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Purpose: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has characteristics of high invasion and early metastasis. Most NPC patients present with locoregionally advanced illness when first diagnosed. Therefore, it is urgent to discover NPC biomarkers. Fibroblast growth Factor 19 (FGF19) plays a role in various physiological or pathological processes, including cancer. In this research, we discovered the importance of FGF19 in NPC, and clarified its role in tumour angiogenesis. Methods: Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and ELISA were used to investigate FGF19 expression in NPC. Then we took CCK8, colony formation, Transwell and wound healing assays to identify the influence of FGF19 on NPC malignant behaviours. The proliferative and metastatic capacity of FGF19 were evaluated in nude mice and zebrafish. The role of FGF19 in angiogenesis was investigated by tube formation and Matrigel plug angiogenesis assays. We then evaluated the variation in Annexin A2(ANXA2) levels with the treatment of FGF19. Lastly, co-immunoprecipitation and ubiquitination assays were performed to identify the mechanisms involved. Results: FGF19 levels were elevated in tissues and serum of NPC patients and were associated with poor clinical stages. High expression of FGF19 promoted NPC malignant behaviours. In particular, FGF19 expression was correlated with microvessel density in tissues and NPC-derived FGF19 could accelerate angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, FGF19 influenced ANXA2 expression to promote angiogenesis. Moreover, tripartite motif-containing 21(TRIM21) interacted with ANXA2 and was responsible for ANXA2 ubiquitination. Conclusion: FGF19 promoted NPC angiogenesis by inhibiting TRIM21-mediated ANXA2 ubiquitination. It may serve as a noninvasive biomarker for NPC and provides new insights for therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symmetry plays a key role in classifying topological phases. Recent theory shows that in the presence of gauge fields, the algebraic structure of crystalline symmetries needs to be projectively represented, which brings extra chance for topological physics. Here, we report a concrete acoustic realization of mirror Chern insulators by exploiting the concept of projective symmetry. Specifically, we introduce a simple but universal recipe for constructing projective mirror symmetry, and conceive a minimal model for achieving the projective symmetry-enriched mirror Chern insulators. Based on our selective-excitation measurements, we demonstrate unambiguously the projective mirror eigenvalue-locked topological nature of the bulk states and associated chiral edge states. We extract the non-abelian Berry curvature and identify the mirror Chern number directly, providing experimental evidence for this exotic topological phase. All experimental results agree well with the theoretical predictions. Our findings give insights into topological systems equipped with gauge fields. A recurring theme in physics has been the discovery of distinctive phases of matter. Here, the authors propose a general recipe for constructing projective mirror symmetry and report an experimental realization of mirror Chern insulators in spinless systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the influence on the compressive and dissipative behavior of entangled metallic wire material (EMWM) samples provided by their size and mutual connectivity. The mechanical properties of EMWM specimens with different thicknesses are obtained from quasi-static compressive and cyclic loading. The behavior of the stress-strain curves, tangent modulus, and loss factor are strongly dependent on the thickness of the samples. The analysis from samples connected in different layouts shows that apart from the global thickness, size scale effects and contact interface also play important roles in controlling the behavior of EMWM systems. The importance of the sample size and its connectivity with adjacent different layers are defined by the unique microstructure and contact properties of the wires near the specimen boundary layer. The boundary layer produces different mechanical behaviors and a distinct structural configuration compared to the EMWM bulk solid. These peculiar characteristics are confirmed by microstructural and qualitative observations obtained from computed tomography scanning. The results and analysis presented in this work are relevant to designing EMWM material systems with adaptive performance under different loading and geometric constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has a relatively good prognosis, yet there are some invasive PTC cases with worse clinicopathological features and poor outcome. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an important role in cancer invasion and metastasis. This study aimed to investigate the expression of marker proteins of CAFs in PTC and their correlations with clinicopathological features through immunohistochemistry. The medical records of 125 PTC patients were reviewed in this study, whose specimens were retrieved for immunohistochemistry. Four CAFs marker proteins, FAP fibroblast activated protein (FAP), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), Vimentin and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α(PDGFR-α), were stained and scored. Then, statistical analyses were performed. The immunoreactivity scores of FAP and α-SMA correlated with tumor size, BRAF mutation, extrathyroidal, invasion, pathological subtype, lymph node metastasis and ATA risk stratification. Moreover, binary logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curves showed that high FAP and α-SMA immunoreactivity scores were risk factors for extrathyroidal invasion, BRAF mutation, multi-focality and lymph node metastasis (especially N1b) with good sensitivity and accuracy in prediction. A better performance was found in FAP than α-SMA. Strong expressions of CAFs were risk factors for worse thyroid cancer clinicopathological features. FAP was the better CAFs marker for PTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganism invasion is still a severe threat for wound healing, which usually induces severe complications and cannot be eradicated completely. Thus, a biodegradable nanomaterial for guarding against bacteria-associated wound infection and accelerating wound healing is of vital importance. Here, black phosphorus nanosheets (BPs) were successfully decorated with cationic carbon dots (CDs) through an in situ growth strategy. The BPs@CDs exhibit photon-responsiveness and contact-responsiveness as an antibacterial agent, which shorten wound healing time. Moreover, the BPs@CDs show available photothermal and photodynamic therapy via exploring their photothermal properties and the ability of singlet-oxygen (1O2) production. Astonishingly, the BPs@CDs could possess antibacterial activity even without laser illumination due to an electrostatic attraction between bacteria and cationic CDs on the surface of BPs. This chemical therapy causes the antibacterial process to occur more accurately and for a faster 1O2 release to kill bacteria than in a normal process. Importantly, BPs@CDs display outstanding cytocompatibility and hemocompatibility. In vitro and in vivo investigations demonstrate that the BPs@CDs have enhanced antibacterial effect and can significantly accelerate skin tissue regeneration and wound closure. Given their antibacterial triple-combination therapy and excellent physicochemical properties, the broad application of BPs@CDs in bacteria-associated wound management is anticipated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]