Publications by authors named "XianFeng Zha"

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) is a heterogeneous malignant disease with high relapse and mortality rates. To characterise the multiomics features of T-ALL, we conducted integrative analyses using single-cell RNA, TCR and chromatin accessibility sequencing on pre- and post-treatment peripheral blood and bone marrow samples of the same patients. We found that there is transcriptional rewiring of gene regulatory networks in T-ALL cells.

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Introduction: T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a malignant hematological disease with limited targeted therapy options. Overexpression of B-cell lymphoma/leukemia 11B is frequently observed in T-ALL and contributes to leukemogenesis. Knockdown of BCL11B inhibits T-ALL cell proliferation and induces apoptosis, making it a potential therapeutic target.

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Article Synopsis
  • BCR-ABL+ leukemia faces significant challenges like drug resistance and the survival of leukemic stem cells (LSCs), despite progress with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).
  • In this study, Disulfiram (DSF), an FDA-approved drug for alcohol dependence, is shown to induce ferroptosis in resistant BCR-ABL+ cells and LSCs when combined with TKIs, leading to enhanced effectiveness in treatment.
  • The research highlights DSF's mechanisms, such as degrading GPX4, increasing lipid peroxidation, and modulating iron metabolism, which collectively help overcome drug resistance and target leukemic cells more effectively.
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Triclocarban (TCC) is a widely applied environmental endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC). Similar to most of EDCs, TCC potentially damages the immunity of various species. However, whether and how TCC impacts the adaptive immunity in mammals has yet to be determined.

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  • This study investigates the role of alpha-enolase (ENO1) in leukemia stem cells (LSCs) and its impact on the resistance to chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), particularly focusing on how ENO1 influences LSC self-renewal and differentiation.
  • Using single-cell RNA sequencing and bioinformatics, researchers found that ENO1 expression is significantly elevated in relapsed AML patients compared to healthy individuals, and high levels of ENO1 correlate with poor treatment response and outcomes.
  • Functional studies demonstrated that knocking down ENO1 in AML cell lines activated LSC differentiation and apoptosis while inhibiting cell proliferation, suggesting that targeting ENO1 could be a potential therapeutic strategy
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  • Tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells in bone marrow may impact tumor growth and immune treatment responses in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.
  • A study analyzed bone marrow samples from 49 newly diagnosed AML patients, revealing that CD8 effector memory T cells (similar to TRM) were more prevalent in these patients compared to healthy individuals, and a high percentage correlated with poor survival rates.
  • The research highlighted that while these CD8 TRM-like cells showed signs of exhaustion, they also had characteristics indicating strong growth potential; thus, their accumulation could predict survival outcomes in AML patients.
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With the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), such as anti- programmed death-1 (PD-1) antibody for solid tumors and lymphoma immunotherapy, a number of clinical trials with ICIs have been attempted for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) immunotherapy; however, limited clinical efficacy has been reported. This may be due to the heterogeneity of immune microenvironments and various degrees of T cell exhaustion in patients and may be involved in the IFN-γ pathway. In this study, we first characterized the percentage of PD-1+ and T cell immunoglobulin mucin-domain-containing-3 (Tim-3) +IFN-γ+ T cells in peripheral blood (PB) in AML compared with healthy individuals (HIs) by flow cytometry and further discussed the possibility of the reversal of T cell exhaustion to restore the secretion capacity of cytokines in T cells in AML based on blockade of PD-1 or Tim-3 (anti-PD-1 and anti-Tim-3 antibody) in vitro using a cytokine protein chip.

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Background: Aplastic anemia (AA) is known as an autoimmune disease in which T cell activation is aberrant. It has been reported that unconventional T cells, mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, play an important role in several autoimmune diseases, but it is unclear if they are involved in AA.

Methods: In this study, we for the first time analyzed the proportions, phenotypes, and cytokine properties of MAIT cells in AA by flow cytometry.

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Background: Immunological phenotypes and differentiation statuses commonly decide the T cell function and anti-tumor ability. However, little is known about these alterations in CML patients.

Method: Here, we investigated the immunologic phenotypes (CD38/CD69/HLA-DR/CD28/CD57/BTLA/TIGIT/PD-1) of T subsets (TN, TCM, TEM, and TEMRA) in peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) from de novo CML patients (DN-CML), patients who achieved a molecular response (MR) and those who failed to achieve an MR (TKI-F) after tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment using multicolor flow cytometry.

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Introduction: The character and composition of leukemia-related T cells are closely related to the treatment response and prognosis for patients. Though B cell-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) patients have benefited from immune-based approaches, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cells therapy, some of them still end with poor prognosis, especially for adult patients. Therefore, deep understanding of the developmental relationship between T cell subtypes in relation to B-ALL patient prognosis is urgently needed.

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V-type immunoglobulin domain-containing suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) is considered as an immunosuppressive factor and potential therapeutic target for anticancer therapy. However, little is known about VISTA expression and its role in immunosuppression in multiple myeloma (MM). In this study, VISTA expression and co-expression with programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1), T cell immunoglobulin mucin-domain-containing-3 (Tim-3), and T cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT) in CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and regulatory T (Treg) cells were analyzed in patients with MM by multi-color fluorescent flow cytometry of peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) samples from 36 patients with MM and compared to 36 PB samples and 10 BM samples from healthy individuals (HIs), which served as controls.

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Objective: T cell dysfunction is a common characteristic of patients with myeloid leukemia and is closely related to clinical efficacy and prognosis. In order to clarify the mechanisms leading to the T cell dysfunction, we characterized the gene expression profile of T cells from chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients by microarray analysis and investigated the related regulating pathway.

Methods: We employed gene expression profiling, bioinformatics and real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) to detect genes differentially expressed in CML patients versus healthy donors.

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Article Synopsis
  • T cell dysregulation plays a significant role in leukemia, particularly in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), where abnormal immune checkpoint proteins may drive disease relapse and progression.
  • The study investigated the expression of TOX, a transcription factor linked to immune regulation, and its co-expression with immune checkpoint proteins PD-1, Tim-3, and CD244 in various T cell subsets from patients with de novo AML compared to healthy individuals.
  • Findings revealed higher levels of TOX+ T cells and increased co-expression with PD-1 and Tim-3 in AML patients, indicating that TOX may be a promising therapeutic target for improving T cell function in AML treatment.
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Aim: In order to further understand the feature of natural killer cell (NK) dysfunction in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), The distribution of NK cell subset the expression of the inhibitory receptors immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT), killer cell lectin-like receptor (KLRG1), and the expression of maturation marker CD57 in NK cell subsets and their correlation with patient outcomes were analyzed in this study.

Methods: We collected peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) samples from de novo AML (AML-DN) patients, patients who achieved complete remission after chemotherapy (AML-CR), and healthy individuals. An eight-color flow cytometry panel was used to identify different NK subsets and their expression of TIGIT, CD57 and KLRG1.

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Thymocyte selection-associated HMG box (TOX) is a transcription factor that belongs to the high mobility group box (HMG-box) superfamily, which includes four subfamily members: TOX, TOX2, TOX3, and TOX4. TOX is related to the formation of multiple malignancies and contributes to CD8+ T cell exhaustion in solid tumors. However, little is known about the role of TOX genes in hematological malignancies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) show promise for cancer treatment, but their effectiveness in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is still unclear, necessitating further investigation into immune evasion mechanisms in the bone marrow and how T cells respond to chemotherapy and age.
  • A study examined the levels of immune proteins PD-1 and TIGIT in T cells from AML patients at different stages (initial diagnosis, complete remission, and relapse-refractory), finding elevated PD-1 in relapse and diagnosis patients, while TIGIT levels remained high in those not in remission.
  • Elderly AML patients showed increased PD-1 and TIGIT T cells, suggesting more T cell dysfunction, and results indicated a more immunosuppressive bone
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Characterization of functional T cell clusters is key to developing strategies for immunotherapy and predicting clinical responses in leukemia. Here, single-cell RNA sequencing is performed with T cells sorted from the peripheral blood of healthy individuals and patients with B cell-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Unbiased bioinformatics analysis enabled the authors to identify 13 T cell clusters in the patients based on their molecular properties.

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Objective: To analyze the changes in the gene expression profile of T cells in CML patients after TCRζ up-regulation expression, and to explore the molecular mechanism of T cell reactivation after transgenic up-regulation of TCRζ.

Methods: The peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) from 3 newly untreated chronic-stage CML patients were collected, and the CD3 T cells were obtained by MACS method. The TCRζ-IRES2-EGFP (experimental group) and pIRES2-EGFP (control group) plasmids were transfected into T cells by nuclear transfection technique.

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Background: T cell immunity plays a central role in the body's defense system, including maintaining homeostasis and preventing tumorigenesis and viral infection. Immune system functions degenerate with age, leading to immune senescence. Physiologically, immune senescence is characterized by a decrease in T cell receptor diversity, naive T cell deficiency, and alterations in T cell immune-related miRNAs.

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The antitumor activity of NK cells in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is inhibited by the leukemia microenvironment. Recent studies have identified that the expression of TIGIT, CD57, and KLRG1 is related to the function, maturation, and antitumor capabilities of NK cells. However, the characteristics of the expression of these genes in the peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) from patients with CML remain unknown.

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Background: KIR+NKG2A + Eomes+ CD8+ T cells, which are preferentially found with a T (CD45RA + CCR7-) phenotype while having the capacity to rapidly produce IFN-γ in response to innate stimulation (IL-12 and IL-18), have been demonstrated to exist in human cord blood and the adult blood circulation. This highly responsive T-cell type was termed NK-like CD8+ T cells due to their capability to act in an innate immune fashion in mice similar to NK cells. However, KIR+NKG2A + CD8+ T cells that are Eomes- represent a small proportion of unconventional T cells that have not been described until now.

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Aim: Immune suppression based on alternative regulation of immune checkpoint proteins, for example, programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated molecule-4 (CTLA-4), which results in T-cell exhaustion, contributes to cancer development and progression. In this study, we sought to characterize the distribution of CTLA-4 and T-cell lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) expression on exhausted T cells in different T-cell subsets from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Methods: The coexpression of CTLA-4 and LAG-3 on exhausted CD244 and CD57 T cells from the CD3 , CD4 , and CD8 T-cell subsets in peripheral blood from 12 patients with newly diagnosed AML was analyzed by multicolor flow cytometry assay.

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T cells are fundamental effector cells against viruses and cancers that can be divided into different subsets based on their long-term immune protection and immediate immune response effects. The percentage and absolute number of these subsets change with ageing, which leads to a reduced immune response in older individuals. Stem cell memory T cells (T) represent a small population of memory T cells with enhanced proliferation and differentiation properties that are endowed with high potential for maintaining T cell homeostasis.

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We previously identified a 21 T cell clone which was specific to CML patients, and demonstrated that 13/21 gene-modified CD3 T cells had specific cytotoxicity for HLA-A11 K562 cells. However, it remains unclear which antigen is specifically recognized by the 21 T cell clone. In this study, CD3 T cells from healthy donor peripheral blood were stimulated with the WT1 peptide or mixed BCR-ABL peptides in the presence or absence of IL-2 and IL-7.

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