to SCLC were in TP53 (17/25, 68.0 %), RB1 (9/25, 36.0 %), and PIK3CA (3/25, 12.0 %), and the incidence rates of RB1 and TP53 mutations were similar between patients receiving first/second-generation and third-generation TKI treatment. The estimated median time to SCLC transformation was 17.0 months. After SCLC transformation, platinum-etoposide was the most common treatment regimen, and the mPFS after platinum-etoposide treatment was 3.5 months. Anlotinib showed good efficacy in these patients (overall response rate, 66.7 %; mPFS, 6.2 months). The median overall survival after the initial diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer was 34.5 months, and patients with small cell transformation after third-generation TKI treatment had better prognosis than patients with transformation after first/second-generation treatment (49.4 months vs. 20.0 months, P = 0.013). CONCLUSION: We observed that TP53 and RB1 mutations were common in Chinese patients with SCLC transformation, regardless of whether first/second-generation or third-generation EGFR-TKI treatments were used. Earlier occurrence of small cell transformation after EGFR-TKI treatment was associated with poorer prognosis of patients. After the standard chemotherapy regimens for the management of primary SCLC, anlotinib may be a therapeutic option.

A real-world study in advanced non-small cell lung cancer with de novo brain metastasis.

Brain metastases are the major cause of life-expectancy shortened for patients with lung cancer. The prognostic value of EGFR mutation subtypes and survival benefit of EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with de novo brain metastasis is still not clear. Here, we present a real-world study nation-wide focusing on the prognostic value of genomic and therapeutic factors in overall survival (OS) of those patients. We enrolled a total of 233 patients diagnosed with advanced NSCLC and de novo BM from multi-medical centers across China. The enrolled patients were divided into 4 groups, including EGFR 19del, EGFR L858R, EGFR wild-type, and EGFR unknown groups. The median OS of patients with EGFR mutations and all patients were 29.0 and 25.0 months, respectively. There was significant difference in OS of patients among EGFR 19del (n=76), EGFR L858R (n=94), EGFR wild-type (n=46) and EGFR unknown (n=17) groups (30.5 vs 27.5 vs 16.0 vs 25.0, P=0.025). Patients treated by icotinib showed better OS than gefitinib and erlotinib (31.0 vs 25.5 vs 26.5, P=0.02). There was a difference in OS of patients received the whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), or WBRT+SRS (20.0 vs 31.0 vs 30.0 months, P<0.001), respectively. In multivariate analysis, patients treated with icotinib had superior iPFS benefit than gefitinib and erlotinib (HR=0.86[95%CI (0.74-1.0)], P=0.04). Besides, the histology of non-adenocarcinomas, the number of BM (>3), and extracranial metastases status could have an independent negative impact on the OS of all patients (P<0.001). EGFR mutant NSCLC patients with de novo BM had a better OS than patients with EGFR wild type. Patients treated with icotinib had longer iPFS than gefitinib and erlotinib but not in OS. Non-adenocarcinomas, number of BM (>3) and extracranial metastases were independent negative prognostic factors in iPFS and OS of all patients. Prospective clinical trials are warranted to explore more effective multimodality in this population.

PRR34-AS1 sponges miR-498 to facilitate TOMM20 and ITGA6 mediated tumor progression in HCC.

BACKGROUND: The researches on PRR34 antisense RNA 1 (PRR34-AS1) have been limited. Both translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20 (TOMM20) and integrin subunit alpha 6 (ITGA6) have been proven to facilitate cancer progression. Whether TOMM20 or ITGA6 affects hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression has never been investigated. Some studies showed that microRNA 498 (miR-498) can suppress HCC progression. Additionally, the influence of ceRNA network (including PRR34-AS1, miR-498, and TOMM20 or ITGA6) on HCC progression has not been inquired into yet. METHODS: The knockdown or overexpression efficiency was validated via RT-qPCR. Also, RT-qPCR was applied to detect the expression of PRR34-AS1, miR-498, TOMM20, and ITGA6. Cell proliferation in HCC was tested via EdU and colony formation assays. Transwell assays presented the migratory and invasive capabilities of HCC cells. Subcellular fractionation and FISH assays showed the subcellular localization of PRR34-AS1. RNA pull down and luciferase reporter assays were performed to explore whether miR-498 combines with PRR34-AS1, TOMM20 or ITGA6. Western blot was conducted to detect protein expression. Rescue experiments were conducted to verify the relationship among PRR34-AS1, miR-498, TOMM20, and ITGA6. RESULTS: The expressions of PRR34-AS1, TOMM20, and ITGA6 were markedly high in HCC cell lines while miR-498 was lowly expressed. PRR34-AS1, TOMM20, and ITGA6 promoted HCC progression while miR-498 suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCC. Furthermore, PRR34-AS1, TOMM20, and ITGA6 combined with miR-498. CONCLUSION: PRR34-AS1 facilitates HCC progression by regulating miR-498/TOMM20/ITGA6 axis.

OsNBL1, a Multi-Organelle Localized Protein, Plays Essential Roles in Rice Senescence, Disease Resistance, and Salt Tolerance.

BACKGROUND: Plant senescence is a complicated process involving multiple regulations, such as temperature, light, reactive oxygen species (ROS), endogenous hormone levels, and diseases. Although many such genes have been characterized to understand the process of leaf senescence, there still remain many unknowns, and many more genes need to be characterized. RESULTS: We identified a rice mutant nbl1 with a premature leaf senescence phenotype. The causative gene, OsNBL1, encodes a small protein with 94 amino acids, which is conserved in monocot, as well as dicot plants. Disruption of OsNBL1 resulted in accelerated dark-induced leaf senescence, accompanied by a reduction in chlorophyll content and up-regulation of several senescence-associated genes. Notably, the nbl1 mutant was more susceptible to rice blast and bacterial blight but more tolerant to sodium chloride. Several salt-induced genes, including HAK1, HAK5, and three SNAC genes, were also up-regulated in the nbl1 mutant. Additionally, the nbl1 mutant was more sensitive to salicylic acid. Plants overexpressing OsNBL1 showed delayed dark-induced senescence, consistent with a higher chlorophyll content compared to wild-type plants. However, the overexpression plants were indistinguishable from the wild-types for resistance to the rice blast disease. OsNBL1 is a multi-organelle localized protein and interacts with OsClpP6, which is associated with senescence. CONCLUSIONS: We described a novel leaf senescence mutant nbl1 in rice. It is showed that OsNBL1, a multi-organelle localized protein which interacts with a plastidic caseinolytic protease OsClpP6, is essential for controlling leaf senescence, disease resistance, and salt tolerance.

A novel glycine-rich domain protein, GRDP1, functions as a critical feedback regulator for controlling cell death and disease resistance in rice.

Lesion mimic mutants constitute a valuable genetic resource for unraveling the signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms governing the programmed cell death and defense responses of plants. Here, we identified a lesion mimic mutant, spl-D, from T-DNA insertion rice lines. The mutant exhibited higher accumulation of H2O2, spontaneous cell death, decreased chlorophyll content, up-regulation of defense-related genes, and enhanced disease resistance. The causative gene, OsGRDP1, encodes a cytosol- and membrane-associated glycine-rich domain protein. OsGRDP1 was expressed constitutively in all of the organs of the wild-type plant, but was up-regulated throughout plant development in the spl-D mutant. Both the overexpression and knockdown (RNAi) of OsGRDP1 resulted in the lesion mimic phenotype. Moreover, the intact-protein level of OsGRDP1 was reduced in the spotted leaves from both overexpression and RNAi plants, suggesting that the disruption of intact OsGRDP1 is responsible for lesion formation. OsGRDP1 interacted with an aspartic proteinase, OsAP25. In the spl-D and overexpression plants, proteinase activity was elevated, and lesion formation was partially suppressed by an aspartic proteinase inhibitor. Taken together, our results reveal that OsGRDP1 is a critical feedback regulator, thus contributing to the elucidation of the mechanism underlying cell death and disease resistance.

Analysis of the Clinical Efficacy of Dendritic Cell -cytokine Induced Killer Cell-based Adoptive Immunotherapy for Colorectal Cancer.

Background: To analyze the efficacy and safety of dendritic cell - cytokine - induced killer (DC-CIK) immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. Method: A retrospective analysis was conducted in 116 patients from February 2012 to December 2017, who were divided into postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy group alone, combined DC-CIK immunotherapy group, advanced cancer palliative care group, and palliative care + DC-CIK immunotherapy group, to evaluate cellular immune function, disease-free survival(DFS) and overall survival(OS). Results: In the adjuvant therapy and palliative care group, the percentages of CD3+, CD8+ and NK cells after treatment were significantly lower than before, whereas in the other two groups given DC-CIK immunotherapy, the percentages of CD3+, CD8+, NK and NKT cells after treatment were all higher than before, with a significant increase compared with the chemotherapy group (P < .05). DFS (42.4 ± 5.26 m) in the group receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy + DC-CIK immunotherapy was significantly longer than that (23.5 ± 2.79 m) in the group only given postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (P < .05). OS in the group receiving palliative care + DC-CIK immunotherapy was slightly longer than that in the group only given palliative care for advanced cancer (29 m vs 26 m, P > .05).Conclusion: Combination with DC-CIK immunotherapy could effectively improve cellular immune function. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in combination with DC-CIK immunotherapy could significantly prolong DFS, but palliative care in combination with DC-CIK immunotherapy did not significantly prolong OS in patients with advanced cancer.

Overexpression of HHLA2 in human clear cell renal cell carcinoma is significantly associated with poor survival of the patients.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that human clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a highly immunogenic and chemo-resistant tumor. Recently, emerging data suggest that the immune checkpoint blockade therapy is an important breakthrough in the treatment against ccRCC. HHLA2, a recently reported member of B7 family, is uniquely expressed in humans but not in mice, and it plays an important role in the functional inhibition of CD4 and CD8 T cells. Herein, we aimed to study the clinical implications of HHLA2 expression in human ccRCC and its potential regulatory role in the biological functions of the cancer cells. METHODS: In the present study, we examined HHLA2 expression in human ccRCC tissues and analyzed the clinical implications as well as prognostic value. The intervention of HHLA2 in human ccRCC cell lines ACHN and 786-O was performed and its effect on the cellular function of the cells was also analyzed. We also identified the differentially expressed genes upon HHLA2 knockdown in ccRCC cell lines by using gene microarray analysis. RESULTS: We found that higher HHLA2 mRNA expression level in human ccRCC tissues compared with that in adjacent normal tissues based on TCGA data, and the HHLA2 expression at mRNA level was positively and significantly correlated with PD-L1, PD-L2, B7-H6, but negatively and significantly correlated with B7-H3. Moreover, our immunohistochemistry study showed that the staining intensity of HHLA2 in human ccRCC tissues was significantly higher than that in the adjacent normal tissues, and the overall survival rate of ccRCC patients with higher HHLA2 expression was significantly poorer than that of the patients with lower HHLA2 expression. Higher expression of HHLA2 in ccRCC tissues was positively and significantly associated with larger tumor size and advanced TNM stage. The COX model revealed that the parameters including patient's age, TNM stage and HHLA2 expression level could be used as the independent risk factors respectively for the prognostic prediction of the patients. Our cellular study showed that upon knockdown of HHLA2 expression in human ccRCC cell lines, the cell viability, the migration and the invasion ability were significantly inhibited, while the cell cycle arrest at G1 phase was induced and the expressions of Cyclin D1, c-Myc and Cyclin E1 were decreased. In addition, according to the microarray data, the expressions of epithelia-to-mesenchymal transition markers, such as E-cadherin, N-cadherin and Vimentin, were significantly changed after knockdown of HHLA2 expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that HHLA2 was involved in the progression of human ccRCC and could be used as an important prognostic predictor for this malignancy.

Clinical efficacy of DC-CIK immunotherapy in treatment of advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@#［ ［Abstract］ ］Objective: To analyze and compare the clinical efficacy and safety of dendritic cell cytokine-induced killer cells (DCCIK) combined with palliative therapy or chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced pancreatic carcinoma. Methods: A retrospective study was carried on 50 patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma who were hospitalized in department of oncology of Shanxi Dayi Hospital during September 2012 to February 2016. The patients were divided into four groups according to the therapy they received (palliative treatment group, palliative+DC-CIK treatment group, chemotherapy group and chemotherapy+DC-CIK treatment group); the immunological function, quality of life and survival time of patients were analyzed; and the efficacy and safety of DC-CIK cell therapy was also evaluated. Results: The percentages of CD8+ T cells and NKT cells in DC-CIK combined therapy groups were significantly improved compared with that of pre-treatment, and the percentages of CD3+, CD8+, NK, NKT cells were increased compared with control groups (P<0.05). The quality of life of patients was significantly improved (P<0.05), while median PFS and median OS were improved but without statistical significance (P>0.05). Conclusion: Compared with palliative therapy and chemotherapy alone, combined DC-CIK immunotherapy can effectively improve the cellular immunity function and quality of life in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. However, there was no significant extension in overall survival.