Publications by authors named "Dejun Kong"

Organ transplantation is a life-saving intervention that enhances the quality of life for patients with end-stage organ failure. However, long-term immunosuppressive therapy is required to prevent allogeneic graft rejection, which inadvertently elevates the risk of post-transplant malignancies, especially for liver transplant recipients with a prior history of liver cancer. In response, the emerging field of transplant oncology integrates principles from oncology and immunology to improve outcomes for patients at high risk of tumor occurrence or recurrence following transplantation.

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Regulatory T cells (Tregs) with multifaceted functions suppress anti-tumor immunity by signaling surrounding cells. Here we report Tregs use the surface lymphotoxin (LT)α1β2 to preferentially stimulate LT beta receptor (LTβR) nonclassical NFκB signaling on both tumor cells and lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) to accelerate tumor growth and metastasis. Selectively targeting LTβR nonclassical NFκB pathway inhibits tumor growth and migration in vitro.

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Article Synopsis
  • Fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs) are crucial for maintaining the structure and function of secondary lymphoid tissues and help modulate immune responses in the lymphoid microenvironment.
  • In response to immune challenges like infections or autoimmune diseases, FRCs undergo metabolic reprogramming that alters their functions through the regulation of metabolic pathways and enzymes.
  • This review details how FRCs adapt their activities, such as cell growth and cytokine production, to support immune system needs and maintain immune balance under different physiological conditions.
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In patients with abdominal or pelvic tumors, radiotherapy can result in radiation-induced intestinal injury (RIII), a potentially severe complication for which there are few effective therapeutic options. Sitagliptin (SI) is an oral hypoglycemic drug that exhibits antiapoptotic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity, but how it influences RIII-associated outcomes has yet to be established. In this study, a pH-responsive metal-organic framework-based nanoparticle platform was developed for the delivery of SI (SI@ZIF-8@MS NP).

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Objectives: Previous studies elucidated that capecitabine (CAP) works as an anti-tumor agent with putative immunosuppressive effects. However, the intricate mechanisms underpinning these effects remain to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to unravel the molecular pathways by which CAP exerts its immunosuppressive effects to reduce allograft rejection.

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  • Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, and interleukin-35 (IL-35) has potential therapeutic effects on it, although the exact mechanism is not fully understood.
  • Researchers engineered Pichia pastoris to express IL-35 and tested its effectiveness on BALB/c mice with UC induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), leading to positive outcomes in weight, stool health, and reduced colon inflammation.
  • Treatment with Pichia/IL-35 not only improved the mice's condition but also increased the expression of T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TCPTP) in macrophages, enhanced M2 macrophage levels, reduced inflammatory cytokines
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Background: Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a major complication of liver transplantation and gravely affects patient prognosis. Icaritin (ICT), the primary plasma metabolite of icariin (ICA), plays a critical role in anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory processes. However, the role of ICT in hepatic IR injury remains largely undefined.

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  • Allograft rejection is a significant challenge in organ transplantation, and this study investigates the effects of recombinant human IL-37 (rhIL-37) in improving graft survival in a mouse model.
  • The research found that rhIL-37 treatment led to long-term acceptance of transplanted hearts by reducing immune cell infiltration and modulating cytokine profiles, specifically increasing Treg cells and decreasing inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α.
  • The findings suggest that IL-37 may be a promising therapeutic option for preventing organ rejection, highlighting its role in immune regulation through pathways like p-mTOR.
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  • A new type of multimode filter using pixelated waveguides is introduced and successfully tested, focusing on polarization beam-splitting capabilities.
  • Advanced optimization methods, including finite difference time domain and direct binary search, were used to enhance the filter's performance by making it compact, broad in bandwidth, and effective at minimizing loss and maximizing polarization distinction.
  • Experimental measurements show that the device operates efficiently in the 1520 to 1560 nm wavelength range, achieving low insertion losses (below 1.23 dB for transverse-electric and 0.74 dB for transverse-magnetic) and high extinction ratios (over 15.14 dB for TE and 15.50 dB for TM), all within a
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At present, although there are tumor markers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), markers with better predictive efficiency are needed. SAA4 gene expression in liver tumor and paracancerous tissues was analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed and visualized by heatmap and volcano plot.

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Humor research is flourishing in Management. Diverse theories have been adopted and diverse factors have been used in research. Nonetheless, these disconnected efforts pose challenges to the development of a coherent body of knowledge on humor in organizational life.

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Background: As a kind of mesenchymal-like stromal cells, endometrial regenerative cells (ERCs) have been demonstrated effective in the treatment of Concanavalin A (Con A)-induced hepatitis. However, the therapeutic mechanism of ERCs is not fully understood. Ecto-5`-nucleotidase (CD73), an enzyme that could convert immune-stimulative adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to immune-suppressive adenosine (ADO), was identified highly expressed on ERCs.

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Strain KC 927 was isolated during an investigation of the soil bacteria diversity on Jiaozi Mountain, central Yunnan, Southwest China. The strain was Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile, oxidase-negative, catalase-positive and aerobic. Results of 16S rRNA gene alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain KC 927 was a member of the genus and closely related to GCR10 (98.

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Liver transplantation is one of the most effective treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The balance between inhibiting immune rejection and preventing tumor recurrence after liver transplantation is the key to determining the long-term prognosis of patients with HCC after liver transplantation. In our previous study, we found that capecitabine (CAP), an effective drug for the treatment of HCC, could exert an immunosuppressive effect after liver transplantation by inducing T cell ferroptosis.

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Plant natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) plays important roles in metal transport and tolerance. Tobacco is a typical cadmium (Cd) accumulator, while research on NRAMP in tobacco has been limited. In the current study, two novel NRAMP genes (NtNRAMP6a and NtNRAMP6b) were identified from the allotetraploid plant Nicotiana tabacum L.

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Background: Capecitabine (CAP) is a classic antimetabolic drug and has shown potential antirejection effects after liver transplantation (LT) in clinical studies. Our previous study showed that metronomic CAP can cause the programmed death of T cells by inducing oxidative stress in healthy mice. Ferroptosis, a newly defined non-apoptotic cell death that occurs in response to iron overload and lethal levels of lipid peroxidation, is an important mechanism by which CAP induces cell death.

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In this Letter, a polarization-insensitive high-order mode pass filter is presented, designed, and experimentally demonstrated. When TE, TM, TE, and TM modes are injected into the input port, TM and TE modes are filtered, and TE and TM modes exit from the output port. To attain compactness, broad bandwidth, low insertion loss, excellent extinction ratio, and polarization-insensitive property, the finite difference time domain method and direct-binary-search or particle swarm optimization algorithm are employed for the optimization of structural parameters of the photonic crystal region and the coupling region in the tapered coupler.

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Background: We aimed to explore the risk factors for hemorrhage of esophagogastric varices (EGVs) in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis and to construct a novel nomogram model based on the spleen volume expansion rate to predict the risk of esophagogastric varices bleeding.

Methods: Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors for EGVs bleeding. Nomograms were established based on the multivariate analysis results.

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Background: This multicenter phase 1b/2 trial aimed to explore the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), activity, and safety of anlotinib plus chemotherapy in patients with T790M-negative epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after resistance to first- or second-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

Methods: In the phase 1b stage, patients received anlotinib (8/10/12 mg, days 1-14) combined with cisplatin (75 mg/m , day 1) or carboplatin (AUC = 5, day 1) plus pemetrexed (500 mg/m , day 1) for a 3-week cycle based on a 3 + 3 dose-escalation design. In the phase 2 single-arm stage, anlotinib was administered at MTD combined with platinum plus pemetrexed for four cycles, followed by anlotinib maintenance therapy.

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Background: Endometrial regenerative cells (ERCs) have been identified to ameliorate colitis in mice; however, whether exosomes derived from ERCs (ERC-exos) own similar effects on colitis remains unclear. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent cell programmed death form, has been reported to promote inflammation in UC. Thus, in this study, whether ERC-exos can treat colitis and regulate intestine ferroptosis will be explored.

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Background: Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (LIHC) is characterized by high malignancy, poor prognosis, and high recurrence rate worldwide. The role of ferroptosis in tumorigenesis and progression has been confirmed in previous studies. However, the multi-omics analysis in liver cancer of ferroptosis-markers RPL8 remains to be elucidated.

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We investigated potassium (K) accumulation characteristics and expression of K metabolism related genes in one high-K variety (ND202) and a common variety (NC89) of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.). Results showed that K accumulation and leaf K content in ND202 were higher than those in NC89.

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Aims: Medicinal leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) are fresh water ectoparasitic species which have been applied as traditional therapy. However, gut microbiota could bring high risks of opportunistic infections after leeching and arouses great interests. Here, gut bacterial and fungal communities of an Asian prevalent leech Poecilobdella manillensis were characterized and analysed through culture-independent sequencing.

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Endotoxemia remains a major cause of mortality in the intensive care unit, but the therapeutic strategy is still lacking. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) was reported with a tissue-oriented differentiation ability and an excellent immunoregulatory capacity. However, the immunity signaling pathways that govern MSC modulation effect are not completely understood.

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