Characterizing the dynamics of BCR repertoire from repeated influenza vaccination.

Yearly epidemics of seasonal influenza cause an enormous disease burden around the globe. An understanding of the rules behind the immune response with repeated vaccination still presents a significant challenge, which would be helpful for optimizing the vaccination strategy. In this study, 34 healthy volunteers with 16 vaccinated were recruited, and the dynamics of the BCR repertoire for consecutive vaccinations in two seasons were tracked.

A biocleavable pullulan-based vector via ATRP for liver cell-targeting gene delivery.

Pullulan due to its specificity for liver has been widely exploited for biomedical applications. In this work, a tailor-made biocleavable pullulan-based gene vector (PuPGEA) with good hemocompatibility was successfully proposed via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) for efficient liver cell-targeting gene delivery. A two-step method involving the reaction of hydroxyl groups of pullulan with cystamine was developed to introduce reduction-sensitive disulfide-linked initiation sites of ATRP onto pullulan.

Up-regulation of TNF-alpha in neurons of dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord during coronary artery occlusion in rats.

Knowledge about the physiologic and pathophysiologic roles of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in acute myocardial ischemia/infarction is still very limited. Evidence implies that TNF-alpha is involved in neural activity including nociception in peripheral and central nervous system. Current study was designed to examine the association of change in TNF-alpha and its mRNA in upper thoracic dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord (T1-T5) during acute myocardial ischemia/infarction induced by coronary artery occlusion (CAO) in rats.

[Expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in myocardium and dorsal root ganglion of coronary artery occlusion in rats].

Objective: To observe the temporal expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in myocardium and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) following ligation of the left anterior descending branch of coronary artery in the rats, and to explore the potential role of TNF-alpha in the neurogenic mechanisms induced by myocardial ischemia injury and the potential neurogenic mechanisms of acute local myocardial ischemia provoking global injuries of the heart.

Methods: Healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing (275+/-15) g were randomly divided into three groups: Control group (n = 6), the samples were harvested from normal healthy rats directly after anaesthesia; Sham surgery group (group Sham, n = 24), with the same scheme of surgery except the procedure of coronary artery occlusion (CAO); CAO group (group CAO, n = 24), with ligation of the left anterior descending branch of coronary artery. Then group Sham and group CAO were further divided into four subgroups (each n = 6): group CAO 0.