Dysbiotic tumor microbiota associates with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma outcomes.

Background: The need for an effective tool to predict prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients is critical and unmet. Microbiota has recently been found involved in tumor progression and response to immunotherapy. However, the association of microbiota with the prognosis of HNSCC patients remains obscure.

Whole transcriptome analysis of trophoblasts under hypoxia.

Introduction: A physiological hypoxia environment exists at maternal-fetal interface during early pregnancy. In addition, there is a pathological hypoxic microenvironment in patients with preeclampsia. Therefore, investigating the hypoxic adaptation and the effects of hypoxia on trophoblasts transcriptome is helpful to better understand the function and regulatory mechanism of trophoblasts at the maternal-fetal interface.

CD68 Macrophage Infiltration Associates With Poor Outcome of HPV Negative Oral Squamous Carcinoma Patients Receiving Radiation: Poly(I:C) Enhances Radiosensitivity of CAL-27 Cells but Promotes Macrophage Recruitment Through HMGB1.

Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) negative oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) generally have poor clinical outcomes and worse responses to radiotherapy. It is urgent to explore the underlining mechanisms of the distinct prognoses between HPV negative and HPV positive OSCC and to develop effective therapy strategy to increase the survival rate of HPV negative OSCC patients. We conducted a retrospective cohort of 99 resected OSCC patients to evaluate the prognosis of HPV negative and HPV positive OSCC patients receiving radiation or not.

The presence of elevated circulating trimethylamine N-oxide exaggerates postoperative cognitive dysfunction in aged rats.

Surgical trauma can cause brain oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, leading to postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), especially in the elderly. Additionally, the pre-existing risk factors may enhance POCD. Gut microbiota-derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) has recently been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of many diseases by increasing oxidative stress and inflammation in the peripheral tissues.

Impaired Myocardial MIF/AMPK Activation Aggravates Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity.

Background: Obese patients are more sensitive to myocardial ischemia, which has been linked with high mortality rates. The following study investigates the effects of impaired macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF)/AMP-Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) activation on increased susceptibility to myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in high-fat diet-induced obesity.

Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were fed with a normal diet (10% kcal as fat, lean group) or a high-fat diet (60kcal as fat, obese group) for 12 consecutive weeks.

Preoperative Tim‑3 expression on peripheral NK cells is correlated with pathologic TNM staging in colorectal cancer.

Previous research has indicated that T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (Tim-3) serves an important regulatory role in lymphocytes and in several cancers. However, the association between Tim‑3 expression on various lymphocyte subsets and human colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been elucidated. The present study aimed to characterize Tim‑3 expression on peripheral lymphocytes, including cluster of differentiation CD3+CD56‑ T cells, CD3‑CD56+ natural killer (NK) cells and CD3+CD56+ natural killer T (NKT) cells, in patients with CRC.

Fucoidan inhibits CCL22 production through NF-κB pathway in M2 macrophages: a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer.

In tumor microenvironment, macrophages as a polarized M2 population promote tumor progression via releasing multiple cytokines and chemokines. A brown seaweed fucose-rich polysaccharide, fucoidan has antitumor activity and immune modulation through affecting tumor cells and lymphocytes. Here, we focused on the effect of fucoidan on macrophages especially M2 subtype.

Reduced Expression of Galectin-9 Contributes to a Poor Outcome in Colon Cancer by Inhibiting NK Cell Chemotaxis Partially through the Rho/ROCK1 Signaling Pathway.

Galectin-9 is a widely expressed protein that is involved in immune regulation and tumorpathogenesis and serves as a marker of a poor prognosis in various types of cancers. However, the clinical impact and the precise mechanism by which this protein contributes to colon tumor progression are unclear. In the present study, we detected the expression of galectin-9 and CD56 cells using immunohistochemistry.

Tim-3 Is Upregulated in NK Cells during Early Pregnancy and Inhibits NK Cytotoxicity toward Trophoblast in Galectin-9 Dependent Pathway.

NK cells accumulate at the maternal-fetal interface (MFI) and play essential roles in maintaining immune tolerance during pregnancy. The mechanisms that facilitate NK cells tolerance to fetal tissue are largely unknown. T cell Ig and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (Tim-3) is a newly defined molecule with essential immunological function in many physiological and pathological processes.

Response gene to complement 32 (RGC-32) expression on M2-polarized and tumor-associated macrophages is M-CSF-dependent and enhanced by tumor-derived IL-4.

Response gene to complement 32 (RGC-32) is a cell cycle regulator involved in the proliferation, differentiation and migration of cells and has also been implicated in angiogenesis. Here we show that RGC-32 expression in macrophages is induced by IL-4 and reduced by LPS, indicating a link between RGC-32 expression and M2 polarization. We demonstrated that the increased expression of RGC-32 is characteristic of alternatively activated macrophages, in which this protein suppresses the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and promotes the production of the anti-inflammatory mediator TGF-β.

Silencing Kif2a induces apoptosis in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue through inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the overexpression of Kif2a is involved in the progression, invasion and metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue (SCCOT). Few studies have reported the correlation between Kif2a and apoptosis of tumor cells and which signaling pathways Kif2a is involved in remains unclear. The phosphatidylinositol‑3‑kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway is frequently activated in many types of human cancer.

Effects and mechanisms of curcumin and basil polysaccharide on the invasion of SKOV3 cells and dendritic cells.

In the present study, a polysaccharide extract was obtained from Ocimum basilicum (basil polysaccharide, BPS) and the effects of curcumin and BPS on the invasion activity of the SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells and human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) were investigated. SKOV3 cells and immature or mature DCs were treated with 50 µM curcumin or 100 µg/ml BPS. A transwell invasion assay demonstrated that curcumin and BPS differentially regulate the invasion of SKOV3 cells and DCs.

Human placental trophoblasts express the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-35.

Studies of maternal-fetal tolerance focus on defining mechanisms for establishment of immunological privilege within the uterus during pregnancy. Fetal trophoblasts play a key role in maternal tolerance, in part through cytokines production. As a novel inhibitory cytokine, IL-35 is produced by Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) and mediates maximal suppression of Tregs.

Involvement of the mitochondrial pathway and Bim/Bcl-2 balance in dihydroartemisinin-induced apoptosis in human breast cancer in vitro.

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a semi-synthetic derivative and active metabolite of artemisinin, has been shown to have profound anticancer potential in addition to its strong anti-malarial activity. The purpose of the present study was to thoroughly investigate the anti-neoplastic effects induced by DHA and to provide a molecular basis for the use of DHA in the treatment of breast cancer. Our results demonstrated that DHA could significantly inhibit the cell proliferation of breast cancer in a dose- and time-dependent manner that was associated with induced apoptosis and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, and the half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of DHA treatment were 60.

Regulation of Th1/Th2 polarization by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 via modulating dendritic cells.

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3) is one of a family of proteins inhibiting matrix metalloproteinases, which has also been identified as a mediator for checking inflammation. Meanwhile, it is well known that inflammation causes the activation of the immune response. However, it is not clear whether TIMP-3 plays a role in the immune system.

RhoBTB2 (DBC2) functions as tumor suppressor via inhibiting proliferation, preventing colony formation and inducing apoptosis in breast cancer cells.

RhoBTB2 was isolated recently as a tumor suppressor gene from sporadic breast cancer. Although RhoBTB2 was found to be frequently lost in breast cancer and a variety of cancers, its antitumor effect, however, remains unclear. In this study, we constructed a recombinant expression vector pEGFP-N1-RhoBTB2 and transfected it into RhoBTB2-negative breast tumor cell line T-47D.

Single-molecule-counting protein microarray assay with nanoliter samples and its application in the dynamic protein expression of living cells.

A novel ultra-sensitive single-molecule-counting microarray assay (SMCMA) with a 1.8-nL sample volume for quantification of proteins was provided using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy coupled with quantum dot (QD)-labeling. In the SMCMA, the microarray consisting of ∼ 300 μm diameter microspots with the spot-to-spot pitch distance of 500 μm was fabricated by spotting 1.

HIF-dependent induction of adenosine receptor A2b skews human dendritic cells to a Th2-stimulating phenotype under hypoxia.

Hypoxia is a common characteristic of many pathological and physiological conditions that can markedly change cellular metabolism and cause the accumulation of extracellular adenosine. Recent studies have shown that adenosine can modulate the function of certain immune cell types through binding with different adenosine receptors. Our previous studies have shown that hypoxia has an effect on the biological activity of dendritic cells (DCs) by inducing their differentiation towards a Th2 polarising phenotype.

Hypoxia suppresses the production of MMP-9 by human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and requires activation of adenosine receptor A2b via cAMP/PKA signaling pathway.

The migration of dendritic cells (DCs) from the site of antigen-encounter to regional lymphoid organs is crucial for DCs to function as potent antigen-presenting cells. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is critically for DCs migration across extracellular matrix (ECM). We verified in previous studies that hypoxia diminished the production of MMP-9 in human monocyte-derived DCs via an unknown mechanism.