1.Assessment of baseline CCL19+dendritic cell infiltration for predicting responses to immunotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma patients
Mingyang ZHU ; Bokang WANG ; Xiusen ZHANG ; Kexu ZHOU ; Zeyu MIAO ; Jiangtao SUN
Journal of Southern Medical University 2024;44(8):1529-1536
Objective To explore the correlation of baseline CCL19+dendritic cell(CCL19+DC)infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma microenvironment with immunotherapy efficacy and CD8+T cell infiltration.Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with lung adenocarcinoma hospitalized at First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology from January,2020 to December,2023,and collected tissue samples from 96 patients undergoing immunotherapy for assessing CCL19+DC and CD8+T cell infiltration using immunofluorescence assay.We evaluated the predictive value of baseline CCL19+DCs for patient responses to immunotherapy using receiver-operating characteristics(ROC)curves and analyzed the correlations of baseline CCL19+DC expression with immunotherapy efficacy and CD8+T cell and cytotoxic T lymphocyte(CTL)infiltrations.In co-culture systems of lung adenocarcinoma PC9 cells,CD8+T cells and DCs(overexpressing CCL19 with or without anti PD-1 antibody treatment),the expressions of granzyme B,perforin,IFN-γ,and Ki-67 in T cells were analyzed using flow cytometry.Results The patients with partial or complete remission following immunotherapy had a significantly higher baseline CCL19+DC infiltration level in lung adenocarcinoma tissues than those with poor responses.CCL19+DC infiltration had an area under ROC curve of 0.785,a sensitivity of 75.6%,and a specificity of 62.8%for predicting immunotherapy efficacy.The expression of CD8+T cell surface molecules Granzyme B(P<0.01),Perforin(P<0.01),IFN-γ(P<0.01)and Ki-67(P<0.001)in patients with high expression of CCL19+DC were higher than those in patients with low expression of CCL19+DC.The baseline CCL19+DC infiltration level was positively correlated with immunotherapy efficacy(P=0.003),CTL infiltration of(r=0.6657,P<0.001)and CD8+T cell infiltration(P=0.007).In the co-cultured cells,CCL19 overexpression combined with anti-PD1 treatment of the DCs more strongly enhanced cytotoxicity and proliferation of CD8+T lymphocytes than either of the single treatments(P<0.01 or 0.001).Conclusion The baseline CCL19+DC infiltration level in lung adenocarcinoma microenvironment is positively correlated with immunotherapy efficacy and CTL infiltration and can thus predict the response to immunotherapy.
2.Assessment of baseline CCL19+dendritic cell infiltration for predicting responses to immunotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma patients
Mingyang ZHU ; Bokang WANG ; Xiusen ZHANG ; Kexu ZHOU ; Zeyu MIAO ; Jiangtao SUN
Journal of Southern Medical University 2024;44(8):1529-1536
Objective To explore the correlation of baseline CCL19+dendritic cell(CCL19+DC)infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma microenvironment with immunotherapy efficacy and CD8+T cell infiltration.Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with lung adenocarcinoma hospitalized at First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology from January,2020 to December,2023,and collected tissue samples from 96 patients undergoing immunotherapy for assessing CCL19+DC and CD8+T cell infiltration using immunofluorescence assay.We evaluated the predictive value of baseline CCL19+DCs for patient responses to immunotherapy using receiver-operating characteristics(ROC)curves and analyzed the correlations of baseline CCL19+DC expression with immunotherapy efficacy and CD8+T cell and cytotoxic T lymphocyte(CTL)infiltrations.In co-culture systems of lung adenocarcinoma PC9 cells,CD8+T cells and DCs(overexpressing CCL19 with or without anti PD-1 antibody treatment),the expressions of granzyme B,perforin,IFN-γ,and Ki-67 in T cells were analyzed using flow cytometry.Results The patients with partial or complete remission following immunotherapy had a significantly higher baseline CCL19+DC infiltration level in lung adenocarcinoma tissues than those with poor responses.CCL19+DC infiltration had an area under ROC curve of 0.785,a sensitivity of 75.6%,and a specificity of 62.8%for predicting immunotherapy efficacy.The expression of CD8+T cell surface molecules Granzyme B(P<0.01),Perforin(P<0.01),IFN-γ(P<0.01)and Ki-67(P<0.001)in patients with high expression of CCL19+DC were higher than those in patients with low expression of CCL19+DC.The baseline CCL19+DC infiltration level was positively correlated with immunotherapy efficacy(P=0.003),CTL infiltration of(r=0.6657,P<0.001)and CD8+T cell infiltration(P=0.007).In the co-cultured cells,CCL19 overexpression combined with anti-PD1 treatment of the DCs more strongly enhanced cytotoxicity and proliferation of CD8+T lymphocytes than either of the single treatments(P<0.01 or 0.001).Conclusion The baseline CCL19+DC infiltration level in lung adenocarcinoma microenvironment is positively correlated with immunotherapy efficacy and CTL infiltration and can thus predict the response to immunotherapy.
3.Combining intraoperative ultrasound-guided irreversible electroporation with chemotherapy for treating locally advanced pancreatic cancer: a clinical report of 64 cases
Shengping LI ; Chaobin HE ; Jun WANG ; Yize MAO ; Xiangming LAO ; Bokang CUI ; Xiaojun LIN
Chinese Journal of Surgery 2020;58(10):787-792
Objective:To examine the safety and clinical efficacy of ultrasound-guided irreversible electroporation (IRE) using the open surgery approach, after induction chemotherapy, in the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) .Methods:The data of 64 LAPC patients who underwent ultrasound-guided IRE using the open surgery approach after induction chemotherapy at Department of Pancreatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from August 2015 to March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The study comprised of 30 males and 34 females, with median age of 58.5 years old (range: 34 to 87 years old) , were included in this study.The tumor was located in the pancreatic head and body/tail in 30 and 34 patients, respectively.The largest recorded tumor size was 6.1 cm (≤4.0 cm: n=35; >4.0 cm: n=29) .To create an electric field around the tumor, Two to six probes were parallelly inserted into each patient′s tumor, based on the size of the tumor, at a distance of 2 cm apart through the transverse mesocolon in a caudal-to-cranial direction.According to the numerical sequence of patients undergoing ultrasound-guided IRE, the first 15 cases and following 49 patients were categorized as the primary and secondary treatment group, respectively.T text or χ 2 test was analyzed to the data between two groups.The study endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) , which were investigated using Kaplan-Meier method, and their differences were compared using log-rank test. Results:The overall length of hospital stay was (8.9±2.7) days (range: 5 to 20 days) . Four patients were lost to follow-up.The study follow-up rate was 93.8%, with a median follow-up time of 29.3 months (range: 13.5 to 55.7 months) .The median OS and PFS of the entire cohort was 24.6 months (95 % CI: 22.0 to 27.3 months) and 12.0 months (95 %CI: 8.8 to 15.2 months) , respectively.One month after IRE, abdominal pain was significantly relieved in 95.3% of the patients ( t=-28.55, P<0.01) .The rate of complications in the entire cohort was 20.3% and all were classified as grade B.Of them, pancreatic fistula, incisional infection, and upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage were observed in 7, 4, and 2 cases, respectively.The rate of complications for patients in the primary and secondary treatment groups were significantly different (10/15 vs. 6.1%) , respectively (χ 2=26.01, P<0.01) .Further, two deaths were observed after IRE in the primary treatment group, while none was observed in the secondary treatment group. Conclusions:Ultrasound-guided IRE using the open surgery approach after induction chemotherapy is found to be safe and effective in treating patients with LAPC.However, these findings should be validated in prospective randomized trials before wide clinical application.
4.Combining intraoperative ultrasound-guided irreversible electroporation with chemotherapy for treating locally advanced pancreatic cancer: a clinical report of 64 cases
Shengping LI ; Chaobin HE ; Jun WANG ; Yize MAO ; Xiangming LAO ; Bokang CUI ; Xiaojun LIN
Chinese Journal of Surgery 2020;58(10):787-792
Objective:To examine the safety and clinical efficacy of ultrasound-guided irreversible electroporation (IRE) using the open surgery approach, after induction chemotherapy, in the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) .Methods:The data of 64 LAPC patients who underwent ultrasound-guided IRE using the open surgery approach after induction chemotherapy at Department of Pancreatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from August 2015 to March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The study comprised of 30 males and 34 females, with median age of 58.5 years old (range: 34 to 87 years old) , were included in this study.The tumor was located in the pancreatic head and body/tail in 30 and 34 patients, respectively.The largest recorded tumor size was 6.1 cm (≤4.0 cm: n=35; >4.0 cm: n=29) .To create an electric field around the tumor, Two to six probes were parallelly inserted into each patient′s tumor, based on the size of the tumor, at a distance of 2 cm apart through the transverse mesocolon in a caudal-to-cranial direction.According to the numerical sequence of patients undergoing ultrasound-guided IRE, the first 15 cases and following 49 patients were categorized as the primary and secondary treatment group, respectively.T text or χ 2 test was analyzed to the data between two groups.The study endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) , which were investigated using Kaplan-Meier method, and their differences were compared using log-rank test. Results:The overall length of hospital stay was (8.9±2.7) days (range: 5 to 20 days) . Four patients were lost to follow-up.The study follow-up rate was 93.8%, with a median follow-up time of 29.3 months (range: 13.5 to 55.7 months) .The median OS and PFS of the entire cohort was 24.6 months (95 % CI: 22.0 to 27.3 months) and 12.0 months (95 %CI: 8.8 to 15.2 months) , respectively.One month after IRE, abdominal pain was significantly relieved in 95.3% of the patients ( t=-28.55, P<0.01) .The rate of complications in the entire cohort was 20.3% and all were classified as grade B.Of them, pancreatic fistula, incisional infection, and upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage were observed in 7, 4, and 2 cases, respectively.The rate of complications for patients in the primary and secondary treatment groups were significantly different (10/15 vs. 6.1%) , respectively (χ 2=26.01, P<0.01) .Further, two deaths were observed after IRE in the primary treatment group, while none was observed in the secondary treatment group. Conclusions:Ultrasound-guided IRE using the open surgery approach after induction chemotherapy is found to be safe and effective in treating patients with LAPC.However, these findings should be validated in prospective randomized trials before wide clinical application.
5.Mechanism of programmed cell death in follicular atresia.
Xin WANG ; Yi-Long JIANG ; Ze-Long WANG ; Bo KANG
Acta Physiologica Sinica 2023;75(1):82-90
Apoptosis and autophagy of follicular granulosa cells play an important regulatory role in the process of ovarian follicular atresia in animals. Recent studies have shown that ferroptosis and pyroptosis are also involved in the process of ovarian follicular atresia. Ferroptosis is a form of cell death caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Studies have confirmed that autophagy- and apoptosis-mediated follicular atresia also have typical characteristics of ferroptosis. Pyroptosis is a pro-inflammatory cell death dependent on Gasdermin protein, which can regulate ovarian reproductive performance by regulating follicular granulosa cells. This article reviews the roles and mechanisms of several types of programmed cell death independently or interactively regulating follicular atresia, in order to expand the theoretical research on follicular atresia mechanism and provide the theoretical reference for the mechanism of programmed cell death-induced follicular atresia.
Female
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Animals
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Follicular Atresia
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Apoptosis
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Cell Death
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Ferroptosis
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Pyroptosis
6.Inhibiting NBR1 expression using the AAV6-CRISPR-Cas9 system affects tumor immune regulation in lung cancer mice
Bokang Wang ; Mingyang Zhu ; Xiusen Zhang ; Jiangtao Sun
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2024;59(12):2103-2111
Objective:
To establish aNBR1-knockout lung cancer mouse model through CRISPR-Cas9 technology by using adeno-associated virus(AAV) as a vector to specifically inhibitNBR1expression and to investigate the impact ofNBR1knockout on tumor growth and immune cell infiltration and regulation.
Methods:
sgRNAs targeting mouseNBR1(Gene ID: 17966) was designed using the online tool CRISPOR(http://crispor.tefor.net/crispor.py). AAV6 was utilized as the vector for sgRNA delivery, and the efficiency of gene knockout was confirmed using PCR and DNA sequencing methods. To determine the best AAV infection approach in mice, 6 C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into intranasal and endotracheal groups. After 28 days, lung tissue sections were assessed for enhanced green fluorescent protein expression to identify the more efficient infection method for subsequent experiments. Lung tumor growth, as well as immune cell infiltration and activation status in tumor tissues, were detected using methods including HE staining, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry.
Results:
DNA sequencing and immunofluorescence results indicated successful construction of the AAV6-U6-sgNBR1-CAG-Cre-GFP vector with stable knockout efficiency. Fluorescence microscopy showed higher efficiency of lung infection in mice through intratracheal administration(P<0.05). HE staining revealed reduced tumor area in mouse lungs after targetedNBR1knockout compared to the control group(P<0.01). Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry results demonstrated enhanced functional activity of CD8+T lymphocytes in lung cancer tissues of mice with targetedNBR1knockout, characterized by increased effector T lymphocytes and decreased exhausted T lymphocytes(P<0.01).
Conclusion
Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we construct a lung cancer mouse model with targetedNBR1knockout. We verify that targeted inhibition of NBR1 expression significantly enhances the functional activity of CD8+T lymphocytes in lung tissues, resulting in suppressed tumor growth, reduced tumor burden, and extended survival in lung cancer mice. This study lays an experimental foundation for investigations into the mechanisms and functions ofNBR1and other genes in lung adenocarcinoma cells.
7.Application of partial least squares algorithm to explore bioactive components of crude and stir-baked hawthorn for invigorating spleen and promoting digestion.
Fei SUN ; Xiang-Qin WU ; Yue QI ; Xing-Yu CHEN ; Yu-Hua CAO ; Jian-Gang WANG ; Shu-Mei WANG ; Sheng-Wang LIANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2023;48(4):958-965
This study was aimed at identifying the bioactive components of the crude and stir-baked hawthorn for invigorating spleen and promoting digestion, respectively, to clarify the processing mechanism of hawthorn by applying the partial least squares(PLS) algorithm to build the spectrum-effect relationship model. Firstly, different polar fractions of crude and stir-baked hawthorn aqueous extracts and combinations of different fractions were prepared, respectively. Then, the contents of 24 chemical components were determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The effects of different polar fractions of crude hawthorn and stir-baked hawthorn aqueous extracts and combinations of different fractions were evaluated by measuring the gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate. Finally, the PLS algorithm was used to establish the spectrum-effect relationship model. The results showed that there were significant differences in the contents of 24 chemical components for different polar fractions of crude and stir-baked hawthorn aqueous extracts and combinations of different fractions, and the gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate of model rats were improved by administration of different polar fractions of crude and stir-baked hawthorn aqueous extracts and combinations of different fractions. The bioactive components of crude hawthorn identified by PLS models were vitexin-4″-O-glucoside, vitexin-2″-O-rhamnoside, neochlorogenic acid, rutin, gallic acid, vanillic acid, citric acid, malic acid, quinic acid and fumaric acid, while neochlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, rutin, gallic acid, vanillic acid, citric acid, quinic acid and fumaric acid were the bioactive components of stir-baked hawthorn. This study provided data support and scientific basis for identifying the bioactive components of crude and stir-baked hawthorn, and clarifying the processing mechanism of hawthorn.
Animals
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Rats
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Spleen
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Crataegus
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Quinic Acid
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Least-Squares Analysis
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Vanillic Acid
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Algorithms
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Digestion