Interleukin 10 (IL-10) belongs to IL-10 family cytokines that are critical for maintaining the integrity of epithelial tissues, protecting pathogenic infection, and preventing excessive immune responses to damage self. Temporal IL-10 signaling blockade enhances vaccine-induced tumor regression by CD8 + T cells. IL-10, especially pegylated IL-10, mediates tumor regression by expanding tumor-infiltrating CD8 + T cells. Moreover, targeting IL-10 enhances immune checkpoint inhibitor mediated tumor regression. In the current paper, we will review recent advances in this area and discuss the complexity of IL-10 manipulation for cancer therapy.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) related tumours account for a significant proportion of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) in developed countries. They respond better to chemo- and radio-therapy, and have a better stage specific prognosis. To establish their prevalence in China, we assessed a series of histology confirmed HNSCCs collected in Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces by PCR for HPV DNA and by immunohistochemistry for p16 protein status. Among 303 HNSCCs, HPV DNA was detected in 26.4%, with HPV16 DNA in 71% of these. Of HNSCC located in the oropharynx, 38.55% (32/83) were HPV+ve. In this series, p16 status was a relatively poor predictor of HPV status as detected by PCR. The stage specific survival time of HPV+ HNSCCs was significantly longer than for HPV- HNSCC. HPV status should be assessed for oropharyngeal cancers in China to assist with appropriate management, and prophylaxis against HPV infection should be considered to reduce the incidence of this disease.

Therapeutic vaccines against cervical cancer remain ineffective. Previously, we demonstrated that blocking the signalling of a cytokine, interleukin 10, at the time of immunisation elicited significantly higher numbers of antigen specific T cells and inhibited tumour growth in mice. In the current paper, we demonstrate, in a HPV16 E6/E7 transformed TC-1 tumour mouse model, that despite increased antigen specific T cell numbers, blocking IL-10 signalling at the time of immunisation does not increase the survival time of the TC-1 tumour bearing mice compared to mice receiving the same immunisation with no IL-10 signalling blockade. Moreover, the function of tumour infiltrating T cells isolated 3 weeks post TC-1 transplantation is more suppressed than those isolated 2 weeks after tumour inoculation. We demonstrate that synthesized caerin peptides, derived from amphibian skin secretions, 1) were able to inhibit TC-1 tumour growth both in vitro and in vivo; 2) are environmentally stable; and 3) promote the secretion of pro-inflammatory interlukine-6 by TC-1 cells. Notably caerin peptides were able to increase the survival time of TC-1 tumour bearing mice after therapeutic vaccination with a HPV16E7 peptide-based vaccine containing IL-10 inhibitor, via recruiting increased levels of T cells to the tumour site. Caerin peptides increase the efficacy of a therapeutic vaccine by recruiting more T cells to the tumour site.

Objective: Tongue squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most common oral tumors. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been proposed as a risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, particularly oropharyngeal squamous carcinoma. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively analyzed HPV infection in 121 Chinese patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma in Guangdong Province. Polymerase chain reaction of HPV DNA and immunohistochemistry staining of p16 protein were used to identify the presence of HPV in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 15.7% (n = 19) of tongue squamous cell carcinoma patients, with HPV16 being the most common type (n = 8, 42.1%). p16 staining did not correlate with detection of HPV DNA. Male sex was associated with HPV-positive tongue squamous cell carcinoma, whereas there were no significant differences in alcohol consumption, smoking, or age when tumors were stratified by HPV. Conclusion: Our study showed that HPV infection contributed to tongue squamous cell carcinoma in a small cohort of patients in Guangdong Province, China. Further investigation is needed to confirm whether HPV is a causal factor for tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) is a powerful label-free technique for biomolecular interaction analysis, yet conventional intensity-based SPRi systems suffer from limited refractive index resolution and rely on costly light sources. Here, we present a high-throughput, low-cost SPRi biosensor based on a differential intensity detection algorithm with standard LED illumination. By probing the opposite reflectance variations on the two flanks of the resonance dip at 730 and 780 nm and taking their difference, the scheme cancels common-mode noise while enhancing the sensitivity by up to 2.6-fold. Specifically, the differential signal is computed pixel-wise as the difference between the two reflectance images acquired under the 730 and 780 nm LEDs, I_D = I₇₃₀ − I₇₈₀, so that the opposite-signed responses on the two flanks are added while common-mode intensity fluctuations are subtracted. The system employs only three standard LEDs, a six-channel flow-through cell, and a single CMOS camera, with a light-source cost below 200 USD. A sensitivity of 1.03 × 10⁴ grayscale values per refractive index unit (RIU) with excellent linearity (R² = 0.9989) and a resolution of 1.9 × 10⁻⁶ RIU were achieved. As a proof of concept, the biosensor was applied to label-free monitoring of autophagy-related LC3B accumulation in A549 lung cancer cell lysates using the small-molecule inhibitor DC-LC3in-D5 as the probe. The SPRi responses showed a dose-dependent trend fully consistent with flow cytometry and Western blotting. Benefiting from its high-throughput capacity, low cost, and antibody-free readout, this platform holds potential for evaluating autophagy-mediated therapeutic resistance upon anticancer drug treatment.