Combining Transfer of TTF-1 and Pax-8 Gene: a Potential Strategy to Promote Radioiodine Therapy of Thyroid Carcinoma

Cotransfer of TTF-1 and Pax-8 gene to tumor cells, resulting in the reexpression of iodide metabolism-associated proteins, such as sodium iodide symporter (NIS), thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroperoxidase (TPO), offers the possibility of radioiodine therapy to non-iodide-concentrating tumor because the expression of iodide metabolism-associated proteins in thyroid are mediated by the thyroid transcription factors TTF-1 and Pax-8. The human TTF-1 and Pax-8 gene were transducted into the human thyroid carcinoma (K1 and F133) cells by the recombinant adenovirus, AdTTF-1 and AdPax-8. Reexpression of NIS mRNA and protein, but not TPO and Tg mRNA and protein, was detected in AdTTF-1-infected F133 cells, following with increasing radioiodine uptake (6.1~7.4 times), scarcely iodide organification and rapid iodide efflux (t1/2≈8 min in vitro, t1/2≈4.7 h in vivo).
In contrast, all of the reexpression of NIS, TPO and Tg mRNA and proteins in F133 cells were induced by the synergetic effect of TTF-1 and Pax-8. AdTTF-1 and AdPax-8 coinfected K1 and F133 cells could effectively accumulate radioiodine (6.6-7.5 times) and obviously retarded radioiodine retention (t1/2≈25-30 min in vitro, t1/2≈12 h in vivo) (p<0.05).
Accordingly, the effect of radioiodine therapy of TTF-1 and Pax-8 cotransducted K1 and
F133 cells (21-25% survival rate in vitro) was better than that of TTF-1-transducted cells
(40% survival rate in vitro) (p<0.05). These results indicate that single TTF-1 gene transfer may have limited efficacy of radioiodine therapy because of rapid radioiodine efflux. The cotransduction of TTF-1 and Pax-8 gene, with resulting NIS-mediated radioiodine accumulation and TPO and Tg-mediated radioiodine organification and intracellular retention, may lead to effective radioiodine therapy of thyroid carcinoma

A Novel Indium-Catalyzed Three-Component Reaction: General and Efficient One-Pot Synthesis of Substituted Pyrroles

A convenient and general approach towards the synthesis of substituted pyrroles from propargylic acetates, silyl enol ethers, and primary amines was described. This novel transformation was catalyzed by indium trichloride in a one-pot synthesis, and high yields of various pyrrole derivatives were obtained.National Natural Science Foundation of China [20772098

Second-order Band Topology in Antiferromagnetic (MnBi2_2Te4_4)(Bi2_2Te3_3)m_{m} Films

The existence of fractionally quantized topological corner states serves as a key indicator for two-dimensional second-order topological insulators (SOTIs), yet has not been experimentally observed in realistic materials. Here, based on first-principles calculations and symmetry arguments, we propose a strategy for achieving SOTI phases with in-gap corner states in (MnBi$_2$Te$_4$)(Bi$_2$Te$_3$)$_{m}$ films with antiferromagnetic (AFM) order. Starting from the prototypical AFM MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ bilayer, we show by an effective lattice model that such SOTI phase originate from the interplay between intrinsic spin-orbital coupling and interlayer AFM exchange interactions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the nontrivial corner states are linked to rotation topological invariants under three-fold rotation symmetry $C_3$, resulting in $C_3$-symmetric SOTIs with corner charges fractionally quantized to $\frac{n}{3} \lvert e \rvert$ (mod $e$). Due to the great recent achievements in (MnBi$_2$Te$_4$)(Bi$_2$Te$_3$)$_{m}$ systems, our results providing reliable material candidates for experimentally accessible AFM higher-order band topology would draw intense attentions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Pathological characteristics and predictive factors of prostate biopsy in patients with serum PSA levels between 0 and 4.0 ng/ml

BackgroundThis study aimed to analyze the pathological characteristics and predictive factors of prostate biopsy in men with PSA levels below 4.0 ng/ml.Patients and methodsWe retrospectively analyzed 158 patients who underwent prostate biopsy with PSA levels below 4.0 ng/ml. Pathological results were statistically analyzed. The logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictive factors for malignant outcomes. Subgroup analysis was performed on patients who received surgery and the postoperative pathological upgrading was counted.ResultsA total of 143 patients were enrolled. The tumor detection rate was 20.3%. Among these patients, most of them (79.3%) had prostate adenocarcinoma, but rare malignant tumors also accounted for 20.7%. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the only independent predictive factor for a positive prostate biopsy was the PI-RADS score. For prostate adenocarcinoma cases, 95.7% of them were organ localized and 47.8% of cases were clinically significant. Subgroup analysis was performed on 14 patients who received surgical treatment. 28.6% of patients were upgraded to clinically significant prostate cancer, while 64.3% of patients had an upgrade in tumor stage.ConclusionOur study indicated that 20.3% of men with PSA levels between 0 and 4.0 ng/ml were diagnosed with prostate malignancies. Among these patients, most of them (79.3%) were diagnosed with prostate adenocarcinoma, and several uncommon types of malignancies were also detected in 20.7% of patients. The only risk factor for a positive biopsy in patients with a low PSA concentration was the PI-RADS score. It should be emphasized that the invasiveness of PCa patients diagnosed by biopsy may be underestimated as more than half of patients will upgrade their Gleason score or clinical stages after surgery. Thus, clinicians should pay more attention to patients with PSA levels between 0 and 4.0 ng/ml

Theory of d+idd + id Second-Order Topological Superconductors

Topological superconductors are a class of unconventional superconducting materials featuring sub-gap zero-energy Majorana bound modes that hold promise as a building block for topological quantum computing. In this work, we study the realization of second-order topology that defines anomalous gapless boundary modes in a two-orbital superconductor with spin-orbital couplings. We reveal a time-reversal symmetry-breaking second-order topological superconducting phase with $d+id$-wave orbital-dependent paring without the need for the external magnetic field. Remarkably, this orbital-active $d$-wave paring gives rise to anomalous zero-energy Majorana corner modes, which is in contrast to conventional chiral $d$-wave pairing, accommodating one-dimensional Majorana edge modes. Our work not only reveals a unique mechanism of time-reversal symmetry breaking second-order topological superconductors but also bridges the gap between second-order topology and orbital-dependent pairings.Comment: 5+ pages, 5 figure

Solvent-free solid acid-catalyzed nucleophilic substitution of propargylic alcohols: a green approach for the synthesis of 1,4-diynes

Acid-treated K10 montmorillonite (H-K10 mont) exhibited an outstanding catalytic activity in the nucleophilic substitution of propargylic alcohols with alkynylsilanes. The reactions were carried out under solvent-free conditions, and the solid catalyst was reusable with retention of its high activity. This method provides a green and rapid route to 1,4-diynes.National Natural Science Foundation of China [20772098

Modification of TiO_2 Nanoparticles with Organodiboron Molecules Inducing Stable Surface Ti^(3+) Complex

As one of the most promising semiconductor oxide materials, titanium dioxide (TiO_2) absorbs ultraviolet (UV) light but not visible light. To address this limitation, the introduction of Ti^(3+) defects represents a common strategy to render TiO_2 visible-light-responsive. Unfortunately, current hurdles in Ti^(3+) generation technologies impeded the widespread application of Ti^(3+) modified materials. Herein, we demonstrate a simple and mechanistically distinct approach to generating abundant surface-Ti^(3+) sites without leaving behind oxygen vacancy and sacrificing one-off electron donors. In particular, upon adsorption of organodiboron reagents onto TiO_2 nanoparticles, spontaneous electron injection from the dibron-bound O^(2-) site to adjacent Ti^(4+) site leads to an extremely stable blue surface Ti^(3+)‒O^(-•) complex. Notably, this defect generation protocol is also applicable to other semiconductor oxides including ZnO, SnO_2, Nb_2O_5 and In_2O_3. Furthermore, the as-prepared photoelectronic device using this strategy affords 10^3 fold higher visible light response, and the fabricated perovskite solar cell shows an enhanced performance

A new method for evaluating lung volume: AI-3D reconstruction

Objective: This study aims to explore the clinical application of an AI-3D reconstruction system in measuring lung volume and analyze its practical value in donor-recipient size matching in lung transplantation.Methods: The study retrospectively collected data from 75 subjects who underwent a plethysmography examination and lung CT at the First Hospital of Jilin University. General data and information related to lung function, and imaging results were collected. The correlation between actual total lung volume (aTLV), predicted total lung volume (pTLV), and artificial intelligence three-dimensional reconstruction CT lung volume (AI-3DCTVol) was analyzed for the overall, male, and female groups. The correlation coefficient and the absolute error percentage with pTLV and AI-3DCTVol were obtained.Results: In the overall, male, and female groups, there were statistical differences (p <0.05) between the pTLV formula and AI-3D reconstruction compared to the plethysmography examination value. The ICC between pTLV and aTLV for all study participants was 0.788 (95% CI: 0.515–0.893), p <0.001. Additionally, the ICC value between AI-3D reconstruction and aTLV was 0.792 (95% CI: 0.681–0.866), p <0.001. For male study participants, the ICC between pTLV and aTLV was 0.330 (95% CI: 0.032–0.617), p = 0.006. Similarly, the ICC value between AI-3D reconstruction and aTLV was 0.413 (95% CI: 0.089–0.662), p = 0.007. In the case of female research subjects, the ICC between pTLV and aTLV was 0.279 (95% CI: 0.001–0.523), p = 0.012. Further, the ICC value between AI-3D reconstruction and aTLV was 0.615 (95% CI: 0.561–0.870), p <0.001.Conclusion: The AI-3D reconstruction, as a convenient method, has significant potential for application in lung transplantation