Analysis of tumor-draining vein secretome: A direct access to tumor-derived extracellular vesicles in surgical lung cancer patients

Tumor-secreted extracellular vesicles(EVs)participate in the metastasis process through different mechanisms,including the preparation of the pre-metastatic niche to grant circulating tumor cells(CTCs)implantation and growth.The study of the metastasis process through the analysis of CTCs and tumor-derived EVs is difficult because of the dilution grade of these elements in peripheral blood.In early-stage lung cancer patients,the tumor-secreted products are even more diluted.An attractive strategy in surgical lung cancer patients is to purify them from a pulmonary tumor-draining vein where they are enriched.The information obtained from the analysis of EVs and CTCs purified from this source could give more accurate information about tumor biology and could be an important source of biomarkers to identify patients at high risk of relapse after curative surgery.

Activities of autonomic neurotransmitters in meibomian gland tissues are associated with menopausal dry eye

The secretory activities of meibomian glands are regulated by the autonomic nervous system, The change in density and activity of autonomic nerves in meibomian glands during menopause play an important role in the pathogenesis of dry eye. In view of this, we established a dry eye rat model by removing the bilateral ovaries. We used neuropeptide Y and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide as markers of autonomic neurotransmitters. Our results showed that the concentration of estradiol in serum significantly decreased, the density of neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity in nerve fibers significantly increased, the density of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide immunoreactivity in nerve fibers significantly decreased, and the ratio of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide/neuropeptide Y positive staining significantly decreased. These results suggest that a decrease in ovary activity may lead to autonomic nervous system dysfunction, thereby affecting the secretory activity of the meibomian gland, which participates in sexual hormone imbalance-induced dry eye.

Different kinds of stem cells in the development of SARS-CoV-2 treatments

On February 11,2020,the World Health Organization officially announced the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),as an emerging recent pandemic illness,which currently has approximately taken the life of two million persons in more than 200 countries.Medical,clinical,and scientific efforts have focused on searching for new prevention and treatment strategies.Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering focused on using stem cells(SCs)have become a promising tool,and the regenerative and immunoregulatory capabilities of mesenchymal SCs(MSCs)and their exosomes have been demonstrated.Moreover,it has been essential to establishing models to reproduce the viral life cycle and mimic the pathology of COVID-19 to understand the virus's behavior.The fields of pluripotent SCs(PSCs),induced PSCs(iPSCs),and artificial iPSCs have been used for this purpose in the development of infection models or organoids.Nevertheless,some inconveniences have been declared in SC use;for example,it has been reported that SARS-CoV-2 enters human cells through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor,which is highly expressed in MSCs,so it is important to continue investigating the employment of SCs in COVID-19,taking into consideration their advantages and disadvantages.In this review,we expose the use of different kinds of SCs and their derivatives for studying the SARS-CoV-2 behavior and develop treatments to counter COVID-19.

Polymyxin B effects on motility parameters of cryopreserved bull semen

Objective:To evaluate the effect of adding different values of polymyxin B (PMB) to bull semen on various motility parameters of post-thawed semen such as total motility, progressive motility and velocity parameters using kinetic parameters of sperm by Computer Assisted Sperm Analysis.Methods: Gram negative bacteria release lipopolysaccharide, which induces the apoptotic pathway. Antibiotics are added to semen in order to prevent bacterial contaminations in bovine semen. These antibiotics kill the bacteria especially gram negative bacteria. Therefore, their endotoxins are released during bacteriolysis and bind to the head region and midpiece of sperm. PMB is a bactericidal antibiotic against multidrug resistant gram-negative bacteria and is able to neutralize the toxic effects of the released endotoxin. This study was performed on 3-year old Taleshi bulls. Results:The results showed both positive and negative significant effects of PMB on semen quality. Total motility and progressive motility were significantly increased (P<0.0001) by 100 μg per mL of PMB (55.2% and 48.8% respectively) against the control groups (43.5% and 37.7%, respectively). Moreover, they were significantly decreased (P<0.0001) by 1000 μg per mL of PMB (35.2% and 28.8% respectively) against the control groups (43.5% and 37.7% respectively) in above-mentioned parameters. In Computer Assisted Semen Analyzer, parameter VAP was significantly decreased (P<0.04) in 1000 μg (69.6 μm/s) against the control group (78.7 μm/s). Finally, using PMB in processing cryopreserved bull semen is advised, but before using it, the rate of endotoxins must be measured.Conclusions: We advise using PMB after measuring endotoxin concentration;In vitro,in vivoand in field fertilization, adding other sperm evaluation factors such as acrosomal integrity, DNA integrity, mitochondrial function to PMB treated semen.

Epithelial-mesenchymal Plasticity in Breast Cancer Metastasis

Transitions between epithelial and mesenchymal states, which we have termed Epithelial Mesenchymal Plasticity (EMP), are

Unc-51-like kinase(ULK)complex-independent autophagy induced by hypoxia

Dear Editor,Macroautophagy(referred to as autophagy herein)is an evolutionarily con served,lysosomal degradatio n process by which cells rid themselves of aggregated proteins and damaged organelles(He and Klionsky,2009).This process involves a finely orchestrated molecular pathway comprising a plethora of ATG proteins essential for autophagosome formation.The mammalian Unc-51-like kinase(ULK)complex plays an essential role to initiate canonical autophagy pathway by relaying upstream nutrient and stress signals to downstream autophagy machinery(Mizushima,2010;Wong et al.,2013).