Drosophila innate immunity suppresses the survival of xenografted mammalian tumor cells

Abstract Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) is an emerging tool established in immunodeficient vertebrate models to assess individualized treatments for cancer patients. Current xenograft models are deficient in adaptive immune systems. However, the precise role of the innate immunity in the xenograft models is unknown. With conserved signaling pathways and established genetic tools, Drosophila has contributed to the understanding of the mechanism of tumor growth as well as tumor–host interactions for decades, making it a promising candidate model for studying whether or not the hosts’ innate immunity can accommodate transplanted human tumor cells. Here we show initial observations that assess the behavior and impact of several human tumor cell lines when transplanted into Drosophila. We found that some injected cell lines persisted for a longer duration and reduced hosts’ lifespan. In particular, the human lung cancer cell line A549 were observed adjacent to the fly host tissues. We examined two factors that affect the survivability of cancer cells: (1) the optimal temperature of each cell line and (2) the innate immunity of Drosophila hosts. Especially, transplanted human tumor cells survived longer in immunodeficient flies, suggesting that the host innate immune system impedes the growth of xenografted cells. Our attempts for xenografting fly models thus provide necessary steps to overcome for establishing PDX cancer models using invertebrates

The association between socioeconomic status and reactions to radiation exposure: a cross-sectional study after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station accident.

Risk perception and individual reactions to risk are not necessarily comparable, and socioeconomic status may affect individual reactions to risk. This study aimed to investigate the association between socioeconomic status and reactions to radiation exposure risk. This cross-sectional study, based on a self-reported online survey was conducted between 3 March and 21 March 2012, one year after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. We used feelings of anxiety and risk-averse behavior concerning radiation exposure as dependent variables, and equivalent income and educational attainment as independent variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) with adjustment for possible confounders. Among 10 000 participants, 23.0% felt anxious and 12.0% engaged in risk-averse behavior for radiation exposure. Participants with a higher socioeconomic status tended not to feel anxious but undertook risk-averse behavior. Participants in the highest quartile income category did not report feeling anxious but showed prevalent undertaking of risk-averse behavior for radiation exposure compared to the lowest income category (for anxiety, aOR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64-0.93, for risk-averse behavior, aOR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.04-1.69). University or graduate-school graduates were associated with greater risk-averse behavior compared to junior high school or high school graduates (aOR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.29-1.73). Socioeconomic status may affect reactions to radiation exposure risk. Risk communication strategies should consider the socioeconomic status of those affected

Does Cigarette Smoking Increase Traffic Accident Death During 20 Years Follow-up in Japan? The Ibaraki Prefectural Health Study

Contains fulltext : 202789.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Profiling of Microbiota at the Mouth of Bottles and in Remaining Tea after Drinking Directly from Plastic Bottles of Tea

It has been speculated that oral bacteria can be transferred to tea in plastic bottles when it is drunk directly from the bottles, and that the bacteria can then multiply in the bottles. The transfer of oral bacteria to the mouth of bottles and bacterial survival in the remaining tea after drinking directly from bottles were examined immediately after drinking and after storage at 37 °C for 24 h. Twelve healthy subjects (19 to 23 years of age) were asked to drink approximately 50 mL of unsweetened tea from a plastic bottle. The mouths of the bottles were swabbed with sterile cotton, and the swabs and the remaining tea in the bottles were analyzed by anaerobic culture and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Metagenomic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene was also performed. The mean amounts of bacteria were (1.8 ± 1.7) × 104 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL and (1.4 ± 1.5) × 104 CFU/mL at the mouth of the bottles immediately after and 24 h after drinking, respectively. In contrast, (0.8 ± 1.6) × 104 CFU/mL and (2.5 ± 2.6) × 106 CFU/mL were recovered from the remaining tea immediately after and 24 h after drinking, respectively. Streptococcus (59.9%) were predominant at the mouth of the bottles immediately after drinking, followed by Schaalia (5.5%), Gemella (5.5%), Actinomyces (4.9%), Cutibacterium (4.9%), and Veillonella (3.6%); the culture and metagenomic analyses showed similar findings for the major species of detected bacteria, including Streptococcus (59.9%, and 10.711%), Neisseria (1.6%, and 24.245%), Haemophilus (0.6%, and 15.658%), Gemella (5.5%, and 0.381%), Cutibacterium (4.9%, and 0.041%), Rothia (2.6%, and 4.170%), Veillonella (3.6%, and 1.130%), Actinomyces (4.9%, and 0.406%), Prevotella (1.6%, and 0.442%), Fusobacterium (1.0%, and 0.461%), Capnocytophaga (0.3%, and 0.028%), and Porphyromonas (1.0%, and 0.060%), respectively. Furthermore, Streptococcus were the most commonly detected bacteria 24 h after drinking. These findings demonstrated that oral bacteria were present at the mouth of the bottles and in the remaining tea after drinking