Immune features revealed by single-cell RNA and single-cell TCR/BCR sequencing in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving COVID-19 booster vaccination.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, have profoundly affected human health. Booster COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing infection and severe cases. However, the effects of booster COVID-19 vaccines on key immune cell subsets and their responses in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not well understood.

The universal presence of poor prognostic factors based on EULAR recommendations: A real-world study in 1164 Chinese RA patients.

Introduction: Poor prognostic factors (PPFs) have been used in assisting therapeutic decision-making in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There are no standard lists of PPFs for RA, and whether PPFs can guide RA treatment remains controversial.

Objectives: To analyze the profile of PPF based on EULAR recommendations in RA patients and explore the necessity of considering these PPFs in adjusting therapy.

Flare and change in disease activity among patients with stable rheumatoid arthritis following coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination: A prospective Chinese cohort study.

Background: Vaccination has been shown effective in controlling the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and reducing severe cases. This study was to assess the flare and change in disease activity after COVID-19 vaccination in patients with stable rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: A prospective cohort of RA patients in remission or with low disease activity was divided into a vaccination group and a non-vaccination group based on their COVID-19 vaccination status.

Th17 cells in primary Sjögren's syndrome negatively correlate with increased and .

Background: Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota is closely related to chronic systemic inflammation and autoimmunity, playing an essential role in the pathogenesis of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Abnormalities in the proportions of blood T lymphocyte subtype, that is Th17/Treg, were detected in pSS patients. We aimed to determine the associations between gut microbiota and Th17/Treg in pSS.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress triggered autophagy and regulated the phenotype transformation of rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts via the IRE1/JNK pathway.

Background: Previous studies have indicated that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress may actively promote the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by evoking autophagy. However, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of the ER stress-autophagy pathway in regulating the phenotype transformation of rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASFs).

Dynamical trajectory of glucocorticoids tapering and discontinuation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis commencing glucocorticoids with csDMARDs: a real-world data from 2009 to 2020.

Objective: To unravel the dynamical trajectory and features of glucocorticoids (GC) tapering and discontinuation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) commencing GC with concomitant conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs).

Methods: We used data from longitudinal real-world Treat-to-TARget in RA cohort. Patients with RA who started GC and contaminant csDMARDs therapy were included.

Z-guggulsterone induces PD-L1 upregulation partly mediated by FXR, Akt and Erk1/2 signaling pathways in non-small cell lung cancer.

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is an immune checkpoint molecule, that is overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and has been associated with the response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy. Z-guggulsterone (Z-GS), an active compound extracted from the gumresin of the Commiphora mukul tree, has been shown to have anti-tumor effects in NSCLC in our previous study. However, whether Z-GS could affect PD-L1 expression levels in tumor cells remains unknown.

Glycyrrhizin suppresses epithelial-mesenchymal transition by inhibiting high-mobility group box1 via the TGF-1/Smad2/3 pathway in lung epithelial cells.

Background: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in fibrosis, chronic inflammation, tumor metastasis, etc. Glycyrrhizin, an active component extracted from licorice plant, has been reported to treat a variety of inflammatory reactions through inhibiting high-mobility group box1 (HMGB1), which has been suggested to be a significant mediator in EMT process. However, whether glycyrrhizin affects the EMT process or not remains unclear.