ABSTRACT
This study examines inhibiting galectin 1 (Gal1) as a treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Gal1 has immunosuppressive and cancer-promoting roles. Our data showed that Gal1 was highly expressed in human and mouse HCC. The levels of Gal1 positively correlated with the stages of human HCC and negatively with survival. The roles of Gal1 in HCC were studied using overexpression (OE) or silencing using Igals1 siRNA delivered by AAV9. Prior to HCC initiation induced by RAS and AKT mutations, lgals1-OE and silencing had opposite impacts on tumor load. The treatment effect of lgals1 siRNA was further demonstrated by intersecting HCC at different time points when the tumor load had already reached 9% or even 42% of the body weight. Comparing spatial transcriptomic profiles of Gal1 silenced and OE HCC, inhibiting matrix formation and recognition of foreign antigen in CD45+ cell-enriched areas located at tumor-margin likely contributed to the anti-HCC effects of Gal1 silencing. Within the tumors, silencing Gal1 inhibited translational initiation, elongation, and termination. Furthermore, Gal1 silencing increased immune cells as well as expanded cytotoxic T cells within the tumor, and the anti-HCC effect of lgals1 siRNA was CD8-dependent. Overall, Gal1 silencing has a promising potential for HCC treatment.
ABSTRACT
Nonencapsulated, nontypeable Hemophilus influenzae [NTHi] remains an important cause of acute otitis and respiratory diseases in children and adults. NTHi bacteria are one of the major causes of respiratory tract infections, including acute otitis media, cystic fibrosis, and community-acquired pneumonia among children, especially in developing countries. The bacteria can also cause chronic diseases such as chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the lower respiratory tract of adults. Such bacteria express several outer membrane proteins, some of which have been studied as candidates for vaccine development. Due to the lack of effective vaccines as well as the spread and prevalence of NTHi worldwide, there is an urgent need to design and develop effective vaccine candidates against these strains
ABSTRACT
Background: The pathogenesis of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae [NTHi] begins with adhesion to the rhinopharyngeal mucosa. Almost 38-80% of NTHi clinical isolates produce proteins that belong to the High Molecular Weight [HMW] family of adhesins, which are believed to facilitate colonization
Methods: In the present study, the prevalence of hmwA, which encodes the HMW adhesin, was determined for a collection of 32 NTHi isolates. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism [RFLP] was performed to advance our understanding of hmwA binding sequence diversity
Results: The results demonstrated that hmwA was detected in 61% of NTHi isolates. According to RFLP, isolates were divided into three groups
Conclusion: Based on these observations, it is hypothesized that some strains of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae infect some specific areas more than other parts