Systematic evaluation of the efficacy of treatments for cesarean scar pregnancy.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) is a type of ectopic pregnancy associated with severe complications, including significant hemorrhage, the potential need for hysterectomy, and life-threatening risks. Currently, two classification methods exist for CSP: Vial (type Ia and IIa) and Chinese Expert's Consensus (type Ib, type IIb, and type IIIb). However, these methods have limitations in guiding the selection of appropriate treatment plans for CSP. The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of various treatments for CSP within our clinic. METHOD: Our study included 906 patients with CSP from January 2013 to December 2018. The chi-squared test and logistic analysis were used to compare the clinical characteristics. The median and interquartile range (IQR) was calculated. We also analyzed whether preoperative application of methotrexate (MTX) could improve surgical outcomes and the relevant characteristics of misdiagnosed CSP patients. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in gestational age, gestational sac diameter, gestational sac width, gestational sac area, remnant myometrial thickness, vaginal bleeding and preoperative hemoglobin levels (p < 0.001) but not in the incidence of residual tissue (p = 0.053). The other factors (intraoperative blood loss, hemoglobin decline, first hemoglobin after operation, total hospital stay, hospital stay after operation, transfusion and duration of catheter drain) were significantly different (p < 0.001). For type Ia and type Ib CSP, 39.3% and 40.2% of patients were treated with dilatation and curettage (D&E) under ultrasound, respectively. For type IIa and type IIIb CSP, 29.9% and 62.7% of patients were treated with laparotomy, respectively. There were no differences in surgical methods, residual tissue and reoperation between the MTX and non-MTX groups (p = 0.20), but liver damage, hospital stay and pain perception were more remarkable in the MTX group. It is noteworthy that 14% of the patients were misdiagnosed with an intrauterine pregnancy. The incidence of misdiagnosis in type IIa CSP patients was higher than that in type Ia CSP patients (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: For type I CSP patients, D&E under ultrasound or D&E under hysteroscopy should be recommended. For type IIIb CSP patients, operative resection should be used. It is currently difficult to choose the appropriate treatment methods for type IIa or type IIb CSP patients.

Phase Ib study of sabatolimab (MBG453), a novel immunotherapy targeting TIM-3 antibody, in combination with decitabine or azacitidine in high- or very high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.

The safety and efficacy of sabatolimab, a novel immunotherapy targeting T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain-3 (TIM-3), was assessed in combination with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) in patients with HMA-naive revised International Prognostic System Score (IPSS-R) high- or very high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (HR/vHR-MDS) or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Sabatolimab + HMA had a safety profile similar to that reported for HMA alone and demonstrated durable clinical responses in patients with HR/vHR-MDS. These results support the ongoing evaluation of sabatolimab-based combination therapy in MDS, CMML, and acute myeloid leukemia.

Efficient and scalable synthesis of 3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-ones by benzylic oxidation of tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives using cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN).

An efficient and scalable method for the synthesis of 3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-ones through benzylic oxidation of tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives using a catalytic amount of cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) and a stoichiometric amount of NaBrO3 as oxidants was developed. The reaction is significantly influenced by the substituent groups on the phenyl ring. While electron-withdrawing groups on the phenyl ring can lower the reactivities of the substrates, electron-donating groups on the phenyl ring can dramatically promote the oxidation rate.

Development of novel imipridone derivatives with potent anti-cancer activities as human caseinolytic peptidase P (hClpP) activators.

Based on a clinically staged small molecular hClpP activator ONC201, a class of imipridone derivatives was designed and synthesized. These compounds were evaluated in a protease hydrolytic assay, as well as cell growth inhibition assays in three cancer cell lines, MIA PACA-2, HCT116, and MV4-11. A number of compounds that can more potently activate hClpP and more effectively inhibit cell growth in the three cancer cell lines than ONC201 were identified. The most potent compound, ZYZ-17, activated hClpP with an EC50 value of 0.24 µM and inhibited the growth of the three cancer cell lines with IC50 values of less than 10 nM. Mechanism studies for ZYZ-17 revealed that it potently activates cellular hClpP, efficiently induces the degradation of hClpP substrates, and robustly induces apoptosis in the three cancer cell lines. Furthermore, ZYZ-17 demonstrated a promising pharmacokinetic (PK) profile and exhibited highly potent in vivo antitumor activity in a pancreatic cancer MIA PACA-2 xenograft model in BALB/c nude mice.

Associations of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor with toxicities and efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

BACKGROUND AIMS: Few studies have reported the associations of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) with cytokine release syndrome (CRS), neurotoxic events (NEs) and efficacy after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for relapsed or refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma (MM). We present a retrospective study performed on 113 patients with R/R MM who received single anti-BCMA CAR T-cell, combined with anti-CD19 CAR T-cell or anti-CD138 CAR T-cell therapy. METHODS: Eight patients were given G-CSF after successful management of CRS, and no CRS re-occurred thereafter. Of the remaining 105 patients that were finally analyzed, 72 (68.6%) received G-CSF (G-CSF group), and 33 (31.4%) did not (non G-CSF group). We mainly analyzed the incidence and severity of CRS or NEs in two groups of patients, as well as the associations of G-CSF timing, cumulative dose and cumulative time with CRS, NEs and efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy. RESULTS: Both groups of patients had similar duration of grade 3-4 neutropenia, and the incidence and severity of CRS or NEs.There were also no differences in the incidence and severity of CRS or NEs between patients with the timing of G-CSF administration ≤3 days and those >3 days after CAR T-cell infusion. The incidence of CRS was greater in patients receiving cumulative doses of G-CSF >1500 µg or cumulative time of G-CSF administration >5 days. Among patients with CRS, there was no difference in the severity of CRS between patients who used G-CSF and those who did not. The duration of CRS in anti-BCMA and anti-CD19 CAR T-cell-treated patients was prolonged after G-CSF administration. There were no significant differences in the overall response rate at 1 and 3 months between the G-CSF group and the non-G-CSF group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that low-dose or short-time use of G-CSF was not associated with the incidence or severity of CRS or NEs, and G-CSF administration did not influence the antitumor activity of CAR T-cell therapy.

Factors associated with infection events after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

OBJECTIVES: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a new and effective method in relapsed or refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma (MM). This study was aimed to explore the risk factors of infection events. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 68 patients with R/R MM who received CAR T-cell therapy at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from June 2017 to June 2021.35 patients received anti-CD19 combined with anti-BCMA CAR T-cell therapy and 33 patients received anti-BCMA CAR T-cell therapy alone. RESULTS: Infection events in patients who received ≥4 prior lines of treatment or with grade 3-5 cytokines released syndrome (CRS) mainly occurred within 4 months after CAR T-cell infusion(CTI). The duration of infection-free survival was positively correlated with progression-free survival of patients with R/R MM (R2 = 0.962, p < 0.001) and the first infection event was closely accompanied by the disease relapse or progression. Treatment lines (p = 0.05), duration of ANC<500 cells/mm3 after CTI (p = 0.036), CRS grade (p = 0.007) and treatment response (p < 0.001) were the independent risk factors associated with infection for a multivariable model. The infection incidence was higher in patients with dual CAR T-cell therapy than with mono CAR T-cell therapy18 months after CTI although no statistic differences were observed within 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: Infections after CTI were closely associated with more lines of prior treatment, longer duration of ANC<500 cells/mm3, higher grade CRS and poor treatment response. Infections tended to occur in the early stage after CTI in patients with more lines of prior treatment and higher grade CRS.

Postoperative Adjuvant Treatment in Women with Stage I Endometrial Cancer: A Retrospective Study.

Objective: To evaluate whether postoperative adjuvant treatment is beneficial for patient survival after surgery for early stage endometrial cancer (EC). We analyzed the outcomes of patients treated with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or progestagen combined with other adjuvant treatments. Methods: We analyzed the outcomes of patients treated with radiotherapy alone, chemotherapy alone, or progestagen treatment with other adjuvant treatments. Women without any adjuvant treatment after operation were used as controls. We retrospectively examined disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and high-risk factors that affected the survival status of all patients who received different postoperative adjuvant therapies. Results: In all 192 patients, the total relapse and mortality rates were 5.57% and 1.68%, respectively. Fourteen patients (7.29%) developed isolated local recurrence, and 2 patients died (1.04%) of recurrence during the follow-up period. The 5-year DFS and OS rates of all patients were 95.83% and 93.75%, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the 5-year DFS, 5-year OS, OS, or DFS among the four groups of patients with FIGO stage I endometrial cancer (P=0.9849, 0.7430, 0.9754, and 0.4534, respectively). The differences in the log-rank test results of the estimates of the 5-year DFS, 5-year OS, DFS, and OS of patients with different disease stages and different ages were all significant, but no differences were observed in these parameters among patients with varying degrees of differentiation. Histologic grade, CA125 level, ER and PR status, and adjuvant therapy had no significant effect on the DFS and OS of all patients according to univariate and multivariate regression analyses, but a significant effect on DFS and OS was found when the patients were stratified by age. Conclusion: This retrospective study showed that adjuvant therapy after surgery was not significantly associated with improved DFS or OS in patients with early stage endometrial cancer. However, FIGO stage and age affected the survival of patients with stage I endometrial cancer.

Sequential gene expression analysis of cervical malignant transformation identifies RFC4 as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.

BACKGROUND: Cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is known to arise through increasingly higher-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) or cervical intraepithelial neoplasias (CINs). This study aimed to describe sequential molecular changes and identify biomarkers in cervical malignant transformation. METHODS: Multidimensional data from five publicly available microarray and TCGA-CESC datasets were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry was carried out on 354 cervical tissues (42 normal, 62 CIN1, 26 CIN2, 47 CIN3, and 177 SCC) to determine the potential diagnostic and prognostic value of identified biomarkers. RESULTS: We demonstrated that normal epithelium and SILs presented higher molecular homogeneity than SCC. Genes in the region (e.g., 3q, 12q13) with copy number alteration or HPV integration were more likely to lose or gain expression. The IL-17 signaling pathway was enriched throughout disease progression with downregulation of IL17C and decreased Th17 cells at late stage. Furthermore, we identified AURKA, TOP2A, RFC4, and CEP55 as potential causative genes gradually upregulated during the normal-SILs-SCC transition. For detecting high-grade SIL (HSIL), TOP2A and RFC4 showed balanced sensitivity (both 88.2%) and specificity (87.1 and 90.1%), with high AUC (0.88 and 0.89). They had equivalent diagnostic performance alone to the combination of p16INK4a and Ki-67. Meanwhile, increased expression of RFC4 significantly and independently predicted favorable outcomes in multi-institutional cohorts of SCC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our comprehensive study of gene expression profiling has identified dysregulated genes and biological processes during cervical carcinogenesis. RFC4 is proposed as a novel surrogate biomarker for determining HSIL and HSIL+, and an independent prognostic biomarker for SCC.

Sex-specific clinical characteristics and prognosis of coronavirus disease-19 infection in Wuhan, China: A retrospective study of 168 severe patients.

To confirm the relationship between sex and the progression of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19), and its potential mechanism, among severe patients. For this retrospective study, we included 168 consecutive severe patients with pathogen-confirmed COVID-19 who were hospitalized between January 16th and February 4th, 2020, at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China. Clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters, and outcomes were compared and analyzed between males and females. In the present study, we analyzed 168 severe patients with COVID-19, including 86 males and 82 females, and 48 patients (28.6%) were diagnosed as critically ill. Of 86 male patients, 12.8% (11/86) died and 75.6% (65/86) were discharged; of 82 female patients, 7.3% (6/82) died and 86.6% (71/82) were discharged. Eleven laboratory parameters showed significant differences between male and female patients, and six of them were higher during the whole clinical course in patients who died than in patients who were discharged. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, males with comorbidities presented a higher risk of being critically ill than males without comorbidities (OR = 3.824, 95% CI = 1.279-11.435). However, this association attenuated to null in female patients (OR = 2.992, 95% CI = 0.937-9.558). A similar sex-specific trend was observed in the relation between age and critically ill conditions. We highlighted sex-specific differences in clinical characteristics and prognosis. Male patients appeared to be more susceptible to age and comorbidities. Sex is an important biological variable that should be considered in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

Clinical Features of Recurrence After Hepatic Resection for Early-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Long-Term Survival Outcomes of Patients with Recurrence: A Multi-institutional Analysis.

BACKGROUND: A potentially curative hepatic resection is the optimal treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but most HCCs, even at an early stage, eventually recur after resection. This study investigates clinical features of initial recurrence and long-term prognosis of patients with recurrence after curative resection for early-stage HCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From a multicenter database, patients who underwent curative hepatic resection for early-stage HCC [Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0/A] were extracted. Time to initial recurrence, patterns of initial recurrence, and treatment modalities for recurrent tumors were investigated. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to identify independent risks associated with postoperative recurrence, as well as post-recurrence survival (PRS) for patients with recurrence. RESULTS: Among 1424 patients, 679 (47.7%) developed recurrence at a median follow-up of 54.8 months, including 408 (60.1%) early recurrence (≤ 2 years after surgery) and 271 (39.9%) late recurrence (> 2 years). Independent risks of postoperative recurrence included cirrhosis, preoperative alpha-fetoprotein level > 400 ug/L, tumor size > 5 cm, multiple tumors, satellites, microvascular invasion, and intraoperative blood transfusion. Multivariate analysis revealed that receiving irregular recurrence surveillance, initial tumor beyond Milan criteria, early recurrence, BCLC stage B/C of the recurrent tumor, and noncurative treatments were independently associated with poorer PRS. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of patients with early-stage HCC experienced recurrence after resection. Understanding recurrence risks may help identify patients at high risk of recurrence who may benefit from future adjuvant therapies. Meaningful survival even after recurrence can still be achieved by postoperative regular surveillance and curative treatment.

Synthesis of the Key Intermediate of SM-406 (Xevinapant) and Its Analogues.

Efficient methods for the synthesis of three dipeptide mimetics with diazabicycloalkanone amino acid scaffolds were developed. Among them, compound 3, which contains a 1,5-diazabicyclo[6,3,0]dodecanone amino acid core structure, was used as the key intermediate of a clinical staged IAP inhibitor SM-406 (Xevinapant). Compared with the reported methods for the synthesis of compound 3 and its derivatives, our method is more efficient and more suitable for large scale preparation.

Linoleic acid pathway disturbance contributing to potential cancerization of intrahepatic bile duct stones into intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most common primary hepatic malignancy with poor prognosis. Intrahepatic bile duct stone (IBDS) is one of the key causes to ICC occurrence and can increase morbidity rate of ICC about forty times. However, the specific carcinogenesis of IBDS is still far from clarified. Insight into the metabolic phenotype difference between IBDS and ICC can provide potential mechanisms and therapeutic targets, which is expected to inhibit the carcinogenesis of IBDS and improve the prognosis of ICC. METHODS: A total of 34 participants including 25 ICC patients and 9 IBDS patients were recruited. Baseline information inclusive of liver function indicators, tumor biomarkers, surgery condition and constitution parameters etc. from patients were recorded. ICC and IBDS pathological tissues, as well as ICC para-carcinoma tissues, were collected for GC-MS based metabolomics experiments. Multivariate analysis was performed to find differentially expressed metabolites and differentially enriched metabolic pathways. Spearman correlation analysis was then used to construct correlation network between key metabolite and baseline information of patients. RESULTS: The IBDS tissue and para-carcinoma tissue have blurred metabolic phenotypic differences, but both of them essentially distinguished from carcinoma tissue of ICC. Metabolic differences between IBDS and ICC were enriched in linoleic acid metabolism pathway, and the level of 9,12-octadecadienoic acid in IBDS tissues was almost two times higher than in ICC pathological tissues. The correlation between 9,12-octadecadienoic acid level and baseline information of patients demonstrated that 9,12-octadecadienoic acid level in pathological tissue was negative correlation with gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level in peripheral blood. These two indicators were all cancerization marker for hepatic carcinoma and disease characteristic of IBDS. CONCLUSION: Long-term monitoring of metabolites from linoleic acid metabolism pathway and protein indicators of liver function in IBDS patients has important guiding significance for the monitoring of IBDS carcinogenesis. Meanwhile, further insight into the causal relationship between linoleic acid pathway disturbance and changes in liver function can provide important therapeutic targets for both IBDS and ICC.

The effect and mechanism of 19S proteasome PSMD11/Rpn6 subunit in D-Galactose induced mimetic aging models.

Regulating proteasome activity is a potent therapeutic aspect of age-related hearing loss, which has been proven to protect neurons from age-related damaging. PSMD11, subunit of the 19S proteasome regulatory particle, is known to mainly up-regulate proteasome activity and prolong aging. However, the mechanism of PSMD11 in age-related hearing loss has not been deeply explored. In the present study, we explore the function and mechanism of PSMD11 protecting neurons in d-Galactose (D-Gal) mimetic aging models. Age-related pathologies were detected by Taq-PCR, ABR, Transmission electron microscopy, toluidine blue and ß-galactosidase staining. The relative expressions of the proteins were explored by Western blotting, oxyblot, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence. Flow cytometry was used to manifest the oxidative state. We discovered that proteasome activity was impaired with aging, and that ROS and toxic protein accumulated in D-Gal induced aging models. PSMD11 changed with aging, and was associated with the metabolism of proteasome activity in the D-Gal treated models. Moreover, the knockdown or overexpression of PSMD11 was sufficient to change the oxidative state caused by D-Gal. Our results also demonstrated that PSMD11 could bond to AMPKα1/2 in the auditory cortex and PC12 cells, and AMPKα2 but not AMPKα1 was efficient to regulate the function of PSMD11. Deeper insights into the mechanisms of regulating PSMD11 for the anti-aging process are needed, and may offer novel therapeutic methods for central presbycusis.

The role of nitric oxide (NO) levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is unclear. Several studies have suggested that CVD may be caused by oxidative stress from chronic intermittent hypoxia and associated vascular endothelial dysfunction. Oxidative stress in patients with OSA can induce endothelial cell apoptosis, aggravate vascular endothelial damage, and promote the expression of redox-sensitive genes and adhesion molecules. No meta-analysis has explored whether or not OSA is related to nitric oxide (NO). METHOD: To assess the association between serum/plasma NO levels and OSA, we performed a meta-analysis of the literature on the subject to grade the strength of evidence. RESULTS: OSA was significantly related to decreased serum or plasma NO levels (WMD = - 11.66, 95% CI - 17.21 to - 6.11; P < 0.01). Among the studies analyzed, there was high degree of heterogeneity (I2 = 79%, P < 0.01). Sensitivity analysis showed that after omitting any single study or converting a random effects model (REM) to a fixed effects model (FEM), the main results still held. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests a strong correlation between OSA and serum or plasma NO levels which may explain the link between intermittent hypoxia of OSA and risk of CVD. The strength of this finding may spur further basic and clinical research into vascular endothelial dysfunction in patients with OSA.

High CO2 Levels Impair Lung Wound Healing.

Delayed lung repair leads to alveolopleural fistulae, which are a major cause of morbidity after lung resections. We have reported that intrapleural hypercapnia is associated with delayed lung repair after lung resection. Here, we provide new evidence that hypercapnia delays wound closure of both large airway and alveolar epithelial cell monolayers because of inhibition of epithelial cell migration. Cell migration and airway epithelial wound closure were dependent on Rac1-GTPase activation, which was suppressed by hypercapnia directly through the upregulation of AMP kinase and indirectly through inhibition of injury-induced NF-κB-mediated CXCL12 (pleural CXC motif chemokine 12) release, respectively. Both these pathways were independently suppressed, because dominant negative AMP kinase rescued the effects of hypercapnia on Rac1-GTPase in uninjured resting cells, whereas proteasomal inhibition reversed the NF-κB-mediated CXCL12 release during injury. Constitutive overexpression of Rac1-GTPase rescued the effects of hypercapnia on both pathways as well as on wound healing. Similarly, exogenous recombinant CXCL12 reversed the effects of hypercapnia through Rac1-GTPase activation by its receptor, CXCR4. Moreover, CXCL12 transgenic murine recipients of orthotopic tracheal transplantation were protected from hypercapnia-induced inhibition of tracheal epithelial cell migration and wound repair. In patients undergoing lobectomy, we found inverse correlation between intrapleural carbon dioxide and pleural CXCL12 levels as well as between CXCL12 levels and alveolopleural leak. Accordingly, we provide first evidence that high carbon dioxide levels impair lung repair by inhibiting epithelial cell migration through two distinct pathways, which can be restored by recombinant CXCL12.

An Open-Label Study of the Impact of Hepatic Impairment on the Pharmacokinetics and Safety of Single Oral and Intravenous Doses of Omadacycline.

Omadacycline is a once-daily oral or intravenous (i.v.) aminomethylcycline antibiotic approved in the United States for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) in adults. Omadacycline pharmacokinetics were characterized in 18 patients with hepatic impairment and 12 matched healthy subjects. Patients with hepatic impairment received i.v. omadacycline at 100 mg (mild hepatic impairment) or 50 mg (moderate and severe hepatic impairment) and oral omadacycline at 300 mg (mild hepatic impairment) or 150 mg (moderate hepatic impairment); oral omadacycline was not evaluated in those with severe hepatic impairment. Safety monitoring included the collection of adverse events (AEs), performance of laboratory tests, determination of vital signs, and performance of electrocardiograms. Omadacycline exposures were similar in patients with hepatic impairment and healthy subjects following i.v. or oral administration, with the geometric mean ratios for the area under the concentration-time curve and the maximum drug concentration ranging from 0.79 to 1.42. Omadacycline was safe and well tolerated. Overall, 13/30 (43.3%) participants experienced an AE; those occurring in more than 1 participant included headache (13.3%), nausea (6.7%), infusion-site pain (6.7%), contusion (6.7%), and dizziness (6.7%), with no differences based on the degree of hepatic impairment or the route of administration. Asymptomatic increases in heart rate were observed; none was considered an AE. These findings suggest that no omadacycline dose adjustment is warranted in patients with hepatic impairment.

Development and optimization of a cascade of screening assays for inhibitors of TRF2.

TRF2 is a telomere associated protein which plays an important role in telomere maintenance. Knockdown of TRF2 can cause chromosomal end to end fusions and induce DNA damage responses. TRF2 exerts its functions partially by recruiting a number of accessory proteins through its TRF homology domain (TRFH), therefore identification of small molecular compounds which can bind to the TRFH domain of TRF2 and block the interactions of TRF2 with its associated proteins is important to elucidate the molecular mechanism of these protein-protein interactions. Development of robust and sensitive screening and evaluation assays is critical to the identification of TRF2 inhibitors, in this paper we reported the development and optimization of a cascade of screening and binding affinity evaluation assays, including a competitive FP (Fluorescence Polarization) assay utilized in our previous research, and two novel label-free DSF (Differential Scanning Fluorescence) and BLI (Biolayer Interferometry) assays. A previously identified TRF2 inhibitor TRF2-27 was used as an internal reference compound and evaluated in all of these assays. According to the results, DSF assay is not suitable for TRF2 screening because of the low ΔTm, while the optimized labeled-free BLI assay was demonstrated to be an accurate and reproducible assay for TRF2 inhibitor screening and characterization.

Synthesis of Conformationally Constrained Dipeptide Mimetics with Azabicyclo[4,3,0]nonanone and Azabicyclo[5,3,0]decanone Scaffolds.

A general and efficient method for the synthesis of azabicyclo[4,3,0]nonanone and azabicyclo[5,3,0]decanone amino acid derivatives was developed with the palladium-catalyzed coupling of intermediates 9 and 10 with BocNH2 and Boc2NH and the following reduction of the C-C double bond by hydrogenation as the key steps. The exploration of the synthesis of C6-substituted dipeptide mimetics from 9 and 10 using Suzuki coupling as the key reaction has also been performed.

N-terminal modified cyclopeptidic mimetics of ApolloTBM as inhibitors of TRF2.

Telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) plays an important role in protecting telomeres from being recognized as DNA breaks. TRF2 performs its telomere protecting functions partially by recruiting a number of accessory proteins to telomeres through its TRF homology (TFRH) domain. Identification of small molecular compounds which can bind to the TRFH domain of TRF2 and block the interactions between TRF2 and its associated proteins is crucial for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of these protein-protein interactions. Using a previously identified peptidic mimetic of ApolloTBM as a lead compound, we designed and synthesized a series of novel TRF2 inhibitors by non-peptidic modifications of the N-terminal residues. These compounds can maintain the binding affinities to TRF2 but have much reduced peptidic characteristics compared to the lead compound.

A Novel Risk Model Based on Autophagy Pathway Related Genes for Survival Prediction in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND Autophagy has a principal role in mediating tumor cell metabolism. However, the role of autophagy-pathway-related genes (APRGs) as prognostic markers remains obscure in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). More potential prognostic biomarkers are needed to deepen our understanding to explore the prognostic role of APRGs in LUAD. MATERIAL AND METHODS We used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to identify differentially expressed APRGs. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to identify prognostic APRGs, and then a risk model was constructed. The efficacy of the risk model was confirmed using a testing group. Lastly, we explored mutational signatures of prognostic of APRGs. T-tests were used to analyze all the expression patterns of genes by SPSS 19.0. RESULTS Using TCGA database, 5 differently expressed APRGs were identified in LUAD patients, and functional enrichment analyze of the genes that were closely associated with the survival status in LUAD patients. Cox proportional hazard regression was facilitated to identify 9 APRGs (CCR2, LAMP1, RELA, ATG12, ATG9A, NCKAP1, ATG10, DNAJB9, and MBTPS2). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses further identified 5 key prognostic APRGs (CCR2, LAMP1, RELA, ATG12, and MBTPS2) that were closely related to the survival status in LUAD. Then the prognostic scores based on the 5 genes as independent prognostic indicators were constructed for overall survival (OS) of LUAD patients; area under the curve (AUC) values >0.70 (all P<0.05). The efficacy of prognostic scores was confirmed by data from the testing group and showed significant differences between the low-risk and the high-risk groups for OS (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The risk model based on the construction of 5 APRGs can predict the prognosis of patients with LUAD, which may potentially predict prognostic signatures for LUAD.