Sodium p-Toluenesulfinate Enhances the Bonding Durability of Universal Adhesives on Deproteinized Eroded Dentin

The effects of deproteinization using sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and the subsequent application of an antioxidant (sodium p-toluenesulfinate, STS) onto the bonding durability of universal adhesives on eroded dentin were investigated. Untreated sound dentin served as the control, whereas eroded dentin, which had been prepared by pH-cycling in 1% citric acid and a remineralization solution, was either untreated, deproteinized with a 10% NaOCl gel or deproteinized with the 10% NaOCl gel and subsequently treated with an STS-containing agent. The dentin surfaces were bonded using a universal adhesive (Clearfil Universal Bond Quick, Scotchbond Universal or G-Premio Bond), and the micro-tensile bond strength (µTBS) test was performed after 24 h or 10,000 thermal cycles. The µTBS data were statistically analyzed using a three-way ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD post hoc tests. The lowest µTBS was measured on untreated eroded dentin (p 0.05), but the highest µTBS was obtained if deproteinization was followed by the application of STS. Thermocycling significantly decreased µTBS in all groups (p 0.05). This indicated that deproteinization, followed by the application of STS, could enhance the bonding durability of universal adhesives on eroded dentin

Carbon-Ion Beam Irradiation Kills X-Ray-Resistant p53-Null Cancer Cells by Inducing Mitotic Catastrophe

Background and Purpose: To understand the mechanisms involved in the strong killing effect of carbon-ion beam irradiation on cancer cells with TP53 tumor suppressor gene deficiencies.Copyright:Materials and Methods: DNA damage responses after carbon-ion beam or X-ray irradiation in isogenic HCT116 colorectal cancer cell lines with and without TP53 (p53+/ + and p53-/-, respectively) were analyzed as follows: cell survival by clonogenic assay, cell death modes by morphologic observation of DAPI-stained nuclei, DNA doublestrand breaks (DSBs) by immunostaining of phosphorylated H2AX (γH2AX), and cell cycle by flow cytometry and immunostaining of Ser10-phosphorylated histone H3.Results: The p53-/- cells were more resistant than the p53+/+ cells to X-ray irradiation, while the sensitivities of the p53+/+ and p53-/- cells to carbon-ion beam irradiation were comparable. X-ray and carbon-ion beam irradiations predominantly induced apoptosis of the p53+/+ cells but not the p53-/- cells. In the p53-/- cells, carbon-ion beam irradiation, but not X-ray irradiation, markedly induced mitotic catastrophe that was associated with premature mitotic entry with harboring longretained DSBs at 24 h post-irradiation.Conclusions: Efficient induction of mitotic catastrophe in apoptosis-resistant p53- deficient cells implies a strong cancer cell-killing effect of carbon-ion beam irradiation that is independent of the p53 status, suggesting its biological advantage over X-ray treatment

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Nutritional signaling via free fatty acid receptors

Excess energy is stored primarily as triglycerides, which are mobilized when demand for energy arises. Dysfunction of energy balance by excess food intake leads to metabolic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. Free fatty acids (FFAs) provided by dietary fat are not only important nutrients, but also contribute key physiological functions via FFA receptor (FFAR)-mediated signaling molecules, which depend on FFAs’ carbon chain length and the ligand specificity of the receptors. Functional analyses have revealed that FFARs are critical for metabolic functions, such as peptide hormone secretion and inflammation, and contribute to energy homeostasis. In particular, recent studies have shown that the administration of selective agonists of G protein-coupled receptor (GPR) 40 and GPR120 improved glucose metabolism and systemic metabolic disorders. Furthermore, the anti-inflammation and energy metabolism effects of short chain FAs have been linked to the activation of GPR41 and GPR43. In this review, we summarize recent progress in research on FFAs and their physiological roles in the regulation of energy metabolism

Anti PD-1 treatment increases [F-18]FDG uptake by cancer cells in a mouse B16F10 melanoma model

Background: Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitors act as immune checkpoint inhibitors and are more effective for improving survival time with less toxicity as compared with conventional chemotherapies. In anti PD-1 therapy, it is important to evaluate metabolism in the cancer microenvironment, as this helps to clarify the pathological conditions. Herein, we investigate the early effects of PD-1 therapy on 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-D-glucose ([F-18]FDG) uptake in vivo, focusing on cell distribution and glycolysis in both cancer and immune cells. Results: In a B16F10 melanoma model, [F-18]FDG-positron emission tomography (PET) was performed before treatment and 7 days after the start of treatment. Values were calculated as the percentage-injected activity per gram of tissue (%IA/g). Flow-cytometry was then performed to assess immune cell populations and glucose metabolism. There was a negligible difference in [18F]FDG uptake between tumors in the treatment group and non-treatment group before the treatment. In contrast, mean [F-18]FDG uptake in the treatment group tumors was significantly higher (8.06 +/- 0.48 %IA/g; P= 0.0074) than that in the non-treatment group (4.02 +/- 1.03 %IA/g) after anti PD-1 treatment. Assessment of tumor immune cell populations showed that treatment slightly enriched CD8(+) T cells and CD4(+) T cells; however, infiltration of immune cells was negligible, and thus, immune cells were not responsible for the increase in [F-18]FDG uptake. On the other hand, anti PD-1 treatment significantly increased glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and hexokinase II expression in CD45(-) cancer cells, indicating that anti PD-1 treatment increased glucose metabolism in cancer cells. Conclusion: The present study shows that anti PD-1 therapy increases glucose metabolism in cancer cells