A mesoporous ionic solid with 272 Auᴵ₆Agᴵ₃Cuᴵᴵ₃ complex cations in a super huge crystal lattice

Chem. Sci., 2021,12, 11045-11055

Synthesis and Property of Tannic Acid Derivatives and Their Application for Extreme Ultraviolet Laser Lithography System

We synthesized tannic acid derivatives with pendant cyclohexyl acetal moieties (TA-CVEn), butyl acetal moieties (TA-BVEn), and adamantyl ester moieties (TA-ADn) by the reaction of tannnic acid (TA) with cyclohexyl vinyl ether (CVE), butyl vinyl ether (BVE), and adamantyl bromo acetate (AD) in various feeds ratios. The synthesized TA-CVEn, TA-BVEn, and TA-ADn had good solubility, good film-forming ability, and high thermal stability relevant to application of photolithography materials. However, only TA-BVE97 and TA-AD74 can be used as positive-type photo-resist materials using 2.38 wt% TMAH aq. as developer due to the result of thickness loss property. Furthermore, their resist-sensitivity upon EUV exposure tool and etching durability were adequate and they have high potential as next-generation resist material for EUV lithography

Synthesis of Hyperbranched Polyacetals containing C-(4-t-butylbenz)calix[4]resorcinarene; Resist Properties for Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Lithography

We synthesized the various hyperbranched polyacetals poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVOC), poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVOP), poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVOXP), poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVBC), and poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-TVCH) by polyaddition of C-(4-t-butylbenz)calix[4]resorcinarene (t-BCRA[4]) with 1,4-bis(4-vinyloxy)cyclohexane (BVOC), 1,3-bis(vinyloxy)propane (BVOP), 1,5-bis(vinyloxy)-3-oxapentane (BVOXP), 4,4\u27-bis(vinyloxy)-1,1\u27-bicyclohexane (BVBC), and 1,3,5-tris(vinyloxy)cyclohexane (TVCH), respectively. The resist sensitivity of the synthesized polymers using EUV exposure tool was consistent with their structures, and is in the order poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVOC) > poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVOXP) > poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-TVCH) > poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVOP) >> poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVBC). Furthermore, poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVOC) showed good resist properties such as out-gassing property using EUV exposure tool, film-thickness loss property, and etching durability. Overall, our results indicate that hyperbranched polyacetal poly(t-BCRA[4]-co-BVOC) has high potential as next-generation resist material for EUV photolithography

Analysis of DOC and Ram for NSCLC

Background: Current clinical trials demonstrated that combination regimens comprising chemotherapy and immunotherapy lead to better patient outcomes compared to chemotherapy alone as the first line of treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In addition, the combination therapy of docetaxel (Doc) and ramucirumab (Ram) was considered one of the standard treatments for advanced or relapsed NSCLC patients. However, little is known about the therapeutic responders of this combination therapy among previously treated NSCLC patients. In the present study, we aimed to identify predictive factors for therapeutic response, including programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in tumors, for Doc treatment in combination with Ram. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a total of 135 advanced or relapsed NSCLC patients who were refractory to platinum-based chemotherapy at eleven institutions in Japan between July 2016 and November 2018. Results: Our observations showed that PD-L1 expression in tumors is not associated with the efficacy of combined therapy of Doc and Ram in previously treated NSCLC patients. Analysis of the patient clinical profiles indicated that prior treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is a reliable predictor for the good progression-free survival (PFS) to this combination therapy (P=0.041). Conclusions: Our retrospective study indicated that combination regimens comprising chemotherapy and ICIs followed by Doc and Ram could be an optimal therapeutic option for NSCLC patients regardless of the PD-L1 status of tumors. Further investigations are required to strengthen clinical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of the combination therapy of Doc plus Ram in previously treated NSCLC patients

Mice with defects in HB-EGF ectodomain shedding show severe developmental abnormalities

Heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is first synthesized as a membrane-anchored form (proHB-EGF), and its soluble form (sHB-EGF) is released by ectodomain shedding from proHB-EGF. To examine the significance of proHB-EGF processing in vivo, we generated mutant mice by targeted gene replacement, expressing either an uncleavable form (HBuc) or a transmembrane domain–truncated form (HBΔtm) of the molecule. HBuc/uc mice developed severe heart failure and enlarged heart valves, phenotypes similar to those in proHB-EGF null mice. On the other hand, mice carrying HBΔtm exhibited severe hyperplasia in both skin and heart. These results indicate that ectodomain shedding of proHB-EGF is essential for HB-EGF function in vivo, and that this process requires strict control

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target