• Arildsen Koefoed posted an update 16 hours, 18 minutes ago

    The identification of mitochondria-mediated ICD as a mechanism of action of MMC offers opportunities to optimize bladder cancer management and provides potential markers of treatment efficacy that could be used for patient stratification.Efficient penetration of cell membranes and specific targeting of a cell type represent major challenges for developing therapeutics toward intracellular targets. One example facing these hurdles is to develop post-exposure treatment for botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), a group of bacterial toxins (BoNT/A to BoNT/G) that are major potential bioterrorism agents. BoNTs enter motor neurons, block neurotransmitter release, and cause a paralytic disease botulism. Members of BoNTs such as BoNT/A exhibit extremely long half-life within neurons, resulting in persistent paralysis for months, yet there are no therapeutics that can inhibit BoNTs once they enter neurons. Here, we developed a chimeric toxin-based delivery platform by fusing the receptor-binding domain of a BoNT, which targets neurons, with the membrane translocation domain and inactivated protease domain of the recently discovered BoNT-like toxin BoNT/X, which can deliver cargoes across endosomal membranes into the cytosol. A therapeutic protein was then created by fusing a single-domain antibody (nanobody) against BoNT/A with the delivery platform. In vitro characterization demonstrated that nanobodies were delivered into cultured neurons and neutralized BoNT/A in neurons. Administration of this protein in mice shortened duration of local muscle paralysis, restoring muscle function within hours, and rescued mice from systemic toxicity of lethal doses of BoNT/A. Fusion of two nanobodies, one against BoNT/A and the other against BoNT/B, created a multivalent therapeutic protein able to neutralize both BoNT/A and BoNT/B in mice. These studies provide an effective post-exposure treatment for botulism and establish a platform for intracellular delivery of therapeutics targeting cytosolic proteins and processes.Development of alternatives to antibiotics is one of the top priorities in the battle against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections. Here, we report that two naturally occurring nonantibiotic modalities, blue light and phytochemical carvacrol, synergistically kill an array of bacteria including their planktonic forms, mature biofilms, and persisters, irrespective of their antibiotic susceptibility. Combination but not single treatment completely or substantially cured acute and established biofilm-associated Acinetobacter baumannii and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections of full thickness murine third-degree burn wounds and rescued mice from lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa skin wound infections. The combined therapy diminished bacterial colony-forming units as high as 7.5 log10 within 30 min and introduced few adverse events in the survival of cocultured mammalian cells, wound healing, or host DNA. Mechanistic studies revealed that carvacrol was photocatalytically oxidized into a series of photoreactive substrates that underwent photolysis or additional photosensitization reactions in response to the same blue light, forming two autoxidation cycles that interacted with each other resulting in robust generation of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. This phototoxic reaction took place exclusively in bacteria, initiated by blue light excitation of endogenous porphyrin-like molecules abundantly produced in bacteria compared with mammalian cells. Moreover, no bacterial resistance developed to the combined treatment after 20 successive passages. This highly selective phototoxic reaction confers a unique strategy to combat the growing threat of MDR bacteria.Understanding the genetic and epigenetic bases of cellular senescence is instrumental in developing interventions to slow aging. We performed genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9-based screens using two types of human mesenchymal precursor cells (hMPCs) exhibiting accelerated senescence. The hMPCs were derived from human embryonic stem cells carrying the pathogenic mutations that cause the accelerated aging diseases Werner syndrome and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. Genes whose deficiency alleviated cellular senescence were identified, including KAT7, a histone acetyltransferase, which ranked as a top hit in both progeroid hMPC models. Inactivation of KAT7 decreased histone H3 lysine 14 acetylation, repressed p15INK4b transcription, and alleviated hMPC senescence. Moreover, lentiviral vectors encoding Cas9/sg-Kat7, given intravenously, alleviated hepatocyte senescence and liver aging and extended life span in physiologically aged mice as well as progeroid Zmpste24-/- mice that exhibit a premature aging phenotype. Alpelisib nmr CRISPR-Cas9-based genetic screening is a robust method for systematically uncovering senescence genes such as KAT7, which may represent a therapeutic target for developing aging interventions.Understanding immune memory to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical for improving diagnostics and vaccines and for assessing the likely future course of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed multiple compartments of circulating immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 in 254 samples from 188 COVID-19 cases, including 43 samples at ≥6 months after infection. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) to the spike protein was relatively stable over 6+ months. Spike-specific memory B cells were more abundant at 6 months than at 1 month after symptom onset. SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells declined with a half-life of 3 to 5 months. By studying antibody, memory B cell, CD4+ T cell, and CD8+ T cell memory to SARS-CoV-2 in an integrated manner, we observed that each component of SARS-CoV-2 immune memory exhibited distinct kinetics.It was shown previously that the Matrix (M), Phosphoprotein (P), and the Fusion (F) proteins of Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are sufficient to produce virus-like particles (VLPs) that resemble the RSV infection-induced virions. However, the exact mechanism and interactions among the three proteins are not known. This work examines the interaction between P and M during RSV assembly and budding. We show that M interacts with P in the absence of other viral proteins in cells using a Split Nano Luciferase assay. By using recombinant proteins, we demonstrate a direct interaction between M and P. By using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) we identify three novel M interaction sites on P, namely site I in the αN2 region, site II in the 115-125 region, and the oligomerization domain (OD). We show that the OD, and likely the tetrameric structural organization of P, is required for virus-like filament formation and VLP release. Although sites I and II are not required for VLP formation, they appear to modulate P levels in RSV VLPs.