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We report the case of a 68-year-old man who experienced Escherichia fergusoniibacteremia after esophageal cancer surgery. The patient presented with complaints of abdominal pain persisting for 1 week. The patient was diagnosed with esophageal malignancy, which was confirmed by surgical exploration and pathological biopsy. The patient developed septic shock on postoperative day 12, and blood culture suggested the growth of E. fergusonii. After treatment with meropenem, the patient’s clinical symptoms improved significantly, and the second culture was negative. In this paper, we discuss the characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of E. fergusonii. E. fergusoniiis rarely reported, and its pathogenesis, drug resistance, and potential effects have not been completely confirmed. Thus, this case report adds valuable knowledge to the literature on E. fergusonii.

Metagenomic analysis has been explored for disease diagnosis and biomarker discovery. Low sample sizes, high dimensionality, and sparsity of metagenomic data challenge metagenomic investigations. Here, an unsupervised microbial embedding, grouping, and mapping algorithm (MEGMA) was developed to transform metagenomic data into individualized multichannel microbiome 2D representation by manifold learning and clustering of microbial profiles (e.g., composition, abundance, hierarchy, and taxonomy). These 2D representations enable enhanced disease prediction by established ConvNet-based AggMapNet models, outperforming the commonly used machine learning and deep learning models in metagenomic benchmark datasets. These 2D representations combined with AggMapNet explainable module robustly identified more reliable and replicable disease-prediction microbes (biomarkers). Employing the MEGMA-AggMapNet pipeline for biomarker identification from 5 disease datasets, 84% of the identified biomarkers have been described in over 74 distinct works as important for these diseases. Moreover, the method also discovered highly consistent sets of biomarkers in cross-cohort colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and microbial shifts in different CRC stages.

Ciliates, such as Tetrahymena thermophila,evolved complex mechanisms to determine both the location and dimensions of cortical organelles such as the oral apparatus (OA: involved in phagocytosis) cytoproct (Cyp: for eliminating wastes) and contractile vacuole pores (CVPs: involved in water expulsion). Mutations have been recovered in Tetrahymenathat affect both the localization of such organelles along anterior-posterior and circumferential body axes, and their dimensions. Here we describe BCD1, a ciliate pattern-gene that encodes a conserved beige-BEACH-domain containing protein a with possible PKA-anchoring activity. Similar proteins have been implicated in endosome trafficking, and are linked to human Chediak-Higashi syndrome and autism. Mutations in the BCD1gene broaden cortical organelle domains as they assemble during pre-division development. The Bcd1 protein localizes to membrane pockets at the base of every cilium that are active in endocytosis. PKA activity has been shown to promote endocytosis in other organisms, so we blocked clathrin-mediated endocytosis (using ‘dynasore’) and inhibited PKA (using H89). In both cases, treatment produced partial phenocopies of the bcd1pattern mutant. This study supports a model in which the dimensions of diverse cortical organelle assembly-platforms may be determined by regulated balance between constitutive exocytic delivery and PKA-regulated endocytic retrieval of organelle materials and determinants.

Aim:Recent evidence shows that localization of mRNAs and their protein products at cellular protrusions plays a decisive function in the metastasis of cancer cells. The aim of this study was to identify the variety of proteins encoded by protrusion-localized mRNAs and their roles in the metastasis and invasion of liver cancer cells.Methods:Highly metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HCCLM3 and non-metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SMMC-7721 were examined. Cell protrusions (Ps) were separated from cell bodies (CB) using a Boyden chamber assay; total mRNA population in CB and Ps fractions was analyzed using high-throughput direct RNA sequencing. The localization of STAT3 mRNA and protein at Ps was confirmed using RT-qPCR, RNA FISH, and immunofluorescence assays. Cell migration capacity and invasiveness of HCCLM3 cells were evaluated using MTT, wound healing migration and in vitro invasion assays. The interaction between Stat3 and growth factor receptors was explored with co-immunoprecipitation assays.Results:In HCCLM3 cells, 793 mRNAs were identified as being localized in the Ps fraction according to a cut-off value (Ps/CB ratio) >1.6. The Ps-localized mRNAs could be divided into 4 functional groups, and were all closely related to the invasive and metastatic properties. STAT3 mRNA accumulated in the Ps of HCCLM3 cells compared with non-metastatic SMMC-7721 cells. Treatment of HCCLM3 cells with siRNAs against STAT3 mRNA drastically decreased the cell migration and invasion. Moreover, Ps-localized Stat3 was found to interact with pseudopod-enriched platelet-derived growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (PDGFRTK) in a growth factor-dependent manner.Conclusion:This study reveals STAT3 mRNA localization at the Ps of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma HCCLM3 cells by combining application of genome-wide and gene specific description and functional analysis.

A series of compounds possessing 2-(3-phenyl)ureidothiazol-4-formamide derivatives with a 2-ureidothiazole scaffold were synthesized, which demonstrated potency against both MDA-MB-231 and HepG2 cell lines. Compound 6iis identified as a potentially dual inhibitor of VEGFR-2 and PI3Kαand is applicable for further investigation.

Kinesin-13, a microtubule-end depolymerase, has been shown to affect the length of cilia, but its ciliary function is unclear. In Tetrahymena thermophila, kinesin-13 positively regulates the axoneme length, influences the properties of ciliary tubulin, and affects the ciliary dynein-dependent motility.

A series of acridine-based analogs 7a–7dwere synthesized and tested for their antiproliferative activity against K562 and HepG-2 cancer cell lines, as well as DNA-binding properties. Compound 7cshowed good antitumor activity and topoisomerase I inhibition activity, which makes it a good candidate for further chemical optimization.

A series of five novel acridine analogues, LXL 1–5, were synthesized and their antiproliferative activity against HepG-2 cell lines were evaluated, among which compound LXL-5was considered a lead compound for development as a multi-target inhibitor of tyrosine kinase and topoisomerase I.

A systematic study of the fragmentation pattern of N-diisopropyloxyphosphoryl (DIPP) dipeptide methyl esters in an electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was presented. A combination of accurate mass measurement and tandem mass spectrometry had been used to characterize the major fragment ions observed in the ESI mass spectrum. It was found that the alkali metal ions acted as a fixed charge site and expelled the DIPP group after transferring a proton to the amide nitrogen. For all the N-phosphoryl dipeptide methyl esters, under the activation of a metal ion, the rearrangement product ion at m/z163 was observed and confirmed to be the sodium adduct of phosphoric acid mono-isopropyl esters (PAIE), via a specific five-membered penta-coordinated phosphorus intermediate. However, no rearrangement ion was observed when a β-amino acid was at the N-terminal. This could be used to develop a novel method for differentiating isomeric compounds when either α- or β-amino acid are at the N-terminus of peptides. From the [M + Na]+ESI-MS/MS spectra of N-phosphoryl dipeptide methyl esters (DIPP – Xaa1– Xaa2– OMe), the peaks corresponding to the [M + Na – Xaa1– C3H6]+were observed and explained. The [M + Na]+ESI-MS/MS spectra of N-phosphoryl dipeptide methyl esters with Phe located in the C-terminal, such as DIPP–Val–Phe–OMe, DIPP–Leu–Phe–OMe, DIPP–Ile–Phe–OMe, DIPP–Ala–Phe–OMe and DIPP–Phe–Phe–OMe, had characteristic fragmentation. Two unusual gas-phase intramolecular rearrangement mechanisms were first proposed for this fragmentation. These rearrangements were not observed in dipeptide methyl ester analogs which did not contain the DIPP at the N-terminal, suggesting that this moiety was critical for the rearrangement.

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