Potential involvement of oncostatin M in the immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma with vessels encapsulating tumor clusters.

AIM: Vessels encapsulating tumor clusters (VETC) represents an adverse prognostic morphological feature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is associated with an immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIM). However, the underlying factors characterizing the TIM in HCC with a VETC pattern (VETC-positive HCC) remain uncertain. Oncostatin M (OSM), a pleiotropic cytokine of the interleukin-6 family, regulates various biological processes, including inflammation, proliferation, and invasiveness of tumor cells. We aimed to test a hypothesis that OSM is associated with the immunosuppressive TIM of VETC-positive HCC. METHODS: A total of 397 consecutive HCC patients with curative-intent hepatectomy were included. OSM-positive cells and inflammatory cells including CD4-, CD8-, CD163-, and FOXP3-positive cells were immunohistochemically evaluated. We compared VETC-positive and VETC-negative HCCs in terms of the number of these cells. RESULTS: We found the VETC pattern in 62 patients (15.6%). Our analysis revealed a significant decrease in the expression of arginase-1, a marker associated with mature hepatocyte differentiation, in VETC-positive HCC (p = 0.046). The number of tumor-infiltrating OSM-positive cells was significantly low in VETC-positive HCC (p = 0.0057). Notably, in VETC-positive HCC, the number of OSM-positive cells was not associated with vascular invasion, whereas in VETC-negative HCC, an increase in the number of OSM-positive cells was associated with vascular invasion (p = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: We identified an association between a decrease in OSM-positive cells and the VETC pattern. Additionally, our findings indicate that VETC-positive HCC is characterized by low hepatocyte differentiation and OSM-independent vascular invasion. These findings highlight the potential interaction between VETC-positive HCC cells and their TIM through the reduction of OSM-expressing cells.

MHC class I loss is associated with biliary/progenitor cell features and "cold" tumor-immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) with biliary/progenitor cell features frequently show increased programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, but their response to immunotherapy is not high. One possible explanation for this phenomenon could be the loss of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I expression on tumor cells, which impairs the presentation of tumor antigens to cytotoxic T cells. However, the potential correlation between MHC class I loss, biliary/progenitor cell features, and the tumor-immune microenvironment remains largely unexplored. Herein, we hypothesized that MHC class I loss could be associated with biliary/progenitor cell features and potentially impact the tumor-immune microenvironment. To evaluate this hypothesis and gain insight into the characteristics of tumor cells and the tumor-immune microenvironment in HCCs with MHC class I loss, we examined a consecutive series of 397 HCC cases. MHC class I loss was observed in 32 HCCs (8.1%). Lipid-less cytologic morphology was significantly associated with MHC class I loss (P = 0.02). CK19 expression and decreased ARG1 expression, both known as biliary/progenitor cell features, were significantly associated with MHC class I loss (P < 0.05). PD-L1 expression was irrelevant to the MHC class I status. HCCs with MHC class I loss exhibited significantly lower infiltration of CD8+, CD4+, CD20+, and FOXP3+ cells than those with intact MHC class I (all Ps < 0.01). Our study reveals an association between MHC class I loss, biliary/progenitor cell features, and a "cold" tumor-immune microenvironment in HCCs. These insights highlight the potential impact of MHC class I loss on tumor cells and the tumor-immune microenvironment.

Voltage controlled interfacial magnetism through platinum orbits.

Electric fields at interfaces exhibit useful phenomena, such as switching functions in transistors, through electron accumulations and/or electric dipole inductions. We find one potentially unique situation in a metal-dielectric interface in which the electric field is atomically inhomogeneous because of the strong electrostatic screening effect in metals. Such electric fields enable us to access electric quadrupoles of the electron shell. Here we show, by synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy, electric field induction of magnetic dipole moments in a platinum monatomic layer placed on ferromagnetic iron. Our theoretical analysis indicates that electric quadrupole induction produces magnetic dipole moments and provides a large magnetic anisotropy change. In contrast with the inability of current designs to offer ultrahigh-density memory devices using electric-field-induced spin control, our findings enable a material design showing more than ten times larger anisotropy energy change for such a use and highlight a path in electric-field control of condensed matter.

Aerobic oxidation of thiols to disulfides catalyzed by diaryl tellurides under photosensitized conditions.

Aerobic oxidation of thiols is efficiently catalyzed by diaryl tellurides such as bis(4-methoxyphenyl) telluride under photosensitized conditions to give the corresponding disulfides in good to excellent yields. In this catalytic system, the tellurone oligomer, produced by the reaction of a telluride with singlet oxygen, is assumed to be the active species and is capable of oxidizing 4 equiv of a thiol.

Formation of diaryl telluroxides and tellurones by photosensitized oxygenation of diaryl tellurides.

Aerobic oxygenation of diaryl tellurides under photosensitized conditions is investigated. Unlike Ph(2)S and Ph(2)Se, reaction of diaryl tellurides with singlet oxygen proceeds smoothly to yield diaryl telluroxides and the corresponding tellurones. The product distribution is largely affected by the substrate and the reaction conditions. In particular, the photooxygenation of bulky diaryl tellurides principally produces tellurones. The results of a series of trapping experiments suggest that the diaryl telluroxides can capture transient intermediates such as Me(2)S(+)OO(-) and Ar(2)Te(+)OO(-), generated in the singlet oxygen oxidation of chalcogenides, to yield diaryl tellurones, and therefore it may be the most potent precursors of the tellurones.

Diorganotelluride-catalyzed oxidation of silanes to silanols under atmospheric oxygen.

Diorganotellurides efficiently catalyze the aerobic oxidation of organosilanes under photosensitized conditions to afford the corresponding silanols in excellent yield.

Tracheoesophageal diversion versus total laryngectomy for intractable aspiration.

This study evaluates the outcome and surgical stress associated with surgery for intractable aspiration. A retrospective review was conducted to compare the results between tracheoesophageal diversion and total laryngectomy. The operative time, intra-operative bleeding, time until drain removal, feeding conditions and surgical complications were compared between the two groups. Of the 19 patients, 31.6 per cent underwent tracheoesophageal diversion and 68.4 per cent received total laryngectomy. The operative time and drain insertion periods were statistically shorter in the tracheoesophageal diversion group, while the amount of intra-operative blood loss was smaller in the tracheoesophageal diversion group. The complication rate and the feeding conditions before and after surgery for the two groups did not show any statistically significant difference. Tracheoesophageal diversion was thus found to be a simple, safe, and reliable therapeutic modality for the control of intractable aspiration. Moreover, it induced less surgical stress than total laryngectomy.