UMPlex™: a targeted next-generation sequencing primer design workflow.

We have developed a tailored next-generation sequencing (tNGS) panel, employing our innovative UMPlex™ primer design workflow, to enhance pathogen identification in clinical diagnostics. Through iterative experimentation and rigorous validation, we refined the primer design by excluding those with insufficient specificity or efficiency. To mitigate amplification challenges arising from pathogenic mutations, we implemented a strategy of using a minimum of two primer pairs per pathogen, ensuring redundancy and robust detection.

Comprehensive review: Advances and critical mechanisms in liquid superlubricity.

Superlubricity holds transformative potential for alleviating the global energy and environmental crisis. While liquid superlubricity has made considerable advancements over the past 30 years, a significant gap remains in realizing industrial applications. This review examines the most recent developments in liquid superlubricity, emphasizing the various liquid superlubricity systems and their mechanisms for achieving superlubricity.

YTHDF1 differentiates the contributing roles of mTORC1 in aging.

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) serves as an essential hub in sensing metabolic stress and regulating aging, although the differential contributions of mTOR-regulated protein and cholesterol synthesis are unclear. Post-transcriptional modifications of mRNAs, such as N6-methyladenosine (m6A), occur rapidly in response to acute environmental changes to maintain tissue homeostasis. Here, we showed that loss of YTH m6A RNA-binding protein 1 (YTHDF1) accelerated murine aging.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis modulates NUDT21-mediated alternative polyadenylation to enhance FTH1 expression in macrophages and promotes intracellular growth.

Ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1) is a key iron-storage protein that regulates iron availability, supports immune defense, and prevents iron-induced toxicity. During () infection, macrophages enhance FTH1 expression to sequestrate iron and limit growth. However, can exploit the host ferritinophagy pathway to degrade FTH1 and release iron, thereby promoting its survival.

Unravelling the genetic contributors to linezolid resistance in Mycobacterium smegmatis: insights from a transposon library.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify and characterize genes associated with linezolid resistance in Mycobacterium smegmatis using a transposon mutagenesis approach.

Methods: This research conducted three replicative experiments where 16 isolates displaying pronounced resistance to linezolid were examined, revealing two distinct morphologies. WGS was employed to investigate these isolates, uncovering mutations in specific genes.

Design of Self-Storage and Tremella-like MoS Lubricant Induced by Laser Irradiation for Achieving Stable Ultralow Friction in Atmosphere.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS) has a typical layered structure and is widely used in the lubrication field. However, its nanosheets are difficult to disperse and prone to agglomeration in lubricating oil, which makes it challenging to achieve ultralow friction in the atmospheric environment and restricts its practical applications. Therefore, it is of great significance to solve the disperse and agglomeration problems of MoS to realize ultralow friction.

Assessing the risk of TB progression: Advances in blood-based biomarker research.

This review addresses the significant advancements in the identification of blood-based prognostic biomarkers for tuberculosis (TB), highlighting the importance of early detection to prevent disease progression. The manuscript discusses various biomarker categories, including transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, immune cell-based, cytokine-based, and antibody response-based markers, emphasizing their potential in predicting TB incidence. Despite promising results, practical application is hindered by high costs, technical complexities, and the need for extensive validation across diverse populations.

Granzyme A as biomarker for diagnosis in tuberculous pleural effusion.

BACKGROUNDCurrent diagnostic tools for tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) are often inadequate, making accurate diagnosis challenging. Effective identification of TPE is critical for ensuring proper treatment and preventing tuberculosis relapse. This study explored the potential of granzyme A (GZMA) as a biomarker for TPE.

Clinicopathological Features of Epstein-Barr Virus-Positive Neuroendocrine Carcinoma: Analysis of Twenty-Two Cases.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-positive neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) is a rare neoplasm with limited histopathological and therapeutic data. This report presents 22 cases of EBV-positive NEC, analyzing age distribution, morphology, and immunophenotype. The median patient age was 47 years (range: 27-67 years), with a male-to-female ratio of 17:5.

Design and characterization of defined alpha-helix mini-proteins with intrinsic cell permeability.

Proteins with intrinsic cell permeability that can access intracellular targets represent a promising strategy for novel drug development; however, a general design principle is still lacking. Here, we established a library of 46,678 de novo-designed mini-proteins and performed cell permeability screening via phage display. Analyses revealed a characteristic neighboring distribution of positive charges across helices among enriched mini-proteins of CPP7, CPP11, CPP55, CPP109 and CPP112.

SIRT7 remodels the cytoskeleton RAC1 to enhance host resistance to .

Phagocytosis of () followed by its integration into the matured lysosome is critical in the host defense against tuberculosis. How escapes this immune attack remains elusive. In this study, we unveiled a novel regulatory mechanism by which SIRT7 regulates cytoskeletal remodeling by modulating RAC1 activation.

Breathomics for diagnosing tuberculosis in diabetes mellitus patients.

Introduction: Individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at an increased risk of (Mtb) infection and progressing from latent tuberculosis (TB) infection to active tuberculosis disease. TB in the DM population is more likely to go undiagnosed due to smear-negative results.

Methods: Exhaled breath samples were collected and analyzed using high-pressure photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Integrating pathogen- and host-derived blood biomarkers for enhanced tuberculosis diagnosis: a comprehensive review.

This review explores the evolving landscape of blood biomarkers in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), focusing on biomarkers derived both from the pathogen and the host. These biomarkers provide critical insights that can improve diagnostic accuracy and timeliness, essential for effective TB management. The document highlights recent advancements in molecular techniques that have enhanced the detection and characterization of specific biomarkers.

Myriocin enhances the clearance of by macrophages through the activation of PLIN2.

Myriocin is an inhibitor of synthesis of sphingolipids and ceramides. In this research, we showed myriocin could significantly reduce Mtb burden and histopathological inflammation in mice. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear.

Single-cell transcriptome reveals highly complement activated microglia cells in association with pediatric tuberculous meningitis.

Background: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a devastating form of tuberculosis (TB) causing high mortality and disability. TBM arises due to immune dysregulation, but the underlying immune mechanisms are unclear.

Methods: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cells isolated from children (n=6) with TBM using 10 xGenomics platform.

Doxycycline decelerates aging in progeria mice.

Beyond the antimicrobial activity, doxycycline (DOX) exhibits longevity-promoting effect in nematodes, while its effect on mammals is unclear. Here, we applied a mouse model of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), Zmpste24 knockout (KO) mice, and analyzed the antiaging effect of DOX. We found that the DOX treatment prolongs lifespan and ameliorates progeroid features of Zmpste24 KO mice, including the decline of body and tissue weight, exercise capacity and cortical bone density, and the shortened colon length.

Evaluation of Sulfasalazine as an Adjunctive Therapy in Treating Pulmonary Pre-XDR-TB: Efficacy, Safety, and Treatment Implication.

Background: The rising prevalence and limited efficacy of treatments for pre-extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (pre-XDR-TB) underscore an immediate need for innovative therapeutic options. A combination of host-directed therapy (HDT) and anti-TB treatment presents a viable alternative for pre-XDR-TB management. Sulfasalazine (SASP), by targeting the amino acid transport system xc (xCT), potentially reduces the intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis load and mitigates lung pathology, positioning it as a promising TB HDT agent.

NIR-Light-Triggered Mild-Temperature Hyperthermia to Overcome the Cascade Cisplatin Resistance for Improved Resistant Tumor Therapy.

Currently, cisplatin resistance has been recognized as a multistep cascade process for its clinical chemotherapy failure. Hitherto, it remains challenging to develop a feasible and promising strategy to overcome the cascade drug resistance (CDR) issue for achieving fundamentally improved chemotherapeutic efficacy. Herein, a novel self-assembled nanoagent is proposed, which is constructed by Pt(IV) prodrug, cyanine dye (cypate), and gadolinium ion (Gd), for systematically conquering the cisplatin resistance by employing near-infrared (NIR) light activated mild-temperature hyperthermia in tumor targets.

Terminal modifications independent cell-free RNA sequencing enables sensitive early cancer detection and classification.

Cell-free RNAs (cfRNAs) offer an opportunity to detect diseases from a transcriptomic perspective, however, existing techniques have fallen short in generating a comprehensive cell-free transcriptome profile. We develop a sensitive library preparation method that is robust down to 100 µl input plasma to analyze cfRNAs independent of their 5'-end modifications. We show that it outperforms adapter ligation-based method in detecting a greater number of cfRNA species.

Study protocol for safety and efficacy of all-oral shortened regimens for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a multicenter randomized withdrawal trial and a single-arm trial [SEAL-MDR].

Introduction: The urgent need for new treatments for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and pre-extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (pre-XDR-TB) is evident. However, the classic randomized controlled trial (RCT) approach faces ethical and practical constraints, making alternative research designs and treatment strategies necessary, such as single-arm trials and host-directed therapies (HDTs).

Methods: Our study adopts a randomized withdrawal trial design for MDR-TB to maximize resource allocation and better mimic real-world conditions.

A gB nanoparticle vaccine elicits a protective neutralizing antibody response against EBV.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a global public health concern, as it is known to cause multiple diseases while also being etiologically associated with a wide range of epithelial and lymphoid malignancies. Currently, there is no available prophylactic vaccine against EBV. gB is the EBV fusion protein that mediates viral membrane fusion and participates in host recognition, making it critical for EBV infection in both B cells and epithelial cells.