PARP7 negatively regulates the type I interferon response in cancer cells and its inhibition triggers antitumor immunity

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Effectiveness of monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 patients using a risk scoring system

IntroductionMonoclonal antibody therapy has been reported to be highly effective for preventing hospitalisation and severe cases in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, since the drug is not readily available, it is important to rapidly and appropriately identify high-risk patients who can benefit most from therapy. Therefore, we designed a risk scoring system to identify at-risk COVID-19 patients in our region during the largest surge of COVID-19, from July to September 2021.MethodsAccording to the risk scores, confirmed COVID-19 patients were introduced to receive REGN-CoV-2 to our hospital by regional health centre from 18th August (Term 3). The primary outcome was the comparison of the number of hospitalisation and severe condition with other periods, the 4th wave (Term 1) and the early part of the 5th wave (Term 2) in Japan.ResultsDuring Term 3, 115 patients were stratified with the scoring system and administered REGN-COV-2. The number of hospitalisation vs severe cases were 60 (5.2%) vs 14 (1.2%), 8 (1.5%) vs 3 (0.6%) and 21 (1.2%) vs 2 (0.1%), in term 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Among those aged <60 years, compared with term 1, the relative risk of hospitalisation and severe condition were 0.25 (95% CI: 0.12–0.53) and 0.10 (95% CI: 0.01–0.80), respectively, in term 3. Drug adverse events were fever (3: 2.6%), headache (1: 0.9%) and neck rash (1: 0.9%), all events were resolved within 24 h wth no serious adverse event.ConclusionsThe administration of monoclonal antibody therapy using a risk scoring system significantly reduced the number of hospitalisation and disease severity of COVID-19 without any serious adverse events and avoided regional medical collapse.     

Recent advances in lipid nanoparticles for delivery of nucleic acid,mRNA, and gene editing-based therapeutics

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are becoming popular as a means of delivering therapeutics, including those based on nucleic acids and mRNA. The mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines are perfect examples to highlight the role played by drug delivery systems in advancing human health. The fundamentals of LNPs for the delivery of nucleic acid- and mRNA-based therapeutics, are well established. Thus, future research on LNPs will focus on addressing the following: expanding the scope of drug delivery to different constituents of the human body, expanding the number of diseases that can be targeted, and studying the change in the pharmacokinetics of LNPs under physiological and pathological conditions. This review article provides an overview of recent advances aimed at expanding the application of LNPs, focusing on the pharmacokinetics and advantages of LNPs. In addition, analytical techniques, library construction and screening, rational design, active targeting, and applicability to gene editing therapy have also been discussed.     

利用CNV-seq技术产前诊断Pallister-Killian综合征胎儿一例

应用拷贝数变异测序(copy number variation sequencing,CNV-seq)技术鉴别来源不明的胎儿标记染色体,明确其遗传物质的来源,并探讨此技术在产前诊断中的应用价值。讨论Pallister-Killian综合征(Pallister-Killian syndrome,PKS)的临床特征及遗传学特点,提高对此类罕见染色体疾病的认识。该病例因在妊娠中期超声发现胎儿异常而行羊水穿刺进行CNV-Seq检测,同时分析胎儿和父母的核型。羊水CNV-Seq结果示该样本12号染色体p13.33-p11.1处检测到拷贝数为3.5、片段大小为34.70 Mb的嵌合重复区域;羊水染色体核型结果为47,XY,+i(12)(p10)[58]/46,XX[42],综合上述结果考虑为PKS。通过结合超声结果,综合应用染色体G显带核型分析和CNV-seq技术能准确确认染色体异常片段来源,在产前有效诊断PKS患者。     

Long-Term Clinical Outcomes after Endovascular Therapy for Anti-Centromere Antibody-Positive Patients with Critical Limb-Threatening Ischemia

PurposeTo examine the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with anti-centromere antibody (ACA)-positive critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) who were treated with endovascular therapy (EVT).Materials and MethodsThis was a retrospective analysis using a database of 423 consecutive CLTI patients (543 limbs, Rutherford class 4–6) who underwent EVT between January 2011 and March 2013. The patients were divided into 2 groups: an ACA-positive group (10 limbs, 8 patients) and a control group (46 limbs, 43 patients). The control group was defined as female, non-dialysis, and those who were able to obtain a below-knee angiogram.ResultsNone of the 8 ACA-positive CLTI patients had previously been diagnosed as ACA positive. No significant difference was observed in the below-the-knee lesion distribution and severity between the ACA-positive group and the control group. The median observational period was 51 months. The survival rate was 54% in the ACA-positive group and 76% in the control group at 5 years after EVT (P = .732). The freedom from major amputation rate was 60% in the ACA-positive group and 91% in the control group at 5 years after EVT (P = .029). The technical EVT success rate in the ACA-positive group was 70% (7/10). Of the successful EVT cases, 71% (5/7) of patients achieved complete wound healing or rest pain relief; however, 60% (3/5) had a recurrence of wounds.ConclusionsIn a series of ACA-positive patients with CLTI, successful EVT had acceptable outcomes with respect to wound healing with short-term results. However, the major amputation rate for ACA-positive patients was high in long-term follow-up.     

Morphological,Functional, and Tissue Characterization of Silent Myocardial Involvement in Patients With Primary Biliary Cholangitis

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中国X连锁视网膜色素变性家系RPGR新突变

目的 检测分析被诊断为X连锁视网膜色素变性（XLRP）的三个中国家系内的基因突变。设计 基因研究。研究对象 三个中国XLRP家系共27位受试者（其中18人为男性）。方法 由同一医生收集家系成员的详细临床资料并进行眼部检查，采集三个家系的先证者及有条件采血者的外周静脉血，提取基因组DNA。应用PCR技术扩增RPGR和RP2基因的全部外显子和内含子交界区序列，包括RPGR基因15号外显子开放阅读框，产物直接测序进行突变分析。主要指标 临床特征及基因测序结果。结果 基因筛查证实了两个RPGR基因的新型无义突变(c.1541C>G;p.S514X 和 c.2833G>T;p.E945X) 及一个错义突变(c.607G>C;p.A203P)。基因型-表型的相关性分析表明家系3患者在接近ORF15下游位置存在突变，这种突变导致视锥细胞功能的早期丧失。ORF15无义突变的女性携带者临床表型重，呈现出部分显性遗传的特点。结论 本研究证实了三种RPGR基因的新型突变，这一结果扩展了RPGR的突变谱及表型谱。     

In vivo epigenetic effects induced by engineered nanomaterials: A case study of copper oxide and laser printer-emitted engineered nanoparticles

Evidence continues to grow on potential environmental health hazards associated with engineered nanomaterials (ENMs). While the geno- and cytotoxic effects of ENMs have been investigated, their potential to target the epigenome remains largely unknown. The aim of this study is two-fold: 1) determining whether or not industry relevant ENMs can affect the epigenome in vivo and 2) validating a recently developed in vitro epigenetic screening platform for inhaled ENMs. Laser printer-emitted engineered nanoparticles (PEPs) released from nano-enabled toners during consumer use and copper oxide (CuO) were chosen since these particles induced significant epigenetic changes in a recent in vitro companion study. In this study, the epigenetic alterations in lung tissue, alveolar macrophages and peripheral blood from intratracheally instilled mice were evaluated. The methylation of global DNA and transposable elements (TEs), the expression of the DNA methylation machinery and TEs, in addition to general toxicological effects in the lung were assessed. CuO exhibited higher cell-damaging potential to the lung, while PEPs showed a greater ability to target the epigenome. Alterations in the methylation status of global DNA and TEs, and expression of TEs and DNA machinery in mouse lung were observed after exposure to CuO and PEPs. Additionally, epigenetic changes were detected in the peripheral blood after PEPs exposure. Altogether, CuO and PEPs can induce epigenetic alterations in a mouse experimental model, which in turn confirms that the recently developed in vitro epigenetic platform using macrophage and epithelial cell lines can be successfully utilized in the epigenetic screening of ENMs.     

Collecting and evaluating convalescent plasma for COVID-19 treatment: why and how?

Plasma provided by COVID-19 convalescent patients may provide therapeutic relief as the number of COVID-19 cases escalates steeply worldwide. Prior findings in various viral respiratory diseases including SARS-CoV-related pneumonia suggest that convalescent plasma can reduce mortality, although formal proof of efficacy is still lacking. By reducing viral spread early on, such an approach may possibly downplay subsequent immunopathology. Identifying, collecting, qualifying and preparing plasma from convalescent patients with adequate SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing Ab titres in an acute crisis setting may be challenging, although well within the remit of most blood establishments. Careful clinical evaluation should allow to quickly establish whether such passive immunotherapy, administered at early phases of the disease in patients at high risk of deleterious evolution, may reduce the frequency of patient deterioration, and thereby COVID-19 mortality.