Lithocholic acid inhibits dendritic cell activation by reducing intracellular glutathione via TGR5 signaling

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the major antigen-presenting cells and play an important role in autoimmune uveitis. Emerging evidence suggests that bile acids (BAs) regulate DCs maturation. However, the underlying mechanisms by which BAs regulate the function of DCs still need to be clarified. Here, we demonstrate that lithocholic acid (LCA) inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the expression of surface molecules in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). LCA attenuates the severity of EAU by modulating the maturation of splenic CD11C⁺MHCII^high DCs. Notably, Takeda G-protein coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) deficiency partially reverses the inhibitory effect of LCA on DCs in vitro and in vivo. TGR5 activation also downregulates the NF-κB and MAPK pathways by inhibiting glutathione production and inducing oxidative stress in DCs, which leads to apoptosis and autophagy in DCs. In addition, LCA or INT-777 treatment increases the TGR5 expression in monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MD-DCs) of patients with active BD, whereas both LCA and TGR5 agonists inhibit the activation of MD-DCs. These results suggest that LCA and TGR5 agonists might be potential therapeutic drugs for the treatment of autoimmune uveitis.     

乳酸菌微机检索软件的开发

以现有乳酸菌信息为依据,利用汉字foxbase^＋2．10进行数据处理,研制出一套乳酸菌微机检索软件。该软件的特点：检索速度快,途径灵活,增添、修改、删除、打印方便,各模块性能优良,实用性强。     

不同地理株中肋骨条藻生长特性及RAPD多态性

通过对不同地理株骨条藻形态和亚显微结构的观察和描述 ,鉴定为中肋骨条藻 ,但发现在刺长、细胞间隙、细胞链形态、链上细胞数 ,色素体个数方面存在差别 ;通过不同 N∶ P营养盐实验 ,结果表明 ,在 N∶ P为 16∶ 1时 ,东海株和胶州湾株中肋骨条藻均得到最大生长率 ,分别为 1.6 6 d1 和 1.5 3d- 1 ,东海株中肋骨条藻最大生长率要高于胶州湾株中肋骨条藻 ,这表明在不同的海域环境条件下 ,中肋骨条藻的生长均有各自地域性特征。应用 RAPD技术对两地理株中肋骨条藻进行鉴别 ,以其全 DNA为模板进行 RAPD扩增 ,两不同地理株的中肋骨条藻表现不同的 DNA多态性 ,同样以各自的小亚基片段为模板进行的 RAPD扩增条带也表现出差异性。实验结果表明 ,两株中肋骨条藻应为种下的不同变种或亚种     

一种多聚羟基烷酸产生菌的诱变育种

以野生型自养黄杆菌为出发菌株,经亚硝酸、紫外线、60Coγ射线诱变处理选得三株性状优良的突变株（Uγ－、Uγ－17、Uγ－20）。Uγ－1突变株的菌落形态为菊花形,白色。Uγ-17和Uγ－20突变株的菌落形态均为圆凸光滑型,微黄色。40h的摇瓶发酵结果表明,Uγ－1、Uγ－17、Uγ－20突变株的干细胞产量分别为8．1g／1、11．2g／1、10．5g／1,其产物对干细胞的得率系数（y_p/x）分别为0．74、0．75、0．79。与野生型菌株相比,这些突变株的干细胞产量yp/x分别增加     

Distinct basolateral amygdala excitatory inputs mediate the somatosensory and aversive-affective components of pain

Pain is a multidimensional perception that includes unpleasant somatosensory and affective experiences; however, the underlying neural circuits that mediate different components of pain remain elusive. Although hyperactivity of basolateral amygdala glutamatergic (BLA^Glu) neurons is required for the somatosensory and emotional processing of pain, the precise excitatory inputs to BLA^Glu neurons and their roles in mediating different aspects of pain are unclear. Here, we identified two discrete glutamatergic neuronal circuits in male mice: a projection from the insular cortex glutamatergic (IC^Glu) to BLA^Glu neurons, which modulates both the somatosensory and affective components of pain, and a projection from the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD^Glu) to BLA^Glu neurons, which modulates only the aversive-affective component of pain. Using whole-cell recording and fiber photometry, we found that neurons within the IC→BLA and MD→BLA pathways were activated in mice upon inflammatory pain induced by injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) into their paws. Optical inhibition of the IC^Glu→BLA pathway increased the nociceptive threshold and induced behavioral place preference in CFA mice. In contrast, optical inhibition of the MD^Glu→BLA pathway did not affect the nociceptive threshold but still induced place preference in CFA mice. In normal mice, optical activation of the IC^Glu→BLA pathway decreased the nociceptive threshold and induced place aversion, while optical activation of the MD^Glu→BLA pathway only evoked aversion. Taken together, our results demonstrate that discrete IC^Glu→BLA and MD^Glu→BLA pathways are involved in modulating different components of pain, provide insights into its circuit basis, and better our understanding of pain perception.     

Long COVID and its Management

The pandemic of COVID-19 is the biggest public health crisis in 21^st Century. Besides the acute symptoms after infection, patients and society are also being challenged by the long-term health complications associated with COVID-19, commonly known as long COVID. While health professionals work hard to find proper treatments, large amount of knowledge has been accumulated in recent years. In order to deal with long COVID efficiently, it is important for people to keep up with current progresses and take proactive actions on long COVID. For this purpose, this review will first introduce the general background of long COVID, and then discuss its risk factors, diagnostic indicators and management strategies. This review will serve as a useful resource for people to understand and prepare for long COVID that will be with us in the foreseeable future.     

SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein causes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like pathological damages and constitutes an antiviral target

Cytokine storm and multi-organ failure are the main causes of SARS-CoV-2-related death. However, the origin of excessive damages caused by SARS-CoV-2 remains largely unknown. Here we show that the SARS-CoV-2 envelope (2-E) protein alone is able to cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like damages in vitro and in vivo. 2-E proteins were found to form a type of pH-sensitive cation channels in bilayer lipid membranes. As observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells, heterologous expression of 2-E channels induced rapid cell death in various susceptible cell types and robust secretion of cytokines and chemokines in macrophages. Intravenous administration of purified 2-E protein into mice caused ARDS-like pathological damages in lung and spleen. A dominant negative mutation lowering 2-E channel activity attenuated cell death and SARS-CoV-2 production. Newly identified channel inhibitors exhibited potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and excellent cell protective activity in vitro and these activities were positively correlated with inhibition of 2-E channel. Importantly, prophylactic and therapeutic administration of the channel inhibitor effectively reduced both the viral load and secretion of inflammation cytokines in lungs of SARS-CoV-2-infected transgenic mice expressing human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE-2). Our study supports that 2-E is a promising drug target against SARS-CoV-2.Subject terms: Cell death, Molecular biology     

Discovery and SAR analysis of phenylbenzo[d][1,3]dioxole-based proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has emerged as a novel therapeutic target for the development of cholesterol-lowering drugs. In the discovery of PCSK9/LDLR (low-density lipoprotein receptor) protein-protein interaction (PPI) impairing small molecules, a total of 47 phenylbenzo[d][1,3] dioxole-based compounds were designed and synthesised. The result revealed that the 4-chlorobenzyl substitution in the amino group is important for the PPI disrupting activity. In the hepatocyte-based functional tests, active compounds such as A12, B1, B3, B4 and B14, restored the LDLR levels on the surface of hepatic HepG2 cells and increased extracellular LDL uptake in the presence of PCSK9. It is notable that molecule B14 exhibited good performance in all the evaluations. Collectively, novel structures targeting PCSK9/LDLR PPI have been developed with hypolipidemic potential. Further structural modification of derived active compounds is promising in the discovery of lead compounds with improved activity for the treatment of hyperlipidaemia-related disorders.