Arriving at ultralow wear using cellulose/two-material composites.

The development of environmentally friendly solid lubricants with exceptional wear resistance is imperative to address the escalating environmental concerns and performance limitations of conventional lubricants in demanding tribological applications. This study systematically investigated the wear resistance of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)/tungsten disulfide (WS)/graphene composites under normal applied loads (2 and 4 N) and varying solid lubricant contents (stoichiometric ratios of 0.2 referred to as CWG-0.

Relative sensitivity and preference of indicators in pharmaceutical trials of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Objectives: Numerous indicators have been proposed to evaluate the efficacy for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of psoriasis (Pso) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), but their comparability and correlation remain unknown. We aim to evaluate the preference and relative sensitivity of the most widely used indicators that report response rate, and to offer guidance for the primary endpoint selection for Pso and PsA trials.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search, including five databases and four registries, to identify all pharmacological intervention-controlled RCTs.

Adaptation to Volumetric Compression Drives an Apoptosis-Resistant and Invasive Phenotype in Liver Cancer.

Unlabelled: Physical constraints like compression influence cancer cell invasion and transcriptional dynamics in various tumors. Liver cancer is characterized by the rapid proliferation of tumor cells within a densely packed tissue matrix, subjecting the cancer cells to crowding and compression. The highly dysregulated mechanical environment highlights the need to elucidate the broader impact of compression on liver cancer development and evolution.

Spatially Resolved Panoramic in vivo CRISPR Screen via Perturb-DBiT.

Spatially resolved in vivo CRISPR screening integrates gene editing with spatial transcriptomics to examine how genetic perturbations alter gene expression within native tissue environments. However, current methods are limited to small perturbation panels and the detection of a narrow subset of protein-coding RNAs. We present Perturb-DBiT, a distinct and versatile approach for the simultaneous co-sequencing of spatial total RNA whole-transcriptome and single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs), base-by-base, on the same tissue section.

Alteration of skin fibroblast steady state contributes to healing outcomes.

Fibroblasts display complex functions associated with distinct gene expression profiles that influence matrix production and cell communications and the autonomy of tissue development and repair. Thrombospondin-2 (TSP-2), produced by fibroblasts, is a potent angiogenesis inhibitor and negatively associated with tissue repair. Single-cell (sc) sequencing analysis on WT and TSP2KO skin fibroblasts demonstrate distinct cell heterogeneity.

Dysregulation in keratinocytes drives systemic lupus erythematosus onset.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex, multiorgan autoimmune disorder. Although it is widely believed that SLE originates from immune cell dysregulation, the etiology of SLE is not yet clear. Here, we propose a new theory in which SLE can be directly initiated by molecular alterations in keratinocytes rather than immune cells.

GENCODE 2025: reference gene annotation for human and mouse.

GENCODE produces comprehensive reference gene annotation for human and mouse. Entering its twentieth year, the project remains highly active as new technologies and methodologies allow us to catalog the genome at ever-increasing granularity. In particular, long-read transcriptome sequencing enables us to identify large numbers of missing transcripts and to substantially improve existing models, and our long non-coding RNA catalogs have undergone a dramatic expansion and reconfiguration as a result.

Spatially exploring RNA biology in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues.

The capability to spatially explore RNA biology in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues holds transformative potential for histopathology research. Here, we present pathology-compatible deterministic barcoding in tissue (Patho-DBiT) by combining in situ polyadenylation and computational innovation for spatial whole transcriptome sequencing, tailored to probe the diverse RNA species in clinically archived FFPE samples. It permits spatial co-profiling of gene expression and RNA processing, unveiling region-specific splicing isoforms, and high-sensitivity transcriptomic mapping of clinical tumor FFPE tissues stored for 5 years.

Spatially Exploring RNA Biology in Archival Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tissues.

Spatial transcriptomics has emerged as a powerful tool for dissecting spatial cellular heterogeneity but as of today is largely limited to gene expression analysis. Yet, the life of RNA molecules is multifaceted and dynamic, requiring spatial profiling of different RNA species throughout the life cycle to delve into the intricate RNA biology in complex tissues. Human disease-relevant tissues are commonly preserved as formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks, representing an important resource for human tissue specimens.

Cell surface RNAs control neutrophil recruitment.

RNAs localizing to the outer cell surface have been recently identified in mammalian cells, including RNAs with glycan modifications known as glycoRNAs. However, the functional significance of cell surface RNAs and their production are poorly known. We report that cell surface RNAs are critical for neutrophil recruitment and that the mammalian homologs of the sid-1 RNA transporter are required for glycoRNA expression.

Selection of indicators reporting response rate in pharmaceutical trials for systemic lupus erythematosus: preference and relative sensitivity.

Objective: SLE is a common multisystem autoimmune disease with chronic inflammation. Many efficacy evaluation indicators of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) for SLE have been proposed but the comparability remains unknown. We aim to explore the preference and comparability of indicators reporting response rate and provide basis for primary outcome selection when evaluating the efficacy of SLE pharmaceutical treatment.

Compression drives diverse transcriptomic and phenotypic adaptations in melanoma.

Physical forces are prominent during tumor progression. However, it is still unclear how they impact and drive the diverse phenotypes found in cancer. Here, we apply an integrative approach to investigate the impact of compression on melanoma cells.

Global epidemiology of atopic dermatitis: a comprehensive systematic analysis and modelling study.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the leading cause of the global burden from skin disease; no study has provided global and country-specific epidemiological estimates of AD.

Objectives: To quantify global, regional and country-specific estimates of the epidemiology of AD.

Methods: A comprehensive search for epidemiological studies in AD was conducted in four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure).

Global, regional, and national incidence and prevalence of systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: To estimate the global and country-specific unbiased epidemiological data of SSc.

Methods: Epidemiological studies were systematically searched in four databases. A Bayesian hierarchical linear mixed model was constructed to estimate epidemiological data.

Global epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus: a comprehensive systematic analysis and modelling study.

Objectives: To quantify global, regional and country-specific estimates of epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Four databases were systematically searched, and a Bayesian hierarchical linear mixed model was constructed to estimate the global, regional, and country-specific incidence and prevalence of SLE.

Results: 112 studies met the inclusion criteria.

Bioinformatics identifies predictors of arteriovenous fistula maturation.

Background: Arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) are the preferred access for hemodialysis but still have poor rates of maturation and patency limiting their clinical use. The underlying mechanisms of venous remodeling remain poorly understood, and only limited numbers of unbiased approaches have been reported.

Methods: Biological Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis and differentially expressed genes (DEG) analysis were performed for three AVF datasets.

Evitar: designing anti-viral RNA therapies against future RNA viruses.

Motivation: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the threat of emerging respiratory viruses and has exposed the lack of availability of off-the-shelf therapeutics against new RNA viruses. Previous research has established the potential that siRNAs and RNA-targeting CRISPR have in combating known RNA viruses. However, the feasibility and tools for designing anti-viral RNA therapeutics against future RNA viruses have not yet been established.

5-Fluorouracil efficacy requires anti-tumor immunity triggered by cancer-cell-intrinsic STING.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a widely used chemotherapeutic drug, but the mechanisms underlying 5-FU efficacy in immunocompetent hosts in vivo remain largely elusive. Through modeling 5-FU response of murine colon and melanoma tumors, we report that effective reduction of tumor burden by 5-FU is dependent on anti-tumor immunity triggered by the activation of cancer-cell-intrinsic STING. While the loss of STING does not induce 5-FU resistance in vitro, effective 5-FU responsiveness in vivo requires cancer-cell-intrinsic cGAS, STING, and subsequent type I interferon (IFN) production, as well as IFN-sensing by bone-marrow-derived cells.

Design of siRNAs Targeting Existing and Future Respiratory Viruses with VirusSi.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed global inadequacies in therapeutic options against both the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus and other newly emerged respiratory viruses. In this study, we present the VirusSi computational pipeline, which facilitates the rational design of siRNAs to target existing and future respiratory viruses. Mode A of VirusSi designs siRNAs against an existing virus, incorporating considerations on siRNA properties, off-target effects, viral RNA structure and viral mutations.

dreamBase: DNA modification, RNA regulation and protein binding of expressed pseudogenes in human health and disease.

Although thousands of pseudogenes have been annotated in the human genome, their transcriptional regulation, expression profiles and functional mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study, we developed dreamBase (http://rna.sysu.