Living tissues rely heavily on vascular networks to transport nutrients, oxygen and metabolic waste. However, there still remains a need for a simple and efficient approach to engineer vascularized tissues. Here, we created prevascularized tissues with complex three-dimensional (3D) microarchitectures using a rapid bioprinting method – microscale continuous optical bioprinting (μCOB). Multiple cell types mimicking the native vascular cell composition were encapsulated directly into hydrogels with precisely controlled distribution without the need of sacrificial materials or perfusion. With regionally controlled biomaterial properties the endothelial cells formed lumen-like structures spontaneously in vitro. In vivo implantation demonstrated the survival and progressive formation of the endothelial network in the prevascularized tissue. Anastomosis between the bioprinted endothelial network and host circulation was observed with functional blood vessels featuring red blood cells. With the superior bioprinting speed, flexibility and scalability, this new prevascularization approach can be broadly applicable to the engineering and translation of various functional tissues.

The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is the most prevalent internal RNA modification in eukaryotes. The majority of m6A sites are found in the last exon and 3’ UTRs. Here we show that the nuclear m6A reader YTHDC1 is essential for embryo viability and germline development in mouse. Specifically, YTHDC1 is required for spermatogonial development in males and for oocyte growth and maturation in females; Ythdc1-deficient oocytes are blocked at the primary follicle stage. Strikingly, loss of YTHDC1 leads to extensive alternative polyadenylation in oocytes, altering 3’ UTR length. Furthermore, YTHDC1 deficiency causes massive alternative splicing defects in oocytes. The majority of splicing defects in mutant oocytes are rescued by introducing wild-type, but not m6A-binding-deficient, YTHDC1. YTHDC1 is associated with the pre-mRNA 3’ end processing factors CPSF6, SRSF3, and SRSF7. Thus, YTHDC1 plays a critical role in processing of pre-mRNA transcripts in the oocyte nucleus and may have similar non-redundant roles throughout fetal development.

Tumor suppressor p53 plays a central role in tumor suppression. p53 is the most frequently mutated gene in human cancer, and over half of human cancers contain p53 mutations. Majority of p53 mutations in cancer are missense mutations, leading to the expression of full-length mutant p53 protein. While the critical role of wild type p53 in tumor suppression has been firmly established, mounting evidence has demonstrated that many tumor-associated mutant p53 proteins not only lose tumor suppressive function of wild type p53, but also gain new activities to promote tumorigenesis independently of wild type p53, termed gain-of-function. Mutant p53 protein often accumulates to very high levels in tumors, contributing to malignant progression. Recently, mutant p53 has become an attractive target for cancer therapy. Further understanding of the mechanisms underlying mutant p53 protein accumulation and gain-of-function will accelerate the development of targeted therapies for human cancer harboring mutant p53. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the studies on mutant p53 protein accumulation and gain-of-function as well as targeted therapies for mutant p53 in human cancer.

Summary Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) hold great promise for cell therapy as a source of diverse differentiated cell types. One key bottleneck to realizing such potential is allogenic immune rejection of hESC-derived cells by recipients. Here, we optimized humanized mice (Hu-mice) reconstituted with a functional human immune system that mounts a vigorous rejection of hESCs and their derivatives. We established knock-in hESCs that constitutively express CTLA4-Ig and PD-L1 before and after differentiation, denoted CP hESCs. We then demonstrated that allogenic CP hESC-derived teratomas, fibroblasts, and cardiomyocytes are immune protected in Hu-mice, while cells derived from parental hESCs are effectively rejected. Expression of both CTLA4-Ig, which disrupts T-cell co-stimulatory pathways, and PD-L1, which activates T-cell inhibitory pathway, is required to confer immune protection as neither was sufficient on their own. These findings are instrumental for developing a strategy to protect hESC-derived cells from allogenic immune responses without requiring systemic immune suppression.

Highlights d WTp53-PUMA pathway drives cancer metabolic switch d PUMA suppresses mitochondrial pyruvate uptake by inactivating MPC d IKKb-mediated phosphorylation of PUMA is important for PUMA-MPC interaction d High levels of PUMA in HCC are correlated with poor prognosis of HCC patients

Highlightsd The latent bioreactive Uaa FSY enables PD-1(FSY) to bind to PD-L1 in covalent mode d PD-1(FSY) enhances the activation of T cells and CAR-T cells more than PD-1(WT)d PD-1(FSY) inhibits tumor growth more potently than PD-1(WT) in immune-humanized mice d FSY enables an affibody to bind to the HER2 receptor on cancer cells covalently

Nanog is a transcription factor required for maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells, and is not expressed in most normal adult tissues. However, recent studies have indicated that Nanog is overexpressed in many types of human cancers, including breast cancer. To elucidate the physiological roles of Nanog in tumorigenesis, we developed an inducible Nanog transgenic mouse model, in which the expression of Nanog in adult tissues can be induced via LoxP/Cre-mediated deletion. Our findings indicate that overexpression of Nanog in the mammary gland is not sufficient to induce mammary tumor. However, when co-expressed with Wnt-1 in the mouse mammary gland, it promotes mammary tumorigenesis and metastasis. In this context, Nanog promotes the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. Microarray analysis has shown that the ectopic expression of Nanog deregulates the expression of numerous genes associated with tumorigenesis and metastasis, such as the PDGFRα gene. Our findings demonstrate the involvement of Nanog in breast cancer metastasis and provide the basis for the reported correlation between Nanog expression and poor prognosis of human breast cancer patients. Since Nanog is not expressed in most adult tissues, these findings identify Nanog as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of Nanog-expressing metastatic breast cancer.

TP53 is the most frequently mutated tumor suppressor gene in human cancer. The majority of mutations of p53 are missense mutations, leading to the expression of the full length p53 mutant proteins. Mutant p53 (Mutp53) proteins not only lose wild-type p53dependent tumor suppressive functions, but also frequently acquire oncogenic gain-offunctions (GOF) that promote tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in our understanding of the oncogenic GOF of mutp53 and the potential therapies targeting mutp53 in human cancers. In particular, we discuss the promising drugs that are currently under clinical trials as well as the emerging therapeutic strategies, including CRISPR/Cas9 based genome edition of mutant TP53 allele, small peptide mediated restoration of wild-type p53 function, and immunotherapies that directly eliminate mutp53 expressing tumor cells.