The clinical significance of plasma CFHR 1–5 in lupus nephropathy

A deficiency of complement factor H may lead to excessive consumption of C3 and an increase in C3b deposition, which are important pathological characteristics of lupus nephritis. Complement factor H-related proteins (CFHRs), comprising CFHR1 to CFHR5 (CFHR1–5), are members of the wider factor H/CFHR family. Their role in lupus nephritis remains unclear. In this study, we compared circulating levels of CFHR1–5 in 152 patients diagnosed with lupus nephritis and 20 unrelated healthy individuals to explore the relationship between the expression of CFHR1–5 and development of the disease. We found that plasma levels of CFHR3 and CFHR5 were higher in patients with lupus nephritis than in healthy individuals; also, CFHR3 and CFHR5 concentrations increased with increasing systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) values (P < 0.05). Pearson's and Spearman's correlation test results confirmed that plasma CFHR3 and CFHR5 levels in lupus nephritis patients were positively correlated with proteinuria and levels of creatinine (Cr) and anti-dsDNA (correlation coefficients = 0.491–0.717, P < 0.05), while they were negatively correlated with plasma C3 levels and eGFR [correlation coefficients = –(0.706–0.788), P < 0.05]. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis results confirmed that plasma CFHR3 and CFHR5 levels were predictive of SLEDAI values and disease end points (area under the curve = 0.664–0.884, P < 0.05), with patients with both high CFHR3 and high CFHR5 exhibiting the shortest progression-free survival. Thus, both CFHR3 and CFHR5 are of prognostic value in lupus nephritis status.     

Identification and characterization of a novel natural recombinant avian leucosis virus from Chinese indigenous chicken flock

Virus Genes - Avian leukosis virus (ALV) caused tremendous economic losses to poultry industry all over the world, especially in China. One natural recombinant ALV strain, designated as HB2015032,...     

The impacts of geographic and host species isolation on population divergence of Myxobolus lentisuturalis

Parasitology Research - Samples of Myxobolus lentisuturalis were found in the gallbladder of Carassius auratus in Chongqing, China, without obvious disease symptoms, which were different from...     

Micronemal protein 13 contributes to the optimal growth of Toxoplasma gondii under stress conditions

Parasitology Research - Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous parasitic protozoan infecting humans and a wide variety of animals. Fast-replicating tachyzoites during acute infection and slowly growing...     

Referencing the trochlear groove based on three-dimensional computed tomography imaging improves the reliability of the measurement of the tibial tuberosity–trochlear groove distance in patients with higher grades of trochlea dysplasia

BackgroundTo determine whether 3D-CT imaging technique is valid and reproducible compared to conventional CT measurement technique (CCT) for the detection of a femoropatellar instability.MethodsPatients who had undergone surgery for femoropatellar instability (patellar instability group) between 2010 and 2016 (n = 37 knees of 35 patients) were retrospectively enrolled. For the matched control group, patients who had acute anterior cruciate ligament injury (< 4 weeks previously; n = 30) were recruited. Preoperative CT data had been obtained in all patients. Inter-rater reliability was calculated for both measurement protocols, and inter-method reliability was calculated between the two imaging modalities. The results are reported using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Bland–Altman 95% limits of agreement.ResultsAll patients in the patellar instability group had femoral trochlear dysplasia (Dejour types A: four, B: 19, C: seven, and D: six), but no dysplasia was noted in the control group. In the patellar instability group, the CCT technique showed a poor inter-rater agreement (ICC = 0.74), and the 3D-CT technique still showed excellent inter-rater agreement (ICCs = 0.91). In the sub-analysis of the patellar instability group according to the trochlear dysplasia grade, ICCs were markedly decreased with severe trochlear dysplasia when using CCT technique; however, the 3D-CT technique could provide excellent reliability even with severe trochlear dysplasia.ConclusionThe 3D-CT imaging technique for the measurement of the TT–TG distance can be suggested as a better measurement technique for patellar instability patients with bone abnormality.     

MiR-19a mediates the negative regulation of the NF-κB pathway in lipopolysaccharide-induced endometritis by targeting TBK1

Objective

In both humans and animals, endometritis is severe inflammation of the uterus, and it causes great economic losses in dairy cow production. MicroRNAs have been reported to play an important role in various inflammatory diseases. However, the regulatory mechanisms of miR-19a in endometritis remain unclear. Thus, the aims of this study are to investigate the role of miR-19a in a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endometritis and elucidate the possible mechanisms in bovine endometrial epithelial cells (bEECs).

Methods and results

Histological analysis showed that LPS induced severe pathological changes, suggesting that the endometritis mouse model was well established. The qPCR assay indicated that miR-19a expression in the uterine tissues of mice with endometritis and in bEECs with LPS stimulation was significantly reduced. The overexpression of miR-19a significantly decreased the expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β) and the phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 and IκBα. Similar results were also obtained following the knockdown of TBK1. Furthermore, a dual luciferase reporter assay further validated that miR-19a inhibited TBK1 expression by binding directly to the 3′-UTR of TBK1.

Conclusion

We demonstrated that miR-19a has anti-inflammatory effects and mediates the negative regulation of the NF-κB Pathway in LPS-induced endometritis by targeting TBK1.

     

Adoptive transfer of IFN-γ-induced M-MDSCs promotes immune tolerance to allografts through iNOS pathway

Inflammation Research - Efficient production of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs) with stable immunosuppressive function is crucial for immunomodulatory cell therapy for many...     

TNF-α/calreticulin dual signaling induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation associated with HuR nucleocytoplasmic shuttling in rheumatoid arthritis

Inflammation Research - The present study was undertaken to validate whether TNF-α and calreticulin (CRT) serve as dual signaling to activate nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-,...