Expansion of T follicular helper cells is associated with disease progression in rat experimental membranous nephropathy model.

Background: T follicular helper (Tfh) cells drive humoral immunity by facilitating B cell responses, but the functional role of Tfh cells in the pathogenesis of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) remains unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to establish a rat experimental membranous nephropathy model, investigate the phenotypic characteristics of Tfh cells, and analyze a clinically significant correlation between Tfh cells.

Material And Methods: Passive Heymann nephritis (PHN) rats were induced by immunizing Sprague Dawley rats with anti-Fx1A serum.

Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets predict the efficacy of TACE with or without PD-1 inhibitors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective clinical study.

Background: Although peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets, particularly PD-1+ T cells, are promising prognostic indicators for patients with cancer. However, their clinical significance remains unclear.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 157 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with or without PD-1 inhibitors.

Tanshinone IIA modulates cancer cell morphology and movement via Rho GTPases-mediated actin cytoskeleton remodeling.

Actin filaments form unique structures with robust actin bundles and cytoskeletal networks affixed to the extracellular matrix and interact with neighboring cells, which are crucial structures for cancer cells to acquire a motile phenotype. This study aims to investigate a novel antitumor mechanism by which Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) modulates the morphology and migration of liver cancer cells via actin cytoskeleton regulation. 97H and Huh7 exhibited numerous tentacle-like protrusions that interacted with neighboring cells.

Triptolide inhibits the proinflammatory potential of myeloid-derived suppressor cells via reducing Arginase-1 in rheumatoid arthritis.

Triptolide (TPT) is widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, its regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. This study demonstrated that Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) were expanded in both RA patients and arthritic mice.

Elevated circulating CD19CD24CD38 B cells display pro-inflammatory phenotype in idiopathic membranous nephropathy.

CD19CD24CD38 regulatory B cells exert immunosuppressive functions by producing IL-10, but their role in idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) remains elusive. Here, we investigated the frequency and functional changes of circulating CD19CD24CD38 B cells and evaluated the correlation of CD19CD24CD38 B cells with clinical features and T helper cell subsets in IMN patients. Compared with healthy controls (HCs), IMN patients showed an increased frequency of CD19CD24CD38 B cells, but a significant reduction in the percentage of CD19CD24CD38 B cells was observed 4 weeks after cyclophosphamide treatment.

A population-based characterization study of anti-mitochondrial M2 antibodies and its consistency with anti-mitochondrial antibodies.

Objective: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of anti-mitochondrial antibody subtype M2 (AMA-M2) and assess its consistency with AMA in a general population.

Methods: A total of 8954 volunteers were included to screen AMA-M2 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Sera with AMA-M2 >50 RU/mL were further tested for AMA using an indirect immunofluorescence assay.

Platelet Desialylation Is a Novel Mechanism and Therapeutic Target in and Envenomation-Induced Thrombocytopenia.

Venom-induced thrombocytopenia (VIT) is one of the most important hemotoxic effects of a snakebite, which is often associated with venom-induced consumptive coagulopathy (VICC). Refractory thrombocytopenia without significant coagulation abnormalities has also been reported after envenomation by some viperid snakes; however, the mechanisms are not well understood and therapeutic strategies are lacking. Here, we found that patients injured by or snakes, who were resistant to standard antivenom treatment, had developed coagulopathy-independent thrombocytopenia.

Performance Evaluation of Antiphospholipid Antibodies on INOVA Quanta Flash System.

Background: The diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) relies predominantly on the laboratory measurement of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). We attempt to verify the analytical performance of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) IgA/IgG/IgM and anti-β2-glycoprotein I antibodies (aβ2GPI) IgA/IgG/IgM on a high-throughput automated immunoassay platform.

Methods: Limit of blank (LOB), limit of detection (LOD), imprecision, and linearity were calculated according to the corresponding Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines protocols.

Clinical relevance of serum α-l-fucosidase activity in the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background And Aims: The reduced fucosylation in the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 and the IgG antibody has been observed in COVID-19. However, the clinical relevance of α-l-fucosidase, the enzyme for defucosylation has not been discovered.

Materials And Methods: 585 COVID-19 patients were included to analyze the correlations of α-l-fucosidase activity with the nucleic acid test, IgM/IgG, comorbidities, and disease progression.

MIL-1, a novel antitumor agent derived from natural product millepachine, acts as tubulin polymerization inhibitor for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Natural products are a large source of clinically effective antitumor drugs. Millepachine, a natural product derived from leguminous plants, was reported to display antitumor activity. In this study, the novel compound, (1H-indol-5-yl) (5-methoxy-2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromen-8-yl)methanone (MIL-1), was designed and synthesized by fusing millepachine and indole rings.

Differential diagnosis and prospective grading of COVID-19 at the early stage with simple hematological and biochemical variables.

We evaluated simple laboratory variables to discriminate COVID-19 from bacterial pneumonia or influenza and for the prospective grading of COVID-19. Multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve were used to estimate the diagnostic performance of the significant discriminating variables. A comparative analysis was performed with different severity.

[Thrombopoietin Prevents CoCl-inducing Apoptosis of HUVEC through the PI3K/AKT Pathway].

Objective: To investigate the effect of thrombopoietin (TPO) on chemical hypoxia-induced apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), and to explore its potential mechanism.

Methods: The experiment was divided into 4 groups. The untreated HUVECs were used as normal control group.

Thrombopoietin protects H9C2 cells from excessive autophagy and apoptosis in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.

Cardiac toxicity has been the major concern when using doxorubicin (DOX) in cancer therapy. Thrombopoietin (TPO) protects cardiac cells from DOX-induced cell damage; however, its molecular mechanism remains exclusive. The anti-autophagic and anti-apoptotic effects of TPO upon DOX treatment were studied in the cardiac H9C2 cell line, with bafilomycin A1 treatment as a positive control for autophagy inhibition.

[PDGF-BB Promotes CFU-GM and CFU-MK Formation and Its Possible Mechnism].

Objective: To investigate the effect of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB) on the formation of granulocyte-monocyte colony forming unit (CFU-GM) and megakaryocyte colony forming unit (CFU-MK) and its anti-apoptotic effect on CHRF cells.

Methods: The CFU-GM and CFU-MK of murine and human bone marrow cells were cultured in vitro by using plasma clot culture system. The anti-apoptotic effect of PDGF-BB on CHRF cells and its mechanism were clarified by flow cytometry.

[Role of PDGF/PDGFR Pathway in Essential Thrombocythemia and Its Action Mechanism].

Objective: To study the role of PDGF/PDGFR in essential thrombocythemia (ET) by investigating the expression of PDGF-BB in bone marrow and the expression of PDGFR-β in bone marrow cells of patients with ET and explore the new target for treating ET patients through inhibiting the PDGFR of megakaryocytes.

Methods: The expression level of PDGF-BB in bone marrow of ET patients and normal controls were assayed by using ELISA, the expression level of PDGFR-β (CD140) in bone marrow of ET patients and normal controls were detected by using flow cytometry, the effect of PDGF-BB in JAK2/STAT3 and PI3K/AKT pathway was detected by using flow cytometry or Werstern blot, and the effect of imatinib on the megakaryopoiesis of PDGF was observed.

Results: The expression level of PDGF-BB in bone marrow of ET patients was significantly higher than that in normal controls; the expression level of PDGFR-β in bone marrow of ET patients was significantly higher than that in nornal controls; PDGF-BB could activate JAK2/STAT3 and PI3K/AKT pathway of megakaryocytes, while the imatinib could block the effect of PDGF-BB on megakaryocyte.

Association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a meta-analysis based on 51 case-control studies.

Background: Studies and systematic reviews have reached inconsistent conclusions on the role of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism C677T in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) risk.

Material And Methods: The present meta-analysis comprising of 51 case-control studies, including 7892 cases and 14 280 controls was performed to reevaluate the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and ALL risk.

Results: Statistical differences were found in the dominant model (TT+CT vs.

[Anti-apoptotic effect of Astragalus Polysaccharide on myeloid cells].

This study was aimed to assess the effect of Astragalus Polysaccharide (ASPS) on in-vitro hematopoiesis. CFU-GM assays were used to determine the effect of ASPS and thrombopoietin (TPO) on granulocytic-monocyte progenitor cells. The CFU assays were also used to investigate the effect of ASPS on the proliferation of HL-60 cells.