Universal nucleic acid donor screening revealed epidemiological features of hepatitis E and prevented transfusion-transmitted infection in Japan.

BACKGROUND: More than 45 cases of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis E virus infection (TT-HEV) have been reported in Japan. Therefore, in 2020, universal individual donation nucleic acid amplification testing (ID-NAT) was implemented for HEV. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We characterized HEV NAT-positive blood donors. The number of new HEV infections and the asymptomatic infection rate were estimated using the HEV NAT-positive rate. HEV RNA quantitation, phylogenetic analysis, and antibody tests were performed, and the residual risk of TT-HEV was assessed based on the lookback study results. RESULTS: A total of 5,075,100 blood donations were screened with ID-NAT during the first year of implementation, among which 2804 (0.055%; males: 0.060%, females: 0.043%) were NAT-positive with regional differences. Approximately 270,000 new HEV infection cases were estimated to occur annually in Japan, with an asymptomatic infection rate of 99.9%. The median HEV RNA concentration, excluding cases below the limit of quantification, was 205 IU/mL. Among the 1113 cases where the genotype could be determined, HEV-3 and HEV-4 accounted for 98.8% (1100) and 1.2% (13), respectively. The maximum duration of HEV viremia, including the pre- and post-ID-NAT window periods, was estimated to be 88.2 days. Within the 3 years since ID-NAT implementation, no confirmed cases of breakthrough TT-HEV were observed. DISCUSSION: Multiple indigenous HEV strains are prevalent in Japan, infecting a significant number of individuals. However, since the implementation of ID-NAT, TT-HEV has been prevented due to the test's high sensitivity.

Risk of transfusion-transmitted infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 from blood donors in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) essentially affects respiratory organs and tissues. SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia is often associated with more severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared to cases without RNAemia. To determine the impact of the pandemic on transfusion medicine, particularly transfusion-related infection, we examined the frequency of blood donation with RNAemia, the viral RNA (vRNA) concentration, and any possibility of transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) among transfusion recipients. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: vRNA was examined in plasma/serum samples from 496 of 513 blood donors who reported having been infected with SARS-CoV-2 within 2 weeks of donation among a total of ca. 9.9 million blood donations in Japan between January 15, 2020, and December 31, 2021. The clinical course of patients transfused with the blood component containing vRNA was also examined. RESULTS: vRNA was detected in 23 of 496 samples. The median period from blood donation to COVID-19 onset was 1 day in 16 RNAemia-positive donors. Most samples had vRNA concentrations below the limit of quantification. Three patients were transfused with either a packed red blood cell or platelet concentrate that tested positive for vRNA, showing no COVID-19 symptoms and testing negative for vRNA in post-transfusion blood. CONCLUSION: The rate of RNAemia was 4.6% among blood donors who were found to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 shortly after donation, and vRNA concentrations in their donated blood were extremely low. There was no evidence of TTI in the recipients transfused with RNAemia-positive blood components. TTI risk in SARS-CoV-2 is negligible.

Tumor microenvironment-mediated immune profiles and efficacy of anti-PD-L1 antibody plus chemotherapy stratified by DLL3 expression in small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3) is a therapeutic target in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, how DLL3 expression status affects the tumor microenvironment (TME) and clinical outcomes in SCLC remains unclear. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients with postoperative limited-stage (LS)-SCLC and extensive-stage (ES)-SCLC treated with platinum and etoposide (PE) plus anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody. We investigated the relationship of DLL3 expression with TME, mutation status, tumor neoantigens, and immunochemotherapy. RESULTS: In the LS-SCLC cohort (n = 59), whole-exome sequencing revealed that DLL3High cases had significantly more neoantigens (P = 0.004) and a significantly higher rate of the signature SBS4 associated with smoking (P = 0.02) than DLL3Low cases. Transcriptome analysis in the LS-SCLC cohort revealed that DLL3High cases had significantly suppressed immune-related pathways and dendritic cell (DC) function. SCLC with DLL3High had significantly lower proportions of T cells, macrophages, and DCs than those with DLL3Low. In the ES-SCLC cohort (n = 30), the progression-free survival associated with PE plus anti-PD-L1 antibody was significantly worse in DLL3High cases than in DLL3Low cases (4.7 vs. 7.4 months, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although SCLC with DLL3High had a higher neoantigen load, these tumors were resistant to immunochemotherapy due to suppressed tumor immunity by inhibiting antigen-presenting functions.

Transfusion-transmitted HBV infection with isolated anti-HBs-positive blood.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive individuals with isolated anti-HBs are found among HBV vaccine recipients and healthy blood donors with no vaccination history. HBV infectivity from blood transfusions derived from such individuals remains unclear. CASE PRESENTATION: A male patient who received transfusion with blood negative for individual donation-NAT, HBsAg and anti-HBc but weakly positive for anti-HBs developed typical transfusion-transmitted (TT)-HBV with anti-HBc response. The responsible blood donor was a frequent repeat donor showing a marked increase in anti-HBs titer without anti-HBc response 84 days after index donation. Test results for his past donations showed transient viremia with very low viral load and fluctuating low-level anti-HBs. The HBV vaccination history of this donor was unknown. DISCUSSION: Anti-HBs and anti-HBc kinetics of the donor suggest a second antibody response to new HBV challenge, representing a vaccine breakthrough case. On the other hand, transient low-level viremia and fluctuating anti-HBs in the test results of past donations suggested chronic occult HBV infection with isolated anti-HBs. CONCLUSION: Whatever the basic infection state, blood donors with isolated weak anti-HBs may include a small population with a risk of causing TT-HBV. Identifying individuals harboring such TT-HBV risk among individuals positive only for anti-HBs is difficult under current screening strategies. Active surveillance for the occurrence of TT-HBV with blood positive only for anti-HBs is necessary.

Marked reduction in the incidence of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis B virus infection after the introduction of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen and individual donation nucleic acid amplification screening in Japan.

BACKGROUND: In Japan, 41 million blood donations have been screened for hepatitis B virus (HBV) during the past 8.4 years using individual donation nucleic acid amplification testing (ID-NAT) and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) screening. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Transfusion-transmitted HBV infection (TT-HBV) incidence was examined. Donated blood implicated in TT-HBV was analyzed for infection stage and DNA levels. Causative HBV strains were phylogenetically analyzed. RESULTS: Among 5162 (0.013%) ID-NAT positives, window period (WP) and occult HBV infection (OBI) accounted for 3.4% (176) and 11.5% (594), respectively. No OBI-related TT-HBV occurred. Seven blood donations caused eight TT-HBV cases, six of which were in the pre-ID-NAT WP, leaving one with an unresolved infection stage. Seven cases were caused by platelet concentrate (180 mL plasma) and one case by fresh-frozen plasma (200 mL plasma), which contained estimated infectious doses varying between 2 and 2300 HBV virions. HBV subgenotypes in five cases were HBV/A2. Complete genome sequences of the transmitting A2 strains were nearly identical (99.6%-100%) and clustered in a group that included HBV/HIV-1 coinfections and a higher proportion of donors in the acute infection phase (69%) than the other group of HBV/A2 sequences (5%). DISCUSSION: The incidence of observed TT-HBV cases has significantly reduced to 0.19 per million in the ID-NAT screening period. OBI-related TT-HBV was eliminated by anti-HBc screening. Established TT-HBV cases were caused by blood products with large plasma volumes containing extremely low HBV concentrations derived from blood donors at a very early infection stage.

Two cases of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis infection transmitted through transfusion of platelet concentrate derived from separate blood donations by the same donor.

BACKGROUND: Transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections (TTBIs) in Japan have been largely prevented due to a short shelf life of 3.5 days after blood collection for platelet concentrate (PC) and washed PCs (WPCs; PC in which 95% plasma is replaced by platelet additive solution). CASE PRESENTATION: Case 1: In January 2018, a woman in her 50s with aplastic anaemia who received WPC transfusion and developed a fever the next day and Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis (SDSE) was detected in the residual WPC. Case 2: In May 2018, a man in his 60s with a haematologic malignancy who received PC transfusion and developed chills during the transfusion. SDSE was detected in the patient's blood and residual PC. The contaminated platelet products were both manufactured from blood donated by the same donor. The multi-locus sequencing typing revealed that SDSE detected in case 1 was identical to that from case 2; however, whole blood subsequently obtained from the donor was culture negative. CONCLUSION: WPC and PC produced from two blood donated 106 days apart by the same donor were contaminated with SDSE of the same strain and both caused TTBIs. Safety measures should be considered regarding blood collection from a donor with a history of bacterial contamination.

Pharmacological blockage of transforming growth factor-ß signalling by a Traf2- and Nck-interacting kinase inhibitor, NCB-0846.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis is the primary cause of death in cancer patients, and its management is still a major challenge. Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been implicated in the process of cancer metastasis, and its pharmacological interference holds therapeutic promise. METHODS: Traf2- and Nck-interacting kinase (TNIK) functions as a transcriptional coregulator of Wnt target genes. Given the convergence of Wnt and transforming growth factor-ß (TGFß) signalling, we examined the effects of a small-molecule TNIK inhibitor (named NCB-0846) on the TGFß1-induced EMT of lung cancer cells. RESULTS: NCB-0846 inhibited the TGFß1-induced EMT of A549 cells. This inhibition was associated with inhibition of Sma- and Mad-Related Protein-2/3 (SMAD2/3) phosphorylation and nuclear translocation. NCB-0846 abolished the lung metastasis of TGFß1-treated A549 cells injected into the tail veins of immunodeficient mice. The inhibition of EMT was mediated by suppression of the TGFß receptor type-I (TGFBR1) gene, at least partly through the induction of microRNAs targeting the TGFBR1 transcript [miR-320 (a, b and d) and miR-186]. CONCLUSIONS: NCB-0846 pharmacologically blocks the TGFß/SMAD signalling and EMT induction of lung cancer cells by transcriptionally downregulating TGFBRI expression, representing a potentially promising approach for prevention of metastasis in lung cancer patients.

Complications of blood donation reported to haemovigilance systems: analysis of eleven years of international surveillance.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The International Haemovigilance Network collects aggregate data on complications of blood donation from member haemovigilance systems (HVS). We analysed the data collected in 2006-2016 in order to learn from it and consider future improvements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: National HVS entered annual data on donation complications and on annual whole blood and apheresis donations in the 'ISTARE' (International Surveillance of Transfusion Adverse Reactions and Events) online database. We calculated national and aggregate donation complication rates. RESULTS: Twenty-four HVS provided data for 138 country years (CY; median 7 CY, IQR 2-8), covering 155 M donations. The overall complication rate was 6·3/1000 donations and the median country rate 3·2/1000 (IQR 1·1-10·1). Overall and severe complication rates varied considerably between HVS. Vasovagal reactions (VVR) were most commonly reported: 4·6/1000 donations, median country rate 3·1/1000 donations (IQR 0·6-7·7). Rare complications included generalized allergic reaction (0·10/100 000) and major blood vessel injury (category available since 2015; 0·12/100 000). Eighteen HVS reported complications of whole blood donation (WBD) and apheresis separately (89 CY, 101·6 M WBD and 26·3 M apheresis donations). The median country VVR rate was 3·4/1000 WBD (IQR 1·0-9·1) and 1·5/1000 apheresis donations (1·0-4·2). Rates of venepuncture-related complications tended to be higher for apheresis: the median country rate of reported haematomas was 0·39/1000 WBD (IQR 0·31-1·2) vs. 4·2/1000 apheresis donations (0·69-5·6). CONCLUSION: International reporting allows HVS to study rates of blood donation complications and capture information about very rare events. The present variability of reporting and severity assessment hampers comparisons between HVS and requires further work.

Platelet safety strategies in Japan: impact of short shelf life on the incidence of septic reactions.

BACKGROUND: Transfusion-transmitted bacterial infections (TTBIs) often have serious consequences for patients. The Japanese Red Cross (JRC) has not implemented culture screening for platelet concentrate (PC), but it has maintained a shelf life of 85 hours for PC. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The JRC collected reports of suspected TTBI and investigated causal relationships using PC samples and patient blood samples. PCs showing apparent abnormalities were retrieved and cultured and analyzed for bacterial growth. RESULTS: The JRC analyzed 86 samples available from 135 transfused PCs with suspected TTBIs that were collected over the past 12 years; 17 (19.8%) were culture-positive. One, 6, and 10 TTBIs developed in patients on Days 1, 2, and 3 after PC collection, respectively. Assuming that PC is transfused on the day of issue, the TTBI risk was fourfold higher on Day 3 than on Day 2, after adjusting the TTBI incidence for the number of PCs issued per day. Compared with the model of issuing all PCs on Day 3, issuing PCs with the current distribution of storage time could have decreased the TTBI incidence by 56%. During the past 8 years, the JRC retrieved 960 PC units because of apparent abnormalities, 2.8% of which were culture-positive. CONCLUSION: The short shelf life of PC is associated with a low incidence of reported TTBIs, more than half of which occurred on Day 3 relative to earlier time points. Visual inspection of PC before transfusion is crucial in detecting bacterially contaminated PC despite its low positive predictive value.

Variations in hemoglobin measurement and eligibility criteria across blood donation services are associated with differing low-hemoglobin deferral rates: a BEST Collaborative study.

BACKGROUND: Determination of blood donor hemoglobin (Hb) levels is a pre-requisite to ensure donor safety and blood product quality. We aimed to identify Hb measurement practices across blood donation services and to what extent differences associate with low-Hb deferral rates. METHODS: An online survey was performed among Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative members, extended with published data. Multivariable negative-binomial regression models were built to estimate adjusted associations of minimum donation intervals, Hb cut-offs (high, ≥13.5 g/dL in men or ≥ 12.5 g/dL in women, vs. lower values), iron monitoring (yes/no), providing or prescribing iron supplementation (yes/no), post-versus pre-donation Hb measurement and geographical location (Asian vs. rest), with low-Hb deferral rates. RESULTS: Data were included from 38 blood services. Low-Hb deferral rates varied from 0.11% to 8.81% among men and 0.84% to 31.85% among women. Services with longer minimum donation intervals had significantly lower deferral rates among both women (rate ratio, RR 0.53, 95%CI 0.33-0.84) and men (RR 0.53, 95%CI 0.31-0.90). In women, iron supplementation was associated with lower Hb deferral rates (RR 0.47, 95%CI 0.23-0.94). Finally, being located in Asia was associated with higher low-Hb deferral rates; RR 9.10 (95%CI 3.89-21.27) for women and 6.76 (95%CI 2.45-18.68) for men. CONCLUSION: Differences in Hb measurement and eligibility criteria, particularly longer donation intervals and iron supplementation in women, are associated with variations in low-Hb deferral rates. These insights could help improve both blood donation service efficiency and donor care.

Development of a novel efficient method to construct an adenovirus library displaying random peptides on the fiber knob.

Redirection of adenovirus vectors by engineering the capsid-coding region has shown limited success because proper targeting ligands are generally unknown. To overcome this limitation, we constructed an adenovirus library displaying random peptides on the fiber knob, and its screening led to successful selections of several particular targeted vectors. In the previous library construction method, the full length of an adenoviral genome was generated by a Cre-lox mediated in vitro recombination between a fiber-modified plasmid library and the enzyme-digested adenoviral DNA/terminal protein complex (DNA-TPC) before transfection to the producer cells. In this system, the procedures were complicated and time-consuming, and approximately 30% of the vectors in the library were defective with no displaying peptide. These may hinder further extensive exploration of cancer-targeting vectors. To resolve these problems, in this study, we developed a novel method with the transfection of a fiber-modified plasmid library and a fiberless adenoviral DNA-TPC in Cre-expressing 293 cells. The use of in-cell Cre recombination and fiberless adenovirus greatly simplified the library-making steps. The fiberless adenovirus was useful in suppressing the expansion of unnecessary adenovirus vectors. In addition, the complexity of the library was more than a 10(4) level in one well in a 6-well dish, which was 10-fold higher than that of the original method. The results demonstrated that this novel method is useful in producing a high quality live adenovirus library, which could facilitate the development of targeted adenovirus vectors for a variety of applications in medicine.

Rapid Response to Lenvatinib and Disease Flare After Discontinuation in a Patient With Thymic Carcinoma Harboring KIT Exon 11 Mutation: A Case Report.

Lenvatinib, a multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor for c-Kit and other kinases, has exhibited promising efficacy in treating advanced or metastatic thymic carcinoma (TC). Here, we present the case of a patient with metastatic TC harboring a KIT exon 11 deletion and amplification. The patient exhibited a remarkable response to lenvatinib but experienced rapid disease progression after discontinuation of lenvatinib, referred to as a "disease flare." This case report indicates that KIT mutations and amplification can predict lenvatinib response in patients with TC. However, in such cases, there might be a risk of disease flares after lenvatinib discontinuation.

Direct conversion of osteosarcoma to adipocytes by targeting TNIK.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is an aggressive mesenchymal tumor for which no molecularly targeted therapies are available. We have previously identified TRAF2- and NCK-interacting protein kinase (TNIK) as an essential factor for the transactivation of Wnt signal target genes and shown that its inhibition leads to eradication of colorectal cancer stem cells. The involvement of Wnt signaling in the pathogenesis of OS has been implicated. The aim of the present study was to examine the potential of TNIK as a therapeutic target in OS. RNA interference or pharmacological inhibition of TNIK suppressed the proliferation of OS cells. Transcriptome analysis suggested that a small-molecule inhibitor of TNIK upregulated the expression of genes involved in OS cell metabolism and downregulated transcription factors essential for maintaining the stem cell phenotype. Metabolome analysis revealed that this TNIK inhibitor redirected the metabolic network from carbon flux toward lipid accumulation in OS cells. Using in vitro and in vivo OS models, we confirmed that TNIK inhibition abrogated the OS stem cell phenotype, simultaneously driving conversion of OS cells to adipocyte-like cells through induction of PPARγ. In relation to potential therapeutic targeting in clinical practice, TNIK was confirmed to be in an active state in OS cell lines and clinical specimens. From these findings, we conclude that TNIK is applicable as a potential target for treatment of OS, affecting cell fate determination.

Administration route-dependent induction of antitumor immunity by interferon-alpha gene transfer.

Type I interferon (IFN) protein is a cytokine with pleiotropic biological functions that include induction of apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis, and immunomodulation. We have demonstrated that intratumoral injection of an IFN-alpha-expressing adenovirus effectively induces cell death of cancer cells and elicits a systemic tumor-specific immunity in several animal models. On the other hand, reports demonstrated that an elevation of IFN in the serum following an intramuscular delivery of a vector is able to activate antitumor immunity. In this study, we compared the intratumoral and systemic routes of IFN gene transfer with regard to the effect and safety of the treatment. Intratumoral injection of an IFN-alpha adenovirus effectively activated tumor-responsive lymphocytes and caused tumor suppression not only in the gene-transduced tumors but also in distant tumors, which was more effective than the intravenous administration of the same vector. The expression of co-stimulatory molecules on CD11c(+) cells isolated from regional lymph nodes was enhanced by IFN gene transfer into the tumors. Systemic toxicity such as an elevation of hepatic enzymes was much lower in mice treated by intratumoral gene transfer than in those treated by systemic gene transfer. Our data suggest that the intratumoral route of the IFN vector is superior to intravenous administration, due to the effective induction of antitumor immunity and the lower toxicity.

TNIK inhibition abrogates colorectal cancer stemness.

Canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signalling is essential for maintaining intestinal stem cells, and its constitutive activation has been implicated in colorectal carcinogenesis. We and others have previously identified Traf2- and Nck-interacting kinase (TNIK) as an essential regulatory component of the T-cell factor-4 and ß-catenin transcriptional complex. Consistent with this, Tnik-deficient mice are resistant to azoxymethane-induced colon tumorigenesis, and Tnik(-/-)/Apc(min/+) mutant mice develop significantly fewer intestinal tumours. Here we report the first orally available small-molecule TNIK inhibitor, NCB-0846, having anti-Wnt activity. X-ray co-crystal structure analysis reveals that NCB-0846 binds to TNIK in an inactive conformation, and this binding mode seems to be essential for Wnt inhibition. NCB-0846 suppresses Wnt-driven intestinal tumorigenesis in Apc(min/+) mice and the sphere- and tumour-forming activities of colorectal cancer cells. TNIK is required for the tumour-initiating function of colorectal cancer stem cells. Its inhibition is a promising therapeutic approach.

A targeting ligand enhances infectivity and cytotoxicity of an oncolytic adenovirus in human pancreatic cancer tissues.

The addition of a targeting strategy is necessary to enhance oncolysis and secure safety of a conditionally replicative adenovirus (CRAd). We have constructed an adenovirus library displaying random peptides on the fiber, and have successfully identified a pancreatic cancer-targeting ligand (SYENFSA). Here, the usefulness of cancer-targeted CRAd for pancreatic cancer was examined as a preclinical study. First, we constructed a survivin promoter-regulated CRAd expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein gene (EGFP), which displayed the identified targeting ligand (AdSur-SYE). The AdSur-SYE resulted in higher gene transduction efficiency and oncolytic potency than the untargeted CRAd (AdSur) in several pancreatic cancer cell lines. An intratumoral injection of AdSur-SYE significantly suppressed the growth of subcutaneous tumors, in which AdSur-SYE effectively proliferated and spread. An ectopic infection in adjacent tissues and organs of intratumorally injected AdSur-SYE was decreased compared with AdSur. Then, to examine whether the targeting ligand actually enhanced the infectivity of CRAd in human pancreatic cancer tissues, tumor cells prepared from surgical specimens were infected with viruses. The AdSur-SYE increased gene transduction efficiency 6.4-fold higher than did AdSur in single cells derived from human pancreatic cancer, whereas the infectivity of both vectors was almost the same in the pancreas and other cancers. Immunostaining showed that most EGFP(+) cells were cytokeratin-positive in the sliced tissues, indicating that pancreatic cancer cells but not stromal cells were injected with AdSur-SYE. AdSur-SYE resulted in a stronger oncolysis in the primary pancreatic cancer cells co-cultured with mouse embryonic fibroblasts than AdSur did. CRAd in combination with a tumor-targeting ligand is promising as a next-generation of oncolytic virotherapy for pancreatic cancer.