Engineered T cells stimulate dendritic cell recruitment and antigen spreading for potent anti-tumor immunity.

Current T cell-based immunotherapeutic strategies show limited success in treating solid tumors due to insufficient dendritic cell (DC) activity, particularly cross-presenting conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s). DC scarcity and dysfunction hinder T cell expansion and differentiation, greatly limiting anti-tumor responses. In this study, we propose a T cell engineering strategy to enhance interaction with XCR1 cDC1s.

Succinate preserves CD8 T cell fitness to augment antitumor immunity.

Succinate, a tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate, accumulates in tumors with succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) mutations. Although succinate is recognized for modulating CD8 T cell cytotoxicity, its impact on T cell differentiation remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal that succinate accumulation in tumors lacking the SDH subunit B (SDHB) enhanced tumor-reactive CD8 T cell-mediated immune responses.

Glycogen shepherd guides the hidden trail of pentose phosphate pathway.

In a recent Molecular Cell study, Zhou et al. elucidated how glycogenolysis-derived glucose-1-phosphate mediates source-specific routing of glucose-6-phosphate into the pentose phosphate pathway through allosteric activation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and liquid-liquid phase separation-mediated metabolic compartments. This compartmentalized distribution enables efficient reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) generation from glycogenolytic flux, promoting Tm cell persistence by maintaining redox homeostasis.

Dual-mode SERS and colorimetry combined with smartphone-assisted visual detection of Cr(VI) utilizing Au@Ag nanoparticles.

To address the urgent requirements for fast and on-site hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) detection, we developed a dual-mode sensing platform integrating surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and colorimetry combined with smartphone-assisted visual detection using gold-core silver-shell nanoparticles (Au@Ag NPs). The SERS mode leveraged the plasmonic enhancement of Au@Ag NPs, achieving ultrahigh sensitivity with a detection limit of 0.074 nM and a linear range spanning five orders of magnitude.

Insights into the effects of haze pollution on airborne bacterial communities and antibiotic resistance genes in fine particulate matter.

Fine particulate matter (PM) is a key component of haze pollution and poses a substantial threat to human health. However, airborne bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs), which are important biological components of PM, have received less attention. In this study, we investigated the combined effects of haze on airborne bacteria and ARGs in PM.

Insights into the Synergistic Promotion Effect of Cu and W Modification on the Catalytic Performance of α-FeO for NH-SCR of NO.

A dual-element modification strategy was proposed to promote the catalytic performance of the α-FeO catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH (NH-SCR of NO) at both low and high temperatures. By optimizing the loading amount of CuO (4 wt %) and WO (5 wt %), a wide operating temperature window (150-350 °C) was achieved on the modified α-FeO catalyst (W/Cu/Fe). Further characterizations revealed that the enhanced low-temperature activity could be attributed to the improved redox performance of α-FeO through CuO modification, while the superior high-temperature activity was primarily ascribed to the enhanced surface acidity induced by WO modification.

T cell-based cancer immunotherapy: opportunities and challenges.

T cells play a central role in the cancer immunity cycle. The therapeutic outcomes of T cell-based intervention strategies are determined by multiple factors at various stages of the cycle. Here, we summarize and discuss recent advances in T cell immunotherapy and potential barriers to it within the framework of the cancer immunity cycle, including T-cell recognition of tumor antigens for activation, T cell trafficking and infiltration into tumors, and killing of target cells.

The characterization of technical design of a virus-like structure (VLS) nanodelivery system as vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The constant mutation of SARS-CoV-2 has led to the continuous appearance of viral variants and their pandemics and has improved the development of vaccines with a broad spectrum of antigens to curb the spread of the virus. The work described here suggested a novel vaccine with a virus-like structure (VLS) composed of combined mRNA and protein that is capable of stimulating the immune system in a manner similar to that of viral infection. This VLS vaccine is characterized by its ability to specifically target dendritic cells and/or macrophages through S1 protein recognition of the DC-SIGN receptor in cells, which leads to direct mRNA delivery to these innate immune cells for activation of robust immunity with a broad spectrum of neutralizing antibodies and immune protective capacity against variants.

Nicotine Ameliorates α-Synuclein Preformed Fibril-Induced Behavioral Deficits and Pathological Features in Mice.

Epidemiologic study suggests that nicotine reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) and thus could serve as a potential treatment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of nicotine on the behavioral phenotypes and pathological characteristics of mice induced by human alpha-synuclein preformed fibers (α-syn-PFF). Mice were injected with 5 µg of human α-syn-PFF in the hippocampus while administering nicotine-containing drinking water (200 µg/mL).

Characterization and evaluation of the cytotoxic, antioxidant, and anti-human lung cancer properties of copper nanoparticles green-synthesized by fennel extract following the PI3K/AKT/Mtor signaling pathway.

This work established the cytotoxic, antioxidant and anticancer effects of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) manufactured with fennel extract, especially on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as well. CuNPs caused cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner for two NSCLC cell lines, A549 and H1650. At 100 μg/ml, CuNPs reduced cell viability to 70% in A549 cells and 65% in H1650 cells.

Turning cold into hot: emerging strategies to fire up the tumor microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex, highly structured, and dynamic ecosystem that plays a pivotal role in the progression of both primary and metastatic tumors. Precise assessment of the dynamic spatiotemporal features of the TME is crucial for understanding cancer evolution and designing effective therapeutic strategies. Cancer is increasingly recognized as a systemic disease, influenced not only by the TME, but also by a multitude of systemic factors, including whole-body metabolism, gut microbiome, endocrine signaling, and circadian rhythm.

Uncovering the mechanisms of ethanol stimulation on magnetite-enhanced anaerobic process treating oxytetracycline contained wastewater.

Magnetite has been proved to facilitate direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET)-based syntrophys and might alleviate inhibitory effects of antibiotics in anaerobic digestion (AD), while feeding ethanol was an effective approach to enrich the DIET partners. However, most of the existing studies were conducted at fixed ethanol concentration, few attentions were paid on the effects of differential ethanol proportion on AD, the underlying roles and mechanisms of ethanol stimulation remains unclear. This study systematically investigated the impact of ethanol stimulation on anaerobic processes treating oxytetracycline (OTC)-contaminated wastewater at varying proportions (20%, 50%, and 80%, based on equivalent COD value).

Nuclear alpha-synuclein accelerates cell senescence and neurodegeneration.

Background: The progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) is related to ageing. The accumulation of nuclear alpha-synuclein (α-syn) may accelerate the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases, but its role in PD remains poorly understood.

Methods: In the present study, α-syn expression was specifically targeted to the nucleus by constructing an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector in which a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) was added to the α-syn coding sequence.

The cell cycle regulator p16 promotes tumor infiltrated CD8 T cell exhaustion and apoptosis.

The therapeutic efficacy of adoptive T cell therapy is largely restricted by reduced viability and dysfunction of CD8 T cells. Continuous antigen stimulation disrupts the expansion, effector function, and metabolic fitness of CD8 T cells, leading to their differentiation into an exhausted state within the tumor microenvironment (TME). While the function of the cell cycle negative regulator p16 in senescent cells is well understood, its role in T cell exhaustion remains unclear.

Solving the non-submodular network collapse problems via Decision Transformer.

Given a graph G, the network collapse problem (NCP) selects a vertex subset S of minimum cardinality from G such that the difference in the values of a given measure function f(G)-f(G∖S) is greater than a predefined collapse threshold. Many graph analytic applications can be formulated as NCPs with different measure functions, which often pose a significant challenge due to their NP-hard nature. As a result, traditional greedy algorithms, which select the vertex with the highest reward at each step, may not effectively find the optimal solution.

Supercharging cancer-fighting T cells with lithium carbonate.

Lactate influences the behavior of various immune cell types. In a recent Nature Immunology study, Ma et al. revealed that lithium carbonate induces monocarboxylate transporter 1 translocation to mitochondria, enhancing cytoplasmic lactate transport into the mitochondria and increasing lactate mitochondrial metabolism, thereby promoting T cell effector function.

Highly Enantioselective Catalysis by Enzyme Encapsulated in Metal Azolate Frameworks with Micelle-Controlled Pore Sizes.

Encapsulating enzymes within metal-organic frameworks has enhanced their structural stability and interface tunability for catalysis. However, the small apertures of the frameworks restrict their effectiveness to small organic molecules. Herein, we present a green strategy directed by visible linker micelles for the aqueous synthesis of MAF-6 that enables enzymes for the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of chiral molecules.

Cystine deprivation triggers CD36-mediated ferroptosis and dysfunction of tumor infiltrating CD8 T cells.

Cancer cells develop multiple strategies to evade T cell-mediated killing. On one hand, cancer cells may preferentially rely on certain amino acids for rapid growth and metastasis. On the other hand, sufficient nutrient availability and uptake are necessary for mounting an effective T cell anti-tumor response in the tumor microenvironment (TME).

Zeolite-encapsulated copper(II) complexes with NNO-tridentate Schiff base ligands: catalytic activity for methylene blue (MB) degradation under near neutral conditions.

Three novel copper Schiff base complexes, LCu(OAc)-LCu(OAc), bearing NNO tridentate ligands were synthesized and successfully entrapped in zeolite. All free and encapsulated complexes were fully characterized through experiments combined with theoretical calculations, and were subsequently employed as catalysts to activate HO for degradation of methylene blue (MB). The catalytic activity of free complexes was tunable by substitution effects.

Improved anaerobic sludge fermentation mediated by a tryptophan-degrading consortium: Effectiveness assessment and mechanism deciphering.

The hydrolysis of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) represents a critical bottleneck in the anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS), while tryptophan is identified as an underestimated constituent of EPS. Herein, we harnessed a tryptophan-degrading microbial consortium (TDC) to enhance the hydrolysis efficiency of WAS. At TDC dosages of 5%, 10%, and 20%, a notable increase in SCOD was observed by factors of 1.

Isolation and identification of pathogens of bacterial disease.

Morel mushroom ( spp.) is a rare edible and medicinal fungus distributed worldwide. It is highly desired by the majority of consumers.