Nano-curcumin therapy,a promising method in modulating inflammatory cytokines in COVID-19 patients

BackgroundAs an ongoing worldwide health issue, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) has been causing serious complications, including pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and multi-organ failure. However, there is no decisive treatment approach available for this disorder, which is primarily attributed to the large amount of inflammatory cytokine production. We aimed to identify the effects of Nano-curcumin on the modulation of inflammatory cytokines in COVID-19 patients.MethodForty COVID-19 patients and 40 healthy controls were recruited and evaluated for inflammatory cytokine expression and secretion. Subsequently, COVID-19 patients were divided into two groups: 20 patients receiving Nano-curcumin and 20 patients as the placebo group. The mRNA expression and cytokine secretion levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and IL‐18 were assessed by Real‐time PCR and ELISA, respectively.ResultOur primary results indicated that the mRNA expression and cytokine secretion of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-18 were increased significantly in COVID-19 patients compared with healthy control group. After treatment with Nano-curcumin, a significant decrease in IL-6 expression and secretion in serum and in supernatant (P = 0.0003, 0.0038, and 0.0001, respectively) and IL-1β gene expression and secretion level in serum and supernatant (P = 0.0017, 0.0082, and 0.0041, respectively) was observed. However, IL-18 mRNA expression and TNF-α concentration were not influenced by Nano-curcumin.ConclusionNano-curcumin, as an anti-inflammatory herbal based agent, may be able to modulate the increased rate of inflammatory cytokines especially IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA expression and cytokine secretion in COVID-19 patients, which may cause an improvement in clinical manifestation and overall recovery.     

Decoding attention control and selection in visual spatial attention

Event‐related potentials (ERPs) are used extensively to investigate the neural mechanisms of attention control and selection. The univariate ERP approach, however, has left important questions inadequately answered. We addressed two questions by applying multivariate pattern classification to multichannel ERPs in two cued visual spatial attention experiments (N = 56): (a) impact of cueing strategies (instructional vs. probabilistic) on attention control and selection and (b) neural and behavioral effects of individual differences. Following cue onset, the decoding accuracy (cue left vs. cue right) began to rise above chance level earlier and remained higher in instructional cueing (~80 ms) than in probabilistic cueing (~160 ms), suggesting that unilateral attention focus leads to earlier and more distinct formation of the attention control set. A similar temporal sequence was also found for target‐related processing (cued target vs. uncued target), suggesting earlier and stronger attention selection under instructional cueing. Across the two experiments: (a) individuals with higher cue‐related decoding accuracy showed higher magnitude of attentional modulation of target‐evoked N1 amplitude, suggesting that better formation of anticipatory attentional state leads to stronger modulation of target processing, and (b) individuals with higher target‐related decoding accuracy showed faster reaction times (or larger cueing effects), suggesting that stronger selection of task‐relevant information leads to better behavioral performance. Taken together, multichannel ERPs combined with machine learning decoding yields new insights into attention control and selection that complement the univariate ERP approach, and along with the univariate ERP approach, provides a more comprehensive methodology to the study of visual spatial attention.     

重组戊型肝炎病毒P179-海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球混悬制剂的制备及其免疫效果

目的 制备吸附重组戊型肝炎病毒(hepatitis E virus,HEV)P179抗原的海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球混悬制剂,并观察其免疫效果。方法 乳化法制备海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球,采用不同海藻酸钠浓度、混合乳化剂添加量、混合乳化剂亲水亲油平衡值设计正交试验,确定最佳制备工艺参数。将重组HEV P179抗原吸附在最佳工艺制备的微球表面,制备吸附重组HEV P179的海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球混悬制剂,皮下多点免疫BALB/c小鼠,测定其诱导小鼠产生特异性IgG抗体的能力,与同剂量含弗氏佐剂的重组HEV P179免疫制剂对比。结果 经正交试验确定乳化最佳工艺参数为:海藻酸钠质量分数1%、混合乳化剂体积分数2%,混合乳化剂亲水亲油平衡值4。制备的微球平均粒径为6.73 μm(分布范围3.90~9.10 μm,方差1.78 μm),形态较为均一,透射电镜观察结果与双层球体及内部疏松多孔的微球结构特点相符。用此条件制备抗原质量浓度为500 μg/ml的混悬制剂,微球对抗原的吸附率为90.64%。免疫效果观察试验结果表明,皮下多点免疫试验中微球制剂诱导特异性IgG抗体的能力优于含弗氏佐剂抗原。结论 成功制备了吸附重组HEV P179的海藻酸钠/壳聚糖微球混悬制剂,且诱导产生特异性IgG抗体的能力优于含弗氏佐剂抗原,为其在新型实验动物超敏制剂中的应用奠定了基础。     

Spontaneous reports of hypersensitivity adverse drug reactions in Portugal: a retrospective analysis

ABSTRACT

Background

Hypersensitivity adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are usually serious, unpredictable, and associated with high morbidity and mortality. This study describes cases of hypersensitivity ADRs spontaneously reported in Central Portugal.     

Berberine diminishes cancer cell PD-L1 expression and facilitates antitumor immunity via inhibiting the deubiquitination activity of CSN5

Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) blocking therapy has become a major pillar of cancer immunotherapy. Compared with antibodies targeting, small-molecule checkpoint inhibitors which have favorable pharmacokinetics are urgently needed. Here we identified berberine (BBR), a proven anti-inflammation drug, as a negative regulator of PD-L1 from a set of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) chemical monomers. BBR enhanced the sensitivity of tumour cells to co-cultured T-cells by decreasing the level of PD-L1 in cancer cells. In addition, BBR exerted its antitumor effect in Lewis tumor xenograft mice through enhancing tumor-infiltrating T-cell immunity and attenuating the activation of immunosuppressive myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and regulatory T-cells (Tregs). BBR triggered PD-L1 degradation through ubiquitin (Ub)/proteasome-dependent pathway. Remarkably, BBR selectively bound to the glutamic acid 76 of constitutive photomorphogenic-9 signalosome 5 (CSN5) and inhibited PD-1/PD-L1 axis through its deubiquitination activity, resulting in ubiquitination and degradation of PD-L1. Our data reveals a previously unrecognized antitumor mechanism of BBR, suggesting BBR is small-molecule immune checkpoint inhibitor for cancer treatment.     

Spatiotemporal and muscle activation adaptations during overground walking in response to lower body added mass

BackgroundLower-extremity exoskeletons have been used in rehabilitation and performance augmentation for the past two decades. An exoskeleton adds a significant load to certain segments of the user’s body and the underlying science about the effects of adding mass to the different lower-body segments is limited.Research questionWhat are the adaptive changes that occur when mass is placed on three lower body segments (pelvis, thigh, and shank)?MethodsHealthy adults (n = 24) completed 5 overground walking trials for 7 added mass conditions. The seven added mass conditions included a Baseline (no-load) condition, + 2 and + 4 lb on either the shanks or the thighs, and + 8 and + 16 lb on the pelvis. Spatiotemporal metrics, surface electromyography (EMG) data from 5 lower-limb muscles, and ground reaction force data were analyzed and compared between conditions.ResultsPelvis mass of 16 lb increased the double support time (p < 0.001) and decreased the single support time (p < 0.001) from the Baseline. Loading rate for none of the added mass conditions were significantly different from the Baseline. The highest activation of the considered thigh muscles and gastrocnemius generally occurred when High Mass was added either to the pelvis or the thigh.SignificanceThe results demonstrate how added mass affects muscle activity, which could inform design of EMG-based exoskeleton controllers. With respect to spatiotemporal changes, results indicate that adding masses equal to or greater than 16 lb on the pelvis can cause significant differences when compared to unloaded walking. This finding implies that all other mass loadings in this study, regardless of location, are regulated. Thus, as a guideline to exoskeleton design, we recommend mass distributions over the pelvis and the thigh to take advantage of the larger muscle groups in adapting to the added mass.     

一腓骨肌萎缩症家系临床及基因分析

目的分析一腓骨肌萎缩症家系的临床表现及不同基因检测方法的特点。方法收集一CMT家系8名成员临床资料,并应用等位基因特异性PCR-双酶切方法及多重连接依赖的探针扩增技术(MLPA)检测PMP22基因突变情况,同时选择60名性别、年龄无明显差异的健康人做为对照组。结果该家系中患病者以行走不稳、跨阈步态,伴有弓形足为主要临床表现。该家系中5名成员经等位基因特异性PCR-双酶切及MLPA方法均检测出PMP22基因重复序列,其中出现临床症状的有4名(Ⅱ3、Ⅱ9、Ⅱ11、Ⅲ7),未出现临床症状但基因检测结果示PMP22基因重复序列的为携带者有1名(Ⅲ5),家系中余3名成员及对照组60名均未见重复序列。结论基因检测在明确CMT诊断中起重要作用,且MLPA法筛查基因时操作更简便、灵敏度更高、特异性更好。