Natural product P57 induces hypothermia through targeting pyridoxal kinase.

Induction of hypothermia during hibernation/torpor enables certain mammals to survive under extreme environmental conditions. However, pharmacological induction of hypothermia in most mammals remains a huge challenge. Here we show that a natural product P57 promptly induces hypothermia and decreases energy expenditure in mice.

A novel prognostic model of bladder cancer based on urine-derived living tumor cells.

Bladder cancer (BLCA) remains a difficult malignancy to manage because of its high recurrence, intense follow-up, and invasive diagnostic and treatment techniques. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have forged a new direction for the treatment of BLCA, but it is currently challenging to predict whether an individual patient will be sensitive to ICIs. We collected 43 urine/tumor samples from BLCA patients for primary bladder cancer cells (BCCs) culturing using our previously reported BCC culture platform.

Sleep Disturbance Affects Immune Factors in Clinical Liver Cancer Patients.

Background: Sleep-wake disturbance is prevalent in patients with liver cancer, but there is no direct evidence of its association and related biological mechanisms. Our study was to assess quality of sleep and to describe prevalence of sleep disturbances in patients with different etiologies of liver cancer, especially to explore whether sleep quality influences immune factors.

Methods: A total of 210 patients with liver cancer from August 2015 to December 2015 were randomly divided into two groups including HBV cirrhosis and non-HBV cirrhosis.

NLRC3 High Expression Represents a Novel Predictor for Positive Overall Survival Correlated With CCL5 and CXCL9 in HCC Patients.

NLRC3 (NLR family caspase recruitment domain containing 3) has been reported as a factor of inhibiting inflammatory responses. It's role in HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma) is still unknown. In this study we firstly used the GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) database and mIHC (multiple immunohistochemical analysis) with TMAs (tumor tissue microarrays) of HCC patients to evaluate NLRC3 levels.

Sleep Deprivation Disturbs Immune Surveillance and Promotes the Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Sleep disturbance is common in patients with cancer and is associated with poor prognosis. However, the effects of sleep deprivation (SD) on immune surveillance during the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HC) and the underlying mechanisms are not known. This was investigated in the present study using mouse models of SD and tumorigenesis.

CCR7 high expression leads to cetuximab resistance by cross-talking with EGFR pathway in PI3K/AKT signals in colorectal cancer.

Cetuximab (C225), an anti-Epidermal Growth Factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody, has been widely used as a routine treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC); However, many patients who initially respond to cetuximab acquire resistance. The purpose of this study was to characterize new mechanism of acquired Cetuximab resistance. Firstly, tissue microarrays (TMA) comprising 191 CRC patients was constructed to evaluate the expression of chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) by using immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Contralateral cervical seventh nerve transfer for spastic arm paralysis via a modified prespinal route: a cadaveric study.

Background: We proposed contralateral cervical seventh nerve transfer for spastic arm paralysis after central neurological injury in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 2018. In this surgery, we applied a new surgical route for nerve transfer, the Huashan prespinal route. The objective of this study was to elaborate our new surgical technique, clarify its relationship to the vertebral artery, and provide anatomical data on this novel method.

The Recognition of the Distribution Features of Corticospinal Neurons by a Retrograde Trans-synaptic Tracing to Elucidate the Clinical Application of Contralateral Middle Trunk Transfer.

Corticospinal neurons (CSNs) undertake direct cortical outputs to the spinal cord and innervate the upper limb through the brachial plexus. Our previous study has shown that the contralateral middle trunk transfer to the paralyzed upper extremity due to cerebral injury can reconstruct the functional cerebral cortex and improve the function of the paralyzed upper extremity. To interpret the cortical reconstruction and the motor improvement after the middle trunk transfer, we explored the distribution of CSNs connecting to the middle, upper, and lower trunk of the brachial plexus by retrograde trans-neuronal tracing using pseudorabies virus (PRV-EGFP or PRV-mRFP).

CCL14 serves as a novel prognostic factor and tumor suppressor of HCC by modulating cell cycle and promoting apoptosis.

CCL14 is a member of CC chemokines and its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unknown. In this study, CCL14 expression were analyzed by tissue microarray (TMA) including 171 paired tumor and peritumor tissues of patients from Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University. We found for the first time that CCL14 was downregulated in HCC tumor tissues compared with peritumor tissues (P = 0.

A novel mouse model of contralateral C7 transfer via the pretracheal route: A feasibility study.

Background: Contralateral seventh cervical nerve transfer (contralateral C7 transfer) is a novel treatment for patients with spastic paralysis, including stroke and traumatic brain injury. However, little is known on changes in plasticity that occur in the intact hemisphere after C7 transfer. An appropriate surgical model is required.

Additional Biomarkers beyond RAS That Impact the Efficacy of Cetuximab plus Chemotherapy in mCRC: A Retrospective Biomarker Analysis.

Purpose: We aimed to identify new predictive biomarkers for cetuximab in first-line treatment for patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Methods: The study included patients with KRAS wild-type unresectable liver-limited mCRC treated with chemotherapy with or without cetuximab. Next-generation sequencing was done for single nucleotide polymorphism according to custom panel.

Transcriptomic analyses of chemokines reveal that down-regulation of XCR1 is associated with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Chemokines are essential coordinators of cellular migration and cell-cell interactions, therefore considerable attention has been paid to the application of chemokines to cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we screened for the expression levels of 58 human chemokines/chemokine receptors in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by using samples from the TCGA LIHC cohort and found 16 consistently down-regulated and 11 up-regulated chemokine genes in HCC compared with normal samples. Furthermore, the expressions of XCR1 were verified by Western blot in liver cancer cell lines.

Tetraspanin-8 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis by increasing ADAM12m expression.

Recent evidence indicates that tetraspanin-8 (TSPAN8) promotes tumor progression and metastasis. In this study, we explored the effects of TSPAN8 and the molecular mechanisms underlying hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis using various HCC cell lines, tissues from 149 HCC patients, and animal models of HCC progression. We showed that elevated expression of TSPAN8 promoted HCC invasion in vitro and metastasis in vivo, but did not influence HCC cell proliferation in vitro.

Cell Culture System for Analysis of Genetic Heterogeneity Within Hepatocellular Carcinomas and Response to Pharmacologic Agents.

Background & Aims: No targeted therapies have been found to be effective against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), possibly due to the large degree of intratumor heterogeneity. We performed genetic analyses of different regions of HCCs to evaluate levels of intratumor heterogeneity and associate alterations with responses to different pharmacologic agents.

Methods: We obtained samples of HCCs (associated with hepatitis B virus infection) from 10 patients undergoing curative resection, before adjuvant therapy, at hospitals in China.

Inflammatory microenvironment contributes to epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common malignancy in the world. The major cause of GC is chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).

Splenocytes derived from young WT mice prevent AD progression in APPswe/PSENldE9 transgenic mice.

Immunosenescence contributes to pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the elderly. In this study, we explored the effects of young wild type (WT) splenocytes (ySCs) on Alzheimer's disease by transplanting ySCs into APPswe/PSENldE9 transgenic mice. Young WT splenocytes not only prevented AD, but also improved the spatial learning and memory of APPswe/PSENldE9 transgenic mice.

CCR7 enhances TGF-β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and is associated with lymph node metastasis and poor overall survival in gastric cancer.

CCR7 is a G protein-coupled chemokine receptor. In this study, we used immunohistochemistry with tissue microarrays to measure CCR7 expression in tumor specimens from 122 patients with gastric cancer. We show that CCR7 expression is associated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.

Lower serum soluble-EGFR is a potential biomarker for metastasis of HCC demonstrated by N-glycoproteomic analysis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most deadly cancers in the world due to its high metastatic potential. By using the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based quantitative N-glycoproteomic analysis, 26 differentially expressed serum glycoproteins derived from defined stages in orthotopic xenograft tumor model were identified. Among them, expression level of soluble EGFR (sEGFR) was verified in HCC cell lines.

Chemokines and their receptors play important roles in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The chemokine system consists of four different subclasses with over 50 chemokines and 19 receptors. Their functions in the immune system have been well elucidated and research during the last decades unveils their new roles in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The chemokines and their receptors in the microenvironment influence the development of HCC by several aspects including: inflammation, effects on immune cells, angiogenesis, and direct effects on HCC cells.

Combined treatment of amyloid-β₁₋₄₂-stimulated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells plus splenocytes from young mice prevents the development of Alzheimer's disease in APPswe/PSENldE9 mice.

Anti-amyloid-β (Aβ) immunotherapy is a potential therapeutic strategy to reduce amyloid plaques and amyloid-associated pathologies in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Immune senescence with aging has also played a crucial role in AD pathogenesis and influences the effect of anti-Aβ immunotherapy. In this study, a combined treatment of Aβ₁₋₄₂-bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) with intraperitoneal injection of splenocytes from young mice was designed as a novel immunotherapy for AD in APPswe/PSEN1de9 transgenic mice models.

Special role of Foxp3 for the specifically altered microRNAs in Regulatory T cells of HCC patients.

Background: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) exhibit functional abnormalities in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The microRNAs (miRNAs) are identified as the key modulators in Tregs. This study was to explore whether the expression profiles of miRNAs of Tregs were different in HCC-activated Tregs and whether Foxp3 had special effects on them.