[Expression and clinical significance of plasma exosomal miR-34-5p and miR-142-3p in systemic sclerosis].

Objective: To detect the expression of plasma exosomal microRNA (miRNA) in systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to investigate its clinical significance.

Methods: A total of 20 patients who were initially diagnosed with SSc and did not receive medication in Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of Meizhou People' s Hospital from January 2020 to January 2022 were recruited, as well as 15 healthy individuals whose gender and age matched with those of the SSc patients. Plasma exosomes were isolated using ultracentrifugation method.

Association Between the Polymorphism of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Gene and Cerebral Infarction in a Hakka Population in Southern China.

Genetic factors play an important role in determining the susceptibility to ischemic stroke. Herein, we examined the association of an aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene polymorphism with cerebral infarction. Patients with cerebral infarction (n = 963) and healthy controls (n = 921) were included.

Identification of HLA-A*11:01-restricted Mycobacterium tuberculosis CD8(+) T cell epitopes.

New vaccines are needed to combat Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infections. The currently employed Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine is becoming ineffective, due in part to the emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) strains and the reduced immune capacity in cases of HIV coinfection. CD8(+) T cells play an important role in the protective immunity against MTB infections, and the identification of immunogenic CD8(+) T cell epitopes specific for MTB is essential for the design of peptide-based vaccines.

Development of genetically engineered iNKT cells expressing TCRs specific for the M. tuberculosis 38-kDa antigen.

Introduction: The invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell has been shown to play a central role in early stages immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, which become nonresponsive (anergic) and fails to control the growth of Mtb in patients with active tuberculosis. Enhancement of iNKT cell responses to Mtb antigens can help to resist infection.

Study Design And Methods: In the present study, an Mtb 38-kDa antigen-specific T cell receptor (TCR) was isolated from human CD8(+) T cells stimulated by 38-kDa antigen in vitro, and then transduced into primary iNKT cells by retrovirus vector.

Limited T cell receptor repertoire diversity in tuberculosis patients correlates with clinical severity.

Background: The importance of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in protection against tuberculosis (TB) is well known, however, the association between changes to the T cell repertoire and disease presentation has never been analyzed. Characterization of T-cells in TB patients in previous study only analyzed the TCR β chain and omitted analysis of the Vα family even though α chain also contribute to antigen recognition. Furthermore, limited information is available regarding the heterogeneity compartment and overall function of the T cells in TB patients as well as the common TCR structural features of Mtb antigen specific T cells among the vast numbers of TB patients.