Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Bo Li, Qian Cao, Zhuo Liu
Summary: Huaier extract has promising anti-tumor effects on CRC through inducing apoptosis, inhibiting proliferation, preventing transformation, weakening stem cell proliferation and differentiation, decreasing vessel density, and enhancing the immune system and chemotherapeutic efficacy.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Hongrong Long, Zhongcai Wu
Summary: Huaier, a medicinal fungus in traditional Chinese medicine, has a long history of clinical application and remarkable anticancer activities. Recent studies have uncovered its immunomodulatory effects, which have shown benefits in various immune-related diseases. This review comprehensively summarizes the active components of Huaier, its regulatory activities on the immune system, its clinical applications, as well as toxicologic evidence. Huaier has broad-spectrum regulatory activities on various components of the immune system, and its modulatory activities promote restoration to normal physiological status. With excellent efficacy and minimal side effects, Huaier holds promise for treating immune-related disorders.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Jieying Zhang, Liling Zhang, Yuhui Yang, Qing Liu, Hong Ma, Ai Huang, Yanxia Zhao, Zihan Xia, Tao Liu, Gang Wu
Summary: The study revealed that PMN-MDSCs were involved in radiation-induced immune suppression through upregulation of ARG1, and selective depletion of PMN-MDSCs or inhibition of ARG1 could delay tumor regrowth. Furthermore, sildenafil was shown to reduce PMN-MDSCs accumulation and ARG1 expression after irradiation, abolishing the MDSCs-mediated immunosuppression and potentially facilitating antitumor immunity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY BIOLOGY PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Lingyan Xu, Peifen Cai, Xiaofei Li, Xiaohan Wu, Jian Gao, Wen Liu, Jiashu Yang, Qiang Xu, Wenjie Guo, Yanhong Gu
Summary: Andrographolide sulfonate, a traditional Chinese medicine, when combined with 5-FU, significantly inhibits colorectal cancer growth, promotes apoptosis, and enhances antitumor immunity by inhibiting 5-FU induced NLRP3 activation in MDSCs. This synergistic effect provides a novel strategy to address 5-FU resistance in the treatment of CRC.
TOXICOLOGY AND APPLIED PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Grainne Jameson, Cathal Harmon, Rhyla Mae Santiago, Diarmaid D. Houlihan, Tom K. Gallagher, Lydia Lynch, Mark W. Robinson, Cliona O'Farrelly
Summary: Liver-resident CD56(bright)CD16(-) natural killer (NK) cells may contribute to immune tolerance during liver transplantation. RNA sequencing revealed that these liver-resident NK cells upregulated genes associated tissue residency and expressed immune receptors capable of activating NK cells. Functional assays demonstrated that hepatic NK cells had cytotoxic effects on allogenic CD8(+) T cells, with CD8(+) T cells being more susceptible than CD4(+) T cells, and this cytotoxic response could be enhanced by an anti-CD160 agonist.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Weiwei Wang, Jing Zhao, Changlong Hao, Shudong Hu, Chen Chen, Yi Cao, Zhengyu Xu, Jun Guo, Liguang Xu, Maozhong Sun, Chuanlai Xu, Hua Kuang
Summary: This study discovers the potential of chiral nanomaterials as immunoadjuvants for the prevention and treatment of cancer. Chiral nanoparticles enhance immune response and inhibit tumor growth through the stimulation of specific cell types, showing better therapeutic effects compared to achiral nanoparticles.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Hongbo Zhang, Yuzhen Zhuo, Dihua Li, Lanqiu Zhang, Qiaoying Gao, Lei Yang, Xiangfei Yuan
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) on inducing ferroptosis and activating anti-tumor immunity and the underlying molecular mechanism. The results showed that DHA inhibited pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and induced cell ferroptosis by up-regulating the expression of P53 and ALOX12, while also up-regulating the expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11. Furthermore, DHA reduced the suppressive expansion of M2 and MDSCs, and increased the population of CD8(+)T cells, NK cells and NKT cells in tumor tissues.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Mariana V. Rosemblatt, Brian Parra-Tello, Pedro Briceno, Elizabeth Rivas-Yanez, Suat Tucer, Juan Saavedra-Almarza, Pilar Hormann, Brandon A. Martinez, Alvaro Lladser, Mario Rosemblatt, Caglar Cekic, Maria Rosa Bono, Daniela Sauma
Summary: This study assessed the impact of CD73 deficiency on CD8+ T cells and found that CD73 has a dual effect, favoring homeostatic survival but reducing survival under antigenic stimulation. Special attention should be given to these aspects when considering CD73 blockade in the design of novel antitumor therapies.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Mengting Zhu, Yuping Xu, Caihua Li, Zhimin Lu, Kaihuan Bi, Kangxia Wang, Peipei Guo, Huanhuan Jiang, Yunxia Cao
Summary: This study found that the dysfunction of CD8+MAIT cells and MDSCs in PCOS patients is associated with metabolic dysfunction, showing various correlations.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY AND ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Nana Dang, Yuan Lin, Mark Waer, Ben Sprangers
Summary: Alloantibodies, particularly immunoglobulin G (allo-IgG), enhance rejection of tumors sharing the same major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in mice. In this study, high titer allo-IgG generated through immunization increased tumor immunogenicity, leading to a systemic antitumor response when combined with 5-fluorouracil. The tumor-specific response relied on the lymph nodes, suggesting a potential use of allo-IgG in cancer treatment.
Article
Oncology
Joan Choo, Ley Fang Kua, Mu Yar Soe, Bernadette Reyna Asuncion, Benjamin Kye Jyn Tan, Chong Boon Teo, Ryan Yong Kiat Tay, Jimmy So, Asim Shabbir, Kim Guowei, Hon Lyn Tan, Gloria Chan, Haoran Ma, Gokula Krishnan Ramachandran, Jeffrey H. Y. Lum, Cheng Ean Chee, Sriram Sridharan, Patrick Tan, Raghav Sundar, Wei Peng Yong
Summary: PD-1(+)CD8(+) T-cells in gastric cancer are associated with prognosis, chemotherapy and immunotherapy sensitivity, and tumor microenvironment. Tumors with high PD-1 and CD8A expression levels show improved overall survival with immunotherapy and chemotherapy. CD8PD-1(high) tumors have an immunologically active, T-cell inflamed tumor microenvironment.
Article
Immunology
Breanna M. Scorza, Kurayi G. Mahachi, Arin D. Cox, Angela J. Toepp, Danielle Pessoa-Pereira, Phyllis Tyrrell, Jesse Buch, Jennifer A. Foltz, Dean Lee, Christine A. Petersen
Summary: The study found that asymptomatic dogs exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi had elevated levels of serum interleukin-21 and increased circulating CD3(+) CD94(+) lymphocytes. On the other hand, symptomatic dogs had higher expression of gamma interferon upon stimulation with B. burgdorferi. Additionally, an NK-like CD8(+) T cell response was linked to protection against clinical Lyme disease, while excess IFN-gamma was associated with clinical disease.
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Dmytro Shytikov, Deepak Rohila, Dan Li, Pengfei Wang, Mei Jiang, Mingxu Zhang, Qin Xu, Linrong Lu
Summary: The role of Ly49(+)CD8 T-cells in the immune system and the mechanism of Ly49 expression on CD8 T-cells are still unclear. Studies have shown that Ly49(+)CD8 T-cells express different receptors compared to NK cells and play important roles in immune response and viral infection.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Yingcui Yang, Mingqing Zhang, Yongdan Zhang, Kebin Liu, Chunwan Lu
Summary: 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) selectively kills myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and increases cytotoxic T lymphocyte activation, leading to enhanced antitumor immunity in colorectal cancer patients. The molecular mechanism underlying 5-FU's suppression of MDSCs involves the activation of the p53-Fas pathway, which upregulates Fas expression and increases MDSC sensitivity to apoptosis. 5-FU therapy effectively suppresses MDSC accumulation and promotes CTL tumor infiltration.
Article
Immunology
Ling Qin, Xinmin Duan, Jay Zengjun Dong, Yue Chang, Yang Han, Yan Li, Wei Jiang, Hongwei Fan, Xiufeng Hou, Wei Cao, Huadong Zhu, Taisheng Li
Summary: Lymphopenia and immune disturbance are common in COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to investigate immunological and hematological profiles related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The results showed that the decline of NK, CD8(+) T, and CD4(+) T cell counts contributed to lymphopenia in severe/critical COVID-19 patients. Activation and proliferation markers were significantly higher in all COVID-19 patients compared to healthy donors. The study suggests that targeting NK and CD8(+) T cells may improve antiviral efficiency in severe COVID-19.
EMERGING MICROBES & INFECTIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Yanyan Liao, Xuan Hong, Jing Yang, Jiang-Jiang Qin, Beibei Zhang, Jianhui Lin, Zongze Shao, Weiyi Wang
Summary: A novel cyclic tripeptide, sclerotiotide M (1), was isolated from the culture of marine derived fungus Aspergillus ochraceopetaliformis DSW-2, along with four known compounds. The structure of sclerotiotide M (1) was determined through various analytical methods, and it, along with the other compounds, exhibited weak cytotoxic activities against cancer cell lines HPAC and BXPC3.
NATURAL PRODUCT RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maohua Cai, Jinyun Dong, Haobin Li, Jiang-Jiang Qin
Summary: Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) proteins are associated with various diseases, and the development of new BET inhibitors is urgently needed.
CURRENT MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mengyi Shan, Chen Jiang, Jing Chen, Lu-Ping Qin, Jiang-Jiang Qin, Gang Cheng
Summary: In this study, a classification model for identifying hERG blockers was developed using the D-MPNN model based on diverse datasets, and the D-MPNN + moe206 model showed significantly improved performance. Our results indicated that the D-MPNN + moe206 model is among the best classification models and has potential applications in the discovery of novel and effective hERG blockers.
Editorial Material
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Songtao Li, Zhenyuan Song, Ping Yao, Jiangjiang Qin
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xuan Hong, Xiaoqing Guan, Qiliang Lai, Dehua Yu, Zhongwei Chen, Xiaoteng Fu, Beibei Zhang, Changkun Chen, Zongze Shao, Jinmei Xia, Jiang-Jiang Qin, Weiyi Wang
Summary: A new meroterpenoid, taladrimanin A (1), was isolated from a marine-derived fungus, and its structure and activity were studied. Compound 1 showed inhibitory activity against gastric cancer cells and certain bacteria.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jian-ye Zhang, Jiang-Jiang Qin, Dongmei Zhang, Dong-Hua Yang
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES
(2022)
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Yancheng Tang, Liming Wang, Jiangjiang Qin, Yingying Lu, Han-Ming Shen, Hu-Biao Chen
Summary: Inhibition of PINK1-PRKN-mediated mitophagy enhances the anticancer efficacy of magnolol and could be a promising therapeutic strategy for overcoming cancer drug resistance and improving the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer agents.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jinyun Dong, Jing Yang, Wenkai Yu, Haobin Li, Maohua Cai, Jing-Li Xu, Han-Dong Xu, Yun-Fu Shi, Xiaoqing Guan, Xiang-Dong Cheng, Jiang-Jiang Qin
Summary: The study found that the quinolin-6-yl substituted derivative KL-6 effectively inhibited the growth and invasion of gastric cancer cells, and induced apoptosis. The compound also showed anticancer activity in a mouse model of gastric cancer without significant toxicity. Therefore, KL-6 may be a promising candidate for further research and development of gastric cancer treatment drugs.
JOURNAL OF ENZYME INHIBITION AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chunxiao Zhu, Xiaoqing Guan, Xinuo Zhang, Xin Luan, Zhengbo Song, Xiangdong Cheng, Weidong Zhang, Jiang-Jiang Qin
Summary: KRAS is the most frequently mutated oncogene in various tumor types and has been considered undruggable due to the lack of classic drug binding sites. However, the development of KRAS inhibitors has made KRAS mutations druggable. Despite remarkable clinical responses, resistance to monotherapy of KRAS inhibitors has been observed. Significant progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of drug resistance to KRAS-mutant inhibitors.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jing Yang, Lingling Wang, Xiaoqing Guan, Jiang-Jiang Qin
Summary: STAT3 is a critical player in cell signal transmission, making it a promising target for anticancer drug development. Many natural products have been shown to inhibit the STAT3 signaling pathway, demonstrating significant anticancer activities, but there is currently no FDA-approved STAT3 inhibitor.
PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Dongli Lv, Jinmei Xia, Xiaoqing Guan, Qiliang Lai, Beibei Zhang, Jianhui Lin, Zongze Shao, Sulan Luo, Dongting Zhangsun, Jiang-Jiang Qin, Weiyi Wang
Summary: Two new bioactive compounds were isolated from a deep-sea-derived fungus and their structures were determined. Compounds 1, 5-7 exhibited significant inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus, while compound 8 showed potent reduction in cell viability of gastric cancer cells.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Haobin Li, Lingling Wang, Fei Cao, Dehua Yu, Jing Yang, Xuefei Yu, Jinyun Dong, Jiang-Jiang Qin, Xiaoqing Guan
Summary: The study reports the design and synthesis of a class of STAT3 degraders based on proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs). The SDL-1 compound achieved degradation of STAT3 protein in vitro and exhibited good anti-gastric cancer cell proliferation activity, as well as inhibiting invasion and metastasis.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Haobin Li, Maohua Cai, Fei Cao, Dehua Yu, Jing Yang, Wenkai Yu, Chu Chu, Xiaoqing Guan, Jiang-Jiang Qin, Jinyun Dong
Summary: A series of new STAT3 inhibitors were synthesized and the representative compound SIL-14 demonstrated strong anti-proliferation activity, inhibited colony formation and migration of gastric cancer cells, and induced cell apoptosis. It also inhibited the STAT3 signaling pathway, indicating its potential as an anticancer agent.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Xiaofan Wu, Hongjian Yang, Xingfei Yu, Jiang-Jiang Qin
Summary: Breast cancer is a common malignancy in women, and HER2 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis. Pertuzumab and trastuzumab are the primary treatment options for early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer, and antibody-drug conjugates and tyrosine kinase inhibitors improve prognosis for metastatic breast cancer patients. However, resistance to targeted therapy is an issue that needs to be addressed.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Handong Xu, Can Hu, Yi Wang, Yunfu Shi, Li Yuan, Jingli Xu, Yanqiang Zhang, Jiahui Chen, Qin Wei, Jiangjiang Qin, Zhiyuan Xu, Xiangdong Cheng
Summary: Gastric cancer (GC) is a deadly malignancy that requires new therapeutic targets for effective treatment. Glutathione peroxidase-2 (GPx2) was found to be overexpressed in clinical GC samples and negatively correlated with prognosis. Knockdown of GPx2 inhibited GC progression and metastasis by suppressing the KYNU-kyn-AhR signaling pathway, which was activated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation.