HDAC7, a member of class IIa HDACs, plays a pivotal regulatory role in tumor, immune, fibrosis, and angiogenesis, rendering it a potential therapeutic target. Nevertheless, due to the high similarity in the enzyme active sites of class IIa HDACs, inhibitors encounter challenges in discerning differences among them. Furthermore, the substitution of key residue in the active pocket of class IIa HDACs renders them pseudo-enzymes, leading to a limited impact of enzymatic inhibitors on their function. In this study, proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology was employed to develop HDAC7 drugs. We developed an exceedingly selective HDAC7 PROTAC degrader B14 which showcased superior inhibitory effects on cell proliferation compared to TMP269 in various diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Subsequent investigations unveiled that B14 disrupts BCL6 forming a transcriptional inhibition complex by degrading HDAC7, thereby exerting proliferative inhibition in DLBCL. Our study broadened the understanding of the non-enzymatic functions of HDAC7 and underscored the importance of HDAC7 in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, particularly in DLBCL and AML.

Currently,human health due to corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has been seriously threatened.The coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)spike(S)protein plays a crucial role in virus transmission and several S-based therapeutic approaches have been approved for the treatment of COVID-19.However,the efficacy is compromised by the SARS-CoV-2 evolvement and mutation.Here we report the SARS-CoV-2 S protein receptor-binding domain(RBD)inhibitor licorice-saponin A3(A3)could widely inhibit RBD of SARS-CoV-2 variants,including Beta,Delta,and Omicron BA.1,XBB and BQ1.1.Furthermore,A3 could potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus in Vero E6 cells,with EC50 of 1.016 pM.The mechanism was related to binding with Y453 of RBD deter-mined by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry(HDX-MS)analysis combined with quan-tum mechanics/molecular mechanics(QM/MM)simulations.Interestingly,phosphoproteomics analysis and multi fluorescent immunohistochemistry(mIHC)respectively indicated that A3 also inhibits host inflammation by directly modulating the JNK and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)path-ways and rebalancing the corresponding immune dysregulation.This work supports A3 as a promising broad-spectrum small molecule drug candidate for COVID-19.

Objective:To further improve the understanding of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), we retrospectively analyzed and summarized the clinical characteristics, treatment status, and survival status of patients with PNH in Zhejiang Province.Methods:This study included 289 patients with PNH who visited 20 hospitals in Zhejiang Province. Their clinical characteristics, comorbidity, laboratory test results, and medications were analyzed and summarized.Results:Among the 289 patients with PNH, 148 males and 141 females, with a median onset age of 45 (16-87) years and a peak onset age of 20-49 years (57.8% ). The median lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) level was 1 142 (604-1 925) U/L. Classified by type, 70.9% (166/234) were classical, 24.4% (57/234) were PNH/bone marrow failure (BMF), and 4.7% (11/234) were subclinical. The main clinical manifestations included fatigue or weakness (80.8%, 235/289), dizziness (73.4%, 212/289), darkened urine color (66.2%, 179/272), and jaundice (46.2%, 126/270). Common comorbidities were hemoglobinuria (58.7% ), renal dysfunction (17.6% ), and thrombosis (15.0% ). Moreover, 82.3% of the patients received glucocorticoid therapy, 70.9% required blood transfusion, 30.7% used immunosuppressive agents, 13.8% received anticoagulant therapy, and 6.3% received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The 10-year overall survival (OS) rate was 84.4% (95% CI 78.0% -91.3% ) . Conclusion:Patients with PNH are more common in young and middle-aged people, with a similar incidence rate between men and women. Common clinical manifestations include fatigue, hemoglobinuria, jaundice, renal dysfunction, and recurrent thrombosis. The 10-year OS of this group is similar to reports from other centers in China.

The epitranscriptomic mark N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A), which is the predominant internal modification in RNA, is important for plant responses to diverse stresses. Multiple environmental stresses caused by the tea-withering process can greatly influence the accumulation of specialized metabolites and the formation of tea flavor. However, the effects of the m⁶A-mediated regulatory mechanism on flavor-related metabolic pathways in tea leaves remain relatively uncharacterized. We performed an integrated RNA methylome and transcriptome analysis to explore the m⁶A-mediated regulatory mechanism and its effects on flavonoid and terpenoid metabolism in tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves under solar-withering conditions. Dynamic changes in global m⁶A level in tea leaves were mainly controlled by two m⁶A erasers (CsALKBH4A and CsALKBH4B) during solar-withering treatments. Differentially methylated peak-associated genes following solar-withering treatments with different shading rates were assigned to terpenoid biosynthesis and spliceosome pathways. Further analyses indicated that CsALKBH4-driven RNA demethylation can directly affect the accumulation of volatile terpenoids by mediating the stability and abundance of terpenoid biosynthesis-related transcripts and also indirectly influence the flavonoid, catechin, and theaflavin contents by triggering alternative splicing-mediated regulation. Our findings revealed a novel layer of epitranscriptomic gene regulation in tea flavor-related metabolic pathways and established a link between the m⁶A-mediated regulatory mechanism and the formation of tea flavor under solar-withering conditions.
RNA/metabolism* ; Epigenome ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Plant Leaves/metabolism* ; Camellia sinensis/metabolism* ; Flavonoids ; Terpenes/metabolism* ; Tea/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant

Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea with strong flavor, which is widely favored by consumers because of its floral and fruity aroma as well as fresh and mellow taste. During the processing of oolong tea, withering is the first indispensable process for improving flavor formation. However, the molecular mechanism that affects the flavor formation of oolong tea during withering remains unclear. Transcriptome sequencing was used to analyze the difference among the fresh leaves, indoor-withered leaves and solar-withered leaves of oolong tea. A total of 10 793 differentially expressed genes were identified from the three samples. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in flavonoid synthesis, terpenoid synthesis, plant hormone signal transduction and spliceosome pathways. Subsequently, twelve differentially expressed genes and four differential splicing genes were identified from the four enrichment pathways for fluorescence quantitative PCR analysis. The results showed that the expression patterns of the selected genes during withering were consistent with the results in the transcriptome datasets. Further analysis revealed that the transcriptional inhibition of flavonoid biosynthesis-related genes, the transcriptional enhancement of terpenoid biosynthesis-related genes, as well as the jasmonic acid signal transduction and the alternative splicing mechanism jointly contributed to the flavor formation of high floral and fruity aroma and low bitterness in solar-withered leaves. The results may facilitate better understanding the molecular mechanisms of solar-withering treatment in flavor formation of oolong tea.
Camellia sinensis/genetics* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Plant Leaves ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Taste ; Tea ; Transcriptome/genetics*

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of four McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) patients associated with growth hormone(GH)-prolactin(PRL) pituitary adenoma, and explore more effective clinical treatment and management methods.Methods:The clinical data of four patients with MAS and GH-PRL pituitary adenoma diagnosed by Peking Union Medical College Hospital were retrospectively analyzed, including clinical manifestations, biochemical parameters, radiographic characteristics, as well as treatment and prognosis. Literature review was also conducted to analyze the efficacy of surgical operations and drug intervention.Results:Clinical characteristics: 3 females and 1 male, all of whom had onset before the age of 7 years. The types of fibrous dysplasia of bone were all polyosseous and involved craniofacial region. There were obvious gigantism/acromegaly manifestations in all cases, 3 cases had evident visual impairment and 1 case with optic chiasm compression. There was no spontaneous or triggered lactation in all 4 patients. Laboratory examination: GH and insulin-like growth factor-Ⅰ(IGF-Ⅰ) levels were significantly increased in 4 patients, GH levels were not inhibited by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), PRL levels were over 100 ng/ml, ALP levels were significantly increased in 4 patients, while serum calcium and phosphorus levels were remained normal. Imaging features: All pituitary adenomas in 4 patients were macroadenomas, with unilateral cavernous sinus enclosure in cases 2 and 3, and recurrence of macroadenoma with bilateral cavernous sinus enclosure in case 4 after the first operation. Four cases of skull CT showed multiple FD in craniofacial bone and skull base. Treatment and outcome: All 4 patients underwent pituitary adenoma resection and bisphosphonate therapy, and somatostatin analogues, dopamine receptor agonists and other treatments were selected according to the situation. Two patients with early diagnosis and initial treatment achieved partial remission after treatment, while the other two patients did not.Conclusions:Patients with MAS and GH-PRL pituitary adenoma had earlier onset age and were more likely to suffer from optic nerve damage. Early diagnosis and reasonable surgical treatment may help to improve biochemical indicators (GH, IGF-Ⅰ, and PRL, etc.) rapidly, and combined drug therapy (somatostatin analogues and dopamine receptor agonists) can better maintain or close to normal biochemical indicators, and ultimately improve the prognosis of patients.

Objective:To detect the expressions of chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6), CC chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) E-cadherin and vimentin in tissues of colorectal cancer and their paired liver metastases, and to investigate the possible mechanism of CCR6 in liver metastasis of colorectal cancer.Methods:A total of 62 cases (54 cases of colon cancer and 8 cases of rectal cancer) of primary colorectal adenocarcinoma resection with wax lumps were selected from the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University and Shanxi Oncology Hospital from 2009 to 2017 with complete data, including 20 samples of colorectal cancer resection with liver metastasis during the same period. The expressions of CCR6, CCL20, E-cadherin and vimentin in colorectal cancer and liver metastases tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the relationships between the expressions of CCR6, E-cadherin and vimentin and the clinicopathological features of patients were analyzed. Logistic multivariate regression was used to analyze the relationship between liver metastasis and clinicopathological features, CCR6, E-cadherin and vimentin. Spearman correlation was used to analyze the correlations between CCR6 and E-cadherin and vimentin.Results:The positive expression rate of CCR6 in colorectal cancer tissues was 66.1% (41/62), 85.0% (17/20) in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis and 70.0% (14/20) in liver metastasis tissues. The positive expression rate of CCL20 in colorectal cancer tissues was 83.9% (52/62), 90.0% (18/20) in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis and 90.0% (18/20) in liver metastasis tissues. The positive expression rate of E-cadherin in colorectal cancer tissues was 67.7% (42/62), 50.0% (10/20) in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis and 65.0% (13/20) in liver metastasis tissues. The positive expression rate of vimentin in colorectal cancer tissues was 79.0% (49/62), 85.0% (17/20) in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis and 90.0% (18/20) in liver metastasis tissues. The expression of CCR6 was closely related to lymph node metastasis ( χ2=11.142, P=0.001), liver metastasis ( χ2=4.694, P=0.030) and TNM stage ( χ2=21.785, P<0.001). E-cadherin was closely related to lymph node metastasis ( χ2=4.694, P=0.030), liver metastasis ( χ2=4.253, P=0.039) and TNM stage ( χ2=7.867, P=0.005). Vimentin was closely related to lymph node metastasis ( χ2=7.293, P=0.007) and TNM stage ( χ2=5.712, P=0.017). CCR6, E-cadherin and vimentin were independent of gender, age, tumor site, tumor size and differentiation degree of colorectal cancer patients (all P>0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the expressions of CCR6 ( OR=6.812, 95% CI: 1.206-38.474, P=0.030) and E-cadherin ( OR=0.256, 95% CI: 0.069-0.945, P=0.041) were independent factors affecting the liver metastasis of colorectal cancer. Spearman correlation analysis showed that CCR6 was associated with E-cadherin expression ( r=0.454, P=0.044) and vimentin expression ( r=0.509, P=0.022) in 20 iver metastasis tissues of colorectal cancer. Conclusion:CCR6 may promote colorectal cancer progress and liver metastasis by part of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Objective: This article reported the clinical characteristics and gene mutations of two pseudoachondroplasia cases, and made a literature review in order to improve clinicians′ understanding of the disease. Methods: Clinical features of two patients who were short stature accompanied with skeletal deformities were summarized, and they accepted whole exome sequencing. We also reviewed literature to summarize the clinical characteristics and known gene research progress of all reported Chinese pseudoachondroplasia cases. Results: The two patients′ clinical characteristics were short limbdwarfism with skeletal deformity. Genetic results showed that there were two heterozygous mutations in the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) gene of the two patients, c. 1417_1419delGAC and c. 1552G>A, respectively. Up to March 2019, a total of 58 cases of pseudoachondroplasia have been reported in China. The median height of these patients is -5.03 SDS. The clinical features include abnormal gait, short limbs, short fingers/toes, scoliosis, bracelet sign, ankle sign and other skeletal deformities. COMP is the pathogenic gene and mutations mainly located in calmodulin-like domains. The hotspot mutation is c. 1417_1419delGAC. Conclusions Pseudoachondroplasia is a kind of rare genetic disease characterized by short stature and skeletal deformities. The clinical and genetic characteristics of the disease were summarized, which may improve the early diagnosis rate.

Objective:To observe the disinfection efficiency of N-doped nano-TiO2 on the curing light-guide rods.Methods:50 light-guide rods from 6 dental clinics were included,the bacteria adhesion on the light-guide rods before and after disinfection with N-doped nano-TiO2 was investigated using ATP bioluminescence method.Results:The RLU value of light-guide rods exposed to the air was 51 -649 before the use of N-doped nano-TiO2 disinfection,after spraying N-doped nano-TiO2 ,the RLU value of light-guide rods was 0 -6(P <0.01 ).Conclusion:N-doped nano-TiO2 has significant sterilization effect on the curing light-guide rods.