Objective To investigate the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α)and its relationship with infiltrating lymphocytes in lichen planus(LP).Methods Tissue specimens were obtained from the lesions of 60 patients with LP and normal skin of 20 human controls.Immunohistochemical SP method was used to detect the expression of TNF-α,and infiltrating lymphocytes were counted in TNF-α-positive tissue sections.Results TNF-α was expressed in 72％ of the LP specimens but in none of the control specimens(P ＜ 0.01).Positive staining for TNF-α was mainly located in the membrane of prickle cells,cytoplasm or membrane of dermal infiltrating lymphocytes.The expression of TNF-α in LP was uncorrelated with age,sex or disease course(all P ＞ 0.05),but was positively correlated with infiltrating lymphocyte number (rs =0.47,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion TNF-α seems to play a certain role in the pathogenesis of LP.

Significantly increasing crop yield is a major and worldwide challenge for food supply and security. It is well-known that rice cultivated at Taoyuan in Yunnan of China can produce the highest yield worldwide. Yet, the gene regulatory mechanism underpinning this ultrahigh yield has been a mystery. Here, we systematically collected the transcriptome data for seven key tissues at different developmental stages using rice cultivated both at Taoyuan as the case group and at another regular rice planting place Jinghong as the control group. We identified the top 24 candi-date high-yield genes with their network modules from these well-designed datasets by developing a novel computational systems biology method, i.e., dynamic cross-tissue (DCT) network analysis. We used one of the candidate genes, OsSPL4, whose function was previously unknown, for gene editing experimental validation of the high yield, and confirmed that OsSPL4 significantly affects panicle branching and increases the rice yield. This study, which included extensive field phenotyping, cross-tissue systems biology analyses, and functional validation, uncovered the key genes and gene regulatory networks underpinning the ultrahigh yield of rice. The DCT method could be applied to other plant or animal systems if different phenotypes under various environments with the common genome sequences of the examined sample. DCT can be downloaded from https://github.com/zt-pub/DCT.

Abstract Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant gastrointestinal cancer with a poor prognosis, and early diagnosis remains challenging. The use of reliable biomarkers can significantly enhance the early evaluation and management of this disease. Circulating tumor cells(CTCs) are released into the bloodstream and can be obtained easily through minimally invasive liquid-based biopsy, making them promising candidates for early tumor diagnosis, prognosis assessment, and monitoring therapeutic responses. This paper reviews the advancements in CTCs detection technology and their clinical applications in pancreatic cancer over the past decade, both domestically and internationally, which offer a new perspective on the early diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer.

Background::Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the main types of malignant tumor of the digestive system, and patient prognosis is affected by difficulties in early diagnosis, poor treatment response, and a high postoperative recurrence rate. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) has been widely used as a biomarker for the diagnosis and postoperative follow-up of PDAC patients. Nevertheless, the production mechanism and potential role of CA19-9 in PDAC progression have not yet been elucidated.Methods::We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on six samples pathologically diagnosed as PDAC (three CA19-9-positive and three CA19-9-negative PDAC samples) and two paracarcinoma samples. We also downloaded and integrated PDAC samples (each from three CA19-9-positive and CA19-9-negative patients) from an online database. The dynamics of the proportion and potential function of each cell type were verified through immunofluorescence. Moreover, we built an in vitro coculture cellular model to confirm the potential function of CA19-9. Results::Three subtypes of cancer cells with a high ability to produce CA19-9 were identified by the markers TOP2A, AQP5, and MUC5AC. CA19-9 production bypass was discovered on antigen-presenting cancer-associated fibroblasts (apCAFs). Importantly, the proportion of immature ficolin-1 positive (FCN1+) macrophages was high in the CA19-9-negative group, and the proportion of mature M2-like macrophages was high in the CA19-9-positive group. High proportions of these two macrophage subtypes were associated with an unfavourable clinical prognosis. Further experiments indicated that CA19-9 could facilitate the transformation of M0 macrophages into M2 macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. Conclusions::Our study described CA19-9 production at single-cell resolution and the dynamics of the immune atlas in CA19-9-positive and CA19-9-negative PDAC. CA19-9 could promote M2 polarization of macrophage in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment.