Thermal transformations of Cu–Mg (Zn)–Al(Fe) hydrotalcite-like materials into metal oxide systems and their catalytic activity in selective oxidation of ammonia to dinitrogen

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) containing $Mg^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$ or $Zn^{2+}$ cations in the $Me^{II}$ positions and $Al^{3+}$ and $Fe^{3+}$ in the $Me^{III}$ positions were synthesized by co- precipitation method. Detailed studies of thermal trans- formation of obtained LDHs into metal oxide systems were performed using high temperature X-ray diffraction in oxidising and reducing atmosphere, thermogravimetry coupled with mass spectrometry and temperature-pro- grammed reduction. The LDH samples calcined at 600 and 900 $^{o}\textrm{C}$ were tested in the role of catalysts for selective oxidation of ammonia into nitrogen and water vapour. It was shown that all copper congaing samples presented high catalytic activity and additionally, for the Cu–Mg–Al and Cu–Mg–Fe hydrotalcite samples calcined at 600 $^{o}\textrm{C}$ rela- tively high stability and selectivity to dinitrogen was obtained. An increase in calcination temperature to 900 $^{o}\textrm{C}$ resulted in a decrease of their catalytic activity, possibly due to formation of well-crystallised metal oxide phase which are less catalytically active in the process of selective oxidation of ammonia

The effects of post-translational modifications on Th17/Treg cell differentiation

Abstract Regulatory T (Treg) cells and Th17 cells are subsets of CD4⁺ T cells which play an essential role in immune homeostasis and infection. Dysregulation of the Th17/Treg cell balance was shown to be implicated in the development and progression of several disorders such as autoimmune disease, inflammatory disease, and cancer. Multiple factors, including T cell receptor (TCR) signals, cytokines, metabolic and epigenetic regulators can influence the differentiation of Th17 and Treg cells and affect their balance. Accumulating evidence indicates that the activity of key molecules such as forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), the retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt), and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)s are modulated by the number of post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as phosphorylation, methylation, nitrosylation, acetylation, glycosylation, lipidation, ubiquitination, and SUMOylation. PTMs might affect the protein folding efficiency and protein conformational stability, and consequently determine protein structure, localization, and function. Here, we review the recent progress in our understanding of how PTMs modify the key molecules involved in the Th17/Treg cell differentiation, regulate the Th17/Treg balance, and initiate autoimmune diseases caused by dysregulation of the Th17/Treg balance. A better understanding of Th17/Treg regulation may help to develop novel potential therapeutics to treat immune-related diseases

Proteomics approaches to characterize the immune responses in cancer

Abstract Despite the dynamic development of cancer research, annually millions of people die of cancer. The human immune system is the major ‘guard’ against tumor development. Unfortunately, cancer cells have the ability to evade the immune system and continue to grow. The proper understanding of the intricate immune response in tumorigenesis remains the holy grail of cancer immunology and designing effective immunotherapy. To decode the immune responses in cancer, in recent years, proteomics studies have received considerable attention. Proteomics studies focus on the detection and quantification of proteins, which are the effectors of biological functions, and as such, are proven to reflect the cell state more accurately, in comparison to genomic or transcriptomic studies. In this review, we discuss the proteomics studies applied to characterize the immune responses in cancer and tumor immune microenvironment heterogeneity. Further, we describe emerging single-cell proteomics approaches that have the potential to be applied in cancer immunity studies

Plasma protein changes reflect colorectal cancer development and associated inflammation

Abstract Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Efficient non-invasive blood-based biomarkers for CRC early detection and prognosis are urgently needed. Methods: To identify novel potential plasma biomarkers, we applied a proximity extension assay (PEA), an antibody-based proteomics strategy to quantify the abundance of plasma proteins in CRC development and cancer-associated inflammation from few μL of plasma sample. Results: Among the 690 quantified proteins, levels of 202 plasma proteins were significantly changed in CRC patients compared to age-and-sex-matched healthy subjects. We identified novel protein changes involved in Th17 activity, oncogenic pathways, and cancer-related inflammation with potential implications in the CRC diagnosis. Moreover, the interferon γ (IFNG), interleukin (IL) 32, and IL17C were identified as associated with the early stages of CRC, whereas lysophosphatidic acid phosphatase type 6 (ACP6), Fms-related tyrosine kinase 4 (FLT4), and MANSC domain-containing protein 1 (MANSC1) were correlated with the late-stages of CRC. Discussion: Further study to characterize the newly identified plasma protein changes from larger cohorts will facilitate the identification of potential novel diagnostic, prognostic biomarkers for CRC