IL-12 drives the expression of the inhibitory receptor NKG2A on human tumor-reactive CD8 T cells.

Blockade of NKG2A/HLA-E interaction is a promising strategy to unleash the anti-tumor response. Yet the role of NKG2A CD8 T cells in the anti-tumor response and the regulation of NKG2A expression on human tumor-infiltrating T cells are still poorly understood. Here, by performing CITE-seq on T cells derived from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and colorectal cancer, we show that NKG2A expression is induced on CD8 T cells differentiating into cytotoxic, CD39CD103 double positive (DP) cells, a phenotype associated with tumor-reactive T cells.

Preferred practice pattern of physicians regarding diabetic retinopathy in diabetes mellitus patients.

Purpose: To assess the perceptions of physicians about diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening, barriers to DR screening, and change in management protocol of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients with DR.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using a standard predesigned and pretested structured questionnaire through online mode in the month of April 2021 to assess the criteria used for referral of diabetic patients for DR screening, barriers to DR screening, and the management plan among physicians after the patient has been diagnosed with DR.

Results: In total, 100 physicians participated in the study.

Effect of various decontamination procedures on disposable N95 mask integrity and SARS-CoV-2 infectivity.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a high demand on personal protective equipment, including disposable N95 masks. Given the need for mask reuse, we tested the feasibility of vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP), ultraviolet light (UV), and ethanol decontamination strategies on N95 mask integrity and the ability to remove the infectious potential of SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: Disposable N95 masks, including medical grade (1860, 1870+) and industrial grade (8511) masks, were treated by VHP, UV, and ethanol decontamination.

HDAC inhibition prevents transgene expression downregulation and loss-of-function in T-cell-receptor-transduced T cells.

T cells that are gene-modified with tumor-specific T cell receptors are a promising treatment for metastatic melanoma patients. In a clinical trial, we treated seven metastatic melanoma patients with autologous T cells transduced to express a tyrosinase-reactive T cell receptor (TCR) (TIL 1383I) and a truncated CD34 molecule as a selection marker. We followed transgene expression in the TCR-transduced T cells after infusion and observed that both lentiviral- and retroviral-transduced T cells lost transgene expression over time, so that by 4 weeks post-transfer, few T cells expressed either lentiviral or retroviral transgenes.

Subcellular compartmentalization of PKM2 identifies anti-PKM2 therapy response in vitro and in vivo mouse model of human non-small-cell lung cancer.

Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is an alternatively spliced variant, which mediates the conversion of glucose to lactate in cancer cells under normoxic conditions, known as the Warburg effect. Previously, we demonstrated that PKM2 is one of 97 genes that are overexpressed in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. Herein, we demonstrate a novel role of subcellular PKM2 expression as a biomarker of therapeutic response after targeting this gene by shRNA or small molecule inhibitor (SMI) of PKM2 enzyme activity in vitro and in vivo.