Thymic stromal lymphopoietin suppresses markers of neuroinflammation and the JAK2/STAT5 pathway in activated microglia.

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is highly expressed in the central nervous system in response to inflammation, but its exact function remains unclear. In this study, we used a model of LPS-stimulated microglia to investigate the direct impact of TSLP on microglial activation and the underlying mechanism. We measured oxidative stress, expression of microglial activation markers, and inflammatory indexes. The results show that TSLP treatment increased the expression of TSLP receptors and reduced LPS-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and the expression of M1-type markers in microglia. Interestingly, TSLP treatment also influenced the differentiation of microglia towards the M2 type, suppressing LPS-induced activation, mediated by the JAK2/STAT5 pathway. Moreover, TSLP also promoted the expression of macrophage markers in the absence of LPS. These findings support the hypothesis that TSLP plays a role in reducing neuroinflammation by blocking the JAK2/STAT5 pathway induced by LPS, thus indicating a regulatory role in the central nervous system. Targeting this cytokine might provide a novel strategy for controlling an inflammatory response in the central nervous system.

Sleep Deprivation Increases the Anesthetic Potency of Sevoflurane Regardless of Duration.

BACKGROUND: Sleep deprivation reduced the time to induce anesthesia by propofol and isoflurane and prolonged the time to recovery. However, it is unknown whether sleep deprivation affects the potency of inhaled anesthetics. In this study, the effect of sleep deprivation on sevoflurane anesthetic potency was explored. METHODS: Ten animals received the following behavioral interventions in turn (ad libitum activity, 24 h sleep deprivation, 48 h sleep deprivation, 72 h sleep deprivation). After each behavioral intervention, the 50% effective dose for loss of righting reflex (LORR ED50) was determined to evaluate the potency of sevoflurane in inducing unconsciousness in mice. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare our behavioral interventions statistically, post hoc multiple comparisons were made using the Bonferroni test. RESULTS: Sleep deprivation decreased the sevoflurane LORR ED50 significantly (p = 0.0003). However, the effect of duration of sleep deprivation on LORR ED50 was not statistically significant (p > 0.9999). CONCLUSIONS: Sleep deprivation can increase the anesthetic potency of sevoflurane regardless of duration of sleep deprivation.

Identification of miRNA biomarkers for stomach adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) is a common malignant tumor in the world and its prognosis is poor, miRNA plays a role mainly by influencing the expression of mRNAs, and participates in the occurrence and development of tumors. However, reliable miRNA prognostic models for stomach adenocarcinoma remain to be identified. RESULTS: Using the data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), a prognostic model of stomach adenocarcinoma was established including tumor stage and expression levels of 4 miRNAs (hsa-miR-379-3p, hsa-miR-2681-3p, hsa-miR-6499-5p and hsa-miR-6807-3p). A total of 50 ultimate target genes of these miRNAs were obtained through prediction. Enrichment analysis revealed that target genes were mainly concentrated in neural function and TGF-ß and FoxO signaling pathways. Survival analysis showed that three model miRNAs (hsa-miR-379-3p, hsa-miR-2681-3p and hsa-miR-6807-3p) and five final target genes (DLC1, LRFN5, NOVA1, POU3F2 and PRICKLE2) were associated with the patient's overall survival outcome. CONCLUSIONS: We used bioinformatics methods to screen new prognostic miRNA markers from TCGA and established a prognostic model of STAD, so as to provide a basis for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of STAD in the future.