Objective: To observe the activation effect of sulfasalazine on ferroptosis of breast cancer ZR-75-1 cells, and to explore its possible mechanism. Methods: The different concentrations of sulfasalazine (0, 1.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mmol/L) were used to treat ZR-75-1 cells. The morphological change of ZR-75-1 cells was observed under an inverted microscope. The proliferation inhibitory rate of ZR-75-1 cells was detected by CCK-8 method. The expression levels of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and cysteine-glutamate antiporter subunit (xCT) proteins in ZR-75-1 cells were detected by Western blotting. The fluorescent probe was used to label the ZR-75-1 cells treated with different concentrations of sulfasalazine, then the change of reactive oxygen specie (ROS) level (as indicated by fluorescence intensity) was detected by FCM method. The expression level of divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) mRNA was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. Results: Sulfasalazine caused the morphological changes and death of ZR-75-1 cells. The low doses of sulfasalazine had little effect on the proliferation of ZR-75-1 cells (P > 0.05), but the high concentrations of sulfasalazine inhibited cell proliferation significantly (P < 0.05). The high concentrations of sulfasalazine inhibited the expressions of GPX4 and xCT proteins in ZR-75-1 cells (both P < 0.05), and also promoted the accumulation of intracellular ROS (P < 0.05). Sulfasalazine increased the expression of DMT1 mRNA in ZR-75-1 cells (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Sulfasalazine can increase the accumulation of ROS by inhibiting the expressions of GPX4 and xCT proteins to induce the ferroptosis of ZR-75-1 cells. In which, the activation of DMT1 expression may be one of the mechanism.

Human with bi-allelic WNT10A mutations and epithelial Wnt10a knockout mice present enlarged pulp chamber and apical displacement of the root furcation of multi-rooted teeth,known as taurodontism;thus,indicating the critical role of Wnt10a in tooth root morphogenesis.However,the endogenous mechanism by which epithelial Wnt10a regulates Hertwig's epithelial root sheath(HERS)cellular behaviors and contributes to root furcation patterning remains unclear.In this study,we found that HERS in the presumptive root furcating region failed to elongate at an appropriate horizontal level in K14-Cre;Wnt10afl/flmice from post-natal day 0.5(PN0.5)to PN4.5.EdU assays and immunofluorescent staining of cyclin D1 revealed significantly decreased proliferation activity of inner enamel epithelial(IEE)cells of HERS in K14-Cre;Wnt10afl/flmice at PN2.5 and PN3.5.Immunofluorescent staining of E-Cadherin and acetyl-α-Tubulin demonstrated that the IEE cells of HERS tended to divide perpendicularly to the horizontal plane,which impaired the horizontal extension of HERS in the presumptive root furcating region of K14-Cre;Wnt10afl/flmice.RNA-seq and immunofluorescence showed that the expressions of Jag1 and Notch2 were downregulated in IEE cells of HERS in K14-Cre;Wnt10afl/fl mice.Furthermore,after activation of Notch signaling in K14-Cre;Wnt10afl/flmolars by Notch2 adenovirus and kidney capsule grafts,the root furcation defect was partially rescued.Taken together,our study demonstrates that an epithelial Wnt10a-Notch signaling axis is crucial for modulating HERS cell proper proliferation and horizontal-oriented division during tooth root furcation morphogenesis.

Purpose: Effective predictors of the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) are still insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of serum lipid profiles for the response to NAC in breast cancer patients. Methods: A total of 533 breast cancer patients who had received NAC were retrospectively studied. The pretreatment of serum lipids, including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and lipoprotein-α, and clinicopathological characteristics were collected to assess their predictive roles. Results: Breast cancer patients had significantly lower TC, TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels than normal individuals. Among these indicators, TG and LDL-C levels and HDL-C level increased and decreased significantly after NAC, respectively. In estrogen receptor (ER)-positive patients, increased LDL-C level was associated with better outcomes. Moreover, the receiver operating characteristic curve analyses suggested that TG and HDL-C levels at diagnosis can be used as predictors of the response to NAC only in the ER-positive subgroup.According to univariate analyses, patients with low TG level (< 1.155 mmol/L) or high HDL-C level (≥ 1.305 mmol/L) in the ER-positive subgroup had more favorable clinical responses than the other patients in the subgroup. Furthermore, according to multivariate analyses, a high HDL-C level (≥ 1.305 mmol/L, p = 0.007) was an independent predictor of NAC efficacy. Conclusion High HDL-C level (≥ 1.305 mmol/L) before NAC and increased LDL-C level after NAC were associated with the better treatment response in ER-positive breast cancer patients.These results are potentially considered beneficial in establishing treatment decisions.

Objective:To measure the crown conical degree of the remaining maxillary incisors in patients with congenital tooth agenesis, and to analyze the influence of different gene mutations on the crown conical degree of patients.Methods:Whole exome sequencing was performed on 85 patients with congenital tooth agenesis (50 males, 35 females, median age 19 years old) who visited the Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from January 2019 to January 2023. The pathogenic gene was identified. The width of the crowns of the maxillary central and lateral incisors at the incisal 1/3 and gingival 1/3 were measured on the panoramic radiograph, and the ratio was defined as the crown conical degree. The smaller the ratio is, the more likely is the crown to be peg shaped teeth. The control group was matched by age and gender with 85 other patients with intact maxillary permanent incisors who were treated in the Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from January 2019 to January 2023. The conical degree of the tooth agenesis group was compared with the control group by t-test, and the differences in the crown conical degree in different gene mutation groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance, and the multiple comparisons among gene groups were carried out using the LSD method.Results:Among the 85 tooth agenesis patients, the numbers of patients in each gene mutation group were 20 in ectodysplasin A (EDA) group, 8 in ectodysplasin A receptor (EDAR) group, 15 in wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 10A (WNT10A) group, 16 in paired box 9 (PAX9) group, 10 in Msh homeobox 1 (MSX1) group, 10 in low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein 6 (LRP6) group, and 6 in bone morphogenetic protein4 (BMP4) group. The number of missing teeth were 1-27, median number 15 among the tooth agenesis patients. There was no significant difference in the conical degree between the left and right homonymous teeth in the congenital tooth agenesis group and the control group ( P>0.05). The crown conical degree of maxillary central incisor and lateral incisor in the congenital missing teeth group (0.95±0.24, 0.90±0.22) was significantly smaller than that in the control group (1.12±0.09, 1.13±0.09) ( t=-8.50, P<0.001; t=-11.47, P<0.001). In WNT10A mutants, the conical degree of lateral incisors (0.89±0.18) was less than that of central incisors (1.07±0.15)( t=3.68, P<0.001). The conical degree of central incisors and lateral incisors (0.70±0.23, 0.57±0.15) of EDA mutants was significantly lower than that in patients with other gene mutations ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Compared with the normal control group, the remaining maxillary central and lateral incisors of the seven gene mutation groups of patients with congenital tooth agenesis all had different degrees of conical crown. Among them, the crown conical degree of maxillary central and lateral incisors of the EDA mutation was the most severe, and the WNT10A mutation affected the maxillary lateral incisors more specifically.

The goal of this study was to identify MSX1 gene variants in multiple Chinese families with nonsyndromic oligodontia and analyse the functional influence of these variants. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) and Sanger sequencing were performed to identify the causal gene variants in five families with nonsyndromic oligodontia, and a series of bioinformatics databases were used for variant confirmation and functional prediction. Phenotypic characterization of the members of these families was described, and an in vitro analysis was performed for functional evaluation. Five novel MSX1 heterozygous variants were identified: three missense variants [c.662A>C (p.Q221P), c.670C>T (p.R224C), and c.809C>T (p.S270L)], one nonsense variant [c.364G>T (p.G122*)], and one frameshift variant [c.277delG (p.A93Rfs*67)]. Preliminary in vitro studies demonstrated that the subcellular localization of MSX1 was abnormal with the p.Q221P, p.R224C, p.G122*, and p.A93Rfs*67 variants compared to the wild type. Three variants (p.Q221P, p.G122*, and p.A93Rfs*67) were classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic, while p.S270L and p.R224C were of uncertain significance in the current data. Moreover, we summarized and analysed the MSX1-related tooth agenesis positions and found that the type and variant locus were not related to the severity of tooth loss. Our results expand the variant spectrum of nonsyndromic oligodontia and provide valuable information for genetic counselling.
Anodontia/genetics* ; Humans ; MSX1 Transcription Factor/genetics* ; Pedigree ; Whole Exome Sequencing