Toripalimab Plus Bevacizumab as First-line Treatment for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Prospective, Multicenter, Single-Arm, Phase II Trial.

PURPOSE: This phase II, multicenter, prospective, single-arm study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of toripalimab plus bevacizumab in treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Treatment-naïve patients with advanced HCC received toripalimab 240 mg plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks. Primary endpoints included safety and tolerability, and objective response rate (ORR) assessed by the investigator per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients were enrolled between Apr 17, 2020 and Dec 11, 2020. As assessed by the investigator according to RECIST v1.1, the ORR was 31.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 19.5-45.6] and the lower bound of the 95% CI was above the pre-specified boundary of 10%. The independent review committee (IRC) assessed ORR according to modified RECIST (mRECIST) was 46.3% (95% CI, 32.6-60.4). The median progression-free survival were 8.5 months (95% CI, 5.5-11.0) and 9.8 months (95% CI, 5.6-not evaluable) assessed by the investigator according to RECIST v1.1 and IRC according to mRECIST criteria, respectively. The median overall survival (OS) was not reached, and the 12- and 24-month OS rates were 77.3% and 63.5%, respectively. Grade 3 or higher treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) occurred in 27 patients (50.0%). The most common TEAEs were proteinuria (59.3%), hypertension (38.9%), aspartate aminotransferase increased (33.3%), amylase increased (29.6%), platelet count decreased (27.8%), and bilirubin increased (27.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Toripalimab plus bevacizumab showed a favorable efficacy and safety profile, supporting further studies of this combination regimen as a first-line treatment of advanced HCC.

Genome-wide identification and bioinformatics analysis of the WD40 transcription factor family and candidate gene screening for anthocyanin biosynthesis in Rhododendron simsii.

WD40 transcription factors (TFs) constitute a large gene family in eukaryotes, playing diverse roles in cellular processes. However, their functions in the major ornamental plant, Rhododendron simsii, remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified 258 WD40 proteins in the R. simsii genome, which exhibited an uneven distribution across chromosomes. Based on domain compositions and phylogenetic analysis, we classified these 258 RsWD40 proteins into 42 subfamilies and 47 clusters. Comparative genomic analysis suggested that the expansion of the WD40 gene family predates the divergence of green algae and higher plants, indicating an ancient origin. Furthermore, by analyzing the duplication patterns of RsWD40 genes, we found that transposed duplication played a major role in their expansion. Notably, the majority of RsWD40 gene duplication pairs underwent purifying selection during evolution. Synteny analysis identified significant orthologous gene pairs between R. simsii and Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Vitis vinifera, and Malus domestica. We also investigated potential candidate genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis during different flower development stages in R. simsii using RNA-seq data. Specifically, we identified 10 candidate genes during the bud stage and 7 candidate genes during the full bloom stage. GO enrichment analysis of these candidate genes revealed the potential involvement of the ubiquitination process in anthocyanin biosynthesis. Overall, our findings provide a valuable foundation for further investigation and functional analysis of WD40 genes, as well as research on the molecular mechanisms underlying anthocyanin biosynthesis in Rhododendron species.

High Efficacy of the Volatile Organic Compounds of Streptomyces yanglinensis 3-10 in Suppression of Aspergillus Contamination on Peanut Kernels.

Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus are saprophytic fungi which can infect and contaminate preharvest and postharvest food/feed with production of aflatoxins (B1, B2, and G). They are also an opportunistic pathogen causing aspergillosis diseases of animals and humans. In this study, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from Streptomyces yanglinensis 3-10 were found to be able to inhibit mycelial growth, sporulation, conidial germination, and expression of aflatoxin biosynthesis genes in A. flavus and A. parasiticus in vitro. On peanut kernels, the VOCs can also reduce the disease severity and inhibit the aflatoxins production by A. flavus and A. parasiticus under the storage conditions. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation showed that high dosage of the VOCs can inhibit conidial germination and colonization by the two species of Aspergillus on peanut kernels. The VOCs also showed suppression of mycelial growth on 18 other plant pathogenic fungi and one Oomycetes organism. By using SPME-GC-MS, 19 major VOCs were detected, like in other Streptomyces, 2-MIB was found as the main volatile component among the detected VOCs. Three standard chemicals, including methyl 2-methylbutyrate (M2M), 2-phenylethanol (2-PE), and ß-caryophyllene (ß-CA), showed antifungal activity against A. flavus and A. parasiticus. Among them, M2M showed highest inhibitory effect than other two standard compounds against conidial germination of A. flavus and A. parasiticus. To date, this is the first record about the antifungal activity of M2M against A. flavus and A. parasiticus. The VOCs from S. yanglinensis 3-10 did not affect growth of peanut seedlings. In conclusion, our results indicate that S. yanglinensis 3-10 may has a potential to become a promising biofumigant in for control of A. flavus and A. parasiticus.

Strain identification and metabolites isolation of Aspergillus capensis CanS-34A from Brassica napus.

An isolate (CanS-34A) of Aspergillus from a healthy plant of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) was identified based on morphological characterization and multi-locus phylogeny using the sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-5.8S rDNA region, BenA (for ß-tubulin), CaM (for calmodulin) and RPB2 (for RNA polymerase II). The results showed that CanS-34A belongs to Aspergillus capensis Hirooka et al. The antifungal metabolites produced by CanS-34A in potato dextrose broth (PDB) were extracted with chloroform. Three antifungal metabolites were isolated and purified from the chloroform extract of the PDB cultural filtrates of CanS-34A, and chemically identified as methyl dichloroasterrate, penicillither and rosellichalasin. They all showed antifungal activity against the plant pathogenic fungi Botrytis cinerea, Monilinia fructicola, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Sclerotinia trifoliorum with the EC50 values ranging from 2.46 to 65.00 µg/mL. To our knowledge, this is the first report about production of penicillither by Aspergillus and about the antifungal activity of methyl dichloroasterrate, penicillither and rosellichalasin against the four plant pathogenic fungi.

Biocontrol of Aspergillus flavus on Peanut Kernels Using Streptomyces yanglinensis 3-10.

The bacterium, Streptomyces yanglinensis 3-10, shows promise in the control of many phytopathogenic fungi. In this study, S. yanglinensis and its antifungal substances, culture filtrate (CF3-10) and crude extracts (CE3-10), were evaluated for their activity in reducing growth and aflatoxin AFB1 production by Aspergillus flavus, both in vitro and in vivo on peanut kernels. The results showed that in dual culture conditions, S. yanglinensis reduced the mycelial growth of A. flavus about 41% as compared to control. The mycelial growth of A. flavus was completely inhibited on potato dextrose agar amended with CF3-10 at 3% (v/v) or CE3-10 at 2.5 µg/ml. In liquid culture experiments, growth inhibition ranged from 32.3 to 91.9% with reduction in AFB1 production ranging from 46.4 to 93.4% using different concentrations of CF3-10 or CE3-10. For in vivo assays, CF3-10 at 0.133 ml/g (v/w) or CE3-10 at 13.3 µg/g (w/w) reduced the postharvest decay of peanut kernels by inhibiting visible growth of A. flavus leading to an 89.4 or 88.1% reduction in AFB1 detected, respectively. Compared with the controls, CF3-10 and CE3-10 in A. flavus shake culture significantly reduced expression levels of two AFB1 biosynthesis genes, aflR and aflS. Furthermore, electron microscopy observation showed that CF3-10 (2%, v/v) caused hyphae growth to be abnormal and shriveled, cell organelles to degenerate and collapse, large vacuoles to appear. These results suggest that S. yanglinensis 3-10 has potential as an alternative to chemical fungicides in protecting peanut kernels and other agricultural commodities against postharvest decay from A. flavus.

Reveromycins A and B from Streptomyces sp. 3-10: Antifungal Activity against Plant Pathogenic Fungi In vitro and in a Strawberry Food Model System.

This study was conducted to determine the antifungal activity of the metabolites from Streptomyces sp. 3-10, and to purify and identify the metabolites. Meanwhile, the taxonomic status of strain 3-10 was re-evaluated. The cultural filtrates of strain 3-10 in potato dextrose broth were extracted with ethyl acetate. The resulting crude extract at 1 and 5 µg/ml inhibited growth of 22 species in 18 genera of plant pathogenic fungi and Oomycetes, accounting for 92% of the total 24 tested species, suggesting that it has a wide antifungal spectrum. Two compounds were purified from the crude extract and were identified as reveromycins A and B, which demonstrated high antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea, Mucor hiemails, Rhizopus stolonifer, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum under acidic pH conditions. Both the crude extract and reveromycin A from strain 3-10 at 10, 50, and 100 µg/ml showed high efficacy in suppression of strawberry fruit rot caused by the above-mentioned four pathogens. The efficacy was comparable to that of corresponding commercial fungicides (pyrimethanil, captan, dimetachlone) used in management of these pathogens. Morphological, physiological, and phylogenetic characterization showed that strain 3-10 is closely related to Streptomyces yanglinensis 1307T, representing a novel phylotype in that species. This study reported a new strain with reveromycins-producing capability. The finding is important for further exploitation of reveromycins for agricultural use.

A scoring system for prediction of early recurrence after liver resection for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The management of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is controversial due to the early recurrence after curative hepatectomy, and many variables were related to the prognosis. The purpose of this study was to predict the tumor recurrence in early postoperative period of the patients with BCLC stage B HCC. METHODS: From January 2004 to January 2012, 104 patients with BCLC stage B HCC underwent hepatectomy. Clinicopathological factors and follow-up data were statistically analyzed to establish a predicting scoring system. RESULTS: The overall survival rates for one, three, and five years were 69.2%, 52.7%, and 42.3%, and the disease-free survival rates for one, three, and five years were 52.9%, 47.3%, and 37.5%, respectively. The multiple factors analysis showed that the micro-vessel invasion, lymph nodes metastasis, multiple lesions, and the high expression of HMGB1 were independent factors (P < 0.05). A scoring system was established to predict the early recurrence within one year after the surgery for BCLC stage B HCC, according to the analysis results with a specificity of 85.1% and a sensitivity of 80.3%. CONCLUSION: Variant clinicopathological factors were associated with early postoperative recurrence for BCLC stage B HCC and recurrence early after hepatectomy was more likely in patients with a higher score of the scoring system.