Jmjd1c demethylates STAT3 to restrain plasma cell differentiation and rheumatoid arthritis.

Appropriate regulation of B cell differentiation into plasma cells is essential for humoral immunity while preventing antibody-mediated autoimmunity; however, the underlying mechanisms, especially those with pathological consequences, remain unclear. Here, we found that the expression of Jmjd1c, a member of JmjC domain histone demethylase, in B cells but not in other immune cells, protected mice from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In humans with RA, JMJD1C expression levels in B cells were negatively associated with plasma cell frequency and disease severity. Mechanistically, Jmjd1c demethylated STAT3, rather than histone substrate, to restrain plasma cell differentiation. STAT3 Lys140 hypermethylation caused by Jmjd1c deletion inhibited the interaction with phosphatase Ptpn6 and resulted in abnormally sustained STAT3 phosphorylation and activity, which in turn promoted plasma cell generation. Germinal center B cells devoid of Jmjd1c also acquired strikingly increased propensity to differentiate into plasma cells. STAT3 Lys140Arg point mutation completely abrogated the effect caused by Jmjd1c loss. Mice with Jmjd1c overexpression in B cells exhibited opposite phenotypes to Jmjd1c-deficient mice. Overall, our study revealed Jmjd1c as a critical regulator of plasma cell differentiation and RA and also highlighted the importance of demethylation modification for STAT3 in B cells.

Multi-omics study reveals different pathogenesis of the generation of skin lesions in SLE and IDLE patients.

Lupus erythematosus (LE) is a heterogeneous, antibody-mediated autoimmune disease. Isolate discoid LE (IDLE) and systematic LE (SLE) are traditionally regarded as the two ends of the spectrum, ranging from skin-limited damage to life-threatening multi-organ involvement. Both belong to LE, but IDLE and SLE differ in appearance of skin lesions, autoantibody panels, pathological changes, treatments, and immunopathogenesis. Is discoid lupus truly a form of LE or is it a completely separate entity? This question has not been fully elucidated. We compared the clinical data of IDLE and SLE from our center, applied multi-omics technology, such as immune repertoire sequencing, high-resolution HLA alleles sequencing and multi-spectrum pathological system to explore cellular and molecular phenotypes in skin and peripheral blood from LE patients. Based on the data from 136 LE patients from 8 hospitals in China, we observed higher damage scores and fewer LE specific autoantibodies in IDLE than SLE patients, more uCDR3 sharing between PBMCs and skin lesion from SLE than IDLE patients, elevated diversity of V-J recombination in IDLE skin lesion and SLE PBMCs, increased SHM frequency and class switch ratio in IDLE skin lesion, decreased SHM frequency but increased class switch ratio in SLE PBMCs, HLA-DRB1*03:01:01:01, HLA-B*58:01:01:01, HLA-C*03:02:02:01, and HLA-DQB1*02:01:01:01 positively associated with SLE patients, and expanded Tfh-like cells with ectopic germinal center structures in IDLE skin lesions. These findings suggest a significant difference in the immunopathogenesis of skin lesions between SLE and IDLE patients. SLE is a B cell-predominate systemic immune disorder, while IDLE appears limited to the skin. Our findings provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of IDLE and other types of LE, which may direct more accurate diagnosis and novel therapeutic strategies.

SETD5 Regulates Glycolysis in Breast Cancer Stem-Like Cells and Fuels Tumor Growth.

Although glycolysis plays a pivotal role in breast cancer stem-like cell (BCSC) reprogramming, the molecular mechanisms that couple glycolysis to cancer stem-like cells remain unclear. SETD5 is a previously uncharacterized member of the histone lysine methyltransferase family. The goal of this study was to explore the mechanisms underlying the promotion of stem-like and glycolysis activation traits by SETD5. Previous studies have shown that overexpression of SETD5 in breast cancer tissues is associated positively with progression. The present study showed that SETD5 expression was enriched in BCSCs. Down-regulation of SETD5 significantly decreased BCSC properties and glycolysis in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, SETD5 and glycolytic enzymes were accumulated in the central hypoxic regions of subcutaneous tumor tissues. Bioinformatic analysis predicted SETD5 binding to E1A binding protein p300 (EP300), and subsequently to hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α). The mechanistic study found that SETD5 is an upstream effector of EP300/HIF-1α. SETD5 knockdown reduced the expression of HIF-1α, hexokinase-2, and 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase in the nucleus after treatment with cobalt chloride, a chemical hypoxia mimetic agent that activates HIF-1α to accumulate in the nucleus. Therefore, SETD5 is required for glycolysis in BCSCs through binding to EP300/HIF-1α and could be a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer patients.

Exosome inspired photo-triggered gelation hydrogel composite on modulating immune pathogenesis for treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Although exosome therapy has been recognized as a promising strategy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), sustained modulation on RA specific pathogenesis and desirable protective effects for attenuating joint destruction still remain challenges. Here, silk fibroin hydrogel encapsulated with olfactory ecto-mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (Exos@SFMA) was photo-crosslinked in situ to yield long-lasting therapeutic effect on modulating the immune microenvironment in RA. This in situ hydrogel system exhibited flexible mechanical properties and excellent biocompatibility for protecting tissue surfaces in joint. Moreover, the promising PD-L1 expression was identified on the exosomes, which potently suppressed Tfh cell polarization via inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway. Importantly, Exos@SFMA effectively relieved synovial inflammation and joint destruction by significantly reducing T follicular helper (Tfh) cell response and further suppressing the differentiation of germinal center (GC) B cells into plasma cells. Taken together, this exosome enhanced silk fibroin hydrogel provides an effective strategy for the treatment of RA and other autoimmune diseases.

Su(var)3-9, Enhancer of Zeste, and Trithorax Domain-Containing 5 Facilitates Tumor Growth and Pulmonary Metastasis through Up-Regulation of AKT1 Signaling in Breast Cancer.

Several studies have confirmed the function of Su(var)3-9, Enhancer of zeste, and Trithorax (SET) domain-containing 5 (SETD5) in post-translational modifications of nonhistone proteins. Mutation of the SETD5 gene has been implicated in the progression of many human cancers, such as breast cancer (BC), but its functional role in BC progression is still unknown. The current article investigates the clinical significance and the functional role of SETD5 in BC. Our studies show that SETD5 expression in BC was related to poor clinical outcomes, including lymph node metastasis and advanced clinical stage. SETD5 expression positively correlated with tumor-associated macrophages. SETD5 was an independent predictor of poor overall survival in BC. Furthermore, these studies show that down-regulation of SETD5 significantly decreased BC cell proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis, and increased apoptosis of BC cells. The mechanistic analysis showed that SETD5 contributes BC progression by interacting with AKT1 pathway. Also, in vivo experiments show that blocking of SETD5 expression significantly inhibited tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis of BC cells. These findings indicate that SETD5 is a potential prognosis marker and facilitates tumor progression of BC.

B7-H4 expression promotes non-small cell lung cancer progression via AMPK/mTOR signaling.

Several studies have demonstrated that B7-H4 is highly expressed in a variety of cancers and often affects tumor development. However, its role in cancer stemness and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been reported. Here, we investigated the relationship between B7-H4 expression and cancer stemness and EMT by immunohistochemistry in 106 NSCLC tissues obtained from patients. The results confirmed that B7-H4 is highly expressed in NSCLC tissues and closely correlated with the expression of EMT-related proteins (Snail, Vimentin) and cancer stemness-related proteins (SOX2, SOX9, and CD44). Immunofluorescence assay indicated that B7-H4 colocalized with SOX2 and SOX9 in the nuclei of NSCLC cells. Additionally, upon knocking down B7-H4, the expression of SOX2, SOX9, and CD44, as well as of Snail and Vimentin was inhibited, whereas E-cadherin expression was enhanced in NSCLC cells. Meanwhile, inhibiting the expression of B7-H4 resulted in reduced invasion and migration ability of NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, silencing B7-H4 activated the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase /mammalian target of rapamycin signaling, which in turn, negatively regulated cell proliferation, stemness, and migration. In conclusion, our results suggest that B7-H4 expression is high in NSCLC tissues, and it has an effect on EMT and cancer stemness. This further suggests that B7-H4 has a potential role in promoting the progression of NSCLC and thereby could be a potential therapeutic target in NSCLC treatment.

Suppression of LETM1 inhibits the proliferation and stemness of colorectal cancer cells through reactive oxygen species-induced autophagy.

Leucine zipper-EF-hand-containing transmembrane protein 1 (LETM1) is a mitochondrial inner membrane protein that is highly expressed in various cancers. Although LETM1 is known to be associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC), its roles in autophagic cell death in CRC have not been explored. In this study, we examined the mechanisms through which LETM1 mediates autophagy in CRC. Our results showed that LETM1 was highly expressed in CRC tissues and that down-regulation of LETM1 inhibited cell proliferation and induced S-phase arrest. LETM1 silencing also suppressed cancer stem cell-like properties and induced autophagy in CRC cells. Additionally, the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine reversed the inhibitory effects of LETM1 silencing on proliferation and stemness, whereas the autophagy activator rapamycin had the opposite effects. Mechanistically, suppression of LETM1 increased the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial ROS by regulation of SOD2, which in turn activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), initiated autophagy, and inhibited proliferation and stemness. Our findings suggest that silencing LETM1 induced autophagy in CRC cells by triggering ROS-mediated AMPK/mTOR signalling, thus blocking CRC progression, which will enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of LETM1 in CRC.

Guideline for the diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is an inflammatory, autoimmune disease encompassing a broad spectrum of subtypes including acute, subacute, chronic and intermittent CLE. Among these, chronic CLE can be further classified into several subclasses of lupus erythematosus (LE) such as discoid LE, verrucous LE, LE profundus, chilblain LE and Blaschko linear LE. To provide all dermatologists and rheumatologists with a practical guideline for the diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of CLE, this evidence- and consensus-based guideline was developed following the checklist established by the international Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare (RIGHT) Working Group and was registered at the International Practice Guideline Registry Platform. With the joint efforts of the Asian Dermatological Association (ADA), the Asian Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AADV) and the Lupus Erythematosus Research Center of Chinese Society of Dermatology (CSD), a total of 25 dermatologists, 7 rheumatologists, one research scientist on lupus and 2 methodologists, from 16 countries/regions in Asia, America and Europe, participated in the development of this guideline. All recommendations were agreed on by at least 80% of the 32 voting physicians. As a consensus, diagnosis of CLE is mainly based on the evaluation of clinical and histopathological manifestations, with an exclusion of SLE by assessment of systemic involvement. For localized CLE lesions, topical corticosteroids and topical calcineurin inhibitors are first-line treatment. For widespread or severe CLE lesions and (or) cases resistant to topical treatment, systemic treatment including antimalarials and (or) short-term corticosteroids can be added. Notably, antimalarials are the first-line systemic treatment for all types of CLE, and can also be used in pregnant patients and pediatric patients. Second-line choices include thalidomide, retinoids, dapsone and MTX, whereas MMF is third-line treatment. Finally, pulsed-dye laser or surgery can be added as fourth-line treatment for localized, refractory lesions of CCLE in cosmetically unacceptable areas, whereas belimumab may be used as fourth-line treatment for widespread CLE lesions in patients with active SLE, or recurrence of ACLE during tapering of corticosteroids. As for management of the disease, patient education and a long-term follow-up are necessary. Disease activity, damage of skin and other organs, quality of life, comorbidities and possible adverse events are suggested to be assessed in every follow-up visit, when appropriate.

HBXIP accelerates glycolysis and promotes cancer angiogenesis via AKT/mTOR pathway in bladder cancer.

Abnormal metabolism and uncontrolled angiogenesis are two important characteristics of malignant tumors. Although HBXIP is known to be associated with a poor prognosis for bladder cancer (BC), its effects on glycolysis and angiogenesis in BC have not been investigated. BC prognosis and relative gene expression of HBXIP were analyzed using the GEPIA, UALCAN, and STRING databases. BC cell angiogenesis and glycolysis were assessed by vasculogenic mimicry and glycolysis assay. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) viability, migration, and angiogenesis were assessed by CCK8, transwell, wound healing, and tube formation assays. The results showed that HBXIP was highly expressed in BC tissues and cells. Knockdown of HBXIP expression decreased the levels of glucose uptake, lactate production, and glycolytic enzyme expression in BC cells, and decreased cell viability and migration of HUVECs. Additionally, silencing HBXIP reduced the total length of tubes and number of intersections, and EPO and VEGF protein expression in BC cells and HUVECs. Furthermore, knockdown of HBXIP expression reversed cell viability, migration, tube formation, and vasculogenic mimicry under high glucose and lactate conditions. Mechanistically, silencing of HBXIP reduced the protein expression levels of pAKT-ser473 and pmTOR, and inhibition of HBXIP, AKT, and mTOR expression decreased glycolytic enzyme protein expression. Our findings suggest that HBXIP reduces glycolysis in BC cells via regulation of AKT/mTOR signaling, thereby blocking BC angiogenesis. Collectively, this study provides a potential strategy to target HBXIP and AKT/mTOR for regulating glycolysis progression concurrently with anti-angiogenesis effects, and thereby develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of BC.

SETD8 promotes stemness characteristics and is a potential prognostic biomarker of gastric adenocarcinoma.

SETD8 is a lysine methyltransferase containing an SET domain, which is involved in the carcinogenesis of many cancer types through monomethylation of the histone H4 lysine 20. However, its prognostic value and underlying mechanisms in gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) have not been extensively studied. Here, we assessed SETD8 expression and its relationship with clinicopathological parameters, cancer stemness-related proteins, cell cycle-related proteins, and PI3K/Akt pathway proteins in GA. SETD8 expression in GA tissues was correlated with the primary tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, tumor size, gross type, and clinical stage. SETD8 was an independent predictor of poor overall survival of patients with GA. Cox regression analysis showed that SETD8 is a potential biomarker of unfavorable clinical outcomes in patients with GA. Moreover, SETD8 overexpression was associated with cancer stemness-related genes, cell cycle-related genes, and PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway genes in clinical GA tissue samples. SETD8 silencing downregulated the expression of cancer stemness-associated genes (LSD1 and SOX2) and inhibited GA cell proliferation, spheroid formation, invasion, and migration. Additionally, LY294002 significantly reduced the expression of SETD8, pAkt-Ser473, pPI3K-p85, and NFκB-p65 in MKN74 and MKN28 cells. SETD8 may be a novel cancer stemness-associated protein and potential prognostic biomarker in GA.

Adiponectin promotes fibroblast-like synoviocytes producing IL-6 to enhance T follicular helper cells response in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by the overproduction of autoantibodies such as rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody. T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are a specialised Th subset that provides signals to B cells, promoting the secretion of antibodies. Our previous studies showed that the frequency of circulating Tfh cells were markedly increased in RA patients and positively correlated with disease activity and the levels of anti-CCP autoantibody. Adiponectin (AD) is an adipokine secreted mainly by adipocytes. Our previous work has demonstrated that AD is highly expressed in the inflamed synovial joint tissue and correlates closely with progressive bone erosion in RA patients. However, it remains unknown whether AD aggravates the severity of RA via modulating Tfh cells. This study aims to investigate whether AD exerts effect on Tfh cells in RA. METHODS: CD4+ T cells were purified from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy controls (HC), and adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) expression on the surface of CD4+CXCR5+PD-1+ (Tfh) cells was detected by flow cytometry. Purified HC CD4+ T cells were cultured with different concentration fetal bovine serun (FBS) in the presence or absence of AD. The percentages of Tfh cells were analysed by flow cytometry. RA or osteoarthritis (OA) fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) were stimulated with AD for 72h and then co-cultured with HC CD4+ T cells through cell-to-cell contact or in a transwell system. The percentages of Tfh cells were analysed by flow cytometry and the levels of soluble factors such as interleukin-(IL)-6, IL-21, IL-12 and IFNγ in the supernatants were determined by Human Magnetic Bead Panel or Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Then anti-IL-6 antibody and/or anti-IL-21 antibody was added to the co-culture system, and the percentages of Tfh cells were analysed by flow cytometry. The frequency of Tfh cells in the joint tissue of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice was examined by flow cytometry. The mRNA expression of Tfh cell transcription factors and functional molecules such as B-cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl-6), B lymphocyte maturation protein 1 (Blimp-1), IL-6, IL-21, IL-12 and IFNγ in the joints of CIA mice were detected by real time PCR (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) expression was detected on the surface of Tfh cells. However, in the present study, we did not find that AD has a direct effect on Tfh cell generation in vitro. Nonetheless, AD-stimulated RA FLSs could promote Tfh cell generation, predominantly via IL-6 production. And this upregulated effect was partially abolished upon neutralising IL-6. Finally, intraarticular injection of AD aggravated synovial inflammation with increased frequency of Tfh cells in the joints of AD-treated CIA mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that AD-stimulated RA FLSs promote Tfh cell generation, which is mainly mediated by the secretion of soluble factor IL-6. This finding reveals a novel mechanism for AD in RA pathogenesis.

REHUNT: a reliable and open source package for restriction enzyme hunting.

BACKGROUND: Restriction enzymes are used frequently in biotechnology. However, manual mining of restriction enzymes is challenging. Furthermore, integrating available restriction enzymes into different bioinformatics systems is necessary for many biotechnological applications, such as polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Thus, in the present study, we developed the package REHUNT (Restriction Enzymes HUNTing), which mines restriction enzymes from the public database REBASE using a series of search operations. RESULTS: REHUNT is a reliable and open source package implemented in JAVA. It provides useful methods and manipulations for biological sequence analysis centered around restriction enzymes contained in REBASE. All available restriction enzymes for the imported biological sequences can be identified by REHUNT. Different genotypes can be identified using PCR-RFLP based on REHUNT for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), mutations, and the other variations. REHUNT robustly recognizes multiple inputs with different formats, e.g. regular DNA sequences, variation-in-sequence indicated by IUPAC code, as well as variation-in-sequence indicated by dNTPs format. Variations including di-, tri-, and tetra-allelic types and indel formats are also acceptable. Furthermore, REHUNT provides classified restriction enzymes output, including IUPAC and general sequence types, as well as commercial and non-commercial availabilities. REHUNT also enables analysis for high throughput screening (HTS) technologies. CONCLUSIONS: REHUNT is open source software with GPL v3 license and can be run on all platforms. Its features include: 1) Quick restriction enzymes search throughout a sequence based on the Boyer-Moore algorithm; 2) all available restriction enzymes provided and regularly updated from REBASE; 3) an open source API available of integrating all types of bioinformatics systems and applications; 4) SNP genotyping available for plant and animal marker-assisted breeding, and for human genetics; and 5) high throughput analysis available for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). REHUNT not only to effectively looks for restriction enzymes in a sequence, but also available for SNP genotyping. Furthermore, it can be integrated into other biological and medical applications. REHUNT offers a convenient and flexible package for powerful restriction enzymes analyses in association studies, and supports high throughput analysis. The source codes and complete API documents are available at SourceForge: https://sourceforge.net/projects/rehunt/ , GitHub: https://github.com/yuhuei/rehunt , and at: https://sites.google.com/site/yhcheng1981/rehunt .

Diagnostic Value of Cerebrospinal Fluid T-SPOT.TB for Tuberculousis Meningitis in China.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) T-SPOT.TB test for the diagnosis of TB meningitis (TBM). A retrospective analysis of 96 patients with manifested meningitis was conducted; T-SPOT.TB test was performed for diagnosing TBM to determine the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was also drawn to assess the diagnostic accuracy. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of CSF T-SPOT.TB test were 97.8%, 78.0%, 80.3%, and 97.5%, respectively, for 52 patients (54.2%) of the 96 enrolled patients. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.910, and the sensitivities of CSF T-SPOT.TB for patients with stages I, II, and III of TBM were 96.7%, 97.2%, and 98.9%, respectively. CSF T-SPOT.TB test is a rapid and accurate diagnostic method with higher sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing TBM.

Comparison of Histological, Microbiological, and Molecular Methods in Diagnosis of Patients with TBLN Having Different Anti-TB Treatment Background.

OBJECTIVE: The influence of anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment history on tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) diagnosis is unclear. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the diagnostic methods, including histology, microbiology, and molecular tests, used for TBLN. METHODS: In this study, suspected patients with TBLN and having different anti-TB treatment background were enrolled. All the samples were tested simultaneously by histology, Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining, mycobacterial culture (culture), Xpert MTB/RIF (xpert), real-time PCR, and high-resolution melting curve PCR (HRM). Thereafter, the performance of these methods on samples with different anti-TB treatment background was assessed. RESULTS: In our study, 89 patients were prospectively included 82 patients with TBLN and 7 with other diseases. The overall sensitivities of Xpert, real-time PCR, histology, ZN staining, and culture were 86.6%, 69.5%, 58.5%, 43.9%, and 22.0%, respectively. The anti-TB treatment history revealed dramatic influences on the sensitivity of culture (P < 0.0001). In fact, the treatment that lasted over 3 months also influenced the sensitivity of Xpert (P < 0.05). However, the treatment history did not affect the performance of remaining tests (P > 0.05). For rifampicin drug susceptibility test (DST), the anti-TB treatment showed only significant influence on the success rate of culture DST (P = 0.001), but not on those of Xpert and HRM tests (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Other tests as well as culture should be considered for patients with TBLN having retreatment history or over 1-month treatment to avoid false negative results.

Impaired B cell inhibition by lupus bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells is caused by reduced CCL2 expression.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from healthy human and normal mice can inhibit normal B cell proliferation, differentiation, and Ab secretion in vitro. However, it remains unknown whether MSC from lupus-like mice and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) exhibit the same immunoregulatory activity as normal MSC for B cell inhibition and, if not, what the underlying molecular mechanism would be. In this study, we showed that bone marrow-derived MSCs from lupus-like mice and SLE patients had an impairment in suppressing normal B cell proliferation and differentiation, which was caused by the reduction of CCL2 levels. Knockdown of CCL2 in normal MSC damaged their suppressive capacity for B cells. Conversely, overexpression of CCL2 in lupus MSCs restored their immunoregulatory ability for B cells in vitro and ameliorated the pathology of lupus nephritis and serological changes in MRL/lpr mice in vivo. Mechanistically, MSC-mediated B cell inhibition was dependent on matrix metalloproteinase proteolytic processing of CCL2. These findings reveal a novel function of CCL2 in B cell regulation by MSCs and suggest that CCL2 manipulation on MSCs may serve as a potential pathway for developing the more effective MSC-based therapy in autoimmune diseases associated with B cell activation, such as SLE.

Interleukin 8 Gene Polymorphisms Are Not Associated with Tuberculosis Susceptibility in the Chinese Population.

Interleukin 8 (IL8) is an important chemokine that elicits host immune response against tuberculosis (TB). However, whether there is an association between IL8 gene polymorphism and TB susceptibility in the Chinese population is unknown. IL8 gene was amplified and sequenced to search for nucleotide polymorphisms among the Chinese population. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, selected, and analyzed in a cohort of 438 patients with TB and 536 healthy controls. Allelic, genotypic, and haplotypic analysis demonstrated that the distribution of the four IL8 SNPs between patients with TB and healthy controls was not significantly different (P>0.05). The four IL8 SNPs detected in this study were not associated with TB susceptibility in the Chinese population. Secretion of IL8 by peripheral blood cells was greatly stimulated upon exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole cell extract, but such enhanced secretion was not associated with the IL8 rs4073 alleles.

Nanostructure enhanced ionic transport in fullerene reinforced solid polymer electrolytes.

Solid polymer electrolytes, such as polyethylene oxide (PEO) based systems, have the potential to replace liquid electrolytes in secondary lithium batteries with flexible, safe, and mechanically robust designs. Previously reported PEO nanocomposite electrolytes routinely use metal oxide nanoparticles that are often 5-10 nm in diameter or larger. The mechanism of those oxide particle-based polymer nanocomposite electrolytes is under debate and the ion transport performance of these systems is still to be improved. Herein we report a 6-fold ion conductivity enhancement in PEO/lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI)-based solid electrolytes upon the addition of fullerene derivatives. The observed conductivity improvement correlates with nanometer-scale fullerene crystallite formation, reduced crystallinities of both the (PEO)6:LiTFSI phase and pure PEO, as well as a significantly larger PEO free volume. This improved performance is further interpreted by enhanced decoupling between ion transport and polymer segmental motion, as well as optimized permittivity and conductivity in bulk and grain boundaries. This study suggests that nanoparticle induced morphological changes, in a system with fullerene nanoparticles and no Lewis acidic sites, play critical roles in their ion conductivity enhancement. The marriage of fullerene derivatives and solid polymer electrolytes opens up significant opportunities in designing next-generation solid polymer electrolytes with improved performance.

The role of epithelial cells in the immunopathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome.

Sjögren's syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by dysfunction of the affected exocrine glands. Lymphocytic infiltration within the inflamed glands and aberrant B-cell hyperactivation are the two salient pathologic features in Sjögren's syndrome. Increasing evidence indicates that salivary gland epithelial cells act as a key regulator in the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome, as revealed by the dysregulated innate immune signaling pathways in salivary gland epithelium and increased expression of various proinflammatory molecules as well as their interaction with immune cells. In addition, salivary gland epithelial cells can regulate adaptive immune responses as nonprofessional antigen-presenting cells and promote the activation and differentiation of infiltrated immune cells. Moreover, the local inflammatory milieu can modulate the survival of salivary gland epithelial cells, leading to enhanced apoptosis and pyroptosis with the release of intracellular autoantigens, which further contributes to SG autoimmune inflammation and tissue destruction in Sjögren's syndrome. Herein, we reviewed recent advances in elucidating the role of salivary gland epithelial cells in the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome, which may provide rationales for potential therapeutic targeting of salivary gland epithelial cells to alleviate salivary gland dysfunction alongside treatments with immunosuppressive reagents in Sjögren's syndrome.

B Cells and IL-21-Producing Follicular Helper T Cells Cooperate to Determine the Dynamic Alterations of Premetastatic Tumor Draining Lymph Nodes of Breast Cancer.

Metastasis is the major cause of cancer-related death, and lymph node is the most common site of metastasis in breast cancer. However, the alterations that happen in tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) to form a premetastatic microenvironment are largely unknown. Here, we first report the dynamic changes in size and immune status of TDLNs before metastasis in breast cancer. With the progression of tumor, the TDLN is first enlarged and immune-activated at early stage that contains specific antitumor immunity against metastasis. The TDLN is then contracted and immunosuppressed at late stage before finally getting metastasized. Mechanistically, B and follicular helper T (Tfh) cells parallelly expand and contract to determine the size of TDLN. The activation status and specific antitumor immunity of CD8+ T cells in the TDLN are determined by interleukin-21 (IL-21) produced by Tfh cells, thus showing parallel changes. The turn from activated enlargement to suppressed contraction is due to the spontaneous contraction of germinal centers mediated by follicular regulatory T cells. On the basis of the B-Tfh-IL-21-CD8+ T cell axis, we prove that targeting the axis could activate TDLNs to resist metastasis. Together, our findings identify the dynamic alterations and regulatory mechanisms of premetastatic TDLNs of breast cancer and provide new strategies to inhibit lymph node metastasis.

Glycolysis inhibition induces anti-tumor central memory CD8+T cell differentiation upon combination with microwave ablation therapy.

Minimally invasive thermal therapy is a successful alternative treatment to surgery in solid tumors with high complete ablation rates, however, tumor recurrence remains a concern. Central memory CD8+ T cells (TCM) play important roles in protection from chronic infection and cancer. Here we find, by single-cell RNA analysis of human breast cancer samples, that although the memory phenotype of peripheral CD8+ T cells increases slightly after microwave ablation (MWA), the metabolism of peripheral CD8+ T cells remains unfavorable for memory phenotype. In mouse models, glycolysis inhibition by 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) in combination with MWA results in long-term anti-tumor effect via enhancing differentiation of tumor-specific CD44hiCD62L+CD8+ TCM cells. Enhancement of CD8+ TCM cell differentiation determined by Stat-1, is dependent on the tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLN) but takes place in peripheral blood, with metabolic remodeling of CD8+ T cells lasting the entire course of the the combination therapy. Importantly, in-vitro glycolysis inhibition in peripheral CD8+ T cells of patients with breast or liver tumors having been treated with MWA thrice leads to their differentiation into CD8+ TCM cells. Our work thus offers a potential strategy to avoid tumor recurrence following MWA therapy and lays down the proof-of-principle for future clinical trials.