VISTA drives macrophages towards a pro-tumoral phenotype that promotes cancer cell phagocytosis yet down-regulates T cell responses.

Background: VISTA is a well-known immune checkpoint in T cell biology, but its role in innate immunity is less established. Here, we investigated the role of VISTA on anticancer macrophage immunity, with a focus on phagocytosis, macrophage polarization and concomitant T cell activation.

Methods: Macrophages, differentiated from VISTA overexpressed THP-1 cells and cord blood CD34 cell-derived monocytes, were used in phagocytosis assay using B lymphoma target cells opsonized with Rituximab.

A luminescence-based method to assess antigen presentation and antigen-specific T cell responses for screening of immunomodulatory checkpoints and therapeutics.

Investigations into the strength of antigen-specific responses is becoming increasingly relevant for decision making in early-phase research of novel immunotherapeutic approaches, including adoptive cell but also immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapies. In the latter, antigen-specific rapid and high throughput tools to investigate MHC/antigen-specific T cell receptor (TCR) activation haven't been implemented yet. Here, we present a simple and rapid luminescence-based approach using the human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) E7 peptide as model antigen and E7-TCR transgenic Jurkat.

Notch1 promotes resistance to cisplatin by up-regulating Ecto-5'-nucleotidase (CD73) in triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive molecular subtype that due to lack of druggable targets is treated with chemotherapy as standard of care. However, TNBC is prone to chemoresistance and associates with poor survival. The aim of this study was to explore the molecular mechanisms of chemoresistance in TNBC.

Government intervention, internal control, and technology innovation of SMEs in China.

Under the innovation-driven development strategy, the improvement of the core competitiveness of enterprises demonstrates increasing dependence on the ability of technological innovation. In this article, data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2008 to 2018 were selected as research samples for the analysis of the influencing factors and mechanism of enterprise technological innovation from the dual perspectives of the external economic environment and internal management system based on the use of the fixed-effect model. The results show that government intervention significantly hinders enterprises' investment in resources for technological innovation, and less government intervention can improve the innovation investment of enterprises.

CXCL9 Is a Potential Biomarker of Immune Infiltration Associated With Favorable Prognosis in ER-Negative Breast Cancer.

The chemokine CXCL9 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 9) has been reported to be required for antitumour immune responses following immune checkpoint blockade. In this study, we sought to investigate the potential value of CXCL9 according to immune responses in patients with breast cancer (BC). A variety of open-source databases and online tools were used to explore the expression features and prognostic significance of CXCL9 in BC and its correlation with immune-related biomarkers followed by subsequent verification with immunohistochemistry experiments.

GATA Binding Protein 3 Boosts Extracellular ATP Hydrolysis and Inhibits Metastasis of Breast Cancer by Up-regulating Ectonucleoside Triphosphate Diphosphohydrolase 3.

Despite remarkable advancements in our understanding of breast cancer, it remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Distant recurrence and metastasis is the main reason for death due to breast cancer. It is well recognized that the GATA binding protein 3 (GATA3), a transcription factor, is a tumor suppressor in breast cancer.

Major vault protein is a direct target of Notch1 signaling and contributes to chemoresistance in triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Resistance to chemotherapy remains a significant problem in the treatment of breast cancer, especially for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), in which standard systemic therapy is currently limited to chemotherapeutic agents. Our study aimed to better understand the molecular mechanisms that lead to failure of chemotherapy in TNBC. Herein, we observed elevated expression of Notch1 and major vault protein (MVP) in MDA-MB-231DDPR cells compared to their parental counterparts.

MiR-221/222 promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition by targeting Notch3 in breast cancer cell lines.

Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is an aggressive subtype with a strong tendency to metastasize. Due to the lack of effective chemotherapy, BLBC has a poor prognosis compared with luminal subtype breast cancer. MicroRNA-221 and -222 (miR-221/222) are overexpressed in BLBC and associate with metastasis as well as poor prognosis; however, the mechanisms by which miR-221/222 function as oncomiRs remain unknown.