Review
Oncology
Kui-Ying Jiang, Li-Li Qi, Fu-Biao Kang, Ling Wang
Summary: This article summarizes the expression spectrum and functions of the Siglec family in human diseases, particularly cancer. Studies have found that Siglecs have diverse immune and non-immune regulatory roles in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and they can participate in tumor progression through mechanisms such as regulating tumor growth and metastasis, mediating inflammatory responses, and promoting tumor immune escape, thus affecting the prognosis and outcomes of patients. Therefore, this study highlights the potential for therapeutic interventions targeting the TME.
BIOMARKER RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Jianwei Zhang, Silu Meng, Xiuqing Zhang, Kang Shao, Cong Lin
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive overview of the infiltration patterns of microenvironment cells throughout cervical cancer progression, revealing changes in abundance and activation status of immune cells, which contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in cervical cancer.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Chenjia Zhou, Ying Gao, Peilun Ding, Tao Wu, Guang Ji
Summary: Chemokines, especially the CXC subfamily, play critical roles in various biological processes, such as chemotaxis, tumor growth, angiogenesis, etc. The CXC chemokines can recruit and migrate immune cells, regulate tumor behaviors, and activate angiogenesis. Due to their involvement in tumors and inflammatory diseases, the CXCL subfamily has attracted extensive attention. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the roles of CXCL family members in different diseases.
CELL DEATH DISCOVERY
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Xin Ding, Moxiao Li, Bo Cheng, Zhao Wei, Yuqing Dong, Feng Xu
Summary: This review introduces and discusses a method based on a microsphere sensor (MSS-based method) as an advantageous approach over conventional techniques in quantifying stress in situ and in vivo at cellular and supra-cellular scales. This technique is implemented by seven sequential steps, including fabrication, modification, characterization, cell junction, imaging, displacement field extraction, and stress calculation. Precise control of each step and inter-tuning between steps can provide quantitative stress field. However, detailed procedural information associated with each step has been scattered. Thus, a comprehensive review collating recent advances and perspective discussions is a necessity to introduce a better option for quantifying the stress field in biological processes at the cellular and supra-cellular scales.
ACTA BIOMATERIALIA
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Xiaoyue Yang, Weipei Zhu
Summary: Cervical cancer is a common and poor prognosis cancer among women worldwide. The interaction between tumor progression and immune cells or stromal cells can provide new insights into treatment for aggressive tumor.
EXPERIMENTAL AND THERAPEUTIC MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Wei-jiang Zhao, Guan-yong Ou, Wen-wen Lin
Summary: The study investigated the role of Neuregulin (NRG) family proteins in gliomas, focusing on their expression levels and prognostic value in LGG and GBM. Results showed that NRG1-4 were differentially expressed in gliomas compared to normal tissue, and were significantly associated with the tumor immune microenvironment and immune cell infiltration. Prognostic analysis indicated that NRG3 and NRG1 could potentially serve as independent biomarkers in LGG and GBM, respectively, with NRG1 showing correlation with drug response. These findings support the modulation of NRG signaling in the management of gliomas.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Developmental Biology
Pedro Gomez-Galvez, Pablo Vicente-Munuera, Samira Anbari, Javier Buceta, Luis M. Escudero
Summary: Understanding the cellular organization of tissues is crucial in developmental biology, with a successful focus on epithelial tissues. The complexity of tissue organization requires consideration of three-dimensional effects, not just two-dimensional representations. The inclusion of scutoidal cell shapes is essential for explaining epithelial structure effectively, even from a reductionist perspective.
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Liwei Du, Yuchen Liu, Chenxi Li, Jinkuang Deng, Yi Sang
Summary: In this review, the authors discuss the role and progress of ETS factors and miRNAs in cancer research, with a focus on their interactions with ceRNAs, posttranslational modifications, and the tumor microenvironment. They find that the interplay between ETS factors and miRNAs offers new insights into tumorigenesis and development, as well as novel therapeutic approaches for malignant tumors.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Zhenzhen Zhou, Jianyu He, Yuan Pang, Wei Sun
Summary: Recent advances in tumor microenvironment (TME) modeling and its applications to cancer therapy have led to dramatic changes in the management of multiple malignancies. Various three-dimensional (3D) cell culture techniques have been developed to understand and replicate cancer biology. This review highlights the progress in in vitro 3D TME modeling techniques, such as cell-based, matrix-based, and vessel-based approaches, and their applications in studying tumor-stroma interactions and responses to cancer therapies. The review also addresses the limitations of current TME modeling approaches and proposes new ideas for constructing more clinically relevant models.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Youngkyu Cho, Kyuhwan Na, Yesl Jun, Jihee Won, Ji Hun Yang, Seok Chung
Summary: This study proposes a new three-dimensional lymphangiogenesis model in a tumor microenvironment, which can mimic the biochemical and biomechanical characteristics of lymphatic vessels in vivo. By incorporating tumor spheroids, the model reveals microenvironment factors that contribute to tumor metastasis, making it a useful tool for pathological drug screening or disease modeling.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Rachel R. Katz, Jennifer L. West
Summary: The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in tumor progression and drug resistance. In vitro models that can replicate the cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in situ are essential for studying tumor behavior and selecting effective drugs. While naturally derived polymers can maintain the dimensionality of the native TME, they lack tunability and batch-to-batch consistency. Therefore, synthetic polymer systems have been widely used to create physiologically relevant TME cultures. In this review, we discuss the current state and future directions of tumor microenvironment models in synthetic hydrogels.
Article
Cell Biology
Sandra Wuest, Paulina Schad, Sandy Burkart, Marco Binder
Summary: The study revealed the crucial roles of IRF3 and IRF9 in establishing the antiviral state of the cell, while IRF1, 5 and 7 were relatively dispensable.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Xinlong Du, Jerome F. Hajjar
Summary: This paper presents a three-dimensional mixed beam element formulation for fully nonlinear distributed plasticity analysis of members composed of sections with no significant torsional warping. The formulation is implemented using a corotational total Lagrangian approach and the OpenSees corotational framework. The element tangent stiffness matrix and resisting forces in the basic system are derived through linearization of the two-field Hellinger-Reissner variational principle.
THIN-WALLED STRUCTURES
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Kolluri Poornima, Arul Prakash Francis, Muddasarul Hoda, Mohamed Ahmed Eladl, Srividya Subramanian, Vishnu Priya Veeraraghavan, Mohamed El-Sherbiny, Saad Mohamed Asseri, Abdulrahman Bashir Ahmed Hussamuldin, Krishna Mohan Surapaneni, Ullas Mony, Rukkumani Rajagopalan
Summary: Replicating the natural biomechanical environment of cells is crucial for understanding fundamental life processes. Traditional 2D cell cultures do not replicate the native environment, while 3D cell cultures provide a better replication of extracellular matrix properties and offer insights into tumorigenesis mechanisms. 3D cell culture is a valuable platform for studying the biological characteristics of tumor cells.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Somnath Maji, Hyungseok Lee
Summary: The superiority of in vitro 3D cultures over conventional 2D cell cultures for mimicking native tissue architecture and functionality is well recognized. The development of 3D in vitro models using hydrogels as biomaterials has gained significant attention in the field of tissue engineering. This review highlights recent progress in the use of hydrogel-based biomaterials for developing 3D in vitro models, discussing sources, hybrid systems, crosslinking mechanisms, and available module systems. Future perspectives and challenges are also discussed.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Pawel Laniewski, Kimberley A. Owen, Michael Khnanisho, Rebecca M. Brotman, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: The study found that lubricants containing chlorhexidine gluconate or nonoxynol-9 can significantly inhibit the growth of vaginal Lactobacillus species, while other clinical and personal lubricants do not have this effect. Additionally, chlorhexidine gluconate had a stronger antimicrobial effect compared to methylparaben and propylparaben.
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Mary E. Salliss, Leslie Farland, Nichole D. Mahnert, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: The relationship between the microbiome and endometriosis, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is complex and requires further research for a better understanding. Studies have shown a potential link between dysbiotic gut or genital microbiota and gynecologic conditions, highlighting the need for more rigorous study designs and consistent methodology across the field.
HUMAN REPRODUCTION UPDATE
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Nicholas A. Bokulich, Pawel Laniewski, Anja Adamov, Dana M. Chase, J. Gregory Caporaso, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: This study provides insights into the interactions between vaginal microbiome, metabolome, and genital inflammation in cervical neoplasms. The integration of multi-omics data reveals the characteristic features and predictive models of the cervicovaginal microenvironment. These findings highlight the importance of multi-omics approaches in microbiome research and the potential contribution of host-microbe interactions to cervical carcinogenesis.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pawel Laniewski, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: This study demonstrated that 3D cervical epithelial cells colonized with cervicovaginal microbiota faithfully reproduce the immunometabolic microenvironment previously observed in clinical studies and can successfully be used as a robust tool to evaluate host responses to commensal and pathogenic bacteria in the female reproductive tract.
NPJ BIOFILMS AND MICROBIOMES
(2021)
Editorial Material
Microbiology
Pawel Laniewski, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Emily A. Kaelin, Peter T. Skidmore, Pawel Laniewski, LaRinda A. Holland, Dana M. Chase, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz, Efrem S. Lim
Summary: The link between the cervicovaginal bacterial microbiome, HPV infection, and cervical cancer provides insight into the development of cervical cancer. However, the role of the cervicovaginal virome remains poorly understood.
Article
Biology
Jason D. Maarsingh, Pawel Laniewski, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: Specific bacteria of the human microbiome can influence carcinogenesis at different anatomical sites. Bacterial vaginosis (BV)-associated bacteria may facilitate a tumor-promoting microenvironment in gynecologic cancers.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Nicole R. R. Jimenez, Jason D. D. Maarsingh, Pawel Laniewski, Melissa M. M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: The vaginal microbiome in reproductive-age women is mainly composed of certain Lactobacillus species, which are associated with optimal cervicovaginal health. However, the metabolic contributions of other lactobacilli to cervicovaginal health are still not well understood.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Georgia M. Lorentzen, Pawel Laniewski, Haiyan Cui, Denise J. Rose, Jamal Mouard, Nichole D. Marnert, Leslie Farland, Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz
Summary: Adenomyosis is a burdensome gynecologic condition that often goes undiagnosed despite its negative impact on quality of life. In this study, we used non-invasive cervicovaginal lavage samples to analyze the levels of immune proteins and metabolites in women with adenomyosis. We found significant alterations in immune proteins and a large quantity of metabolites related to cytokines and amino acids. Through enrichment analysis, we identified upregulated pathways in adenomyosis related to pyrimidine metabolism, carnitine synthesis, and histidine/histamine metabolism. This study demonstrates the usefulness of non-invasive sampling combined with immunometabolic profiling for adenomyosis detection and a better understanding of its pathophysiology.
