Molecular Characteristics and Potent Immunomodulatory Activity of Fasciola hepatica Cystatin

Cystatin, a cysteine protease inhibitor found in many parasites, plays important roles in immune evasion. This study analyzed the molecular characteristics of a cystatin from Fasciola hepatica (FhCystatin) and expressed recombinant FhCystatin (rFhcystatin) to investigate the immune modulatory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced proliferation, migration, cytokine secretion, nitric oxide (NO) production, and apoptosis in mouse macrophages. The FhCystatin gene encoded 116 amino acids and contained a conserved cystatin-like domain. rFhCystatin significantly inhibited the activity of cathepsin B. rFhCystatin bound to the surface of mouse RAW264.7 cells, significantly inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. Moreover, rFhCystatin inhibited the expression of cellular nitric oxide, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, and promoted the expression of transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-10. These results showed that FhCystatin played an important role in regulating the activity of mouse macrophages. Our findings provide new insights into mechanisms underlying the immune evasion and contribute to the exploration of potential targets for the development of new drug to control F. hepatica infection.

The status quo and influencing factors of the overall clinical performance in nursing students / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To investigate the overall clinical performance of nursing students and analyze its influencing factors to provide evidence for the improvement.Methods:A questionnaire survey was carried out among 288 nursing students from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University in March to May 2020. The survey included a general data questionnaire, Holistic Clinical Assessment Tool, Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher evaluation scale, Medical Student Safety Attitudes and Professionalism Survey of nursing students. The factors associated with overall clinical performance of nursing students were analyzed by t test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. Results:The total score of Holistic Clinical Assessment Tool was 114.95 ± 22.91. The total score of Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher evaluation scale was 156.70 ± 26.98. The total score of Medical Student Safety Attitudes and Professionalism Survey was 123.65 ± 31.00. The influencing factors included social practice experience and clinical learning environment, which accounted for 28.0% of the total variation of overall clinical performance of nursing students.Conclusions:Educators and managers of nursing students' schools and internship hospitals should actively explore the educational reform practice to promote the improvement of clinical ability, so as to promote the improvement of the overall clinical ability of nursing students.