Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are classified into two major phenotypes, M1 and M2. M1 TAMs suppress cancer progression, while M2 TAMs promote it. However, little is known regarding the role of TAMs in the development of ovarian cancer. Here, we investigated the relationship between TAM distribution patterns (density, microlocalization, and differentiation) and ovarian cancer histotypes, and we explored whether altered TAM distribution patterns influence long-term outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.

Cell-intrinsic cGAS-STING–mediated DNA sensing promotes the formation of stem cell–like CD8 ⁺ T cells for effective cancer T cell therapy.

Background: In this study, the association between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and related cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or cervical cancer and vaginal microbiome was evaluated in Chinese cohorts. Methods: The vaginal bacterial composition of five groups, HPV-infected women without CINs (HPV, n = 78), women with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL, n = 51), women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL, n = 23), women with invasive cervical cancer (Cancer, n = 9) and healthy women without HPV infection (Normal, n = 68), was characterized by deep sequencing of barcoded 16S rRNA gene fragments (V3–4) using Illumina MiSeq. Results: HPV infection increased vaginal bacterial richness and diversity regardless of the status of CINs. The vaginal bacterial richness and diversity were further augmented in women with cervical cancer. Lactobacillus was the most abundant genus in all groups. HPV infection had a negative influence on the abundances of Lactobacillus, Gardnerella and Atopobium. Accordingly, HPV infection increased the relative abundance of Prevotella, Bacillus, Anaerococcus, Sneathia, Megasphaera, Streptococcus and Anaerococcus. The increased proportions of Bacillus, Anaerococcus and the reduced abundance of Gradnerella vaginalis were probably related with the progression of CINs severity. HPV infection without CINs or cancerous lesions was strongly associated with Megasphaera. The most abundant bacterium in the LSIL group was Prevotella amnii. However, Prevotella timonensis, Shuttleworthia and Streptococcaceae at the family level were three taxa related to HSIL. Furthermore, more taxa were associated with the Cancer group including Bacillus, Sneathia, Acidovorax, Oceanobacillus profundus, Fusobacterium, Veillonellaceae at the family level, Anaerococcus and Porphyromonas uenonis. Samples in the Normal group were mostly assigned to CST III. HPV infection converted the vaginal bacterial community structure from CST III to CST IV. Furthermore, the proportions of CST IV were gradually augmented with the progression of the severity of CINs. Conclusions: This work interpreted the differential vaginal bacteria under HPV infection and various precancerous or cancerous lesions in a Chinese cohort. We distinguished the specific microbes and the vaginal bacterial structure that were related with the progression of CINs severity in Chinese women.

Preeclampsia (PE) is regarded as a pregnancy-associated hypertension disorder that is related to excessive inflammatory responses. Although the gut microbiota (GM) and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) have been related to hypertension, their effects on PE remain unknown. We determined the GM abundance and faecal SCFA levels by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing and gas chromatography, respectively, using faecal samples from 27 patients with severe PE and 36 healthy, pregnant control ubjects. We found that patients with PE had significantly decreased GM diversity and altered GM abundance. At the phylum level, patients with PE exhibited decreased abundance of Firmicutes albeit increased abundance of Proteobacteria; at the genus level, patients with PE had lower abundance of Blautia, Eubacterium_rectale, Eubacterium_hallii, Streptococcus, Bifidobacterium, Collinsella, Alistipes, and Subdoligranulum, albeit higher abundance of Enterobacter and Escherichia_Shigella. The faecal levels of butyric and valeric acid were significantly decreased in patients with PE and significantly correlated with the above-mentioned differential GM abundance. We predicted significantly increased abundance of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-synthesis pathway and significantly decreased abundance of the G protein-coupled receptor pathway in patients with PE, based on phylogenetic reconstruction of unobserved states. Finally, we evaluated the effects of oral butyrate on LPS-induced hypertension in pregnant rats. We found that butyrate significantly reduced the BP in these rats. In summary, we provide the first evidence linking GM dysbiosis and reduced faecal SCFA to PE and demonstrate that butyrate can directly regulate BP in vivo, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic agent for PE.

The changing 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of cisplatin: a pilot study on the artifacts of the MTT assay and the precise measurement of density-dependent chemoresistance in ovarian cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is still a major gynecologic problem with poor 5 year survival rate due to distance metastases, despite routine surgery and chemotherapy. The precise underlying molecular mechanisms that trigger EOC migration and invasion are unclear. Recent studies suggest that the expression of microRNAs is widely dysregulated in ovarian cancer; and that they have evolved into tumorigenic processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis and motility.