Redox active or thiol reactive? Optimization of rapid screens to identify less evident nuisance compounds

Compounds that exhibit assay interference or undesirable mechanisms of bioactivity are routinely encountered in assays at various stages of drug discovery. We observed that assays for the investigation of thiol-reactive and redox-active compounds have not been collected in a comprehensive review. Here, we review these assays and subject them to experimental optimization to improve their reliability. We demonstrate the usefulness of our assay cascade by assaying a library of bioactive compounds, chemical probes, and a set of approved drugs. These high-throughput assays should complement the array of wet-lab and in silico assays during the initial stages of hit discovery campaigns to pursue only hit compounds with tractable mechanisms of action.     

ArgD of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a functional N-acetylornithine aminotransferase with moonlighting function as an effective immune modulator

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) encodes an essential enzyme acetyl ornithine aminotransferase ArgD (Rv1655) of arginine biosynthetic pathway which plays crucial role in M. tuberculosis growth and survival. ArgD catalyzes the reversible conversion of N-acetylornithine and 2 oxoglutarate into glutamate-5-semialdehyde and L-glutamate. It also possesses succinyl diaminopimelate aminotransferase activity and can thus carry out the corresponding step in lysine biosynthesis. These essential roles played by ArgD in amino acid biosynthetic pathways highlight it as an important metabolic chokepoint thus an important drug target. We showed that M. tuberculosis ArgD rescues the growth of ΔargD E. coli grown in minimal media validating its functional importance. Phylogenetic analysis of M. tuberculosis ArgD showed homology with proteins in gram positive bacteria, pathogenic and non-pathogenic mycobacteria suggesting the essentiality of this protein. ArgD is a secretory protein that could be utilized by M. tuberculosis to modulate host innate immunity as its moonlighting function. In-silico analysis predicted it to be a highly antigenic protein. The recombinant ArgD protein when exposed to macrophage cells induced enhanced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF, IL6 and IL12 in a dose dependent manner. ArgD also induced the increased production of innate immune effector molecule NOS2 and NO in macrophages. We also demonstrated ArgD mediated activation of the canonical NFkB pathway. Notably, we also show that ArgD is a specific TLR4 agonist involved in the activation of pro-inflammatory signaling for sustained production of effector cytokines. Intriguingly, ArgD protein treatment activated macrophages to acquire the M1 phenotype through the increased surface expression of MHCII and costimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86. ArgD induced robust B-cell response in immunized mice, validating its antigenicity potential as predicted by the in-silico analysis. These properties of M. tuberculosis ArgD signify its functional plasticity that could be exploited as a possible drug target to combat tuberculosis.     

Angiotensin (1−7) peptide replacement therapy with plasma transfusion in COVID-19

AimTo determine whether convalescent angiotensin (1?7) peptide replacement therapy with plasma (peptide plasma) transfusion can be beneficial in the treatment of critically ill patients with severe coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.Study designCase series of 9 critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who met the following criteria: severe pneumonia with rapid progression and continuously high viral load despite antiviral treatment.Peptide plasma: Plasma with angiotensin (1?7) content 8–10 times higher than healthy plasma donors was obtained from suitable donors. Peptide plasma transfusion was applied to 9 patients whose clinical status and/or laboratory profile deteriorated and who needed intensive care for 2 days.ResultsIn our COVID-19 cases, favipiravir, low molecular weight heparin treatment, which is included in the treatment protocol of the ministry of health, was started. Nine patients with oxygen saturation of 93% and below despite nasal oxygen support, whose clinical and/or laboratory deteriorated, were identified. The youngest of the cases was 36 years old, and the oldest patient was 85 years old. 6 of the 9 cases had male gender. 3 cases had been smoking for more than 10 years. 4 cases had at least one chronic disease.In all of our cases, SARS CoV2 lung involvement was bilateral and peptide plasma therapy was administered in cases when oxygen saturation was 93% and below despite nasal oxygen support of 5 liters/minute and above, and intensive care was required. Although it was not reflected in the laboratory parameters in the early period, 8 patients whose saturations improved with treatment were discharged without the need for intensive care. However, a similar response was not obtained in one case. Oxygen requirement increased gradually and, he died in intensive care process. An increase of the platelet count was observed in all cases following the peptide plasma treatment.ConclusionIn this preliminary case series of 9 critically ill patients with COVID-19, administration of plasma containing angiotensin (1?7) was followed by improvement in their clinical status. The limited sample size and study design preclude a definitive statement about the potential effectiveness of this treatment, and these observations require evaluation in clinical trials.     

Ochratoxin A induced differentiation nephrotoxicity in renal tubule and glomeruli via autophagy differential regulation

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin that mainly causes nephrotoxicity. The single nephrotoxicity of OTA exposure on glomeruli or renal tubule had been well documented, however, the comparison toxicity between it is still unclear. Here, C57BL/6 mice and two types of nephrocyte were treated with concentration-gradient OTA to explore its differentiation nephrotoxicity. Results showed that OTA induced nephrotoxicity in vivo and in vitro, manifested as the deteriorative kidney function in mice and the cut-down cell viability in nephrocyte. Besides, results of murine kidney pathological section and IC₅₀ of two types nephrocyte indicated that OTA-induced toxicity in renal tubule was higher than its in glomeruli. In addition, OTA exposure induced autophagy signaling differentiation expression. It revealed that autophagy was implicated in OTA-induced differential nephrotoxicity in glomeruli and renal tubule. Altogether, we proved that OTA induces a differentiation nephrotoxicity in glomeruli and renal tubule, and it is related to autophagy differential regulation.     

Performance evaluation of newly developed fluorescence immunoassay-based interferon-gamma release assay for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in healthcare workers

The ichroma? IGRA-TB (Boditech Med Inc., Chuncheon, Republic of Korea) is an automated fluorescent immunoassay-based point-of-care interferon-gamma release assay for detecting latent tuberculosis infection. We evaluated this assay with 408 health care workers, and demonstrated its acceptable performances comparing to QuantiFERON-TB Gold-Plus (QFT-Plus; Qiagen, Germantown, MD).     

KEYNOTE⁃799:帕博利珠单抗联合同步放化疗治疗Ⅲ期不可切除NSCLC的Ⅱ期临床研究

1文献来源Jabbour SK,Lee KH,Frost N,et al.Pembrolizumab plus concurrent chemoradiation therapy in patients with unresectable,locally advanced,stageⅢnon?small cell lung cancer.The phase 2 KEYNOTE?799 nonrandomized trial[J].JAMA Oncol,2021,7(9):1-9.     

原发性干燥综合征生物标志物的研究进展

目前原发性干燥综合征(pSS)诊断仍然依赖于侵入性小涎腺活检手术,常导致其早期诊断异常艰难,因此筛选特定生物标志物可能对pSS诊断和个体化治疗极为有益。本文回顾传统标志物及与B细胞活化和表观遗传相关的新标志物,并综述组学标志物研究进展。尽管生物标志物前景较好,但其可靠性仍需扩大样本量进行验证。     

TGF-β、PD-L1及PI3K蛋白在胃癌组织中的表达及临床意义北大核心

目的:检测胃癌组织中TGF-β、PD-L1及PI3K的表达情况,并探讨TGF-β、PD-L1及PI3K表达的临床意义。方法:收集2017年01月至2018年01月我院74例接受过胃癌根治术且组织学证实为胃腺癌患者的病例蜡块标本。采用免疫组织化学法检测其中TGF-β、PD-L1以及PI3K的表达情况,分析其与临床病理参数之间的关系及三者在胃癌组织中表达的相关性,并分析其与胃癌患者预后生存之间的关系。结果:胃癌组织中TGF-β、PD-L1、PI3K阳性率高于癌旁组织,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);胃癌组织中TGF-β的表达与淋巴结转移、临床TNM分期有关(P<0.05),与年龄、性别、分化程度、浸润程度、肿瘤直径无显著相关性(P>0.05);胃癌组织中PD-L1和PI3K的表达与肿瘤浸润程度、淋巴结转移、临床TNM分期有关(P<0.05),与年龄、性别、分化程度、肿瘤直径无显著相关性(P>0.05);在胃癌组织中,TGF-β与PD-L1的表达呈正相关(P<0.05),TGF-β与PI3K的表达呈正相关(P<0.05),PI3K与PD-L1的表达呈正相关(P<0.05)。Kaplan-Meier生存分析提示,与TGF-β、PD-L1、PI3K阴性相比,TGF-β、PD-L1、PI3K阳性表达的患者总生存期明显缩短(P<0.05)。结论:胃癌组织中存在TGF-β、PD-L1以及PI3K的高表达,并且TGF-β、PD-L1、PI3K的表达与淋巴结转移、临床TNM分期密切相关,三者可能参与胃癌的发生、发展和转移,且高表达患者的预后情况较差。