Gut dysbiosis contributes to chlamydial induction of hydrosalpinx in the upper genital tract.

is one of the most common sexually infections that cause infertility, and its genital infection induces tubal adhesion and hydrosalpinx. Intravaginal infection in mice can induce hydrosalpinx in the upper genital tract and it has been used for studying pathogenicity. DBA2/J strain mice were known to be resistant to the chlamydial induction of hydrosalpinx.

Tumor-infiltrating CD36CD8T cells determine exhausted tumor microenvironment and correlate with inferior response to chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The scavenger receptor CD36 was reported to be highly expressed on tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells, but the clinical role remains obscure. This study aims to explore the infiltration and clinical value of CD36CD8 T cells in NSCLC.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were conducted for survival analyses and immunological evaluation in 232 NSCLC patients in Zhongshan Hospital.

Immunotherapy of thymic epithelial tumors: molecular understandings and clinical perspectives.

Immunotherapy has emerged to play a rapidly expanding role in the treatment of cancers. Currently, many clinical trials of therapeutic agents are on ongoing with majority of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) especially programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) and its ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors. PD-1 and PD-L1, two main immune checkpoints, are expressed at high levels in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) and could be predictors of the progression and immunotherapeutic efficacy of TETs.

Pathobionts from chemically disrupted gut microbiota induce insulin-dependent diabetes in mice.

Background: Dysbiotic gut microbiome, genetically predisposed or chemically disrupted, has been linked with insulin-dependent diabetes (IDD) including autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D) in both humans and animal models. However, specific IDD-inducing gut bacteria remain to be identified and their casual role in disease development demonstrated via experiments that can fulfill Koch's postulates.

Results: Here, we show that novel gut pathobionts in the Muribaculaceae family, enriched by a low-dose dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) treatment, translocated to the pancreas and caused local inflammation, beta cell destruction and IDD in C57BL/6 mice.

ASCs Activate cGAS-Type I IFNs-IL-7 Axis Via Pseudomonas aeruginosa-Derived Outer Membrane Vesicles to Resolve Pneumonia.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy could efficiently attenuate LPS-induced acute lung injury and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)-induced acute pneumonia. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still elusive. Here, we report that PA-derived outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) trigger mouse primary adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) to upregulate cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) for sensing of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and the expression of interleukin (IL)-7.

Identification and Structural Modeling of the RNA Polymerase Omega Subunits in Chlamydiae and Other Obligate Intracellular Bacteria.

Gene transcription in bacteria is carried out by the multisubunit RNA polymerase (RNAP), which is composed of a catalytic core enzyme and a promoter-recognizing σ factor. The core enzyme comprises two α subunits, one β subunit, one β' subunit, and one ω subunit. The ω subunit plays critical roles in the assembly of the core enzyme and other cellular functions, including the regulation of bacterial growth, the stress response, and biofilm formation.

Population dynamics and antimicrobial resistance of Derby ST40 from Shenzhen, China.

subsp. serovar Derby ( Derby) is one of the most common serotypes responsible for salmonellosis in humans and animals. The two main sequence types (ST) observed in China are ST40 and ST71, with ST40 presently being the most common in Shenzhen.

PfSET2 Is Involved in Genome Organization of Gene Family in Plasmodium falciparum.

The three-dimensional (3D) genome structure of human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is highly organized and plays important roles in regulating coordinated expression patterns of specific genes such as virulence genes which are involved in antigenic variation and immune escape. However, the molecular mechanisms that control 3D genome of the parasite remain elusive. Here, by analyzing genome organization of P.

Application of Nanomaterials to Enhance Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is one of the most common technologies used to produce millions of copies of targeted nucleic acid in vitro and has become an indispensable technique in molecular biology. However, it suffers from low efficiency and specificity problems, false positive results, and so on. Although many conditions can be optimized to increase PCR yield, such as the magnesium ion concentration, the DNA polymerases, the number of cycles, and so on, they are not all-purpose and the optimization can be case dependent.

PLZF promotes the development of asthma tolerance via affecting memory phenotypes of immune cells.

Clarifying the pathogenesis of asthma and/or identifying the specific pathway underlying oral asthma tolerance (OT) would be of great significance. In our previous study, promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF), which reportedly regulates memory phenotypes, was found to promote ovalbumin (OVA)-induced OT. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the regulatory effects of PLZF on memory phenotypes in asthma and OT mouse models.

Alterations in gut microbiome and metabolomics in chronic hepatitis B infection-associated liver disease and their impact on peripheral immune response.

Gut dysbiosis has been reported in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection, however its role in CHB progression and antiviral treatment remains to be clarified. Herein, the present study aimed to characterize gut microbiota (GM) in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection-associated liver diseases (HBV-CLD) by combining microbiome with metabolome analyses and to evaluate their effects on peripheral immunity. Fecal samples from HBV-CLD patients (n = 64) and healthy controls (n = 17) were collected for 16s rRNA sequencing.

Altered fecal microbiome and metabolome in adult patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Background: Emerging experimental and epidemiological evidence highlights a crucial cross-talk between the intestinal flora and the lungs, termed the "gut-lung axis". However, the function of the gut microbiota in bronchiectasis remains undefined. In this study, we aimed to perform a multi-omics-based approach to identify the gut microbiome and metabolic profiles in patients with bronchiectasis.

Oral antibiotics relieve allergic asthma in post-weaning mice reducing iNKT cells and function of ADRB2.

The role of normal gut microbiota in asthma or ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma tolerance (OT) remains unclear. Here, we established mouse models of asthma and OT followed by 2 weeks of antibiotic treatment, to clear the gut microbiota. Antibiotic treatment was found to alleviate allergic asthma accompanied with a reduction of invariant natural killer (iNKT) cells.

Identification of a novel class of cyclic penta-peptides against hepatitis C virus as p7 channel blockers.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) p7 viroporin protein is essential for viral assembly and release, suggesting its unrealised potential as a target for HCV interventions. Several classes of small molecules that can inhibit p7 through allosteric mechanisms have shown low efficacy. Here, we used a high throughput virtual screen to design a panel of eight novel cyclic penta-peptides (CPs) that target the p7 channel with high binding affinity.

Yin-chen Wu-ling powder alleviate cholestatic liver disease: Network pharmacological analysis and experimental validation.

Background: Yin-chen Wu-ling Powder (YWP) has potential therapeutic effects on cholestatic liver disease (CLD), however, its active compounds and conceivable mechanism are as yet indistinct.

Methods: The network pharmacology and gene function annotation examined the multiple active ingredients, potential targets, and possible mechanisms of YWP in CLD treatment. Then the molecular docking reassured the reliability of the core compounds including the key genes and farnesoid X receptor (FXR).

Exosomal circZNF451 restrains anti-PD1 treatment in lung adenocarcinoma via polarizing macrophages by complexing with TRIM56 and FXR1.

Background: Although success was achieved in the therapy for a minority of advanced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients, anti-programmed death 1 (PD1) resistance was found in most LUAD patients. Here, we aimed to uncover a potential role of exosomal circular RNAs (circRNAs) in LUAD refractory to PD1 blockade.  METHODS: circRNA sequencing and qRT-PCR were performed to determine the level of exosomal circRNAs in LUAD patients subsequently treated with anti-PD1.

Prediction of gastric cancer risk by a polygenic risk score of .

Background: Genetic variants of () are involved in gastric cancer occurrence. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of that are associated with gastric cancer have been reported. The combined effect of SNPs on the risk of gastric cancer remains unclear.

GPR92 activation in islet macrophages controls β cell function in a diet-induced obesity model.

The molecular mechanisms underlying obesity-induced increases in β cell mass and the resulting β cell dysfunction need to be elucidated further. Our study revealed that GPR92, expressed in islet macrophages, is modulated by dietary interventions in metabolic tissues. Therefore, we aimed to define the role of GPR92 in islet inflammation by using a high-fat diet-induced (HFD-induced) obese mouse model.

Functional Prediction of -Prenyltransferases Reveals the Distribution of GFPPSs in Species beyond the Brassicaceae Clade.

Terpenoids are the most diverse class of plant primary and specialized metabolites, and -prenyltransferases (-PTs) are the first branch point to synthesize precursors of various chain lengths for further metabolism. Whereas the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme is known, there is no reliable method for precisely predicting the functions of -PTs. With the exponentially increasing number of available -PTs genes in public databases, an in silico functional prediction method for this gene family is urgently needed.

Combining metabolome and clinical indicators with machine learning provides some promising diagnostic markers to precisely detect smear-positive/negative pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) had been the leading lethal infectious disease worldwide for a long time (2014-2019) until the COVID-19 global pandemic, and it is still one of the top 10 death causes worldwide. One important reason why there are so many TB patients and death cases in the world is because of the difficulties in precise diagnosis of TB using common detection methods, especially for some smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (SNPT) cases. The rapid development of metabolome and machine learning offers a great opportunity for precision diagnosis of TB.

Gasdermin D-dependent platelet pyroptosis exacerbates NET formation and inflammation in severe sepsis.

Platelets have emerged as key inflammatory cells implicated in the pathology of sepsis, but their contributions to rapid clinical deterioration and dysregulated inflammation have not been defined. Here, we show that the incidence of thrombocytopathy and inflammatory cytokine release was significantly increased in patients with severe sepsis. Platelet proteomic analysis revealed significant upregulation of gasdermin D (GSDMD).

Modulating Lysine Crotonylation in Cardiomyocytes Improves Myocardial Outcomes.

Background: Ischemic heart disease is a major global public health challenge, and its functional outcomes remain poor. Lysine crotonylation (Kcr) was recently identified as a post-translational histone modification that robustly indicates active promoters. However, the role of Kcr in myocardial injury is unknown.