Tumor-derived DEFB1 induces immune tolerance by inhibiting maturation of dendritic cell and impairing CD8+T cell function in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective:CD8+T cells are the key effector cells in the anti-tumor immune response.The mechanism underlying the infiltration of CD8+T cells in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)has not been clearly elucidated.Methods:Fresh ESCC tissues were collected and grouped according to the infiltration density of CD8+T cells.After the transcriptome sequencing on these samples and the combined analyses with The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)ESCC data,a secreted protein DEFB1 was selected to explore its potential role in the infiltration of CD8+T cells.Bioinformatics analyses,histological verification and in vitro experiments were then performed.Results:DEFB1 was highly expressed in ESCC,and the high expression of DEFB1 was an independent risk factor for overall survival.Since the up-regulation or down-regulation of DEFB1 did not affect the proliferation,migration and apoptosis of ESCC cells,we speculated that the oncogenic effect of DEFB1 was achieved by regulating microenvironmental characteristics.Bioinformatics analyses suggested that DEFB1 might play a major role in the inflammatory response and anti-tumor immune response,and correlate to the infiltration of immature dendritic cell(imDC)in ESCC.Histological analyses further confirmed that there were less CD8+T cells infiltrated,less CD83+mature DC(mDC)infiltrated and more CD1a+imDC infiltrated in those ESCC samples with high expression of DEFB1.After the treatment with recombinant DEFB1 protein,the maturation of DC was hindered significantly,followed by the impairment of the killing effects of T cells in both 2D and 3D culture in vitro.Conclusions:Tumor-derived DEFB1 can inhibit the maturation of DC and weaken the function of CD8+T cells,accounting for the immune tolerance in ESCC.The role of DEFB1 in ESCC deserves further exploration.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Salt-Stress-Responsive Genes in Rice Roots

Soil salinity greatly impairs plant growth and crop productivity.Rice(Oryza sativa L.)is a salt-sensitive crop.To better understand the molecular mechanisms of salt tolerance in roots,the BGISEQ-500 sequencing platform was employed to elucidate transcriptome changes in rice roots after 0,3,24,and 72 h of salt stress.The results showed that root K+content decreased and Na+content increased rapidly after the initial stage of salt stress,but that fresh and dry weight in root did not significantly reduce.Compared to the control(no salt stress),1,292,453,and 486 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were upregulated,respectively,and 939,894,and 646 DEGs were downregulated,respectively,after 3,24,and 72 h of salt treatment.The number of DEGs was higher during the early stage of salt stress(3 h)than in later stages(24 and 72 h).A number of DEGs involved in the response and adaptation to salt stress were related to protein kinase and calcium-binding,plant hormone signaling and metabolism,transcriptional regulation,metabolic pathways,antioxidant activity,and ion transport.Many of these DEGs were activated during the early stage of salt stress(3 h).The present study reports candidate salt-stressresponsive genes with the potential to genetically improve salt tolerance in rice elsewhere.

红外测温仪在灭菌后物品冷却温度监测中的应用及效果评价

目的探讨红外测温仪在灭菌后物品冷却温度监测中的应用价值及效果。方法通过灭菌后物品冷却速度影响实验、常见5类灭菌包冷却时间实验及不同冷却温度与湿包发生关系实验,获取红外测温仪在灭菌后物品冷却温度监测中的参考数据,同时比较红外测温仪实际应用前后的效果。结果不同摆放层、不同包装材料、不同包内容物、不同重量与体积的手术包经灭菌卸载后的冷却速度以及常见5类灭菌包冷却至室温所需的时间各不相同,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05),经棉布包装的大件手术器械包,在不同冷却温度下湿包发生率不同,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。红外测温仪应用前后,湿包发生率以及消毒员在灭菌包冷却期间手接触灭菌包的平均次数比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论红外测温仪能为灭菌后物品的移行和发放提供客观准确的参考数据,实际应用后可减少湿包发生率,降低频繁接触污染的风险。

3D Chromatin Architecture of Large Plant Genomes Determined by Local A/B Compartments

The spatial organization of the genome plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression. How- ever, the core structural features of animal genomes, such as topologically associated domains （TADs） and chromatin loops, are not prominent in the extremely compact Arabidopsis genome. In this study, we examine the chromatin architecture, as well as their DNA methylation, histone modifications, accessible chromatin, and gene expression, of maize, tomato, sorghum, foxtail millet, and rice with genome sizes ranging from 0.4 to 2.4 Gb. We found that these plant genomes can be divided into mammalian-like A/B compartments. At higher resolution, the chromosomes of these plants can be further partitioned to local AJB compartments that reflect their euchromatin, heterochromatin, and polycomb status. Chromatins in all these plants are organized into domains that are not conserved across species. They show similarity to the Drosophila compartment domains, and are clustered into active, polycomb, repressive, and interme- diate types based on their transcriptional activities and epigenetic signatures, with domain border overlaps with the local A/B compartment junctions. In the large maize and tomato genomes, we observed extensive chromatin loops. However, unlike the mammalian chromatin loops that are enriched at the TAD border, plant chromatin loops are often formed between gene islands outside the repressive domains and are closely associated with active compartments. Our study indicates that plants have complex and unique 3D chromatin architectures, which require further study to elucidate their biological functions.

Effects of pressure on flow characteristics in a pressurized circulating fluidized bed

The effects of operating pressure on the gas-solid flow characteristics in a pressurized circulating fluidized bed(CFB)gasification system were studied by experiment and simulation.Elevated operating pressure was found to increase the particle uniformity in the axial and radial directions.Experiments and simulations both showed that as the operating pressure increased,the pressure drops along the riser height decreased.The experimental pressure drops at the same locations decreased when the operating pressure increased,but the opposite trend was observed in the simulation results.A proper drag model must be developed for the accurate simulation of pressurized CFB operation,and the accuracy of electrical capacitance tomography(ECT)measurement and cross-correlation analysis should be improved for better prediction of the particle circulation flux.

Tissue-specific Hi-C analyses of rice, foxtail millet and maize suggest non-canonical function of plant chromatin domains

Chromatins are not randomly packaged in the nucleus and their organization plays important roles in transcription regulation,which is best studied in the mammalian models.Using in situ Hi-C,we have compared the 3D chromatin architectures of rice mesophyll and endosperm,foxtail millet bundle sheath and mesophyll,and maize bundle sheath,mesophyll and endosperm tissues.We found that their global A/B compartment partitions are stable across tissues,while local A/B compartment has tissue-specific dynamic associated with differential gene expression.Plant domains are largely stable across tissues,while new domain border formations are often associated with transcriptional activation in the region.Genes inside plant domains are not conserved across species,and lack significant co-expression behavior unlike those in mammalian TADs.Although we only observed chromatin loops between gene islands in the large genomes,the maize loop gene pairs’syntenic orthologs have shorter physical distances in small genome monocots,suggesting that loops instead of domains might have conserved biological function.Our study showed that plants’chromatin features might not have conserved biological functions as the mammalian ones.