Legends for figures 2 and 3 have been revised along with abbreviation for HCC; hepatocellular carcinoma. The online version of this article reflects these changes.

A novel strategy is introduced that combines high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) with NMR for the identification of unknown components in complex metabolite mixtures encountered in metabolomics. The approach first identifies the chemical formulas of the mixture components from accurate masses by MS and then generates all feasible structures (structural manifold) that are consistent with these chemical formulas. Next, NMR spectra of each member of the structural manifold are predicted and compared with the experimental NMR spectra in order to identify the molecular structures that match the information obtained from both the MS and NMR techniques. This combined MS/NMR approach was applied to E. coli extract where the approach correctly identified a wide range of different types of metabolites, including amino acids, nucleic acids, polyamines, nucleosides and carbohydrate conjugates. This makes this approach, which is termed SUMMIT MS/NMR, well suited for high-throughput applications for the discovery of new metabolites in biological and biomedical mixtures overcoming the need of experimental MS and NMR metabolite databases.

The primary mechanisms supporting immunoregulatory polarization of myeloid cells upon infiltration into tumors remain largely unexplored. Elucidation of these signals could enable better strategies to restore protective anti-tumor immunity. Here, we investigated the role of the intrinsic activation of the PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase (PERK) in the immunoinhibitory actions of tumorassociated myeloid-derived suppressor cells (tumor-MDSCs). PERK signaling increased in tumor-MDSCs, and its deletion transformed MDSCs into myeloid cells that activated CD8 + T cell-mediated immunity against cancer. Tumor-MDSCs lacking PERK exhibited disrupted NRF2-driven antioxidant capacity and impaired mitochondrial respiratory homeostasis. Moreover, reduced NRF2 signaling in PERK-deficient MDSCs elicited cytosolic mitochondrial DNA elevation and, consequently, STINGdependent expression of anti-tumor type I interferon. Reactivation of NRF2 signaling, conditional deletion of STING, or blockade of type I interferon receptor I restored the immunoinhibitory potential of PERK-ablated MDSCs. Our findings demonstrate the pivotal role of PERK in tumor-MDSC functionality and unveil strategies to reprogram immunosuppressive myelopoiesis in tumors to boost cancer immunotherapy.

No abstract

No abstract

Oxidative stress has long been known as a pathogenic factor of ulcerative colitis (UC) and colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC), but the effects of secondary carbonyl lesions receive less emphasis. In inflammatory conditions, reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide anion free radical (O2 ∙−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and hydroxyl radical (HO∙), are produced at high levels and accumulated to cause oxidative stress (OS). In oxidative status, accumulated ROS can cause protein dysfunction and DNA damage, leading to gene mutations and cell death. Accumulated ROS could also act as chemical messengers to activate signaling pathways, such as NF-κB and p38 MAPK, to affect cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. More importantly, electrophilic carbonyl compounds produced by lipid peroxidation may function as secondary pathogenic factors, causing further protein and membrane lesions. This may in turn exaggerate oxidative stress, forming a vicious cycle. Electrophilic carbonyls could also cause DNA mutations and breaks, driving malignant progression of UC. The secondary lesions caused by carbonyl compounds may be exceptionally important in the case of host carbonyl defensive system deficit, such as aldo-keto reductase 1B10 deficiency. This review article updates the current understanding of oxidative stress and carbonyl lesions in the development and progression of UC and CAC.

No abstract

Deletion of chromosome 1p35 is a common event in epithelial malignancies. We report that DEAR1 (annotated as TRIM62) is a chromosome 1p35 tumor suppressor that undergoes mutation, copy number variation and loss of expression in human tumors. Targeted disruption in the mouse recapitulates this human tumor spectrum with both Dear1−/− and Dear1+/− mice developing primarily epithelial adenocarcinomas and lymphoma with evidence of metastasis in a subset of mice. DEAR1 loss of function in the presence of TGFβ results in failure of acinar morphogenesis, upregulation of EMT markers, anoikis resistance, migration and invasion. Furthermore, DEAR1 blocks TGFβ-SMAD3 signaling resulting in decreased nuclear phosphorylated SMAD3 by binding to and promoting the ubiquitination of SMAD3, the major effector of TGFβ-induced EMT. Moreover, DEAR1 loss increases levels of SMAD3 downstream effectors, SNAI1 and SNAI2, with genetic alteration of DEAR1/SNAI2 serving as prognostic markers of overall poor survival in an 889 invasive breast cancer cohort.