Purpose: Although many biological processes are involved in the modification of N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A), the exact role of m 6 A in the development of malignant tumors remains unclear. Methyltransferase 3 (METTL3) is a major RNA N 6 -methyladenosine methyltransferase. We aimed to explore the role of METTL3 in colorectal cancer (CRC) carcinogenesis and disease progression. Methods: In this study, immunohistochemistry was performed with a tissue microarray. qRT-PCR and Western blots were used to evaluate the expression of METTL3 in CRC cells. The effect of METTL3 on cell proliferation, migration and invasion of CRC cells was examined by IncuCyte Live Cell Analysis System and transwell assay, respectively. Results: The results suggested that positive expression of METTL3 was significantly associated with longer survival time ( P =0.011). We next demonstrated that overexpression of METTL3 could inhibit proliferation, migration and invasion in CRC cells, while downregulation of METTL3 shows the opposite result. Furthermore, downregulation of METTL3 resulted in activation of p-p38 and p-ERK. Moreover, the inhibitors of p38 or ERK kinase could significantly reverse the effect of migration and invasion, which was induced by knockdown of METTL3. Conclusion: We concluded that METTL3 played a tumor-suppressive role in CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion through p38/ERK pathways, which indicated that METTL3 might be a novel marker for CRC carcinogenesis, progression and survival.

Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) interaction plays a crucial role in tumor-associated immune escape. Here, we verify that triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has higher PD-L1 expression than other subtypes. We then discover that nucleophosmin (NPM1) binds to PD-L1 promoter specifically in TNBC cells and activates PD-L1 transcription, thus inhibiting T cell activity in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we demonstrate that PARP1 suppresses PD-L1 transcription through its interaction with the nucleic acid binding domain of NPM1, which is required for the binding of NPM1 at PD-L1 promoter. Consistently, the PARP1 inhibitor olaparib elevates PD-L1 expression in TNBC and exerts a better effect with anti-PD-L1 therapy. Together, our research has revealed NPM1 as a transcription regulator of PD-L1 in TNBC, which could lead to potential therapeutic strategies to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.

Prior reports have indicated that defective mismatch repair (MMR) has a favorable impact on outcome in colorectal cancer patients treated with surgery, immunotherapy, or adjuvant chemotherapy. However, the impact of MMR status on response to neoadjuvant radiotherapy in rectal cancer is not well understood. Here we report that dMMR was associated with improved disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.034) in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT). Patients with dMMR tumors who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) achieved significantly worse DFS (P = 0.026) than those treated with NCT. Conversely, NCRT improved DFS (P = 0.043) in patients with pMMR tumors, especially for stage III disease with improved DFS (P = 0.02). The presence of dMMR was associated with better prognosis in rectal cancer patients treated with NCT. NCT benefited patients with dMMR tumors; while NCRT benefited patients with stage III disease and pMMR tumors. Patients stratified by MMR status may provide a more tailored approach to rectal cancer neoadjuvant therapy.

Background Prognostic assessment is crucial for optimal treatment. The aim of our study was to investigate the potential impact of estrogen receptor-α (ER-α) and progesterone receptor (PR) on the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients who received curative resection. Methods Retrospective evaluation of two independent cohorts of CRC patients maintained prospectively in 2009–2010 (training set) (n = 148) and 2007–2009 (internal validation set) (n = 485). Furthermore, we used an external independent CRC cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (n = 511) for further validation. ER-α and PR expression as well as other potential prognostic factors were retrospectively evaluated in training set with respect to overall survival (OS), local relapse free survival (LRFS) and distant metastasis free survival (DMFS). The prognostic factors found in training set will be validated in two validation cohorts. Results On univariate analysis for the training set, OS, LRFS and DMFS were not associated with PR expression. While patients with ER-αexpression were found to have poor prognosis. In addition, multivariate analysis showed that ER-αexpression maintained significance with respect to OS (HR, 5.06; p = 0.002), LRFS (HR, 8.81; p = 0.002) and DMFS (HR, 8.07; p = 0.004). Similarly, ER-α expression showed prognostic significance with respect to OS with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.572 (95% CI: 1.001–2.467, p = 0.049) and 1.624 (95% CI: 1.047–2.520, p = 0.031) for the internal and external validation cohort, respectively. Conclusion ER-α expression was a biomarker of poor prognosis and it might inform treatment decision for high risk CRC patients. However, PR expression was not associated with survival outcomes.

Advanced fabrication methods must be developed for magnetic–polymeric particles, which are used in medical diagnostics, drug delivery, separation, and environmental remediation. The development of scalable fabrication processes that enables simultaneously tuning of diameters and compositions of magnetic–polymeric particles remains a major challenge. Here, we proposed the production of high-quality magnetic-composite particles through a universal method based on the in-fiber Plateau–Rayleigh instability of polymeric fibers. This method can simultaneously control the particle diameter, hybrid configuration, and functional properties. The diameter of magnetic–polymeric particles can be reproducibly tuned from ∼20 nm to 1.25 mm, a wide range unachievable by conventional solution methods. The final diameter was controlled by the inner/outer fiber diameter ratio. We further showed that the prepared magnetic–polymeric composite particles can be used for the highly efficient recovery of heavy metals (98.2% for Cd2+) and for the precise separation of immune cells (CD4+ T cells). Overall, the in-fiber manufacture method can become a universal technology for the scalable preparation of different types of magnetic–polymeric composite particles with diverse functionalities.