Tailored design of NKT-stimulatory glycolipids for polarization of immune responses.

Natural killer T (NKT) cell is a distinct population of T lymphocytes that can rapidly release massive amount of Th1 and Th2 cytokines upon the engagement of their T cell receptor with glycolipids presented by CD1d. The secreted cytokines can promote cell-mediated immunity to kill tumor cells and intracellular pathogens, or suppress autoreactive immune cells in autoimmune diseases. Thus, NKT cell is an attractive target for developing new therapeutics to manipulate immune system. The best-known glycolipid to activate NKT cells is α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), which has been used as a prototype for designing new NKT stimulatory glycolipids. Many analogues have been generated by modification of the galactosyl moiety, the acyl chain or the phytosphingosine chain of α-GalCer. Some of the analogues showed greater abilities than α-GalCer in polarizing immune responses toward Th1 or Th2 dominance. Among them, several analogues containing phenyl groups in the lipid tails were more potent in inducing Th1-skewed cytokines and exhibited greater anticancer efficacy than α-GalCer. Analyses of the correlation between structure and activity of various α-GalCer analogues on the activation of iNKT cell revealed that CD1d-glycolipid complexes interacted with the same population of iNKT cell expressing similar T-cell receptor Vβ as α-GalCer. On the other hand, those phenyl glycolipids with propensity for Th1 dominant responses showed greater binding avidity and stability than α-GalCer for iNKT T-cell receptor when complexed with CD1d. Thus, it is the avidity and stability of the ternary complexes of CD1d-glycolipid-iNKT TCR that dictate the polarity and potency of immune responses. These findings provide a key to the rationale design of immune modulating glycolipids with desirable Th1/Th2 polarity for clinical application. In addition, elucidation of α-GalCer-induced anergy, liver damage and accumulation of myeloid derived suppressor cells has offered explanation for its lacklustre anti-cancer activities in clinical trials. On other hand, the lack of such drawbacks in glycolipid analogues containing phenyl groups in the lipid tails of α-GalCer coupled with the greater binding avidity and stability of CD1d-glycolipid complex for iNKT T-cell receptor, account for their superior anti-cancer efficacy in tumor bearing mice. Further clinical development of these phenyl glycolipids is warranted

Biological effects of cigarette smoke in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

The goal of the present study was to determine whether treatment with cigarette smoke extract (CSE) induces cell loss, cellular senescence, and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis in primary human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Primary cultured human RPE cells were exposed to 2, 4, 8, and 12% of CSE concentration for 24 hours. Cell loss was detected by cell viability assay. Lipid peroxidation was assessed by loss of cis-parinaric acid (PNA) fluorescence. Senescence-associated ß-galactosidase (SA-ß-Gal) activity was detected by histochemical staining. Expression of apolipoprotein J (Apo J), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), fibronectin, and laminin were examined by real-time PCR, western blot, or ELISA experiments. The results showed that exposure of cells to 12% of CSE concentration induced cell death, while treatment of cells with 2, 4, and 8% CSE increased lipid peroxidation. Exposure to 8% of CSE markedly increased the number of SA-ß-Gal positive cells to up to 82%, and the mRNA expression of Apo J, CTGF, and fibronectin by approximately 3-4 fold. Treatment with 8% of CSE also increased the protein expression of Apo J and CTGF and the secretion of fibronectin and laminin. Thus, treatment with CSE can induce cell loss, senescent changes, and ECM synthesis in primary human RPE cells. It may be speculated that cigarette smoke could be involved in cellular events in RPE cells as seen in age-related macular degeneration

Assessing the adherence behavior of glaucoma patients to topical eye drops

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine the adherence of glaucoma patients to their topical glaucoma medication. Furthermore, the relationships between the adherence behavior and the patients' demographic data, clinical characteristics, and their knowledge about glaucoma were evaluated. Methods: This was a prospective study of 123 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who were given two standardized questionnaires. The first questionnaire at time point T1 comprised a knowledge assessment and the self-reported adherence measures Adherence to Refills and Medication Scale 2 (ARMS2),visual analogue scale for adherence (VAS-AD),and missed doses in the past 14 days. Two months later at time point T2, a second questionnaire reevaluated the adherence measures ARMS2, VAS-AD, and missed doses in the past 14 days. Results: There was a good correlation among all the three adherence measures at T1 and T2. The mean values of ARMS2 were in the lower range, with 3.38 at T1 and 2.8 at T2. The VAS-AD detected that 18.5% of patients always took their eye drops correctly, and 77.9% of patients reported not to have missed a single dose in the past 14 days. There was no significant correlation between the patients' demographic data or knowledge about glaucoma and the adherence measures ARMS2 or VAS-AD. Among the clinical characteristics, only single-eye blindness showed a significant correlation with VAS-AD. Conclusion: In this study, no general relationships were found between medication adherence and the patients' demographic data, clinical characteristics, or knowledge about glaucoma. It may be assumed that more individualized strategies are required to optimize adherence behavior

T Oligo-Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (TOP-PCR): A Robust Method for the Amplification of Minute DNA Fragments in Body Fluids.

Body fluid DNA sequencing is a powerful noninvasive approach for the diagnosis of genetic defects, infectious agents and diseases. The success relies on the quantity and quality of the DNA samples. However, numerous clinical samples are either at low quantity or of poor quality due to various reasons. To overcome these problems, we have developed T oligo-primed polymerase chain reaction (TOP-PCR) for full-length nonselective amplification of minute quantity of DNA fragments. TOP-PCR adopts homogeneous "half adaptor" (HA), generated by annealing P oligo (carrying a phosphate group at the 5' end) and T oligo (carrying a T-tail at the 3' end), for efficient ligation to target DNA and subsequent PCR amplification primed by the T oligo alone. Using DNA samples from body fluids, we demonstrate that TOP-PCR recovers minute DNA fragments and maintains the DNA size profile, while enhancing the major molecular populations. Our results also showed that TOP-PCR is a superior method for detecting apoptosis and outperforms the method adopted by Illumina for DNA amplification

Assessing the adherence behavior of glaucoma patients to topical eye drops

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine the adherence of glaucoma patients to their topical glaucoma medication. Furthermore, the relationships between the adherence behavior and the patients' demographic data, clinical characteristics, and their knowledge about glaucoma were evaluated. Methods: This was a prospective study of 123 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who were given two standardized questionnaires. The first questionnaire at time point T1 comprised a knowledge assessment and the self-reported adherence measures Adherence to Refills and Medication Scale 2 (ARMS2),visual analogue scale for adherence (VAS-AD),and missed doses in the past 14 days. Two months later at time point T2, a second questionnaire reevaluated the adherence measures ARMS2, VAS-AD, and missed doses in the past 14 days. Results: There was a good correlation among all the three adherence measures at T1 and T2. The mean values of ARMS2 were in the lower range, with 3.38 at T1 and 2.8 at T2. The VAS-AD detected that 18.5% of patients always took their eye drops correctly, and 77.9% of patients reported not to have missed a single dose in the past 14 days. There was no significant correlation between the patients' demographic data or knowledge about glaucoma and the adherence measures ARMS2 or VAS-AD. Among the clinical characteristics, only single-eye blindness showed a significant correlation with VAS-AD. Conclusion: In this study, no general relationships were found between medication adherence and the patients' demographic data, clinical characteristics, or knowledge about glaucoma. It may be assumed that more individualized strategies are required to optimize adherence behavior

FAM129B, an antioxidative protein, reduces chemosensitivity by competing with Nrf2 for Keap1 binding.

BackgroundThe transcription factor Nrf2 is a master regulator of antioxidant response. While Nrf2 activation may counter increasing oxidative stress in aging, its activation in cancer can promote cancer progression and metastasis, and confer resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Thus, Nrf2 has been considered as a key pharmacological target. Unfortunately, there are no specific Nrf2 inhibitors for therapeutic application. Moreover, high Nrf2 activity in many tumors without Keap1 or Nrf2 mutations suggests that alternative mechanisms of Nrf2 regulation exist.MethodsInteraction of FAM129B with Keap1 is demonstrated by immunofluorescence, colocalization, co-immunoprecipitation and mammalian two-hybrid assay. Antioxidative function of FAM129B is analyzed by measuring ROS levels with DCF/flow cytometry, Nrf2 activation using luciferase reporter assay and determination of downstream gene expression by qPCR and wester blotting. Impact of FAM129B on in vivo chemosensitivity is examined in mice bearing breast and colon cancer xenografts. The clinical relevance of FAM129B is assessed by qPCR in breast cancer samples and data mining of publicly available databases.FindingsWe have demonstrated that FAM129B in cancer promotes Nrf2 activity by reducing its ubiquitination through competition with Nrf2 for Keap1 binding via its DLG and ETGE motifs. In addition, FAM129B reduces chemosensitivity by augmenting Nrf2 antioxidative signaling and confers poor prognosis in breast and lung cancer.InterpretationThese findings demonstrate the important role of FAM129B in Nrf2 activation and antioxidative response, and identify FMA129B as a potential therapeutic target. FUND: The Chang Gung Medical Foundation (Taiwan) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan)

Monoclonal antibodies targeting the synthetic peptide corresponding to the polybasic cleavage site on H5N1 influenza hemagglutinin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Avian influenza H5N1 virus is highly pathogenic partially because its H5 hemagglutinin contains a polybasic cleavage site that can be processed by proteases in multiple organs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) specific to the synthetic peptide of hemagglutinin polybasic cleavage site of H5N1 virus were raised and tested for their neutralizing potential.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Purified mAb showed suppression of H5N1 pseudovirus infection on Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells but the efficacy was less than 50%. Since those mAb are specific to the intact uncut polybasic cleavage site of hemagglutinin, their efficacy depends on the extent of hemagglutinin cleavage on the viral surface.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Proteolytic analysis suggests the low efficacy associated with those mAb may be due to proteolytic cleavage already present on the majority of hemagglutinin prior to the infection of virus.</p

GPER-induced signaling is essential for the survival of breast cancer stem cells.

G protein-coupled estrogen receptor-1 (GPER), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, mediates estrogen-induced proliferation of normal and malignant breast epithelial cells. However, its role in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) remains unclear. Here we showed greater expression of GPER in BCSCs than non-BCSCs of three patient-derived xenografts of ER- /PR+ breast cancers. GPER silencing reduced stemness features of BCSCs as reflected by reduced mammosphere forming capacity in vitro, and tumor growth in vivo with decreased BCSC populations. Comparative phosphoproteomics revealed greater GPER-mediated PKA/BAD signaling in BCSCs. Activation of GPER by its ligands, including tamoxifen (TMX), induced phosphorylation of PKA and BAD-Ser118 to sustain BCSC characteristics. Transfection with a dominant-negative mutant BAD (Ser118Ala) led to reduced cell survival. Taken together, GPER and its downstream signaling play a key role in maintaining the stemness of BCSCs, suggesting that GPER is a potential therapeutic target for eradicating BCSCs