Mucosal-associated invariant T cells modulate innate immune cells and inhibit colon cancer growth.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T cells that can be activated by microbial antigens and cytokines and are abundant in mucosal tissues including the colon. MAIT cells have cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory functions and have potentials for use as adoptive cell therapy. However, studies into their anti-cancer activity, including their role in colon cancer, are limited.

MAIT Cells Modulate Innate Immune Cells and Inhibit Colon Cancer Growth.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T cells that can be activated by microbial antigens and cytokines and are abundant in mucosal tissues including the colon. MAIT cells have cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory functions and have potentials for use as adoptive cell therapy. However, studies into their anti-cancer activity, including their role in colon cancer, are limited.

PptT Inhibitors Based on Heterocyclic Replacements of Amidinoureas.

4'-Phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PptT) is an essential enzyme for () survival and virulence and therefore an attractive target for a tuberculosis therapeutic. In this work, two modeling-informed approaches toward the isosteric replacement of the amidinourea moiety present in the previously reported PptT inhibitor AU 8918 are reported. Although a designed 3,5-diamino imidazole unexpectedly adopted an undesired tautomeric form and was inactive, replacement of the amidinourea moiety afforded a series of active PptT inhibitors containing 2,6-diaminopyridine scaffolds.

Enhancing Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cell Function and Expansion with Human Selective Serum.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are promising innate-like lymphocytes with potential for use in anti-tumor immunotherapy. Existing MAIT cell expansion protocols are associated with potentially decremental phenotypic changes, including increased frequency of CD4+ MAIT cells and higher inhibitory receptor expression. In this study, we compared the effect on expansion of human MAIT cells of a serum replacement, Physiologix XF SR (Phx), with traditional serum FBS for supplementing RPMI 1640 media.

Erratum to: Use of a MAIT-Activating Ligand, 5-OP-RU, as a Mucosal Adjuvant in a Murine Model of O1 Vaccination.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.20411/pai.v7i1.

Examining the Implementation of Conditional Financial Incentives Using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) Framework to Improve HIV Outcomes among Persons Living with HIV (PLWH) in Louisiana.

Economic strengthening interventions are needed to support HIV outcomes among persons living with HIV (PLWH). The Baton Rouge Positive Pathway Study (BRPPS), a mixed method implementation science study, was conducted to assess key RE-AIM components tied to the provision of conditional financial incentives among PLWH in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Seven hundred and eighty-one (781) PLWH enrolled at four HIV clinic sites were included in the final analyses.

HFIP in Organic Synthesis.

1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) is a polar, strongly hydrogen bond-donating solvent that has found numerous uses in organic synthesis due to its ability to stabilize ionic species, transfer protons, and engage in a range of other intermolecular interactions. The use of this solvent has exponentially increased in the past decade and has become a solvent of choice in some areas, such as C-H functionalization chemistry. In this review, following a brief history of HFIP in organic synthesis and an overview of its physical properties, literature examples of organic reactions using HFIP as a solvent or an additive are presented, emphasizing the effect of solvent of each reaction.

Endothelin 2: a key player in ovulation and fertility.

Ovulation is the fundamental biological process during which an oocyte is expelled from the ovary, and it is an essential step toward establishing a pregnancy. Understanding regulatory mechanisms governing the ovulation process is essential for diagnosing and treating causes of infertility, identifying contraceptive targets, and developing novel contraception methods. Endothelin-2 (EDN2) is a 21 amino acid-long peptide that is transiently synthesized by granulosa cells of the ovulatory follicle prior to ovulation and plays an essential role in ovulation via promoting contraction in the myofibroblast cells of the theca layer of the follicle.

The Type I interferon antiviral gene program is impaired by lockdown and preserved by caregiving.

Previous research has linked perceived social isolation (loneliness) to reduced antiviral immunity, but the immunologic effects of the objective social isolation imposed by pandemic "shelter in place" (SIP) policies is unknown. We assessed the immunologic impact of SIP by relocating 21 adult male rhesus macaques from 2,000-m field cage communities of 70 to 132 other macaques to 2 wk of individual housing in indoor shelters. SIP was associated with 30% to 50% reductions in all circulating immune cell populations (lymphocytes, monocytes, and granulocytes), down-regulation of Type I interferon (IFN) antiviral gene expression, and a relative up-regulation of CD16 classical monocytes.

Progesterone Receptor Serves the Ovary as a Trigger of Ovulation and a Terminator of Inflammation.

Ovulation is triggered by the gonadotropin surge that induces the expression of two key genes, progesterone receptor (Pgr) and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (Ptgs2), in the granulosa cells of preovulatory follicles. Their gene products PGR and PTGS2 activate two separate pathways that are both essential for successful ovulation. Here, we show that the PGR plays an additional essential role: it attenuates ovulatory inflammation by diminishing the gonadotropin surge-induced Ptgs2 expression.

Phenome-wide investigation of health outcomes associated with genetic predisposition to loneliness.

Humans are social animals that experience intense suffering when they perceive a lack of social connection. Modern societies are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. Although the experience of loneliness is universally human, some people report experiencing greater loneliness than others.

To what extent is psychological resilience protective or ameliorative: Exploring the effects of deployment on the mental health of combat medics.

Exposure to a major traumatic stressor increases the odds of negative mental health and maladaptive behavioral outcomes not only for victims but also for 1st responders and health care professionals who are exposed to the aftermath. This study investigates the extent to which psychological resilience acts as either a Protective (i.e.

Social Network Characteristics and Their Associations With Stress in Older Adults: Closure and Balance in a Population-Based Sample.

Objectives: Integration into social networks reduces stress during adverse life events and improves coping with disability in late life. The aim was to investigate whether social network closure (frequent contact among ties) and balance (positive contact among ties) are associated with perceived stress. We expect lowest stress for older adults with highly closed and balanced networks.

Genetic Contributions to Loneliness and Their Relevance to the Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness.

Loneliness is a negative and distressing emotional state that arises from a discrepancy between one's desired and achieved levels of social connectedness. The evolutionary theory of loneliness (ETL) posits that experiencing loneliness is an inherited adaptation that signals that salutary social relations are endangered or damaged and prompts people to reconnect to significant others. The basic tenets of the ETL has led researchers to examine the genetic underpinnings of loneliness.

Anthropomorphizing without Social Cues Requires the Basolateral Amygdala.

Anthropomorphism, the attribution of distinctively human mental characteristics to nonhuman animals and objects, illustrates the human propensity for extending social cognition beyond typical social targets. Yet, its processing components remain challenging to study because they are typically all engaged simultaneously. Across one pilot study and one focal study, we tested three rare people with basolateral amygdala lesions to dissociate two specific processing components: those triggered by attention to social cues (e.

Loneliness predicts a preference for larger interpersonal distance within intimate space.

Loneliness is thought to serve as an adaptive signal indicating the need to repair or replace salutary social connections. Accordingly, loneliness may influence preferences for interpersonal distance. If loneliness simply motivates a desire to socially reconnect, then loneliness may be associated with a preference for smaller interpersonal distances.

Associations between loneliness and personality are mostly driven by a genetic association with Neuroticism.

Objective: Loneliness is an aversive response to a discrepancy between desired and actual social relationships and correlates with personality. We investigate the relationship of loneliness and personality in twin family and molecular genetic data.

Method: Phenotypic correlations between loneliness and the Big Five personality traits were estimated in 29,625 adults, and in a group with genome-wide genotype data (N = 4,222), genetic correlations were obtained.

Predicting loneliness with polygenic scores of social, psychological and psychiatric traits.

Loneliness is a heritable trait that accompanies multiple disorders. The association between loneliness and mental health indices may partly be due to inherited biological factors. We constructed polygenic scores for 27 traits related to behavior, cognition and mental health and tested their prediction for self-reported loneliness in a population-based sample of 8798 Dutch individuals.

Evidence-Based Performance Measures: Quality Metrics for the Care of Patients Undergoing Breast Reconstruction.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons commissioned the Breast Reconstruction Performance Measure Development Work Group to identify and draft quality measures for the care of patients undergoing breast reconstruction surgery. Two outcome measures were identified. The first desired outcome was to reduce the number of returns to the operating room following reconstruction within 60 days of the initial reconstructive procedure.

Generation and characterization of an estrogen receptor alpha-iCre knock-in mouse.

Two estrogen receptors, ESR1 and ESR2, are responsible for the classical actions of estrogens in mammalian species. They display different spatiotemporal expression patterns and nonoverlapping functions in various tissues and physiological conditions. In this study, a novel knock-in mouse line that expresses codon-improved Cre recombinase (iCre) under regulation of the natural Esr1 promoter (Esr1-iCre) was developed.

Loneliness and Social Internet Use: Pathways to Reconnection in a Digital World?

With the rise of online social networking, social relationships are increasingly developed and maintained in a digital domain. Drawing conclusions about the impact of the digital world on loneliness is difficult because there are contradictory findings, and cross-sectional studies dominate the literature, making causation difficult to establish. In this review, we present our theoretical model and propose that there is a bidirectional and dynamic relationship between loneliness and social Internet use.

Reciprocal Influences Between Loneliness and Self-Centeredness: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis in a Population-Based Sample of African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian Adults.

Loneliness has been posited to increase the motivation to repair or replace deficient social relationships and, seemingly paradoxically, to increase the implicit motivation for self-preservation. In the current research, we report a cross-lagged panel analysis of 10 waves of longitudinal data ( N = 229) on loneliness and self-centeredness (as gauged by Feeney and Collins's measure of chronic self-focus) in a representative sample of middle-aged and older adults. As predicted by the proposition that loneliness increases the implicit motivation for self-preservation, loneliness in the current year predicts self-centeredness in the subsequent year beyond what is explained by current-year demographic variables, self-centeredness, depressive symptomatology, and overall negative mood.

Granulosa cell endothelin-2 expression is fundamental for ovulatory follicle rupture.

Ovulation is dependent upon numerous factors mediating follicular growth, vascularization, and ultimately oocyte release via follicle rupture. Endothelin-2 (EDN2) is a potent vasoconstrictor that is transiently produced prior to follicle rupture by granulosa cells of periovulatory follicles and induces ovarian contraction. To determine the role of Edn2 expression, surgical transplant and novel conditional knockout mice were super-ovulated and analyzed.