The liver is the most common site of metastatic disease1. While this metastatic tropism may reflect mechanical trapping of circulating tumor cells, liver metastasis is also dependent, at least in part, on formation of a “pro-metastatic” niche that supports tumor cell spread to the liver2,3. Mechanisms that direct formation of this niche, though, are poorly understood. Here, we show that hepatocytes coordinate myeloid cell accumulation and fibrosis within the liver, and in doing so, increase the susceptibility of the liver to metastatic seeding and outgrowth. Early during pancreatic tumorigenesis, hepatocytes demonstrate activation of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling and increased production of serum amyloid A1 and A2 (SAA). Overexpression of SAA by hepatocytes also occurs in pancreatic and colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases, and many patients with locally advanced and metastatic disease display elevated levels of circulating SAA. STAT3 activation in hepatocytes and the subsequent production of SAA are dependent on interleukin 6 (IL-6) that is released into the circulation by non-malignant cells. Genetic ablation or blockade of components of IL-6/STAT3/SAA signaling prevents establishment of a pro-metastatic niche and inhibits liver metastasis. Our data reveal an intercellular network underpinned by hepatocytes that forms the basis for a pro-metastatic niche in the liver and identify new therapeutic targets.

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and Cajal body-specific RNAs (scaRNAs) are named for their subcellular localization within nucleoli and Cajal bodies (conserved subnuclear organelles present in the nucleoplasm), respectively. They have been found to play important roles in rRNA, tRNA, snRNAs, and even mRNA modification and processing. All snoRNAs fall in two categories, box C/D snoRNAs and box H/ACA snoRNAs, according to their distinct sequence and secondary structure features. Box C/D snoRNAs and box H/ACA snoRNAs mainly function in guiding 2′-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridilation, respectively. ScaRNAs possess both box C/D snoRNA and box H/ACA snoRNA sequence motif features, but guide snRNA modifications that are transcribed by RNA polymerase II. Here we present a Web-based sno/scaRNA database, called sno/scaRNAbase, to facilitate the sno/scaRNA research in terms of providing a more comprehensive knowledge base. Covering 1979 records derived from 85 organisms for the first time, sno/scaRNAbase is not only dedicated to filling gaps between existing organism-specific sno/scaRNA databases that are focused on different sno/scaRNA aspects, but also provides sno/scaRNA scientists with an opportunity to adopt a unified nomenclature for sno/scaRNAs. Derived from a systematic literature curation and annotation effort, the sno/scaRNAbase provides an easy-to-use gateway to important sno/scaRNA features such as sequence motifs, possible functions, homologues, secondary structures, genomics organization, sno/scaRNA gene's chromosome location, and more. Approximate searches, in addition to accurate and straightforward searches, make the database search more flexible. A BLAST search engine is implemented to enable blast of query sequences against all sno/scaRNAbase sequences. Thus our sno/scaRNAbase serves as a more uniform and friendly platform for sno/scaRNA research. The database is free available at .

Prolyl hydroxylase domain 2 (PHD2) enzyme, a Fe II and 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) dependent oxygenase, mediates key physiological responses to hypoxia by modulating the levels of hypoxia inducible factor 1-α (HIF1α). PHD2 has been shown to have the therapeutic potentials for conditions including anemia and ischemic disease. Currently, many activity-based assays have been developed for identifying PHD2 inhibitors. Here we report an affinity-based fluorescence polarization method using FITC-labeled HIF1α (556−574) peptide as a probe for quantitative and site-specific screening of small molecule PHD2 inhibitors. KEYWORDS: PHD2, FITC-labeled probe, affinity-based, fluorescence polarization assay H ypoxia is linked to human diseases such as anemia and ischemia. 1,2 In humans, the response to hypoxia is mediated by up-regulation of the hypoxia inducible transcription factor (HIF). 3−5 HIF is a heterodimeric transcription factor composed of an oxygen-dependent α-subunit and constitutively expressed β-subunit. Under normoxic conditions, HIFα, the regulatory subunit of HIF dimer, is constitutively produced with a half-life of approximately 5 min. It is hydroxylated by prolyl hydroxylases1−3 (PHD1−3), recognized by von Hippel Lindau protein (pVHL), and then rapidly ubiquitylated and subsequently degraded by the 26S proteasome. 6 PHDs are members of the dioxygenase family that require O 2 , Fe II , and 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) for their catalytic activity, which are responsible for the C4 trans hydroxylation of HIFα at Pro402 and Pro564 that initiates the path to protein degradation. 7 It is currently believed that PHD2 plays a dominant role in controlling the cellular HIFα levels. 8 Inhibitor of PHD2 has been pursued as a promising therapy for conditions including anemia and ischemic disease.To discover small molecules that can regulate PHD2 activity, many activity-based assays have been developed. The development of activity-based assay was based on the catalytic activity of PHD2, which utilizes 2-OG and oxygen as cosubstrates to catalyze the prolyl hydroxylations. 9−11 This property has led to the development of several generic activity-based assays, which detected the activity by measuring the ratio of HIFα peptide and its hydroxylated product, such as fluorescence-based assay using o-phenylenediamine, 12 MALDI-TOF MS, 13 AlphaScreen assay, 14 homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assay, 15 and fluorescence polarization assay based on HIF-von Hippel− Lindau protein-Elongin B−Elongin C (VBC) interaction. 16 However, activity-based assays are not always well-suited to the initial stages of medicinal chemistry, for example, for fragmentbased screening, and are only possible when substrates are available. Recently, affinity-based assays that utilize nondenaturing electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), 17 affinity selection mass spectroscopy assay (AS-MS), 15 or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) 18 technology have been developed for studying the binding of metal ions and small molecules with PHD2 protein. Amo...

High-dose dexamethasone (DEX) is used to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting or to control immunotherapy-related autoimmune diseases in clinical practice. However, the underlying mechanisms of high-dose DEX in tumor progression remain unaddressed. Therefore, we explored the effects of high-dose DEX on tumor progression and the potential mechanisms of its anti-tumor function using immunohistochemistry, histological examination, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), and Western blotting. Tumor volume, blood vessel invasion, and levels of the cell proliferation markers Ki67 and c-Myc and the anti-apoptotic marker Bcl2 decreased in response to high-dose DEX. However, the cell apoptosis marker cleaved caspase 3 increased significantly in mice treated with 50 mg/kg DEX compared with controls. Some genes associated with immune responses were significantly downregulated following treatment with 50 mg/kg DEX e.g., Cxcl9, Cxcl10, Cd3e, Gzmb, Ifng, Foxp3, S100a9, Arg1, and Mrc1. In contrast, the M1-like tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) activation marker Nos2 was shown to be increased. Moreover, the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors α and γ (Pparα and Pparg, respectively) was shown to be significantly upregulated in livers or tumors treated with DEX. However, high-dose DEX treatment decreased the expression of glucose and lipid metabolic pathway-related genes such as glycolysis-associated genes (Glut1, Hk2, Pgk1, Idh3a), triglyceride (TG) synthesis genes (Gpam, Agpat2, Dgat1), exogenous free fatty acid (FFA) uptake-related genes (Fabp1, Slc27a4, and CD36), and fatty acid oxidation (FAO) genes (Acadm, Acaa1, Cpt1a, Pnpla2). In addition, increased serum glucose and decreased serum TG and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) were observed in DEX treated-xenografted tumor mice. These findings indicate that high-dose DEX-inhibited tumor progression is a complicated process, not only activated by M1-like TAMs, but also decreased by the uptake and consumption of glucose and lipids that block the raw material and energy supply of cancer cells. Activated M1-like TAMs and inefficient glucose and lipid metabolism delayed tumor cell growth and promoted apoptosis. These findings have important implications for the application of DEX combined with drugs that target key metabolism pathways for tumor therapy in clinical practice.

Enhancing drought tolerance of crops has been a great challenge in crop improvement. Here, we report the maize phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) gene was able to confer drought tolerance and increase grain yield in transgenic wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants. The improved of drought tolerance was associated with higher levels of proline, soluble sugar, soluble protein, and higher water use efficiency. The transgenic wheat plants had also a more extensive root system as well as increased photosynthetic capacity during stress treatments. The increased grain yield of the transgenic wheat was contributed by improved biomass, larger spike and grain numbers, and heavier 1000-grain weight under drought-stress conditions. Under non-stressed conditions, there were no significant increases in these of the measured traits except for photosynthetic rate when compared with parental wheat. Proteomic research showed that the expression levels of some proteins, including chlorophyll A-B binding protein and pyruvate, phosphate dikinase, which are related to photosynthesis, PAP fibrillin, which is involved in cytoskeleton synthesis, S-adenosylmethionine synthetase, which catalyzes methionine synthesis, were induced in the transgenic wheat under drought stress. Additionally, the expression of glutamine synthetase, which is involved in ammonia assimilation, was induced by drought stress in the wheat. Our study shows that PEPC can improve both stress tolerance and grain yield in wheat, demonstrating the efficacy of PEPC in crop improvement.