技术资料

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease comprising multiple molecularly distinct subtypes with varied prevalence,prognostics,and treatment strategies. Among them,triple-negative breast cancer,though the least prevalent,is the most aggressive subtype,with limited therapeutic options. Recent emergence of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks has highlighted how long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs),microRNAs (miRs),and mRNA orchestrate a complex interplay meticulously modulating mRNA functionality. Focusing on TNBC,this study aimed to construct a ceRNA network using differentially expressed lncRNAs,miRs,and mRNAs. We queried the differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) between TNBC and luminal samples and found 389 upregulated and 386 downregulated lncRNAs,including novel transcripts in TNBC. DElncRNAs were further evaluated for their clinical,functional,and mechanistic relevance to TNBCs using the lnc2cancer 3.0 database,which presented LUCAT1 (lung cancer-associated transcript 1) as a putative node. Next,the ceRNA network (lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA) of LUCAT1 was established. Several miRNA–mRNA connections of LUCAT1 implicated in regulating stemness (LUCAT1-miR-375-Yap1,LUCAT1-miR181-5p-Wnt,LUCAT1-miR-199a-5p-ZEB1),apoptosis (LUCAT1-miR-181c-5p-Bcl2),drug efflux (LUCAT1-miR-200c-ABCB1,LRP1,MRP5,MDR1),and sheddase activities (LUCAT1-miR-493-5p-ADAM10) were identified,indicating an intricate regulatory mechanism of LUCAT1 in TNBC. Indeed,LUCAT1 silencing led to mitigated cell growth,migration,and stem-like features in TNBC. This work sheds light on the LUCAT1 ceRNA network in TNBC and implies its involvement in TNBC growth and progression. View Publication

The introduction of antibody–drug conjugates represents a significant advancement in targeted therapy of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Our study aims to investigate the role of the DNA damage response pathway and the impact of PARP1 inhibition,utilizing talazoparib,on the response of AML and ALL cells to Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) and Inotuzumab ozogamicin (INO),respectively. AML and ALL cells were treated with GO,INO and γ-calicheamicin in order to induce severe DNA damage and activate the G2/M cell-cycle checkpoint in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The efficacy of PARP1 inhibitors and,in particular,talazoparib in enhancing INO or GO against ALL or AML cells was assessed through measurements of cell viability,cell death,cell cycle progression,DNA damage repair,accumulation of mitotic DNA damage and inhibition of clonogenic capacity. We observed that both ALL and AML cell lines activate the G2/M cell-cycle checkpoint in response to γ-calicheamicin-induced DNA damage,highlighting a shared cellular response mechanism. Talazoparib significantly enhanced the efficacy of INO against ALL cell lines,resulting in reduced cell viability,increased cell death,G2/M cell-cycle checkpoint override,accumulation of mitotic DNA damage and inhibition of clonogenic capacity. Strong synergism was observed in primary ALL cells treated with the combination. In contrast,AML cells exhibited a heterogeneous response to talazoparib in combination with GO. Our findings suggest a potential link between the differential responses of ALL and AML cells to the drug combinations and the ability of talazoparibto override G2/M cell-cycle arrest induced by antibody–drug conjugates. PARP1 emerges as a key player in the response of ALL cells to INO and represents a promising target for therapeutic intervention in this leukemia setting. Our study sheds light on the intricate interplay between the DNA damage response pathway,PARP1 inhibition,and response of γ-calicheamicin-induced DNA damages in AML and ALL. These findings underscore the importance of targeted therapeutic strategies and pave the way for future research aimed at optimizing leukemia treatment approaches. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-024-05838-9. View Publication

Embryonic stem cells possess the remarkable ability to self-organize into blastocyst-like structures upon induction. These stem cell-based embryo models serve as invaluable platforms for studying embryogenesis and therapeutic developments. Nevertheless,the specific intrinsic regulators that govern this potential for blastoid formation remain unknown. Here we demonstrate an intrinsic program that plays a crucial role in both blastoids and blastocysts across multiple species. We first establish metrics for grading the resemblance of blastoids to mouse blastocysts,and identify the differential activation of gene regulons involved in lineage specification among various blastoid grades. Notably,abrogation of nuclear receptor subfamily 1,group H,member 2 (Nr1h2) drastically reduces blastoid formation. Nr1h2 activation alone is sufficient to rewire conventional ESC into a distinct pluripotency state,enabling them to form blastoids with enhanced implantation capacity in the uterus and contribute to both embryonic and extraembryonic lineages in vivo. Through integrative multi-omics analyses,we uncover the broad regulatory role of Nr1h2 in the transcriptome,chromatin accessibility and epigenome,targeting genes associated with embryonic lineage and the transposable element SINE-B1. The Nr1h2-centred intrinsic program governs and drives the development of both blastoids and early embryos. Subject terms: Embryonic stem cells,Pluripotency,Epigenomics View Publication

Liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) are thought to drive the metastasis and recurrence,however,the heterogeneity of molecular markers of LCSCs has hindered the development of effective methods to isolate them. This study introduced an effective approach to isolate and culture LCSCs from human primary liver cancer (HPLC),leveraging mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) as feeder cells in conjunction with using defined medium. Isolated LCSCs were further characterized by multiple approaches. Transcriptome sequencing data analysis was conducted to identify highly expressed genes in LCSCs and classify different subtypes of liver cancers. Total sixteen cell strains were directly isolated from 24 tissues of three types of HPLC without sorting,seven of which could be maintained long-term culture as colony growth on MEFs,which is unique characteristics of stem cells. Even 10 of cloned cells formed the tumors in immunodeficient mice,indicating that those cloned cells were tumorgenic. The histologies and gene expression pattern of human xenografts were very similar to those of HPLC where these cloned cells were isolated. Moreover,putative markers of LCSCs were further verified to all express in cloned cells,confirming that these cells were LCSCs. These cloned LCSCs could be cryopreserved,and still maintained the feature of colony growth on MEFs after the recovery. Compared to suspension culture as conventional approach to culture LCSCs,our approach much better maintained stemness of LCSCs for a long time. To date,these cloned cells could be cultured on MEFs over 12 passages. Moreover,bioinformatics analysis of sequencing data revealed the gene expression profiles in LCSCs,and liver cancers were classified into two subtypes C1 and C2 based on genes associated with the prognosis of LCSCs. Patients of the C2 subtype,which is closely related to the extracellular matrix,were found to be sensitive to treatments such as Cisplatin,Axitinib,JAK1 inhibitors,WNT-c59,Sorafenib,and RO-3306. In summary,this effective approach offers new insights into the molecular landscape of human liver cancers,and the identification of the C2 subtype and its unique response to the treatment pave the way for the creation of more effective,personalized therapeutic strategies. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-024-05870-9. View Publication

Self-renewal programs in leukemia stem cells (LSCs) predict poor prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We identify CD4 + T cell-derived interleukin (IL)-21 as an important negative regulator of self-renewal of LSCs. IL-21/IL-21R signaling favors asymmetric cell division and differentiation in LSCs through the activation of p38-MAPK signaling,resulting in reduced LSC numbers and significantly prolonged survival in murine AML models. In human AML,serum IL-21 at diagnosis is identified as an independent positive prognostic biomarker for outcome and correlates with improved survival and higher complete remission rates in patients that underwent high-dose chemotherapy. IL-21 treatment inhibits primary LSC function and enhances the effect of cytarabine and CD70 CAR T cell treatment on LSCs in vitro . Low-dose IL-21 treatment prolongs the survival of AML mice in syngeneic and xenograft experiments. Therefore,promoting IL-21/IL-21R signaling on LSCs may be an approach to reduce stemness and increase differentiation in AML. View Publication

Ex vivo activation is a prerequisite to reaching adequate levels of gene editing by homology-directed repair (HDR) for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC)-based clinical applications. Here,we show that shortening culture time mitigates the p53-mediated DNA damage response to CRISPR-Cas9-induced DNA double-strand breaks,enhancing the reconstitution capacity of edited HSPCs. However,this results in lower HDR efficiency,rendering ex vivo culture necessary yet detrimental. Mechanistically,ex vivo activation triggers a multi-step process initiated by p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation,which generates mitogenic reactive oxygen species (ROS),promoting fast cell-cycle progression and subsequent proliferation-induced DNA damage. Thus,p38 inhibition before gene editing delays G1/S transition and expands transcriptionally defined HSCs,ultimately endowing edited cells with superior multi-lineage differentiation,persistence throughout serial transplantation,enhanced polyclonal repertoire,and better-preserved genome integrity. Our data identify proliferative stress as a driver of HSPC dysfunction with fundamental implications for designing more effective and safer gene correction strategies for clinical applications. View Publication

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global health crisis,with challenges arising from the ongoing evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus,the emergence of new strains,and the long-term effects of COVID-19. Aiming to overcome the development of viral resistance,our study here focused on developing broad-spectrum pan-coronavirus antiviral therapies by targeting host protein quality control mechanisms essential for viral replication. Screening an in-house compound library led to the discovery of three candidate compounds targeting cellular proteostasis. The three compounds are (1) the nucleotide analog cordycepin,(2) a benzothiozole analog,and (3) an acyldepsipeptide analog initially developed as part of a campaign to target the mitochondrial ClpP protease. These compounds demonstrated dose-dependent efficacy against multiple coronaviruses,including SARS-CoV-2,effectively inhibiting viral replication in vitro as well as in lung organoids. Notably,the compounds also showed efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 delta and omicron strains. As part of this work,we developed a BSL2-level cell-integrated SARS-CoV-2 replicon,which could serve as a valuable tool for high-throughput screening and studying intracellular viral replication. Our study should aid in the advancement of antiviral drug development efforts. Subject terms: High-throughput screening,Small molecules View Publication

Induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) has been shown to be a viable therapeutic approach to treating sickle cell disease and potentially other β-hemoglobinopathies. To identify targets and target-modulating small molecules that enhance HbF expression,we engineered a human umbilical-derived erythroid progenitor reporter cell line (HUDEP2_HBG1_HiBiT) by genetically tagging a HiBiT peptide to the carboxyl (C)-terminus of the endogenous HBG1 gene locus,which codes for γ-globin protein,a component of HbF. Employing this reporter cell line,we performed a chemogenomic screen of approximately 5000 compounds annotated with known targets or mechanisms that have achieved clinical stage or approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Among them,10 compounds were confirmed for their ability to induce HbF in the HUDEP2 cell line. These include several known HbF inducers,such as pomalidomide,lenalidomide,decitabine,idoxuridine,and azacytidine,which validate the translational nature of this screening platform. We identified avadomide,autophinib,triciribine,and R574 as novel HbF inducers from these screens. We orthogonally confirmed HbF induction activities of the top hits in both parental HUDEP2 cells as well as in human primary CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Further,we demonstrated that pomalidomide and avadomide,but not idoxuridine,induced HbF expression through downregulation of several transcriptional repressors such as BCL11A,ZBTB7A,and IKZF1. These studies demonstrate a robust phenotypic screening workflow that can be applied to large-scale small molecule profiling campaigns for the discovery of targets and pathways,as well as novel therapeutics for sickle cell disease and other β-hemoglobinopathies. View Publication

The lack of a permissive cell culture system has limited high-resolution structures of parvovirus B19 (B19V) to virus-like particles (VLPs). In this study,we present the atomic resolution structure (2.2 Å) of authentic B19V purified from a patient blood sample. There are significant differences compared to non-infectious VLPs. Most strikingly,two host protease inhibitors (PIs),inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain 4 (ITIH4) and serpinA3,were identified in complex with the capsids in all patient samples tested. The ITIH4 binds specifically to the icosahedral fivefold axis and serpinA3 occupies the twofold axis. The protein-coated virions remain infectious,and the capsid-associated PIs retain activity; however,upon virion interaction with target cells,the PIs dissociate from the capsid prior to viral entry. Our finding of an infectious virion shielded by bound host serum proteins suggests an evolutionarily favored phenomenon to evade immune surveillance and escape host protease activity. Subject terms: Cryoelectron microscopy,Virology View Publication

The application of organoids has been limited by the lack of methods for producing uniformly mature organoids at scale. This study introduces an organoid culture platform,called UniMat,which addresses the challenges of uniformity and maturity simultaneously. UniMat is designed to not only ensure consistent organoid growth but also facilitate an unrestricted supply of soluble factors by a 3D geometrically-engineered,permeable membrane-based platform. Using UniMat,we demonstrate the scalable generation of kidney organoids with enhanced uniformity in both structure and function compared to conventional methods. Notably,kidney organoids within UniMat show improved maturation,showing increased expression of nephron transcripts,more in vivo-like cell-type balance,enhanced vascularization,and better long-term stability. Moreover,UniMat’s design offers a more standardized organoid model for disease modeling and drug testing,as demonstrated by polycystic-kidney disease and acute kidney injury modeling. In essence,UniMat presents a valuable platform for organoid technology,with potential applications in organ development,disease modeling,and drug screening. Subject terms: Nanofabrication and nanopatterning,Biomaterials,Stem-cell biotechnology View Publication

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative treatment for many diverse blood and immune diseases. However,HSCT regimens currently commonly utilize genotoxic chemotherapy and/or total body irradiation (TBI) conditioning which causes significant morbidity and mortality through inducing broad tissue damage triggering infections,graft vs. host disease,infertility,and secondary cancers. We previously demonstrated that targeted monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based HSC depletion with anti(α)-CD117 mAbs could be an effective alternative conditioning approach for HSCT without toxicity in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse models,which has prompted parallel clinical αCD117 mAbs to be developed and tested as conditioning agents in clinical trials starting with treatment of patients with SCID. Subsequent efforts have built upon this work to develop various combination approaches,though none are optimal and how any of these mAbs fully function is unknown. To improve efficacy of mAb-based conditioning as a stand-alone conditioning approach for all HSCT settings,it is critical to understand the mechanistic action of αCD117 mAbs on HSCs. Here,we compare the antagonistic properties of αCD117 mAb clones including ACK2,2B8,and 3C11 as well as ACK2 fragments in vitro and in vivo in both SCID and wildtype (WT) mouse models. Further,to augment efficacy,combination regimens were also explored. We confirm that only ACK2 inhibits SCF binding fully and prevents HSC proliferation in vitro. Further,we verify that this corresponds to HSC depletion in vivo and donor engraftment post HSCT in SCID mice. We also show that SCF-blocking αCD117 mAb fragment derivatives retain similar HSC depletion capacity with enhanced engraftment post HSCT in SCID settings,but only full αCD117 mAb ACK2 in combination with αCD47 mAb enables enhanced donor HSC engraftment in WT settings,highlighting that the Fc region is not required for single-agent efficacy in SCID settings but is required in immunocompetent settings. This combination was the only non-genotoxic conditioning approach that enabled robust donor engraftment post HSCT in WT mice. These findings shed new insights into the mechanism of αCD117 mAb-mediated HSC depletion. Further,they highlight multiple approaches for efficacy in SCID settings and optimal combinations for WT settings. This work is likely to aid in the development of clinical non-genotoxic HSCT conditioning approaches that could benefit millions of people world-wide. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13287-024-03981-0. View Publication

To enable transmission of information in the brain,synaptic vesicles fuse to presynaptic membranes,liberating their content and exposing transiently a myriad of vesicular transmembrane proteins. However,versatile methods for quantifying the synaptic translocation of endogenous proteins during neuronal activity remain unavailable,as the fast dynamics of synaptic vesicle cycling difficult specific isolation of trafficking proteins during such a transient surface exposure. Here,we developed a novel approach using synaptic cleft proximity labeling to capture and quantify activity-driven trafficking of endogenous synaptic proteins at the synapse. We show that accelerating cleft biotinylation times to match the fast dynamics of vesicle exocytosis allows capturing endogenous proteins transiently exposed at the synaptic surface during neural activity,enabling for the first time the study of the translocation of nearly every endogenous synaptic protein. As proof-of-concept,we further applied this technology to obtain direct evidence of the surface translocation of noncanonical trafficking proteins,such as ATG9A and NPTX1,which had been proposed to traffic during activity but for which direct proof had not yet been shown. The technological advancement presented here will facilitate future studies dissecting the molecular identity of proteins exocytosed at the synapse during activity,helping to define the molecular machinery that sustains neurotransmission in the mammalian brain. View Publication