ReDisX, a machine learning approach, rationalizes rheumatoid arthritis and coronary artery disease patients uniquely upon identifying subpopulation differentiation markers from their genomic data.

Diseases originate at the molecular-genetic layer, manifest through altered biochemical homeostasis, and develop symptoms later. Hence, symptomatic diagnosis is inadequate to explain the underlying molecular-genetic abnormality and individual genomic disparities. The current trends include molecular-genetic information relying on algorithms to recognize the disease subtypes through gene expressions. Despite their disposition toward disease-specific heterogeneity and cross-disease homogeneity, a gap still exists in describing the extent of homogeneity within the heterogeneous subpopulation of different diseases. They are limited to obtaining the holistic sense of the whole genome-based diagnosis resulting in inaccurate diagnosis and subsequent management. Addressing those ambiguities, our proposed framework, ReDisX, introduces a unique classification system for the patients based on their genomic signatures. In this study, it is a scalable machine learning algorithm deployed to re-categorize the patients with rheumatoid arthritis and coronary artery disease. It reveals heterogeneous subpopulations within a disease and homogenous subpopulations across different diseases. Besides, it identifies granzyme B (GZMB) as a subpopulation-differentiation marker that plausibly serves as a prominent indicator for GZMB-targeted drug repurposing. The ReDisX framework offers a novel strategy to redefine disease diagnosis through characterizing personalized genomic signatures. It may rejuvenate the landscape of precision and personalized diagnosis and a clue to drug repurposing.

Rhodococcus yananensis sp. nov., a novel denitrification actinobacterium isolated from microbial fermentation bed material from a pig farm.

An opaque, pink-coloured, gram-positive, aerobic bacteria (designated as FBM22-1T), was isolated from microbial fermentation bed material from a pig farm in northwestern China. Optimal growth occurred at 30-37 °C, pH 7.0 and with 0.5 % NaCl (w/v). The strain had nitrification and denitrification functions. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the novel isolate belonged to the genus Rhodococcus. Strain FBM22-1T was closely related to Rhodococcus zopfii NBRC 100606T and Rhodococcus rhodochrous NBRC 16069T, with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 97.9 and 97.7 %, respectively. The predominant menaquinone in strain FBM22-1T was MK-8(H2). The cellular fatty acids consisted primarily of C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1 ω6c, C16 : 0 and 10-methyl C18 : 0. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and glycolipid. The G+C content of strain FBM22-1T was 68.64 mol%. Based on the phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic characterization results, in combination with low values of digital DNA-DNA hybridization between strain FBM22-1T and its closest neighbours, FBM22-1T represents a novel species of the genus Rhodococcus, for which the name Rhodococcus yananensis sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is FBM22-1T (=KCTC 49502T=CCTCC AB2020275T).

Sphingopyxis yananensis sp. nov., a novel 2-nitropropane degrading bacterium isolated from a microbial fermentation bed substrate.

A rod-shaped, Gram-negative staining strain, FBM22T, was isolated from a microbial fermentation bed substrate from a pig farm. Its colonies appeared yellow and were 0.5-1.2 mm in diameter. Cells were 0.3-0.5 µm wide, 0.5-0.83 µm long. Optimal growth occurred at 30 °C and pH 7.0-8.0; NaCl was not required for growth. The strain performed denitrification and nitrate reduction functions. And it could produce catalase. FBM22-1T utilized the following organic substrates for growth: tyrosine, glutamic acid, D-glucose, and galactose. The novel isolate could degrade 2-nitropropane as carbon and nitrogen source. The dominant respiratory quinone was Q-10. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. C18:1 ω7c, C16:1 ω7c and/ or C16:1 ω6c, and C14:0 2-OH were the major (≥ 8%) fatty acids. The G+C content was 56.8 mol%. FBM22T was found to be a member of the genus Sphingopyxis in the family Sphingomonadaceae of the class Alphaproteobacteria. It had the highest sequence similarity with the type strains Sphingopyxis terrae subsp. ummariensis UI2T (96.47%) and Sphingopyxis terrae subsp. terrae NBRC 15098T (96.40%). Furthermore, FBM22T had 18.7% and 18.4% relatedness (based on digital DNA-DNA hybridization) with its two relatives (S. terrae subsp. ummariensis UI2T and S. terrae subsp. terrae NBRC 15098T). The morphological, physiological, and genotypic differences identified in this study support the classification of FBM22T as a novel species within the genus Sphingopyxis, for which the name Sphingopyxis yananensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is FBM22T (= KCTC 82290T = CCTC AB2020286T).

CTHRC1 is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Correlated with Macrophage Infiltration in Breast Cancer.

Background: Tumor immune cell infiltration is closely associated with the occurrence and development of tumors. Collagen triple helix repeats containing 1 (CTHRC1), a regulator of collagen expression and cell migration, is involved in the metastasis and invasion of tumors. However, the role of CTHRC1 in breast cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of CTHRC1, and further explore its association with immune infiltration in breast cancer. Methods: CTHRC1 expression pattern and prognostic value were analyzed using ONCOMINE, PrognoScan, GEPIA, and Kaplan-Meier Plotter databases. We then detected CTHRC1 mRNA levels in breast cancer tissues and paired normal breast tissues by Q-PCR. Subsequently, the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) database was used to determine the methylation status of CTHRC1. Furthermore, CTHRC1 mutations were investigated using the Catalogue of Somatic mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) and cBioPortal databases. We also assessed the correlation between CTHRC1 expression and immune cell infiltration using TIMER. In addition, The relationship of CTHRC1 expression with the immune marker sets of various immune cells was evaluated using GEPIA and TIMER. Results: CTHRC1 was highly expressed in a variety of tumors, including breast cancer. Elevated CTHRC1 expression was related to a poor prognosis. Notably, CTHRC1 expression was significantly associated with macrophage infiltration, especially the immune infiltration gene marker set of M2. Copy number variations, DNA mutations and methylation states might be potential mechanisms for regulating CTHRC1 expression. Protein digestion and absorption, human papillomavirus infection, ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways were identified as the potential CTHRC1-driven signaling pathways. Conclusion: These findings suggest that CTHRC1 could be a promising immune-related biomarker for the treatment of breast cancer patients.

Crosstalk Between Four Types of RNA Modification Writers Characterizes the Tumor Immune Microenvironment Infiltration Patterns in Skin Cutaneous Melanoma.

The "writers" of four types of adenosine (A)-related RNA modifications (N6-methyladenosine, N1-methyladenosine, alternative polyadenylation, as well as A-to-inosine RNA editing) are closely related to the tumorigenesis and progression of many cancer types, including skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM). However, the potential roles of the crosstalk between these RNA modification "writers" in the tumor microenvironment (TME) remain unclear. The RNA modification patterns were identified using an unsupervised clustering method. Subsequently, based on differentially expressed genes responsible for the aforementioned RNA modification patterns, an RNA modification "writer" scoring model (W_Score) was constructed to quantify the RNA modification-associated subtypes in individual patients. Moreover, a correlation analysis for W_Score and the TME characteristics, clinical features, molecular subtypes, drug sensitivities, immune responses, and prognosis was performed. We identified three RNA modification patterns, corresponding to distinct tumor immune microenvironment characteristics and survival outcomes. Based on the W_Score score, which was extracted from the RNA modification-related signature genes, patients with SKCM were divided into high- and low-W_Score groups. The low-W_Score group was characterized by better survival outcomes and strengthened immunocyte infiltration. Further analysis showed that the low-W_Score group was positively associated with higher tumor mutation burden and PD-L1 expression. Of note, two immunotherapy cohorts demonstrated that patients with low W_Score exhibited long-term clinical benefits and an enhanced immune response. This study is the first to systematically analyze four types of A-related RNA modifications in SKCM, revealing that these "writers" essentially contribute to TME complexity and diversity. We quantitatively evaluated the RNA modification patterns in individual tumors, which could aid in developing personalized immunotherapy strategies for patients.

One Biosurfactant-Producing Bacteria Achromobacter sp. A-8 and Its Potential Use in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery and Bioremediation.

Biosurfactant plays an important role in bioremediation of crude oil contamination and microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). In the present study, a salt-tolerant, biosurfactant-producing bacterium, designated A-8, was isolated from wastewater contaminated with petroleum collected from the Changqing reservoir in China. A phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA sequence suggests that strain A-8 belongs to the genus Achromobacter. The optimal growth conditions for strain A-8 in mineral salt (MS) medium were 30°C, pH 7, and 10 g/L NaCl, while the optimal conditions for biosurfactant production in a fermentation medium were 40-45°C, pH 7, and more than 70 g/L NaCl. Better biosurfactant production was obtained from strain A-8 when edible oil and liquid paraffin were used as carbon sources and when (NH4)2SO4 was used as an inorganic nitrogen source compared with other tested carbon and nitrogen sources. The biodegradation of petroleum in MS medium in different optimized conditions reached 56.23-73.87% for 20 days. The biodegradation of petroleum, together with the production of organic acid and biosurfactant, decreased the viscosity of petroleum by about 45%. The decrease in petroleum viscosity and the biodegradation of petroleum suggest the potential use of strain A-8 for MEOR and bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated environments.

Protocatechuic acid attenuates lipolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury.

Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a major metabolite of anthocyanins. It has numerous pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumoral activities. In the present study, we investigated the in vivo protective effect of PCA on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipolysaccharide (LPS) in mice. We treated mice with PCA 1 h before the intratracheal (i.n.) administration of LPS. The pulmonary injury severity was evaluated 6 h after LPS administration. We found that pretreatment with a 30 mg/kg of PCA markedly attenuated the LPS-induced histological alterations in the lung. In addition, PCA inhibited the production of several inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), and IL-6, at 6 h in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) after LPS challenge. Furthermore, PCA significantly reduced the number of total cells, neutrophils, and macrophages in the BALF, and it significantly decreased the wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio of lungs and the protein concentration in the BALF. Additionally, Western blotting showed that PCA efficiently blunted nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation by inhibiting the degradation and phosphorylation of IκBα, as well as the translocation of p65 from cytoplasm to the nucleus. In conclusion, these results indicate that PCA was highly effective in inhibiting acute lung injury (ALI) and may be a promising potential therapeutic reagent for ALI treatment. PCA may utilize the NF-κB pathway to attenuate the nonspecific pulmonary inflammation induced by LPS administration.