Botulinum toxin blocks mast cells and prevents rosacea like inflammation

Background

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition whose etiology has been linked to mast cells and the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin LL-37. Individuals with refractory disease have demonstrated clinical benefit with periodic injections of onabotulinum toxin, but the mechanism of action is unknown.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against serotype 3 pneumococcal pneumonia in adults: A systematic review and pooled analysis

BackgroundSerotype 3 pneumococcal disease has not substantially declined at the population level after the routine introduction of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) into pediatric immunization programs across the globe. This epidemiological finding has generated debate regarding the effectiveness of PCV13 against serotype 3 disease. Evaluating PCV13 effectiveness against serotype 3 is especially critical in adults, where serotype 3 makes up an important amount of remaining pneumococcal disease.MethodsWe performed a systematic review of the published literature to assess the direct effectiveness of PCV13 against serotype 3 community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) among adults. We then estimated overall vaccine effectiveness (VE) using a pooled analysis of the individual-level, raw data.ResultsTwo published studies met inclusion criteria. One was a randomized controlled trial conducted in the Netherlands and published in 2014. The other was a recently-published case-control study conducted in Louisville, Kentucky that used a test-negative design (TND). We also identified a third TND study conducted in Argentina that was recently presented as a conference abstract but is not yet published. All three studies were conducted in adults aged ≥65 years. PCV13 VE against serotype 3 hospitalized CAP was 52.5% (95%CI: 6.2–75.9%) from the pooled analysis of individual-level data from all three studies. Results were similar if the unpublished estimate was excluded (serotype 3 VE = 53.6% [95%CI: 6.7–76.9%]). No heterogeneity was observed.ConclusionsCurrently-available evidence, although limited to three studies, suggests that PCV13 provides direct protection against serotype 3 hospitalized CAP in adults aged ≥65 years.     

Inter-ictal assay of peripheral circulating inflammatory mediators in migraine patients under adjunctive cervical non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS): A proof-of-concept study

Objective

To assay peripheral inter-ictal cytokine serum levels and possible relations with non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) responsiveness in migraineurs.

无创中心动脉压测量的现状与展望

心血管系统疾病是威胁居民健康的重要因素之一，居各种死因首位。因此，对人体心血管健康状况的监测和诊断尤为重要。相较于传统的外周动脉压，中心动脉压（central arterial pressure, CAP）与许多心血管事件发生有更高的相关性，通过测量CAP可以更加准确地反映人体血压的真实情况，并为诊断和疾病的预防提供重要依据。因此，实现高精度、高泛化能力、低成本的CAP无创测量方法一直是该领域的研究重点。结合国内外的相关文献，总结CAP测量现状，从参数测量与波形测量两个方面介绍相关的研究进展，并探讨现有方法的特点以及未来的发展方向。     

Interacting with α7 nAChR is a new mechanism for AChE to enhance the inflammatory response in macrophages

Acetylcholine (ACh) regulates inflammation via α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7 nAChR). Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme hydrolyzing ACh, is expressed in immune cells suggesting non-classical function in inflammatory responses. Here, the expression of PRiMA-linked G4 AChE was identified on the surface of macrophages. In lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory processes, AChE was upregulated by the binding of NF-κB onto the ACHE promotor. Conversely, the overexpression of G4 AChE inhibited ACh-suppressed cytokine release and cell migration, which was in contrast to that of applied AChE inhibitors. AChEmt, a DNA construct without enzymatic activity, was adopted to identify the protein role of AChE in immune system. Overexpression of G4 AChEmt induced cell migration and inhibited ACh-suppressed cell migration. The co-localization of α7 nAChR and AChE was found in macrophages, suggesting the potential interaction of α7 nAChR and AChE. Besides, immunoprecipitation showed a close association of α7 nAChR and AChE protein in cell membrane. Hence, the novel function of AChE in macrophage by interacting with α7 nAChR was determined. Together with hydrolysis of ACh, AChE plays a direct role in the regulation of inflammatory response. As such, AChE could serve as a novel target to treat age-related diseases by anti-inflammatory responses.     

吸入物变应原过筛试验和总IgE检测在变应性鼻炎诊断中的应用

探讨吸入物变应原过筛试验和总检测对变应性鼻炎诊断的意义。应用ＣＡＰＳｙｓｔｅｍ检测鼻炎患者的吸入物变应原过筛试验和总ＩｇＥ。对５８例变压性鼻炎及２２例非变应性鼻炎均进行ＰｈＡＤＩＡＴＯＰ、ＴＩｇＥ检测。     

Fucoidan-induced ID-1 suppression inhibits the in vitro and in vivo invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a fast growing tumor associated with a high tendency for vascular invasion and distant metastasis. Recently, we reported that fucoidan displays inhibitory effect on proliferation and invasion of HCC cells. In this study, we investigated the anti-metastatic effect of fucoidan on HCC cells and the key signal that modulates metastasis. The anti-metastatic effect of fucoidan was evaluated in vitro using an invasion assay with human HCC cells (Huh-7, SNU-761, and SNU-3085) under both normoxic (20% O₂ and 5% CO₂, at 37 °C) and hypoxic (1% O_2, 5% CO₂, and 94% N_2, at 37 °C) conditions. Complementary DNA (cDNA) microarray analysis was performed to find the molecule which is significantly suppressed by fucoidan. In vivo study using a distant metastasis model by injecting SNU-761 cells into spleen via portal vein was performed to confirm the inhibitory effect by small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection. Immunoblot analyses were used to investigate the signaling pathway. Fucoidan significantly suppressed the invasion of human HCC cells (Huh-7, SNU-761, and SNU-3085). Using cDNA microarray analysis, we found the molecule, ID-1, which was significantly suppressed by fucoidan treatment. Downregulation of ID-1 by siRNA significantly decreased invasion of HCC cells, both in vitro and in vivo (both P < 0.05) in a NDRG-1/CAP43-dependent manner. In immunoblot assay, downregulation of ID-1 by siRNA decreased the expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers including CK19, vimentin, MMP2, and fibronectin. Immunofluorescence study also revealed that actin rearrangement was inhibited when ID-1 was down-regulated in HCC cells. Interestingly, in SNU-761 cells, the ID-1 expressions under hypoxic conditions were lower as compared to those under normoxic conditions. Under hypoxic conditions, HIF-1α up-regulated NDRG-1/CAP43, while HIF-2α down-regulated ID-1, which might be a compensatory phenomenon against hypoxia-induced HCC invasion. In conclusion, NDRG-1/CAP43-dependent down-regulation of ID-1 suppressed HCC invasion both in vitro and in vivo, which was modulated by fucoidan treatment. Moreover, the compensatory down-regulation of ID-1 against hypoxia-induced HCC invasion was observed. ID-1 is a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of metastatic HCC.     

通过参加美国临床实验室室间质评提高寄生虫检查质量

目的 通过参加美国病理家学会（CAP）组织的寄生虫检查能力验证（PT）来评估实验室能力，为进一步提高实验室寄生虫检查的质量奠定基础。方法 将CAP发放的寄生虫能力验证标本于10个工作日内按要求与常规病人标本一起进行检查并通过网络将结果直接提交给CAP。结果 全年共检测CAP质控标本15份，所有回报结果正确率为100％。结论 通过参加CAP能力验证将该实验室的寄生虫检查标准化，并提高了实验室全体成员识别寄生虫的能力。