UM research team proposes new treatment strategy for breast cancer

A team led by Chuxia Deng, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) of the University of Macau (UM), has made a significant breakthrough in breast cancer research by uncovering a new mechanism for the occurrence and development of this type of cancer. Based on this finding, the team has discovered a new drug treatment strategy, which brings good news for breast cancer patients. The study has received considerable attention in the field and has been published in the international journal Science Advances.

Breast cancer is the accumulated consequence of malignant and intricate events caused by multiple genetic alterations. Previous studies have found that genes such as BRCA1, BRCA2, p53, CHK2, and 53BP1 are involved in the tumourigenesis process, with BRCA1 being a critical tumour suppressor in breast cancer. Traditional genetic engineering methods detect candidate genes one by one, which is inefficient and time consuming. To compare the contribution of genes under the same biological pressure, Prof Deng’s team conducted an unbiased in vivo screening by integrating the sleeping beauty system (SB⁺;T2Onc3⁺) into the Cre-LoxP mediated Brca1 mammary-gland-specific knockout (Brca1^{Flox11/Flox11}; MMTV-Cre and Brca1^{Flox11/Flox11};Wap-Cre) mouse model. They analysed the 169 genes on the list and found that Cullin-5 (Cul5), which was ranked fourth on the list, acted as a top candidate tumour suppressor, whose disruption enhanced BRCA1-related tumourigenesis. This notion was confirmed by a parallel whole-genome screening mediated by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9.

The team also found that Cul5-knockout (KO) cells showed a similar proliferation rate as wild-type (WT) cells, yet Cul5-KO tumours developed much faster than Cul5-WT tumours. These data suggested that the tumour microenvironment (TME) might play a major role in promoting the growth of Cul5-KO tumours. The BALB/c-4T1 and BALB/c-EMT6 mouse models showed that Cul5 deficiency activates CREB1-CCL2 signalling, resulting in the accumulation of monocytes and polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells and the reduction of T cells that lead to cancer occurrence and development. The models also showed that the important downstream factors, CREB1 and CCL2, are involved in the TME process, with Cul5 acting as a ubiquitination-linked enzyme that ubiquitinates CREB1 and degrades CREB1 to inhibit tumour development under regular and stressful conditions. Cul5 deficiency allows the activation of the CREB1-CCL2 pathway, disrupting the balance of TME and leading to tumour growth.

In clinical breast cancer samples, Cul5 usually functions as a tumour suppressor, and its expression often remains at a relatively low level. The activation of CUL5 or inhibition of downstream activities may have applications in the treatment of tumours with low levels of CUL5. Since there is currently no suitable agonist for activating CUL5, the team focused on 666-15, an inhibitor of CREB1, to suppress cancer growth. In summary, this study has revealed the critical role of CUL5 in the occurrence and development of breast cancer. Based on this finding, the research team discovered a new drug treatment strategy for breast cancer through research on tumour immunology and demonstrated that 666-15, the specific inhibitor CREB1, could treat CUL5-deficient breast cancer models, providing early and new ideas for the clinical treatment of breast cancer.

Prof Deng is the corresponding author of the study, and PhD student Chen Si is the first author. FHS Associate Professor Xu Xiaoling, Assistant Professor Miao Kai, postdoctoral fellow Shao Fangyuan, as well as PhD students Zeng Jianming and Guo Sen also made important contributions to the study. The study was supported by Shen Hanming, chair professor in the FHS, and Gao Daming, researcher in the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Genomics, Bioinformatics and Single Cell Analysis Core and the Animal Research Core in the FHS also provided tremendous support for the study. This project was supported by the Science and Technology Development Fund, Macao SAR (File no: 111/2017/A, 0011/2019/AKP, 0004/2021/AKP, 0048/2019/A1, 0112/2019/A2, 0065/2021/A and 0034/2019/AGJ), UM (File no: CPG2022-00002-FHS and MYRG2022-00181-FHS), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82030094 and 81602587). A complete version of the article can be viewed at https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq1395.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/55188/

Liaison Office Deputy Director Huang Liuquan visits UM

A delegation led by Huang Liuquan, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, recently visited the University of Macau (UM) and was warmly received by UM University Council Chair Lam Kam Seng, Rector Yonghua Song, and Vice Rector Xu Jian. During the meeting, Song told the guests about UM’s development history, research innovations, research results transfer process, and future development plan. Huang spoke highly of the achievements attained by UM in technological innovation in recent years. He expressed hope that the university would continue to contribute to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a hub for technological innovation, as well as strengthen the leading role of Macao in promoting technological development in the western part of the region. Members of the delegation visited UM’s University Gallery, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, and State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/55189/

Delegation led by CPC Wuxi Municipal Committee Secretary Du Xiaogang visits UM, both parties sign memorandum of intent for donation

A delegation led by Du Xiaogang, secretary of the CPC Wuxi Municipal Committee, recently visited the University of Macau (UM). Representatives of the two parties signed a memorandum of intent for a donation from the government of Jiangyin to UM to support its work in talent cultivation, research, and collaborative innovation. During the visit, UM Rector Yonghua Song gave an introduction of UM to the guests, covering the university’s development history, academic structure, campus facilities, development direction, and its four unique advantages. Du expressed hope that both parties would strengthen cooperation and exchanges in higher education and industry-academia collaboration. Members of the delegation also visited UM’s University Gallery, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, and State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/55181/

UM Macao Fellow’s study in solid-state physics published in top international journal

UM Macao Fellow Sio Weng Hong in the Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering (IAPME), University of Macau (UM), has made significant progress in a research collaboration with the Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin. The research team has for the first time observed two-dimensional Frohlich polarons on a boron nitride monolayer, a graphene-like atomic crystal, with the aid of a supercomputer, and predicted the ground state energy of the polarons. The discovery may help design more efficient quantum materials and optoelectronic devices. The research results have been published in the top international journal Nature Physics.

As a class of quasiparticles described under the framework of quantum field theory, polarons are considered to be related to many physical phenomena of materials. It was first predicted by the Soviet physicist, Lev Landau, in the 1930s, and its physical model has been gradually developed by pioneers in high energy physics, such as Nikolay Bogolyubov, Lee Tsung-Dao and Richard Feynman. However, the early formulation of polaron theories mostly used simplified dielectric continuum models in combination with simple mathematical analysis to describe crystal lattices, because of the immaturity of high-performance computers and electronic structure theory in the 1950s. This had led to inaccurate predictions when the early established polaron models were applied to study semiconducting materials.

The research team has established a general framework to compute electron-phonon interactions in both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) spaces, and clarified the analytical form of long-range interactions between electrons and phonons in 2D materials. Based on this advancement, a new computational method was subsequently proposed to overcome the problem of Coulomb divergence occurred when simulating 2D materials directly with first-principles density functional theory. This method successfully rendered the geometrical details of the polaronic self-trapped state in different 2D hosting materials, and accurately calculated its radius and the ground state energy. Since the existence of lattice defects is commonly found in nature, electrons from dopants that affect the properties of semiconducting materials are often trapped in the defect site to form polarons and induce distortion effects in the hosting material, which in turn renormalises the photoelectric properties of the host. The research results may help engineers design more efficient quantum materials and optoelectronic devices in the future.

In addition, the study proposed a mathematical model of the 2D self-trapped potential, which indicates that the ground state energy of localised polarons in two-dimensional materials depends on three independent physical quantities, namely the effective mass of electron, the effective thickness of 2D material, and the ionic dielectric screening. Its mathematical formula is also given in the article. In addition, the article specifically pointed out that whether an electron in 2D materials can form a localised polaron depends solely on the trade-off between the three physical quantities, and no corresponding laws of physics were found in previous studies of polarons in bulk 3D materials. The proposed model has not only completed the missing piece of modern polaron theories, it is also expected to aid experimental physicists to screen suitable candidates for related studies and provide the required theoretical foundation for practical applications such as superconducting materials, solid-state qubits, single-photon source devices, and photocatalyses. The research results have been published in Nature Physics after a rigorous peer review process.

Titled ‘Polarons in Two-dimensional Atomic Crystals’, the article was co-authored by Dr Sio and the US scientist Feliciano Giustino. The key validation of the discovery was realised by the supercomputer Lonestar 6 at the University of Texas at Austin with thousands of CPU cores. The number of simulated atoms reached 100,000 and the parallel computing program was developed independently by Dr Sio. The study was supported by the UM Macao Fellow scheme of the university and the Science and Technology Development Fund of the Macao SAR (File no: 0102/2019/A2, with Prof Pan Hui providing relevant project resources). In addition, LvLiang Cloud Computing Center in China and the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas at Austin provided computing power support for this study. The full-version of the article can be viewed at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-01953-4.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/55178/

Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong speaks highly of research development at UM

A delegation led by Qin Weizhong, deputy secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee and mayor of Shenzhen, recently visited the University of Macau (UM) and was warmly received by UM Rector Yonghua Song and Vice Rector Ge Wei. During the meeting, Song said that UM would strengthen cooperation with higher education institutions and innovation and technology enterprises in Shenzhen, in order to facilitate the sustainable development of Macao’s economy and society and contribute to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Qin, among other delegation members, spoke highly of research development at UM. Members of the delegation visited UM’s University Gallery and State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/55172/

UM holds Inauguration Ceremony of Satellite Ground Station and Symposium on Disaster and Ocean Remote Sensing Technologies

The Inauguration Ceremony of the Satellite Ground Station of the University of Macau (UM) and Symposium on Disaster and Ocean Remote Sensing Technologies was recently held at UM. The event was organised by the State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City (SKL-IOTSC) of UM, with assistance from the Department of Ocean Science and Technology of UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology (FST),  the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics (Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources). The symposium attracted many experts and scholars from mainland China, who during the event discussed innovations in remote sensing technology and their applications in urban disaster prevention and marine environment protection.

In his speech, Yonghua Song, rector of UM and director of the SKL-IOTSC, said that the university has been active in promoting marine research and using advanced theories and technologies in interdisciplinary fields, such as Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, and satellite remote sensing, to identify, monitor, and predict natural disasters in coastal cities and conduct research on disaster prevention and mitigation measures. The university also established the Department of Ocean Science and Technology under the FST last November to further promote marine research in Macao. According to Song, the remote sensing satellite ground station can receive data from meteorological satellites and high-definition satellites, which greatly improves the observation accuracy for detecting key elements of disasters and regional detection capability. The establishment of the station also marked the deep integration of marine science, Internet of Things, and remote sensing technology, and he expected the station to further optimise the university’s resources and provide real-time and high-precision data for future studies on topics such as climate change, typhoons and rainstorms, the marine environment, and air pollution in coastal cities, thus contributing to the development of urban public safety systems.

The keynote speakers at the symposium were Jiang Xingwei, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and researcher of the National Satellite Ocean Application Service; Gu Xingfa, director of the National Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Satellite Applications of CAS and researcher of Aerospace Information Research Institute of CAS; and He Xianqiang, deputy director of Donghai Laboratory and researcher of the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources. During the event, experts and scholars in the field of remote sensing discussed theoretical innovations in the field and their practical applications in urban disaster prevention and marine environment protection. The event aimed to promote resource sharing and deepen cooperation and exchanges between mainland China and Macao, so as to contribute to the sustainable development of the marine environment.

Officiating guests at the inauguration ceremony included Cheang Kun Wai, member of the Administrative Committee of the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund, and Ip Chong Wa, member of the Administrative Committee of the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau. Other guests attending the event included Leong Weng Kun, director of the Meteorological and Geophysics Bureau, as well as representatives of the Marine and Water Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/55167/

UM Rector Yonghua Song joins International Bay Area Summit in Hong Kong

Yonghua Song, rector of the University of Macau (UM), recently attended the International Bay Area Summit 2023 in Hong Kong at the invitation of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (HKAES). During the event, Song shared UM’s experience in facilitating industry-academia collaboration among different parties in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) at a panel session titled ‘The Role of Higher Education’. According to Song, UM actively responds to China’s regional development strategy and external development strategy and works with other universities in the GBA to create an international technology and innovation centre and a higher education demonstration zone. The event attracted over 200 representatives of different organisations, including the University of Cambridge, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, as well as universities, research institutes, and tech startups in the GBA. Under the theme of ‘Innovation, Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Ecosystems’, the summit aimed to explore the different challenges and opportunities facing bay area economies, thereby promoting exchanges and cooperation between them.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/55159/

UM Rector Yonghua Song visits Renmin University of China and gives speech on talent development at CACIE

A delegation from the University of Macau (UM), led by its rector Yonghua Song, recently visited the Renmin University of China. Members of the delegation, including Wang Ruibing, director of UM’s Global Affairs Office, were warmly received by Renmin University of China Party Secretary Zhang Donggang and Vice President Du Peng. Both parties had in-depth discussions on topics such as academic cooperation, talent development, and research innovation and expressed hope to integrate their resources to jointly promote higher education development in China. On the same day, Song participated in the 23rd China Annual Conference & Expo for International Education (CACIE) and delivered a speech to share UM’s experience in nurturing innovative talent at the China-Germany Forum on Innovation Talent Cultivation in Higher Education.

To read the news on UM’s official website, please visit the following link:
https://www.um.edu.mo/news-and-press-releases/campus-news/detail/55151/