树突状细胞在AIDS灵长类动物模型疾病进程中的作用

非人灵长类动物模型在艾滋病(AIDS)发病机制、传播途径、疫苗和药物等方面的研究中具有重要作用。树突状细胞(DC)作为最重要连接先天免疫与获得性免疫的抗原递呈细胞,在AIDS发病进程中扮演着重要的角色。研究非人灵长类AIDS动物模型中DC亚群数量、表型以及功能的变化,对揭示AIDS发病机制具有十分重要的意义。该文将重点总结近些年来DC亚群在AIDS动物模型发病机制中的作用研究进展,为以后的研究提供思路。     

提前接受光照对小鼠视网膜TH和bFGF表达的影响

目的在通过手术使小鼠提前睁眼接受光照,并成功诱发近视的基础上,进一步研究TH和bFGF在视网膜中的表达变化,以探讨早产近视的发病机理.方法实验用新生第4d的C57BL/6J小鼠,通过手术分离单侧上、下眼睑,使之提前睁眼并接受正常光照,在第14d检查两眼屈光力,应用RT-PCR和免疫组化方法,检测视网膜中bFGF和TH的表达.结果提前接受光照能诱导形成-9.77±0.09D的相对近视.RT-PCR结果显示提前光照小鼠视网膜TH和bFGFmRNA含量明显减少(t值分别为4.316和12.189,P<0.01).免疫组织化学显示TH免疫阳性反应主要分布在节细胞层、内网层和内核层,bFGF免疫阳性反应主要分布在内网层及其两侧的部分节细胞和内核层细胞,另在内网层和视锥视杆层也有微弱表达.免疫组织化学染色显示提前光照小鼠视网膜中TH和bFGF的表达量明显下降.结论研究表明新生小鼠提前光照后,其视网膜TH和bFGF的表达都明显下降,提示TH和bFGF与早产近视的形成有密切关系.     

眼色素层炎的免疫机制及免疫治疗

眼色素层由脉络膜、睫伏体、虹膜组成。这些部位的炎症反应称眼色素层炎。眼内的炎症主要有两类：抗原特异性免疫应答介导;非特异性炎症反应。本文重点综述抗原特异性免疫应答介导的眼色素层炎的发病机制及免疫治疗。过去认为梅毒螺旋体、结核杆菌是大多数眼色素层炎的病因,近几年来大量实验和临床研究证实,免疫应答在感染性和非感染性眼色素层炎的发生中起重要作用,对其机制有更深入的了解,以Ｔ 细胞介导的细胞免疫为主要损伤机制,根据免疫机制的各个环节建立了新的免疫治疗方法,包括环孢素Ａ 免疫抑制剂的使用、口服耐受的诱导以及细胞粘附分子疗法。     

Th17/Treg 细胞在银屑病的发病机制研究进展

Th17细胞和Treg细胞是CD4+T细胞在不同细胞因子环境中分化出的新亚群,发挥不同的生物学效应,使机体的免疫系统处于平衡状态.Th17/Treg细胞失衡可引起一系列自身免疫性疾病.银屑病是与遗传、免疫异常有关的皮肤炎症性疾病,其发病机制尚不清楚.越来越多的研究发现,Th17细胞增多和Treg细胞减少及其分泌的细胞因子在银屑病的发病中有着重要作用.本文围绕这一机制综述了近年来有关Th17细胞、Treg细胞在银屑病发病机制中作用的研究,帮助我们更深入地了解银屑病的发病机制并为今后临床诊断和治疗提供依据.     

IL-21/IL-21R信号在IBD病变形成机制中作用的研究进展

炎症性肠病(Inflammatory bowel disease,IBD)的发病机制至今尚不明确,普遍认为是由肠黏膜免疫调节异常、持续性肠道感染、肠黏膜屏障缺损、遗传和环境等多种因素相互作用导致的。近年来,研究发现IBD患者血清中IL-21水平异常升高,提示IL-21/IL-21R信号可能在IBD的病变形成中发挥重要作用。IL-21是一种重要的具有多重生物学功能的细胞因子,通过对CD4+T细胞、CD8+T细胞、Th17细胞、B细胞、巨噬细胞、树突状细胞等多种细胞产生影响,从而参与IBD的发生发展。本文就IL-21/IL-21R信号在炎症性肠病发病机制中的研究进展进行综述。     

MicroRNA在子宫肌瘤发病机制研究中的现状

微小RNA(micro RNA,mi RNA)是一类非编码单链小分子RNA,参与调控细胞增殖、分化、凋亡及迁移等多种生理过程。最新研究发现,mi RNA在子宫肌瘤发生发展中的细胞转化、组织重构、血管生成及炎症反应等方面均起着重要调控作用。这提示,mi RNA不但可以作为探索子宫肌瘤发病机制的新途径,而且可能成为子宫肌瘤诊断、治疗和预后判断的新靶点。该文就近年来mi RNA在子宫肌瘤发病机制研究中的现状进行综述。     

自噬在2 型糖尿病和胰岛β 细胞中作用研究进展

胰岛素分泌缺陷和胰岛素抵抗是2型糖尿病发病的主要机制之一。高血糖和脂质代谢紊乱,是糖尿病发病机制中最重要的获得性因素。最近研究表明自噬在维持内环境稳定,胰岛β细胞数量分泌能力,及对抗胰岛素抵抗等方面有重要作用。本文就自噬的基本概念及在糖尿病发病和维持β细胞功能方面作一综述。     

光学相干断层成像术在近视眼视网膜神经纤维层厚度测量中的临床应用

目的:研究光学相干断层成像术(OCT)在近视眼视网膜神经纤维层(RNFL)厚度测量中的应用价值。方法:选择2016年1月到2016年5月在医院就诊的近视患者73例(138眼)纳入此次研究,根据近视情况将患者分为低度近视组(-0.30D~-3.00D)共26例(48眼)、中度近视组(-3.01~-6.00D)共24例(47眼)及高度近视组(-6.00D)共23例(43眼)。另选同期在医院体检(视力正常)的健康志愿者25例(45眼)作为对照组,对比各组不同象限的RNFL厚度,屈光度及眼轴长度,分析近视眼各象限的RNFL厚度与患者屈光度和眼轴长度的相关性。结果:高度近视组的上方象限、下方象限以及鼻侧象限的RNFL厚度均明显低于对照组及中度近视组,中度近视组的下方象限及鼻侧象限的RNFL厚度均明显低于对照组,低度近视组鼻侧象限的RNFL厚度明显低于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。近视组的屈光度及眼轴长度均明显大于对照组,且高度近视组均明显大于中度近视组与低度近视组,中度近视组均明显大于低度近视组,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。根据Pearson法分析相关性可知,近视眼患者上象限、下象限、鼻侧象限的RNFL厚度与其屈光度及眼轴长度均呈负相关。结论:利用OCT技术检测近视眼RNFL厚度时,应考虑屈光度及眼轴长度可能造成的影响,综合进行分析判断,以获得最佳检测数值。     

细胞自噬在多发性硬化中的作用

多发性硬化(multiple sclerosis,MS)是一种以白质脱髓鞘、胶质细胞增殖、轴突损伤和进行性神经功能障碍为主要特点的中枢神经系统慢性炎症脱髓鞘疾病,其病因和发病机制尚未完全明确。既往在对MS及其动物模型实验性自身免疫性脑脊髓炎的研究中发现了细胞自噬也参与了其发病,涉及到的主要有T淋巴细胞、B淋巴细胞、小胶质细胞、少突胶质细胞、星形胶质细胞、树突状细胞、神经元。因此,本文将对以上细胞自噬在MS中的作用进行综述,以期为研究MS的发病机制和治疗研究提供参考。     

环状RNA在慢性病发病中作用机制的研究进展

环状RNA作为一种对基因表达进行精细调节的重要非编码RNA,不仅增加了非编码RNA介导的基因调控网络的复杂度,也加深了疾病发病机制研究的深度。虽然近年来环状RNA的功能研究有了长足的进步,确定了其作为ceRNA能够特异性吸附miRNA,解除相应miRNA对下游靶mRNA的抑制作用,此类研究也表明核外环状RNA介导的凋亡活化,增殖抑制和细胞与细胞间的交流在疾病发生发展过程中是至关重要的,但我们对环状RNA的了解还只是冰山一角,特别是病理状态下其作用的具体机制仍然需要我们不断探索。在此,本综述的主要目的是回顾目前关于环状RNA在心血管疾病、中枢神经系统疾病和癌症等慢性病领域的研究,探讨以上慢性病发病过程中环状RNA所起的作用以及展望未来环状RNA在疾病发病机制领域的研究。     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Enterovirus 71 3C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Highlights
1. The N-terminal tail of histone H3 is specifically cleaved during EV71 infection.
2. Viral protease 3C is identified as a protease responsible for proteolytically processing the N-terminal H3 tail.
3. Our finding reveals a new epigenetic regulatory mechanism for Enterovirus 71 in virus-host interactions.     

Detection of EBV and HHV6 in the Brain Tissue of Patients with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is a rare pediatric neurological disorder, and the exact etiology is not clear. Viral infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of RE, but conflicting results have reported. In this study, we evaluated the expression of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) 6 antigens in brain sections from 30 patients with RE and 16 control individuals by immunohistochemistry. In the RE group, EBV and HHV6 antigens were detected in 56.7% (17/30) and 50% (15/30) of individuals, respectively. In contrast, no detectable EBV and HHV6 antigen expression was found in brain tissues of the control group. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in 20.0% (6/30) of individuals. In particular, a 4-year-old boy had a typical clinical course, including a medical history of viral encephalitis, intractable epilepsy, and hemispheric atrophy. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in neurons and astrocytes in the brain tissue, accompanied by a high frequency of CD8⁺ T cells. Our results suggest that EBV and HHV6 infection and the activation of CD8⁺ T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of RE.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).     

Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

In conclusion, the novel visual RT-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, and sensitive approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2, and it is ready for application in primary care and community hospitals or health care centers, and even patients' own houses in response to the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic because the assay does not require sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it is also ready to be used in fields for screening samples from wild animals and environments to facilitate the identification of potential intermediate hosts that mediate the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans.