Molecular Immunology

To explore the molecular biological characteristics of lung cancer associated with cystic airspaces (LCCA) and its potential roles on prognosis. A total of 165 LCCAs and 201 non-LCCAs were enrolled in this study. Bulk RNA sequencing was implemented in eight LCCAs and nine non-LCCAs to explore the differentially expressed genes. TCGA data were used to analyze LCCA-specific genes that associated with overall survival (OS). The median age was 60 (IQR 53 to 65) years in LCCA cohort. We found LCCA were predominant in men and had less visceral pleura invasion (VPI) or lympho-vascular invasion (LVI)...

Septic lung injury is characterized by uncontrollable inflammatory infiltrations and acute onset bilateral hypoxemia. Evidence has emerged of the beneficial effect of hydrogen in acute lung injury (ALI), but the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this research, the recovery action of hydrogen on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in mice and A549 cells was investigated. The 7-day survival rate and body weight of mice were measured after intraperitoneal injection of LPS. Lung function was determined by a whole body plethysmography (WBP) system using the indicators respiratory rate and enhanced pause...

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is caused by immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated reactions to inhaled allergens, which leads to mucosal inflammation and barrier dysfunction. The transcription factor forkhead box C1 (FOXC1) has been identified to be associated with allergic inflammation. This study sought to uncover the role of FOXC1 in AR. A murine model of AR was induced by repeated intranasal ovalbumin (OVA) challenges. Results revealed that high FOXC1 expression was found in the nasal mucosal epithelium of AR mice. Nasal allergy symptoms, mucosal epithelial swelling, goblet cell hyperplasia and eosinophil infiltration in AR mice were attenuated after silencing of FOXC1...

Salmonella enteritis in poultry can result in reduced immune function, decreased growth rate, and increased mortality. Many farm salmonella strains have developed severe drug resistance and are less susceptible to multiple antibiotics. In the post-antibiotic era, it is of great significance to identify the mechanism of salmonella-induced enteritis in chicks to protect their health and ensure food safety. This article will elucidate the activation mechanism of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes in Salmonella enteritis and review the research on interventions targeting NLRP3 inflammasomes...

Asthma, a common pediatric pulmonary disease, significantly affects children's healthy development. This study aimed to investigate the functions of human β defensin-3 (HBD-3) in asthma progression. For this purpose, blood samples from asthmatic and healthy children were collected. Moreover, the airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) were treated with platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) to develop an in vitro asthma model, then evaluated cell viability and migration via CCK-8 and transwell assays...

BACKGROUND: In recent years, mounting evidence has indicated a co-morbid relationship between hypothyroidism and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), however, the shared genetic factors underlying this association remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the common genetic architecture between hypothyroidism and RA. METHODS: Genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from recently published studies were utilized to examine the genetic correlation, shared genetic loci, and potential causal relationship between hypothyroidism and RA...

Complement alternative pathway (AP) dysregulation drives C3 glomerulopathy (C3G), a rare renal disorder characterized by glomerular C3 deposition and glomerular damage, for which no effective treatments are available. Blockade of complement C3 is emerging as a viable therapeutic option. In an earlier study we showed that SLN500, a small interfering RNA targeting liver C3 synthesis, was able to limit AP dysregulation and glomerular C3d deposits in mice with partial factor H (FH) deficiency (Cfh+/- mice). Here, we assessed the pharmacological effects of SLN501 - an optimized SLN500 version - in mice with complete FH deficiency (Cfh-/- mice) that exhibit a more severe C3G phenotype...

Dysfunctional mutations in SAMHD1 cause Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome, an autoinflammatory encephalopathy with elevated interferon-α levels in the cerebrospinal fluid. Whether loss of function mutations in SAMHD1 trigger the expression of other cytokines apart from type I interferons in Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome is largely unclear. This study aimed to explore whether SAMHD1 dysfunction regulated the expression of IL-34, a key cytokine controlling the development and maintenance of microglia, in SH-SY5Y neural cells...

The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 as well as its receptor binding domain (RBD) has been demonstrated to be capable of activating the release of pro-inflammatory mediators in endothelial cells and immune cells such as monocytes. However, the effects of spike protein or its RBD on airway epithelial cells and mechanisms underlying these effects have not been adequately characterized. Here, we show that the RBD of spike protein alone can induce bronchial epithelial inflammation in a manner of ATP/P2Y2 dependence...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-inflammatory actions and molecular mechanisms of the sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor empagliflozin on autoimmune myocarditis. METHODS: The experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) mouse model was constructed using peptides, and the therapeutic effects of empagliflozin on cardiac inflammation and fibrosis were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (HE), Sirius red staining, and Masson's trichome staining. Western blotting was used to identify the actions of empagliflozin on the surface marker expression levels of M2 macrophages and inflammatory factors...

Myopia is widely recognized as an epidemic. Studies have found a link between Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) and myopia, but the specific molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, a monocular model in tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri) was established to verify the molecular mechanism of TGF-β in myopia. The results indicated that there were significant changes in TGF-βs during the treatment of myopia, which could enhance the refractive ability and axial length of the eye...

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a prevailing and deadly complication of sepsis coupled with increasing incidence and fatality rate. Annexin A3 (ANXA3) has been unraveled to be upregulated during sepsis. This study purposed to assess the role and the mechanism of ANXA3 in sepsis-induced ALI. After the construction of mouse model of sepsis, the pathological changes of mice lung tissues were estimated by H&E staining. ANXA3 expression in mice lung tissues and serum was examined. The degree of pulmonary edema and the levels of inflammatory factors in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were analyzed...

Asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease characterized by Th2-type inflammation in the airways. Leucine zip transcription factor-like 1 (LZTFL1) has been implicated in the regulation of Th2-related factors. The knockdown of LZTFL1 resulted in decreased levels of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. We hypothesize that LZTFL1 may have an effect on asthma. We established an acute asthmatic mouse model using the Ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization, and we found that LZTFL1 expression was upregulated in OVA-induced CD4 + T cells...

Th17 cell, an important subpopulation of helper T cell, plays an important role in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is thought to be a potential target for the treatment of IBD. In our previous study, we demonstrated that α-mangostin could relieve lupus nephritis via inhibiting Th17 cell function. In our preliminary study, we obtained four derivatives by adding chemical modification of α-mangostin which could also inhibit Th17 cell differentiation in vitro. In this study, we constructed a chronic IBD mouse model and demonstrated the therapeutic effects of α-mangostin and its derivatives as therapeutic agents for IBD...

OBJECTIVE: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the most common pulmonary complications in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). This study was performed to identify immunological risk factors of pSS-associated ILD (pSS-ILD) and to further establish and evaluate of nomograms predicting the risk of ILD in patients with pSS. METHODS: A total of 622 patients with pSS (117 with ILD and 505 without lung involvement) and 166 healthy control subjects (HCs) were ultimately recruited to this retrospective study...

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle often associated with viral infections and can lead to dilated cardiomyopathy. Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) is a small endosomal membrane protein with anti-viral activity against multiple viruses and is also implicated in non-infectious diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's Disease. Since the IFITM3 proteins are expressed both in T cells and in cardiomyocytes, it is reasonable to hypothesize that these molecules could affect myocarditis either through their effect on the autoimmune response or through direct modulation of cardiomyocyte damage...

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) has been shown to play an important role in allergic inflammation. This study hypothesized that novel downstream targets of HDAC6 would mediate allergic inflammation. Experiments employing HDAC6 knock out C57BL/6 mice showed that HDAC6 mediated passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) and passive systemic anaphylaxis (PSA). Antigen stimulation increased expression of N-myc (MYCN) and CXCL3 in an HDAC6-dependent manner in the bone marrow-derived mast cells. MYCN and CXCL3 were necessary for both PCA and PSA...

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a pleiotropic cytokine essential for multiple biological processes, including the regulation of inflammatory and immune responses. One of the important functions of TGF-β is the suppression of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12), which is crucial for mounting an anti-tumorigenic response. Although the regulation of the IL-12p40 subunit (encoded by the IL-12B gene) of IL-12 has been extensively investigated, the knowledge of IL-12p35 (encoded by IL-12A gene) subunit regulation is relatively limited...

During B cell development, pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR), comprising the immunoglobulin heavy chain (HC) and surrogate light chain (SLC), plays a crucial role. The expression of pre-BCR serves as a certification of HC quality, confirming its ability to associate with the SLC and light chain (LC). In mice lacking SLC, the absence of this quality control mechanism leads to a distorted repertoire of HCs in the spleen and bone marrow. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the immunoglobulin gene repertoire in peripheral blood cells of both wild-type mice and pre-BCR-deficient mice...

BACKGROUND: Liver ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury is a common cause of liver dysfunction in patients post liver partial resection and liver transplantation. However, the cellular defense mechanisms underlying IR are not well understood. Macrophage mediated sterile inflammation plays critical roles in liver IR injury. Sorting nexin (SNX) 10, a member of the SNX family which functions in regulation of endosomal sorting. This study aimed to explore the role of sorting nexin 10 (SNX10) during liver IR injury with a focus on regulating macrophage function...