A Thermostable mRNA Vaccine against COVID-19.

There is an urgent need for vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) because of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Among all approaches, a messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccine has emerged as a rapid and versatile platform to quickly respond to this challenge. Here, we developed a lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNA (mRNA-LNP) encoding the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 as a vaccine candidate (called ARCoV).

The prognostic value of peripheral CD4+CD25+ T lymphocytes among early stage and triple negative breast cancer patients receiving dendritic cells-cytokine induced killer cells infusion.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of CD4+CD25+ T lymphocyte in peripheral blood among breast cancer patients treated with adoptive T lymphocytes immunotherapy.

Methods: 217 patients participated in the follow-up study. CD4+CD25+ proportion was measured by flow cytometry in peripheral T cells.

Activation of sonic hedgehog signaling pathway is an independent potential prognosis predictor in human hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Objective: The activation of hedgehog (HH) pathway is implicated in the development of human malignancies including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the clinical impact of HH activation in HCC patients is still unclear. This study was conducted to confirm whether the expression of HH pathway components was associated with HCC progression and clinical outcome.

HER2-specific T lymphocytes kill both trastuzumab-resistant and trastuzumab-sensitive breast cell lines in vitro.

Objective: Although the development of trastuzumab has improved the outlook for women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, the resistance to anti-HER2 therapy is a growing clinical dilemma. We aim to determine whether HER2-specific T cells generated from dendritic cells (DCs) modified with HER2 gene could effectively kill the HER2-positive breast cancer cells, especially the trastuzumab-resistant cells.

Methods: The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors, whose HLA haplotypes were compatible with the tumor cell lines, were transfected with reconstructive human adeno-association virus (rhAAV/HER2) to obtain the specific killing activities of T cells, and were evaluated by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) releasing assay.

[Dendritic cells infected by recombinant adeno-associated virus with CEA gene to induce antigen-specific CTL response to CD44(+)CD24(-/low) cells from MCF-7 breast cancer cell line].

Objective: To infect dendritic cells (DC) by recombinant human adeno-associated virus (rh-AAV) vector with CEA gene to generate antigen-specific CTL cells in vitro and to assay the CEA specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte(CTL), response to CD44(+)CD24(-/low) breast cancer stem cells.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were induced to generate DCs by cytokines interleukin-4(IL-4), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor(GM-CSF)and tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α) while T lymphocytes were cultured with cytokines interleukin-2(IL-2). DCs were infected by CEA gene containing rh-AAV.

MUC1-positive circulating tumor cells and MUC1 protein predict chemotherapeutic efficacy in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. It is important to monitor chemotherapeutic efficacy, to find a simple and efficient tool to guide treatment, and to predict the efficacy of treatment in a timely and accurate manner. This study aimed to detect mucin-1 (MUC1)-positive circulating tumor cells and MUC1 protein in the peripheral blood of patients with metastatic breast cancer and to investigate their relationship to chemotherapeutic efficacy.

Cancer/testis antigens and clinical risk factors for liver metastasis of colorectal cancer: a predictive panel.

Purpose: Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer/testis antigens may serve as indicators of tumor malignant phenotype. The purpose of this study is to evaluate cancer/testis antigen genes in predicting metastasis of colorectal cancer to the liver.

Methods: The expression levels of 25 cancer/testis antigen genes were determined by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in 288 colorectal cancer tissue samples from the primary tumor or liver metastasis.

[Expression of genes related to Sonic Hedgehog signaling in human hepatocellular carcinomas].

Objective: To investigate the expression status of Sonic Hedgehog signaling genes and molecules in human hepatocellular carcinomas(HCC), and to explore the relationship between these genes and clinical prognosis.

Methods: HCC tissue and adjacent normal tissue from 29 HCC patients were assayed for the expression of hedgehog signaling genes by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques and for the expression of hedgehog signaling molecules by immunohistochemistry. The expressions of Shh, Ptch, Smoh, Gli-1 mRNA were assayed as well as Shh, Ptch proteins in 29 cases of HCC and in 29 liver tissues adjacent to the tumor.

[Pilot study on the correlation between high incidence of CD44+/CD24 -/low/ABCG2- cells and poor prognosis in breast cancer].

Objective: To explore whether the CD44+/CD24(-/low)/ABCG2(-) (ATP binding cassette superfamily G member 2) cells are associated with prognosis and clinical response in breast cancer patients.

Methods: We investigated the paraffin-embedded tissues of 43 breast cancer patients with (23 cases) and without (20 cases) recurrences. Double-staining immunohistochemistry (IHC) was applied for the detection of CD44+/CD24(-/low) cells and single-staining IHC for ABCG2.

[Identification and expression of non-coding RNAs NC28 and NC119 in human tumors].

Objective: To explore and identify the non-coding RNAs related to tumors.

Methods: We used RT-PCR and Northern blot to analyze non-coding RNAs in tumor tissues and cell lines.

Results: Two predicted non-coding RNAs were confirmed to be expressed in cancer tissues and cell lines by RT-PCR and DNA sequencing.

Identification and expression analysis of novel LAGE-1 alleles with single nucleotide polymorphisms in cancer patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding region alleles of the X chromosomal LAGE-1 gene, and investigate the frequency of such SNPs in both cancer patients and healthy controls, and thus determine the potential significance of these SNPs with respect to cancer vaccine therapy.

Methods: In this study, different mRNAs transcribed from the LAGE-1 gene were identified by RT-PCR from healthy donors and cancer patients samples.

Results: A new LAGE-1 allele containing three coding region SNPs (69A/G, 317C/G, and 397T/G) were identified.

[The expression of 11 cancer/testis (CT) antigen genes in esophageal carcinoma].

Objective: To investigate the expression status of 11 different cancer/testis (CT) antigen genes in esophageal carcinoma.

Methods: Esophageal carcinoma tissue and adjacent normal esophageal mucosa taken from 35 esophageal carcinoma patients were assayed for the expression of 11 different CT antigen genes by RT-PCR techniques.

Results: Of the 11 CT antigen genes analyzed, none of them was expressed in normal esophageal mucosa.

Expression profile of cancer-testis genes in 121 human colorectal cancer tissue and adjacent normal tissue.

Purpose: Among tumor antigens identified to date, cancer-testis (CT) antigens, which are coded by CT genes, are identified as a group of highly attractive targets for cancer vaccines. This study is the first to analyze the mRNA expression and possible correlation with pathologic characteristics of multiple CT genes in a large cohort of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Experimental Design: The expression of 10 individual CT genes in 121 CRC and adjacent tissues were analyzed by RT-PCR method.

[Expression of NY-ESO-1/LAGE-1 genes in hepatocellular carcinoma and autologous humoral responses induced thereby].

Objective: To investigate the potential of utilizing NY-ESO-1/LAGE-1 antigens in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vaccines.

Methods: RT-PCR method was used to detect the expression of NY-ESO-1/LAGE-1 mRNA in the cancerous tissues and adjacent tissues resected from 34 patients with HCC. ELISA assay was adopted to analyze the NY-ESO-1 specific antibodies in 37 serum samples of HCC patients, 1 positive control sample, and 8 samples of normal persons.

Dominant B cell epitope from NY-ESO-1 recognized by sera from a wide spectrum of cancer patients: implications as a potential biomarker.

Monitoring the spontaneous antibody (Ab) response against a panel of relevant tumor-associated antigens (TAA) in cancer patients may provide useful information regarding the clinical status of cancer. However, current Ab detection approaches require the purification of recombinant proteins, which is often difficult to achieve. In order to bypass the purification of recombinant proteins, we identified a dominant B-cell epitope from a shared tumor antigen NY-ESO-1.

Cancer/testis antigen expression and autologous humoral immunity to NY-ESO-1 in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer has the highest mortality rate and the second-highest morbidity rate of all malignant tumors in China. Since cancer/testis (CT) antigens are expressed in various types of human tumors but generally not in normal tissue except for testis, they are promising antigens for cancer immunotherapy. NY-ESO-1, in particular, is the most immunogenic of the CT antigens.

[Expression of multiple cancer-testis antigen genes in non-small cell lung cancer treated by chemotherapy prior surgery].

Objective: To investigate the possibility of utilizing cancer-testi (CT) antigens as targets for immunotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with vaccines.

Methods: Tissues from 51 NSCLC patients who had chemotherapy prior surgery were assayed for the expression of 11 different CT antigens by RT-PCR.

Results: Of the 11 CT antigens analyzed, MAGE-3 was found to be expressed most frequently in NSCLC tissues and CT7 the least frequently.