Thymic Involution and Altered Naive CD4 T Cell Homeostasis in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder.

Circulating T helper cells with a type 17-polarized phenotype (TH17) and expansion of aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-specific T cells are frequently observed in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). However, naive T cell populations, which give rise to T helper cells, and the primary site of T cell maturation, namely the thymus, have not been studied in these patients. Here, we report the alterations of naive CD4 T cell homeostasis and the changes in thymic characteristics in NMOSD patients.

Severe fetal anemia and hydrops fetalis associated with compound heterozygosity for Hb Zurich-Albisrieden (:c.178G>C) and Hb Quong Sze (:c.377T>C).

We report on a fetus with cardiomegaly and increased middle cerebral artery-peak systolic velocity at 25 weeks of gestation. Severe fetal anemia (hemoglobin (Hb) level 37 g/L) was confirmed by cordocentesis. Hb analysis showed that Hb Bart's was 9% in cord blood.

Boron nitride quantum dots decorated MIL-100(Fe) for boosting the photo-generated charge separation in photocatalytic refractory antibiotics removal.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have great potential for photocatalysis, but only possess moderate activity due to their slow charge transfer and low solar energy conversion. Herein, heterostructures photocatalysts constructed by boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs) and MIL-100(Fe) (MNB) were successfully fabricated for overcoming these shortcomings. It was indicated that the composites possessed large surface area, mesoporous structure, and enhanced visible light absorption.

miR-146a-5p Promotes Chondrocyte Apoptosis and Inhibits Autophagy of Osteoarthritis by Targeting NUMB.

Objective: miR-146a-5p was found to be significantly upregulated in cartilage tissue of patients with osteoarthritis (OA). NUMB was shown to be involved in the autophagy regulation process of cells. We aimed to learn whether NUMB was involved in the apoptosis or autophagy process of chondrocytes in OA and related with miR-146a-5p.

Targeting SUMOylation in cancer.

Purpose Of Review: In the article, we focus on the role of SUMOylation in tumorigenesis and cancer-related processes, including Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), metastasis, resistance to cancer therapies, and antitumor immunity. Clinical perspective on small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) inhibitors will be discussed.

Recent Findings: SUMOylation regulates multiple important biologic functions including gene transcription, DNA damage repair, cell cycle, and innate immunity.

Icariin ameliorates the cuprizone-induced acute brain demyelination and modulates the number of oligodendrocytes, microglia and astrocytes in the brain of C57BL/6J mice.

This study aimed at testing the hypothesis that treatment with icariin (ICA, a type of flavonoid) could mitigate the cuprizone (CPZ)-induced acute demyelination in the brain of mice and the potential mechanisms. Female C57BL/6J mice were fed continually with regular rodent chow or the chow supplemented with CPZ (0.2 % w/w) for six weeks to induce acute demyelination.

Evolution of the interactions between GII.4 noroviruses and histo-blood group antigens: Insights from experimental and computational studies.

Norovirus (NoV) is the major pathogen causing the outbreaks of the viral gastroenteritis across the world. Among the various genotypes of NoV, GII.4 is the most predominant over the past decades.

Integrated mRNA-seq and miRNA-seq analysis of goat fibroblasts response to strain M5-90.

Brucellosis is a globally zoonotic bacterial disease of humans and various animals including goats, sheep, and cattle. M5-90, a live attenuated vaccine strain, has been widely used to prevent brucellosis in goats and sheep. However, the molecular mechanisms governing protective immunity response in non-professional phagocytes infected with M5-90 have not been fully investigated, especially in goats.

Genome-Wide Differential Expression Profiling of Pulmonary circRNAs Associated With Immune Reaction to in Goats.

is a highly versatile pathogen that infects a wide range of animals, including goats, causing pneumonia and hemorrhagic septicemia. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA that plays an important role in regulating cellular metabolism. However, whether and how circRNA is involved in regulating immune responses in the goat lung has not been reported.

Utilization of preconception care and its impacts on health behavior changes among expectant couples in Shanghai, China.

Background: Preconception care is an opportunity for detecting potential health risks in future parents and providing health behavior education to reduce morbidity and mortality for women and their offspring. Preconception care has been established in maternal and child health hospitals in Shanghai, China, which consists of health checkups, health education and counseling. This study investigated factors associated with the utilization of preconception care, and the role of preconception care on health behavior changes before conception among pregnant women and their partners.

Hierarchical urchin-like amorphous carbon with Co-adding anchored on nickel foam: A free-standing electrode for advanced asymmetrical supercapacitors and adsorbed Pb (II).

The booming development of carbon materials is of great value for diverse applications, owing to their superior electron conductivity, unique structures, and excellent cycle lifetime. This study presents two hierarchically structured amorphous carbon materials for asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device: i) the MOFs-derived urchin-like amorphous carbon anchored on nickel foam (UAC@NF) as positive electrode; ii) high temperature activated graphite carbon felt (GF500) as negative electrode. This ASC device achieves a higher energy density of 0.

IL-21 Optimizes the CAR-T Cell Preparation Through Improving Lentivirus Mediated Transfection Efficiency of T Cells and Enhancing CAR-T Cell Cytotoxic Activities.

Adoptive immunotherapy using CAR-T cells is a promising curative treatment strategy for hematological malignancies. Current manufacture of clinical-grade CAR-T cells based on lentiviral/retrovirus transfection of T cells followed by anti-CD3/CD28 activation supplemented with IL-2 has been associated with low transfection efficiency and usually based on the use of terminally differentiated effector T cells. Thus, improving the quality and the quantity of CAR-T cells are essential for optimizing the CAR-T cell preparation.

Intelligent Molybdenum Disulfide Complexes as a Platform for Cooperative Imaging-Guided Tri-Mode Chemo-Photothermo-Immunotherapy.

Design of new nanoplatforms that integrates multiple imaging and therapeutic components for precision cancer nanomedicine remains to be challenging. Here, a facile strategy is reported to prepare polydopamine (PDA)-coated molybdenum disulfide (MoS ) nanoflakes as a nanocarrier to load dual drug cisplatin (Pt) and 1-methyl-tryptophan (1-MT) for precision tumor theranostics. Preformed MoS nanoflakes are coated with PDA, modified with methoxy-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-amine, and loaded with 1-MT and Pt.

p38 inhibition enhances TCR-T cell function and antagonizes the immunosuppressive activity of TGF-β.

The efficacy of adoptive cell therapy (ACT) relies on the abilities of T cells in self-expansion, survival and the secretion of effector molecules. Here, we presented an optimized method to generate T cells with improved functions by supplementing the culture medium with p38 inhibitor and the combination of IL-7 and IL-15 or IL-2 alone. The addition of p38 inhibitor, Doramapimod or SB202190, to IL-7 and IL-15 culture largely increased the capacity of T cells in the proliferation with enrichment of the naïve-like subsets and expression of CD62L.

Low-Cost Gel Polymer Electrolyte for High-Performance Aluminum-Ion Batteries.

The classical AlCl/imidazole-chloride-salt ionic liquid electrolytes are expensive, corrosive, and environmentally sensitive, which limit the large-scale application of aluminum-ion batteries. Herein, a gel polymer electrolyte is prepared through a facile process using a low-cost AlCl/EtNHCl ionic liquid as the plasticizer and polyamide as the polymer matrix. The gel polymer electrolyte achieves a decent ionic conductivity of 3.

Refined regulation and nitrogen doping of biochar derived from ramie fiber by deep eutectic solvents (DESs) for catalytic persulfate activation toward non-radical organics degradation and disinfection.

Sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation process (SR-AOPs) has great promise in water treatment, there is thereby a pressing need yet still a significant challenge to rationally design an efficient and green catalyst for heterogeneous catalytic reactions. In this study, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were prepared and employed to simultaneously achieve structural engineering of fibrils separation and surface modifying of nitrogen doping on biochar derived from filaments biomass (NRBF) of Ramie (Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaud).

The functional motions and related key residues behind the uncoating of coxsackievirus A16.

The coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) is a highly contagious virus that causes the hand, foot, and mouth disease, which seriously threatens the health of children. At present, there are still no available antiviral drugs or effective treatments against the infection of CVA16, and thus it is of great significance to develop anti-CVA16 vaccines. However, the intrinsic uncoating property of the capsid may destroy the neutralizing epitopes and influence its immunogenicity, which hinders the vaccine developments.

Hsa-miR-100-3p Controls the Proliferation, DNA Synthesis, and Apoptosis of Human Sertoli Cells by Binding to SGK3.

Human Sertoli cell is required for completing normal spermatogenesis, and significantly, it has important applications in reproduction and regenerative medicine because of its great plasticity. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying the fate decisions of human Sertoli cells remain to be clarified. Here, we have demonstrated the expression, function, and mechanism of Homo sapiens-microRNA (hsa-miR)-100-3p in human Sertoli cells.

NSP2 Is Important for Highly Pathogenic Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus to Trigger High Fever-Related COX-2-PGE2 Pathway in Pigs.

In 2006, atypical porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) caused by a highly pathogenic PRRSV (HP-PRRSV) strain broke out in China. Atypical PRRS is characterized by extremely high fever and high mortality in pigs of all ages. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) derived from arachidonic acid through the activation of the rate-limiting enzyme cyclooxygenase type 1/2 (COX-1/2) plays an important role in fever.

Elevated chemokines and cytokines for eosinophils in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.

Background: Eosinophil infiltration is one of the distinctive features in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) but not in other demyelinating diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS). Eosinophils express the chemokine receptor CCR3, which is activated by eotaxins (eotaxin-1, -2, and -3) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-4. We aimed to investigate the role of MCPs (MCP-1, -2, -3, and -4) and eotaxins in the acute phase of NMOSD.

Jointed Synchronous Photocatalytic Oxidation and Chromate Reduction Enabled by the Defect Distribution upon BiVO: Mechanism Insight and Toxicity Assessment.

Exploring active and ecological materials for the restoration of complex pollution system is highly desired. This study presents a facile defect-tailoring strategy for combined pollutants purification with BiVO photocatalysis in which the jointed synchronous reaction of oxidation and reduction is integrated instead of the sequential reaction in two individual systems. XPS and EPR reveal that BiVO with a suitable oxygen vacancies (OVs) concentration and distribution exhibits superior photocatalytic activity under the coexistence of TC-HCl and Cr(VI) with Cr(VI) reduction efficiency increased by 71 times compared with the individual Cr(VI) system along with TC-HCl removal efficiency comparable to a single TC-HCl system.

A Rapid and Efficient Screening System for Neutralizing Antibodies and Its Application for SARS-CoV-2.

After the pandemic of COVID-19, neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against SARS-CoV-2 have been developed for the prophylactic and therapeutic purposes. However, few methodologies are described in detail on how to rapidly and efficiently generate effective NAbs to SARS-CoV-2. Here, we integrated and optimized a strategically screening method for NAbs, which has enabled us to obtain SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) specific NAbs within 6 days, followed by additional 9 days for antibody production and function analysis.