Corilagin alleviates LPS-induced sepsis through inhibiting pyroptosis via targeting TIR domain of MyD88 and binding CARD of ASC in macrophages.

Sepsis is a dysregulated systemic inflammatory response caused by infection that leads to multiple organ injury and high mortality without effective treatment. Corilagin, a natural polyphenol extracted from traditional Chinese herbs, exhibits strong anti-inflammatory properties. However, the role for Corilagin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis and the molecular mechanisms underlying this process have not been completely explored.

Insufficient epitope-specific T cell clones are responsible for impaired cellular immunity to inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in older adults.

Aging is a critical risk factor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine efficacy. The immune responses to inactivated vaccine for older adults, and the underlying mechanisms of potential differences to young adults, are still unclear. Here we show that neutralizing antibody production by older adults took a longer time to reach similar levels in young adults after inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

Production and purification of infectious diseases-associated tetramer for staining of CD8 T cells from PBMCs.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) tetramers can work as diagnostic tools to identify antigen-specific T cells in immunological research and monitoring. Here, we provide a general protocol for the production of MHC tetramer. We obtain highly pure N-terminal His-tagged HLA-A2 α chain and β2-microglobulin (βm) to fold a monomer with a photocleavable peptide, which can exchange with an HLA-A2 presented peptide derived from influenza A virus.

Optimization of antigen-specific CD8 T cell activation conditions for infectious diseases including COVID-19.

Here, we describe the use of the artificial antigen-presenting cell (aAPC) system for the verification of T-cell epitopes. We purify and activate CD8 T cells from blood samples from HLA-A2 that are negative for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). CD8 T cells are combined with peptide-loaded T2-A2 cells, which are then stained with a SARS-CoV-2-specific MHC-1 tetramer to identify specific HLA-A2-restricted T-cell epitopes.

Scutellarin inhibits caspase-11 activation and pyroptosis in macrophages regulating PKA signaling.

Inflammatory caspase-11 senses and is activated by intracellular lipopolysaccharide (LPS) leading to pyroptosis that has critical role in defensing against bacterial infection, whereas its excess activation under pathogenic circumstances may cause various inflammatory diseases. However, there are few known drugs that can control caspase-11 activation. We report here that scutellarin, a flavonoid from , acted as an inhibitor for caspase-11 activation in macrophages.

Berberine augments hypertrophy of colonic patches in mice with intraperitoneal bacterial infection.

Colonic patches, the counterparts of Peyer's patches in the small intestine, are dynamically regulated lymphoid tissues in the colon that have an important role in defensing against microbial infections. Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from medicinal herbs including Rhizoma coptidis and has long been used for the treatment of infectious gastroenteritis, but its impact on the colonic lymphoid tissues (such as colonic patches) is unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether berberine had any influences on the colonic patches in mice with bacterial infection.

Caspase-3-mediated GSDME activation contributes to cisplatin- and doxorubicin-induced secondary necrosis in mouse macrophages.

Objective: Induction of secondary necrosis/pyroptosis contributes to the toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs, in which gasdermin E (GSDME) plays critical roles. This study aimed to explore whether GSDME is involved in mediating the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin and doxorubicin on mouse macrophages.

Methods: RAW 264.