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CircRNAs have been proven to play a pivotal role in cancer progression. The present study aims to explore the roles and related mechanisms of circSETD2 in breast cancer proliferation, migration and invasion. The expression of circSETD2 in BC was assessed by the GEO database and qRT‒PCR. The biological function and underlying molecular mechanism of circSETD2 in BC were explored using in vitro and in vivo experiments, including CCK8, transwell, RIP, western blot, and xenograft mouse models. The expression of circSETD2 was downregulated in BC tumors, in accordance with the GEO database. Overexpression of circSETD2 significantly suppressed cell growth, cell migration and invasion. Mechanistically, circSETD2 reduced the stabilization of YAP1 by competitively binding with HuR, resulting in inactivation of downstream targets such as CTGF, myc and Slug. Our work suggests that the novel signaling axis circSETD2/HuR/YAP1 plays an important role in BC progression. The molecular mechanism underlying this signaling axis may provide a potential therapeutic target for BC treatment.

In the present study, photocatalytic Pb(II) reduction over TiO2 and Ag/TiO2 catalysts in the presence of formic acid was explored to eliminate Pb(II) pollution in water. Ag/TiO2 catalysts were prepared by the photo-deposition method and characterized using UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, X-ray reflection diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ag deposition on TiO2 led to enhanced photocatalytic Pb(II) reduction and the Ag/TiO2 catalyst with a Ag loading amount of 0.99 wt.% exhibited the optimum photocatalytic activity. For Pb(II) reduction over Ag/TiO2 with a Ag loading amount of 0.99 wt.%, initial Pb(II) reduction rate was found to be dependent on the initial concentrations of formic acid and Pb(II). Increasing initial Pb(II) concentration led to linearly increased initial Pb(II) reduction rate. At low formic acid concentration, in parallel, initial Pb(II) reduction rates increased with formic concentration, but remained nearly identical at high formic acid concentration. Solution pH impacted the photocatalytic Pb(II) reduction and after irradiation for 100 min Pb(II) was removed by 11.8%, 91.2% and 98.6% at pH of 0.8, 2.0 and 3.5, respectively, indicative of enhanced Pb(II) reduction with pH in the tested pH range. The results showed that Ag/TiO2 displayed superior catalytic activity to TiO2, highlighting the potential of using Ag/TiO2 as a more effective catalyst for photocatalytic Pb(II) reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Accumulating evidence suggests that B cells play important roles in inhibiting the immune response in autoimmune disorders and human tumors as well as murine tumor models. In an effort to explore the role of B cells in human breast cancer etiology, we examined the presence of CD19+B lymphocytes in 134 cases of invasive breast carcinoma (IBCa) and 31 breast fibroadenoma, and assessed its relationship with PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) expression in breast cancer. We found that the density of CD19+B lymphocytes was higher in IBCa compared with fibroadenoma, and significantly associated with increasing tumor grade, negative estrogen status. Similar findings were observed for the expression of IL-10 in IBCa. Meanwhile, CD19+B lymphocytes were shown to be highly coincident with PD-L1 and IL-10 in IBCa. We further demonstrated that CD19+B cells can differentiate into CD19+CD24+CD38+B cells when co-cultured with PD-L1hiMDA-MB231 cells. In addition, the percentage of CD19+CD24+CD38+B cells was higher in breast tissue and peripheral blood cells of IBCa patients than that of benign tumor and health individuals. And CD19+CD24+CD38+B cells were found to be IL-10 secreting B cells. Finally, we showed that CD19+B cells from IBCa patients but not healthy individuals induced formation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T cells when co-cultured with T cells from IBCa patients and healthy subjects (80.4% and 30.8% respectively). The induction of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T cells by CD19+B cells was further shown to be mediated by PD-L1. Together, these results are suggestive of a role for CD19+B lymphocytes in immune suppression and tumor evasion via PD-L1 in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cr(VI) is a commonly identified heavy metal pollutant in the aquatic environment. In the present study, TiO2 nanotube (TNT) supported Pd (Pd/TNT) and commercial TiO2 (P25) supported Pd (Pd/TiO2) catalysts were prepared using the photo-deposition method and Cr(VI) reduction by catalytic hydrogenation over the catalysts were investigated. Compared with P25, TNT had much higher specific surface area and surface acidity, resulting in higher Pd dispersion on the catalyst support. Given a Pd loading amount of approximately 2.0wt.%, complete removal of Cr(VI) at an initial concentration of 1.92mM by catalytic hydrogenation over Pd/TNT and Pd/TiO2 was achieved in 30min and 50min, respectively. The higher catalytic activity of Pd/TNT was attributed to the combined effect of higher Pd dispersion and higher surface acidity on TNT. Increasing the initial concentration of Cr(VI) or pH suppressed the hydrogenation reduction due to the lowered availability of the support acid sites by Cr(VI) adsorption or deprotonation. The findings indicate that catalytic hydrogenation over Pd/TNT is a promising technique to reduce Cr(VI) in aqueous solutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Understanding the molecular characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and developing more tailored treatment approaches is crucial. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), as potential therapeutic targets, remain largely unexplored in TNBC. This study utilized circRNA microarray analysis to determine the expression of circRNAs in TNBC, analyzing nine patient specimens. The characteristics of circBRAF were examined using divergent PCR primers, Sanger sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis, and the application of RNase and actinomycin D. The biological function of circBRAF in TNBC was further investigated through colony formation, tube formation, and transwell assays. Crucially, the mechanisms underlying the effects of circBRAF on TNBC progression were explored via RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (RIP-seq) data, MS2 pulldown, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis, circBRAF knockdown, histone H3K9me3 modification, and Chromatin Isolation by RNA Purification (ChIRP) tests followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We focused particularly on hsa_circ_0007178, produced from exons 4-13 of the oncogene BRAF. Functional experiments revealed that circBRAF is crucial for the development of TNBC, with its knockdown preventing angiogenesis, metastasis, and cell division in vitro . Mechanistically, circBRAF interacts with KDM4B and IGF2BP3, promoting TNBC growth. Interaction of circBRAF with IGF2BP3 increased the expression of VCAN, FN1, CDCA3, or B4GALT3 by controlling mRNA stability through RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification. Furthermore, circBRAF upregulated the expression of ADAMTS14 and MMP9 through recruitment of KDM4B to enhance respective H3K9me3 modification. Furthermore, overexpression of circBRAF was able to overcome the inhibitory effects of siKDM4B and siIGF2BP3 on cell migration and invasion. Our findings suggest that circBRAF may act as an oncogene in TNBC through its specific interactions with KDM4B and IGF2BP3, implying that circBRAF could serve as a potentially effective novel therapeutic target for TNBC., Competing Interests: None., (AJCR Copyright © 2024.)

Accumulating evidence suggests that regulatory B cells (Bregs) play important roles in inhibiting the immune response in tumors. Programmed death 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) are important molecules that maintain the balance of the immune response and immune tolerance. This study aims to evaluate the soluble form of PD-L1 and its function in inducing the differentiation of B lymphocytes, investigate the relationship between soluble PD-L1 (sPD-L1) and B-cell subsets, and explore the antitumor activity of T lymphocytes after PD-L1 blockade in coculture systems. In an effort to explore the role of sPD-L1 in human breast cancer etiology, we examined the levels of sPD-L1 and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in the serum of breast tumor patients and the proportions of B cells, PD-1 + B cells, Bregs, and PD-1 + Bregs in the peripheral blood of patients with breast tumors and assessed their relationship among sPD-L1, IL-10, and B-cell subsets. The levels of sPD-L1 and IL-10 in serum were found to be significantly higher in invasive breast cancer (IBCa) patients than in breast fibroadenoma (FIBma) patients. Meanwhile, the proportions and absolute numbers of Bregs and PD-1 + Bregs in the peripheral blood of IBCa patients were significantly higher than those of FIBma patients. Notably, they were the highest in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) among other subtypes of IBCa. Positive correlations of sPD-L1 and IL-10, IL-10 and PD-1 + Bregs, and also sPD-L1 and PD-1 + Bregs were observed in IBCa. We further demonstrated that sPD-L1 could induce Breg differentiation, IL-10 secretion, and IL-10 mRNA expression in a dose-dependent manner in vitro . Finally, the induction of regulatory T cells (T regs ) by Bregs was further shown to suppress the antitumor response and that PD-L1 blockade therapies could promote the apoptosis of tumor cells. Together, these results indicated that sPD-L1 could mediate the differentiation of Bregs, expand CD4 + T regs and weaken the antitumor activity of CD4 + T cells. PD-L1/PD-1 blockade therapies might be a powerful therapeutic strategy for IBCa patients, particularly for TNBC patients with high level of PD-1 + Bregs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Li, Du, Zhan, Liu, Wang, Lan, PuYang, Wan, Qu, Wang, Yang, Wang and Xie.)

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), which are considered to be important functional regulators in cancer, have provided a new perspective regarding our understanding of tumor biology, including that of breast cancer. To investigate the regulatory effect of circRPPH1 on cellular behaviors of breast cancer and the potential mechanism, the expression of circRPPH1 and miR-556-5p in breast cancer tissues and cell lines were examined by quantitative RT-PCR. The regulatory effects of the circRPPH1/miR-556-5p/YAP1 axis on cellular behaviors of breast cancer cells were evaluated through functional experiments in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. The relationship between circRPPH1 and miR-556-5p/YAP1 was assessed using dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays. PCR results showed that circRPPH1 levels were significantly upregulated in tumor tissues and breast cancer cells. Functionally, circRPPH1 promoted the proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis of breast cancer cell lines and tumor growth in vivo. Regarding the mechanism, dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays showed that circRPPH1 was capable of sponging miR-556-5p to increase expression of the oncogene YAP1. Our data reveal that circRPPH1 plays a vital regulatory role in breast cancer via the miR-556-5p/YAP1 axis and may serve as a promising therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2020.)

Highly dispersed ZrO 2 particles confined in the MIL-101 (denoted as MIL-101@Zr(DS)) with varied ZrO 2 loading amounts were prepared by the double solvents method. For comparison, ZrO 2 loaded MIL-101 samples were synthesized by the conventional impregnation method (denoted as MIL-101@Zr(I)) and the deposition method (denoted as MIL-101@Zr(D)). The characterization results indicated that for MIL-101@Zr(DS), ZrO 2 particles were dominantly confined in MIL-101 with a much higher dispersion as compared with MIL-101@Zr(I) and MIL-101@Zr(D). The maximum phosphate adsorption capacity and ZrO 2 content normalized phosphate adsorption capacity of the MIL-101@Zr(DS) were 21.28 mg P·g -1 and 1120.0 mg P·g -1 , respectively. Additionally, the ZrO 2 content normalized phosphate adsorption capacity was significantly larger than that for MIL-101@Zr(I) and MIL-101@Zr(D) as well as the reported values for other Zr-based adsorbents. The effects of solution chemistry on phosphate adsorption to MIL-101@Zr(DS), MIL-101@Zr(I) and MIL-101@Zr(D) were also examined. Compared with MIL-101@Zr(I) and MIL-101@Zr(D), the adsorption of phosphate on MIL-101@Zr(DS) was less affected by the coexistence of anions and dissolved humic acid. Increasing pH from 3 to 12 led to decreased phosphate adsorption capacity of MIL-101@Zr(DS) from 10.38 mg P·g -1 to 2.03 mg P·g -1 . Accordingly, used MIL-101@Zr(DS) could be effectively regenerated under alkaline conditions and exhibited stable adsorption-desorption performance., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Accumulating evidence suggests that B cells play important roles in inhibiting the immune response in autoimmune disorders and human tumors as well as murine tumor models. In an effort to explore the role of B cells in human breast cancer etiology, we examined the presence of CD19 + B lymphocytes in 134 cases of invasive breast carcinoma (IBCa) and 31 breast fibroadenoma, and assessed its relationship with PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) expression in breast cancer. We found that the density of CD19 + B lymphocytes was higher in IBCa compared with fibroadenoma, and significantly associated with increasing tumor grade, negative estrogen status. Similar findings were observed for the expression of IL-10 in IBCa. Meanwhile, CD19 + B lymphocytes were shown to be highly coincident with PD-L1 and IL-10 in IBCa. We further demonstrated that CD19 + B cells can differentiate into CD19 + CD24 + CD38 + B cells when co-cultured with PD-L1 hi MDA-MB231 cells. In addition, the percentage of CD19 + CD24 + CD38 + B cells was higher in breast tissue and peripheral blood cells of IBCa patients than that of benign tumor and health individuals. And CD19 + CD24 + CD38 + B cells were found to be IL-10 secreting B cells. Finally, we showed that CD19 + B cells from IBCa patients but not healthy individuals induced formation of CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 + T cells when co-cultured with T cells from IBCa patients and healthy subjects (80.4% and 30.8% respectively). The induction of CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 + T cells by CD19 + B cells was further shown to be mediated by PD-L1. Together, these results are suggestive of a role for CD19 + B lymphocytes in immune suppression and tumor evasion via PD-L1 in breast cancer.

In the present study, photocatalytic Pb(II) reduction over TiO(2) and Ag/TiO(2) catalysts in the presence of formic acid was explored to eliminate Pb(II) pollution in water. Ag/TiO(2) catalysts were prepared by the photo-deposition method and characterized using UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, X-ray reflection diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ag deposition on TiO(2) led to enhanced photocatalytic Pb(II) reduction and the Ag/TiO(2) catalyst with a Ag loading amount of 0.99 wt.% exhibited the optimum photocatalytic activity. For Pb(II) reduction over Ag/TiO(2) with a Ag loading amount of 0.99 wt.%, initial Pb(II) reduction rate was found to be dependent on the initial concentrations of formic acid and Pb(II). Increasing initial Pb(II) concentration led to linearly increased initial Pb(II) reduction rate. At low formic acid concentration, in parallel, initial Pb(II) reduction rates increased with formic concentration, but remained nearly identical at high formic acid concentration. Solution pH impacted the photocatalytic Pb(II) reduction and after irradiation for 100 min Pb(II) was removed by 11.8%, 91.2% and 98.6% at pH of 0.8, 2.0 and 3.5, respectively, indicative of enhanced Pb(II) reduction with pH in the tested pH range. The results showed that Ag/TiO(2) displayed superior catalytic activity to TiO(2), highlighting the potential of using Ag/TiO(2) as a more effective catalyst for photocatalytic Pb(II) reduction.