Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)is typified by extensive stromal fibrosis and an immunosuppressive microenvironment,both of which impede effective responses to immune checkpoint blockade.In this study,we identify pr...Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)is typified by extensive stromal fibrosis and an immunosuppressive microenvironment,both of which impede effective responses to immune checkpoint blockade.In this study,we identify prolyl 3-hydroxylase family member 4(P3H4)as a critical mediator of extracellular matrix(ECM)remodeling,epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT),and the exclusion of cytotoxic CD8+T lymphocytes.Elevated P3H4 expression correlates with unfavorable clinical outcomes and resistance to immunotherapy.Genetic ablation of P3H4 significantly attenuates tumor progression and promotes CD8^(+)T cell infiltration.To pharmacologically target P3H4,we engineered a liposomal formulation of 1,4-dihydrophenanthroline-2,5-dicarboxylic acid(1,4-DPCA),a small-molecule prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor.This nanomedicine,designated Lipo-1,4-DPCA,effectively downregulates P3H4 expression,mitigates tumor-associated fibrosis,reprograms the immune microenvironment,and elicits robust anti-tumor responses in vivo.Collectively,our findings establish P3H4 as a promising therapeutic target and highlight Lipo-1,4-DPCA as a dualfunctional nanotherapeutic candidate capable of enhancing the efficacy of immunotherapy in OSCC.展开更多
Background:Aberrant expression of transcription factors(TFs)is a key mechanism mediating tumor immune escape and therapeutic resistance.The involvement of E26 transformation-specific(ETS)family of TFs in immune regula...Background:Aberrant expression of transcription factors(TFs)is a key mechanism mediating tumor immune escape and therapeutic resistance.The involvement of E26 transformation-specific(ETS)family of TFs in immune regulation is not fully understood.The study aimed to elucidate the function of E-twenty-six variant 4(ETV4)in tumor immune evasion and its potential as a predictive biomarker for immunotherapy in melanoma.Methods:The expression patterns of ETS family TFs were analyzed in melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)was used to dissect the cellular expression and function of ETV4 in the tumor microenvironment.Functional studies and murine models were employed to investigate the role of ETV4 in T cell-mediated tumor killing and tumor growth.The correlation between ETV4 expression level and patient responsiveness to programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1)blockade therapy was evaluated.Results:TFs in the ETS family were found to effectively stratify melanoma and HCC patients into prognostic subgroups.In melanoma,the polyoma enhancer activator 3(PEA3)subfamily,particularly ETV4 and ETV5,showed a negative correlation with immune infiltration.scRNA-seq analysis showed that ETV4 is preferentially expressed in melanoma cells and involves in mediating tumor-immunocyte interactions.Functional studies demonstrated that ETV4 impairs T cell-mediated tumor killing by transcriptionally upregulating programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1).In immunocompetent murine models,ETV4 downregulation significantly suppressed tumor growth.Furthermore,high ETV4 expression correlated with poor responses to anti-PD-1 therapy.Conclusion:Our findings identify ETV4 as a key transcriptional regulator of immune evasion in melanoma by controlling PD-L1 expression.ETV4 may act as a predictive biomarker for immunotherapy outcomes.展开更多
Background:The regulatory mechanisms governing vasculogenic mimicry(VM)in oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)remain largely undefined.This study aimed to identify critical factors and elucidate the epigenetic mechanism...Background:The regulatory mechanisms governing vasculogenic mimicry(VM)in oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)remain largely undefined.This study aimed to identify critical factors and elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying VM in OSCC.Methods:Bioinformatics analysis was performed utilizing single-cell RNA-seq,bulk RNA-seq,and histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation(H3K27ac)Chromatin Immunoprecipitation(ChIP)-seq data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)databases.ChIP-qPCR was used to validate the binding of ETS transcription factor ELK4(ELK4)to the dihydrofolate reductase(DHFR)enhancer.In vitro VM formation and invasion of OSCC cells were assessed using Matrigel-based tube formation and Transwell assays,respectively.Results:Elevated expression of VM-related genes predicts unfavorable prognosis in OSCC patients.High-dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis(hdWGCNA)identified epithelial subcluster C4 as most strongly associated with VM and metastasis.Three co-expression modules within this subcluster exhibited significant positive correlations with both phenotypic traits.Among the 30 eigengenes from the three modules,DHFR emerged as a key regulator of VM and metastasis.Knockdown or inhibition of DHFR significantly suppressed VM formation and invasion in OSCC cells.Mechanistically,ELK4 activated DHFR transcription through direct binding to its enhancer.DHFR overexpression rescued VM and invasion impairment induced by ELK4 knockdown.Conclusion:DHFR was a pivotal enhancer-regulated gene driving VM and metastasis in OSCC.ELK4 directly binds to DHFR enhancer regions to activate its transcription,thereby promoting these malignant phenotypes.These findings identified the ELK4/DHFR axis as a promising therapeutic target for anti-angiogenic intervention in OSCC.展开更多
While thermal air exfoliation is widely used to prepare graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))nanosheets,the effects of calcination conditions and atmosphere on their electronic structure and photocatalytic CO_(2)redu...While thermal air exfoliation is widely used to prepare graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))nanosheets,the effects of calcination conditions and atmosphere on their electronic structure and photocatalytic CO_(2)reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)performance remain systematically unexplored.We prepared g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets with varying thickness and defects by controlling exfoliation parameters.The obtained nanosheets calcined longest in air exhibited highest CO_(2)RR activity,twice that of bulk g-C_(3)N_(4).The comprehensive analysis of structural characterizations indicates the thickness of g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets became thinner,and the defects increased as the calcination time increased.The N vacancies(N_(v))and O-doping caused by N_(2) and O_(2)from air,respectively,enable valence band elevation(N_(v))and conduction band depression(O-doping)that collectively redistribute the electronic structure.Nitrogen/oxygen dual-defects generated impurity levels,reduced the work function and band gap of g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets,and served as shallow traps for photogenerated e^(-).The results of in-situ spectroscopy indicate these increased effective e^(-)are enriched around of N atoms to react with the adsorbed CO_(2).During the CO_(2)reduction process,the N_(v) promoted the formation of*COOH,and this dual-defect co-promoted the*CO desorption,resulting in the improved CO_(2)RR activity.These results comprehensively analyze the regulatory effect of thermal air calcination on the electronic structure of g-C_(3)N_(4),providing valuable insights for designing g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets based photocatalysts for CO_(2)RR.展开更多
Neuronal cell death is a common outcome of multiple pathophysiological processes and a key factor in neurological dysfunction after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Neuronal ferroptosis in particular plays an important role in...Neuronal cell death is a common outcome of multiple pathophysiological processes and a key factor in neurological dysfunction after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Neuronal ferroptosis in particular plays an important role in early brain injury.Bromodomain-containing protein 4,a member of the bromo and extraterminal domain family of proteins,participated in multiple cell death pathways,but the mechanisms by which it regulates ferroptosis remain unclear.The primary aim of this study was to investigate how bromodomain-containing protein 4 affects neuronal ferroptosis following subarachnoid hemorrhage in vivo and in vitro.Our findings revealed that endogenous bromodomain-containing protein 4 co-localized with neurons,and its expression was decreased 48 hours after subarachnoid hemorrhage of the cerebral cortex in vivo.In addition,ferroptosis-related pathways were activated in vivo and in vitro after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Targeted inhibition of bromodomain-containing protein 4 in neurons increased lipid peroxidation and intracellular ferrous iron accumulation via ferritinophagy and ultimately led to neuronal ferroptosis.Using cleavage under targets and tagmentation analysis,we found that bromodomain-containing protein 4 enrichment in the Raf-1 promoter region decreased following oxyhemoglobin stimulation in vitro.Furthermore,treating bromodomain-containing protein 4-knockdown HT-22 cell lines with GW5074,a Raf-1 inhibitor,exacerbated neuronal ferroptosis by suppressing the Raf-1/ERK1/2 signaling pathway.Moreover,targeted inhibition of neuronal bromodomain-containing protein 4 exacerbated early and long-term neurological function deficits after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Our findings suggest that bromodomain-containing protein 4 may have neuroprotective effects after subarachnoid hemorrhage,and that inhibiting ferroptosis could help treat subarachnoid hemorrhage.展开更多
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.82501207,81700993,52403312,and 82571151)Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF(No.GZC20251219)+1 种基金the Beijing Nova Program(No.20250484855)the Beijing Natural Science Foundation(No.L252168).
文摘Oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)is typified by extensive stromal fibrosis and an immunosuppressive microenvironment,both of which impede effective responses to immune checkpoint blockade.In this study,we identify prolyl 3-hydroxylase family member 4(P3H4)as a critical mediator of extracellular matrix(ECM)remodeling,epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT),and the exclusion of cytotoxic CD8+T lymphocytes.Elevated P3H4 expression correlates with unfavorable clinical outcomes and resistance to immunotherapy.Genetic ablation of P3H4 significantly attenuates tumor progression and promotes CD8^(+)T cell infiltration.To pharmacologically target P3H4,we engineered a liposomal formulation of 1,4-dihydrophenanthroline-2,5-dicarboxylic acid(1,4-DPCA),a small-molecule prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor.This nanomedicine,designated Lipo-1,4-DPCA,effectively downregulates P3H4 expression,mitigates tumor-associated fibrosis,reprograms the immune microenvironment,and elicits robust anti-tumor responses in vivo.Collectively,our findings establish P3H4 as a promising therapeutic target and highlight Lipo-1,4-DPCA as a dualfunctional nanotherapeutic candidate capable of enhancing the efficacy of immunotherapy in OSCC.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.82204517 to T.Z.and 82404756 to J.Z.)the Science and Technology Program in Medicine and Health of Zhejiang Province(Grant No.2023KY726 to T.Z.).
文摘Background:Aberrant expression of transcription factors(TFs)is a key mechanism mediating tumor immune escape and therapeutic resistance.The involvement of E26 transformation-specific(ETS)family of TFs in immune regulation is not fully understood.The study aimed to elucidate the function of E-twenty-six variant 4(ETV4)in tumor immune evasion and its potential as a predictive biomarker for immunotherapy in melanoma.Methods:The expression patterns of ETS family TFs were analyzed in melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)was used to dissect the cellular expression and function of ETV4 in the tumor microenvironment.Functional studies and murine models were employed to investigate the role of ETV4 in T cell-mediated tumor killing and tumor growth.The correlation between ETV4 expression level and patient responsiveness to programmed cell death protein 1(PD-1)blockade therapy was evaluated.Results:TFs in the ETS family were found to effectively stratify melanoma and HCC patients into prognostic subgroups.In melanoma,the polyoma enhancer activator 3(PEA3)subfamily,particularly ETV4 and ETV5,showed a negative correlation with immune infiltration.scRNA-seq analysis showed that ETV4 is preferentially expressed in melanoma cells and involves in mediating tumor-immunocyte interactions.Functional studies demonstrated that ETV4 impairs T cell-mediated tumor killing by transcriptionally upregulating programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1).In immunocompetent murine models,ETV4 downregulation significantly suppressed tumor growth.Furthermore,high ETV4 expression correlated with poor responses to anti-PD-1 therapy.Conclusion:Our findings identify ETV4 as a key transcriptional regulator of immune evasion in melanoma by controlling PD-L1 expression.ETV4 may act as a predictive biomarker for immunotherapy outcomes.
基金supported by Hebei Natural Science Foundation(H2024206476)Medical Science Research Project of Hebei(20240101).
文摘Background:The regulatory mechanisms governing vasculogenic mimicry(VM)in oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)remain largely undefined.This study aimed to identify critical factors and elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying VM in OSCC.Methods:Bioinformatics analysis was performed utilizing single-cell RNA-seq,bulk RNA-seq,and histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation(H3K27ac)Chromatin Immunoprecipitation(ChIP)-seq data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)databases.ChIP-qPCR was used to validate the binding of ETS transcription factor ELK4(ELK4)to the dihydrofolate reductase(DHFR)enhancer.In vitro VM formation and invasion of OSCC cells were assessed using Matrigel-based tube formation and Transwell assays,respectively.Results:Elevated expression of VM-related genes predicts unfavorable prognosis in OSCC patients.High-dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis(hdWGCNA)identified epithelial subcluster C4 as most strongly associated with VM and metastasis.Three co-expression modules within this subcluster exhibited significant positive correlations with both phenotypic traits.Among the 30 eigengenes from the three modules,DHFR emerged as a key regulator of VM and metastasis.Knockdown or inhibition of DHFR significantly suppressed VM formation and invasion in OSCC cells.Mechanistically,ELK4 activated DHFR transcription through direct binding to its enhancer.DHFR overexpression rescued VM and invasion impairment induced by ELK4 knockdown.Conclusion:DHFR was a pivotal enhancer-regulated gene driving VM and metastasis in OSCC.ELK4 directly binds to DHFR enhancer regions to activate its transcription,thereby promoting these malignant phenotypes.These findings identified the ELK4/DHFR axis as a promising therapeutic target for anti-angiogenic intervention in OSCC.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.62004143 and 22502150)the Key Project of Scientific Research Plan of Hubei Provincial Department of Education(No.D20241501)+5 种基金the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2024M762505)the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program(Grade C)(No.GZC20250787)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation-Hubei Joint Support Program(No.2025T032HB)the Scientific Research Fund Project of Wuhan Institute of Technology(Nos.K2024053,K2025102,and 25QD010)the Open Fund of the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Electronic Functional Materials and Devices(No.EFMD2024006Z)the Innovation Project of Engineering Research Center of Phosphorus Resources Development and Utilization of Ministry of Education(No.LCX202404).
文摘While thermal air exfoliation is widely used to prepare graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))nanosheets,the effects of calcination conditions and atmosphere on their electronic structure and photocatalytic CO_(2)reduction reaction(CO_(2)RR)performance remain systematically unexplored.We prepared g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets with varying thickness and defects by controlling exfoliation parameters.The obtained nanosheets calcined longest in air exhibited highest CO_(2)RR activity,twice that of bulk g-C_(3)N_(4).The comprehensive analysis of structural characterizations indicates the thickness of g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets became thinner,and the defects increased as the calcination time increased.The N vacancies(N_(v))and O-doping caused by N_(2) and O_(2)from air,respectively,enable valence band elevation(N_(v))and conduction band depression(O-doping)that collectively redistribute the electronic structure.Nitrogen/oxygen dual-defects generated impurity levels,reduced the work function and band gap of g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets,and served as shallow traps for photogenerated e^(-).The results of in-situ spectroscopy indicate these increased effective e^(-)are enriched around of N atoms to react with the adsorbed CO_(2).During the CO_(2)reduction process,the N_(v) promoted the formation of*COOH,and this dual-defect co-promoted the*CO desorption,resulting in the improved CO_(2)RR activity.These results comprehensively analyze the regulatory effect of thermal air calcination on the electronic structure of g-C_(3)N_(4),providing valuable insights for designing g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets based photocatalysts for CO_(2)RR.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,Nos.82371310(to YJ),82271306(to JP)the Sichuan Science and Technology Support Program,Nos.2023YFH0069(to JP),2023NSFSC0028(to YJ),2023NSFSC1559(to YJ),2022YFS0615(to JP),2022NSFSC1421(to JP)+1 种基金Scientific Research Project of Sichuan Provincial Health Commission,No.23LCYJ040(to YJ)Youth Foundation of Southwestern Medical University and Southwest Medical University Project,Nos.2020ZRQNA038(to JP),2021ZKZD013(to JP),2021LZXNYD-P01(to YJ),2023QN014(to JP).
文摘Neuronal cell death is a common outcome of multiple pathophysiological processes and a key factor in neurological dysfunction after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Neuronal ferroptosis in particular plays an important role in early brain injury.Bromodomain-containing protein 4,a member of the bromo and extraterminal domain family of proteins,participated in multiple cell death pathways,but the mechanisms by which it regulates ferroptosis remain unclear.The primary aim of this study was to investigate how bromodomain-containing protein 4 affects neuronal ferroptosis following subarachnoid hemorrhage in vivo and in vitro.Our findings revealed that endogenous bromodomain-containing protein 4 co-localized with neurons,and its expression was decreased 48 hours after subarachnoid hemorrhage of the cerebral cortex in vivo.In addition,ferroptosis-related pathways were activated in vivo and in vitro after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Targeted inhibition of bromodomain-containing protein 4 in neurons increased lipid peroxidation and intracellular ferrous iron accumulation via ferritinophagy and ultimately led to neuronal ferroptosis.Using cleavage under targets and tagmentation analysis,we found that bromodomain-containing protein 4 enrichment in the Raf-1 promoter region decreased following oxyhemoglobin stimulation in vitro.Furthermore,treating bromodomain-containing protein 4-knockdown HT-22 cell lines with GW5074,a Raf-1 inhibitor,exacerbated neuronal ferroptosis by suppressing the Raf-1/ERK1/2 signaling pathway.Moreover,targeted inhibition of neuronal bromodomain-containing protein 4 exacerbated early and long-term neurological function deficits after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Our findings suggest that bromodomain-containing protein 4 may have neuroprotective effects after subarachnoid hemorrhage,and that inhibiting ferroptosis could help treat subarachnoid hemorrhage.
