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Cancer, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells capable of invading surrounding tissues and metastasis, is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy often encounter challenges such as limited specificity, drug resistance, and significant side effects. Nanotechnology offers promising advancements in both cancer treatment and diagnosis. Nanoparticles (NPs) represent a breakthrough in cancer treatment because they target tumors precisely, improve drug delivery, and enhance imaging techniques. These nanoscale materials have the potential to reduce side effects and overcome drug resistance, thus boosting the therapeutic effectiveness. Additionally, NPs play a critical role in early cancer detection and metastasis imaging. This review examines how nanotechnology enhances cancer cell eradication, supports immunotherapy, and advances drug delivery systems. Ongoing research in nanoparticle production and multifunctional nano-platforms highlights the potential of nanomedicine to transform cancer therapy, paving the way for personalized and highly effective treatment approaches.

Introduction: More than 50 mutations in the MAPT gene result in heterogeneous forms of frontotemporal lobar dementia with tau inclusions (FTLD-Tau). However, early pathogenic events that lead to disease and the degree to which they are common across MAPT mutations remain poorly understood. The goal of this study is to determine whether there is a common molecular signature of FTLD-Tau.Methods: We analyzed genes differentially expressed in induced pluripotent stem cell–derived neurons (iPSC-neurons) that represent the three major categories of MAPT mutations: splicing (IVS10 + 16), exon 10 (p.P301L), and C-terminal (p.R406W) compared with isogenic controls. The genes that were commonly differentially expressed in MAPT IVS10 + 16, p.P301L, and p.R406W neurons were enriched in trans-synaptic signaling, neuronal processes, and lysosomal function. Many of these pathways are sensitive to disruptions in calcium homeostasis. One gene, CALB1, was significantly reduced across the three MAPT mutant iPSC-neurons and in a mouse model of tau accumulation. We observed a significant reduction in calcium levels in MAPT mutant neurons compared with isogenic controls, pointing to a functional consequence of this disrupted gene expression. Finally, a subset of genes commonly differentially expressed across MAPT mutations were also dysregulated in brains from MAPT mutation carriers and to a lesser extent in brains from sporadic Alzheimer disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, suggesting that molecular signatures relevant to genetic and sporadic forms of tauopathy are captured in a dish. The results from this study demonstrate that iPSC-neurons capture molecular processes that occur in human brains and can be used to pinpoint common molecular pathways involving synaptic and lysosomal function and neuronal development, which may be regulated by disruptions in calcium homeostasis.

Astrocyte-specific ion pump α2-Na+/K+-ATPase plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, we test the effect of Atp1a2 mRNA-specific antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to induce α2-Na+/K+-ATPase knockdown in the widely used ALS animal model, SOD1*G93A mice. Two ASOs led to efficient Atp1a2 knockdown and significantly reduced SOD1 aggregation in vivo. Although Atp1a2 ASO-treated mice displayed no off-target or systemic toxicity, the ASO-treated mice exhibited an accelerated disease onset and shorter lifespan than control mice. Transcriptomics studies reveal downregulation of genes involved in oxidative response, metabolic pathways, trans-synaptic signaling, and upregulation of genes involved in glutamate receptor signaling and complement activation, suggesting a potential role for these molecular pathways in de-coupling SOD1 aggregation from survival in Atp1a2 ASO-treated mice. Together, these results reveal a role for α2-Na+/K+-ATPase in SOD1 aggregation and highlight the critical effect of temporal modulation of genetically validated therapeutic targets in neurodegenerative diseases.

Abstract Background After peripheral nerve transection, facial motoneuron (FMN) survival depends on an intact CD4+ T cell population and a central source of interleukin-10 (IL-10). However, it has not been determined previously whether CD4+ T cells participate in the central neuroprotective IL-10 cascade after facial nerve axotomy (FNA). Methods Immunohistochemical labeling of CD4+ T cells, pontine vasculature, and central microglia was used to determine whether CD4+ T cells cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the facial motor nucleus (FMNuc) after FNA. The importance of IL-10 signaling in CD4+ T cells was assessed by performing adoptive transfer of IL-10 receptor beta (IL-10RB)-deficient CD4+ T cells into immunodeficient mice prior to injury. Histology and qPCR were utilized to determine the impact of IL-10RB-deficient T cells on FMN survival and central gene expression after FNA. Flow cytometry was used to determine whether IL-10 signaling in T cells was necessary for their differentiation into neuroprotective subsets. Results CD4+ T cells were capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and associating with reactive microglial nodules in the axotomized FMNuc. Full induction of central IL-10R gene expression after FNA was dependent on CD4+ T cells, regardless of their own IL-10R signaling capability. Surprisingly, CD4+ T cells lacking IL-10RB were incapable of mediating neuroprotection after axotomy and promoted increased central expression of genes associated with microglial activation, antigen presentation, T cell co-stimulation, and complement deposition. There was reduced differentiation of IL-10RB-deficient CD4+ T cells into regulatory CD4+ T cells in vitro. Conclusions These findings support the interdependence of IL-10- and CD4+ T cell-mediated mechanisms of neuroprotection after axotomy. CD4+ T cells may potentiate central responsiveness to IL-10, while IL-10 signaling within CD4+ T cells is necessary for their ability to rescue axotomized motoneuron survival. We propose that loss of IL-10 signaling in CD4+ T cells promotes non-neuroprotective autoimmunity after FNA.

Facial motoneuron (FMN) survival is mediated by CD4+ T cells in an interleukin-10 (IL-10)-dependent manner after facial nerve axotomy (FNA), but CD4+ T cells themselves are not the source of this neuroprotective IL-10. The aims of this study were to (1) identify the temporal and cell-specific induction of IL-10 expression in the facial motor nucleus and (2) elucidate the neuroprotective capacity of this expression after axotomy. Immunohistochemistry revealed that FMN constitutively produced IL-10, whereas astrocytes were induced to make IL-10 after FNA. Il10 mRNA co-localized with microglia before and after axotomy, but microglial production of IL-10 protein was not detected. To determine whether any single source of IL-10 was critical for FMN survival, Cre/Lox mouse strains were utilized to selectively knock out IL-10 in neurons, astrocytes, and microglia. In agreement with the localization data reflecting concerted IL-10 production by multiple cell types, no single cellular source of IL-10 alone could provide neuroprotection after FNA. These findings suggest that coordinated neuronal and astrocytic IL-10 production is necessary for FMN survival and has roles in neuronal homeostasis, as well as neuroprotective trophism after axotomy.

Introduction: More than 50 mutations in the MAPT gene result in heterogeneous forms of frontotemporal lobar dementia with tau inclusions (FTLD-Tau). However, early pathogenic events that lead to disease and the degree to which they are common across MAPT mutations remain poorly understood. The goal of this study is to determine whether there is a common molecular signature of FTLD-Tau. Methods: We analyzed genes differentially expressed in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons (iPSC-neurons) that represent the three major categories of MAPT mutations: splicing (IVS10 + 16), exon 10 (p.P301L), and C-terminal (p.R406W) compared with isogenic controls. The genes that were commonly differentially expressed in MAPT IVS10 + 16, p.P301L, and p.R406W neurons were enriched in trans-synaptic signaling, neuronal processes, and lysosomal function. Many of these pathways are sensitive to disruptions in calcium homeostasis. One gene, CALB1, was significantly reduced across the three MAPT mutant iPSC-neurons and in a mouse model of tau accumulation. We observed a significant reduction in calcium levels in MAPT mutant neurons compared with isogenic controls, pointing to a functional consequence of this disrupted gene expression. Finally, a subset of genes commonly differentially expressed across MAPT mutations were also dysregulated in brains from MAPT mutation carriers and to a lesser extent in brains from sporadic Alzheimer disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, suggesting that molecular signatures relevant to genetic and sporadic forms of tauopathy are captured in a dish. The results from this study demonstrate that iPSC-neurons capture molecular processes that occur in human brains and can be used to pinpoint common molecular pathways involving synaptic and lysosomal function and neuronal development, which may be regulated by disruptions in calcium homeostasis.

Abstract Urinary tract infections (UTI) by antibiotic resistant and virulent K. pneumoniae are a growing concern. Understanding the genome and validating the genomic profile along with pangenome analysis will facilitate surveillance of high-risk clones of K. pneumoniae to underpin management strategies toward early detection. The present study aims to correlate resistome with phenotypic antimicrobial resistance and virulome with pathogenicity in Klebsiella spp. The present study aimed to perform complete genome sequences of Klebsiella spp. and to analyse the correlation of resistome with phenotypic antimicrobial resistance and virulome with pathogenicity. To understand the resistome, pangenome and virulome in the Klebsiella spp, the ResFinder, CARD, IS Finder, PlasmidFinder, PHASTER, Roary, VFDB were used. The phenotypic susceptibility profiling identified the uropathogenic kp3 to exhibit multi drug resistance. The resistome and in vitro antimicrobial profiling showed concordance with all the tested antibiotics against the study strains. Hypermucoviscosity was not observed for any of the test isolates; this phenotypic character matches perfectly with the absence of rmpA and magA genes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence of ste, stf, stc and sti major fimbrial operons of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium in K. pneumoniae genome. The study identifies the discordance of virulome and virulence in Klebsiella spp. The complete genome analysis and phenotypic correlation identify uropathogenic K. pneumoniae kp3 as a carbapenem-resistant and virulent pathogen. The Pangenome of K. pneumoniae was open suggesting high genetic diversity. Diverse K serotypes were observed. Sequence typing reveals the prevalence of K. pneumoniae high-risk clones in UTI catheterised patients. The study also highlights the concordance of resistome and in vitro susceptibility tests. Importantly, the study identifies the necessity of virulome and phenotypic virulence markers for timely diagnosis and immediate treatment for the management of high-risk K. pneumoniae clones.

ABSTRACT: Objectives: Klebsiella pneumoniae genomic surveillance in India was performed to understand the spread of antimicrobial resistant genes across the country over 10 years and to delineate environment and clinical K. pneumoniae through comparative genomics approach. Methods: The genomic data of 153 strains were retrieved from PATRIC. To compare the presence of AMR genes, virulence genes, episomes and their evolutionary relationship in 153 K. pneumoniae genomes, ResFinder, Virulence Factor Database, Plasmid Finder and CSI phylogeny tools were used, respectively. Results: Diverse serotypes were found among the 153 K. pneumoniae isolates, of which K51 (28%) and K64 (21.56%) were majorly found. Most of the K51 isolates belong to ST231 (93.02 %). The number of associated virulence genes (rmpA, magA, entB, ybtS, iutA, allS) appeared to be higher in ST231-KL51 and ST23-KL1 isolates. More than 97% of clinical strains have yersiniabactin, aerobactin genes. Importantly, 98% and 62% of the ESBL and carbapenemase-producing isolates harboured ybtS, iutA, and rmpA, magA genes, respectively. The IncF conjugative plasmids are predominant in K. pneumoniae. The phylogenetic analysis clearly separates the environmental strains from clinical and characterised by uncommon STs and serotypes. Conclusion: Our study illustrates K. pneumoniae genomic surveillance in India representing the phylogenetic evolution, STs, AMR, virulence, serotype to provide more attention for immediate treatment and preventing the dissemination of K. pneumoniae.

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells play critical roles in autoimmune, anti‐tumor, and anti‐microbial immune responses, and are activated by glycolipids presented by the MHC class I‐like molecule, CD1d. How the activation of signaling pathways impacts antigen (Ag)‐dependent iNKT cell activation is not well‐known. In the current study, we found that the MAPK JNK2 not only negatively regulates CD1d‐mediated Ag presentation in APCs, but also contributes to CD1d‐independent iNKT cell activation. A deficiency in the JNK2 (but not JNK1) isoform enhanced Ag presentation by CD1d. Using a vaccinia virus (VV) infection model known to cause a loss in iNKT cells in a CD1d‐independent, but IL‐12‐dependent manner, we found the virus‐induced loss of iNKT cells in JNK2 KO mice was substantially lower than that observed in JNK1 KO or wild‐type (WT) mice. Importantly, compared to WT mice, JNK2 KO mouse iNKT cells were found to express less surface IL‐12 receptors. As with a VV infection, an IL‐12 injection also resulted in a smaller decrease in JNK2 KO iNKT cells as compared to WT mice. Overall, our work strongly suggests JNK2 is a negative regulator of CD1d‐mediated Ag presentation and contributes to IL‐12‐induced iNKT cell activation and loss during viral infections. We found that JNK2 (but not JNK1) negatively regulates CD1d‐mediated Ag presentation. In contrast, JNK2 contributes to IL‐12‐induced iNKT cell activation‐ and virus infection‐mediated, apoptotic loss of iNKT cells. Our studies provide insight into how the activation of JNK2 may impact both the function and survival of iNKT cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of lower and upper motor neurons (MN) leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and eventually death. Although a highly varied etiology results in ALS, it broadly manifests itself as sporadic and familial forms that have evident similarities in clinical symptoms and disease progression. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge on molecular mechanisms leading to loss of MNs and neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) as major determinants of disease onset, severity and progression in ALS. Specifically, two main opposing hypotheses, the dying forward and dying back phenomena, exist to account for NMJ denervation. The former hypothesis proposes that the earliest degeneration occurs at the central MNs and proceeds to the NMJ, whereas in the latter, the peripheral NMJ is the site of precipitating degeneration progressing backwards to the MN cell body. A large body of literature strongly indicates a role for the immune system in disease onset and progression via regulatory involvement at the level of both the central and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS). In this review, we discuss the earliest reported immune responses with an emphasis on newly identified immune players in mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (mSOD1) transgenic mice, the gold standard mouse model for ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic thin film solar cells (OTFSCs) were fabricated with blended active layers of poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl][3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] (PTB7)/[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric (PC71BM). The performances of active layers are prepared in chlorobenzene (CB) with different additives of 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) and 1,8-Diiodooctane (DIO) by a wet process with spin coating technique. The effects of different solvent additives on photovoltaic parameters such as fill factor, short circuit current density, and power conversion efficiency of active layers are reported. The absorption and surface morphology of the active layers are investigated using UV-visible spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The results indicate that structural and morphological changes were induced by the additives with solvent. The current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of photovoltaic cells were measured under the illumination of simulated solar light with 100 mW/cm2 (AM 1.5 G) by an Oriel 1000 W solar simulator. The OTFSCs of PTB7/PC71BM prepared with organic solvent additives of DIO+CN show more improved PCE of 4.96% by spin coating method.

Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structure based active layers of PCDTBT/PC71BM were prepared by using different organic solvents for fabrication of organic solar cell (OSC) devices. Mixture of precursor solutions of PCDTBT/PC71BM in three different organic solvents was prepared to fabricate composite active layers by spin-coating process: chloroform; chlorobenzene; o-dichlorobenzene. Four different blend ratios (1 : 3–1 : 6) of PCDTBT: PC71BM were adopted for each organic solvent to clarify the effect on the resulting OSC device characteristics. Surface morphology of the active layers was distinctively affected by the blend ratio of PCDTBT/PC71BM in organic solvents. Influence of the blend ratio of PCDTBT/PC71BM on the OSC device parameters was discussed. Performance parameters of the resulting OSC devices with different composite active layers were comparatively investigated. Appropriate blend ratio and organic solvent to achieve better OSC device performance were proposed. Furthermore, from the UV-Vis spectrum of each active layer prepared using the PCDTBT/PC71BM mixed solution dissolved with different organic solvents, a possibility that the nanophase separation structure inside their active layer could appear was suggested.

Delirium is an acute and reversible condition that is common in hospitalised patients. Patients with delirium have extended lengths of stay, double the mortality of matched controls and an increased risk of permanent cognitive decline. We present the case of a patient with severe hypoactive delirium on a background of Alzheimer's dementia with a significant lasting cognitive deficit. This case presents the devastating impact of delirium on the lives of patients and relatives. The need for more awareness of delirium amongst health care professionals, more routine risk assessment and more studies aimed at managing hospitalised patients with delirium is also implicated.

Neuronal dysfunction has been extensively studied as a central feature of neurodegenerative tauopathies. However, across neurodegenerative diseases, there is strong evidence for active involvement of immune cells like microglia in driving disease pathophysiology. Here, we demonstrate that tau mRNA and protein are expressed in microglia in human brains and in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia like cells (iMGLs). Using iMGLs harboring the MAPT IVS10+16 mutation and isogenic controls, we demonstrate that a tau mutation is sufficient to alter microglial transcriptional states. We discovered that MAPT IVS10+16 microglia exhibit cytoskeletal abnormalities, stalled phagocytosis, disrupted TREM2/TYROBP networks, and altered metabolism. Additionally, we found that secretory factors from MAPT IVS10+16 iMGLs impact neuronal health, reducing synaptic density in neurons. Key features observed in vitro were recapitulated in human brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid from MAPT mutations carriers. Together, our findings that MAPT IVS10+16 drives cell-intrinsic dysfunction in microglia that impacts neuronal health has major implications for development of therapeutic strategies.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many modifiers of Alzheimer disease (AD) risk enriched in microglia. Two of these modifiers are common variants in the MS4A locus (rs1582763: protective and rs6591561: risk) and serve as major regulators of CSF sTREM2 levels. To understand their functional impact on AD, we used single nucleus transcriptomics to profile brains from carriers of these variants. We discovered a "chemokine" microglial subpopulation that is altered in MS4A variant carriers and for which MS4A4A is the major regulator. The protective variant increases MS4A4A expression and shifts the chemokine microglia subpopulation to an interferon state, while the risk variant suppresses MS4A4A expression and reduces this subpopulation of microglia. Our findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the AD variants in the MS4A locus. Further, they pave the way for future mechanistic studies of AD variants and potential therapeutic strategies for enhancing microglia resilience in AD pathogenesis.