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Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) deficiency is the most conspicuous obstacle to limit the cancer immunotherapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as anti-PD-1 antibody, have achieved great success in clinical practice. However, due to the limitation of response rates of ICIs, some patients fail to benefit from monotherapy. Thus, novel combination therapy that could improve the response rates emerges as new strategies for cancer treatment. Here, we reported that the natural product rocaglamide (RocA) increased tumor-infiltrating T cells and promoted Th17 differentiation of CD4+ TILs. Despite RocA monotherapy upregulated PD-1 expression of TILs, which was considered as the consequence of T cell activation, combining RocA with anti-PD-1 antibody significantly downregulated the expression of PD-1 and promoted proliferation of TILs. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that RocA could fuel the T cell anti-tumor immunity and revealed the remarkable potential of RocA as a therapeutic candidate when combining with the ICIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Red River Fault, which originated from the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, has a great significance for obtaining a further understanding of the regional tectonics, topography and river catchment evolution, as well as the petroliferous sedimentary basin formation. The junction of the Yinggehai and Qiongdongnan Basins (YQB Junction) is the key to understanding when and how the strike-slip deformation on the South China Sea resulted from the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates. In this study, we show regional seismic profiles, 3D seismic and drilling core data to analyze the tectonostratigraphy in the YQB Junction, aiming to identify its tectonic framework and the associated faults system. A transitional domain from the strike-slip zone to the extensional deformation zone was mapped, which consisted of the No. 1 Fault and the Zhongjian Uplift. The strike-slip faulting in the YQB Junction was active during the Oligocene-Early Miocene, with a period of strong faulting in the Early Oligocene. Integrated with the regional tectonic evolution, a coevolution model of strike-slip and extensional deformation in the YQB Junction and the adjacent area was built. In the Eocene, the YQB Junction was controlled by the NW-SE extension and formed a series of distributed rifts bounded by the NE-striking faults and filled up with proximal sediment. In the earliest Oligocene, a NW-trending strike-slip fault began to develop in the YQB Junction and crosscut the NE-striking normal faults. Since the occurrence of the strike-slip faults, the NE-striking faults, to the west of the No. 1 Fault and the Zhongjian Uplift, failed to grow. However, to the east of the No. 1 Fault and the Zhongjian Uplift, the faulting continued to develop until the latest Late Oligocene. The faulting of the NW-trending faults was observed to be active until the earliest Middle Miocene. Since then, with the exception of some diapiric structures and associated small-scale faulting in the Yinggehai Basin, we did not observe any basement-involved faulting. Our results will improve our understanding of the tectonics in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and the South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural killer (NK) cells, a type of cytotoxic lymphocytes, can infiltrate into ischemic brain and exacerbate neuronal cell death. Astragaloside IV (ASIV) is the major bioactive ingredient of Astragalus membranaceus, a Chinese herbal medicine, and possesses potent immunomodulatory and neuroprotective properties. This study investigated the effects of ASIV on post-ischemic brain infiltration and activation of NK cells. ASIV reduced brain infarction and alleviated functional deficits in MCAO rats, and these beneficial effects persisted for at least 7 days. Abundant NK cells infiltrated into the ischemic hemisphere on day 1 after brain ischemia, and this infiltration was suppressed by ASIV. Strikingly, ASIV reversed NK cell deficiency in the spleen and blood after brain ischemia. ASIV inhibited astrocyte-derived CCL2 upregulation and reduced CCR2+ NK cell levels in the ischemic brain. Meanwhile, ASIV attenuated NK cell activating receptor NKG2D levels and reduced interferon-γ production. ASIV restored acetylation of histone H3 and the p65 subunit of nuclear factor-κB in the ischemic brain, suggesting inhibition of histone deacetylase (HDAC). Simultaneously, ASIV prevented p65 nuclear translocation. The effects of ASIV on reducing CCL2 production, restoring acetylated p65 levels and preventing p65 nuclear translocation were mimicked by valproate, an HDAC inhibitor, in astrocytes subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation. Our findings suggest that ASIV inhibits post-ischemic NK cell brain infiltration and activation and reverses NK cell deficiency in the periphery, which together contribute to the beneficial effects of ASIV against brain ischemia. Furthermore, ASIV's effects on suppressing NK cell brain infiltration and activation may involve HDAC inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The identification of bioactive compounds from Chinese medicine plays a crucial role in the development of novel reagents against non-small lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods: High throughput screening assay and analyses of cell growth, cell cycle, apoptosis, cDNA microarray, BrdU incorporation and gene expression were performed.Results: Ailanthone (Aila) suppressed NSCLC cell growth and colony formation in vitro and inhibited NSCLC tumour growth in subcutaneously xenografted and orthotopic lung tumour models, leading to prolonged survival of tumour-bearing mice. Moreover, Aila induced cell cycle arrest in a dose-independent manner but did not induce apoptosis in all NSCLC cells. Furthermore, 1222 genes were differentially expressed upon Aila administration, which were involved in 21 signal pathways, such as DNA replication. In addition, Aila dose-dependently decreased BrdU incorporation and downregulated the expression of replication protein A1 (RPA1).Conclusions: Aila inhibited the growth of NSCLC cells through the repression of DNA replication via downregulating RPA1, rather than through cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Our findings suggested that Aila could be used as a promising therapeutic candidate for NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is a neoplasm with a 5-year survival rate of less than 15 % and a leading cause of death worldwide, despite recent progress in treatment and diagnostic methods. Lung cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are pivotal in lung cancer metastasis and drug resistance. This study aimed to develop lung CSCs that stably express stem cell properties through transfection to further screen traditional Chinese herbal compounds. Lung adenocarcinoma stem cells, which include various phenotypic subgroups, are normally characterized by high expression levels of pluripotent stem cell genes, particularly Nanog and OCT4. Plasmids containing Nanog and OCT4 were constructed and transfected into cells, and lung CSCs were identified not only in vitro using RT-PCR, Western blotting, plate cloning, sphere formation, drug resistance, and transwell migration but also in vivo using a nude mouse tumorigenicity assay. Subsequently, sanguinarine, which is derived from the whole leaves of the traditional Chinese medicine celandine, was identified through the high-throughput screening of a small-molecule compound library. Investigation of the molecular mechanisms of the effects of sanguinarine revealed that it significantly inhibited lung CSC proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis, possibly via downregulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Our results indicate that lung CSCs established by gene transfection may provide a stable and effective method of constructing CSCs to effectively screen potential antitumor drugs. Furthermore, these results suggest that sanguinarine may be a natural antitumor compound that targets lung CSCs, laying a foundation for further clinical study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity correlates with the ligation of activating receptors (e.g., NKG2D) by their ligands (e.g., MHC class I-related chains [MIC] A and B) on target cells. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) at high concentrations inhibit tumor growth and can increase NKG2D ligand expression on tumor targets, but are widely regarded as toxic to NK cells. Methods: We investigated the mechanism of entinostat, a benzamide-derivative narrow-spectrum HDACi, in augmenting the cytotoxicity of NK cells against human colon carcinoma and sarcoma by assessing gene and protein expression, histone acetylation, and cytotoxicity in in vitro and murine models. Results: We observed that entinostat dose- and time-dependent increase in MIC expression in tumor targets and NKG2D in primary human NK cells, both correlating with increased acetylated histone 3 (AcH3) binding to associated promoters. Entinostat pretreatment of colon carcinoma and sarcoma cells, NK cells, or both led to enhanced overall cytotoxicity in vitro, which was reversed by NKG2D blockade, and inhibited growth of tumor xenografts. Lastly, we showed decreased expression of MICA and ULBP2 transcription in primary human osteosarcoma. Conclusions: Entinostat enhances NK cell killing of cancer cells through upregulation of both NKG2D and its ligands, suggesting an attractive approach for augmenting NK cell immunotherapy of solid tumors such as colon carcinoma and sarcomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BRD7 gene is low or undetectably expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue (NPC) and can obviously suppress the growth of NPC cell line HNE1. In this study, the proteins that interacted with BRD7 coding protein were screened by yeast two-hybrid system. The complete reading frame of BRD7 gene was subcloned into pAS2 vector (BRD7-BD). Then the human embryo brain cDNA library was screened by BRD7-BD bait. Eleven positive clones were obtained from 4.8 × 106 transformed clones. By sequencing directly, 6 interacting proteins of BRD7 coding protein were isolated (Bromodomain-containing 3 protein (BRD3), Bromodomain-containing 2 protein (BRD2), I κB kinase-beta, KIAA1375 protein, interleukin 7 and adaptor-related protein complex 3 δ-1 subunit). These results suggest BRD7 protein might form heterogenous dimer or triplex polymer with BRD2 and/or BRD3 to participate in transcriptional regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies poly-L-lysine silica nanoparticles (SiNP), a novel nonviral nanoparticle gene vector. Synthesis of SiNP; Plasmid DNA binding; Cell transfection efficiency.

NKG2D is a major activating receptor of NK cells and plays a critical role in tumor immunosurveillance. NKG2D expression in NK cells is inhibited by the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) and enhanced by the narrow-spectrum HDAC inhibitor entinostat. We previously demonstrated that entinostat enhanced NKG2D transcription by increasing acetylation of Histones H3 and H4. However, the mechanism by which VPA reduces NKG2D expression in NK cells is not known. We have also shown that NKG2D transcription is regulated by STAT3 phosphorylation. In this study, we investigated regulation of NKG2D expression in NK cells by VPA and entinostat by assessing protein expression, phosphorylation, and interaction of HDACs and STAT3. We find that VPA selectively inhibits STAT3 tyrosine705 phosphorylation, but entinostat does not. STAT3 complexes with HDAC3, and HDAC3 inhibition represses STAT3 phosphorylation and therefore NKG2D expression. NK cells from STAT3 wild-type mice downregulate NKG2D in response to VPA, but not NK cells from STAT3 knockout mice. These results show that VPA is a potent inhibitor of STAT3 phosphorylation and demonstrate that histone acetylation and STAT3 tyrosine705 phosphorylation cooperate in regulating NKG2D expression in NK cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]