Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a common antibody mediated, cell-mediated, and complement dependent neuromuscular junction immune disease. The treatment mainly includes drug therapy (symptomatic therapy, non-specific immunosuppressive therapy, targeted immunotherapy), immune regulation (intravenous injection of human immunoglobulin and plasma exchange), and thymectomy. With the continuous deepening of research on MG treatment, targeted immune regulation of B cells, complement system, and neonatal Fc receptors has become a current research hotspot in the treatment of MG. Compared with traditional immunosuppressants, MG patients have better tolerance to new biological agents. This article elaborates on the research of MG targeted therapy related drugs and summarizes their efficacy and safety in MG treatment, aiming to find more treatment options.
Abstract： Objective To investigate the acute cardioprotective effect of 17b-estradiol (17b-E2) against severe myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rabbits and the mechanism of the effect. Methods We established the model of myocardial I/R in vivo by occluding the left anterior descending coronary artery of the rabbits (who underwent coronary occlusion for 40 minutes followed by 3 hours of reperfusion). Twentyfour New Zealand white male rabbits were randomly divided into two groups with 12 in each group. Before coronary occlusion, 1 ml of ethanol or 17b-E2 at 10 μg/kg was administered intravenously to the rabbits in the control group and the experimental group respectively. The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at the following time points: before occlusion, 40 minutes after occlusion, 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours after reperfusion. Activation of p38 mitogen activated protein kinase(MAPK) was determined by Western blotting analysis, and apoptosis of cardiocytes was identified by terminal deoxynucleotidlyl transferase mediated deoxyuridinebiotin dUTP Nick End Labeline (TdT)mediated dNTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Results During myocardial ischemia, TNF-α decreased significantly in the experimental group compared with the control group (F=0.007,P=0.001), while there was no difference in IL-6 between the two groups (F=0.616,P=0.095). During the process of reperfusion, the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (Plt;0.01). Besides, the activation of p38 MAPK and apoptotic index for the experimental group were also lower (45.07%±2.73% vs. 61.25%±2.41%, t＝－15.398, P=0.000; 11.21%±3.85% vs. 22.02%±4.49%, t＝－6.332, P=0.000). Conclusion The cardioprotective effect of 17b-E2 against myocardial I/R may be attributed to its antiinflammatory and antiapoptotic properties, which is probably associated with the inhibition of 17bE2 on p38MAPK activity.
ObjectiveTo explore the potential causal relationship between 91 inflammatory factors and the risk of lung cancer (LC). MethodsBy extracting related data of inflammatory factors and LC and its subtypes from public databases of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), bidirectional, repeated, multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) and subgroup MR methods were used for analysis. The inverse variance weighted method was mainly used for causal inference, and a series of sensitivity analyses were applied to verify the strength of the results. ResultsHigher levels of CD5, interleukin-18 (IL-18), and oncostatin-M (OSM) were causally associated with a lower risk of LC, while nerve growth factor-β (NGF-β) and S100 calcium-binding protein A12 (S100A12) were associated with an increased risk of LC. Subgroup MR analysis results showed that IL-18 had a causal relationship with a reduced risk of lung adenocarcinoma, while NGF-β and S100A12 had a causal relationship with an increased risk of lung adenocarcinoma; CD5 and OSM had a causal relationship with a reduced risk of lung squamous cell carcinoma; NGF-β had a causal relationship with an increased risk of small cell lung cancer. ConclusionFive inflammatory factors, including CD5, IL-18, OSM, NGF-β, and S100A12 have a causal correlation with the risk of LC, providing potential targets for early screening of LC patients and development of therapeutic drugs.
Objective To investgate the expression of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p38MAPK） in lung tissue of rats with severe acute pancreatitis （SAP）， and to explore the relationship between p38MAPK and pulmonary capillary barrier injury. Methods Forty male and healthy Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly （random number method） divided into sham operation （SO） group and SAP group， then rats of SAP group were sub-divided into 3， 6， 12， and 24 h group， each group enrolled 8 rats， respectively. SAP model rats were established by injecting 5% sodium taurocholate solution retrograde into the biliopancreatic duct. ELISA method was used to test the serum tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， and pathological changes in lung and pancreas tissues were observed by HE staining. Immunohischemistry method was used to detect phosphorylated p38 （p-p38） protein and aquaporin 1 （AQP1） protein of lung tissues. The expression level of AQP1 mRNA was measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Results Hyperemia， edema， and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed in lung tissues， abundance of necrosis， part gland structure fuzzy or even disappear were observed in pancreas tissues of all 4 time point groups. Compared with SO group， levels of serum TNF-α and IL-1β were significantly higher in 4 time point groups （P＜0.05）. Lower expression level of p-p38 protein was detected in lung tissues of SO group， while in the early stage of SAP （SAP 3 h group）， the expression level of p-p38 protein significantly increased， which peaked in 6 h group and was still higher than SO group in 24 h group （P＜0.05）. Compared with SO group， the expression levels of AQP1 mRNA and protein were significantly lower in all 4 time point groups （P＜0.05）， which had negative correlation with the levels of serum TNF-α，IL-1β， and the expression level of p-p38 protein （r=-0.87， P＜0.05；r=-0.88， P＜0.05；r=-0.78， P＜0.05）. Conclusion The decrease of AQP1 protein in lung tissue is one of the vital causes for pulmonary capillary barrier injury in SAP， which probably works by the activation of p38MAPK and the excessive release of inflammatory cytokines.
Objective To investigate the mRNA and protein expression of human β-defensin-2 (hBD-2) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)，IL-1β and TNF-α in human airway primary epitheliums.Methods The bronchial primary epitheliums from human were stimulated with LPS，IL-1β and TNF-α respectively and then were harvested for hBD-2 expression detection.The mRNA expression of hBD-2 was detected by RT-PCR，and the protein expression by immunocytochemistry and western blot.Results There was a small expression of hBD-2 mRNA in human airway primary epitheliums before stimulation.The hBD-2 mRNA expression was significantly increased after 3 hours of LPS，IL-1β and TNF-α stimulation respectively and the expression increasement was in a dose dependent manner.The hBD-2 protein could be detected in cytoplasm after 4 hours of LPS (0.1 μg/mL)，IL-1β (1 ng/mL) and TNF-α (10 ng/mL) stimulation.Conclusions LPS and proinflammatory cytokines can induce the mRNA and protein expression of hBD-2 in a short time.The expression of hBD-2 may play an initial defense role against bacterial invasion.
Osteochondral defects is a common clinical joint disease. The complexity of cartilage-bone interface and the poor self-repair capacity of cartilage are both reasons for current relatively limited clinical treatments. The introduction of tissue engineering provides a new treatment method for osteochondral repair. This paper reviews three main elements of cartilage-bone tissue engineering: seed cell source and culture method, cytokines regulation and synergistic effect, and scaffold components and type. We mainly focused on current status quo and future progress of cartilage-bone repair scaffolds. This paper provides some reference for the further development of osteochondral tissue engineering.
Objective To investigate the effects of glutathione S-transferase M5 (GSTM5) on the inflammation in human bronchial epithelial 16HBE cells and its possible molecular mechanisms. Methods Acute lung injury cell model was constructed with 16HBE cells induced by tumour necrosis factorα (TNF-α, 10 ng/mL). The cells were devided into a control group, a TNF-α group (TNF-α), a GSTM5 group (GSTM5+TNF-α), a negative control group (negative control plasmid+TNF-α). GSTM5-GFP plasmid and negative control plasmid were respectively transfected to the cells of the GSTM5 group and the negative control group using Lipofectamine2000. The contents of interleukin-6(IL-6), IL-8, IL-10 in the cell supernatant were measured by ELISA.The expression of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) mRNA was detected by RT-PCR, and the expression of NF-κB, phospho-NF-κB, p38, phospho-p38 protein were detected by Western blot. Results The GSTM5-GFP eukaryotic expression vector was successfully constructed and transfected successfully confirmed by fluorescence microscope. The contents of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 in the TNF-α-induced cell supernatant were significantly higher than those in the control group(P < 0.05), and the contents of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 in the GSTM5 group were lower than those in the TNF-α group (P < 0.05)with statistically significant difference. At the same time, the total NF-κB mRNA, phospho -NF-κB and phospho-p38 protein were increased in TNF-α stimulated cells compared with the control group (P < 0.05), while the GSTM5 group was lower than that in the TNF-α group and the negative control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Overexpression of GSTM5 inhibits the phosphorylation of p38MAPK and NF-κB and down-regulates the inflammation of TNF-α-induced human bronchial epithelial 16HBE cells.
Cytokine storm is a life-threatening hyperinflammatory response. Current limited evidence-based research findings suggest that cytokine adsorption technologies do not reduce mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery or those with septic shock, nor do they improve hemodynamics or lower interleukin-6 levels. These negative outcomes may be related to improper timing and method of use, insufficient adsorption efficacy and non-specific adsorption of antibiotics, albumin, platelets, and other substances. This article summarizes the optimal timing for initiating and terminating cytokine adsorption therapy, treatment modality selection, as well as treatment duration and frequency, aiming to provide clinical guidance.
ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between the expression of IL-8 protein in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and clinicopathological features and survival prognosis.MethodsThe expression of IL-8 protein in 80 cases of TNBC was detected by immunohistochemical staining, and the relationship between the expression of IL-8 protein and clinicopathological features and prognosis of TNBC patients was analyzed by χ2 test, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards regression.ResultsIn 80 TNBC patients, the high expression of IL-8 protein accounted for 22.5% (18/80). The expression level of IL-8 protein in TNBC tumor tissue was correlated with T stage, clinical stage, Ki-67 expression, WHO grade and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). However, it was not related to age, menopausal status, pathological type of tumor and whether they had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P>0.05). The results of log-rank analysis showed that the disease-free survival rate (DFS) of high expression group of IL-8 protein was poor than that of low expression group of IL-8 protein (P<0.05). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that the expression of IL-8 protein was an independent factor affecting the survival and prognosis of TNBC patients [HR=1.180, 95%CI (1.001, 1.391), P=0.049]. The prognosis of TNBC patients with high expression of IL-8 protein was poor.ConclusionThe expression level of IL-8 protein is an independent risk factor affecting the survival and prognosis of patients with TNBC.
Tree shrew is a novel and high-quality experimental animal model. In this study, the real-time polymerase chain reaction methods were established to detect infection-related cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and housekeeping gene glyceraldehyde-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) of tree shrew. The results indicated that the establised methods had good specificity. The high point of the linear range of these reagents reached 1 × 1010 copies, and the low points ranged from 10 copies (IL-6, IL-17A), 100 copies (IL-10, GAPDH) to 1 000 copies (IL-8, IFN-γ). In this interval, the linear correlation coefficient R2 of each reagent was greater than 0.99. The lowest detectable values of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, IFN-γ and GAPDH were 8, 8, 4, 8, 128 and 4 copies, respectively. The results showed that the established detection methods had good specificity, sensitivity and wide linear range. The methods were suitable for detection of multiple concentration range samples, and could be used for the subsequent studies of tree shrew cytokines.