LAP+ Treg is a better biomarker than total Treg in viral myocarditis

Latency associated peptide (LAP) is a protein expressed on the membrane of some regulatory T cells (Treg). LAP⁺ Treg have a greater immunomodulatory effect than that of their negative counterparts. In this study, we presented the data on the proportion of LAP⁺ Treg out of CD4⁺ cells in mice with viral myocarditis, which we believed was more sensitive and specific than that of the ratio of total Treg in CD4⁺ cells. Comparing with the previously recognized total Treg, LAP⁺ Treg was a better biomarker on myocardial inflammation.     

Prevalence characteristics of single and multiple HPV infections in women with cervical cancer and precancerous lesions in Beijing,China

We assessed the prevalence characteristics of single and multiple high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infections. A total of 1783 women who underwent colposcopy and cervical biopsy for abnormal ThinPrep Cytology Test and/or HR-HPV subtype genotyping results were enrolled in the study. Among the participants, 770 were diagnosed with cervicitis, 395 with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN1), 542 with CIN2-3, and 76 with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), with HR-HPV infection rates of 75.8%, 85.8%, 95.9%, and 88.4%, respectively. The prevalence of total and multiple HR-HPV infections exhibited a bimodal age distribution with a peak at ≤25 years, a decline with age and a second peak at ≥55 years, whereas single HR-HPV infections exhibited one peak from 35 to 44 years. The four most dominant HPV genotypes were HPV 16 (29.5%), 52 (15.0%), 58 (14.2%), and 18 (10.4%). In total, 67.0%, 70.4%, and 82.1% of patients with CIN1, CIN2-3, and SCC, respectively, had a single HR-HPV infection, which increased significantly with the aggravation of the cervical lesion grade (P = 0.045). Patients with a single HPV 16 infection had higher incidences of CIN2+ (62.2%) than those with multiple HPV 16 infections (52.4%) (P = 0.021). Patients coinfected with HPV 16 had higher CIN2+ incidence than those with single HPV 52, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 56, or 59 infections (P < 0.001). This study provided baseline data on the prevalence characteristics of single and multiple HR-HPV infections in women attending a gynecological outpatient clinic in Beijing.     

基于稀疏表示的视网膜图像对变化检测

视网膜图像对变化检测主要研究两个不同时间点所采集到图像的变化情况。图像间的亮度差异及解剖结构与病灶的亮度相似性,使得基于逐点对比的差分方法或商方法很难准确检测变化区域。针对光照干扰问题,提出对光照具有鲁棒性的稀疏表示(SRC)变化检测方法。SRC方法先抽取参考图像局部区域块构建字典,再通过稀疏表示重构当前图像的局部背景块,最后利用背景相减获得变化区域。通过该方法,图像对的亮度差异可用稀疏表示系数自动调整,而基于块的方式可过滤掉局部光照,更有效地检测出变化区域。SRC方法与其他检测方法结合,可以增加检测结果的准确性。实验根据一对来自DRIVE数据集的小病灶仿真数据,SRC方法的AUC和mAP值分别为0.986和0.865;对一对采集自临床的大病灶数据,SRC与迭代鲁棒同态曲面拟合(IRHSF)校正结合方法的AUC和mAP值分别达到了0.989和0.969。实验结果表明,SRC方法比RPCA方法对局部光照鲁棒性更强,比基于逐点的比较差分方法更多地考虑局部邻域信息,能够更有效地检测出变化区域。     

CD226 attenuates Treg suppressive capacity via CTLA-4 and TIGIT during EAE

The Cluster of differentiation 226(CD226)/T cell immunoglobulin and immune receptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif domain (TIGIT) axis plays an important role in the balance of the immune response. A previous study showed that CD226 is involved in CD4+ T cell differentiation and that blocking CD226 may attenuate experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) development. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain incompletely understood. In this study, it was found that Cd226−/− mice were less susceptible to EAE and that there was less T helper 17(Th17) cell infiltration with higher levels of regulatory cells (Tregs) infiltration in the Cd226−/− EAE mouse central nervous system (CNS) compared with that in the WT EAE mouse CNS. Moreover, the suppressive function of Cd226−/− Tregs was upregulated compared with that of WT Tregs. Furthermore, it was observed that the expression levels of CTLA-4 and TIGIT on Cd226−/− Tregs were higher than those on WT Tregs during EAE in the spleen and CNS. Our results demonstrate a pivotal role for CD226 in attenuating Treg function in EAE that was associated with downregulating the expression levels of CTLA-4 and TIGIT.     

Correlations between TLR polymorphisms and inflammatory bowel disease: a meta-analysis of 49 case-control studies

Immunologic Research - Recently, the roles of toll-like receptor (TLR) polymorphisms in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were intensively explored, with conflicting results. Therefore, we performed...     

X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome complicated with interstitial pneumonia and liver injury: a new mutation locus in the CD40LG gene

Immunologic Research -     

Enhanced conversion of sterols to steroid synthons by augmenting the peptidoglycan synthesis gene pbpB in Mycobacterium neoaurum

Some species of mycobacteria have been modified to transform sterols to valuable steroid synthons. The unique cell wall of mycobacteria has been recognized as an important organelle to absorb sterols. Some cell wall inhibitors (e.g., vancomycin and glycine) have been validated to enhance sterol conversion by interfering with transpeptidation in peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Therefore, two transpeptidase genes, pbpA and pbpB, were selected to rationally modify the cell wall to simulate the enhancement effect of vancomycin and glycine on sterol conversion in a 22‐hydroxy‐23,24‐bisnorchol‐4‐ene‐3‐one (4‐HBC) producing strain (WIII). Unexpectedly, the pbpA or pbpB gene augmentation was conducive to the utilization of sterols. The pbpB augmentation strain WIII‐pbpB was further investigated for its better performance. Compared to WIII, the morphology of WIII‐pbpB was markedly changed from oval to spindle, indicating alterations of the cell wall. Biochemical analysis indicated that the altered cell wall properties of WIII‐pbpB might contribute to the positive effect on sterol utilization. The productivity of 4‐HBC was enhanced by 28% in the WIII‐pbpB strain compared to that of WIII. These results demonstrated that the modification of peptidoglycan synthesis can improve the conversion of sterols to steroid synthons in mycobacteria.     

Legionella feeleii: pneumonia or Pontiac fever? Bacterial virulence traits and host immune response

Medical Microbiology and Immunology - Gram-negative bacterium Legionella is able to proliferate intracellularly in mammalian host cells and amoeba, which became known in 1976 since they caused a...