The high burden of HEV infection in solid organ transplant recipients.

Background: HEV is an important cause of morbidity in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. However, the total burden of hepatitis E, including subclinical infections in this group, is not well defined. We compared hepatitis E exposures in SOT recipients to non-transplant controls.

Antibodies elicited by hepatitis E vaccination in humans confer cross-genus protection against rat hepatitis E virus.

Background & Aims: Paslahepevirus balayani (bHEV), also known as hepatitis E virus (HEV), encompasses eight genotypes, five of which infect humans. Rats are natural reservoirs of Rocahepevirus ratti genotype 1 (HEV-r-1; rat HEV; rHEV), which has recently been implicated in viral hepatitis. Despite the antigenic divergence between bHEV and rHEV, studies on shared protective antibodies remain rare.

Charting the regulatory landscape of TP53 on transposable elements in cancer.

The relationship between TP53 and transposable elements (TEs) has been obscure. Given the important role of TEs in oncogenesis, a comprehensive profiling of TE expression dynamics under the regulation of TP53 provides valuable resources for more clarity in TP53's roles in cancer. In this study, we characterized the TE transcriptomic landscape using long-read RNA-seq and short-read RNA-seq in three cancer cell lines varying only in genetic status.

Prevalence of (rat hepatitis E virus) in humans and rats in China.

Background & Aims: (rat hepatitis E virus; rHEV) is a ubiquitous pathogen of rats that has recently emerged as a cause of hepatitis in humans. Although several rHEV cases have been detected worldwide, the extent of human exposure to this hepatitis agent is still poorly defined. We conducted a multicenter surveillance study in China examining rHEV exposures in demographically diverse human populations from a One Health perspective.

Nuclear-Targeted Material Enabled Intranuclear MicroRNA Imaging for Tracking Gene Editing Process.

Gene editing technology based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) systems serves as an efficient tool in cancer therapy. Tracking the gene editing process can help identify the progress of cancer treatment. However, existing techniques for monitoring the gene editing process rely on lysed cells, which can not reflect the dynamic changes of nucleic acid in living cells.

Epigenetic therapy potentiates transposable element transcription to create tumor-enriched antigens in glioblastoma cells.

Inhibiting epigenetic modulators can transcriptionally reactivate transposable elements (TEs). These TE transcripts often generate unique peptides that can serve as immunogenic antigens for immunotherapy. Here, we ask whether TEs activated by epigenetic therapy could appreciably increase the antigen repertoire in glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with low mutation and neoantigen burden.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids promote M2-like TAM deposition via dampening RhoA-YAP1 signaling in the ovarian cancer microenvironment.

Background: Peritoneal metastases frequently occur in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), resulting in poor prognosis and survival rates. Tumor-associated-macrophages (TAMs) massively infiltrate into ascites spheroids and are multi-polarized as protumoral M2-like phenotype, orchestrating the immunosuppression and promoting tumor progression. However, the impact of omental conditioned medium/ascites (OCM/AS) on TAM polarization and its function in tumor progression remains elusive.

Towards targeting transposable elements for cancer therapy.

Transposable elements (TEs) represent almost half of the human genome. Historically deemed 'junk DNA', recent technological advancements have stimulated a wave of research into the functional impact of TEs on gene-regulatory networks in evolution and development, as well as in diseases including cancer. The genetic and epigenetic evolution of cancer involves the exploitation of TEs, whereby TEs contribute directly to cancer-specific gene activities.

Dissecting the effects of METTL3 on alternative splicing in prostate cancer.

Although the role of METTL3 has been extensively studied in many cancers, its role in isoform switching in prostate cancer (PCa) has been poorly explored. To investigate its role, we applied standard RNA-sequencing and long-read direct RNA-sequencing from Oxford Nanopore to examine how METTL3 affects alternative splicing (AS) in two PCa cell lines. By dissecting genome-wide METTL3-regulated AS events, we noted that two PCa cell lines (representing two different PCa subtypes, androgen-sensitive or resistant) behave differently in exon skipping and intron retention events following METTL3 depletion, suggesting AS heterogeneity in PCa.

Transposable elements in mammalian chromatin organization.

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA elements that comprise almost 50% of mammalian genomic sequence. TEs are capable of making additional copies of themselves that integrate into new positions in host genomes. This unique property has had an important impact on mammalian genome evolution and on the regulation of gene expression because TE-derived sequences can function as cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers, promoters and silencers.

Paget disease of the breast with underlying invasive ductal cancer in neurofibromatosis type 1: a case report.

Background: Neurofibromatoses (NFs) are a group of rare autosomal dominant genetic disorders characterized by tumors growing in the nervous system. Neurofibromas, which are soft noncancerous tumors, have been found on or under the skin in patients with NF1. Furthermore, patients with NF1 are susceptible to various cancers, including breast cancer.

Pan-cancer analysis identifies tumor-specific antigens derived from transposable elements.

Cryptic promoters within transposable elements (TEs) can be transcriptionally reactivated in tumors to create new TE-chimeric transcripts, which can produce immunogenic antigens. We performed a comprehensive screen for these TE exaptation events in 33 TCGA tumor types, 30 GTEx adult tissues and 675 cancer cell lines, and identified 1,068 TE-exapted candidates with the potential to generate shared tumor-specific TE-chimeric antigens (TS-TEAs). Whole-lysate and HLA-pulldown mass spectrometry data confirmed that TS-TEAs are presented on the surface of cancer cells.

Detecting the expression of HRs and BCL2 via IHC can help identify luminal A-like subtypes of triple-positive breast cancers.

Background: Triple-positive breast cancer (TPBC) is a tumor that simultaneously expresses estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2). Luminal A-like TPBC is a special subtype with a favorable prognosis but benefits less from HER2-targeted therapy. However, little is known about how to identify luminal A-like TPBCs.

Whole-exome sequencing reveals a comprehensive germline mutation landscape and identifies twelve novel predisposition genes in Chinese prostate cancer patients.

Prostate cancer is the most inheritable cancer with approximately 42% of disease risk attributed to inherited factors by studies of twins, indicating the importance of additional genetic screening to identify predisposition variants. However, only DNA damage repair (DDR) genes have been investigated thoroughly in prostate cancer. To determine the comprehensive germline mutation landscape in Chinese prostate cancer patients, we performed whole exome sequencing in 100 Han Chinese patients with prostate cancer in Hong Kong and identified deleterious germline mutations.

Genome-Wide Characterization of Host Transcriptional and Epigenetic Alterations During HIV Infection of T Lymphocytes.

Host genomic alterations are closely related to dysfunction of CD4 T lymphocytes in the HIV-host interplay. However, the roles of aberrant DNA methylation and gene expression in the response to HIV infection are not fully understood. We investigated the genome-wide DNA methylation and transcriptomic profiles in two HIV-infected T lymphocyte cell lines using high-throughput sequencing.

Cathelicidin preserves intestinal barrier function in polymicrobial sepsis.

Objectives: The intestinal epithelium compartmentalizes the sterile bloodstream and the commensal bacteria in the gut. Accumulating evidence suggests that this barrier is impaired in sepsis, aggravating systemic inflammation. Previous studies reported that cathelicidin is differentially expressed in various tissues in sepsis.

Tailoring focused optical vortices by using spiral forked plates.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a single optical element, termed as spiral forked plates (SFPs), to simultaneously generate two tightly focused optical vortices (OVs). The key idea is to combine a spiral zone plate (SZP) and a forked grating (FG) through a logic XOR operation. Both theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that SFPs not only can completely suppress the undesirable zeroth (central) order diffraction, but also can further manipulate the topological charges (TCs) of the two resultant focused OVs by varying the TCs of the SZP and FG, following the so-called TC transformation rule.

Composited holograms for the generation of cylindrical optical lattices and flower modes.

We present composited holograms to realize the azimuthal interference of cylindrical optical lattices (COLs) and the flower modes (FMs) of Fourier transform-truncated Bessel beams (FT-TBB). Three types of binarization operations are evaluated for the composited holograms generated by two FT-TBB with independent topological charges l and l and the same radial index p=1. Both the numerical solutions and experimental results demonstrate that the four types of COLs and FMs, namely, the conventional COL, interleaved COL, flower-core FM, and polygon-core FM, can be produced by the Fourier transformation of the composited holograms with the same radial index p=1 and topological combinations ||l|-|l||<2, ||l|-|l||=2, ||l|-|l||=3, and ||l|-|l||=4, respectively.

Histone methyltransferase SETDB1 promotes cells proliferation and migration by interacting withTiam1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: SETDB1 is a histone H3K9 methyltransferase, which plays a significant role in the occurrence and progression of tumors. Previous studies have confirmed that T-lymphom invasion and metastasis gene (Tiam1) is a protein associated with the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, we have not yet been successful in elucidating the specific mechanism of HCC.

Methods: Yeast two-hybrid test was conducted to screen proteins that interacted with Tiam1 gene.

Translational genomics in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A review with re-analysis of TCGA dataset.

Malignancy of the pancreas is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, with the highest case-fatality of all cancers. Nevertheless, the lack of sensitive biomarkers and presence of biological heterogeneity precludes its early detection and effective treatment. The recent introduction of next-generation sequencing allows characterization of multiple driver mutations at genome- and exome-wide levels.

Histone Methyltransferase SETDB1 Promotes the Progression of Colorectal Cancer by Inhibiting the Expression of TP53.

SETDB1 is a novel histone methyltransferase associated with the functional tri-methylation of histone H3K9. Although aberrant high expression of SETDB1 was experimentally obversed in a variety of solid tumors, its underlying mechanisms in human carcinogenesis are not well known. In this study, we investigated the expression of SETDB1 in a large cohort of colorectal cancer (CRC) samples and cell lines for the first time.

Single-focus spiral zone plates.

We extend the concept of spiral zone plates along the optical axis and define a specific single optical element, termed as single-focus spiral zone plates (SFSZPs), for the generation of a single-focus vortex beam. The key idea is to make the transmittance of the spiral zone plates sinusoidal in the azimuthal direction. Furthermore, a two-parameter modified sinusoidal apodization window is introduced to modulate the transmittance function.

Zinc finger protein 307 functions as a tumor‑suppressor and inhibits cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Zinc finger protein 307 (ZNF307) is a new Krüppel-associated box zinc-finger protein gene and a member of the zinc-finger family of transcriptional factors. Notably, the role of ZNF307 and its underlying mechanisms involved in hepatocarcinogenesis are poorly investigated. In the present study, we found that the expression of ZNF307 was significantly downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues, compared with that in adjacent non-tumor tissues.