Immunotherapies have led to substantial changes in cancer treatment and have been a persistently popular topic in cancer research because they tremendously improve the efficacy of treatment and survival of individuals with various cancer types. However, only a small proportion of patients are sensitive to immunotherapy, and specific biomarkers are urgently needed to separate responders from nonresponders. Mismatch repair pathways play a vital role in identifying and repairing mismatched bases during DNA replication and genetic recombination in normal and cancer cells. Defects in DNA mismatch repair proteins and subsequent microsatellite instability-high lead to the accumulation of mutation loads in cancer-related genes and the generation of neoantigens, which stimulate the anti-tumor immune response of the host. Mismatch repair deficiency/microsatellite instability-high represents a good prognosis in early colorectal cancer settings without adjuvant treatment and a poor prognosis in patients with metastasis. Several clinical trials have demonstrated that mismatch repair deficiency or microsatellite instability-high is significantly associated with long-term immunotherapy-related responses and better prognosis in colorectal and noncolorectal malignancies treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. To date, the anti-programmed cell death-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab has been approved for mismatch repair deficiency/microsatellite instability-high refractory or metastatic solid tumors, and nivolumab has been approved for colorectal cancer patients with mismatch repair deficiency/microsatellite instability-high. This is the first time in the history of cancer therapy that the same biomarker has been used to guide immune therapy regardless of tumor type. This review summarizes the features of mismatch repair deficiency/microsatellite instability-high, its relationship with programmed death-ligand 1/programmed cell death-1, and the recent advances in predicting immunotherapy efficacy. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13045-019-0738-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Genetic studies have shown essential functions of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification in plants. However, the proteins and sites subject to this posttranslational modification are largely unknown. Here, we report a large-scale proteomic identification of O-GlcNAc-modified proteins and sites in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Using lectin weak affinity chromatography to enrich modified peptides, followed by mass spectrometry, we identified 971 O-GlcNAc-modified peptides belonging to 262 proteins. The modified proteins are involved in cellular regulatory processes, including transcription, translation, epigenetic gene regulation, and signal transduction. Many proteins have functions in developmental and physiological processes specific to plants, such as hormone responses and flower development. Mass spectrometric analysis of phosphopeptides from the same samples showed that a large number of peptides could be modified by either O-GlcNAcylation or phosphorylation, but cooccurrence of the two modifications in the same peptide molecule was rare. Our study generates a snapshot of the O-GlcNAc modification landscape in plants, indicating functions in many cellular regulation pathways and providing a powerful resource for further dissecting these functions at the molecular level.of proteins consisting of a single O-linked N-acetylglucosamine attached to serine and threonine residues. It has been extensively studied in animals, where it regulates a wide range of developmental and metabolic processes. O-GlcNAcylation is dynamically controlled by two enzymes: an O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and an O-GlcNAcase (OGA), which add and remove O-GlcNAc, respectively. O-GlcNAcylation occurs in the cytoplasm, nucleus, and mitochondria and has been implicated in cellular processes, including transcription, translation, signal transduction, nuclear pore function, epigenetic regulation and proteasomal degradation (1). Altered levels of protein O-GlcNAcylation in animals have been associated with neurodegeneration, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer (2) whereas knock out of OGT is embryonically lethal (3).The model plant Arabidopsis has two putative OGTs: SPINDLY (SPY) and SECRET AGENT (SEC). The spy mutant was identified based on its phenotypes that mimic gibberellin-treated plants, with elongated stems (4). The spy plants also show defects in light and cytokinin responses, leaf morphology and phyllotaxy, root growth, meristem activity, and circadian rhythms (5). The sec mutant displays defects in flower development (6). Although OGT enzymatic activity has been demonstrated in SEC, similar activity in SPY has not been confirmed (7). However, the spy;sec double mutants show severe defects in the development of gametes and are embryonically lethal (7), similar to the OGT knockout mutant in animals. Thus, genetic evidence indicates that O-GlcNAc modification is as important in plants as in animals. But little is known about its specific functions because few O-GlcNAc-modified proteins have been identified...

The lobster Homarus americanus has long served as an important animal model for electrophysiological and behavioral studies. Using this model, we performed a comprehensive investigation of the neuropeptide expression and their localization in the nervous system, which provides useful insights for further understanding of their biological functions. Using nanoLC ESI Q-TOF MS/MS and three types of MALDI instruments, we analyzed the neuropeptide complements in a major neuroendocrine structure, pericardial organ. 57 putative neuropeptides were identified and 18 of them were de novo sequenced. Using direct tissue/extract analysis and bioinformatics software SpecPlot, we charted the global distribution of neuropeptides throughout the nervous system in H. americanus. Furthermore, we also mapped the localization of several neuropeptide families in the brain by high mass resolution and high mass accuracy mass spectrometric imaging (MSI) using a MALDI LTQ Orbitrap mass spectrometer. We have also compared the utility and instrument performance of multiple mass spectrometers for neuropeptide analysis in terms of peptidome coverage, sensitivity, mass spectral resolution and capability for de novo sequencing.