Effects of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen on Virus-specific and Global T Cells in Patients With Chronic HBV infection

10.1053/j.gastro.2020.04.019Gastroenterolog

Hormone-sensing cells require Wip1 for paracrine stimulation in normal and premalignant mammary epithelium

10.1186/bcr3381Breast Cancer Research15

Hepatitis B virus-specific T cells associate with viral control upon nucleos(t)ide-analogue therapy discontinuation.

BACKGROUND: The clinical management of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients is based exclusively on virological parameters that cannot independently determine in which patients nucleos(t)ide-analogue (NUC) therapy can be safely discontinued. NUCs efficiently suppress viral replication, but do not eliminate HBV. Thus, therapy discontinuation can be associated with virological and biochemical relapse and, consequently, therapy in the majority is life-long. METHODS: Since antiviral immunity is pivotal for HBV control, we investigated potential biomarkers for the safe discontinuation of NUCs within immune profiles of chronic HBV patients by utilizing traditional immunological assays (ELISPOT, flow cytometry) in conjunction with analyses of global non-antigen-specific immune populations (NanoString and CyTOF). Two distinct cohorts of 19 and 27 chronic HBV patients, respectively, were analyzed longitudinally prior to and after discontinuation of 2 different NUC therapy strategies. RESULTS: Absence of hepatic flares following discontinuation of NUC treatment correlated with the presence, during NUC viral suppression, of HBV core and polymerase-specific T cells that were contained within the ex vivo PD-1+ population. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies the presence of functional HBV-specific T cells as a candidate immunological biomarker for safe therapy discontinuation in chronic HBV patients. Furthermore, the persistent and functional antiviral activity of PD-1+ HBV-specific T cells highlights the potential beneficial role of the expression of T cell exhaustion markers during human chronic viral infection. FUNDING: This work was funded by a Singapore Translational Research Investigator Award (NMRC/STaR/013/2012), the Eradication of HBV TCR Program (NMRC/TCR/014-NUHS/2015), the Singapore Immunology Network, the Wellcome Trust (107389/Z/15/Z), and a Barts and The London Charity (723/1795) grant.This work was funded by a Singapore Translational Research Investigator Award (NMRC/STaR/013/2012), the Eradication of HBV TCR Program (NMRC/TCR/014-NUHS/2015), the Singapore Immunology Network, the Wellcome Trust (107389/Z/15/Z), and a Barts and The London Charity (723/1795) grant

Transcriptome analysis of the hormone-sensing cells in mammary epithelial reveals dynamic changes in early pregnancy

10.1186/s12861-015-0058-9BMC Developmental Biology151

Synovial juxtafacet cyst of the spine presenting as radiculopathy

Juxtafacet cyst of the spine is a rare occurrence. Reports have described them as synovial cysts; ganglion cyst; extradural cysts as well as degenerative cysts of the spine. Patients may present with radicular pain, motor deficits, sensory disturbances, cauda equine syndrome and even myelopathy. Lumbar juxtafacet cysts may be confused clinically with prolapsed intervertebral disc or other conditions involving nerve root compression such as arachnid cysts, ependymal cysts, dermoid cysts or teramatous cycts. In the case of the juxtafacet cysts, surgical excision is usually curative. We report a case of spinal synovial juxtafacet cysts found intraoperatively in a case that was preoperatively diagnosed as prolapsed intervertebral disc. Synovial juxtafacet cysts of the spine should be considered as one of the differential diagnoses in patients, especially in older patients, presenting with nerve root compression

New insights into lineage restriction of mammary gland epithelium using parity-identified mammary epithelial cells

10.1186/bcr3593Breast Cancer Research161-BCRR

Transcriptional repressor Tbx3 is required for the hormone-sensing cell lineage in mammary epithelium

10.1371/journal.pone.0110191PLoS ONE910e11019

The chemopreventive potential of Curcuma purpurascens rhizome in reducing azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci in rats

Elham Rouhollahi,1 Soheil Zorofchian Moghadamtousi,2 Nawal Al-Henhena,3 Thubasni Kunasegaran,1 Mohadeseh Hasanpourghadi,4 Chung Yeng Looi,4 Sri Nurestri Abd Malek,2 Khalijah Awang,5 Mahmood Ameen Abdulla,3 Zahurin Mohamed1 1Pharmacogenomics Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, 2Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, 3Department of Biomedical Science, 4Cell Biology and Drug Discovery Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, 5Department of Chemistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract: Curcuma purpurascens BI. rhizome, a member of the Zingiberaceae family, is a popular spice in Indonesia that is traditionally used in assorted remedies. Dichloromethane extract of C. purpurascens BI. rhizome (DECPR) has previously been shown to have an apoptosis-inducing effect on colon cancer cells. In the present study, we examined the potential of DECPR to prevent colon cancer development in rats treated with azoxymethane (AOM) (15 mg/kg) by determining the percentage inhibition in incidence of aberrant crypt foci (ACF). Starting from the day immediately after AOM treatment, three groups of rats were orally administered once a day for 2 months either 10% Tween 20 (5 mL/kg, cancer control), DECPR (250 mg/kg, low dose), or DECPR (500 mg/kg, high dose). Meanwhile, the control group was intraperitoneally injected with 5-fluorouracil (35 mg/kg) for 5 consecutive days. After euthanizing the rats, the number of ACF was enumerated in colon tissues. Bax, Bcl-2, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein expressions were examined using immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses. Antioxidant enzymatic activity was measured in colon tissue homogenates and associated with malondialdehyde level. The percentage inhibition of ACF was 56.04% and 68.68% in the low- and high-dose DECPR-treated groups, respectively. The ACF inhibition in the treatment control group was 74.17%. Results revealed that DECPR exposure at both doses significantly decreased AOM-induced ACF formation, which was accompanied by reduced expression of PCNA. Upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2 suggested the involvement of apoptosis in the chemopreventive effect of DECPR. In addition, the oxidative stress resulting from AOM treatment was significantly attenuated after administration of DECPR, which was shown by the elevated antioxidant enzymatic activity and reduced malondialdehyde level. Taken together, the present data clearly indicate that DECPR significantly inhibits ACF formation in AOM-treated rats and may offer protection against colon cancer development. Keywords: colon cancer, PCNA, Zingiberacea