Role of Exosomes in Crosstalk Between Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts and Cancer Cells

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are important cells of the tumor microenvironment that can communicate with tumor cells through various mechanisms. Recently, increasing studies have found that exosomes transmit biological information by carrying microRNAs, lncRNAs, proteins, metabolites, and other substances, and thus exert biological and therapeutic effects. CAF-secreted exosomes can also affect the tumor phenotype, while the exosomes released by tumor cells can activate CAFs. Here, we review the role of exosomes in the crosstalk between CAFs and tumor cells and elaborate its mechanism

Draft genome sequence of the strawberry anthracnose pathogen colletotrichum fructicola

Colletotrichum fructicola is a causal agent of strawberry anthracnose and a major economic pathogen of horticultural and ornamental crops worldwide. Here, we present an annotated draft genome sequence for a C. fructicola isolate previously used for transcriptomic analysis. The assembly totals 58.0 Mb in 477 contigs with 18,143 predicted genes

Circulating tumor DNA determining hyperprogressive disease after CAR-T therapy alarms in DLBCL: a case report and literature review

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) has been widely applied in the clinical practice of relapse/refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) due to its promising effects. Hyperprogressive disease (HPD) has gained attention for rapid tumor progression and has become a therapeutic and prognostic challenge. Here, we present a patient who had suffered from several recurrences previously and controlled well with a very small tumor lesion left was infused with CD19/CD22 bispecific CAR-T, with no immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, or cytokine release syndrome observed. However, rapid deterioration, subsequent imaging examination, circulating tumor DNA, and serum biomarkers detection identified HPD. The patient did not respond to salvage treatment and died 40 days after infusion. To our knowledge, only one case of HPD in DLBCL after CAR-T therapy has been reported. This fatal case alarmed the risk of HPD and the ctDNA profile monitoring we used was performed as a non-invasive method to diagnose HPD, providing far-reaching practical instruction for CAR-T therapy

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

High tensile-strength and ductile titanium matrix composites strengthened by TiB nanowires

A three-dimensional network-woven architecture made of TiB nanowires has been designed and realized in the matrix of a Ti6Al4V alloy. The architecturally nanostructured design was achieved by dispersing nanoparticles of BC or B onto the surfaces of spherical Ti6Al4V powder particles via mechanical mixing and subsequent consolidation by spark plasma sintering. The as-sintered nanostructured Ti6Al4V-TiB composites demonstrated excellent tensile strengths and ductility that are required for critical applications. The in situ formed TiB nanowires with aspect ratios up to 300 contributed to the high tensile strengths while the architectural design of the TiB nanowires ensured the good tensile ductility

Enhancing Target Cancer Treatment by Combining Hyperthermia and Radiotherapy Using Mn-Zn Ferrite Magnetic Nanoparticles

Radiotherapy (RT) is a major treatment method for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and development of new treatment modality is now critical to amplify the negative effects of RT on tumors. In this study, we demonstrated a nanoparticle-loaded block copolymer micellar system for cancer hyperthermia treatment (HT) that can be used for synergistic therapy under alternating magnetic field (AMF) and radiation field. Block copolymer micelles (polyethylene glycol-block-polycaprolactone, or PEG-PCL) containing hyaluronic acid (HA) and Mn–Zn ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (MZF) were fabricated via a two-step preparation. HA-modified Mn–Zn ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (MZF-HA) can be enriched in CD44 highly expressing tumor cells, such as A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma cell line), through an active targeting mechanism via receptor–ligand binding of HA and CD44 (HA receptor). MZF can generate thermal energy under an AMF, leading to a local temperature increase to approximately 43 °C at tumor sites for mild HT, and the increased tumor oxygenation can enhance the therapeutic effect of RT. In vitro experiments show that MZF-HA is able to achieve excellent specific targeting performance toward A549 cells with excellent biocompatibility as well as enhanced therapy performance under HT and RT in vitro by apoptosis flow cytometry. In the A549 subcutaneous tumor xenografts model, MRI confirms the enrichment of MZF-HA in tumor, and hypoxia immunohistochemistry analysis (IHC) proved the increased tumor oxygenation after HT. Furthermore, the tumor volume decreases to 49.6% through the combination of HT and RT in comparison with the 58.8% increase of the untreated group. These results suggest that the application of MZF-HA is able to increase the therapeutic effect of RT on A549 and can be used for further clinical NSCLC treatment evaluation

Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon from Biomass with Efficient Toluene Adsorption and Superior Catalytic Performance

The chemical composition and surface groups of the carbon support affect the adsorption capacity of toluene. To investigate the effect of catalyst substrate on the catalytic performance, two different plant biomasses, banana peel and sugarcane peel, were used as carbon precursors to prepare porous carbon catalyst supports (Cba, Csu, respectively) by a chemical activation method. After decorating PtCo3 nanoparticles onto both carbon supports (Cba, Csu), the PtCo3-su catalyst demonstrated better catalytic performance for toluene oxidation (T100 = 237 °C) at a high space velocity of 12,000 h−1. The Csu support possessed a stronger adsorption capacity of toluene (542 mg g−1), resulting from the synergistic effect of micropore volume and nitrogen-containing functional groups, which led to the PtCo3-su catalyst exhibiting a better catalytic performance. Moreover, the PtCo3-su catalyst also showed excellent stability, good water resistance properties, and high recyclability, which can be used as a promising candidate for practical toluene catalytic combustion

Te-doped Cu2Se nanoplates with a high average thermoelectric figure of merit

Understanding the impact of dopants can direct the design of high-performance thermoelectric nanomaterials. In this study, we use Te as a dopant to modify Cu2Se nanoplates. It has been found that Te can be uniformly doped and distributed in the synthesized products to form Cu2Se1-xTex nanoplates with controlled Te content. Also, a phase transition from the original beta-phase Cu2Se nanoplates to a-phase Cu2Se1-xTex nanoplates was observed with increasing Te doping level. From the thermoelectric evaluation of the sintered pellets of Cu2Se1-xTex nanoplates, it was found that Te can effectively modify their thermoelectric properties, especially their electrical transport properties. Finally, a high average figure-of-merit value of similar to 1.2 in the temperature range from 400 K to 850 K was observed for the Cu2Se0.98Te0.02 sample