A truncated pre-F protein mRNA vaccine elicits an enhanced immune response and protection against respiratory syncytial virus.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vaccines designed by GSK, Pfizer and Moderna to protect high-risk populations against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). These vaccines employ the pre-fusion F (pre-F) protein as the immunogen. In this study, we explored an mRNA vaccine based on a modified pre-F protein called LC2DM-lipid nanoparticle (LC2DM-LNP).

Exploring Integrin α5β1 as a Potential Therapeutic Target for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Insights From Comprehensive Multicenter Preclinical Studies.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by obliterative vascular remodeling of the small pulmonary arteries (PAs) and progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance leading to right ventricular failure. Although several drugs are approved for the treatment of PAH, mortality rates remain high. Accumulating evidence supports a pathological function of integrins in vessel remodeling, which are gaining renewed interest as drug targets.

Reporting quality of animal research in journals that published the ARRIVE 1.0 or ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines: a cross-sectional analysis of 943 studies.

Background: The adherence to the Animals in Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines across the journals that initially published the guidelines and if adherence has improved since the guidelines update, remains unknown. We aimed to quantify the level of adherence and analyze factors that might influence reporting quality among these journals.

Methods: This cross-sectional study retrospectively analyzed interventional animal experiments published in journals that released ARRIVE 1.

Canonical androgen response element motifs are tumor suppressive regulatory elements in the prostate.

The androgen receptor (AR) is central in prostate tissue identity and differentiation, and controls normal growth-suppressive, prostate-specific gene expression. It also drives prostate tumorigenesis when hijacked for oncogenic transcription. The execution of growth-suppressive AR transcriptional programs in prostate cancer (PCa) and the potential for reactivation remain unclear.

Photon-counting Detector CT for Liver Fat Quantification: Validation across Protocols in Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease.

Background Traditional energy-integrating detector CT has limited utility in accurately quantifying liver fat due to protocol-induced CT value shifts, but this limitation can be addressed by using photon-counting detector (PCD) CT, which allows for a standardized CT value. Purpose To develop and validate a universal CT to MRI fat conversion formula to enhance fat quantification accuracy across various PCD CT protocols relative to MRI proton density fat fraction (PDFF). Materials and Methods In this prospective study, the feasibility of fat quantification was evaluated in phantoms with various nominal fat fractions.

A gB nanoparticle vaccine elicits a protective neutralizing antibody response against EBV.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a global public health concern, as it is known to cause multiple diseases while also being etiologically associated with a wide range of epithelial and lymphoid malignancies. Currently, there is no available prophylactic vaccine against EBV. gB is the EBV fusion protein that mediates viral membrane fusion and participates in host recognition, making it critical for EBV infection in both B cells and epithelial cells.

Coating-Free Culture Medium for Establishing and Maintaining Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Cell expansion of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) commonly depends on Matrigel as a coating matrix on two-dimensional (2D) culture plates and 3D microcarriers. However, the xenogenic Matrigel requires sophisticated quality-assurance processes to meet clinical requirements. In this study, we develop an innovative coating-free medium for expanding hPSCs.

An IgM-like inhalable ACE2 fusion protein broadly neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Many of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics are not effective against newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here, we developed the metallo-enzyme domain of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-the cellular receptor of SARS-CoV-2-into an IgM-like inhalable molecule (HH-120). HH-120 binds to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein with high avidity and confers potent and broad-spectrum neutralization activity against all known SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

Activin Receptor-Like Kinase 3 Directly Couples Gαq (Guanine Nucleotide-Binding Protein Subunit αq)/ Gαq (Guanine Nucleotide-Binding Protein Subunit α11) to Regulate Vascular Contractility.

Background: Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) contractility is critical for blood pressure regulation and vascular homeostasis. Identifying the key molecule that maintains VSMC contractility may provide a novel therapeutic target for vascular remodeling. ALK3 (activin receptor-like kinase 3) is a serine/threonine kinase receptor, and deletion of ALK3 causes embryonic lethality.

COVID-19 vaccination boosts the potency and breadth of the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 among recovered patients in Wuhan.

The immunity of patients who recover from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could be long lasting but persist at a lower level. Thus, recovered patients still need to be vaccinated to prevent reinfection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or its mutated variants. Here, we report that the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine can stimulate immunity in recovered patients to maintain high levels of anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) and anti-nucleocapsid protein (NP) antibody titers within 9 months, and high neutralizing activity against the prototype, Delta, and Omicron strains was observed.

A general chemical principle for creating closure-stabilizing integrin inhibitors.

Integrins are validated drug targets with six approved therapeutics. However, small-molecule inhibitors to three integrins failed in late-stage clinical trials for chronic indications. Such unfavorable outcomes may in part be caused by partial agonism, i.

Interrelating Grain Hardness Index of Wheat with Physicochemical and Structural Properties of Starch Extracted Therefrom.

To investigate the physicochemical, structural, and rheological characteristics of starch from wheat cultivars varying in grain hardness index employed in making and to interrelate grain hardness index with physicochemical and structural properties of starch. Starch extracted therefrom was investigated for structural and physicochemical properties. Starch granules showed relatively wide granule size distribution; large size granules showed lenticular shapes while medium and small size granules exhibited spherical or irregular shapes.

Functionally selective signaling and broad metabolic benefits by novel insulin receptor partial agonists.

Insulin analogs have been developed to treat diabetes with focus primarily on improving the time action profile without affecting ligand-receptor interaction or functional selectivity. As a result, inherent liabilities (e.g.

A capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR assay for expanded carrier screening in the eastern Han Chinese population.

Expanded carrier screening, a type of reproductive genetic testing for couples, has gained tremendous popularity for assessing the risk of passing on certain genetic conditions to offspring. Here, a carrier screening assay for 448 pathogenic variants was developed using capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR technology. The capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR assay achieved a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 97.

Optical Force on a Metal Nanorod Exerted by a Photonic Jet.

In this article, we study the optical force exerted on nanorods. In recent years, the capture of micro-nanoparticles has been a frontier topic in optics. A Photonic Jet (PJ) is an emerging subwavelength beam with excellent application prospects.

Unspliced XBP1 Counteracts β-Catenin to Inhibit Vascular Calcification.

Background: Vascular calcification is a prevalent complication in chronic kidney disease and contributes to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. XBP1 (X-box binding protein 1), existing as the XBP1u (unspliced XBP1) and XBP1s (spliced XBP1) forms, is a key component of the endoplasmic reticulum stress involved in vascular diseases. However, whether XBP1u participates in the development of vascular calcification remains unclear.

Influence of red blood cell indices on HbA1c performance in detecting dysglycaemia in a Singapore preconception cohort study.

Abnormalities of red blood cell (RBC) indices may affect glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. We assessed the influence of haemoglobin (Hb) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) on the performance of HbA1c in detecting dysglycaemia among reproductive aged women planning to conceive. Women aged 18-45 years (n = 985) were classified as normal (12 ≤ Hb ≤ 16 g/dL and 80 ≤ MCV ≤ 100 fL) and abnormal (Hb < 12 g/dL and/or MCV < 80 fL).

Massively scaled-up testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA via next-generation sequencing of pooled and barcoded nasal and saliva samples.

Frequent and widespread testing of members of the population who are asymptomatic for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential for the mitigation of the transmission of the virus. Despite the recent increases in testing capacity, tests based on quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays cannot be easily deployed at the scale required for population-wide screening. Here, we show that next-generation sequencing of pooled samples tagged with sample-specific molecular barcodes enables the testing of thousands of nasal or saliva samples for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a single run without the need for RNA extraction.

Association between Aortic Valve Calcification Progression and Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque Volume Progression in the PARADIGM Registry.

Background Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is a key feature of aortic stenosis, and patients with aortic stenosis often have coronary -artery disease. Therefore, proving the association between the progression of AVC and coronary atherosclerosis could improve follow-up and treatment strategies. Purpose To explore the association between the progression of AVC and the progression of total and plaque volume composition from a large multicenter registry of serial coronary CT angiographic examinations.