NF-κB signaling pathway mechanism in cow intertoe skin inflammation caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum.

Background: Fusobacterium necrophorum is the main pathogen inducing bovine foot rot. The infected site is often accompanied by a strong inflammatory response, but the specific inflammatory regulatory mechanism remains unclear. Aim: A cow skin explants model was established to elucidate the mechanism of F. necrophorum bacillus causing foot rot in cows, and to provide reference for future clinical practice. Methods: Cow intertoe skin explants were cultured in vitro, and F. necrophorum bacteria solution and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inhibitor BAY 1-7082 were added to establish an in vitro infection model. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, terminal - deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling, and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the pathological changes of the skin explants infected with F. necrophorum, the degree of tissue cell apoptosis, and the expression of the apoptosis-related protein Caspase-3, respectively. RT-qPCR, Western blot, and ELISA were used to detect the activation of the NF-κB pathway and inflammatory cytokines by F. necrophorum. Results: The intertoe skin structure of cows infected with F. necrophorum changed with different degrees of inflammation, and the degree of tissue cell apoptosis was significantly increased (P < 0.01). In addition, infection with F. necrophorum significantly increased the phosphorylation level of IκBα protein and up-regulated the expression level of NF-κB p65. The high expression and transcriptional activity of NF-κB p65 significantly increased the expression and concentration of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-8, thus inducing the occurrence of an inflammatory response. However, inhibition of NF-κB p65 activity significantly decreased the expression of inflammatory factors in the intertoe skin of cows infected with F. necrophorum. Conclusion: F. necrophorum activates NF-κB signaling pathway by increasing the expression of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-8 and other inflammatory factors, leading to foot rot in dairy cows.

Serum Metabolomics and Ionomics Analysis of Hoof-Deformed Cows Based on LC-MS/MS and ICP-OES/MS.

In order to explore the metabolic and ionic changes of hoof-deformed cows, the serum samples of 10 healthy cows (group C) and 10 hoof-deformed cows (group T) were analyzed by LC-MS/MS and ICP-OES/MS. The pathway enrichment of differential metabolites was analyzed by screening and identifying differential metabolites and ions and using a bioinformatics method. The integration of metabolomics and ionics was analyzed with ggplot2 software in R language, and verified by MRM target metabolomics. The results showed that 127 metabolites were screened by metabolomics, of which 81 were up-regulated (p < 0.05) and 46 were down-regulated (p < 0.05). The results of ICP-OES/MS showed that 13 kinds of ions such as K, Li, and Pb in serum of dairy cows were up-regulated, while 18 kinds of ions such as Al, Cu and Sb were down-regulated. The integrated analysis of metabolomics and ionics found that potassium ions were positively correlated with L-tyrosine, L-proline, thiamine and L-valine. Sodium ions were positively correlated with L-valine and negatively correlated with α-D-glucose. The results of high-throughput target metabolomics showed that the contents of L-proline, L-phenylalanine and L-tryptophan in serum of dairy cows increased significantly, which was consistent with the results of non-target metabolomics. In a word, the metabolism and ion changes in dairy cows with hoof deformation were revealed by metabolomics and ionics.

A D-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase mutant reveals a critical role for ketone body metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans development.

In humans, mutations in D-2-hydroxyglutarate (D-2HG) dehydrogenase (D2HGDH) result in D-2HG accumulation, delayed development, seizures, and ataxia. While the mechanisms of 2HG-associated diseases have been studied extensively, the endogenous metabolism of D-2HG remains unclear in any organism. Here, we find that, in Caenorhabditis elegans, D-2HG is produced in the propionate shunt, which is transcriptionally activated when flux through the canonical, vitamin B12-dependent propionate breakdown pathway is perturbed. Loss of the D2HGDH ortholog, dhgd-1, results in embryonic lethality, mitochondrial defects, and the up-regulation of ketone body metabolism genes. Viability can be rescued by RNAi of hphd-1, which encodes the enzyme that produces D-2HG or by supplementing either vitamin B12 or the ketone bodies 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and acetoacetate (AA). Altogether, our findings support a model in which C. elegans relies on ketone bodies for energy when vitamin B12 levels are low and in which a loss of dhgd-1 causes lethality by limiting ketone body production.

Kiaa1024L/Minar2 is essential for hearing by regulating cholesterol distribution in hair bundles.

Unbiased genetic screens implicated a number of uncharacterized genes in hearing loss, suggesting some biological processes required for auditory function remain unexplored. Loss of Kiaa1024L/Minar2, a previously understudied gene, caused deafness in mice, but how it functioned in the hearing was unclear. Here, we show that disruption of kiaa1024L/minar2 causes hearing loss in the zebrafish. Defects in mechanotransduction, longer and thinner hair bundles, and enlarged apical lysosomes in hair cells are observed in the kiaa1024L/minar2 mutant. In cultured cells, Kiaa1024L/Minar2 is mainly localized to lysosomes, and its overexpression recruits cholesterol and increases cholesterol labeling. Strikingly, cholesterol is highly enriched in the hair bundle membrane, and loss of kiaa1024L/minar2 reduces cholesterol localization to the hair bundles. Lowering cholesterol levels aggravates, while increasing cholesterol levels rescues the hair cell defects in the kiaa1024L/minar2 mutant. Therefore, cholesterol plays an essential role in hair bundles, and Kiaa1024L/Minar2 regulates cholesterol distribution and homeostasis to ensure normal hearing.

Cholesterol is present in every cell of the body. While it is best known for its role in heart health, it also plays a major role in hearing, with changes in cholesterol levels negatively affecting this sense. To convert sound waves into electrical brain signals, specialised ear cells rely on hair-like structures which can move with vibrations; cholesterol is present within these hair 'bundles', but its exact role remains unknown. Genetic studies have identified over 120 genes essential for normal hearing. Animal data suggest there may be many more ­ including, potentially, some which control cholesterol. For instance, in mice, loss of the Minar2 gene causes profound deafness. Yet exactly which role the protein that Minar2 codes for plays in the ear remains unknown. This is in part because that protein does not resemble any other related proteins, making it difficult to infer its function. To find out more, Gao et al. investigated loss of minar2 in zebrafish, showing that deleting the gene induced deafness in the animals. Without minar2, the hair bundles in ear cells were longer, thinner, and less able to sense vibrations: cholesterol could not move into these structures, causing them to dysfunction. Exposing the animals to drugs that lower or raise cholesterol levels respectively worsened or improved their hearing abilities. A recent study revealed that mutations in MINAR2 also cause deafness in humans. The findings by Gao et al. highlight the need for further research which explores the role of cholesterol and MINAR2 in hair bundle function, as this may potentially uncover cholesterol-based treatments for hearing problems.

Bacterial diet modulates tamoxifen-induced death via host fatty acid metabolism.

Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulator that is used to treat ER-positive breast cancer, but that at high doses kills both ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer cells. We recapitulate this off-target effect in Caenorhabditis elegans, which does not have an ER ortholog. We find that different bacteria dramatically modulate tamoxifen toxicity in C. elegans, with a three-order of magnitude difference between animals fed Escherichia coli, Comamonas aquatica, and Bacillus subtilis. Remarkably, host fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis mitigates tamoxifen toxicity, and different bacteria provide the animal with different FAs, resulting in distinct FA profiles. Surprisingly these bacteria modulate tamoxifen toxicity by different death mechanisms, some of which are modulated by FA supplementation and others by antioxidants. Together, this work reveals a complex interplay between microbiota, FA metabolism and tamoxifen toxicity that may provide a blueprint for similar studies in more complex mammals.

A metabolic regulatory network for the Caenorhabditis elegans intestine.

Metabolic perturbations can affect gene expression, for instance to rewire metabolism. While numerous efforts have measured gene expression in response to individual metabolic perturbations, methods that determine all metabolic perturbations that affect the expression for a given gene or set of genes have not been available. Here, we use a gene-centered approach to derive a first-pass metabolic regulatory network for Caenorhabditis elegans by performing RNAi of more than 1,400 metabolic genes with a set of 19 promoter reporter strains that express a fluorescent protein in the animal's intestine. We find that metabolic perturbations generally increase promoter activity, which contrasts with transcription factor (TF) RNAi, which tends to repress promoter activity. We identify several TFs that modulate promoter activity in response to perturbations of the electron transport chain and explore complex genetic interactions among metabolic pathways. This work provides a blueprint for a systems-level understanding of how metabolism affects gene expression.

Proprotein convertase furina is required for heart development in zebrafish.

Cardiac looping and trabeculation are key processes during cardiac chamber maturation. However, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we report the isolation, cloning and characterization of the proprotein convertase furina from the cardiovascular mutant loft in zebrafish. loft is an ethylnitrosourea-induced mutant and has evident defects in the cardiac outflow tract, heart looping and trabeculation, the craniofacial region and pharyngeal arch arteries. Positional cloning revealed that furina mRNA was barely detectable in loft mutants, and loft failed to complement the TALEN-induced furina mutant pku338, confirming that furina is responsible for the loft mutant phenotypes. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that Notch reporter Tg(tp1:mCherry) signals were largely eliminated in mutant hearts, and overexpression of the Notch intracellular domain partially rescued the mutant phenotypes, probably due to the lack of Furina-mediated cleavage processing of Notch1b proteins, the only Notch receptor expressed in the heart. Together, our data suggest a potential post-translational modification of Notch1b proteins via the proprotein convertase Furina in the heart, and unveil the function of the Furina-Notch1b axis in cardiac looping and trabeculation in zebrafish, and possibly in other organisms.

WormPaths: Caenorhabditis elegans metabolic pathway annotation and visualization.

In our group, we aim to understand metabolism in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and its relationships with gene expression, physiology, and the response to therapeutic drugs. Visualization of the metabolic pathways that comprise the metabolic network is extremely useful for interpreting a wide variety of experiments. Detailed annotated metabolic pathway maps for C. elegans are mostly limited to pan-organismal maps, many with incomplete or inaccurate pathway and enzyme annotations. Here, we present WormPaths, which is composed of two parts: (1) the careful manual annotation of metabolic genes into pathways, categories, and levels, and (2) 62 pathway maps that include metabolites, metabolite structures, genes, reactions, and pathway connections between maps. These maps are available on the WormFlux website. We show that WormPaths provides easy-to-navigate maps and that the different levels in WormPaths can be used for metabolic pathway enrichment analysis of transcriptomic data. In the future, we envision further developing these maps to be more interactive, analogous to road maps that are available on mobile devices.

Caenorhabditis elegans methionine/S-adenosylmethionine cycle activity is sensed and adjusted by a nuclear hormone receptor.

Vitamin B12 is an essential micronutrient that functions in two metabolic pathways: the canonical propionate breakdown pathway and the methionine/S-adenosylmethionine (Met/SAM) cycle. In Caenorhabditis elegans, low vitamin B12, or genetic perturbation of the canonical propionate breakdown pathway results in propionate accumulation and the transcriptional activation of a propionate shunt pathway. This propionate-dependent mechanism requires nhr-10 and is referred to as 'B12-mechanism-I'. Here, we report that vitamin B12 represses the expression of Met/SAM cycle genes by a propionate-independent mechanism we refer to as 'B12-mechanism-II'. This mechanism is activated by perturbations in the Met/SAM cycle, genetically or due to low dietary vitamin B12. B12-mechanism-II requires nhr-114 to activate Met/SAM cycle gene expression, the vitamin B12 transporter, pmp-5, and adjust influx and efflux of the cycle by activating msra-1 and repressing cbs-1, respectively. Taken together, Met/SAM cycle activity is sensed and transcriptionally adjusted to be in a tight metabolic regime.

Ultrasensitive Wearable Pressure Sensors Based on Silver Nanowire-Coated Fabrics.

Flexible pressure sensors have attracted increasing attention due to their potential applications in wearable human health monitoring and care systems. Herein, we present a facile approach for fabricating all-textile-based piezoresistive pressure sensor with integrated Ag nanowire-coated fabrics. It fully takes advantage of the synergistic effect of the fiber/yarn/fabric multi-level contacts, leading to the ultrahigh sensitivity of 3.24 × 105 kPa-1 at 0-10 kPa and 2.16 × 104 kPa-1 at 10-100 kPa, respectively. Furthermore, the device achieved a fast response/relaxation time (32/24 ms) and a high stability (> 1000 loading/unloading cycles). Thus, such all-textile pressure sensor with high performance is expected to be applicable in the fields of smart cloths, activity monitoring, and healthcare device.

WormPaths: Caenorhabditis elegans metabolic pathway annotation and visualization.

In our group, we aim to understand metabolism in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and its relationships with gene expression, physiology and the response to therapeutic drugs. On March 15, 2020, a stay-at-home order was put into effect in the state of Massachusetts, USA, to flatten the curve of the spread of the novel SARS-CoV2 virus that causes COVID-19. For biomedical researchers in our state, this meant putting a hold on experiments for nine weeks until May 18, 2020. To keep the lab engaged and productive, and to enhance communication and collaboration, we embarked on an in-lab project that we all found important but that we never had the time for: the detailed annotation and drawing of C. elegans metabolic pathways. As a result, we present WormPaths, which is composed of two parts: 1) the careful manual annotation of metabolic genes into pathways, categories and levels, and 2) 66 pathway maps that include metabolites, metabolite structures, genes, reactions, and pathway connections between maps. These maps are available on our WormFlux website. We show that WormPaths provides easy-to-navigate maps and that the different levels in WormPaths can be used for metabolic pathway enrichment analysis of transcriptomic data. In the unfortunate event of additional lockdowns, we envision further developing these maps to be more interactive, with an analogy of road maps that are available on mobile devices.

A Phase Ib/II, open-label, multicenter study of INC280 (capmatinib) alone and in combination with buparlisib (BKM120) in adult patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

PURPOSE: To estimate the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and/or identify the recommended Phase II dose (RP2D) for combined INC280 and buparlisib in patients with recurrent glioblastoma with homozygous phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) deletion, mutation or protein loss. METHODS: This multicenter, open-label, Phase Ib/II study included adult patients with glioblastoma with mesenchymal-epithelial transcription factor (c-Met) amplification. In Phase Ib, patients received INC280 as capsules or tablets in combination with buparlisib. In Phase II, patients received INC280 only. Response was assessed centrally using Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology response criteria for high-grade gliomas. All adverse events (AEs) were recorded and graded. RESULTS: 33 patients entered Phase Ib, 32 with altered PTEN. RP2D was not declared due to potential drug-drug interactions, which may have resulted in lack of efficacy; thus, Phase II, including 10 patients, was continued with INC280 monotherapy only. Best response was stable disease in 30% of patients. In the selected patient population, enrollment was halted due to limited activity with INC280 monotherapy. In Phase Ib, the most common treatment-related AEs were fatigue (36.4%), nausea (30.3%) and increased alanine aminotransferase (30.3%). MTD was identified at INC280 Tab 300 mg twice daily + buparlisib 80 mg once daily. In Phase II, the most common AEs were headache (40.0%), constipation (30.0%), fatigue (30.0%) and increased lipase (30.0%). CONCLUSION: The combination of INC280/buparlisib resulted in no clear activity in patients with recurrent PTEN-deficient glioblastoma. More stringent molecular selection strategies might produce better outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01870726.

Heat resilience in embryonic zebrafish revealed using an in vivo stress granule reporter.

Although the regulation of stress granules has become an intensely studied topic, current investigations of stress granule assembly, disassembly and dynamics are mainly performed in cultured cells. Here, we report the establishment of a stress granule reporter to facilitate the real-time study of stress granules in vivo Using CRISPR/Cas9, we fused a green fluorescence protein (GFP) to endogenous G3BP1 in zebrafish. The GFP-G3BP1 reporter faithfully and robustly responded to heat stress in zebrafish embryos and larvae. The induction of stress granules varied by brain regions under the same stress condition, with the midbrain cells showing the highest efficiency and dynamics. Furthermore, pre-conditioning using lower heat stress significantly limited stress granule formation during subsequent higher heat stress. More interestingly, stress granule formation was much more robust in zebrafish embryos than in larvae and coincided with significantly elevated levels of phosphorylated eIF2α and enhanced heat resilience. Therefore, these findings have generated new insights into stress response in zebrafish during early development and demonstrated that the GFP-G3BP1 knock-in zebrafish could be a valuable tool for the investigation of stress granule biology.This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

Clinical Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Overview of Nilotinib, a Selective Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor.

Nilotinib, an oral inhibitor of the tyrosine kinase activity of Abelson protein, is approved for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase and patients with CML in chronic phase or accelerated phase resistant or intolerant to prior therapies. This review describes the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data of nilotinib in patients with CML and in healthy volunteers. Nilotinib is rapidly absorbed, with a peak serum concentration approximately 3 hours after dosing. The area under the plasma drug concentration-time curve over 24 hours and the peak serum concentration of nilotinib were dose proportional from 50-400 mg once daily. The metabolism of nilotinib is primarily via hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 according to in vitro studies. In the clinical setting, exposure to nilotinib was significantly reduced by the induction of CYP3A4 with rifampicin and significantly increased by the inhibition of CYP3A with ketoconazole. Additionally, nilotinib is a competitive inhibitor of CYP3A4/5, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2D6, and uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A1. The bioavailability of nilotinib is increased by up to 82% when given with a high-fat meal compared with fasted state. There is a positive correlation between the occurrences of all-grade total bilirubin elevations and the steady-state nilotinib trough concentrations. Fredericia method corrected QT interval change from baseline was observed to have a correlation with nilotinib exposure. No significant relationship between nilotinib exposure and major molecular response at 12 months was seen at therapeutic doses of nilotinib 300-400 mg, probably due to the narrow range of the doses investigated.

UBTOR/KIAA1024 regulates neurite outgrowth and neoplasia through mTOR signaling.

The mTOR signaling pathways regulate cell growth and are involved in multiple human diseases. Here, we identify UBTOR, a previously unannotated gene as a functional player in regulating cell growth and mTOR signaling. Reduction of UBTOR function in cultured hippocampal neurons and PC12 cells promotes neurite outgrowth. UBTOR depletion activates mTOR signaling and promotes cell growth, whilst UBTOR overexpression suppresses colony formation in cancer cell lines. Studies in cultured cells and zebrafish model show that UBTOR inhibits mTOR signaling by stabilizing the mTOR complex component DEPTOR, and ubtor gene disruption result in higher mTOR activity and aggravate HRAS(G12V) induced neoplasia in the zebrafish. Lastly, UBTOR depletion promotes tumor growth and mTOR signaling in a xenograft mouse model. Together, our results demonstrate how UBTOR regulates cell growth and neoplasia via mTOR signaling.

Left Habenula Mediates Light-Preference Behavior in Zebrafish via an Asymmetrical Visual Pathway.

Habenula (Hb) plays critical roles in emotion-related behaviors through integrating inputs mainly from the limbic system and basal ganglia. However, Hb also receives inputs from multiple sensory modalities. The function and underlying neural circuit of Hb sensory inputs remain unknown. Using larval zebrafish, we found that left dorsal Hb (dHb, a homolog of mammalian medial Hb) mediates light-preference behavior by receiving visual inputs from a specific subset of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) through eminentia thalami (EmT). Loss- and gain-of-function manipulations showed that left, but not right, dHb activities, which encode environmental illuminance, are necessary and sufficient for light-preference behavior. At circuit level, left dHb neurons receive excitatory monosynaptic inputs from bilateral EmT, and EmT neurons are contacted mainly by sustained ON-type RGCs at the arborization field 4 of retinorecipient brain areas. Our findings discover a previously unidentified asymmetrical visual pathway to left Hb and its function in mediating light-preference behavior. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

nr0b1 (DAX1) mutation in zebrafish causes female-to-male sex reversal through abnormal gonadal proliferation and differentiation.

Sex determinations are diverse in vertebrates. Although many sex-determining genes and pathways are conserved, the mechanistic roles of these genes and pathways in the genetic sex determination are not well understood. DAX1 (encoded by the NR0B1 gene) is a vertebrate specific orphan nuclear receptor that regulates gonadal development and sexual determination. In human, duplication of the NR0B1 gene leads to male-to-female sex reversal. In mice, Nr0b1 shows both pro-testis and anti-testis functions. We generated inheritable nr0b1 mutation in the zebrafish and found the nr0b1 mutation caused homozygous mutants to develop as fertile males due to female-to-male sex reversal. The nr0b1 mutation did not increase Caspase-3 labeling nor tp53 expression in the developing gonads. Introduction of a tp53 mutation into the nr0b1 mutant did not rescue the sex-reversal phenotype. Further examination revealed reduction in cell proliferation and abnormal somatic cell differentiation in the nr0b1 mutant gonads at the undifferentiated and bi-potential ovary stages. Together, our results suggest nr0b1 regulates somatic cell differentiation and cell proliferation to ensure normal sex development in the zebrafish.

Rapid and accurate synthesis of TALE genes from synthetic oligonucleotides.

Custom synthesis of transcription activator-like effector (TALE) genes has relied upon plasmid libraries of pre-fabricated TALE-repeat monomers or oligomers. Here we describe a novel synthesis method that directly incorporates annealed synthetic oligonucleotides into the TALE-repeat units. Our approach utilizes iterative sets of oligonucleotides and a translational frame check strategy to ensure the high efficiency and accuracy of TALE-gene synthesis. TALE arrays of more than 20 repeats can be constructed, and the majority of the synthesized constructs have perfect sequences. In addition, this novel oligonucleotide-based method can readily accommodate design changes to the TALE repeats. We demonstrated an increased gene targeting efficiency against a genomic site containing a potentially methylated cytosine by incorporating non-conventional repeat variable di-residue (RVD) sequences.

Phase I Study of the Prolactin Receptor Antagonist LFA102 in Metastatic Breast and Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

LESSONS LEARNED: Despite evidence for a role for prolactin signaling in breast and prostate tumorigenesis, a prolactin receptor-binding monoclonal antibody has not produced clinical efficacy.Increased serum prolactin levels may be a biomarker for prolactin receptor inhibition.Results from the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics (PD) studies suggest that inappropriately long dosing intervals and insufficient exposure to LFA102 may have resulted in lack of antitumor efficacy.Based on preclinical data, combination therapy of LFA102 with those novel agents targeting hormonal pathways in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and metastatic breast cancer is promising.Given the PD evidence of prolactin receptor blockade by LFA102, this drug has the potential to be used in conditions such as hyperprolactinemia that are associated with high prolactin levels. BACKGROUND: Prolactin receptor (PRLR) signaling is implicated in breast and prostate cancer. LFA102, a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds to and inhibits the PRLR, has exhibited promising preclinical antitumor activity. METHODS: Patients with PRLR-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) or metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) received doses of LFA102 at 3-60 mg/kg intravenously once every 4 weeks. Objectives were to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and/or recommended dose for expansion (RDE) to investigate the safety/tolerability of LFA102 and to assess pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and antitumor activity. RESULTS: A total of 73 patients were enrolled at 5 dose levels. The MTD was not reached because of lack of dose-limiting toxicities. The RDE was established at 60 mg/kg based on PK and PD analysis and safety data. The most common all-cause adverse events (AEs) were fatigue (44%) and nausea (33%) regardless of relationship. Grade 3/4 AEs reported to be related to LFA102 occurred in 4% of patients. LFA102 exposure increased approximately dose proportionally across the doses tested. Serum prolactin levels increased in response to LFA102 administration, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for PRLR inhibition. No antitumor activity was detected. CONCLUSION: Treatment with LFA102 was safe and well tolerated, but did not show antitumor activity as monotherapy at the doses tested.

Changes of toxic metals during biological stabilization and their potential ecological risk assessment.

With various disadvantages of pollution control technologies for toxic metal-contaminated soil, we mixed contaminated soil with sludge for in situ composting to stabilize toxic metals, so plants are enriched to take up the toxic metals. When simulating the above, we added toxic metal solution into sewage sludge, and then composed it with steel slag to determine inhibition of the availability of toxic metals. When toxic metals were added into sludge, the potential ecological index and geoaccumulation index of Cd became high while Zn was low. Steel slag had an inhibited availability of Cd, and when the adjunction of steel slag was 7%, the availability of Cd was lowest. Steel slag promoted the availability of Zn, and when the adjunction of steel slag was 27%, the availability of Zn was highest. Results showed that during composting, with increasing steel slag, Cd stabilizing time was reached sooner but Zn stabilizing time was slower, and the availability of all metals became lower. In the end, composting inhibited the potential ecological index of Cd, but it promoted the potential ecological index of Zn. Steel slag promoted the stability of Cd and Zn as Fe/Mn oxide-bound and residual species. Therefore, composting sludge and steel slag could be used as an effective inhibitor of Zn and Cd pollution.