FAST: Its Scientific Achievements and Prospects.

FAST is the largest single-dish radio telescope in the world. The characteristics of FAST are presented and analyzed in the context of the parameter space to show how FAST science achievements are affected. We summarize the scientific achievements of FAST and discuss its future science based on the new parts of the parameter space that can be explored by FAST.

Spinal cord injury in rats treated using bone marrow mesenchymal stem-cell transplantation.

The aim of this study was to observe the effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem-cell transplantation (BMSCs) in repairing acute spinal cord damage in rats and to examine the potential beneficial effects. 192 Wistar rats were randomized into 8 groups. Spinal cord injury was created. Behavior and limb functions were scored. Repairing effects of BMSCs transplantation was evaluated and compared. In vitro 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-tagged BMSCs were observed, and whether they migrated to the area of spinal cord injury after intravenous tail injection was investigated. The expression of neuron-specific protein (NSE) on BMSCs was examined. Fifteen days after transplantation, the BMSCs-treated groups scored significantly higher in limb function tests than the untreated group. Pathological sections of the bone marrow after operation showed significant recovery in treated groups in comparison to the control group. After transplantation, small amounts of fluorescent-tagged BMSCs can be found in the blood vessels in the area of spinal cord injury, and fluorescent-tagged BMSCs were diffused in extravascular tissues, whereas the DAPI-tagged BMSCs could not be detected,and BrdU/NSE double-labeled cells were found in the injured marrow. BMSCs improve behavioral responses and can repair spinal cord injuries by migrating to the injured area, where they can differentiate into neurons.

Skin decontamination efficacy of potassium ketoxime on rabbits exposed to sulfur mustard.

CONTEXT: The chemical weapon sulfur mustard (SM) is a blister agent, and currently, there is no effective antidote. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the decontamination efficacy of potassium ketoxime against SM and preliminarily elucidate its decontamination mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Potassium ketoxime reacted with SM, and SM residues were tested at different time intervals by T-135 colorimetry after the reaction. Rabbit skin was topically exposed to 2 mg/cm(2) SM, treated with potassium ketoxime 1 min later, and observed after 6, 12, and 24 h. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy was employed to screen and identify the main products of potassium ketoxime decontamination of SM. RESULTS: Potassium ketoxime had a great effect against SM contamination. With a mass ratio of decontaminant: SM of 50:1, decontamination rates against SM were 87.5% after 30 s, 95.9% after 1 min, and 99.0% after 5 min. Fifteen minutes after exposure to SM, the untreated group showed clear erythema lesions, whereas the experimental group showed no clear erythema lesions within 6 h. After 12 and 24 h, the areas of damaged skin in the experimental group were 0.038 and 0.125 cm(2), respectively, compared with 2.21 and 2.65 cm(2) in the control group. Histopathological analysis revealed that treatment with potassium ketoxime also reduced inflammation-induced damage. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that potassium ketoxime reacted rapidly and completely with SM, and thus, it was found to be a suitable and effective skin decontaminant against SM. The decontamination reaction mechanism is mainly related to nucleophilic substitution.

Ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate act as photodynamic therapy-elicited damage-associated molecular patterns: cell surface exposure.

Molecules that appear on the surface of tumor cells after their therapy treatment may have important roles either as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) or signals for phagocytes influencing the disposal of these cells. Treatment of SCCVII and CAL27 cells, models of mouse and human squamous cell carcinoma respectively, by photodynamic therapy (PDT) resulted in the presentation of ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) on the cell surface. This was documented by anti-ceramide and anti-S1P antibody staining followed by flow cytometry. The exposure of these key sphingolipid molecules on PDT-treated tumor cells was PDT dose-dependent and it varied in intensity with different photosensitizers used for PDT. The above results, together with the finding that both ceramide and S1P can activate NFκB signaling in macrophages co-incubated with PDT-treated tumor cells, establish that these two sphingolipids can act as DAMPs stimulating inflammatory/immune reactions critical for tumor therapy response.

Staged procedures versus primary repair for tetralogy of Fallot and small left ventricle.

INTRODUCTION: This study was conducted to address whether staged surgical intervention or primary repair would be preferred for treating patients with tetralogy of Fallot and small left ventricle. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed 28 patients with tetralogy of Fallot and small left ventricle at the Chinese PLA 208th Hospital, Changchun, between January 2005 and December 2008. Of this cohort, 11 patients had undergone a systemic-to-pulmonary arterial shunt with a polytetrafluoroethylene interposition graft (off pump), followed by ancillary repair procedures as a surgically staged group; the remaining 17 patients underwent primary intracardiac repair via cardiopulmonary bypass. The oxygen level as measured by pulse oximetry (SpO2), the McGoon ratio, and the left ventricular end-diastolic volume index (LVEDVI) were measured before shunt procedures and at 6 to 18 months afterwards. All data were analyzed statistically with the paired Student t test. The 2 groups were compared with respect to LVEDVI values and McGoon indices at baseline by the independent t test. RESULTS: None of the patients died as a direct result of the surgery, but 1 fatality due to pneumonia occurred 4 months after shunting. Mean postshunt values for SpO2, the McGoon ratio, and the LVEDVI increased significantly from 76.8% ± 9.0% to 87.5% ± 2.4% (P < .01), from 1.42 ± 0.27 to 1.62 ± 0.32 (P < .05), and from 20.1 ± 7.0 mL/m2 to 34.3 ± 7.4 mL/m2 (P < .01), respectively. Nine patients were fully repaired within the 6- to 18-month time frame after shunting, while 1 patient awaited definitive surgery for pulmonary hypoplasia. In the primary-repair group, in which the increases the LVEDVI and McGoon ratio were comparatively higher, 1 patient died of hypoxemia. CONCLUSION: A LVEDVI 20 mL/m2 may be an indication for primary repair in patients with tetralogy of Fallot. With values <20 mL/m2, staged procedures (i.e., shunt with a polytetrafluoroethylene interposition graft) can promote left ventricle development and allow safe transition to the final repair.

Acute phase response induction by cancer treatment with photodynamic therapy.

Inflammation and immunity development are well recognized as responses to tumor treatment by photodynamic therapy (PDT). To demonstrate that another major host response effector process, acute phase response, may be also induced by this cancer treatment modality, the expression of serum amyloid P component (SAP) acknowledged as a hallmark acute phase reactant in the mouse was investigated following PDT of murine FsaR fibrosarcomas. The results reveal almost 150-fold increase in the expression of SAP gene in the liver of mice bearing tumors treated by Photofrin-mediated PDT, while serum SAP levels increased around 50-fold at the peak interval about 24 hr post PDT. The same tumor treatment induced also the liver gene upregulation and serum levels elevation of another established acute phase reactant, mannose-binding lectin A (MBL-A). Both SAP and MBL-A were found to accumulate in PDT-treated tumors, but this includes local production because their genes in these tumor tissues were upregulated as well. Gene encoding C-reactive protein (CRP) was also upregulated almost 7-fold in the same tumor tissues, suggesting a rare example of CRP participation in host response of the mouse. Interleukin-6 and glucocorticoid hormones were identified as major mediators promoting tumor PDT-induced upregulation of liver SAP gene. Moreover, glucocorticoids were found to act as critical inducers of SAP gene upregulation in PDT-treated tumors. The study definitely proves the occurrence of a strong acute phase response following tumor PDT, and reveals that glucocorticoid hormones released during this development impact the expression of host response-relevant genes in PDT-treated tumors.

Dying cells program their expedient disposal: serum amyloid P component upregulation in vivo and in vitro induced by photodynamic therapy of cancer.

Serum amyloid P component (SAP) is known as a prototypic acute phase reactant in the mouse and the protein that binds to dying cells securing their swift disposal by phagocytes. Treatment of solid tumors by photodynamic therapy (PDT) triggers SAP production in the liver of host mice, its release in the circulation and accumulation in PDT-targeted lesions. In the present study, mouse Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells treated in vitro by PDT are shown to upregulate their gene encoding SAP. This effect was manifested following PDT treatment mediated by various types of photosensitizers (Photofrin, BPD, mTHPC, ALA). Generated SAP protein was not detected in tissue supernatants but remained localized to producing PDT-treated cells. The upregulation of SAP gene was observed also in untreated IC-21 macrophages after they were co-incubated for 4 h with PDT-treated LLC cells. Based on these findings, SAP that accumulates in PDT-treated tumors may originate from both systemic sources (released from the liver as acute phase reactant) and local sources; the latter could include tumor cells directly sustaining PDT injury and macrophages invading the tumor that become stimulated by signals from these affected tumor cells. Since SAP gene upregulation in LLC cells increased with the lethality of PDT dose used for their treatment, we propose that cells sensing they are inflicted with mortal injury can turn on molecular programs insuring not only that they die an innocuous form of death (apoptosis) but also that once they are dead their elimination is (facilitated by SAP) swift and efficient.

Role of complement anaphylatoxin C3a in photodynamic therapy-elicited engagement of host neutrophils and other immune cells.

Tumor treatment by photodynamic therapy (PDT) provokes a host-protective inflammatory and acute-phase response and an immune reaction. Neutrophilia manifested in this context is driven by multiple mediators of neutrophil chemotaxis orchestrated by an activated complement system. Mouse FsaR fibrosarcoma was used in this study to further investigate neutrophilia induced by Photofrin-based PDT. The complement anaphylatoxin C3a was identified as a major chemoattractant in the advanced phase of PDT-induced neutrophilia, because injecting mice with antibodies blocking its receptor C3aR significantly inhibited the increase in neutrophil levels 8 h after PDT. At the same time point, an increased C3aR expression was detected in neutrophils, monocytes and B lymphocytes in the blood of host mice. Peritoneal macrophages and mast cells harvested from treatment-naive mice exhibited elevated C3aR expression after coincubation in vitro for 8 h with PDT-treated FsaR cells. Thus, C3a emerges as one of the key effector molecules engaged in PDT-induced host response.

Photodynamic therapy-generated vaccine for cancer therapy.

A target tumor-derived whole cancer cell therapeutic vaccine was developed based on an in vitro pre-treatment by photodynamic therapy (PDT) and was investigated using a poorly immunogenic tumor model. The vaccine was produced by incubating in vitro expanded mouse squamous cell carcinoma SCCVII cells for 1 h with photosensitizer benzoporphyrin derivative (BPD), then exposing to light (690 nm, 1 J/cm2) and finally to a lethal X-ray dose. Treatment of established subcutaneous SCCVII tumors growing in syngeneic C3H/HeN mice with 2 x 10(7) PDT-vaccine cells per mouse by a peritumoral injection produced a significant therapeutic effect, including growth retardation, regression and cures. Tumor specificity of this PDT-generated vaccine was demonstrated by its ineffectiveness when prepared from a mismatched tumor cell line. Vaccine cells retrieved from the treatment site at 1 h postinjection were intermixed with dendritic cells (DC), exhibited heat shock protein 70 on their surface, and were opsonized by complement C3. Tumor-draining lymph nodes treated by the PDT-vaccine contained dramatically increased numbers of DC as well as B and T lymphocytes (with enlarged memory phenotype fraction in the latter), while high levels of surface-bound C3 were detectable on DC and to a lesser extent on B cells. The PDT-vaccine produced no therapeutic benefit against tumors growing in C3-deficient hosts. It is suggested that surface expression of heat shock proteins and complement opsonization are the two unique features of PDT-treated cells securing avid immune recognition of vaccinated tumor and the development of a strong and effective antitumor adaptive immune response.

Photodynamic therapy-induced cell surface expression and release of heat shock proteins: relevance for tumor response.

Almost instantaneously after the treatment of mouse SCCVII tumor cells with Photofrin-based photodynamic therapy (PDT), a fraction (15-25%) of total cellular heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) became exposed at the cell surface. The level of this surface-expressed HSP70 then remained unchanged for the next 6 hours and persisted at lower levels even at 18 hours after PDT. A similar induction of surface HSP70 expression was found with PDT-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The same analysis for several other HSPs revealed the induced surface expression of HSP60 and GRP94, but not GRP78, on PDT-treated SCCVII cells. A fraction of total HSP70 existing in SCCVII cells at the time of PDT treatment was promptly (within 1 hour) released from cells after high treatment doses, whereas even lower PDT doses induced a substantial HSP70 release at later time intervals. Macrophages coincubated with PDT-treated SCCVII cells displayed elevated levels of both HSP70 and GRP94 on their surface and were stimulated to produce tumor necrosis factor alpha, whose production was inhibited by the presence of antibodies against either HSP70, Toll-like receptors 2 and 4, or specific NF-kappaB inhibitor in the coincubation medium. The induction of cell surface expression and release of HSPs by PDT may represent an important event in the response of tumors to this treatment modality with a critical role in the induced inflammatory and immune responses that contribute to the therapeutic outcome.

Enhancement of laser cancer treatment by a chitosan-derived immunoadjuvant.

A chitosan derivative, glycated chitosan (GC), has been used as an immunostimulant for cancer treatment in laser immunotherapy. The function of GC is to enhance the host immune response after direct cancer cell destruction by a selective laser photothermal interaction. To further test its effects, laser immunotherapy was extended to include several different adjuvants for immunological stimulation and to include photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a different tumor-destruction mechanism. Complete Freund (CF) adjuvant, incomplete Freund (IF) adjuvant and Corynebacterium parvum (CP) were selected for treatment of metastatic mammary tumors in rats, in combination with a selective photothermal interaction. The solution of the immunoadjuvants admixed with indocyanine green (ICG), a light-absorbing dye, was injected directly into the tumors, followed by noninvasive irradiation of an 805 nm laser. Combined with PDT, in the treatment of tumors in mice, GC was administered peritumorally immediately after laser irradiation. The survivals of treated animals were compared with untreated control animals. In the treatment of rat tumors, CF, IF and CP raised the cure rates from 0% to 18%, 7% and 9%, respectively. In comparison, GC resulted in a 29% long-term survival. In the treatment of EMT6 mammary sarcoma in mice, GC of 0.5% and 1.5% concentrations increased the cure rates of Photofrin-based PDT treatment from 38% to 63% and 75%, respectively. In the treatment of Line 1 lung adenocarcinoma in mice, a 1.67% GC solution enabled a noncurative meso-substituted tetra(meta-hydroxy-phenyl)chlorin-based PDT to cure 37% of the tumor-bearing mice. The experimental results of this study confirmed our previous studies, showing that immunoadjuvants played an active role in laser-related cancer treatment and that GC significantly enhanced the efficacy of laser cancer treatment.

Adjuvant treatment for complement activation increases the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy of solid tumors.

Phototoxic lesions generated in tumor tissue by photodynamic therapy (PDT) are recognized by the host as a threat to the integrity and homeostasis at the affected site. Among the canonical pathways invoked by the host for dealing with this type of challenge is the activation of the complement system, integrating proteins that serve as molecular sensors of danger signals produced by PDT and those initiating signalling cascades coupled into the network of inflammatory and immune responses. Since the activated complement system is a salient participant of the antitumor response produced by PDT, it is worth exploring whether its manipulation can be exploited for the therapeutic benefit. Using mouse tumor models, the present study examined the potential of representative complement-activating agents to act as effective adjuvants to PDT. Tumor-localized treatment with zymosan, an alternative complement pathway activator, reduced the recurrence-rate of PDT-treated tumors, markedly increasing the percentage of permanent cures. In contrast, a similar treatment with heat aggregated gamma globulin (complement activator via the classical pathway) was of no significant benefit as a PDT adjuvant. Systemic complement activation with streptokinase treatment had no detectable effect on complement deposition at the tumor site without PDT, but it augmented the extent of complement activity in PDT-treated tumors. This finding based on immunohistochemistry analysis explains the results of tumor therapy experiments, which showed that systemic treatment with streptokinase or a similar agent, urokinase, enhances the PDT-mediated tumor response. Zymosan and streptokinase administrations produced no beneficial results with PDT of tumors growing in complement-deficient mice. This study, therefore, establishes the potential of complement-activating agents to serve as effective adjuvants to PDT for cancer treatment.

Activation of poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase in mouse tumors treated by photodynamic therapy.

Poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) has recently been characterized as a key regulator of cell death-survival transcriptional programs associated with stress and inflammation. Possible participation of this enzyme in the response of tumors to photodynamic therapy (PDT) was investigated in this study. Immunohistochemical analysis of mouse FsaR tumors treated by PDT based on photosensitizers Photofrin or 5,10,15,20-tetra-(m-hydroxyphenyl)chlorine (mTHPC) revealed a strong positive staining for PARP product poly(ADP-ribose) at 30 min and 1 h after PDT, respectively, and even more intense positivity at 2 h after PDT with both photosensitizers. Flow cytometry-based examination showed the induction of poly-ADP-ribosylation in FsaR tumors at 30 min after PDT, with a trend for a further increase in the intensity by 2 h after PDT in both cancer cells and tumor-associated leukocytes. In FsaR cells treated in vitro by mTHPC-based PDT, flow cytometric analysis indicated that the activation of PARP concentrated in cells undergoing apoptosis and reached a maximum by 30 min after PDT. The administration of PARP inhibitors, 3-aminobenzamide or 1,5-isoquinolinediol, to FsaR tumor-bearing mice before PDT light treatment increased the resistance of these tumors to PDT. PARP appears to control the balance between apoptotic and necrotic cell death in PDT-treated tumors and regulate the progression of PDT-induced inflammatory or innate immune response.

Neutrophils as inflammatory and immune effectors in photodynamic therapy-treated mouse SCCVII tumours.

Neutrophils have become recognised as important contributors to the effectiveness of tumour eradication by photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this study, we have used the mouse SCCVII squamous cell carcinoma model to investigate the activity of neutrophils in tumours treated by PDT. Tumour levels of neutrophilic myeloperoxidase (MPO) demonstrated not only a massive and sustained sequestration of these cells in PDT-treated tumours but also revealed their activated state evidenced by the presence of released MPO. Among the adhesion molecules expressed on tumour vascular endothelium, ICAM-1 appears to be of primary importance in the invasion of neutrophils into PDT-treated tumours, because its functional blocking with monoclonal antibodies reduced the tumour cure rate. A marked upregulation of its ligands CD11b/CD18 and CD11c/CD18 found on neutrophils associated with PDT-treated tumours supports this assumption. To evaluate the role of inflammatory cytokines regulating neutrophil activity, neutralising antibodies were given to mice before PDT treatment. The results suggest that IL-1beta activity is critical for the therapeutic outcome, since its neutralisation diminished the cure rates of PDT-treated tumours. No significant effect was observed with anti-IL-6 and anti-TNF-alpha treatment. Further flow cytometry-based examination of neutrophils round in PDT-treated tumours revealed that these cells express MHC class II molecules, which suggests their engagement as antigen-presenting cells and involvement in the development of antitumour immune response.