Dissecting the manipulation of lufenuron on chitin synthesis in Helicoverpa armigera.

Lufenuron, a benzoylurea chitin synthesis inhibitor, is effective against many insect pests. However, the insecticidal activity of lufenuron has not been completely elucidated, nor has its disturbing effect on chitin synthesis genes. In this study, bioassay results demonstrated an outstanding toxicity of lufenuron against Helicoverpa armigera larvae. The treated larvae died from abortive molting and metamorphosis defects, and severe separation of epidermis and subcutaneous tissues was observed. Treatment of 3rd- and 4th-instar larvae with LC25 lufenuron significantly extended the duration of larval and pupal stage, reduced the rates of pupation and emergence, and adversely affected pupal weight. Besides, lufenuron can severely reduce chitin content in larval integument, and the lufenuron-treated larvae showed reduced trehalose content in their hemolymph. Further analysis using RNA sequencing revealed that five chitin synthesis genes were down-regulated, whereas the expressions of two chitin degradation genes were significantly enhanced. Knockdown of chitin synthase 1 (HaCHS1), uridine diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine-pyrophosphorylase (HaUAP), phosphoacetyl glucosamine mutase (HaPGM), and glucosamine 6-phosphate N-acetyl-transferase (HaGNPAT) in H. armigera led to significant increase in larval susceptibilities to LC25 lufenuron by 75.48%, 65.00%, 68.42% and 28.00%, respectively. Our findings therefore revealed the adverse effects of sublethal doses of lufenuron on the development of H. armigera larvae, elucidated the perturbations on chitin metabolism, and proved that the combination of RNAi and lufenuron would improve the control effect of this pest.

Prognosis and immunotherapy significances of a cancer-associated fibroblasts-related gene signature in lung adenocarcinoma.

Cells associated with cancer (CAFs) contribute significantly to the stroma of a tumor microenvironment (TME), which is related to the occurrence, treatment, and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Therefore, this study investigated the function of CAF-associated genes in the microenvironment of LUAD. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to download RNA-seq data from the TCGA Lung Adenocarcinoma cohort (TCGA-LUAD). The GSE68465 dataset, as the external validation set, was from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Besides, CAF-associated genes were sourced from the GeneCards and Molecular Signatures Database (MsigDB). For LUAD, differentially expressed CAF-related genes were selected from overlapping CAF and LUAD patient and control samples. Next, LASSO and Univariate Cox analyses were used to construct the risk model. Additionally, an analysis of Cox regression was used to construct a nomogram. Next, the immune infiltration in malignant tumour tissues was compared between high- and low-risk groups using Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumours (ESTIMATE) tissues and Cell-type Identification by Estimating Relative Subsets of RNA Transcripts (CIBERSORT). The sensitivity differences of immunotherapy between the two risk groups were estimated by Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE), and compared by rank-sum test. Finally, the model genes were detected by fluorescent real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A total of 57 DE-CAFGs were acquired, and 9 of them (SHCBP1, CCNA2, AKAP12, CCNB1, GALNT3, SCGB1A1, CPS1, CDC6, and CXCL13) were selected as prognostic biomarkers. The Cox independent prognosis revealed the RiskScore and Stage were the two LUAD independent prognosis factors Moreover, 11 types of immune cells (memory B cells, resting natural killer cells (NK cells), Eosinophils, Macrophages M0, CD4 memory resting T cells, CD4 memory activated T cells, resting Mast cells, naive B cells, T cells regulatory (Tregs), neutrophils, and plasma cell), and 18 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes were different with the two risk groups. Lastly, the TIDE analysis showed differences between the two risk groups for TIDE, T cell dysfunction, and T cell exclusion, PD-L1 treatment scores. Lastly, Both LUAD and normal samples expressed the 9 model genes differently. A CAF-related prognostic model was constructed, which may have potential immunotherapy guiding significance for LUAD patients.

Meta-analysis of competitive antagonists in asthma treatment.

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis was developed to explore the efficacy of using antagonists to the chemokine receptor of T helper type 2 (Th2) cells (CRTH2) in the treatment of asthma, so as to provide theoretical foundation and assistance for treatment of asthma. METHODS: The Boolean logic search method (Boolean method) was adopted to search the publications in PubMed, Medline, and HowNet with "antagonist", "asthma", "competitive antagonist", and "efficiency" as the search terms. The publications taking placebo as control to treat the asthma were searched. The Review Manager software was applied for meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 13 publications were included in this study, and most of them were low-risk bias (medium-high quality). The results of Meta-analysis showed that the treatment methods of the two groups of patients showed no statistically heterogeneous effects on the one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) in the maximum exhalation after the maximum deep inhalation (Chi2 =4.70, I2=0%, and P=0.79). The FEV1 of the control group was much lower than that of the experimental group (Z=3.61, P=0.0003). There was no great difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups (Z=0.46, P=0.64). No statistical heterogeneity (Chi2 =3.72, I2=0%, P=0.45) and difference (Z=1.57, P=0.12) were found in asthma exacerbation between the two groups. The asthma control questionnaire (ACQ) score of the control group was much lower than that of the experimental group (Z=3.20, P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Competitive antagonists of CRTH2 could effectively improve FEV1 and lower ACQ scores in patients with asthma, and were therefore effective in treating asthma.

The TiO2 topotactic transformation assisted trapping of an atomically dispersed Pt catalyst for low temperature CO oxidation.

Atomically dispersed Pt catalysts are synthesized on TiO2 with high activity and strong high temperature resistance by loading Pt in the process of converting the NH4TiOF3 precursor to TiO2 by a topotactic transformation process. The atomically dispersed Pt catalyst displayed high catalytic activity for the low temperature CO oxidation reaction.