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Summary Eosinophils are attractive innate immune cells to use to potentiate T cell antitumor efficacy because they are capable of infiltrating tumors at early stages and modulating the tumor microenvironment. However, the limited number of functional eosinophils caused by the scarcity and short life of primary eosinophils in peripheral blood has greatly impeded the development of eosinophil-based immunotherapy. In this study, we established an efficient chemically defined protocol to generate a large quantity of functional eosinophils from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) with nearly 100% purity expressing eosinophil peroxidase. These hPSC-derived eosinophils transcriptionally resembled their primary counterpart. Moreover, hPSC-derived eosinophils showed competent tumor killing capacity in established solid tumors. Furthermore, the combination of hPSC-derived eosinophils with CAR-T cells exhibited potential synergistic effects, inhibiting tumor growth and enhancing mouse survival. Our study opens up new avenues for the development of eosinophil-based immunotherapies to treat cancer., Highlights • A chemically defined approach generates functional human eosinophils from hPSCs • hPSC-derived eosinophils exhibit competent antitumor ability in vitro and in vivo • Potential synergy of action when both eosinophils and CAR-T cells are used together, In this article, Deng and colleagues establish an efficient chemically defined protocol to generate functional eosinophils from hPSCs, which show competent tumor killing capacity in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the combination of hPSC-derived eosinophils with CAR-T cells exhibits potential synergistic effects suppressing tumor growth. This study opens up a new avenue for developing eosinophil-based immunotherapies against solid tumors.

Background Cannabis, an important industrial crop, has a high sensitivity to photoperiods. The flowering time of cannabis is one of its important agronomic traits, and has a significant effect on its yield and quality. The CONSTANS-like (COL) gene plays a key role in the regulation of flowering in this plant. However, the specific roles of the COL gene family in cannabis are still unknown. Results In this study, 13 CsCOL genes were identified in the cannabis genome. Phylogenetic analysis implied that the CsCOL proteins were divided into three subgroups, and each subgroup included conserved intron/exon structures and motifs. Chromosome distribution analysis showed that 13 CsCOL genes were unevenly distributed on 7 chromosomes, with chromosome 10 having the most CsCOL members. Collinearity analysis showed that two syntenic gene pairs of CsCOL4 and CsCOL11 were found in both rice and Gossypium raimondii. Of the 13 CsCOL genes, CsCOL6 and CsCOL12 were a pair of tandem duplicated genes, whereas CsCOL8 and CsCOL11 may have resulted from segmental duplication. Furthermore, tissue-specific expression showed that 10 CsCOL genes were preferentially expressed in the leaves, 1 CsCOL in the stem, and 2 CsCOL in the female flower. Most CsCOL exhibited a diurnal oscillation pattern under different light treatment. Additionally, sequence analysis showed that CsCOL3 and CsCOL7 exhibited amino acid differences among the early-flowering and late flowering cultivars. Conclusion This study provided insight into the potential functions of CsCOL genes, and highlighted their roles in the regulation of flowering time in cannabis. Our results laid a foundation for the further elucidation of the functions of COL genes in cannabis.

Background & Aims The functions of the liver and the intestine are closely tied in both physiological and pathologic conditions. The gut microbiota (GM) often cause deleterious effects during hepatic pathogenesis. Autophagy is essential for liver homeostasis, but the impact of hepatic autophagy function on liver-gut interaction remains unknown. Here we investigated the effect of hepatic autophagy deficiency (Atg5Δhep) on GM and in turn the effect of GM on the liver pathology. Methods Fecal microbiota were analyzed by 16S sequencing. Antibiotics were used to modulate GM. Cholestyramine was used to reduce the enterohepatic bile acid (BA) level. The functional role of fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) and ileal farnesoid X receptor (FXR) was examined in mice overexpressing FGF15 gene or in mice given a fibroblast growth factor receptor-4 (FGFR4) inhibitor. Results Atg5Δhep causes liver injury and alterations of intestinal BA composition, with a lower proportion of tauro-conjugated BAs and a higher proportion of unconjugated BAs. The composition of GM is significantly changed with an increase in BA-metabolizing bacteria, leading to an increased expression of ileal FGF15 driven by FXR that has a higher affinity to unconjugated BAs. Notably, antibiotics or cholestyramine treatment decreased FGF15 expression and exacerbated liver injury. Consistently, inhibition of FGF15 signaling in the liver enhances liver injury. Conclusions Deficiency of autophagy function in the liver can affect intestinal environment, leading to gut dysbiosis. Surprisingly, such changes provide an adaptive protection against the liver injury through the FGF15-FGFR4 signaling. Antibiotics use in the condition of liver injury may thus have unexpected adverse consequences via the gut-liver axis., Graphical abstract

Phytolacca americana var. huadongensis is described and illustrated as a new taxon from eastern China. This new variety differs from P. americana var. americana and var. rigida by the pendulous or arciform thyrsoid inflorescences and infructescences. This new taxon is also morphologically similar to P. sanguinea and P. thyrsiflora, from which can be distinguished by both the pendulous inflorescence (P. sanguinea and P. thyrsiflora have erect thyrsoid inflorescences), and the 10(11)-carpellate gynoecia (vs. 9-carpellate gynoecia in P. sanguinea and 6–9-carpellate gynoecia in P. thyrsiflora).

DNA damage response (DDR) gene alterations in cancer are associated with a higher tumor mutational burden (TMB) and may impact clinical outcomes of urothelial cancer (UC). Here, we explore the prognostic role of DDR alterations in advanced UC treated with anti‐PD‐1/PD‐L1 agents. The study included 53 patients who had FoundationOne genomic sequencing and received anti‐PD‐1/PD‐L1 therapy. Fisher exact test and trend test were used to assess differences in objective response rate (ORR). Overall survival (OS) was measured from the time of initial UC diagnosis and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to calculate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The cohort had a median age of 66 with 64% receiving platinum‐based chemotherapy. DDR alterations (including ATM) were associated with a non‐significantly higher ORR to PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade (41% vs. 21%, p = 0.136). Patients with DDR alterations (excluding ATM) had non‐significantly longer OS, likely due to a small sample size (HR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.20–1.38, p = 0.19). ATM alterations were associated with a non‐significantly higher ORR (40% vs. 29%, p = 0.6), but also with significantly shorter OS (HR = 5.7, 95% CI 1.65–19.74, p = 0.006). Patients with ≥ 3 DDR alterations (including ATM) had substantially higher TMB (p = 0.01) and higher ORR (80%) with PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade versus 24% ORR in patients with, DDR alterations are associated with higher ORR and nonsignificantly prolonged OS in patients with advanced UC receiving PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors. However, presence of ATM alterations correlated with shorter OS, irrespective of a nonsignificant trend towards higher ORR to anti‐PD‐1/PD‐L1 agents.

Phytolacca yunnanensis is described and illustrated as a new species from Yunnan Province, China. This new species is characterized by the distinctive dense translucent multicellular trichomes along the peduncles, raches, and pedicels of both racemose inflorescences and infructescences. These translucent multicellular trichomes, which were revealed by using stereomicroscope and SEM, represents the first discovery in the genus Phytolacca. P. yunnanensis resembles P. acinosa in sharing the free carpels, but differs by the 4-5-carpellate gynoecia. P. yunnanensis is also similar to P. exiensis by the number of carpels, but can be easily distinguished from the latter in having free carpels.

The effect of super-chilling at -2°C compared with ice storage at 0°C on flavor quality changes of turbot (Psetta maxima) was investigated. Changes in total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), sensory attributes and volatile compounds were periodically examined for 20 days. Results demonstrated that super-chilling retarded the increases of TVB-N values and maintained better sensory quality compared to the ice storage. Additionally, GC-MS analysis showed super-chilling could more effectively maintain the characteristic volatiles responsible for fresh fish flavor and reduce the contents of putrid compounds such as TMA and acetic acid.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Gentiana delavayi Franch. (Gentianaceae) as an ethnomedicinal plant contains a variety of effective active ingredients and exhibits diverse pharmacological actions, such as hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and central nervous system effects. In this study we investigated the influence of G. delavayi flower extract on amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing at molecular and cellular levels. APP/PS1 Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were treated with chloroform extract of G. delavayi flower in different concentrations for 24 h. Concentrations of amyloid β (Aβ) 40 and Aβ42 in the cell supernatant and activity of β-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), BACE2, and cathepsin D were determined. The expression of APP and neprilysin (NEP) within the cell were further determined. Compared with the control group, the levels of Aβ40 and Aβ42 declined notably and the activity of BACE1 was inhibited significantly in the APP/PS1 CHO cells after treatment with the chloroform extract of G. delavayi flower. Although the activities of BACE2 and cathepsin D were not changed, the expression of Aβ degrading enzyme NEP increased remarkably. Our experiments have clearly showed that the chloroform extract of G. delavayi flower inhibits the generation of β-amyloid by specifically inhibiting β-secretase and increases the expression of NEP which fastens the degradation of Aβ, exhibiting the effect of decreasing Aβ accumulation in APP/PS1 CHO cells. These results suggest that the active components from the chloroform extract of G. delavayi flower have a further prospect to be developed as potential anti-Aβ drug.

Background: Covalent BTK inhibitors (BTKi) have transformed the management of MCL, WM, and MZL. Despite the marked efficacy of covalent BTKi, treatment failure can occur through the development of resistance and discontinuation for adverse events. Covalent BTKi also share pharmacologic liabilities (e.g. low oral bioavailability, short half-life) that may lead to suboptimal BTK target coverage, for example in rapidly proliferating tumors with high BTK protein turnover, ultimately manifesting as acquired resistance in some patients (pts). To address these limitations, LOXO-305, a highly selective, non-covalent BTKi that inhibits both wild type (WT) and C481-mutated BTK with equal low nM potency was developed. The aim of the BRUIN trial was to define the safety and early efficacy of LOXO-305 in pts with B-cell malignancies. Here we report these data in pts with previously treated MCL, WM, and other NHLs. Methods: BRUIN is a multicenter phase 1/2 trial (NCT 03740529) enrolling pts with advanced B-cell malignancies who have received >2 prior therapies. Dose was escalated according to a standard 3+3 design with LOXO-305 dosed orally in 28-day cycles. The primary endpoint was MTD/RP2D identification. Intra-patient dose-escalation to previously cleared dose levels was permitted. Efficacy evaluable pts included all dosed pts who underwent their first response evaluation or discontinued therapy. Response was assessed every 8 weeks from cycle 3, and every 12 weeks from cycle 13 and was measured according to Lugano Classification or iWWM. Safety was assessed in all pts (CLL/SLL and NHL, n=186). Results: As of 30 April 2020, 186 pts with B-cell malignancies (94 CLL/SLL, 38 MCL, 19 DLBCL, 17 WM, 6 FL, 5 MZL, and 7 Other [B-PLL and Richter's transformation]) were treated on 7 dose levels (25mg to 300mg QD). Among the 92 pts with NHL, the median age was 68 (range 27-87) years. Median number of prior lines of therapy was 2 for MCL (range 2-8), and 3 for other NHLs (range 2-11). 92% of MCL pts had received a prior BTKi; 87% received at least an anti-CD20 antibody, chemotherapy, and BTKi; 10 pts had received SCT/CAR-T; 71% of WM pts had received a prior BTKi. LOXO-305 demonstrated high oral exposures, with doses ≥100mg QD exceeding the BTK IC90 for the entirety of the dosing interval. There were no DLTs or dose reductions. Consistent with LOXO-305's selectivity, the only treatment emergent adverse events regardless of attribution or grade seen in >10% of pts (n=186) were fatigue (n=29, 16%) and diarrhea (n=28, 15%). Responses were observed at the first dose level of 25mg QD. A RP2D of 200mg QD was selected for future studies. At the efficacy cutoff date, 24 MCL pts (63%) and 35 other NHL pts (65%) remained on therapy. Among the 35 efficacy-evaluable MCL pts treated across all dose levels, the ORR was 51% including 9 CRs, 9 PRs, 7 SDs, 8 PDs, and 2 NEs. An additional 3 MCL pts were awaiting initial radiologic assessment. Among the subset of 20 efficacy evaluable MCL pts who started at the RP2D (200mg QD), the ORR was 65% including 7 CRs, 6 PR, 4 SDs, 1 PD and 2 NEs. Of the 18 responding pts treated at any dose, all except 2 remain on therapy, with the longest followed responding pt on treatment for 14 months and ongoing. Of the 2 responding pts who have discontinued treatment, 1 progressed and 1 achieved a CR and electively discontinued treatment to undergo allogeneic stem cell transplant. Responses in MCL have been observed in pts who received prior cell therapy, including 3 of 7 patents with prior SCT, and 1 of 2 with prior CAR-T. Among the 15 efficacy-evaluable pts with WM, the ORR was 60% (1 VGPR, 4 PRs, 4 MRs, 5 SDs, 1 NE), and also 60% in the subset with prior BTKi treatment. 8 of 9 WM responders were ongoing (follow-up time from initial response: 0.1-4.8 months). For the remaining 29 efficacy-evaluable other NHL pts, best response was as follows: DLBCL (3 CRs, 1 SD, 6 PDs, 5 NEs), FL (3 PRs, 1 SD, 1 PD), MZL (2 PRs, 1 SD) and Other [5 Richter's transformation, 1 B-PLL] (2 PRs, 2 SDs, 2 NEs). Conclusion: LOXO-305 demonstrated promising efficacy in heavily pretreated, poor-prognosis MCL pts following multiple prior lines of therapy, including covalent BTKi. Early efficacy was also observed in BTK-treated WM, as well as heavily pretreated other NHLs. LOXO-305 was well tolerated and exhibited a wide therapeutic index. Disclosures Wang: Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Other: Travel, accommodation, expenses, Research Funding; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy, Research Funding; Verastem: Research Funding; Molecular Templates: Research Funding; Dava Oncology: Honoraria; InnoCare: Consultancy; Oncternal: Consultancy, Research Funding; Nobel Insights: Consultancy; VelosBio: Research Funding; OMI: Honoraria, Other: Travel, accommodation, expenses; Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Travel, accommodation, expenses, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, accommodation, expenses, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, accommodation, expenses, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, accommodation, expenses, Research Funding; Targeted Oncology: Honoraria; Juno: Consultancy, Research Funding; BioInvent: Research Funding; Lu Daopei Medical Group: Honoraria; OncLive: Honoraria; Beijing Medical Award Foundation: Honoraria; MoreHealth: Consultancy; Guidepoint Global: Consultancy; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; Pulse Biosciences: Consultancy. Shah:Cell Vault: Research Funding; Miltenyi Biotec: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Incyte: Consultancy; Lily: Consultancy, Honoraria; Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria; Verastim: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy. Alencar:Genentech, Celgene, KITE, Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Consultancy. Gerson:Loxo: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy. Fakhri:University of California San Francisco: Current Employment. Jurczak:MeiPharma: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland: Ended employment in the past 24 months; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Bayer: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Acerta: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Krakow, Poland: Current Employment. Tan:Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Linear Clinical Research: Current Employment. Lewis:Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Linear Clinical Research: Current Employment. Fenske:Medical College of Wisconsin: Current Employment. Coombs:Novartis: Honoraria; Octapharma: Honoraria; LOXO Oncology: Honoraria; MEI Pharma: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria; Genentech: Honoraria; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria. Flinn:Calithera Biosciences: Research Funding; Loxo: Research Funding; IGM Biosciences: Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Research Funding; Agios: Research Funding; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Curio Science: Consultancy; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Research Funding; Curis: Research Funding; Nurix Therapeutics: Consultancy; Novartis: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Portola Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Teva: Research Funding; Constellation Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Great Point Partners: Consultancy; Forma Therapeutics: Research Funding; Iksuda Therapeutics: Consultancy; Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Infinity Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Trillium Therapeutics: Research Funding; Triphase Research & Development Corp.: Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy, Research Funding; Yingli Pharmaceuticals ≠: Consultancy, Research Funding; Rhizen Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Johnson & Johnson: Other; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Vincera Pharma: Consultancy; Merck: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; ArQule: Research Funding; Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Forty Seven: Research Funding. Le Gouill:Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Consultancy; Roche Genentech, Janssen-Cilag and Abbvie, Celgene, Jazz pharmaceutical, Gilead-kite, Loxo, Daiichi-Sankyo and Servier: Honoraria. Palomba:Celgene: Honoraria; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria; Genentech: Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; Merck: Honoraria; Juno Therapeutics, a Bristol-Meyers Squibb Company: Honoraria, Research Funding; Regeneron: Research Funding. Woyach:Janssen, Pharmacyclics, AstraZeneca, Abbvie, Arqule: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics, Janssen, Morphosys, Karyopharm, Verastem, Abbvie, Lox: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company, AbbVie, Janssen, AstraZeneca, ArQule: Honoraria. Lamanna:Columbia University Medical Center: Current Employment; MingSight: Other: Institutional research grants, Research Funding; Octapharma: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bei-Gene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Institutional research grants, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Institutional research grants, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Institutional research grants, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Juno: Other: Institutional research grants, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Institutional research grants, Research Funding; Loxo: Research Funding; Oncternal, Verastem, TG Therapeutics: Other: Institutional research grants, Research Funding. Cohen:Genentech, BMS, Novartis, LAM, BioInvent, LRF, ASH, Astra Zeneca, Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Janssen, Adicet, Astra Zeneca, Genentech, Aptitude Health, Cellectar, Kite/Gilead, Loxo: Consultancy. Ghia:Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; ArQule: Consultancy, Honoraria; Acerta/AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; BeiGene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company), Research Funding; Celgene/Juno: Consultancy, Honoraria; Lilly: Consultancy, Honoraria; MEI: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sunesis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Adaptive, Dynamo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company), Research Funding. Eyre:KITE, AZ, Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support. Yin:Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment. Nair:Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment. Tsai:Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment. Ku:Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment. Mato:Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Adaptive: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Loxo: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding. Cheah:Celgene, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, MSD, Janssen, Gilead, Ascentage Pharma, Acerta, Loxo Oncology, TG therapeutics: Honoraria; Celgene, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Abbvie, MSD: Research Funding.

The genus Phyllomyza Fallen is recorded from Laos for the first time with the following three species which are described as new to science: P. latusipalpis sp. nov., P. orbita sp. nov., and P. ver...

Gradual alterations of cell's physiology and functions due to age or exposure to various stresses lead to the conversion of normal cells to senescent cells. Once becoming senescent, the cell stops dividing permanently but remains metabolically active. Cellular senescence does not have a single marker but is characterized mainly by a combination of multiple markers, such as, morphological changes, expression of cell cycle inhibitors, senescence associated β-galactosidase activity, and changes in nuclear membrane. When cells in an organ become senescent, the entire organism can be affected. This may occur through the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). SASP may exert beneficial or harmful effects on the microenvironment of tissues. Research on senescence has become a very exciting field in cell biology since the link between age-related diseases, including cancer, and senescence has been established. The loss of regenerative and homeostatic capacity of the liver over the age is somehow connected to cellular senescence. The major contributors of senescence properties in the liver are hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. Senescent cells in the liver have been implicated in the etiology of chronic liver diseases including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and in the interference of liver regeneration. This review summarizes recently reported findings in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of senescence and its relationship with liver diseases.

Rationale: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major risk factor for liver cancer, in which HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) plays crucial roles. However, the effect of pseudogene-derived long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) acting as functional regulators of their ancestral gene expression on HBV replication and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. In this study, we speculated that the pseudogene-derived lncRNA PCNAP1 and its ancestor PCNA might modulate HBV replication and promote hepatocarcinogenesis. Methods: We investigated the roles of lncRNA PCNAP1 in contribution of HBV replication through modulating miR-154/PCNA/HBV cccDNA signaling in hepatocarcinogenesis by using CRISPR/Cas9, Southern blot analysis, confocal assays, et al. in primary human hepatocytes (PHH), HepaRG cells, HepG2-NTCP cells, hepatoma carcinoma cells, human liver-chimeric mice model, transgenetic mice model, in vitro tumorigenicity and clinical patients. Results: Interestingly, the expression levels of PCNAP1 and PCNA were significantly elevated in the liver of HBV-infectious human liver-chimeric mice. Clinically, the mRNA levels of PCNAP1 and PCNA were increased in the liver of HBV-positive/HBV cccDNA-positive HCC patients. Mechanistically, PCNA interacted with HBV cccDNA in a HBc-dependent manner. PCNAP1 enhanced PCNA through sponging miR-154 targeting PCNA mRNA 3'UTR. Functionally, PCNAP1 or PCNA remarkably enhanced HBV replication and accelerated the growth of HCC in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: We conclude that lncRNA PCNAP1 enhances the HBV replication through modulating miR-154/PCNA/HBV cccDNA signaling and the PCNAP1/PCNA signaling drives the hepatocarcinogenesis. Our finding provides new insights into the mechanism by which lncRNA PCNAP1 enhances HBV replication and hepatocarcinogenesis.

Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) affords tissue protection in organs including kidneys; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here we demonstrate an important role of macroautophagy/autophagy (especially mitophagy) in the protective effect of IPC in kidneys. IPC induced autophagy in renal tubular cells in mice and suppressed subsequent renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). The protective effect of IPC was abolished by pharmacological inhibitors of autophagy and by the ablation of Atg7 from kidney proximal tubules. Pretreatment with BECN1/Beclin1 peptide induced autophagy and protected against IRI. These results suggest the dependence of IPC protection on renal autophagy. During IPC, the mitophagy regulator PINK1 (PTEN induced putative kinase 1) was activated. Both IPC and BECN1 peptide enhanced mitolysosome formation during renal IRI in mitophagy reporter mice, suggesting that IPC may protect kidneys by activating mitophagy. We further established an in vitro model of IPC by inducing ‘chemical ischemia’ in kidney proximal tubular cells with carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). Brief treatment with CCCP protected against subsequent injury in these cells and the protective effect was abrogated by autophagy inhibition. In vitro IPC increased mitophagosome formation, enhanced the delivery of mitophagosomes to lysosomes, and promoted the clearance of damaged mitochondria during subsequent CCCP treatment. IPC also suppressed mitochondrial depolarization, improved ATP production, and inhibited the generation of reactive oxygen species. Knockdown of Pink1 suppressed mitophagy and reduced the cytoprotective effect of IPC. Together, these results suggest that autophagy, especially mitophagy, plays an important role in the protective effect of IPC. Abbreviations: ACTB: actin, beta; ATG: autophagy related; BNIP3: BCL2 interacting protein 3; BNIP3L/NIX: BCL2 interacting protein 3 like; BUN: blood urea nitrogen; CASP3: caspase 3; CCCP: carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone; COX4I1: cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4I1; COX8: cytochrome c oxidase subunit 8; DAPI: 4ʹ,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; DNM1L: dynamin 1 like; EGFP: enhanced green fluorescent protein; EM: electron microscopy; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; FC: floxed control; FIS1: fission, mitochondrial 1; FUNDC1: FUN14 domain containing 1; H-E: hematoxylin-eosin; HIF1A: hypoxia inducible factor 1 subunit alpha; HSPD1: heat shock protein family D (Hsp60) member 1; IMMT/MIC60: inner membrane mitochondrial protein; IPC: ischemic preconditioning; I-R: ischemia-reperfusion; IRI: ischemia-reperfusion injury; JC-1: 5,5ʹ,6,6ʹ-tetrachloro-1,1ʹ,3,3ʹ-tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide; KO: knockout; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; mito-QC: mito-quality control; mRFP: monomeric red fluorescent protein; NAC: N-acetylcysteine; PINK1: PTEN induced putative kinase 1; PPIB: peptidylprolyl isomerase B; PRKN: parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin protein ligase; ROS: reactive oxygen species; RPTC: rat proximal tubular cells; SD: standard deviation; sIPC: simulated IPC; SQSTM1/p62: sequestosome 1; TOMM20: translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20; TUNEL: terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling

Background: Recovery of the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) during post-operative ileus (POI) is important for the restoration of gastrointestinal (GI) motility. Acupuncture can protect ICCs, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated whether miR-222, c-kit and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) are involved in the putative effects of acupuncture on ICC recovery. Methods: A POI model was established in Sprague-Dawley rats by colo-colic anastomosis, and then acupuncture was performed at bilateral ST36, SP6 and LR3 once daily for 3 consecutive days. C-kit protein expression in the colonic tissue adjacent to the incision site was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. mRNA levels of c-kit, eNOS and miR-222 were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: The levels of c-kit mRNA/protein and eNOS mRNA decreased, while miR-222 increased in the colonic tissues of POI model rats. Acupuncture treatment improved GI motility, inhibited the up-regulation of miR-222 and blocked the down-regulation of c-kit mRNA/protein and eNOS mRNA. The levels of miR-222 and c-kit were negatively correlated. Conclusion: Acupuncture at ST36, SP6 and LR3 facilitates ICC recovery and improves post-operative GI motility in part through regulation of miR-222, c-kit and eNOS.

A surface imprinting method is presented herein for the development of a highly selective yet highly permeable molecularly imprinted membrane for protein separation and purification. The resultant protein imprinted membrane was shown to exhibit great potential for the efficient separation of the template protein from a binary mixture and a cell lysate solution, while maintaining high transport flux for complementary molecules. Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and Lysozyme (Lys) were individually immobilized on a cellulose acetate membrane as template molecules. In situ surface crosslinking polymerization was then used for protein imprinting on the membrane for a controlled duration. Both membranes showed high adsorption capacity towards template proteins in the competitive batch rebinding tests. In addition, the adsorption capacity could be greatly enhanced in a continuous permeation procedure, where the resultant membrane specifically adsorbed the template protein for more than 40 h. Moreover, this is the first report of purification of a specific protein from the cell broth mixture using a molecularly imprinted membrane. The protein imprinted membrane enables the transport of multiple non-template proteins with high permeation rate in a complex system, thus opening the way for high efficiency protein separation at a low cost for the industry.

Neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) based therapy represents an attractive treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder with no effective treatment to date. This can be achieved by stimulating endogenous NSPCs and/or administrating exogenously produced NSPCs. Successful repair requires the migration of NSPCs to the loci where neuronal loss occurs, differentiation and integration into neural networks. However, the progressive loss of neurons in the brain of AD patients suggests that the repair by endogenous NSPCs in the setting of AD may be defective. The production and deposition of amyloid-β1-42 (Aβ1-42) peptides is thought to be a central event in the pathogenesis of AD. Here we report that Aβ1-42 peptides inhibit the migration of in vitro cultured NSPCs by disturbing the ERK-MAPK signal pathway. We found that the migratory capacity of NSPCs was compromised upon treatment with oligomeric Aβ1-42; the inhibitory effect occurred in a dose-dependent manner. Our previous studies have shown that Aβ1-42 triggers the expression of GRK2 by unknown mechanism. Herein we found that the Aβ1-42 evoked upregulation of GRK2 expression was attenuated upon treatment with the ERK inhibitor SCH772984 at 2.5 μM, but not with inhibitors for p38 or JNK. We detected a dose-dependent increase in levels of phosphorylated ERK1/2 after incubation of cells with oligomeric Aβ1-42 peptides for 3 days. We observed that an increase in the phosphorylation of p38 and JNK coincided with reduced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 upon treatment with Aβ1-42 for 6 and/or 9 days. We hypothesize that the divergence of the activation of the MAPK family of pathways may contribute to the inhibition of NSPCs migration after the long-term incubation with Aβ1-42. Pretreatment with 1 μM MEK inhibitor U0126 reversed the effects of Aβ1-42 on GRK2 expression of and NSPC migration. Together, our results suggest that Aβ1-42 oligomers compromise the migratory capacity of NSPCs through the MEK-ERK pathway.

Background Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) and ageing are the most important known risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the present study, we determined the alterations of IgG, CD19, and Aβ in various brain regions of uninfected male and female APOE3- and APOE4-TR mice at the age of 3 and 10 months to elucidate impacts of AD risk factors on alterations of brain IgG. Results Positive staining for IgG was distributed across the brain, including neocortex, entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus and cerebellum. IgG positive staining was mainly located on microglia, but not astrocytes. Some IgG positive neurons were also observed, but only in mediodorsal thalamic nucleus. Compared with APOE3-TR mice, 10-month-old female APOE4-TR mice had lower IgG level in AD susceptible brain regions such as neocortex, entorhinal cortex and hippocampus, but no significant changes in thalamus and cerebellum, two regions nearly intact in AD. In addition, the expression of CD19, a specific marker for mature B cells, was significantly reduced in the hippocampus of 10-month-old female APOE4-TR mice. Although there were no obvious differences in plasma IgG levels between APOE4- and age matched female APOE3-TR mice, significant decreased B cell amount in blood of 10-month-old female APOE4-TR mice have also been found. Moreover, more obvious positive staining for Aβ was observed in the cortex of 10-month-old female APOE4-TR mice than other groups. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that AD risk factors were associated with IgG alterations in various brain regions, which might result from the defects of humoral immunity and lead to the impairment of IgG-mediated clearance of Aβ by microglia, therefore facilitated AD progression.

The limited number of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) has restrained their widespread clinical application. Despite great efforts in recent years, the in vitro expansion of HSCs remains a challenge due to incomplete understanding of the signaling networks underlying HSC self-renewal. Here, we show that culturing human cord blood (CB) CD34+ cells with JNK-IN-8, an inhibitor of the JNK signaling pathway, can enhance the self-renewal of HSCs with a 3.88-fold increase in cell number. These cultured CD34+ cells repopulated recipient mice for 21 weeks and can form secondary engraftment that lasted for more than 21 weeks. Knockdown of c-Jun, a major downstream target in the JNK pathway, promoted the expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Our findings demonstrate a critical role of the JNK pathway in regulating HSC expansion, provide new insights into HSC self-renewal mechanism, and may lead to improved clinical application of HSCs.

Rationale: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a leading cause of liver diseases. HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is a critical obstacle of complete elimination by anti-HBV therapy. HBV cccDNA accumulates in nucleus as a chromatin-like cccDNA minichromosome assembled by histones and non-histones. However, the underlying mechanism of modulation of cccDNA minichromosome in hepatocytes is poorly understood. Methods: A human liver-chimeric mouse model was established. The cccDNA-ChIP, Southern blot analysis, confocal assays, RIP assays and RNA pull-down assays, et al. were performed to assess the mechanism of assembly and epigenetic regulation of cccDNA minichromosome in human liver-chimeric mouse model, human primary hepatocytes (PHH), dHepaRG, HepG2-NTCP cell lines and clinical liver tissues. Results: Importantly, the expression levels of HAT1, CAF-1 and lncRNA HULC were significantly elevated in the liver from HBV-infected human liver-chimeric mice. Strikingly, the depletion of HAT1 reduced HBV replication and cccDNA accumulation, and impaired the assembly of histone H3/H4 and the deposition of HBx and p300 onto cccDNA to form cccDNA minichromosome in the cells. Mechanically, chromatin assembly factor-1 (CAF-1) was involved in the events. Interestingly, HAT1 modified the acetylation of histone H3K27/H4K5/H4K12 on cccDNA minichromosome. Moreover, lncRNA HULC-scaffold HAT1/HULC/HBc complex was responsible for the modification on cccDNA minichromosome. Additionally, HBV activated HAT1 through HBx-co-activated transcriptional factor Sp1 in a positive feedback manner. Conclusion: HAT1 signaling contributes to assembly and epigenetic regulation of HBV cccDNA minichromosome.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the leading causes of hospital admission, 20% of which could progress to the severe type with extensive acinar cell necrosis. Clinical studies have reported that diabetes is an independent risk factor of the incidence of AP and is associated with higher severity than nondiabetic subjects. However, how diabetes participates in AP progression is not well defined. To investigate this question, wild-type (wt) and diabetic db/db mice at the age of 16 weeks were used in the study. AP was induced in wt recipients by 10 injections of 50 μg/kg caerulein with a 1 h interval. One hour after the last caerulein injection, bone marrow cells (BMC) isolated from wt and db/db mice were injected intraperitoneally into the recipients ( 1 × 10 7 cells/recipient). The recipients with no BMC injection served as controls. Thirteen hours after BMC injection, serum lipase activity was 1.8- and 1.3-folds higher in mice that received db/db BMC, compared with those with no injection and wt BMC injection, respectively ( p ≤ 0.02 for both). By H&E staining, the overall severity score was 14.7 for no cell injection and 16.6 for wt BMC injection and increased to 22.6 for db/db BMC injection ( p ≤ 0.002 for both). In particular, mice with db/db BMC injection developed more acinar cell necrosis and vacuolization than the other groups ( p ≤ 0.03 for both). When sections were stained with an antibody against myeloperoxidase (MPO), the density of MPO+ cells in pancreatitis was 1.9- and 1.6-folds higher than wt BMC and no BMC injection groups, separately ( p ≤ 0.02 for both). Quantified by ELISA, db/db BMC produced more IL-6, GM-CSF, and IL-10 compared with wt BMC ( p ≤ 0.04 for all). In conclusion, BMC of db/db mice produced more inflammatory cytokines. In response to acinar cell injury, diabetic BMC aggravated the inflammation cascade and acinar cell injury, leading to the progression of acute pancreatitis.

The following three species assigned to the Czernyola biseta group of the genus Czernyola Bezzi, 1907, from China are described as new to science: C. luteigenissp. nov., C. planipalpissp. nov., and C. shanxiensissp. nov. A key to the known species of Czernyola from China is provided.

Backgroud: Heavy metal pollutant, Cadmium (Cd), is an inorganic pollutant in China. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an important fiber crop to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soils. The MYB family is one of the largest and most important gene families that influences plant growth and produce secondary metabolites. Results: 115 CsMYB genes were identified in the hemp genome. The 1R-MYB subfamily had 17 genes, the 2R-MYB subfamily 88 genes, and the 3R-MYB subfamily 8 genes. The synteny analysis of the CsMYB genes indicated that there were 3 pairs of tandem repeats, 21 pairs of segmental duplication, 6 CsMYB genes present before species differentiation, and 60 genes belonging to the hemp-specific CsMYB genes. 7 CsMYB genes were identified to influence the response to Cd stress by combining the transcriptome data of two hemp species under Cd stress. Based on the changes in the Cannabinoid content of hemp under Cd stress, the expression of different CsMYB genes in hemp with high and low cannabidiol (CBD) contents, and tissue-specific expression, it was inferred that CsMYB024 may be affected by Cd stress and mediate the CBD synthesis pathway.Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the hemp MYB family. These results should be helpful in understanding of their potential functions in Cd-Stress Response and the Regulation of Cannabinoid Biosynthesis in Hemp. In addition, lays the foundation for the further study of biological functions of CsMYBs in hemp.

International audience; Background: Covalent Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors are efficacious in multiple B-cell malignancies, but patients discontinue these agents due to resistance and intolerance. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of pirtobrutinib (working name; formerly known as LOXO-305), a highly selective, reversible BTK inhibitor, in these patients.Methods: Patients with previously treated B-cell malignancies were enrolled in a first-in-human, multicentre, open-label, phase 1/2 trial of the BTK inhibitor pirtobrutinib. The primary endpoint was the maximum tolerated dose (phase 1) and overall response rate (ORR; phase 2). This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03740529.Findings: 323 patients were treated with pirtobrutinib across seven dose levels (25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, 200 mg, 250 mg, and 300 mg once per day) with linear dose-proportional exposures. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed and the maximum tolerated dose was not reached. The recommended phase 2 dose was 200 mg daily. Adverse events in at least 10% of 323 patients were fatigue (65 [20%]), diarrhoea (55 [17%]), and contusion (42 [13%]). The most common adverse event of grade 3 or higher was neutropenia (32 [10%]). There was no correlation between pirtobrutinib exposure and the frequency of grade 3 treatment-related adverse events. Grade 3 atrial fibrillation or flutter was not observed, and grade 3 haemorrhage was observed in one patient in the setting of mechanical trauma. Five (1%) patients discontinued treatment due to a treatment-related adverse event. In 121 efficacy evaluable patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) treated with a previous covalent BTK inhibitor (median previous lines of treatment 4), the ORR with pirtobrutinib was 62% (95% CI 53-71). The ORR was similar in CLL patients with previous covalent BTK inhibitor resistance (53 [67%] of 79), covalent BTK inhibitor intolerance (22 [52%] of 42), BTK C481-mutant (17 [71%] of 24) and BTK wild-type (43 [66%] of 65) disease. In 52 efficacy evaluable patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) previously treated with covalent BTK inhibitors, the ORR was 52% (95% CI 38-66). Of 117 patients with CLL, SLL, or MCL who responded, all but eight remain progression-free to date.Interpretation: Pirtobrutinib was safe and active in multiple B-cell malignancies, including patients previously treated with covalent BTK inhibitors. Pirtobrutinib might address a growing unmet need for alternative therapies for these patients.Funding: Loxo Oncology.

Context Despite the marked efficacy of covalent BTK inhibitors (BTKi) in MCL, WM, and MZL, the development of resistance and discontinuation for adverse events can lead to treatment failure. Low oral bioavailability or short half-life of these agents can lead to suboptimal BTK target coverage and ultimately result in acquired resistance in some patients (pts). Pirtobrutinib (LOXO-305) is a highly selective, non-covalent BTKi that inhibits both WT and C481-mutated BTK with equal, low nM potency. Objective To evaluate safety and efficacy of pirtobrutinib in pts with MCL/NHLs. Design BRUIN is an ongoing multi-center phase 1/2 trial (NCT03740529). Enrollment was initiated 21 March 2019. Setting Global: community hospitals, academic medical centers. Patients Previously treated pts with advanced B-cell malignancies. Interventions Oral pirtobrutinib (7 dose escalation levels: 25–300mg once daily) in 28-day cycles. Main Outcomes Measures Determining the maximum tolerated dose/recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D), safety profile, and efficacy based on response assessment using disease-specific criteria per protocol. Results As of 27 September 2020, 323 pts with B-cell malignancies (170 CLL/SLL, 61 MCL, 26 WM, and 66 other B-cell lymphomas) were treated on 7 dose levels (25–300mg QD). Pirtobrutinib demonstrated high oral exposures, with doses ≥100 mg QD exceeding the BTK IC90 for the entirety of the dosing interval. No DLTs occurred. The only TEAEs, regardless of attribution or grade in ≥10% of pts (n=323), were fatigue (20%), diarrhea (17%) and contusion (13%). A RP2D of 200mg QD was selected. At the efficacy cutoff date, 35 (57%) MCL pts, 18 (69%) WM pts, and 34 (52%) other NHL pts remained on therapy. Among the 52 efficacy evaluable prior BTKi treated MCL pts, the ORR was 52%. Among the 19 efficacy evaluable pts with WM, the ORR was 68%. For the other 55 efficacy evaluable NHL pts, ORR was 24% (DLBCL), 50% (FL), 22% (MZL), and 75% (Richter's transformation). Conclusion Pirtobrutinib demonstrated promising efficacy in MCL and other NHL pts, was well-tolerated and exhibited a wide therapeutic index.

The genus Cryptochetum Rondani is recorded from Vietnam for the first time with three species described and figured as new to science: C. dicranumsp. nov., C. equitanumsp. nov., and C. proceripalpissp. nov. A key to the species of the genus from Vietnam is presented.

Chronic infection of HBV is a serious global health issue. However, the HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) cannot be completely cleaned in liver. Here, we engineer a novel polypeptide, termed D-TTK001, targeting HBV X protein (HBx) against HBV cccDNA. D-TTK001 is a D-type polypeptide, which has a high binding affinity to HBx. Interestingly, it is able to against HBV efficiently in primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) from three donors. D-TTK001 displays high activities against HBV, remarkably reducing the levels of cccDNA in the HBV-infected human liver-chimeric mice. Mechanically, D-TTK001 depresses cccDNA transcription by regulating the epigenetic modification of cccDNA minichromosome and disturbing the interaction of HBx with DDB1 in the cells. D-TTK001 decreases the levels of cccDNA by down-regulating MSL2, leading to the increase of APOBEC3B in liver. When combined with entecavir or interferon-α, D-TTK001 shows additive antiviral effects. Clinically, D-TTK001 is a strong candidate to clear cccDNA against HBV.

Recent research suggests that SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals can be highly infectious while asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, and that an infected person may infect 5.6 other individuals on average. This situation highlights the need for rapid, sensitive SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic assays capable of high-throughput operation that can preferably utilize existing equipment to facilitate broad, large-scale screening efforts. We have developed a CRISPR-based assay that can meet all these criteria. This assay utilizes a custom CRISPR Cas12a/gRNA complex and a fluorescent probe to amplify target amplicons produced by standard RT-PCR or isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), to allow sensitive detection at sites not equipped with real-time PCR systems required for qPCR diagnostics. We found this approach allowed sensitive and robust detection of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples, with a sample-to-answer time of ∼50 min, and a limit of detection of 2 copies per sample. CRISPR assay diagnostic results obtained nasal swab samples of individuals with suspected COVID-19 cases were comparable to paired results from a CDC-approved qPCR assay performed in a state testing lab, and superior to those produced by same assay in a clinical lab, where the qPCR assay exhibited multiple invalid or inconclusive results. Our assay also demonstrated greater analytical sensitivity and more robust diagnostic performance than other recently reported CRISPR-based assays. Based on these findings, we believe that a CRISPR-based fluorescent application has potential to improve current COVID-19 screening efforts., Highlights • Integrated CRISPR for COVID-19 clinical diagnosis. • Rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2-specific RNA signatures at an ultra-low concentration. • Detection environment friendly and compatible for high throughput COVID-19 screening in hospital. • Successful development and validation with swab samples from patients. • Improve diagnosis of individuals with suspected COVID-19 infections.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) coupled with the acceptance test, partial least-squares regression (PLSR) analysis, validation experiment, and preference test was used to identify the key aroma compounds in dog foods (DFs). Six DFs were evaluated by spraying six palatability enhancers onto a basal DF. The differently flavored palatability enhancers were prepared by the Maillard reaction using different protein sources and reaction conditions. The intake ratios of the six DFs were tested by six adult beagle dogs and were classified into high, medium, and low levels. A total of 55 volatile compounds were identified using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) GC-MS. Correlation analysis of the volatile compounds associated with intake ratios using partial least-squares regression (PLSR) found nine significantly positive and three significantly negative compounds that made a significant contribution to the palatability of DFs. Validation tests undertaken by adding three significantly positive compounds, one significantly negative compound, and one nonsignificant compound into the odorless matrix successfully verified the accuracy prediction of the PLSR model. The nine significantly positive compounds were heptanal, nonanal, octanal, (

• Twenty-four out of 75 patients developed into severe condition in the course of the infection. • The prominent laboratory abnormalities of COVID patients were lymphopenia, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). • Elevated interleukin 6 (IL-6) correlated with decrease of LYM%, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts, and increase of CRP, LDH and Procalcitonin (PCT) levels.

Autophagy is an intracellular lysosomal degradative pathway important for tumor surveillance. Autophagy deficiency can lead to tumorigenesis. Autophagy is also known to be important for the aggressive growth of tumors, yet the mechanism that sustains the growth of autophagy-deficient tumors is not known. We previously reported that progression of hepatic tumors developed in autophagy-deficient livers required high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) that is released from autophagy-deficient hepatocytes. However, the mechanism by which HMGB1 promotes hepatic tumorigenesis is not understood. In this study we examined the pathological features of the hepatic tumors and the mechanism of HMGB1-mediated tumorigenesis using liver-specific autophagy-deficient (Atg7-/-) and Atg7-/-/Hmgb1-/- mice. We found that in Atg7-/- mice the tumors cells were still deficient in autophagy and could also release HMGB1. Histological analysis using cell-specific markers suggested that fibroblast and ductular cells were present only outside the tumor whereas macrophages were present both inside and outside the tumor. Genetic deletion of HMGB1 or one of its receptors, receptor for advanced glycated end product (Rage), retarded liver tumor development. In addition, we found that expression of RAGE was only on ductual cells and Kupffer’s cells but not on hepatoctyes, which suggested that HMGB1 might promote hepatic tumor growth through a paracrine mode that altered the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, HMGB1 and RAGE enhanced the proliferation capability of the autophagy-deficient hepatocytes and tumors. Finally, RNAseq analysis of the tumors indicated that HMGB1 induced a much broad changes in tumors. In particular, genes related to mitochondrial structures or functions were enriched among those differentially expressed in tumors in the presence or absence of HMGB1, revealing a potential key role of mitochondria in sustaining the growth of autophagy-deficient liver tumors via HMGB1 stimulation.

Depression may be associated with reduced monoamine neurotransmission, particularly serotonin and norepinephrine (NE). Reuptake of NE by the norepinephrine transporter (NET) is the primary mechanism by which many of the antidepressants are high-affinity substrates for NET. This study aimed to examine the effect of lentivirus-mediated shRNA targeting NET in locus coeruleus (LC) on depression-like behaviors of rats. We randomly assigned 60 male Wistar rats to 6 experimental groups: (1) Control group: without chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and without NET-shRNA treatment; (2) shRNA group: without CUMS + NET-shRNA; (3) CUMS group: 3-week CUMS without NET-shRNA; (4) CUMS + nonsense shRNA group; (5) CUMS + amygdala (Amy)-shRNA group; (6) CUMS+ locus coeruleus (LC)-shRNA group. First, recombinant lentiviral vector expressing shRNA (ShRNA-629, ShRNA-330, ShRNA-1222, ShRNA-1146 or ShRNA- negative control) against NET were produced, and their efficiency in knocking down of NET in PC12 cells were assessed by Q-PCR and western blot analysis. Second, shRNA was injected into the rat LC bilaterally to investigate whether it could prevent the depressive-like behavior induced by 3-week CUMS. Third, we tested the depressive-like behavior of the rats in the forced swimming test, the open field test, the sucrose preference test, as well as the body weight gain at the end of the seventh week. Finally, the protein expressions of NET was measured by western blot and the NE levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Q-PCR and western blot showed that the ShRNA-1146 had the best interference efficiency targeting on NET in PC12 cells (p p p p p

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection began in December 2019 in Wuhan, and rapidly spread to many provinces in China. The number of cases has increased markedly in Anhui, but information on the clinical characteristics of patients is limited. We reported 75 patients with COVID-19 in the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC from Jan 21 to Feb 16, 2020, Hefei, Anhui Province, China. COVID-19 infection was confirmed by real-time RT-PCR of respiratory nasopharyngeal swab samples. Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data were collected and analyzed. Of the 75 patients with COVID-19, 61 (81.33%) had a direct or indirect exposure history to Wuhan. Common symptoms at onset included fever (66 [88.0%] of 75 patients) and dry cough (62 [82.67%]). Of the patients without fever, cough could be the only or primary symptom. The most prominent laboratory abnormalities were lymphopenia, decreased percentage of lymphocytes (LYM%), decreased CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Patients with elevated interleukin 6 (IL-6) showed significant decreases in the LYM%, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts. Besides, the percentage of neutrophils, CRP, LDH and Procalcitonin levels increased significantly. We concluded that COVID-19 could cause different degrees of hematological abnormalities and damage of internal organs. Hematological profiles including LYM, LDH, CRP and IL-6 could be indicators of diseases severity and evaluation of treatment effectiveness. Antiviral treatment requires a comprehensive and supportive approach. Further targeted therapy should be determined based on individual clinical manifestations and laboratory indicators.

Background Oxidative stress is related to brain injury after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a potent oxidizing enzyme. We tested the hypothesis that serum MPO concentrations are increased after ICH and they correlate with stroke severity and outcome. Methods Serum MPO concentrations were measured in 128 ICH patients and 128 controls. Odds ratios of dependent variables, including early neurological deterioration, hematoma growth, 1-week mortality, 6-month mortality, 6-month unfavorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale score > 2) and 6-month overall survival, were calculated and adjusted for age, sex, hematoma volume, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and vascular risk factors. Results As compared to the controls, the patients had significantly increased serum MPO concentrations. MPO concentrations of the ICH patients were strongly correlated with hematoma volume and NIHSS scores. Serum MPO were independently associated with the above-mentioned study points. Its area under receiver operating characteristic curve was equivalent to those of hematoma volume and NIHSS score. Moreover, serum MPO significantly improved the discriminatory ability of hematoma and NIHSS in predicting 6-month mortality and unfavorable outcome. Conclusions Serum MPO concentrations rise in ICH patients and there is a correlation between MPO concentrations and severity or prognosis.

Four new species of the Phyllomyza Fallen (Diptera: Milichiidae) from China are reported from Tibet. The following four species are described as new to science: Phyllomyza flavipes sp. nov., Phyllomyza motuoensis sp. nov., Phyllomyza prolongatusa sp. nov. and Phyllomyza striolatum sp. nov. A key to the known species of Phyllomyza from China is presented. The type specimens of the new species are deposited in the Henan Agricultural University.

Recently we have established a new culture condition enabling the derivation of extended pluripotent stem (EPS) cells, which, compared to conventional pluripotent stem cells, possess superior developmental potential and germline competence. However, it remains unclear whether this condition permits derivation of EPS cells from mouse strains that are refractory or non-permissive to pluripotent cell establishment. Here, we show that EPS cells can be robustly generated from non-permissive NOD-scid Il2rg−/− mice through de novo derivation from blastocysts. Furthermore, these cells can also be efficiently generated by chemical reprogramming from embryonic NOD-scid Il2rg−/− fibroblasts. NOD-scid Il2rg−/− EPS cells can be expanded for more than 20 passages with genomic stability and can be genetically modified through gene targeting. Notably, these cells contribute to both embryonic and extraembryonic lineages in vivo. More importantly, they can produce chimeras and integrate into the E13.5 genital ridge. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of generating EPS cells from refractory mouse strains, which could potentially be a general strategy for deriving mouse pluripotent cells. The generation of NOD-scid Il2rg−/− EPS cell lines permits sophisticated genetic modification in NOD-scid Il2rg−/− mice, which may greatly advance the optimization of humanized mouse models for biomedical applications. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13238-018-0558-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The following three species of the genus Phyllomyza Fallén from China are described as new to science: P.guangxiensis sp. n., P.luteigenis sp. n., and P.quadratpalpus sp. n. A key to the known species of Phyllomyza from China is presented.

Neurons and microglia are two major components in the central nervous system (CNS). The interactions between them play important roles in maintaining homeostasis of the brain. In recent years, substantial studies have focused on the interactions between neurons and microglia, revealing that microglia become reactive when the interactions are pathophysiologically interfered, usually accompanying neuronal injury, which is a common feature for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Many molecules and factors participate in these physiological and pathological processes, either in a contact-dependent or a contact-independent manner. Accumulating studies have revealed that in the CNS, cluster of differentiation-200 (CD200) and fractalkine (CX3CL1) expressed mainly on neurons and triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) expressed mainly on microglia. These molecules can mediate neuron-microglia interactions in a contact-dependent manner and contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. Here, we review the expression, distribution, and function of CD200, CX3CL1, and TREM2 in regulating neuron-microglia interactions under physiological conditions as well as in AD.

Damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria are toxic to the cell by producing reactive oxygen species and releasing cell death factors. Therefore, timely removal of these organelles is critical to cellular homeostasis and viability. Mitophagy is the mechanism of selective degradation of mitochondria via autophagy. The significance of mitophagy in kidney diseases, including ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI), has yet to be established, and the involved pathway of mitophagy remains poorly understood. Here, we show that mitophagy is induced in renal proximal tubular cells in both in vitro and in vivo models of ischemic AKI. Mitophagy under these conditions is abrogated by Pink1 and Park2 deficiency, supporting a critical role of the PINK1-PARK2 pathway in tubular cell mitophagy. Moreover, ischemic AKI is aggravated in pink1 andpark2 single- as well as double-knockout mice. Mechanistically, Pink1 and Park2 deficiency enhances mitochondrial damage, reactive oxygen species production, and inflammatory response. Taken together, these results indicate that PINK1-PARK2-mediated mitophagy plays an important role in mitochondrial quality control, tubular cell survival, and renal function during AKI.

Pancreatic cancer is known as one of the most lethal cancers in the world. A majority of advanced stage pancreatic cancer patients are diagnosed with distant metastasis and given poor prognoses, calling for a better therapeutic option. Mesothelin, which is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer and other solid tumors, is a potential target for pancreatic cancer immunotherapy. Adoptive transfer of T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CART cells) was effective for treating CD19-positive leukemia, but it is more difficult for CART cells to eliminate solid tumors. Because distal metastasis is an important malignant behavior of solid tumors, we investigated whether meso-CART cells exert anti-tumor effects against distant metastases. After expressing meso-CAR in human primary T lymphocytes, the resultant meso-CART cells released cytokines in response to and exhibited cytolytic effects on mesothelin-positive tumor cells in vitro. Injection of meso-CART cells into tumor-bearing mice moderately delayed subcutaneous tumor growth and eliminated lung metastases. This is the first study to show that meso-CART cells are effective against lung metastases induced by intravenous injection of pancreatic tumor cells. Our results suggest that meso-CART cells may be an effective clinical treatment for mesothelin-positive primary and metastatic tumors in pancreatic cancer patients.

Background: Covalent BTK inhibitors (BTKi) have transformed the management of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), but these treatments are not curative and the majority of patients (pts) will require additional treatment. Covalent BTKi share pharmacologic liabilities (e.g. low oral bioavailability, short half-life) that collectively may lead to suboptimal BTK target coverage, for example in rapidly proliferating tumors with high BTK protein turnover such as MCL. To address these limitations, pirtobrutinib, a highly selective, non-covalent BTKi that inhibits both wild type (WT) and C481-mutated BTK with equal low nM potency was developed. In the phase 1/2 BRUIN study, pirtobrutinib achieved pharmacokinetic exposures that exceeded its BTK IC96 at trough, was well tolerated and demonstrated promising efficacy in heavily pretreated, poor-prognosis MCL pts, most of whom had prior treatment with a covalent BTKi (Mato et al. Lancet 2021;397, 10277:892-901). Methods: BRUIN is a multicenter phase 1/2 study (NCT03740529) of oral pirtobrutinib monotherapy in pts with advanced B-cell malignancies who have received >2 prior therapies. Pirtobrutinib was dose escalated in a standard 3+3 design in 28-day cycles. The primary objective for phase 1 was to determine the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) and the primary objective of phase 2 was overall response rate (ORR); secondary objectives included duration of response (DoR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), safety and tolerability, and pharmacokinetics. Efficacy evaluable pts included all dosed pts who underwent their first response evaluation or discontinued therapy. Response was assessed every 8 weeks from cycle 3, and every 12 weeks from cycle 13 and was measured according to Lugano Classification. Safety was assessed in all pts (CLL/SLL and NHL). Results: As of 27 September 2020, 323 pts (170 CLL/SLL, 61 MCL, 26 WM, 26 DLBCL, 13 MZL, 12 FL, 9 RT, and 6 other NHL [other transformation, B-PLL and hairy cell leukemia]) were treated on 7 dose levels (25-300mg QD). Median age was 69 (range 50-87) years for MCL pts. Among the 61 MCL pts, median number of prior lines of therapy was 3 (range, 1-8) and a majority of them had received a prior BTKi (93%), an anti-CD20 antibody (98%) or chemotherapy (92%). No DLTs were reported and MTD was not reached (n=323). 200mg QD was selected as the RP2D. Fatigue (20%), diarrhea (17%), and contusion (13%) were the most frequent treatment-emergent adverse events regardless of attribution or grade seen in >10% of pts (n=323). The most common adverse event of grade ≥3 was neutropenia (10%). Treatment-related hemorrhage and hypertension occurred in 5 (2%) and 4 (1%) pts, respectively. Five (1%) pts discontinued due to treatment-related adverse events. At the efficacy cutoff date, 52 prior BTKi treated MCL pts were efficacy evaluable with an ORR of 52% (95% CI 38-66; 13 CR [25%], 14 PR [27%], 9 SD [17%], 11 PD [21%] and 5 [10%] pts discontinued prior to first response assessment). Median follow up was 6 months (range 0.7-18.3+). Responses were observed in 9/14 pts (64%) with prior autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplant, and 2 of 2 with prior CAR-T cell therapy. Conclusion: Pirtobrutinib demonstrated promising efficacy in heavily pretreated, poor-prognosis MCL following multiple prior lines of therapy, including a covalent BTKi. Pirtobrutinib was well tolerated and exhibited a wide therapeutic index. Updated data, including approximately 60 new pts with MCL and an additional 10 months since the prior data cut will be presented. Disclosures Wang: Juno: Consultancy, Research Funding; Miltenyi Biomedicine GmbH: Consultancy, Honoraria; Lilly: Research Funding; Moffit Cancer Center: Honoraria; Newbridge Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; VelosBio: Consultancy, Research Funding; OMI: Honoraria; BGICS: Honoraria; Mumbai Hematology Group: Honoraria; BioInvent: Research Funding; CStone: Consultancy; Hebei Cancer Prevention Federation: Honoraria; Celgene: Research Funding; Oncternal: Consultancy, Research Funding; Molecular Templates: Research Funding; Epizyme: Consultancy, Honoraria; InnoCare: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Clinical Care Options: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Chinese Medical Association: Honoraria; Scripps: Honoraria; Imedex: Honoraria; Physicians Education Resources (PER): Honoraria; The First Afflicted Hospital of Zhejiang University: Honoraria; DTRM Biopharma (Cayman) Limited: Consultancy; Dava Oncology: Honoraria; Genentech: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Anticancer Association: Honoraria; BeiGene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; CAHON: Honoraria; Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer Healthcare: Consultancy; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Shah: Epizyme: Consultancy; Miltenyi Biotec: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Lily: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy; Umoja: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Legend: Consultancy. Alencar: Amgen: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Epizyme: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Kite Pharma: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy. Gerson: Abbvie, Genentech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Research Funding. Patel: Hutchinson MediPharma: Research Funding; Florida Cancer Specialists: Research Funding; Mirati Therapeutics: Research Funding; Lycera: Research Funding; Millennium Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Mabspace: Research Funding; Macrogenics: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Research Funding; Effector Therapeutics: Research Funding; Cyteir Therapeutics: Research Funding; ADC Therapeutics: Research Funding; Vedanta: Research Funding; Loxo Oncology: Research Funding; Forma Therapeutics: Research Funding; Genentech/Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Research Funding; LSK Biopartners: Research Funding; ModernaTX: Research Funding; ORIC Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Phoenix Molecular Designs: Research Funding; Placon Therapeutics: Research Funding; Portola Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Prelude Therapeutics: Research Funding; Qilu Puget Sound Biotherapeutics: Research Funding; Revolution Medicines: Research Funding; Ribon Therapeutics: Research Funding; Exelixis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bayer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease: Other: Study investigator; Evelo Biosciences: Research Funding; EMD Serono: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Boehringer Ingelheim: Research Funding; Eli Lilly: Research Funding; Curis: Research Funding; Jacobio: Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Research Funding; Ciclomed: Research Funding; BioNTech: Research Funding; Clovis: Research Funding; Checkpoint Therapeutics: Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Calithera: Research Funding; Bicycle Therapeutics: Research Funding; Artios Pharma: Research Funding; TopAlliance: Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Stemline Therapeutics: Research Funding; Seven and Eight Biopharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Taiho: Research Funding; H3 Biomedicine: Research Funding; Vigeo: Research Funding; Tesaro: Research Funding; Aileron Therapeutics: Research Funding; Agenus: Research Funding; Ignyta: Research Funding; Xencor: Research Funding; Syndax: Research Funding; Synthorx: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Kymab: Research Funding; Hengrui: Research Funding; Verastem: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Klus Pharma: Research Funding; Jounce Therapeutics: Research Funding. Fakhri: Loxo/Lilly: Research Funding. Jurczak: European Medicines Agency, Sandoz-Novartis, Janssen China R&D, BeiGene, Epizyme, Acerta, AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Jagiellonian University: Ended employment in the past 24 months; AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bayer, BeiGene, Celtrion, Celgene, Debbiopharm, Epizyme, Incyte, Janssen, Loxo Oncology, Merck, Mei Pharma, Morphosys, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sandoz, Takeda, TG Therapeutics, Pharmacyclics, Affirmed, Gilead Sciences, Nordic Nanovecto: Research Funding; AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Janssen, Loxo Oncology, Sandoz, Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology: Current Employment. Lewis: AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Patents & Royalties; Novartis: Patents & Royalties; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria. Fenske: Sanofi: Speakers Bureau; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Servier Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Kite (Gilead): Speakers Bureau; MorphoSys: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Speakers Bureau; KaryoPharm: Consultancy; CSL Therapeutics: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Speakers Bureau; Biogen: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy. Coombs: LOXO: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria; Genentech: Honoraria; MEI Pharma: Honoraria. Flinn: Celgene: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Acerta Pharma: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Forty Seven: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; ArQule: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Agios: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; IGM Biosciences: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Triphase Research & Development Corp.: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Forma Therapeutics: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Merck: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Nurix Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Calithera Biosciences: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Seagen: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Yingli Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Constellation Pharmaceuticals: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Loxo: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Incyte: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Karyopharm Therapeutics: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Infinity Pharmaceuticals: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Curis: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Pfizer: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Trillium Therapeutics: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Portola Pharmaceuticals: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Rhizen Pharmaceuticals: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Teva: Other: All research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Other: All Consultancy and Research Funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Great Point Partners: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Iksuda Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Janssen: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy and research funding payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Century Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Hutchison MediPharma: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Vincerx Pharma: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Sarah Cannon Research Institute: Current Employment; Servier Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Yingli Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Seagen: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Servier Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Unum Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: All consultancy payments made to Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Research Funding; Johnson & Johnson: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding. Lewis: Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Palomba: Pluto: Honoraria; Priothera: Honoraria; Wolters Kluwer: Patents & Royalties; WindMIL: Honoraria; Notch: Honoraria, Other: Stock; Ceramedix: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; PCYC: Consultancy; Lygenesis: Honoraria; Seres: Honoraria, Other: Stock, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Juno: Patents & Royalties; Nektar: Honoraria; Rheos: Honoraria; BeiGene: Consultancy; Magenta: Honoraria. Woyach: AbbVie Inc, ArQule Inc, Janssen Biotech Inc, AstraZeneca, Beigene: Other: Advisory Committee; AbbVie Inc, ArQule Inc, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Janssen Biotech Inc, Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company,: Consultancy; AbbVie Inc, Loxo Oncology Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly & Company: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences Inc: Other: Data & Safety. Pagel: Pharmacyclics/AbbVie: Consultancy; Epizyme: Consultancy; MEI Pharma: Consultancy; Actinium Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Incyte/MorphoSys: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy. Lamanna: Juno Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; MingSight Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics, Inc: Research Funding; Oncternal Therapeutics: Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy; Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Consultancy; Verastem Oncology: Research Funding. Cohen: Genentech, BMS/Celgene, LAM, BioINvent, LOXO, Astra Zeneca, Novartis, M2Gen, Takeda: Research Funding; Janssen, Adicet, Astra Zeneca, Genentech, Aptitude Health, Cellectar, Kite/Gilead, Loxo, BeiGene, Adaptive: Consultancy. Ghia: AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Sunesis: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Acerta/AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Honoraria; ArQule/MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene/Juno/BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Research Funding. Eyre: Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel to conferences; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Consultancy; Gilead/KITE: Honoraria, Other: Travel support for conferences, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Secura Bio: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Beigene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding. Zinzani: Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celltrion: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sandoz: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; TG Therapeutics Inc: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; BeiGene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Verastem: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Kyowa Kirin: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; ImmuneDesign: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Portola: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; EUSA Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Merck Sharp & Dohme: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Ujjani: Gilead: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy; Epizyme: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Atara Bio: Consultancy; Loxo: Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; ACDT: Honoraria; Kite, a Gilead Company: Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding. Koh: Pfizer: Consultancy; Jassen: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; GSK: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria. Izutsu: Yakult: Research Funding; Symbio: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria, Research Funding; Solasia: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Ono Pharmaceutical: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; MSD: Research Funding; Kyowa Kirin: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Huya Biosciences: Research Funding; Genmab: Honoraria, Research Funding; Fuji Film Toyama Chemical: Honoraria; Eisai: Honoraria, Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria, Research Funding; Chugai: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Beigene: Research Funding; Bayer: Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding; Allergan Japan: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria. Lech-Marańda: Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen-Cilag: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Tam: Loxo: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria. Yin: Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment; AstraZeneca: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Nair: Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Balbas: Nektar Therapeutics: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Ended employment in the past 24 months; Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Tsai: Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Mato: LOXO: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genmab: Research Funding; Sunesis: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; MSKCC: Current Employment; Johnson and Johnson: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: DSMB, Research Funding; Nurix: Research Funding; DTRM BioPharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta/AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding. Cheah: Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Beigene: Consultancy, Honoraria; TG therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Lilly: Consultancy, Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; Ascentage Pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria; MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Abbvie: Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel, Research Funding.

Background: Covalent Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) inhibitors (BTKi) have transformed the management of relapsed mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), but these treatments are not curative and the majority of patients will require additional treatment. Covalent BTKi share pharmacologic liabilities (e.g. low oral bioavailability, short half-life) that collectively may lead to suboptimal BTK target coverage especially in rapidly proliferating tumors with high BTK protein turnover such as MCL. To address these limitations, pirtobrutinib, a highly selective, non-covalent BTKi that inhibits both wild type (WT) and C481-mutated BTK with equal low nM potency was developed. In the phase 1/2 BRUIN study, pirtobrutinib achieved pharmacokinetic exposures that exceeded its BTK IC96 at trough, was well tolerated, and demonstrated promising efficacy in heavily pretreated, poor-prognosis MCL patients, most of whom had prior treatment with a covalent BTKi (Mato et al. Lancet 2021;397,10277:892-901). The purpose of this randomized study is to demonstrate the superiority of pirtobrutinib compared to investigator's choice of covalent BTKi in patients with previously treated MCL. Study Design and Methods: BRUIN MCL-321 is a randomized, open-label, global phase 3 study comparing pirtobrutinib monotherapy versus investigator's choice of covalent BTKi monotherapy (ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, or zanubrutinib) in patients with previously treated, BTKi naïve MCL. Approximately 500 patients will be randomized 1:1. Randomization will be stratified by sMIPI risk (low/intermediate vs high), comparator BTKi (ibrutinib vs acalabrutinib/ zanubrutinib), and number of prior lines of therapy (1 vs ≥ 2). Eligible patients are adults aged ≥18 years with a confirmed diagnosis of MCL (cyclin D1 overexpression, and ≥ 1 B-cell marker) who have received ≥ 1 prior line of systemic therapy for MCL that did not include a prior BTKi. Patients must have measurable disease per Lugano criteria and must have progressed on or relapsed following the most recent line of therapy prior to study enrollment. Key exclusion criteria include a history of current or prior CNS involvement, significant cardiovascular disease, stroke, or intracranial hemorrhage within 6 months of randomization, and allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT), autologous SCT or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy within 60 days of randomization. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS) per Lugano criteria assessed by an independent review committee (IRC), with the goal of demonstrating superiority of pirtobrutinib over investigator's choice of covalent BTKi. Secondary endpoints include overall response rate (ORR), duration of response (DoR), investigator-assessed PFS per Lugano criteria, overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS), time to treatment failure (TTF), time to next treatment (TTNT), time from randomization to disease progression on next line of treatment or death from any cause (PFS2), safety and tolerability, and patient reported outcomes. This global study is currently enrolling patients (NCT04662255). Disclosures Eyre: Gilead/KITE: Honoraria, Other: Travel support for conferences, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel to conferences; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding; Beigene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Secura Bio: Consultancy, Honoraria. Shah: Miltenyi Biotec: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Kite: Consultancy; Epizyme: Consultancy; Umoja: Consultancy; Legend: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Lily: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Dreyling: Novartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; BeiGene: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Speakers Bureau; Genmab: Consultancy; Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Gilead/Kite: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Abbvie: Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Vandenberghe: Jansnens: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria. Jurczak: Abbvie, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Celtrion, Celgene, Debbiopharm, Epizyme, Incyte, Janssen, Loxo Oncology, Merck, Mei Pharma, Morphosys, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sandoz, Takeda, TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Astra Zeneca, BeiGene, Janssen, Loxo Oncology, Sandoz, Roche,: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Wang: Genentech: Research Funding; Eli Lilly: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; MorphoSys: Research Funding; LOXO Oncology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; InnoCare: Research Funding; Incyte: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Cheah: Loxo/Lilly: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory and travel expenses, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory; Celgene: Research Funding; AbbVie: Research Funding; Beigene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory; Ascentage pharma: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory; MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: advisory, Research Funding. Gandhi: Karyopharm Therapeutics: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria. Sharman: AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Lilly: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy; Centessa: Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BeiGene: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy. Andorsky: Abbvie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene/BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Epizyme: Research Funding. Yin: Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment; AstraZeneca: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Balbas: Nektar Therapeutics: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Ended employment in the past 24 months; Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Kherani: Loxo Oncology at Lilly: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Wang: AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare, BeiGene, CSTone, DTRM Biopharma (Cayman) Limited, Epizyme, Genentech, InnoCare, Janssen, Juno, Kite Pharma, Loxo Oncology, Miltenyi Biomedicine GmbH, Oncternal, Pharmacyclics, VelosBio: Consultancy; Acerta Pharma, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, BioInvent, Celgene, Innocare, Janssen, Juno, Kite, Pharma, Lilly, Loxo Oncology, Molecular Templates, Oncternal, Pharmacyclics, VelosBio: Research Funding; Acerta Pharma, Anticancer Association, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, CAHON, Chinese Medical Association, Clinical Care Options, Dava Oncology, Epizyme, Hebei Cancer Prevention Federation, Imbruvica, Imedex, Janssen, Kite Pharma, Miltenyi Biomedicine GmbH, Moffit : Honoraria.

In this work, we firstly developed a new method for the synthesis of hierarchical mesoporous hollow Ce-MOF nanosphere templated by diblock copolymer. The hierarchical hollow mesoporous Ce-MOF nanosphere as the oxidase mimic shows highly catalytic chromogenic activity toward 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) without the presence of H2O2, and it can be used as a substitute for peroxidase mimics and H2O2 system in the colorimetric reaction. Herein, we provide a new highly sensitive and selective colorimetric method for the detection of Ascorbic acid (AA). At the optimal pH (3.5), temperature (the room temperature), time (5 min) and TMB concentration (280 μM), the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.03 µM, the range of the detection was 8 to 56 µM.

Immuno-oncology (I/O) space is proven to be one of the fast-moving areas with numeral blockbuster drugs delivered to the market. However, lacking of more clinically relevant preclinical models appeared to hinder this process as the I/O field is getting more established and the therapeutic modalities becomes more complex. The traditional testing systems such as transplantable xenograft tumor models can no longer meet the requirements of I/O novel drug evaluation and the mouse models with tumor-immune microenvironment interactions are urgently needed. At Simcere, in order to overcome those technical barriers and to accommodate our fast-paced pipeline development, we attempted to establish our own I/O in vivo testing platforms. These platforms were tailored to Simcere's dynamic progress of the research programs. To date, a variety of humanized mouse model-based in vivo modalities have been established in house. These testing systems fall into 4 categories: the human immune system reconstitution mouse tumor model (either using hPBMC or hCD34 stem cell approach), the hTreg focused humanized mouse model, the hTreg interfered GVHD mouse model, and the transgenic mouse model with modified immune targets (I/O targeted model; co-developed with a patterner). Each of these model systems were characterized to gain a comprehensive understanding before they were applied to any programs. The model characterization data showed that, 1) A large population of hCD4 and hCD8 T cells was maintained in peripheral blood of the hPBMC reconstructed mice,and significant percentage of human T,B and other type of immune cells were maintained in the human stem cell reconstituted mice.Anti-PD-L1 or anti-TIGIT antibodies showed significant anti-tumor efficacy in these humanized tumor models; 2) In the hTreg focused humanized mice axis, the proportion and functions of hTregs in the spleen of the hTreg reconstituted mice treated with the Treg modulated drugs were significantly amended, indicating that the system can be used to dissect out drugs with Treg modulating functions; 3) A hTreg interfered mouse GVHD model was proven to be a useful tool to assess effects of exogenous or endogenous Tregs on progression of the disease in a chronic setting; 4) Collaborating with a business patterner, we generated genetically modified mouse models in which selected murine immune targets were replaced with human counterparts. One of these models have been used to evaluate our IND candidate molecules, where significant anti-tumor effects and meaningful PD modulation were observed. To conclude, we have developed four types of I/O in vivo platforms to facilitate development process of immune modulatory and cancer immunotherapy agents. A majority of these modalities have been validated and utilized to drive our internal I/O programs. Optimization and expansion of these platforms are currently ongoing. Citation Format: Yang Liu, Hai Huang, Danni Hao, Ran Pang, Mi Ye, Guojing Wu, Wenjing Li, Liting Xue, Zhenchuan Miao, Ming Yin, Wenqing Yang. Establishment and validation of humanized murine modeling platforms to facilitate immuno-oncology research [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2981.

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing by adenosine deaminase acting on the RNA (ADAR) proteins is one of the most frequent modifications during post- and co-transcription. To facilitate the assignment of biological functions to specific editing sites, we designed an automatic online platform to annotate A-to-I RNA editing sites in pre-mRNA splicing signals, microRNAs (miRNAs) and miRNA target untranslated regions (3' UTRs) from human (Homo sapiens) high-throughput sequencing data and predict their effects based on large-scale bioinformatic analysis. After analysing plenty of previously reported RNA editing events and human normal tissues RNA high-seq data, >60 000 potentially effective RNA editing events on functional genes were found. The RNA Editing Plus platform is available for free at https://www.rnaeditplus.org/, and we believe our platform governing multiple optimized methods will improve further studies of A-to-I-induced editing post-transcriptional regulation.

Although considerable energy and money have been spent trying to inhibit Aβ production and its related metabolic enzyme activities, there are still no drug treatments available to cure even slow for Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, tau protein has been focused recently as the new target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The transfected human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cells with or without Tau 411 plasmid were used to evaluate the effect of tau protein on cell viability. H2O2 was added to simulate microenvironment of oxidative stress (OS) during aging. N-stearoyl-l-tyrosine (Nstyr), one of the synthesized N-arachidonoylethanolamide analogues was administrated in HEK293/Tau cells during H2O2 insults. Cellular senescence and tau aberrant modification appeared after tau transfection and aggravated by H2O2 insult which detected by β-galactosidase staining analysis and western blotting analysis. The level of expression of Bcl-2 and the result of FCAS analysis indicated the appearance of cellular apoptosis. The expression of prosenescence moleculars such as p16-Rb and P53 were induced by tau transfection in HEK293 cells. Both p16-Rb and p53 senescent molecules were inhibited by Nstyr. AM251 (1 μM; an antagonist of CB1 cannabinoid receptor) or AM630 (1 μM; an antagonist of CB2 cannabinoid receptor) was used to offset the anti-senescence effects afforded by NsTyr. The anti-senescence and anti-apoptosis effect of NsTyr was completely abolished by AM630. Meanwhile, transfection of siRNACB2 was used to further confirm the above experimental results and it came out the similar results compared with AM630. Taken together, our results suggest that oxidative stress aggravates cellular senescence and apoptosis in HEK293/Tau, which can be reversed by Nstyr via CB2 receptor.

Berberine (BBR) is a traditional Chinese medicine which recently was applied as a biological pesticide. Here, we studied the antimicrobial mode of BBR and its impact on soil bacterial diversity. BBR was more effective against fungi than bacteria due to the specific interaction between BBR and glucan. Also, BBR was degraded rapidly in soil, leading to the limited effect on soil bacterial diversity. Collectively, BBR is an environment-friendly pesticide and it is promising in dealing with fungal plant diseases.

Autophagy is an important lysosome-mediated intracellular degradation pathway required for tissue homeostasis. Dysregulation of liver autophagy is closely associated with different liver diseases including alcoholic liver disease. Studies now indicate that autophagy may be induced or suppressed depending on the amount and the duration of ethanol treatment. Autophagy induced by ethanol serves as a protective mechanism, probably by selective degradation of the damaged mitochondria (mitophagy) and excess lipid droplets (lipophagy) and in turn attenuates alcohol-induced steatosis and liver injury. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of selective targeting of mitochondria and lipid is still unclear. Autophagy may possess other functions that protect hepatocytes from ethanol. Understanding these molecular entities would be essential in order to therapeutically module autophagy for treatment of alcoholic liver disease.