Characterization of the novel HLA-A*30:154 allele by next-generation sequencing.

A*30:154 differs from A*30:01:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution at codon 39 in exon 2 from C to A.

Identification of the novel HLA-DQB1*03:13 allele by next-generation sequencing in a Chinese Han individual.

HLA-DQB1*03:13 differs from HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution in codon 67 in exon 2.

Protective effect and mechanism of lycopene on endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from type 2 diabetes mellitus rats.

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), widely existing in bone marrow and peripheral blood, are involved in the repair of injured vascular endothelium and angiogenesis which are important to diabetic mellitus (DM) patients with vascular complications. The number and the function of EPCs are related to the advanced glycation end products (AGEs) generated in DM patients. Lycopene (Lyc) is an identified natural antioxidant that protects EPCs under the microenvironment of AGEs from damage. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. To investigate the effect of Lyc on EPCs, we isolated EPCs from DM rat bone marrow and determined cell proliferation, cell cycle,apoptosis and autophagy of EPCs. The present study showed that 10µg/mL Lyc improved cell proliferation and had low cytotoxicity in the presence of AGEs. In addition, Lyc rescued S phase of the cell cycle arrest, reduced apoptosis rate and decreased autophagic reaction including ROS and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of EPCs. Moreover, Lyc combined use of autophagy inhibitors, 3-MA, had better protective effects. Taken together, our data suggests that Lyc promotes EPCs survival and protect EPCs from apoptosis and oxidative autophagy induced by AGEs, further remaining the number and function of EPCs. This study provides new insights into Lyc protective mechanism of AGEs-induced oxidative autophagy in EPCs from DM patients and offers a new therapy for DM vascular complications.

Effects of lycopene on number and function of human peripheral blood endothelial progenitor cells cultivated with high glucose.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of lycopene on the migration, adhesion, tube formation capacity, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) activity of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) cultivated with high glucose (HG) and as well as explore the mechanism behind the protective effects of lycopene on peripheral blood EPCs. MATERIALS/METHODS: Mononuclear cells were isolated from human peripheral blood by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation. EPCs were identified after induction of cellular differentiation. Third generation EPCs were incubated with HG (33 mmol/L) or 10, 30, and 50 µg/mL of lycopene plus HG. MTT assay and flow cytometry were performed to assess proliferation and apoptosis of EPCs. EPC migration was assessed by MTT assay with a modified boyden chamber. Adhesion assay was performed by replating EPCs on fibronectin-coated dishes, after which adherent cells were counted. In vitro vasculogenesis activity was assayed by Madrigal network formation assay. Western blotting was performed to analyze protein expression of both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated p38 MAPK. RESULTS: The proliferation, migration, adhesion, and in vitro vasculogenesis capacity of EPCs treated with 10, 30, and 50 µg/mL of lycopene plus HG were all significantly higher comapred to the HG group (P < 0.05). Rates of apoptosis were also significantly lower than that of the HG group. Moreover, lycopene blocked phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in EPCs (P < 0.05). To confirm the causal relationship between MAPK inhibition and the protective effects of lycopene against HG-induced cellular injury, we treated cells with SB203580, a phosphorylation inhibitor. The inhibitor significantly inhibited HG-induced EPC injury. CONCLUSIONS: Lycopene promotes proliferation, migration, adhesion, and in vitro vasculogenesis capacity as well as reduces apoptosis of EPCs. Further, the underlying molecular mechanism of the protective effects of lycopene against HG-induced EPC injury may involve the p38 MAPK signal transduction pathway. Specifically, lycopene was shown to inhibit HG-induced EPC injury by inhibiting p38 MAPKs.

Functional inactivation of EBV-specific T-lymphocytes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: implications for tumor immunotherapy.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated malignancy with high prevalence in Southern Chinese. In order to assess whether defects of EBV-specific immunity may contribute to the tumor, the phenotype and function of circulating T-cells and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were investigated in untreated NPC patients. Circulating naïve CD3+CD45RA+ and CD4+CD25- cells were decreased, while activated CD4+CD25+ T-cells and CD3-CD16+ NK-cells were increased in patients compared to healthy donors. The frequency of T-cells recognizing seven HLA-A2 restricted epitopes in LMP1 and LMP2 was lower in the patients and remained low after stimulation with autologous EBV-carrying cells. TILs expanded in low doses of IL-2 exhibited an increase of CD3+CD4+, CD3+CD45RO+ and CD4+CD25+ cells and 2 to 5 fold higher frequency of LMP1 and LMP2 tetramer positive cells compared to peripheral blood. EBV-specific cytotoxicity could be reactivated from the blood of most patients, whereas the TILs lacked cytotoxic activity and failed to produce IFNgamma upon specific stimulation. Thus, EBV-specific rejection responses appear to be functionally inactivated at the tumor site in NPC.

[Correlation of the polymorphism of HLA-A, B and DRB1 alleles with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the south of China].

AIM: To explore the correlation between and nasopharyngeal carcinoma the polymorphism of HLA-A, B and DRB1 alleles in the south of China. METHODS: The genotypes of HLA-A, B and DRB1 alleles in 35 patients with NPC and 60 healthy controls were determined by PCR-sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP). RESULTS: The frequency of HLA-A * 02, HLA-B * 58 and HLA-DRB1 * 03 in the patients with NPC was higher than that in healthy controls (P < 0.05) while the frequency of HLAB * 40 was lower than that in NPC patients (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: HLA-A * 02, HLA-B * 58 and HLA-DRB1 * 03 might be the susceptible genes of NPC patients while HLA-B * 40 might be the protective gene of NPC patients.