Pulmonary Cell News Volume 5.27 | Jul 14 2016

TOP STORY

Hybrid Immune Cells in Early-Stage Lung Cancer Spur Anti-Tumor T Cells to Action

Researchers have identified a unique subset of cells that exhibit hybrid characteristics of two immune cell types – neutrophils and antigen-presenting cells – in samples from early-stage human lung cancers. This is the first study to describe this phenomenon in a human tumor. [Press release from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania discussing online prepublication in Cancer Cell] Press Release | Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Allergen-Experienced Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells Acquire Memory-Like Properties and Enhance Allergic Lung Inflammation

In response to allergens, lung group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) produce T helper 2 cell type cytokines inducing T cell-independent allergic lung inflammation. The authors examined the fate of lung ILC2s upon allergen challenges. [Immunity] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

ROS/HIF-1α/PDGF-BB Autocrine Loop Contributes to Cocaine-Mediated Alveolar Epithelial Barrier Damage

Researchers sought to investigate the role of cocaine in disrupting the alveolar epithelial barrier function and the associated signaling cascade. [Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol] Abstract

Functional TLR9 Expression and CXCR3 Ligand Release in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis

Investigators analyzed expression and functional relevance of several toll-like receptors in broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) cells from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. In parallel, they determined the release of CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 by BAL cells from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. [Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol] Abstract

Divergent Effects of Neutrophils on Fas-Induced Pulmonary Inflammation, Apoptosis, and Lung Damage

It remains unclear whether Fas-induced lung injury is dependent on neutrophils or mainly triggered by epithelial cell apoptosis. The contribution of lung epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages remains elusive. Mice were neutrophil reduced prior to intra-tracheal instillation of Fas-activating or isotype antibody for 6 or 18 hours. [Shock] Abstract

Expression of Inflammation-Related Genes in the Lung of BALB/C Mice Response to H7N9 Influenza A Virus with Different Pathogenicity

Scientists determined the expression pattern and histological distribution of inflammation-related genes, RIP3, NLRP3, IL-1β, TNF-α, Slit2 and Robo4 in the lung of BALB/c mice infected with two H7N9 influenza A virus strains with only a PB2 residue 627 difference were investigated, as well as the histopathological injury of the lung. [Med Microbiol Immunol] Abstract

LUNG CANCER

The Down-Regulated ING5 Expression in Lung Cancer: A Potential Target of Gene Therapy

Inhibitor of growth 5 (ING5) can interact with p53, thereby inhibiting cell growth and inducing apoptosis. Researchers found that ING5 overexpression not only inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion, but also induced G2 arrest, differentiation, autophagy, apoptosis, glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration in lung cancer cells. [Oncotarget] Full Article

Role of a7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor in Nicotine-Induced Invasion and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Scientists identified that nicotine induced non-small cell lung cancer cell invasion, migration, and epithelial to mesenchymal transition effects were suppressed by pharmacological intervention using α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) selective antagonists or by genetic intervention using α7-nAChR knockdown via RNA inference. [Oncotarget] Full Article

CD47 Promotes Tumor Invasion and Metastasis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Scientists analyzed non-small cell lung cancer specimens and cell lines, and revealed that CD47 is expressed at a higher level than in tumor-free control samples. Furthermore, increased CD47 expression correlated with clinical staging, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis. [Sci Rep] Full Article

p38 Pathway as a Key Downstream Signal of CTGF to Regulate Metastasis Potential in NSCLC

The authors demonstrated that the molecular link between connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) secretion and the p38 pathway in invasion and metastasis potential of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). [Cancer Sci] Abstract

Lumacaftor/Ivacaftor: A Review in Cystic Fibrosis

Lumacaftor/ivacaftor expands the treatment options available for patients with cystic fibrosis homozygous for the F508del-CFTR mutation, although its precise place in clinical practice remains to be determined. [Drugs] Abstract

Correlation of Histologic Subtypes and Molecular Alterations in Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma: Therapeutic and Prognostic Implications

The histologic features and related mutations of adenocarcinomas with expression of programmed cell death-1 and programmed cell death ligands-1 may be helpful in guiding immunotherapeutic treatment. This review describes histopathologic features of adenocarcinomas and their correlation with molecular alterations. [Adv Anat Pathol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the pulmonary cell research field.

Windtree Awarded $1.0 Million SBIR Grant in Continuing Support of the Development of Aerosolized KL4 Surfactant to Address Radiation-Induced Lung Injury

Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it has received the third $1.0 million tranche under a previously announced Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant valued at up to $3.0 million to support continued development of the company’s aerosolized KL4 surfactant as a potential medical countermeasure to mitigate radiation-induced lung injury. [Windtree Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Investigator-Sponsored Plinabulin Combination Study for Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Granted FDA Clearance to Enroll Patients

BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. FDA notified Dr. Lyudmila Bazhenova at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center that the Phase I/II study of Nivolumab in combination with Plinabulin for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer may proceed with enrolling patients. [BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals] Press Release

Policy Implications of Aging in the NIH-Funded Workforce

Because of national interest in the “graying” of the biomedical workforce, the authors examine aging and funding within the pool of NIH-funded investigators and applicants, particularly in the growing field of stem cell research. They provide evidence of a maturing and more competitive stem cell workforce and discuss policy implications. [Cell Stem Cell] Editorial

FDA Should Stand Firm on Stem-Cell Treatments

You may have heard that regulators in the United States are too strict when it comes to stem-cell treatments. The assumption in these accusations — that these treatments work — is at the heart of the problem. The FDA is right to insist that only proper clinical trials can make that case. [Nature News] Editorial

House Panel Would Give NIH a 4% Raise to $33 Billion

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is slated to receive a $1.25 billion increase, to $33.3 billion, in a proposed spending measure released by a House of Representatives spending panel. That 4% boost is good news for an agency that has been flat funded for a decade, although it falls short of a 6% raise approved by a Senate panel. [ScienceInsider] Editorial | Press Release

Canada’s Health Funder Agrees to Meet with Researchers Outraged by Peer-Review Changes

Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) President Alain Beaudet said the agency will heed Jane Philpott’s request to “convene a working meeting in the very near future with key representatives of the research community, including those who have raised this issue publicly, to find common ground and move forward with solutions that address the issues raised with regard to the quality and integrity of CIHR’s peer review system.” [ScienceInsider] Editorial

U.K. Research Charity Will Self-Publish Results from Its Grantees

Starting sometime this fall, the Wellcome Trust will launch its own open-access online journal. Publication will be limited to the thousands of scientists worldwide working on research funded by a Wellcome grant, and it will be free not only for readers, but authors—the charity is covering the costs charged by the company that will provide the journal’s software and online platform. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Beat It, Impact Factor! Publishing Elite Turns against Controversial Metric

A paper posted to the preprint server bioRxiv, authored by senior employees at several leading science publishers (including Nature’s owner, SpringerNature), calls on journals to downplay the figure in favor of a metric that captures the range of citations that a journal’s articles attract. [Nature News] Editorial | Article

Brexit Watch: Scientists Grapple with the Fallout

Two weeks after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, the future remains opaque. Concerns within the research community are particularly intense for those who rely on the EU for funding, or who have the right to work in the United Kingdom only because they are citizens of other EU countries. [Nature News] Editorial

The Past, Present and Future of the PhD Thesis

According to one of those often-quoted statistics that should be true but probably isn’t, the average number of people who read a PhD thesis all the way through is 1.6. And that includes the author. More interesting might be the average number of PhD theses that the typical scientist — and reader of Nature — has read from start to finish. [Nature News] Editorial

Major Funders Launch International Repository of Cutting-Edge Cancer Models

U.S. and European funding agencies are launching the Human Cancer Models Initiative, which aims to give the research community tumor cells that behave more like actual human tumors. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Selling Stem Cells in the USA: Assessing the Direct-to-Consumer Industry

Direct-to-consumer marketing of unapproved stem cell interventions is a well-known phenomenon in countries with lax medical regulations. However, an examination of Internet-based marketing claims revealed widespread promotion of such interventions by businesses based in the United States. Such commercial activity suggests that regulatory agencies must better oversee this marketplace. [Cell Stem Cell] Editorial

NEW 4^th International Oncology Conference
September 29-30, 2016
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the pulmonary cell community.

NEW Postdoctoral Associate – Pulmonary Genetic Medicine (Weill Cornell Medicine)

NEW Scientific Director – Oncology (Merck)

Associate Service Fellow – Pulmonary Toxicology and Pharmacology (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

PhD Program – Pulmonary Hypertension and Cor Pulmonale (Giessen Graduate Centre for the Life Sciences)

Research Associate – Pulmonary Stromal Cells (University of Cambridge)

Group Leaders – Cardiovascular or Pulmonary Science (Excellence Cluster Cardiopulmonary System)

PhD Studentship – Biofilm-Penetrant Delivery Systems for Lung Pathogens (University of East Anglia)

Associate Professor – Oxidative Lung Injury (Temple University)

Research Fellow – Pulmonary and Critical Care (Mayo Clinic)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy (Oslo University Hospital)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Vascular/Lung Biology (Yale University School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Position – Lung Alveolar Epithelial Cell Biology/Differentiation (University of Southern California)

Director Clinical Research – Medical Oncology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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