Rationale: The cornea is a unique structure that maintains its clarity by remaining avascular. Corneal injuries can lead to neovascularisation (CNV) and fibrosis and are the third most common cause of blindness worldwide.
Objective: Corneal injuries induce an immune cell infiltration to initiate reparative processes.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) stands as a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by its neurodegenerative impacts on the central nervous system. The complexity of MS and the significant challenges it poses to patients have made the exploration of effective treatments a crucial area of research. Among the various mechanisms under investigation, the role of inflammation in MS progression is of particular interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer nanomedicine is defined as the application of nanotechnology and nanomaterials for the formulation of cancer therapeutics that can overcome the impediments and restrictions of traditional chemotherapeutics. Multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells can be defined as a decrease or abrogation in the efficacy of anticancer drugs that have different molecular structures and mechanisms of action and is one of the primary causes of therapeutic failure. There have been successes in the development of cancer nanomedicine to overcome MDR; however, relatively few of these formulations have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant immunity is fine-tuned to balance growth and defense. However, little is yet known about molecular mechanisms underlying immune homeostasis in rice (Oryza sativa). In this study, we reveal that a rice calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK), OsCPK17, interacts with and stabilizes the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase (RLCK) OsRLCK176, a close homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE 1 (AtBIK1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This paper aims to explore the successful implementation of online postgraduate admissions re-examination in China, specifically focusing on the Modified Objective Structured Examination (MOSE). It introduced the specific practice of the online postgraduate admissions re-examination in China and investigated the perceptions of applicants, postgraduate supervisors and admissions staffs about the online MOSE re-examination.
Methods: Surveys were administrated 3 years after the implementation of online MOSE postgraduate admissions re-examination in China.
The recognition of pathogen- or damage- associated molecular patterns (PAMPs/DAMPs) signals a series of coordinated responses as part of innate immunity or host cell defense during infection. The inflammasome is an assemblage of multiprotein complexes in the cytosol that activate inflammatory caspases and release pro-inflammatory mediators. This review examines the two-edged sword activity of gasdermin D (GSDMD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To explore the effect of traditional Chinese and western medicine on the levels of inflammatory cytokines in the peripheral blood of patients with lupus nephritis (LN).
Methods: A total of 80 patients with LN admitted to the hospital from August 2016 to August 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. They were equally separated into an experimental group and a control group by the different types of medications.
Renal fibrosis, a common pathological manifestation of virtually all types of chronic kidney disease (CKD), ultimately predisposes patients to end-stage renal disease. However, there is no effective therapy for renal fibrosis. Our earlier studies proved that RIP3-mediated necroptosis might be an important mode of renal tubular cell death in rats with chronic renal injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRice false smut caused by the biotrophic fungal pathogen has become one of the most important diseases in rice. The large effector repertory in plays a crucial role in virulence. However, current knowledge of molecular mechanisms how effectors target rice immune signaling to promote infection is very limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRice false smut caused by Ustilaginoidea virens is becoming one of the most recalcitrant rice diseases worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying rice immunity against U. virens remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvid Based Complement Alternat Med
June 2022
Purpose: This study was conducted to characterize the expression level of peripheral blood toll-like receptors 9 (TLR9), nuclear factor kappa-B protein 65 (NF-B p65), and myeloid differentiation factor88 (MyD88) of active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and analyse their clinical significance.
Methods: The prospective cohort study enrolled 30 active SLE patients (SG1 group), 30 stable SLE patients (SG2 group), and 20 healthy individuals (RG group) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University between January 2018 and June 2020. All SLE patients were treated with methylprednisolone tablets.
Rice false smut caused by Ustilaginoidea virens is emerging as a devastating disease of rice (Oryza sativa) worldwide; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying U. virens virulence and pathogenicity remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that the small cysteine-rich secreted protein SCRE6 in U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvid Based Complement Alternat Med
April 2022
Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Gandakang tablets plus methylprednisolone in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Methods: From February 2015 to February 2019, 60 eligible patients with SLE were recruited and assigned via the random number table method at a ratio of 1 : 1 to receive either methylprednisolone (control group) or Gandakang tablets plus methylprednisolone (observation group). The primary endpoint was clinical efficacy, and the secondary endpoints included Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score, immunoglobulin (Ig), inflammatory factor levels, and adverse events.
Am J Transl Res
January 2022
Objective: To observe the efficacy and safety of multi-target (tacrolimus + mycophenolate mofetil + prednisone) therapy for type III + V and IV + V type lupus nephritis.
Methods: A total of 56 patients with lupus nephritis were randomly divided into a treatment group receiving multi-target treatment and a control group receiving intravenous cyclophosphamide combined with prednisone treatment, with 28 patients in each group. Clinical indicators and adverse reactions were observed before and 4, 12, 24, 48 and 72 weeks after treatment.
Pyroptosis is the process of inflammatory cell death. The primary function of pyroptosis is to induce strong inflammatory responses that defend the host against microbe infection. Excessive pyroptosis, however, leads to several inflammatory diseases, including sepsis and autoimmune disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Xanthomonas outer protein C2 (XopC2) family of bacterial effectors is widely found in plant pathogens and Legionella species. However, the biochemical activity and host targets of these effectors remain enigmatic. Here we show that ectopic expression of XopC2 promotes jasmonate signaling and stomatal opening in transgenic rice plants, which are more susceptible to Xanthomonas oryzae pv.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacterial type IV pili (T4P) contribute to virulence and can be rapidly extended and retracted to mediate twitching motility. T4P biogenesis, which is normally limited to the cell poles, is regulated by extracellular stimuli and internal signals such as cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP). The c-di-GMP–binding protein FimX interacts with the T4P assembly complex and, when intracellular c-di-GMP concentrations are low, assumes a unipolar localization and promotes T4P biogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Integr Plant Biol
November 2021
Phytopathogenic fungi secrete a large arsenal of effector molecules, including proteinaceous effectors, small RNAs, phytohormones and derivatives thereof. The pathogenicity of fungal pathogens is primarily determined by these effectors that are secreted into host cells to undermine innate immunity, as well as to facilitate the acquisition of nutrients for their in planta growth and proliferation. After conventional and non-conventional secretion, fungal effectors are translocated into different subcellular compartments of the host cells to interfere with various biological processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The development of cancer drugs is among the most focused "bench to bedside activities" to improve human health. Because of the amount of data publicly available to cancer research, drug development for cancers has significantly benefited from big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In the meantime, challenges, like curating the data of low quality, remain to be resolved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe American Cancer Society has estimated an expected 279,100 new breast cancer cases, and an expected 42,690 breast cancer deaths in the U.S. for the year 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) represents the etiological agent for several human malignancies, including Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD), which develop mainly in immunocompromised patients. KSHV has established many strategies to hijack and thwart the host's immune responses, including through the use of extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs represent a significant mode of intercellular communication as they carry a variety of molecules that can be delivered from cell-to-cell.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe advancements of information technology and related processing techniques have created a fertile base for progress in many scientific fields and industries. In the fields of drug discovery and development, machine learning techniques have been used for the development of novel drug candidates. The methods for designing drug targets and novel drug discovery now routinely combine machine learning and deep learning algorithms to enhance the efficiency, efficacy, and quality of developed outputs.
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