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.     

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.     

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。     

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.     

长链非编码RNA THOR促进宫颈癌细胞C33A增殖

目的研究长链非编码RNATHOR对宫颈癌C33A细胞生长的调控作用。方法 qRTPCR分别检测15对肿瘤组织/癌旁组织和宫颈癌细胞系C33A、siHa、正常宫颈鳞状上皮细胞H8中的LncRNA THOR表达水平。在宫颈癌细胞系C33A中,siRNA沉默LncRNA THOR后利用CCK8和平板克隆形成实验检测细胞增殖,流式细胞学实验检测细胞周期,使用western blot检测细胞周期蛋白变化。结果 qRT-PCR结果显示15例组织中12例肿瘤组织LncRNA THOR表达明显高于癌旁组织,宫颈癌细胞系C33A、siHa中LncRNA THOR表达也明显高于宫颈鳞状上皮细胞H8细胞。在宫颈癌细胞系C33A中沉默LncRNA THOR后,CCK8结果显示细胞增殖受到抑制,平板克隆形成实验表现为细胞克隆明显减少。流式细胞学周期分析发现G0/G1期细胞比值增高。western blot实验显示周期蛋白cyclinD 1和cyclinE1在蛋白水平下降,p27和p21蛋白水平增高。结论 LncRNATHOR在宫颈癌中高表达,沉默LncRNA THOR可以抑制宫颈肿瘤细胞增殖。     

LncRNA SNHG7通过调控β-catenin蛋白影响乳腺癌细胞的增值、迁移和侵袭

目的探讨长链非编码RNA SNHG7 (LncRNA SNHG7)在乳腺癌细胞系中的功能及其机制。方法 RT-qPCR检测LncRNA SNHG7在乳腺癌组织和乳腺癌细胞系的表达水平,核浆分离实验检测LncRNA SNHG7在乳腺癌细胞系MDA-MB-231中的定位。在MDA-MB-231细胞系中,siRNA沉默LncRNA SNHG7后,利用MTS和平板克隆形成实验研究LncRNA SNHG7对细胞增殖的影响;利用划痕和transwell实验研究LncRNA SNHG7对细胞侵袭迁移的影响。通过Western blot(WB)实验研究LncRNA SNHG7在乳腺癌细胞系中可能参与的分子机制。结果 qPCR结果显示,与癌旁组织相比,LncRNA SNHG7在乳腺癌组织中高表达(P0.05);与乳腺正常上皮MCF-10A相比,LncRNA SNHG7在乳腺癌细胞系中高表达。siRNA沉默LncRNA SNHG7后,细胞增殖能力和平板克隆形成能力被抑制(P0.05),划痕实验显示细胞的愈合能力降低(P0.05),trans well实验显示细胞的迁移和侵袭能力均被抑制(P0.05)。WB结果显示β-catenin、 C-Myc和CyclinD1蛋白的表达下调,磷酸化的β-catenin(p-β-catenin)蛋白降解增加。结论 LncRNA SNHG7在乳腺癌组织和乳腺癌细胞系中高表达。沉默LncRNA SNHG7后,细胞的增殖和侵袭迁移能力均降低。WB结果表明LncRNA SN HG7调控乳腺癌细胞的增殖和侵袭迁移可能与β-catenin蛋白的表达下调和p-β-catenin蛋白降解增加有关。