Current Status of Immunotherapeutic Strategies for Central Nervous System Tumors

Yang, Meng-Yin,Khan-Farooqi, Haumith,Prins, Robert M.,Liau, Linda M. The Korean Neurosurgical Society 2006 Journal of Korean neurosurgical society Vol.40 No.4

Malignant gliomas are the most common type of primary brain tumor and are in great need of novel therapeutic approaches. Advances in treatment have been very modest, significant improvement in survival has been lacking for many decades, and prognosis remains dismal. Despite "gross total" surgical resections and currently available radio-chemotherapy, malignant gliomas inevitably recur due to reservoirs of notoriously invasive tumor cells that infiltrate adjacent and non-adjacent areas of normal brain parenchyma. In principle, the immune system is uniquely qualified to recognize and target these infiltrative pockets of tumors cells, which have generally eluded conventional treatment approaches, In the span of the last 10 years, our understanding of the cancer-immune system relationship has increased exponentially; and yet we are only beginning to tease apart the intricacies of the central nervous system and immune cell interactions. This article reviews the complex associations of the immune system with brain tumors. We provide an overview of currently available treatment options for malignant gliomas, existing gaps in our knowledge of brain tumor immunology, and strategies that might be exploited for improved design of "custom immunotherapeutics." We will also examine major new immunotherapy approaches that are being actively investigated to treat patients with malignant glioma, and identify some current and future research priorities in this area.

Genetic Variations in TERT-CLPTM1L Genes and Risk of Lung Cancer in a Chinese Population

Zhao, Meng-Meng,Zhang, Yue,Shen, Li,Ren, Yang-Wu,Li, Xue-Lian,Yin, Zhi-Hua,Zhou, Bao-Sen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.6

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and cleft lip and palate transmembrane1-like (CLPTM1L) and lung cancer risk in a Chinese population. Methods: We performed a hospital-based case-control study, including 980 lung cancer cases and 1000 cancer-free controls matched for age and sex. Each case and control was interviewed to collect information by well-trained interviewers. A total of 5 ml of venous blood was collected for genotype testing of TERT rs2736098 and CLPTM1L rs401681 using TaqMan methodology. Results: The results revealed that the variant homozygote TERT rs2736098TT was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer (OR=2.017, 95%CI=1.518-2.681), especially lung adenocarcinoma (OR=2.117, 95%CI=1.557-3.043) and small cell carcinoma (OR=1.979, 95%CI: 1.174-3.334), compared with the TERT rs2736098CC genotype. Similar results were observed in non-smokers. Conclusion: The TERT rs2736098 polymorphism might affect the susceptibility to lung cancer in Chinese populations. The associations need to be verified in larger and different populations.

Improvement of energy storage performance in PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/PbZrO3 multilayer thin films via regulating PbZrO3 thickness

Yang Fei,Shi Yu Jia,Lin Lin,Chen Jing Yao,Hou Meng Zhe,Yu Ke Xin,Zhang Yi Han,Yuan Zheng,Li Xiao Fang,Hu Yan Chun,Shang Jun,Yin Shao Qian,Wang Xian Wei 한국물리학회 2023 Current Applied Physics Vol.50 No.-

In this work, to prepare the PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3(PZT)/PbZrO3(PZ) multilayer films, PZ films and PZT films were spin-coated on LaNiO3/SiO2/Si substrates in sequence by the sol-gel method, and the PZ films were prepared using PZ precursor solution with different concentrations. After each spin-coating, PZ layer and PZT layer were annealed with rapid thermal annealing (RTA) technique at 650 ◦C and 550 ◦C, respectively. The crystal structures, microstructures and electrical properties of the films with different PZ film thickness were comprehensively investigated. The PZ films with different thickness showed perovskite phase. The PZT films on crystallized PZ films exhibited the coexistence of pyrochlore phase and perovskite phase at the annealing temperature of 550 ◦C. The PZT/PZ multilayer films with 0.2 M PZ precursor solution exhibit typical anti-ferroelectricity with double hysteresis loops, while other multilayer films exhibit nearly linear loops. In addition, the recoverable energy storage density increases with the increase of the film thickness and reaches the maximum value 32.4 J/ cm3 in the PZT/PZ multilayer films with 0.4 M PZ precursor solution. Therefore, the ferroelectric properties of the PZT/PZ multilayer films could be regulated by different PZ film thickness, which effectively further enhances the energy storage performance.

Trifluoroethanol-induced changes in activity and conformation of manganese-containing superoxide dismutase.

Yin, Shang-Jun,L?, Zhi-Rong,Park, Daeui,Chung, Hae Young,Yang, Jun-Mo,Zhou, Hai-Meng,Qian, Guo-Ying,Park, Yong-Doo Humana Press 2012 Applied biochemistry and biotechnology Vol.166 No.2

<P>Superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) plays an important role in antioxidant defense in organisms exposed to oxygen. However, there is a lack of research into the regulation of SOD activity and structural changes during folding, especially for SOD originating from extremophiles. We studied the inhibitory effects of trifluoroethanol (TFE) on the activity and conformation of manganese-containing SOD (Mn-SOD) from Thermus thermophilus. TFE decreased the degree of secondary structure of Mn-SOD, which directly resulted in enzyme inactivation and disrupted the tertiary structure of Mn-SOD. The kinetic studies showed that TFE-induced inactivation of Mn-SOD is a first-order reaction and that the regional Mn-contained active site is very stable compared to the overall structure. We further simulated the docking between Mn-SOD and TFE (binding energy for Dock 6.3, -9.68 kcal/mol) and predicted that the LEU9, TYR13, and HIS29 residues outside of the active site interact with TFE. Our results provide insight into the inactivation of Mn-SOD during unfolding in the presence of TFE and allow us to describe ligand binding via inhibition kinetics combined with computational predictions.</P>

Two New Diphenylethylenes from Arundina graminifolia and Their Cytotoxicity

Yin-Ke Li,Bin Zhou,Yan-Qing Ye,Gang Du,De-Yun Niu,Chun-Yang Meng,Xue-Mei Gao,Qiu-Fen Hu 대한화학회 2013 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.34 No.11

Two new diphenylethylenes, gramniphenols H and I (1 and 2), together with six known diphenylethylenes (3- 8), were isolated from Arundina graminifolia. The structures of 1-8 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques. Compounds 1 and 2 were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against five human tumor cell lines. Compound 1 showed cytotoxicity against PC3 cells with IC50 value of 3.5 μM. Compound 2 showed cytotoxicity against NB4 and PC3 cells with IC50 values of 3.6 and 3.8 μM, respectively.

TP63 Gene Polymorphisms, Cooking Oil Fume Exposure and Risk of Lung Adenocarcinoma in Chinese Non-smoking Females

Yin, Zhi-Hua,Cui, Zhi-Gang,Ren, Yang-Wu,Su, Meng,Ma, Rui,He, Qin-Cheng,Zhou, Bao-Sen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.11

Background: Genetic polymorphisms of TP63 have been suggested to influence susceptibility to lung adenocarcinoma development in East Asian populations. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between common polymorphisms in the TP63 gene and the risk of lung adenocarcinoma, as well as interactions of the polymorphisms with environmental risk factors in Chinese non-smoking females. Methods: A case-control study of 260 cases and 318 controls was conducted. Data concerning demographic and risk factors were obtained for each subject. The genetic polymorphisms were determined by Taqman real-time PCR and statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software. Results: For 10937405, carriers of the CT genotype or at least one T allele (CT/TT) had lower risks of lung adenocarcinoma compared with the homozygous wild CC genotype in Chinese nonsmoking females (adjusted ORs were 0.68 and 0.69, 95%CIs were 0.48-0.97 and 0.50-0.97, P values were 0.033 and 0.030, respectively). Allele comparison showed that the T allele of rs10937405 was associated with a decreased risk of lung adenocarcinoma with an OR of 0.78 (95%CI=0.60-1.01, P=0.059). Our results showed that exposure to cooking oil fumes was associated with increased risk of lung adenocarcinoma in Chinese nonsmoking females (adjusted OR=1.58, 95%CI=1.11-2.25, P=0.011). However, we did not observe a significant interaction of cooking oil fumes and TP63 polymorphisms. Conclusion: TP63 polymorphism might be a genetic susceptibility factor for lung adenocarcinoma in Chinese non-smoking females, but no significant interaction was found with cooking oil fume exposure.

Power control of CiADS core with the intensity of the proton beam

Kai Yin,Wenjing Ma,Wenjuan Cui,Zhiyong He,Xinxin Li,Shiwu Dang,Feng Yang,Yuhui Guo,Limin Duan,Meng Li,Yikai Hou 한국원자력학회 2022 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.54 No.4

This paper reports the control method for the core power of the China initiative Accelerator DrivenSystem (CiADS) facility. In the CiADS facility, an intense external neutron source provided by a protonaccelerator coupled to a spallation target is used to drive a sub-critical reactor. Without any control rodinside the sub-critical reactor, the core power is controlled by adjusting the proton beam intensity. Inorder to continuously change the beam intensity, an adjustable aperture is considered to be used at theLow Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) line of the accelerator. The aperture size is adjusted based on theProportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers, by comparing either the setting beam intensity or thesetting core power with the measured value. To evaluate the proposed control method, a CiADS coremodel is built based on the point reactor kinetics model with six delayed neutron groups. The simulations based on the CiADS core model have indicated that the core power can be controlled stably byadjusting the aperture size. The response time in the adjustment of the core power depends mainly onthe adjustment time of the beam intensity

Two New Diphenylethylenes from Arundina graminifolia and Their Cytotoxicity

Li, Yin-Ke,Zhou, Bin,Ye, Yan-Qing,Du, Gang,Niu, De-Yun,Meng, Chun-Yang,Gao, Xue-Mei,Hu, Qiu-Fen Korean Chemical Society 2013 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.34 No.11

Two new diphenylethylenes, gramniphenols H and I (1 and 2), together with six known diphenylethylenes (3-8), were isolated from Arundina graminifolia. The structures of 1-8 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques. Compounds 1 and 2 were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against five human tumor cell lines. Compound 1 showed cytotoxicity against PC3 cells with $IC_{50}$ value of 3.5 ${\mu}M$. Compound 2 showed cytotoxicity against NB4 and PC3 cells with $IC_{50}$ values of 3.6 and 3.8 ${\mu}M$, respectively.

Epigenetically Modified Bone Marrow Stromal Cells in Silk Scaffolds Promote Craniofacial Bone Repair and Wound Healing

Han, Qianqian,Yang, Pishan,Wu, Yuwei,Meng, Shu,Sui, Lei,Zhang, Lan,Yu, Liming,Tang, Yin,Jiang, Hua,Xuan, Dongying,Kaplan, David L.,Kim, Sung Hoon,Tu, Qisheng,Chen, Jake Mary Ann Liebert 2015 Tissue engineering. Part A Vol.21 No.15

<P>Epigenetic regulation of gene expression is a central mechanism that governs cell stemness, determination, commitment, and differentiation. It has been recently found that PHF8, a major H4K20/H3K9 demethylase, plays a critical role in craniofacial and bone development. In this study, we hypothesize that PHF8 promotes osteoblastogenesis by epigenetically regulating the expression of a nuclear matrix protein, special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2) that plays pivotal roles in skeletal patterning and osteoblast differentiation. Our results showed that expression levels of PHF8 and SATB2 in preosteoblasts and bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) increased simultaneously during osteogenic induction. Overexpressing PHF8 in these cells upregulated the expression of SATB2, Runx2, osterix, and bone matrix proteins. Conversely, knockdown of PHF8 reduced the expression of these genes. Furthermore, ChIP assays confirmed that PHF8 specifically bound to the transcription start site (TSS) of the SATB2 promoter, and the expression of H3K9me1 at the TSS region of SATB2 decreased in PHF8 overexpressed group. Implantation of the BMSCs overexpressing PHF8 with silk protein scaffolds promoted bone regeneration in critical-sized defects in mouse calvaria. Taken together, our results demonstrated that PHF8 epigenetically modulates SATB2 activity, triggering BMSCs osteogenic differentiation and facilitating bone formation and regeneration in biodegradable silk scaffolds.</P>

Flavones from the Bark of Lindera caudata and Their Anti-Tobacco Mosaic Virus Activity

Yu-Chun Yang,Ying Qin,Xian-Xue Wu,Cong-Fang Xia,Yan-Lin Meng,Bin Zhou,Yan-Qing Ye,Xue-Mei Gao,Yin-Ke Li,Qiu-Fen Hu 대한화학회 2015 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.36 No.4

Two new flavones, 5-hydroxy-8-hydroxymethyl-7,4′-dimethoxy-flavone (1) and 6-hydroxy-8-hydroxymethyl-7,4′-dimethoxy-flavone (2), together with six known flavones (3–8), were isolated from the bark of Lindera caudata. The structures of 1–8 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including extensive 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Compounds 1–8 were evaluated for their anti-tobacco mosaic virus (anti-TMV) activity. The results showed that Compounds 1 and 2 showed high anti-TMV activity with inhibition rates of 31.2 and 28.8%, respectively. These values are close to those of positive control.