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Humans are exposed to an ever-increasing number of environmental toxicants, some of which have gradually been identified as major risk factors for male reproductive health, even associated with male infertility. Male infertility is usually due to the reproductive system damage, which may be influenced by the exposure to contaminants such as heavy metals, plasticizers, along with genetics and lifestyle. Testicular immune microenvironment (TIM) is important in maintaining normal physiological functions of the testis, whether disturbed TIM after exposure to environmental toxicants could induce reproductive toxicity remains to be explored. Therefore, the current review aims to contribute to the further understanding of exposure and male infertility by characterizing environmental exposures and the effect on TIM. We first summarized the male reproductive toxicity phenotypes induced by common environmental pollutants. Contaminants including heavy metals and plastic additives and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), have been repetitively associated with male infertility, whereas emerging contaminants such as perfluoroalkyl substances and micro(nano)plastics have also been found to disrupt TIM and lead to male reproductive toxicity. We further reviewed the importance of TIM and its homeostasis in maintaining the normal physiological functions of the testis. Most importantly, we discussed the advances in immunology of male reproductive toxicity induced by metals and metalloids, plastic additives, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), micro(nano)plastic and PM2.5 to suggest the importance of reproductive immunotoxicology in the future study of environmental toxicants, but also contribute to the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies for mitigating adverse effects of environmental pollutants on human health.

Abstract There is strong evidence that obesity is a risk factor for poor semen quality. However, the effects of multigenerational paternal obesity on the susceptibility to cadmium (a reproductive toxicant)-induced spermatogenesis disorders in offspring remain unknown. Here, we show that, in mice, spermatogenesis and retinoic acid levels become progressively lower as the number of generations exposed to a high-fat diet increase. Furthermore, exposing several generations of mice to a high fat diet results in a decrease in the expression of Wt1, a transcription factor upstream of the enzymes that synthesize retinoic acid. These effects can be rescued by injecting adeno-associated virus 9-Wt1 into the mouse testes of the offspring. Additionally, multigenerational paternal high-fat diet progressively increases METTL3 and Wt1 N6-methyladenosine levels in the testes of offspring mice. Mechanistically, treating the fathers with STM2457, a METTL3 inhibitor, restores obesity-reduced sperm count, and decreases Wt1 N6-methyladenosine level in the mouse testes of the offspring. A case-controlled study shows that human donors who are overweight or obese exhibit elevated N6-methyladenosine levels in sperm and decreased sperm concentration. Collectively, these results indicate that multigenerational paternal obesity enhances the susceptibility of the offspring to spermatogenesis disorders by increasing METTL3-mediated Wt1 N6-methyladenosine modification.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgM antibody(MP-IgM), procalcitonin(PCT) and hypersensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) combined detection in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Methods Fifty-eight children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in Nanjing Jiangbei Hospital from August 2022 to December 2022 were selected as the infection group, and 59 healthy children in the same period were selected as the control group. The diagnostic value of combined detection of hs-CRP, PCT and MP-IgM in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection was compared and analyzed. Results Compared with the control group, the levels of PCT and hs-CRP in the infection group were higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05). The positive rate of MP-IgM in the infection group was higher than that in the control group (75.9% vs10.2%, P＜0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of MP-IgM in the diagnosis of MP infection were 75.9%, 89.8%, 88.0%, 79.1% and 82.9%, respectively. The area under the curve(AUC) of PCT and hs-CRP were 0.672 and 0.640 respectively when analyzed by ROC curve. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of combined detection of PCT and hs-CRP with MP-IgM were 91.3%, 88.1%, 88.3%, 91.1% and 89.7% respectively. Conclusions PCT and hs-CRP have certain application value in the diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in children. The combination of PCT and hs-CRP with traditional MP-IgM detection can effectively improve the positive rate of detection. The sensitivity, negative predictive value and accuracy of the combined detection are higher than that of single MP-IgM detection, which can make up for the deficiency of the positive rate of pure MP-IgM detection.

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy has exhibited a substantial clinical response in hematological malignancies, including B-cell leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. Therefore, the feasibility of using CAR-T cells to treat solid tumors is actively evaluated. Currently, multiple basic research projects and clinical trials are being conducted to treat lung cancer with CAR-T cell therapy. Although numerous advances in CAR-T cell therapy have been made in hematological tumors, the technology still entails considerable challenges in treating lung cancer, such as on−target, of−tumor toxicity, paucity of tumor-specific antigen targets, T cell exhaustion in the tumor microenvironment, and low infiltration level of immune cells into solid tumor niches, which are even more complicated than their application in hematological tumors. Thus, progress in the scientific understanding of tumor immunology and improvements in the manufacture of cell products are advancing the clinical translation of these important cellular immunotherapies. This review focused on the latest research progress of CAR-T cell therapy in lung cancer treatment and for the first time, demonstrated the underlying challenges and future engineering strategies for the clinical application of CAR-T cell therapy against lung cancer.

Esophageal cancer is an exceedingly aggressive and malignant cancer that imposes a substantial burden on patients and their families. It is usually treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and molecular-targeted therapy. Immunotherapy is a novel treatment modality for esophageal cancer wherein genetically engineered adoptive cell therapy is utilized, which modifies immune cells to attack cancer cells. Using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) or T cell receptor (TCR) modified T cells yielded demonstrably encouraging efficacy in patients. CAR-T cell therapy has shown robust clinical results for malignant hematological diseases, particularly in B cell-derived malignancies. Natural killer (NK) cells could serve as another reliable and safe CAR engineering platform, and CAR-NK cell therapy could be a more generalized approach for cancer immunotherapy because NK cells are histocompatibility-independent. TCR-T cells can detect a broad range of targeted antigens within subcellular compartments and hold great potential for use in cancer therapy. Numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of CAR and TCR based adoptive cell therapies (ACT). A comprehensive understanding of genetically-modified T cell technologies can facilitate the clinical translation of these adoptive cell-based immunotherapies. Here, we systematically review the state-of-the-art knowledge on genetically-modified T-cell therapy and provide a summary of preclinical and clinical trials of CAR and TCR-transgenic ACT.

Aim: The aim of this study is to engineer Pantoea dispersa MSC14 into a strain capable of producing lycopene and to enhance its lycopene content., Methods and Results: Our laboratory isolated the strain P. dispersa MSC14 from petroleum-contaminated soil in a mining area. Whole-genome sequencing confirmed the existence of a carotenoid synthesis pathway in this strain. This study employed an optimized CRISPR/Cas9 system to perform a traceless gene knockout of the lycopene cyclase gene crtY and to overexpress the octahydrolycopene dehydrogenase gene crtI in the P. dispersa MSC14. This strategic genetic modification successfully constructed the lycopene-producing strain MSC14-LY, which exhibited a notable lycopene content with a biomass productivity of 553 μg of lycopene per gram dry cell weight(DCW). Additionally, the components of the lycopene fermentation medium were optimized using Plackett-Burman (PB) design and Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The average lycopene content was increased to 5.13 mg g -1DCW in the optimized LY fermentation medium. Through genetic engineering, P. dispersa MSC14 was transformed into a strain capable of producing lycopene, achieving a yield of 5.13 mg g-1 DCW after medium optimization., Conclusions: Genetic engineering successfully transformed P. dispersa MSC14 into a strain capable of producing lycopene, achieving a yield of 5.13 mg g-1 DCW after medium optimization., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Applied Microbiology International.)

The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed oil (Z. seed oil) to alleviate airway inflammation in asthmatic mice. The asthmatic mice were treated with vehicle, ovalbumin (OVA), or OVA + Z. seed oil (2 g/kg) for between 24 h and 14 days. Following treatment, inflammatory cell infiltration and pulmonary tissue damage were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of pro‑inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules and mitogen activated protein kinase signaling proteins were measured by enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assays, reverse transcription quantitative‑polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. In asthmatic mice, administration of Z. seed oil attenuated lung tissue injury and airway remodeling, and inhibited the infiltration of leukocytes and eosinophils into the airway by reducing the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines compared with OVA‑treated mice (P<0.05). Z. seed oil also reduced the levels of inflammatory chemokine and adhesion molecules via downregulation of extracellular signal‑regulated kinase and activation of c‑JUN N‑terminal kinase in the Z. seed‑treated mice compared with OVA‑treated mice (P<0.05). Thus, data from the present study indicates that Z. seed oil can suppress pulmonary inflammation and tissue injury during asthma, and suggests that it may be used to effectively treat allergen‑induced asthma.

By combining a high-κ dielectric substrate and a high density of charge carriers, Coulomb impurities in MoS2 can be effectively screened, leading to an unprecedented room-temperature mobility of ≈150 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and room-temperature phonon-limited transport in a monolayer MoS2 transistor for the first time., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)