Lymphoma cell-driven IL-16 is expressed in activated B-cell-like diffuse large Bcell lymphomas and regulates the pro-tumor microenvironment.

The activated B-cell-like subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ABC-DLBCL) displays a worse outcome than the germinal center B-cell-like subtype (GCB-DLBCL). Currently, targeting tumor microenvironment (TME) is the promising approach to cure DLBCL with profound molecular heterogeneity, however, the factors affecting the tumor-promoting TME of ABCDLBCL are elusive. Here, cytokine interleukin-16 (IL-16) is expressed in tumor cells of ABCDLBCL and secreted by the cleavage of active caspase-3. The serum IL-16 levels are not only a sensitive marker of treatment response but also positively correlated with unfavorable prognosis in DLBCL patients. While IL-16 shows few direct promotional effects on tumor cell growth in vitro, its bioactive form significantly promotes tumor progression in vivo. Mechanically, IL-16 increases the infiltration of macrophages by the chemotaxis of CD4+ monocytes in the TME enhancing angiogenesis, and the expression of cytokine IL-6 and IL-10, as well as decreasing T cell infiltration to accelerate tumor progression. This study demonstrates that IL-16 exerts a novel role in coordinating the bidirectional interactions between tumor progression and the TME. IMM0306, a fusion protein of CD20 mAb with the CD47 binding domain of SIRPα, reverses the tumorpromoting effects of IL-16,which provides new insight into treatment strategy in ABC-DLBCL.

LILRB4 represents a promising target for immunotherapy by dual targeting tumor cells and myeloid-derived suppressive cells in multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable hematological malignancy. Despite tremendous advances in the treatment, about 10% of patients still have very poor outcomes with median overall survival less than 24 months. Our study aimed to underscore the critical mechanisms pertaining to the rapid disease progression and provide novel therapeutic selection for these ultra-high-risk patients. We utilized single-cell transcriptomic sequencing to dissect the characteristic bone marrow niche of patients with survival of less than two years (EM24). Notably, an enrichment of LILRB4high pre-matured plasma-cell cluster was observed in the patients in EM24 compared to patients with durable remission. This cluster exhibited aggressive proliferation and drug-resistance phenotype. High-level LILRB4 promoted MM clonogenicity and progression. Clinically, high expression of LILRB4 was correlated with poor prognosis in both newly diagnosed MM patients and relapsed/refractory MM patients. The ATAC-seq analysis identified that high chromosomal accessibility caused the elevation of LILRB4 on MM cells. CRISPR-Cas9 deletion of LILRB4 alleviated the growth of MM cells, inhibited the immunosuppressive function of MDSCs, and further rescued T cell dysfunction in MM microenvironment. The more infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressive cells (MDSCs) was observed in EM24 patients as well. Therefore, we innovatively generated a TCR-based chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell, LILRB4-STAR-T. Cytotoxicity experiment demonstrated that LILRB4-STAR-T cells efficaciously eliminated tumor cells and impeded MDSCs function. In conclusion, our study elucidates that LILRB4 is an ideal biomarker and promising immunotherapy target for high-risk MM. LILRB4-STAR-T cell immunotherapy is promising against tumor cells and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in MM.

[Orthopaedic robot assisted closed reduction and cannulated screw internal fixation for the treatment of femoral neck fractures].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the preliminary clinical effect of closed reduction and cannulated nail internal fixation for femoral neck fracture assisted by robot navigation and positioning system. METHODS: From July 2019 to January 2020, 16 cases of femoral neck fracture （navigation group） were treated with closed reduction and internal fixation guided by robot system, including 7 males and 9 females, aged 25 to 72 years old with an average of （53.61±5.45） years old；Garden classification of fracture：3 cases of typeⅠ, 3 cases of typeⅡ, 8 cases of type Ⅲ, 2 cases of type Ⅳ. Non navigation group （control group）：20 cases of femoral neck fracture were treated with closed reduction and hollow nail internal fixation, 8 males and 12 females, aged 46 to 70 years old with an average of （55.23±4.64） years old；Garden typeⅠin 2 cases, typeⅡin 4 cases, type Ⅲ in 11 cases, type Ⅳ in 3 cases. The operation time, fluoroscopy times, guide needle drilling times, screw adjustment times, intraoperative bleeding volume and other indicators of two groups were evaluated. RESULTS: Both groups were followed up for 12 to 18 months with an average of （15.6±2.8） months. The fractures of both groups were healed without delayed union and nonunion. There was no significant difference in healing time between two groups（P=0.782）. There was no significant difference in Harris scores between two groups at the last follow-up（P=0.813）. There was no significant difference in operation time between two groups（P>0.05）. There were significant differences between two groups in fluoroscopy times, guide needle drilling times, hollow screw replacement times, and intraoperative bleeding volume（P<0.05）. CONCLUSION: Closed reduction and hollow screw internal fixation assisted by robot navigation system for femoral neck fracture has the advantages of minimally invasive operation, precise screw placement, and reduction of X-ray radiation damage during operation.

CRIP1 involves the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma via dual-regulation of proteasome and autophagy.

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematological malignancy of the plasma cells. The maintenance of protein homeostasis is critical for MM cell survival. Elevated levels of paraproteins in MM cells are cleared by proteasomes or lysosomes, which are independent but inter-connected with each other. Proteasome inhibitors (PIs) work as a backbone agent and successfully improved the outcome of patients; however, the increasing activity of autophagy suppresses the sensitivity to PIs treatment. METHODS: The transcription levels of CRIP1 were explored in plasma cells obtained from healthy donors, patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM), and relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) using Gene expression omnibus datasets. Doxycycline-inducible CRIP1-shRNA and CRIP1 overexpressed MM cell lines were constructed to explore the role of CRIP1 in MM pathogenesis. Proliferation, invasion, migration, proteasome activity and autophagy were examined in MM cells with different CRIP1 levels. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) with Tandem affinity purification/Mass spectrum (TAP/MS) was performed to identify the binding proteins of CRIP1. The mouse xenograft model was used to determine the role of CRIP1 in the proliferation and drug-resistance of MM cells. FINDINGS: High CRIP1 expression was associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes in patients with MM and served as a biomarker for RRMM with shorter overall survival. In vitro and in vivo studies showed that CRIP1 plays a critical role in protein homeostasis via the dual regulation of the activities of proteasome and autophagy in MM cells. A combined analysis of RNA-seq, Co-IP and TAP/MS demonstrated that CRIP1 promotes proteasome inhibitors resistance in MM cells by simultaneously binding to de-ubiquitinase USP7 and proteasome coactivator PA200. CRIP1 promoted proteasome activity and autophagosome maturation by facilitating the dequbiquitination and stabilization of PA200. INTERPRETATION: Our findings clarified the pivotal roles of the CRIP1/USP7/PA200 complex in ubiquitin-dependent proteasome degradation and autophagy maturation involved in the pathogenesis of MM. FUNDING: A full list of funding sources can be found in the acknowledgements section.

Exosome miRNAs profiling in serum and prognostic evaluation in patients with multiple myeloma.

MicroRNAs (MiRNAs) carried by exosomes play pivotal roles in the crosstalk between cell components in the tumor microenvironment. Our study aimed at identifying the expression profile of exosomal miRNAs (exo-miRNAs) in the serum of multiple myeloma (MM) patients and investigating the regulation networks and their potential functions by integrated bioinformatics analysis. Exosomes in serum from 19 newly diagnosed MM patients and 9 healthy donors were isolated and the miRNA profile was investigated by small RNA sequencing. Differential expression of exo-miRNAs was calculated and target genes of miRNAs were predicted. CytoHubba was applied to identify the hub miRNAs and core target genes. The LASSO Cox regression model was used to develop the prognostic model, and the ESTIMATE immune score was calculated to investigate the correlation between the model and immune status in MM patients. The top six hub differentially expressed serum exo-miRNAs were identified. 513 target genes of the six hub exo-miRNAs were confirmed to be differentially expressed in MM cells in the Zhan Myeloma microarray dataset. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that these target genes were mainly involved in mRNA splicing, cellular response to stress, and deubiquitination. 13 core exo-miRNA target genes were applied to create a novel prognostic signature to provide risk stratification for MM patients, which is associated with the immune microenvironment of MM patients. Our study comprehensively investigated the exo-miRNA profiles in MM patients. A novel prognostic signature was constructed to facilitate the risk stratification of MM patients with distinct outcomes.

Sugemalimab Monotherapy for Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Extranodal Natural Killer/T-Cell Lymphoma (GEMSTONE-201): Results From a Single-Arm, Multicenter, Phase II Study.

PURPOSE: Relapsed or refractory extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (R/R ENKTL) is a rare and aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with limited treatment options. This phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of sugemalimab, an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, in R/R ENKTL. METHODS: Eligible patients received sugemalimab 1,200 mg intravenously once every 3 weeks for up to 24 months or until progression, death, or study withdrawal. The primary end point was objective response rate (ORR) assessed by an independent radiologic review committee. Key secondary end points included ORR assessed by the investigators, complete response rate, duration of response, and safety. RESULTS: At the data cutoff (February 23, 2022), 80 patients were enrolled and followed for a median of 18.7 months. At baseline, 54 (67.5%) had stage IV disease and 39 (48.8%) had received ≥2 lines of prior systemic therapy. Independent radiologic review committee-assessed ORR was 44.9% (95% CI, 33.6 to 56.6); 28 (35.9%) patients achieved a complete response and seven (9.0%) achieved a partial response, with a 12-month duration of response rate of 82.5% (95% CI, 62.0 to 92.6). Investigator-assessed ORR was 45.6% (95% CI, 34.3 to 57.2), and 24 (30.4%) patients achieved a complete response. Most treatment-emergent adverse events were grade 1-2 in severity, and grade ≥ 3 events were reported in 32 (40.0%) patients. CONCLUSION: Sugemalimab showed robust and durable antitumor activity in R/R ENKTL. Treatment was well tolerated with expected safety profile for this drug class.

Research progress of Posner-Schlossman syndrome / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

Posner-Schlossman syndrome(PSS)is a sporadic and recurrent self-limiting anterior uveitis, and its pathogenesis remains unclear. It was considered to be a prostaglandin-mediated inflammatory response. In recent years, it has been found to be related to viral infection, immune genetics, vascular endothelial dysfunction, and other factors. Clinically, the disease is predominantly unilateral. The patients with PSS suffer from increased intraocular pressure, mild pain in the affected eye, as well as blurred vision, and irisopsia. Seldom damage to the optic nerve and visual field was reported. The commonly treatment of PSS is local medication, such as anti-inflammatory drugs and intraocular pressure lowering drugs; otherwise systemic medication can be employed in severe cases. Surgical treatment can be performed for PSS if uncontrolled intraocular pressure elevation, frequent attacks, and optic nerve damage and visual field defect due to prolonged disease course. Early diagnosis and treatment of PSS can effectively reduce glaucoma-related damages. This review discussed the research progress of PSS from various aspects, aiming to provide references for the etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical diagnosis and treatment of this disease.