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Background: As a heterogeneous malignancy, breast cancer (BRCA) shows high incidence and mortality. Discovering novel molecular markers and developing reliable prognostic models may improve the survival of BCRA. Methods: The RNA-seq data of BRCA patients were collected from the training set The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-BRCA and validation set GSE20685 in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. The "GSVA" R package was used to calculate the glycolysis score for each patient, based on which all the patients were divided into different glycolysis groups. The "limma" package was employed to perform differentially expression genes (DEGs) analysis. Key signature genes were selected by performing un/multivariate and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) C regression and used to develop a RiskScore model. The ESTIMATE and MCP-Counter algorithms were used for quantifying immune infiltration level. The functions of the genes were validated using Western blot, colony formation, transwell and wound-healing assay. Results: The glycolysis score and prognostic analysis showed that high glycolysis score was related to tumorigenesis pathway and a poor prognosis in BRCA as overactive glycolysis inhibited the normal functions of immune cells. Subsequently, we screened five key prognostic genes using the LASSO Cox regression analysis and used them to establish a RiskScore with a high classification efficiency. Based on the results of the RiskScore, it was found that patients in the high-risk group had significantly unfavorable immune infiltration and prognostic outcomes. A nomogram integrating the RiskScore could well predict the prognosis for BRCA patients. Knockdown of PSCA suppressed cell proliferation, invasion and migration of BRCA cells. Conclusion: This study developed a glycolysis-related signature with five genes to distinguish between high-risk and low-risk BRCA patients. A nomogram developed on the basis of the RiskScore was reliable to predict BRCA survival. Our model provided clinical guidance for the treatment of BRCA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Programmed cell death (PCD) has been widely investigated in various human diseases. The present study aimed to identify a novel PCD‐related genetic signature in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC) to provide clues for survival, immunotherapy and drug sensitization prediction. Methods: Single‐sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was used to quantify the PCD score and assess the distribution of PCD in clinicopathological characteristics in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)‐CESC samples. Then, the ConsensusClusterPlus method was used to identify molecular subtypes in the TCGA‐CESC database. Genomic mutation analysis, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional enrichment, as well as tumor microenvironment (TME) infiltration analysis, were performed for each molecular subtype group. Finally, a prognostic model by Uni‐Cox and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator‐Cox analysis was established based on differentially expressed genes from molecular subtypes. ESTIMATE (i.e. Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignantTumours using Expression data) and ssGSEA were performed to assess the correlation between the model and TME. Drug sensitization prediction was carried out with the oncoPredict package. Results: Preliminary analysis indicated that PCD had a potential association clinical characteristics of the TCGA‐CESC cohort, and PCD‐related genes mutated in 289 (70.59%) CESC patients. Next, four groups of CESC molecular typing were clustered based on 63 significantly prognostic PCD‐related genes. Among four subtypes, C1 group displayed the worst prognosis combined with over expressed PCD genes and enriched cell cycle‐related pathways. C4 group exhibited the best prognosis accompanied with high degree of immune infiltration. Finally, a five‐gene (SERPINE1, TNF, CA9, CX3CL1 and JAK3) prognostic model was constructed. Patients in the high‐risk group displayed unfavorable survival. Immune infiltration analysis found that the low‐risk group had significantly higher levels of immune cell infiltration such as T cells, Macrophages_M1, relative to the high‐risk group, and were significantly enriched in apoptosis‐associated pathways, which predicted a higher level of immunity. Drug sensitivity correlation analysis revealed that the high‐risk group was resistant to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs and sensitive to the Food and Drug Administration‐approved drugs BI.2536_1086 and SCH772984_1564. Conclusions: In the present study, we first found that PCD‐related gene expression patterns were correlated with clinical features of CESC patients, which predicts the feasibility of subsequent mining of prognostic features based on these genes. The five‐PCD‐associated‐gene prognostic model showed good assessment ability in predicting patient prognosis, immune response and drug‐sensitive response, and provided guidance for the elucidation of the mechanism by which PCD affects CESC, as well as for the clinical targeting of drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new molten salt/ceramic composite phase change thermal storage material was prepared by sol-gel method and powder compacting method. The surface of molten salt particles was encapsulated with SiO2 or TiO2 by sol-gel method, then the molten salt particles were combined with MgO to prepare composite phase change thermal storage materials. By this method, the density of the composite increased by 8.74%, the thermal conductivity increased by 16.27%, after high-temperature heat. The decline of the heat loss rate was only 2.67%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) provides promising avenues for investigating development and treating diseases. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent internal messenger RNA (mRNA) modification and plays pivotal roles in regulation of mRNA metabolism, while its functions remain elusive. Here, we profile the dynamic landscapes of m6A transcriptome-wide during pancreatic differentiation. Next, we generate knockout hPSC lines of the major m6A demethylase ALKBH5, and find that ALKBH5 plays significant regulatory roles in pancreatic organogenesis. Mechanistic studies reveal that ALKBH5 deficiency reduces the mRNA stability of key pancreatic transcription factors in an m6A and YTHDF2-dependent manner. We further identify that ALKBH5 cofactor α-ketoglutarate can be applied to enhance differentiation. Collectively, our findings identify ALKBH5 as an essential regulator of pancreatic differentiation and highlight that m6A modification-mediated mRNA metabolism presents an important layer of regulation during cell-fate specification and holds great potentials for translational applications. Ma et al. profile the dynamic landscape of m6A during pancreatic differentiation, and identify ALKBH5 as an essential m6A regulator supporting pancreatic differentiation, indicating a role for m6A-mediated mRNA metabolism in cell-fate specification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, heat storage technology has attracted wide attention in the fields of renewable energy storage for its relatively high melting point, high heat storage capacity and economy, Na2CO3 and eutectic salt mixtures containing Na2CO3 are promising candidates in the field of solar energy storage. In this paper, a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of Na2CO3 was conducted with the Born–Mayer potential function. The simulated solid–liquid phase change temperature is 1200 K, and the error is 5.4%. The heat capacity at constant pressure (Cp) is higher in liquid than in solid, the average Cp of solid is 1.45 J/g and that of liquid is 1.79 J/g, and the minimum error is 2.8%. The simulation results revealed the change rules of density and thermal expansion coefficient of Na2CO3 in the process of heating up, and these changes were analyzed by radial distribution functions (RDF) and angular distribution functions (ADF). Moreover, the RDF and ADF results show that the atomic spacing of Na2CO3 increases, the coordination number decreases, and the angle distribution between atoms becomes wider as the temperature rises. Finally, this paper examined the microscopic changes of ions during the phase transition of Na2CO3 from solid to liquid. It is concluded that the angle change of CO 3 2 − in the liquid state is more sharply. This study improves the understanding of the thermodynamic properties and local structure of Na2CO3 and provides theoretical support for Na2CO3 heat storage materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe-Si-Cr soft magnetic powder cores (SMCs), with high electrical resistivity, magnetic permeability, saturation magnetic induction, and good corrosion resistance, are widely applied to inductors, filters, choke coils, etc. However, with the development of electronic technology with high frequency and high power density, the relative decline in the magnetic properties limits the high-frequency application of SMCs. In this paper, the phosphating process and polyimide (PI) insulation coating is applied to Fe-Si-Cr SMCs to reduce the core loss, including hysteresis loss and eddy current loss. The microstructure and composition of Fe-Si-Cr powders were analyzed by SEM, XRD, and Fourier-transform infrared spectra, respectively. The structural characteristics of the Fe-Si-Cr @ phosphate layer @ PI layer core–shell double coating were studied, and the best process parameters were determined through experiments. For SMCs with 0.4 wt% content of PI, the relative permeability is greater than 68%, and the core loss is the lowest, 7086 mW/cm3; annealed at 500 °C, the relative permeability is greater than 57%, and the core loss is the lowest, 6222 mW/cm3. A 0.4 wt% content of PI, annealed at 500 °C, exhibits the ideal magnetic properties: μe = 47 H/m, P = 6222 mW/cm3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical compounds have recently been introduced as alternative and non‐integrating inducers of pluripotent stem cell fate. However, chemical reprogramming is hampered by low efficiency and the molecular mechanisms remain poorly characterized. Here, we show that inhibition of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) by R406 significantly promotes mouse chemical reprogramming. Mechanistically, R406 alleviates Syk / calcineurin (Cn) / nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) signaling‐mediated suppression of glycine, serine, and threonine metabolic genes and dependent metabolites. Syk inhibition upregulates glycine level and downstream transsulfuration cysteine biosynthesis, promoting cysteine metabolism and cellular hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production. This metabolic rewiring decreased oxidative phosphorylation and ROS levels, enhancing chemical reprogramming. In sum, our study identifies Syk‐Cn‐NFAT signaling axis as a new barrier of chemical reprogramming and suggests metabolic rewiring and redox homeostasis as important opportunities for controlling cell fates. Synopsis: Chemically‐induced pluripotent stem cells (ciPSCs) hold great potential for regenerative medicine, but their induction efficiency remains low and the underlying molecular mechanisms unclear. Here, suppression of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) is shown to enhance murine ciPSC formation via modulation of amino acid metabolism and redox homeostasis, suggesting novel approaches for controlling cell fates. Syk inhibitor R406 promotes chemical reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts.Syk inhibition alleviates calcineurin/NFAT‐mediated suppression of glycine, serine and threonine metabolic gene expression and impacted metabolites.Syk inhibition enhances cysteine biosynthesis and cellular hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production.Increased H2S levels reduce oxidative phosphorylation and ROS levels, facilitating ciPSC induction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The salt/ceramic phase change materials (PCMs) have a good thermal storage performance and high application temperature. In this paper, we studied the effect of glass as additive on the mechanical properties, thermal storage, and morphology of the Na2CO3-K2CO3 eutectic salt/MgO composite PCMs. The results show that glass can effectively improve the compressive strength of MgO matrix material. When the mass ratio of glass and MgO is 7:3, the compressive strength of the composite body can be up to 104.3 MPa. When the mass ratio of Na2CO3-K2CO3 eutectic salt, MgO, and glass is 55:25:20, the composite PCM body has a good stable form, and its total heat storage is 788 J/g, which increased by 6.7% compared with the total heat storage of composite PCMs without glass in the range of 150°C~750°C. When the mass ratio of Na2CO3-K2CO3 eutectic salt, MgO, and glass is 55:15:30, the composite PCM body cannot maintain stable form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell fate transition involves dynamic changes of gene regulatory network and chromatin landscape, requiring multiple levels of regulation, yet the cross-talk between epitranscriptomic modification and chromatin signaling remains largely unknown. Here, we uncover that suppression of N -acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10), the writer for mRNA N 4 -acetylcytidine (ac 4 C) modification, can notably affect human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lineage differentiation and pluripotent reprogramming. With integrative analysis, we identify that NAT10-mediated ac 4 C modification regulates the protein levels of a subset of its targets, which are strongly enriched for fate-instructive chromatin regulators, and among them, histone chaperone ANP32B is experimentally verified and functionally relevant. Furthermore, NAT10-ac 4 C-ANP32B axis can modulate the chromatin landscape of their downstream genes (e.g., key regulators of Wnt and TGFβ pathways). Collectively, we show that NAT10 is an essential regulator of cellular plasticity, and its catalyzed mRNA cytidine acetylation represents a critical layer of epitranscriptomic modulation and uncover a previously unrecognized, direct cross-talk between epitranscriptomic modification and chromatin signaling during cell fate transitions.

Chemistry-alone approach has recently been applied for incepting pluripotency in somatic cells, representing a breakthrough in biology. However, chemical reprogramming is hampered by low efficiency, and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Particularly, chemical compounds do not have specific DNA-recognition domains or transcription regulatory domains, and then how do small molecules work as a driving force for reinstating pluripotency in somatic cells? Furthermore, how to efficiently clear materials and structures of an old cell to prepare the rebuilding of a new one? Here, we show that small molecule CD3254 activates endogenous existing transcription factor RXRα to significantly promote mouse chemical reprogramming. Mechanistically, CD3254-RXRα axis can directly activate all the 11 RNA exosome component genes ( Exosc1-10 and Dis3 ) at transcriptional level. Unexpectedly, rather than degrading mRNAs as its substrates, RNA exosome mainly modulates the degradation of transposable element (TE)-associated RNAs, particularly MMVL30 , which is identified as a new barrier for cell-fate determination. In turn, MMVL30 -mediated inflammation (IFN-γ and TNF-α pathways) is reduced, contributing to the promotion of successful reprogramming. Collectively, our study provides conceptual advances for translating environmental cues into pluripotency inception, particularly, identifies that CD3254-RXRα-RNA exosome axis can promote chemical reprogramming, and suggests modulation of TE-mediated inflammation via CD3254-inducible RNA exosome as important opportunities for controlling cell fates and regenerative medicine.

Background: Cervical cancer patients have a high risk of metastasis and a poor prognosis with shorter disease-free survival. Thus, novel biomarkers and feasible therapies urgently need to be discovered. Previous studies have shown that miR-95-3p plays crucial roles in several cancer types. However, the roles of miR-95-3p in cervical cancer remain unknown., Methods: The micro ribonucleic acid (miRNA) expression data and clinical characteristics of cervical cancer samples were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify the prognostic-related miRNAs. The potential target genes of miR-95-3p were predicted by the TargetScan database. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted to explore the target gene of miR-95-3p. The effects of miR-95-3p inhibition and overexpression on cell proliferation were inspected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assays and cell colony formation assays. Wound-healing assays and transwell assays were also used to examine cell migration ability in HeLa and SiHa cells., Results: MiR-95-3p was the only miRNA significantly associated with the poor prognosis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma. A further analysis suggested that vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 ( VCAM1 ) is a target gene of miR-95-3p in cervical cancer, and miR-95-3p promotes the malignant behavior of cervical cancer cells by inhibiting the expression of VCAM1 . The CCK-8 and cell colony assays showed that miR-95-3p downregulation significantly suppressed cell proliferation in the HeLa and SiHa cells. The transwell and wound-healing assays showed that miR-95-3p inhibition suppressed cell migration in the HeLa and SiHa cells. Further the Western blot analysis and the quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) showed that the knockdown of miR-95-3p in HeLa cells resulted in increased VCAM1 expression. And VCAM1 was highly expressed in the paired adjacent normal cervical epithelium tissue samples, but lowly expressed in the cervical tumor tissue samples., Conclusions: Our study was the first to show that miR-95-3p could serve as a prognostic biomarker of cervical cancer. Mechanistically, we discovered that miR-95-3p inhibited the expression of the cell adhesion molecule VCAM1 and thus promoted further tumor progression., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://atm.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/atm-22-5184/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2022 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

An unlimited source of human pancreatic β cells is in high demand. Even with recent advances in pancreatic differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells, major hurdles remain in large-scale and cost-effective production of functional β cells. Here, through chemical screening, we demonstrate that the bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) inhibitor I-BET151 can robustly promote the expansion of PDX1 + NKX6.1 + pancreatic progenitors (PPs). These expandable PPs (ePPs) maintain pancreatic progenitor cell status in the long term and can efficiently differentiate into functional pancreatic β (ePP-β) cells. Notably, transplantation of ePP-β cells rapidly ameliorated diabetes in mice, suggesting strong potential for cell replacement therapy. Mechanistically, I-BET151 activates Notch signaling and promotes the expression of key PP-associated genes, underscoring the importance of epigenetic and transcriptional modulations for lineage-specific progenitor self-renewal. In summary, our studies achieve the long-term goal of robust expansion of PPs and represent a substantial step toward unlimited supplies of functional β cells for biomedical research and regenerative medicine.

Chemical compounds have recently been introduced as alternative and non-integrating inducers of pluripotent stem cell fate. However, chemical reprogramming is hampered by low efficiency and the molecular mechanisms remain poorly characterized. Here, we show that inhibition of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) by R406 significantly promotes mouse chemical reprogramming. Mechanistically, R406 alleviates Syk / calcineurin (Cn) / nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) signaling-mediated suppression of glycine, serine, and threonine metabolic genes and dependent metabolites. Syk inhibition upregulates glycine level and downstream transsulfuration cysteine biosynthesis, promoting cysteine metabolism and cellular hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) production. This metabolic rewiring decreased oxidative phosphorylation and ROS levels, enhancing chemical reprogramming. In sum, our study identifies Syk-Cn-NFAT signaling axis as a new barrier of chemical reprogramming and suggests metabolic rewiring and redox homeostasis as important opportunities for controlling cell fates., (© 2021 The Authors.)