Unveiling immune cell response disparities in human primary cancer-associated fibroblasts between two- and three-dimensional cultures.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play pivotal roles in solid tumor initiation, growth, and immune evasion. However, the optimal biomimetic modeling conditions remain elusive. In this study, we investigated the effects of 2D and 3D culturing conditions on human primary CAFs integrated into a modular tumor microenvironment (TME).

MicroCT and contrast-enhanced microCT to study the in vivo degradation behavior and biocompatibility of candidate metallic intravascular stent materials.

Biodegradable intravascular stents offer a promising alternative to permanent stents for treating atherosclerosis-related artery narrowing by potentially avoiding long-term complications. Identifying materials that degrade harmlessly and uniformly at a suitable rate is crucial. This study evaluated an advanced zinc alloy (Zn-Ag-Cu-Mn-Zr) alongside pure iron and pure zinc, using a simplified stent model of metallic wires implanted in the rat aorta.

Identification of small molecule agonists of fetal hemoglobin expression for the treatment of sickle cell disease.

Induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) has been shown to be a viable therapeutic approach to treating sickle cell disease and potentially other β-hemoglobinopathies. To identify targets and target-modulating small molecules that enhance HbF expression, we engineered a human umbilical-derived erythroid progenitor reporter cell line (HUDEP2_HBG1_HiBiT) by genetically tagging a HiBiT peptide to the carboxyl (C)-terminus of the endogenous HBG1 gene locus, which codes for γ-globin protein, a component of HbF. Employing this reporter cell line, we performed a chemogenomic screen of approximately 5000 compounds annotated with known targets or mechanisms that have achieved clinical stage or approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Microprotein-encoding RNA regulation in cells treated with pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic stimuli.

Background: Recent analysis of the human proteome via proteogenomics and ribosome profiling of the transcriptome revealed the existence of thousands of previously unannotated microprotein-coding small open reading frames (smORFs). Most functional microproteins were chosen for characterization because of their evolutionary conservation. However, one example of a non-conserved immunomodulatory microprotein in mice suggests that strict sequence conservation misses some intriguing microproteins.

AMPK and O-GlcNAcylation: interplay in cardiac pathologies and heart failure.

Heart failure (HF) represents a multifaceted clinical syndrome characterized by the heart's inability to pump blood efficiently to meet the body's metabolic demands. Despite advances in medical management, HF remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In recent years, considerable attention has been directed toward understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying HF pathogenesis, with a particular focus on the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and protein O-GlcNAcylation.