Perioperative dynamic alterations in peripheral regulatory T and B cells in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intratumoral and circulating regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been shown to be critical in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However there is limited knowledge on the alterations of regulatory B cells (Bregs). We here investigated perioperative dynamic alterations of peripheral circulating Tregs and Bregs in HCC patients to reveal the relationship between regulatory lymphocytes and its clinical implications.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>36 patients with HCC, 6 with chronic hepatitis B infection and 10 healthy donors were enrolled for this study. Frequencies of peripheral Tregs and Bregs were measured by flow cytometry with antibodies against CD4, CD25, CD127, CD19 and IL-10 before, and after radical surgery. Then, clinical informatics of HCC patients was achieved through Digital Evaluation Score System (DESS) for the assessment of disease severity. Finally, we analysed correlations between digitalized clinical features and kinetics of circulating regulatory lymphocytes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Level of circulating CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127^-Tregs in HCC patients was significantly lower than that in healthy donors and patients with chronic hepatitis B infection before surgery, but was increased after surgery. Preoperative level of CD19⁺IL-10⁺Bregs in HCC patients was also significantly lower than the other groups. However it dramatically was elevated right after surgery and remained elevated compared to controls (about 7 days after surgery, <it>P </it>= 0.04). Frequency of circulating Tregs was correlated with circulating leukocytes, ferritin, and clinical features suggesting tumor aggressiveness including portal vein thrombosis, hepatic vein involvement and advanced clinical stages. Frequency of circulating Bregs was associated with Hepatitis B e Antigen (HBeAg) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA copy number. In addition, DESS was significantly and positively correlated with other staging systems.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Frequencies of peripheral Tregs and Bregs in HCC patients increased after surgery. These results suggest that a postoperative combination of therapies against Tregs and Bregs may be beneficial for better outcome of HCC patients after resection.</p

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Germanium Heterojunction for High-Performance Near-Infrared Photodetector

In this research, we report on a high-performance near-infrared (near-IR) photodetector based on single-walled carbon nanotube-germanium (SWCNT-Ge) heterojunction by assembling SWCNT films onto n-type Ge substrate with ozone treatment. The ozone doping enhances the conductivity of carbon nanotube films and the formed interfacial oxide layer (GeOx) suppresses the leakage current and carriers’ recombination. The responsivity and detectivity in the near-IR region are estimated to be 362 mA W−1 and 7.22 × 1011 cm Hz1/2 W−1, respectively, which are three times the value of the untreated device. Moreover, a rapid response time of ~11 μs is obtained simultaneously. These results suggest that the simple SWCNT-Ge structure and ozone treatment method might be utilized to fabricate high-performance and low-cost near-IR photodetectors

Study on the Kinetic Model of Mixed Fermentation by Adding Glutathione-Enriched Inactive Dry Yeast

In order to investigate the impact of glutathione-enriched inactive dry yeast (g-IDY) on the co-fermentation process of Torulaspora delbrueckii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, different contents of g-IDY (0, 20, 40, and 100 mg/L) were added to the simulated liquid for fermentation. The yeast quantity, reducing sugar content, and ethanol volume fraction in the fermentation system were determined every 24 h. Nonlinear fitting of the measured values was carried out using classical Logistic, SGompertz, Boltzmann, and DoseResp models. Additionally, the aroma components of the wine were analyzed by GC-MS. The results indicate that the Logistic model performs best in terms of yeast growth kinetics, whereas the DoseResp and Boltzmann models exhibit the same fitting performance for reducing sugar consumption, both superior to the Logistic model, and the Boltzmann model shows the best-fitting performance for ethanol production. All optimal models have fitting coefficients (R2 values) above 0.99, demonstrating that different contents of g-IDY can effectively complete fermentation. Furthermore, all three fitting models can effectively describe the fermentation process using g-IDY. The use of g-IDY can increase the content of ethyl phenylacetate and phenylethanol, which can be employed to enhance the aroma of wine

Self-assembly of amphiphilic phospholipid peptide dendrimer-based nanovectors for effective delivery of siRNA therapeutics in prostate cancer therapy

International audienceRNA interference (RNAi) holds great promise for therapeutic applications. However, safe and successful clinical translation essentially requires further advancement of developing efficient delivery systems. Herein, we report that amphiphilic phospholipid peptide dendrimers (AmPPDs) could mediated effective delivery of siRNA targeting Hsp27 for treating castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). AmPPDs bears natural lipid derivative DSPE as the hydrophobic tail and different dendritic l-lysine as the hydrophilic head, capable of compacting siRNA into nanoparticles to protect it from enzymatic degradation. Interestingly, DSPE-KK2, AmPPD bearing smaller hydrophilic dendron, promoting more efficient intracellular uptake and endosome release of the so-formed siRNA complexes, as well as better siRNA releasing ability, ultimately resulting in more potent gene silencing and anticancer effects both in vitro and in vivo. Such outstanding performance of DSPE-KK2 in siRNA delivery may attribute to its optimal balance between the hydrophobic tail and hydrophilic dendritic portion. Our findings provide guidance for the development of safe and effective dendrimer-based siRNA delivery system, thus bringing new hope for combating various diseases

Effects of Tannin Addition on Changes in Color and Anthocyanin Content of Cabernet sauvignon Wine and Their Correlation

To investigate the impact of distinct wine tannins on the color and anthocyanin composition of wine, Cabernet sauvignon was employed as the primary ingredient for the production of wine using five distinct wine tannins. The wine was then aged for 120 days. The study involved the detection and analysis of various components of wine, including total phenols, total anthocyanins, total flavanols, monomer anthocyanins, chromaticity, and sensory evaluation, throughout the process of fermentation and aging. The findings indicated that the introduction of tannin prior to alcohol fermentation might lead to a rise in the overall phenolic composition of wine, exert an influence on its color, and enhance its gustatory attributes. The BSO group (oak tannin) exhibited a conspicuous elevation in the overall phenol content, with the maximum value reaching 1850.13 mg/L. Following a 120 d aging period, it was observed that the BRE group (comprised of green tea tannin) exhibited a significantly higher b* value, indicating a yellow tone, in comparison to the other experimental groups. Additionally, the color of the BRE group was noted to be yellowish brown. Following a 120 d aging period, the a* values of the PTZ (grape seed tannin) and ECA (chestnut tannin) groups exhibited a significant increase in red tone, with a respective increase of 38.19% and 27.76% compared to the aged control group that did not contain tannin. Additionally, the colors of the tannin groups were observed to be more stable and purplish red. The findings of the correlation collinear network analysis indicated a positive correlation between the red color of wine and a majority of monomer anthocyanins (P0.6). Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between the red color of wine and certain acylated anthocyanins (namely, acetylated dimethyl alexin-3-O-glucoside, alexin-3-O-acetylated glucoside, and coumarin acylated 3'-methyl alexin-3-O-) (P0.6). In conclusion, the character of red wine could be enhanced more effectively by adding wine tannins prior to fermentation, condensed tannins derived from grape seeds produced the most effective auxiliary color

Identification of a human type XVII collagen fragment with high capacity for maintaining skin health

Collagen XVII (COL17) is a transmembrane protein that mediates skin homeostasis. Due to expression of full length collagen was hard to achieve in microorganisms, arising the needs for selection of collagen fragments with desired functions for microbial biosynthesis. Here, COL17 fragments (27–33 amino acids) were extracted and replicated 16 times for recombinant expression in Escherichia coli. Five variants were soluble expressed, with the highest yield of 223 mg/L. The fusion tag was removed for biochemical and biophysical characterization. Circular dichroism results suggested one variant (sample-1707) with a triple-helix structure at >37 °C. Sample-1707 can assemble into nanofiber (width, 5.6 nm) and form hydrogel at 3 mg/mL. Sample-1707 was shown to induce blood clotting and promote osteoblast differentiation. Furthermore, sample-1707 exhibited high capacity to induce mouse hair follicle stem cells differentiation and osteoblast migration, demonstrating a high capacity to induce skin cell regeneration and promote wound healing. A strong hydrogel was prepared from a chitosan and sample-1707 complex with a swelling rate of >30 % higher than simply using chitosan. Fed-batch fermentation of sample-1707 with a 5-L bioreactor obtained a yield of 600 mg/L. These results support the large-scale production of sample-1707 as a biomaterial for use in the skin care industry

MET-overexpressing myxofibrosarcoma frequently exhibit polysomy of chromosome 7 but not MET amplification, especially in high-grade cases: clinical and pathological review of 30 myxofibrosarcoma cases

Abstract Background Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas. Previous studies have shown that MET protein overexpressed in MFS patients and can serve as a prognostic factor. The reasons for MET protein overexpression include amplification of the MET gene, which is located on chromosome 7q. Triggered by an index case harboring chromosome 7 polysomy rather than MET gene amplification in myxofibrosarcoma, we investigated chromosome 7 polysomy in more cases. Methods Immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed in 30 MFS cases (including 2 epithelioid variant) to detect the expression of MET protein and gene status. Results MET was overexpressed in 14 cases out of 30, while thirteen cases were in higher FNCLCC grades (Grade 2–3). FISH showed that 11 cases having 3 signals on average of Met and more than 3 signals (Mean: 4.6) of centromere 7q (CEP7q). The MET/CEP7 ratio was about 0.65 on average, suggesting that chromosome 7 polysomy, rather than Met gene amplification, leading to the overexpression of MET protein in MFS. MET overexpression and chromosome 7 polysomy are positively correlated with higher Ki-67 index and higher grade and might have a high risk of local recurrence and metastasis. Conclusions It might reveals another explain of MET overexpression in myxofibrosarcoma, providing a clue for the therapy of MFS