Effects of ambient air pollution on outpatient visits for psoriasis in Wuhan, China: a time-series analysis.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis can be provoked by both external and internal factors. The effects of environmental factors on psoriasis remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of air pollution on outpatient visits for psoriasis. METHODS: A distributed lag nonlinear model following quasi-Poisson regression was used to evaluate the lag effects of air pollutants on psoriasis outpatient visits, adjusting for potential confounders. Stratified analyses were performed to identify potential effect modifications by sex, age and season. RESULTS: In total, 13 536 outpatient visits for psoriasis were recorded in Wuhan, China from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2019. In the single-pollutant model, exposures to particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), PM smaller than 10 µm (PM10), NO2 and SO2 were found to be significantly associated with increased daily psoriasis outpatient visits. For the largest effects, a 10-µg m-3 increase in concentrations of PM2.5 (lag1), PM10 (lag1), NO2 (lag0) and SO2 (lag3) corresponded to 0.32% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.01-0.63], 0.26% (95% CI 0.05-0.48), 0.98% (95% CI 0.01-1.96) and 2.73% (95% CI 1.01-4.47) increases in psoriasis outpatient visits, respectively. In the two-pollutant model, only NO2 showed significant and stable effects on the outpatient visits for psoriasis. CONCLUSIONS: Ambient air pollution, especially NO2, appears to be significantly associated with an increased risk of outpatient visits for psoriasis in Wuhan, China. Air pollution control and exposure prevention could be effective measures to relieve the symptoms of psoriasis among these patients.

Comparing the Accuracy of ABCD-10 and SCORTEN in Predicting the In-Hospital Mortality of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis: A Multi-Institutional Study from Central China.

BACKGROUND: The newly described ABCD-10 (age, bicarbonate, cancer, dialysis, 10% body surface area [BSA]) is a 5-item mortality prediction model for patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). It was developed in the United States, has at present been externally tested only in the United States, Spain, and Singapore, and remains to be validated in resource-restricted settings. We sought to compare the accuracy of ABCD-10 and Score of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (SCORTEN) in predicting in-hospital mortality in a cohort from central China. Due to disease progression affecting the accuracy of the prediction model during hospitalization, for example, higher predictive accuracy of SCORTEN based on parameters collected on day 3 of hospitalization, we also assessed the overall predictive value of ABCD-10 on days 1 and 3, respectively. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed over a 10-year period (2010-2020) from 3 medical institutions in Wuhan. The performance of predictive models was assessed by both discrimination and calibration. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves, Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit tests and calibration plots were used to evaluate the model discrimination and calibration. RESULTS: Of 84 included patients, 11 (13.1%) did not survive. The discrimination power of ABCD-10 was not significantly different from that of SCORTEN (area under the curve: day 1, p > 0.05; day 3, p > 0.05). Although the calibration of ABCD-10 was good, it was inferior to SCORTEN as it underestimated total mortality (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test: day 1, p = 0.17 vs. p = 0.63; day 3, p = 0.35 vs. p = 0.93). Besides, the performance of ABCD-10 was slightly better on day 3 relative to day 1. During hospitalization, bacteremia developed in 21 (25.0%) patients, which was associated with a higher risk of death in our cohort (odds ratio, 22.88; 95% CI, 4.38-119.40; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: ABCD-10 showed acceptable overall performance, but revealed mortality underestimation and was inferior to the performance of SCORTEN. In consistence with SCORTEN, ABCD-10 was a better model when using values collected at day 3 of hospitalization relative to day 1.

Explainable machine learning framework to predict the risk of work-related neck and shoulder musculoskeletal disorders among healthcare professionals.

Objective: This study aims to develop risk prediction models for neck and shoulder musculoskeletal disorders among healthcare professionals. Methods: A stratified sampling method was employed to select employees from medical institutions in Nanning City, yielding 617 samples. The Boruta algorithm was used for feature selection, and various models, including Tree-Based Models, Single Hidden-Layer Neural Network Models (MLP), Elastic Net Models (ENet), and Support Vector Machines (SVM), were applied to predict the selected variables, utilizing SHAP algorithms for individual-level local explanations. Results: The SVM model excels in both Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and exhibits more stable performance when generalizing to unseen data. The Random Forest model exhibited relatively high overall performance on the training set. The MLP model emerges as the most consistent and accurate in predicting shoulder musculoskeletal disorders, while the SVM model shows strong fitting capabilities during the training phase, with occupational factors identified as the main contributors to WMSDs. Conclusion: This study successfully constructs work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk prediction models for healthcare professionals, enabling a quantitative analysis of the impact of occupational factors. This advancement is beneficial for future economical and convenient work-related musculoskeletal disorder screening in healthcare professions.

GRP78 Downregulation in Keratinocytes Promotes Skin Inflammation through the Recruitment and Activation of CCR6+ IL-17A-Producing γδ T Cells.

The migration of γδ T lymphocytes toward skin lesions and their concomitant pathogenic IL-17A production play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. However, the regulatory mechanisms of IL-17A production by γδ T cells and their migration remain to be fully explored. Intracellular GRP78 is a molecular chaperone that regulates endoplasmic reticulum stress, whereas secretory GRP78, as a member of the resolution-associated molecular patterns, exerts immunoregulatory effects. In this study, we reported that both the intracellular GRP78 in skin lesions and secretory GRP78 in the serum were significantly decreased in patients with psoriasis. A GRP78 knockdown exacerbated imiquimod-induced skin inflammation, whereas the application of recombinant GRP78 protein or BIP inducer X (a GRP78 inducer) attenuated the dermatitis. Mechanistically, the GRP78 knockdown in keratinocytes enhanced the production of chemokines, specifically CCL20, which regulates γδ T-cell migration. Moreover, recombinant GRP78 was found to directly bind to γδ T cells to suppress its migration ability and proinflammatory capacities by downregulating the CCR6 and IL-17A expression. Collectively, our results uncovered a pivotal role of GRP78 in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, which was mainly exerted by regulating the interaction between keratinocytes and γδ T cells, and might provide a promising target for psoriasis therapy.

A Tissue-Tended Mycophenolate-Modified Nanoparticle Alleviates Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in MRL/Lpr Mouse Model Mainly by Promoting Local M2-Like Macrophagocytes Polarization.

Background: Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), for which the bioactive metabolite is mycophenolic acid (MPA), is a frequently used immunosuppressant for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, its short half-life and poor biodistribution into cells and tissues hinder its clinical efficacy. Our dextran mycophenolate-based nanoparticles (MPA@Dex-MPA NPs) have greatly improved the pharmacokinetics of MMF/MPA. We here tested the therapeutic efficacy of MPA@Dex-MPA NPs against SLE and investigated the underlying mechanism. Methods: The tissue and immune cell biodistributions of MPA@Dex-MPA NPs were traced using live fluorescence imaging system and flow cytometry, respectively. Serological proinflammatory mediators and kidney damage were detected to assess the efficacy of MPA@Dex-MPA NPs treatments of MRL/lpr lupus-prone mice. Immune cell changes in the kidney and spleen were further analyzed post-treatment via flow cytometry. Bone marrow-derived macrophages were used to investigate the potential mechanism. Results: MPA@Dex-MPA NPs exhibited superior therapeutic efficacy and safety in the MRL/lpr mice using significantly lower administration dosage (one-fifth) and frequency (once/3 days) compared to MMF/MPA used in ordinary practice. The overall prognosis of the mice was improved as they showed lower levels of serological proinflammatory mediators. Moreover, kidney injury was alleviated with reduced pathological signs and decreased urine protein-creatinine ratio. Further investigations of the underlying mechanism revealed a preferential penetration and persistent retention of MPA@Dex-MPA NPs in the spleen and kidney, where they were mostly phagocytosed by macrophages. The macrophages were found to be polarized towards a CD206+ M2-like phenotype, with a downregulation of surface CD80 and CD40, and reduced TNF-α production in the spleen and kidney and in vitro. The expansion of T cells was also significantly inhibited in these two organs. Conclusion: Our research improved the efficacy of MPA for MRL/lpr mice through synthesizing MPA@Dex-MPA NPs to enhance its tissue biodistribution and explored the possible mechanism, providing a promising strategy for SLE therapy.

Multifunctional CuxS- and DOX-loaded AuNR@mSiO2 platform for combined melanoma therapy with inspired antitumor immunity.

Combined antitumor therapies based on nanomedicines have shown efficacy in various tumor models in recent years, overcoming the disadvantages of inefficiency and undesired toxicity of traditional therapies. Herein, we present a copper sulfide- and doxorubicin-loaded gold nanorods@mesoporous SiO2 multifunctional nanocomposite (AuNR@mSiO2@DOX-CuxS-PEG) to integrate chemotherapy, the photothermal properties of AuNRs, and the photodynamic properties of CuxS into a single nanoplatform based on hydrophobic interaction and electrostatic attraction. Upon near-infrared light irradiation, the AuNR@mSiO2@DOX-CuxS-PEG nanocomposites exhibit a synergistic therapeutic effect and inhibit the in situ tumor growth and lung metastasis in a melanoma model. This occurs because of the high photothermal conversion efficiency, boosted intracellular reactive oxygen species production, and excellent doxorubicin (DOX) release, as well as an induced tumor-specific immune response. The inspired antitumor immunity was confirmed by elevated infiltration of activated T cells in tumor tissues and improved maturation and activation of dendritic cells in tumor-draining lymph nodes. This study highlights the superior antitumor therapeutic effect elicited by a multifunctional nanoplatform for skin with in situ melanoma and lung metastasis inhibition, indicating its satisfactory clinical application prospects.

Polysaccharide mycophenolate-based nanoparticles for enhanced immunosuppression and treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are characterized by immune dysregulation and severe inflammation caused by the aberrant and overactive host immunological response. Mycophenolic acid (MPA)-based immunosuppressive drugs are potential treatments for IMIDs because of their mild side-effect profile; however, their therapeutic effects are limited by the high albumin binding rate, unsatisfactory pharmacokinetics, and undefined cellular uptake selectivity. Methods: Polysaccharide mycophenolate was synthesized by conjugating MPA molecules to dextran (a typical polysaccharide widely used in drug delivery) and encapsulated extra free MPA molecules to fabricate MPA@Dex-MPA nanoparticles (NPs). The efficacy of these NPs for mediating immunosuppression and treatment of IMIDs was evaluated in imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation in Balb/c mice, a representative IMID model. Results: The MPA@Dex-MPA NPs exhibited high MPA loading efficiency, low albumin binding rates, and sustained MPA release, resulting in improved pharmacokinetics in vivo. Compared to free MPA, MPA@Dex-MPA NPs induced more robust therapeutic effects on IMIDs. Mechanistic studies indicated that MPA@Dex-MPA NPs were primarily distributed in dendritic cells (DCs) and significantly suppressed the overactivated DCs in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, the recovered DCs rehabilitated the IL-23/Th17 axis function and significantly ameliorated imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation. Importantly, MPA@Dex-MPA NPs showed favorable safety and biocompatibility in vivo. Conclusion: Our results indicated the polysaccharide mycophenolate-based NPs to be highly promising for IMID treatment.

Hyaluronidase-Functionalized Silica Nanocarrier for Enhanced Chemo-Immunotherapy through Inducing Immunogenic Cell Death.

The chemo-immunotherapy has become a highly prospective method for cancer treatment, and it has been known that chemotherapeutic drugs [e.g., doxorubicin (DOX)] could trigger antitumor immune responses. Yet, insufficient tumor penetrability and weak immunogenic cell death (ICD) severely limits the therapeutic effect of chemo-immunotherapy against cancer. Herein, we report the design of DOX-loaded silica nanocarriers (DOX@HMSPHs) with hyaluronidase functionalization, which could increase the permeability of drug and induce enhanced ICD effect through the degradation of hyaluronic acid (HA) in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Interestingly, the controlled release of DOX from DOX@HMSPHs in the acidic microenvironment induced ICD of tumor cells to release tumor antigens and damage-associated molecular patterns, promoting the antigen-presentation of dendritic cells (DCs) and the activation of specific tumor immunity. Moreover, HMSPHs could be used as an immune adjuvant to promote maturation of DCs, thereby promoting the activation of tumor infiltrating cytotoxic T lymphocytes. This strategy presents a concept to improve the efficacy of chemo-immunotherapy through degradation of HA in the ECM.

5-Aminolevulinic Acid-Loaded Hyaluronic Acid Dissolving Microneedles for Effective Photodynamic Therapy of Superficial Tumors with Enhanced Long-Term Stability.

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is one of the most widely used prodrug in clinical photodynamic therapy of dermatological diseases and cancers; yet, its clinical application is still limited by the shallow skin penetration and unsatisfied stability in any existed formulations. Here, 5-ALA-loaded hyaluronic acid dissolving microneedles (5-ALA@HAMNs) are prepared for photodynamic therapy of superficial tumors. The HAMNs can not only assist the loaded 5-ALA to effectively penetrate the stratum corneum but also provide 5-ALA with an acidic and oxygen-free environment to reduce the dimerization of 5-ALA molecules via Schiff-base bonds and formation of inactive pyrazine derivatives, thus maintaining its chemical structure and biological activity. The chemical stability of 5-ALA in HAMNs is confirmed by UV-vis spectra and mass spectra measurements. The 5-ALA@HAMNs display remarkable tumor elimination both in vitro and in vivo, even after storage at room temperature for nine months, making it a highly potential device for effective delivery of 5-ALA in cancer photodynamic therapy.