Thymocyte selection-associated HMG box(TOX)is a DNA-binding transcription factor that involved in the deve-lopment of immune cells.Several studies have shown that TOX is a critical regulator of T cell exhaustion,and associated with the de-velopment of tumorigenesis,suggesting that TOX may be a potential immune biomarker and target for immunotherapy for malignant tu-mors.In this review,we review the molecular mechanisms and reversals of TOX mediated T cell depletion and provide evidence for the design of more accurate tumor immunotherapy strategies based on TOX.

T cell dysfunction is a common feature in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The up-regulation of immune checkpoint (IC) proteins resulting in T cell exhaustion is a key reason for T cell dysfunction. Immunotherapy with IC inhibitors exerts a remarkable effect on AML. However, due to the heterogeneity of T cell exhaustion and other factors that impair T cell function in patients with AML, the optimization of targeted T cell immunotherapy strategy for AML might be based on the multidimensional investigation of immune deficiency with different T cell subtypes.

AIM:To investigate the role and molecular mechanism of long noncoding RNA LINC00987 in the apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia(AML)cells induced by antitumor drugs.METHODS:The LINC00987 expression in AML was detected by RT-qPCR.The Molm13 cells with stable knockdown of LINC00987 gene(shLINC00987)were constructed,and the effect of low LINC00987 expression on the apoptosis of AML cells induced by cytarabine was detected by annexin V/PI staining.Signaling pathway enrichment of LINC00987-coexpressed genes was performed to analyze the ef-fect of LINC00987 expression on cytochrome family genes.RESULTS:Compared with healthy individual group,the ex-pression of LINC00987 was significantly down-regulated in AML cell lines and patients,but highly up-regulated in the complete remission group after anti-AML treatment.In addition,low LINC00987 expression was associated with poor prog-nosis among the patients with AML.The LINC00987 expression in AML cell lines Molm13 and MV411 was significantly induced by antitumor drugs such as cytarabine,doxorubicin,arsenic trioxide,and venetoclax.Meanwhile,LINC00987 down-regulation could inhibit the apoptosis of Molm13 cells induced by cytarabine.The LINC00987-coexpressed genes were enriched in cytochrome P450(CYP450)-mediated oxidative stress pathways,and the LINC00987 expression was positively correlated with the expression of CYP450 family genes CYP11B1,CYP2U1 and CYP2C9.Down-regulation of LINC00987 could inhibit the mRNA expression of CYP11B1,CYP2U1 and CYP2C9 induced by cytarabine.CONCLU-SION:Long noncoding RNA LINC00987 can be used as a prognostic marker for AML and may promote cytarabine-in-duced AML cell apoptosis through CYP450-mediated oxidative stress pathways.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) represented by anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) antibodies has made great progress in the treatment of solid tumors. Recently, ICI has been gradually used in hematological malignancies, and many clinical trials have shown that it could bring better therapeutic efficacies and significantly improve the prognosis of patients with hematological malignancies. This article reviews the research progress of ICI in hematological malignancies combined with the clinical studies from the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.

To construct cellular senescence model by stimulating primary hepatocytes with hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2). Primary hepatocytes were transfected with p53 siRNA, progerin siRNA or IGF-1 adenovirus vector. The number of SA-β-Gal stained positive cells and the expression of p53 and progerin were detected. The results showed that p53 siRNA and progerin siRNA had knocked-down the expression of p53 and progerin, and had alleviated the hepatocyte senescence. Transfection of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 adenovirus vector into primary hepatocytes had overexpressed IGF-1, and had alleviated the number of SA-β-Gal-positive cells. The expression of p53 and progerin was down-regulated in the nucleus, while the expression of p53 was up-regulated in the cytoplasm. The co-precipitation and co-localization of p53 and progerin was decreased in the nuclear region of hepatocytes. IGF-1 overexpression can inhibit intranuclear p53 translocation, alleviate the interaction between p53-progerin, and alleviate hepatocyte senescence.

Objective: To investigate the development of hepatocyte senescence during liver fibrogenesis and to explore the effect and possible mechanism of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) on hepatocyte senescence and liver fibrosis. Methods: A total of 42 male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were selected. Eighteen rats were induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) to establish the rat model of liver fibrosis. On the day 0, six and 28 after the establishment of the model, six rats were executed respectively to analyze the liver fibrosis and hepatocyte senescence in CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis rat models. Twenty-four rats were divided into control group, CCl₄ group, CCl₄+ lentivirus vector (LV-CTR) group and CCl₄+ LV-IGF-1 group, with six rats in each group.The rats were sacrificed on the 28th day after the establishment of the model. The liver tissues were obtained and the inferior vena cava blood was collected to analyze the effect of IGF-1 overexpression on liver fibrosis and hepatocyte senescence. Analysis variance (ANOVA), least significant difference (LSD) and Dunnett T3 test were performed for statistical analysis. Results: Steatohepatitis on the 6th day and early stage of hepatic fibrosis on the 28th day, which indicated the model was successfully established. The results of the effects of IGF-1 overexpression on hepatic fibrosis and hepatocyte senescence showed that on the 28th day, compared with those of control group, both the score of Ishak liver inflammation and necrosis and the score of Ishak liver fibrosis were increased in the CCl₄ group, CCl₄+ LV-CTR group and CCl₄+ LV-IGF-1 group (0, 14.55±1.94, 15.43±2.19 and 10.29±1.47, respectively; 0, 3.51±0.51, 3.21±0.79 and 1.32±0.40, respectively). The area of liver tissues by Masson staining (0.45±0.40, 5.62±1.08, 6.03±0.65 and 2.88±1.54), SA-β-Gal staining (1.75±0.80, 4.28±1.19, 4.92±1.14, 3.11±0.79), p53 (2.02±0.81, 4.36±1.02, 4.72±0.72 and 3.58±0.70) and progerin (0.72±0.40, 4.52±1.01, 4.01±1.25 and 2.66±0.80) all were increased. The levels of serum IGF-1 all were decreased ((632.00±6.04), (503.00±40.42), (508.00±21.94) and (572.40±5.94) ng/L). However the levels of ALT all were increased ((11.20±5.97), (214.00±73.90), (245.00±76.06) and (30.00±5.00) U/L). The relative expression levels of p53 (0.58±0.06, 1.78±0.18, 1.72±0.10 and 1.23±0.22) and progerin (0.12±0.02, 0.78±0.15, 1.32±0.20 and 0.81±0.16) in the primary hepatocytes were increased. The differences were all statistically significant (F=91.674, 90.778, 32.982, 9.726, 10.640, 17.029, 103.910, 30.059, 64.707 and 97.457, all P<0.05). Compared with those of CCl₄+ LV-CTR group, the score of Ishak liver inflammation and necrosis and the score of Ishak liver fibrosis were decreased in the rats′ liver tissues of CCl₄+ LV-IGF-1 group, the areas of Masson staining, SA-β-Gal staining, p53 and progerin in the liver tissues were decreased, the level of serum IGF-1 was increased, the level of ALT was decreased, and the relative expression levels of p53 and progerin in primary hepatocytes both were decreased. The differences were all statistically significant (all P<0.05, respectively). Conclusions Hepatocyte senescence increases in the process of liver fibrosis induced by CCl₄. Overexpression of IGF-1 may alleviate liver injury, improve hepatocyte senescence and liver fibrogenesis by regulating the nuclear p53/progerin pathway.

Objective: To clarify the characteristics of the A20 regulatory changes by analyzing mutations in the non-coding region of the A20 gene in patients with T-cell lymphoma leukemia (T-LCL) . Methods: PCR and nucleotide sequence analysis were used to detect mutations in the non-coding region of the A20 gene, and DNA samples from PBMCs of 52 cases of T-LCL and 99 healthy controls. Results: A missense mutation (c.-672T>G) was detected in the A20 gene promoter from one T-LCL patient, which has been registered as a SNP (rs139054966) in gene bank. Meanwhile, a new mutation was detected in the 3′ UTR mRNA (3916 (C>G) ) . These two mutations were absent in other T-LCL samples and controls. Conclusion The rs139054966 (c.-672T>G) and 3916 (C>G) mutations in the A20 gene were detected in T-LCL patients for the first time. There was also rs139054966 located on the binding region of the transcription factor P53, and its significance remained to be further clarified.

In recent years,cellular immune therapy represented by antigen-chimeric receptor T cells (CAR-T) has made a great breakthrough in the treatment of hematological malignancies.T memory stem cells (TSCM) and central memory T cells (TCM) can be used as most powerful carrier for T cell immunotherapy,however,how to regulate their differentiation in vitro and in vivo as well as how to construct a strong treatment system while without potential side effect become quite interesting.This article summarized the studies from the 58th America Society of Hematology Annual Meeting regarding to values and associated research progress about TsCM and TCM in hematological malignancies.

How to improve the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) is one of the key points for manufacture and application of CAR-T. In this review, the studies from the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting regarding to the strategies for optimal CAR-T activity were summarized, including pathway inhibitors, enhancement antigen expression of target cells, optimization of conditioning chemotherapy, as well as the novel technology for CAR-T generation.

Objective:To investigate mechanism of imatinib mesylate induced apoptosis of primary CD3+T cells.Methods:The CD3+T cells were stimulated by 0-100 nmol/L imatinib for 24 h,cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry;Caspase-3,Caspase-8, A20 and NF-κB expression levels were detected by Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot.Results: IM significantly increased apoptosis of T cell;Caspase-3 and A20 gene expression levels were upregulated and NF-κB expression level was downregulated both in gene and protein levels.Conclusion:IM increased apoptosis of T cell by upregulating A20 expression.