Succinic semialdehyde derived from the gut microbiota can promote the proliferation of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma cells.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a refractory blood cancer with severe immunodeficiency resulting from retroviral infection. ATLL develops in only 5 % of HTLV-1-infected individuals, but the entire mechanism of ATLL progression remains unknown. Since recent studies have reported that the gut microbiome influences the progression of various diseases, we hypothesized that ATLL is also related to the gut microbiome and aimed to investigate this relationship.

Sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol, a component of Holy Basil Ocimum tenuiflorum, inhibits the activity of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease and viral replication in vitro.

The persistence of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the emergence of new mutant strains continue to present a substantial threat with potential for future pandemics. Safe, effective, and readily available COVID-19 therapeutics are urgently needed to prepare for future coronavirus pandemics. To help identify new antiviral agents, the present study focused on natural products in the extracts of Holy Basil, Ocimum tenuiflorum L.

A rapid and simple clonality assay for bovine leukemia virus-infected cells by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis.

Unlabelled: Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL), although eradicated in some European countries, is still the most common neoplastic disease of cattle, caused by the bovine leukemia virus (BLV). During the progression of EBL, BLV-infected cells clonally expand, and some of which result in tumor onset. The clonality of BLV-infected cells is generally evaluated with NGS or Sanger sequencing.

Antiviral immune response against HTLV-1 invalidates T-SPOT.TB results in patients with HTLV-1-positive rheumatic diseases.

Background: T-SPOT.TB, one of the screening tests for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), yields invalid results in human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-positive patients with rheumatoid arthritis. However, the detailed mechanisms behind this invalidation are unclear.

Performance of Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT)-4 and Gemini Advanced on the First-Class Radiation Protection Supervisor Examination in Japan.

​Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) in understanding radiation safety and protection. We assessed the performance of generative pe-trained transformer (GPT)-4 (OpenAI, USA) and Gemini Advanced (Google DeepMind, London) using questions from the First-Class Radiation Protection Supervisor Examination in Japan. Methods The study involved GPT-4 and Gemini Advanced answering questions from the 68th First-Class Radiation Protection Supervisor Examination in Japan.

Sexual health care barriers and HIV/STI prevention for transgender people in Japan.

Primary care and sexual health services for transgender people in Japan are lacking. We surveyed 233 transgender patients (57 [24.5%] assigned male at birth [AMABs] and 176 [75.

Induction of IGHV3-53 public antibodies with broadly neutralising activity against SARS-CoV-2 including Omicron subvariants in a Delta breakthrough infection case.

Background: Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that escape neutralising antibodies hampers the development of vaccines and therapeutic antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. IGHV3-53/3-66-derived public antibodies, which are generally specific to the prototype virus and are frequently induced in infected or vaccinated individuals, show minimal affinity maturation and high potency against prototype SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: Monoclonal antibodies isolated from a Delta breakthrough infection case were analysed for cross-neutralising activities against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Compound #41 Targets Acute Myelogenous Leukemia by Inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway.

Background/aim: Aberrant activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway contributes to the pathogenesis of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Thus, targeting this pathway offers a promising therapeutic strategy against AML. Here, we synthesized a novel dipeptide-type inhibitor of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, compound #41, and explored its anti-tumor effects on AML cells.

Magnetic nanoparticles: An emerging nanomedicine for cancer immunotherapy.

Cancer immunotherapy is a revolutionised strategy that strikingly improves cancer treatment in recent years. However, like other therapeutic modalities, immunotherapy faces several challenges and limitations. Many methods have been developed to overcome those limitations; thus, nanomedicine is one of the emerging fields with a highly promising application.

Decreased mitochondrial translation confers 3,3'-Diindolylmethane resistance to Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM), a compound derived from natural fruits and vegetables, is widely recognized for its anti-cancer activity. However, its action mechanisms remain ambiguous. In this study, to study the molecular mechanism of 3,3'-Diindolylmethane, we identified a novel mutation in the gene of mitochondrial translation elongation factor EF-Ts (tsf1), a key factor in mitochondrial protein translation, that conferred DIM resistance to Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

High plasma concentration of tenofovir alafenamide in people living with HIV with ABCB1 genetic variants.

Objectives: We aimed to analyze the relationships between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the ATP-binding cassette transporter B1 (ABCB1) and G2 (ABCG2) genes and plasma concentrations of tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), tenofovir (TFV), and emtricitabine (FTC).

Methods: We recruited 10 people living with HIV receiving once-daily treatment with a single tablet containing TAF (25 mg), FTC (200 mg), and bictegravir (50 mg). Peripheral blood samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 h after administration.

Hippo pathway in cancer cells induces NCAM1αSMA fibroblasts to modulate tumor microenvironment.

Cancer cells adeptly manipulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) to evade host antitumor immunity. However, the role of cancer cell-intrinsic signaling in shaping the immunosuppressive TME remains unclear. Here, we found that the Hippo pathway in cancer cells orchestrates the TME by influencing the composition of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).

A live single-cell reporter system reveals drug-induced plasticity of a cancer stem cell-like population in cholangiocarcinoma.

Cancer stem cells (CSC) play an important role in carcinogenesis and are acknowledged to be responsible for chemoresistance in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Studying CCA CSC has been challenging, due to lack of consensus CSC markers, and to their plastic nature. Since dual expression of the core pluripotent factors SOX2/OCT4 has been shown to correlate with poor outcome in CCA patients, we selected the SOX2/OCT4 activating short half-life GFP-based live reporter (SORE6-dsCopGFP) to study CSC dynamics at the single-cell level.

Facilitating cholangiocarcinoma inhibition by targeting CD47.

Immune evasion is one of the mechanisms by which cancer cells acquire immunity during cancer development and progression. One of these is the increased expression of cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47), a transmembrane glycoprotein that protects cells from phagocytic elimination. The interaction between CD47 and signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα) on macrophages alleviates the phagocytic signal.