Scientific Publications

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder that commonly affects the skin, kidneys, joints, and various other systemic tissues, with its development intricately linked to the process of immunosenescence. Quercetin (QC), a phytochemical that occurs naturally, demonstrates many different biological capabilities, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. Our investigation found that QC effectively reduced kidney damage and relieved mesenteric lymph nodes (mLNs) swelling in MRL/lpr lupus mice.

• Link: https://immunityageing.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12979-024-00474-9

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that E3 ubiquitin ligases are key regulatory factors involved in cancer progression. While members of the DTX family of E3 ubiquitin ligases have been reported in various cancers, the role and molecular mechanisms of its important member, DTX3L, in the progression of renal cell carcinoma remain unexplored.

• Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4982191

Nomilin is a limonoid compound known for its multiple biological activities, but its role in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains unclear. This study aims to uncover the potential therapeutic effect of nomilin on TNBC and elucidate the specific mechanism of its action.

• Link: https://molmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10020-024-00928-2

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) modulate all aspects of RNA metabolism, but a comprehensive picture of RBP expression across tissues is lacking. Here, we describe our development of the method we call HARD-AP that robustly retrieves RBPs and tightly associated RNA regulatory complexes from cultured cells and fresh tissues. We successfully use HARD-AP to establish a comprehensive atlas of RBPs across mouse primary organs.

• Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52765-w

Mitochondrial dysfunction increases ROS production and is closely related to many degenerative cellular organelle diseases. The NOX4-p22phox axis is a major contributor to ROS production and its dysregulation is expected to disrupt mitochondrial function. However, the field lacks a competitive inhibitor of the NOX4-p22phox interaction. Here, we created a povidone micelle-based Prussian blue nanozyme that we named “Mitocelle” to target the NOX4-p22phox axis, and characterized its impact on the major degenerative cellular organelle disease, osteoarthritis (OA).

• Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452199X2400416X?via%3Dihub

Lamin A/C (LMNA) gene mutations, which occur in 5 to 10% of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, are associated with severe contractile dysfunction and poor prognosis even with optimal treatment. LMNA mutations cause accumulation of DNA damage in various organs, including the heart, leading to premature aging.1 Recently, we have shown that dilated cardiomyopathy patients with high accumulation of DNA damage in cardiomyocytes have a poor prognosis.2 However, methods to safely reduce DNA damage in cardiomyocytes have not been identified. In this study, we aimed to identify compounds that reduce the accumulation of DNA damage in LMNA-mutant cardiomyocytes and to establish a new therapeutic approach.

• Link: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.069972

Autoimmune-associated epilepsy (AAE), a condition which responds favorably to immune therapies but not traditional anti-seizure interventions, is emerging as a significant contributor to cases of drug-resistant epilepsy. Current standards for the diagnosis of AAE rely on screening for known neuronal autoantibodies in patient serum or cerebrospinal fluid. However, this diagnostic method fails to capture a subset of drug-resistant epilepsy patients with suspected AAE who respond to immunotherapy yet remain seronegative (snAAE) for known autoantibodies.

• Link: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.13.24310337v1

Pyroptosis is an identified programmed cell death that has been highly linked to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dynamics. However, the crucial proteins for modulating dynamic ER membrane curvature change that trigger pyroptosis are currently not well understood. In this study, a biotin-labeled chemical probe of potent pyroptosis inducer α-mangostin (α-MG) was synthesized. Through protein microarray analysis, reticulon-4 (RTN4/Nogo), a crucial regulator of ER membrane curvature, was identified as a target of α-MG.

• Link: https://academic.oup.com/proteincell/article/16/2/121/7754337

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-associated myocarditis is a rare, but potentially fatal, immune-related adverse event. Hence, identifying biomarkers is critical for selecting and managing patients receiving ICI treatment. Serum autoantibodies (AAbs) in patients with ICI myocarditis may serve as potential biomarkers for predicting, diagnosing, and prognosing ICI myocarditis. We conducted a pilot study using a human proteome microarray with approximately 17,000 unique full-length human proteins to investigate AAbs associated with ICI myocarditis.

• Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1423622/full

We report two unrelated patients with combined T- and B-cell immunodeficiency and autoantibodies neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) who developed recurrent viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases. The patients carried biallelic rare loss-of-function variants of V-Rel Reticuloendotheliosis Viral Oncogene Homolog B (RELB). Their thymic stromal cells, T cells, and B cells were defective in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro. Human RelB is essential for T- and B-cell immunity to various pathogens and for thymic stromal cell-driven tolerance to type I IFNs.

• Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2321794121?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed