Proteomic,metabolic and immunological changes in Biomphalaria glabrata infected with Schistosoma mansoni

Mansonic schistosomiasis is a neglected disease transmitted by Biomphalaria spp. snails. Understanding what happens inside the intermediate host is important to develop more efficient ways of reducing schistosomiasis prevalence. Our purpose was to characterize metabolic and immunological changes in Biomphalaria glabrata 24 h after exposure to Schistosoma mansoni. For this purpose, proteins were extracted from snails’ whole tissue with Tris-Urea buffer and digested with tripsin. Mass spectrometry was performed and analyzed with MaxQuant and Perseus software. Also, the hemolymph of five snails 24 h post exposure was collected, and the numbers of hemocytes, levels of urea, uric acid, nitric oxide, calcium, glycogen and alanine and aspartate aminotransferases activities were assessed. Snails were also dissected for measurement of glycogen content in the cephalopodal region and gonoda-digestive gland complex. Globin domain proteins were found to be up-regulated; also the number of circulating hemocytes was significantly higher after 24 h of exposure to the parasite. NO levels were higher 24 h post exposure. Several proteins associated with energy metabolism were found to be up-regulated. Glycogen analysis showed a significant decrease in the gonad-digestive gland complex glycogen content. We found several proteins which seem to be associated with the host immune response, most of which were up-regulated, however some were down-regulated, which may represent an important clue in understanding B. glabrata – S. mansoni compatibility.     

Identification of human plasma C1 inhibitor as a target protein for staphylococcal superantigen-like protein 5 (SSL5)

The family of staphylococcal superantigen-like proteins (SSLs) have a structure similar to bacterial superantigens but exhibit no superantigenic activity. These exoproteins have recently been shown to disturb the host immune defense system. One family member, SSL5, was reported to bind to human leukocyte P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and to interfere with leukocyte trafficking. In the present study, we explored human plasma proteins bound by glutathione S-transferase (GST)-tagged recombinant SSL5 (GST-SSL5) and identified plasma protease C1 inhibitor (C1Inh) as a major SSL5-binding protein based on the results of peptide mass fingerprinting analysis with MALDI-TOFMS. GST-SSL5 was found to attenuate the inhibitory activity of recombinant histidine-tagged C1Inh (C1Inh-His) toward complement C1s. We also observed that the treatment of C1Inh-His with neuraminidase markedly decreased its binding to GST-SSL5. Moreover, C1Inh-His produced by Lec2 mutant cells (deficient in sialic acid biosynthesis) showed much lower binding affinity for SSL5 than that produced by the wild-type CHO-K1 cells, as assessed by pull-down assay. These results suggest that SSL5 binds to C1Inh in a sialic acid-dependent fashion and modulates the host immune defense through perturbation of the complement system in association with S. aureus infection.     

Immune checkpoint blockade and its combination therapy with small-molecule inhibitors for cancer treatment

Initially understood for its physiological maintenance of self-tolerance, the immune checkpoint molecule has recently been recognized as a promising anti-cancer target. There has been considerable interest in the biology and the action mechanism of the immune checkpoint therapy, and their incorporation with other therapeutic regimens. Recently the small-molecule inhibitor (SMI) has been identified as an attractive combination partner for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and is becoming a novel direction for the field of combination drug design. In this review, we provide a systematic discussion of the biology and function of major immune checkpoint molecules, and their interactions with corresponding targeting agents. With both preclinical studies and clinical trials, we especially highlight the ICI + SMI combination, with its recent advances as well as its application challenges.     

肠内营养联合微生态制剂对重症胰腺炎患者的疗效

目的 观察肠内营养联合微生态制剂对重症胰腺炎患者细菌移位、免疫功能、炎症反应的影响.方法 选择我院2017年1月至2019年7月收治的200例重症胰腺炎患者为研究对象,根据治疗方法不同分为A组、B组、C组.A组患者采用肠外营养治疗,B组患者采用肠内营养治疗,C组患者采用肠内营养联合微生态制剂治疗.比较3组患者的治疗效果...     

微生态制剂辅助普米克令舒提高过敏性哮喘患儿免疫功能

目的探讨微生态制剂辅助普米克令舒是否能提高过敏性哮喘患儿免疫功能。方法选择2018年1月至2019年12月在我院确诊并进行治疗的过敏性哮喘患儿150例,根据数字表法随机分为观察组与对照组,每组各75例。对照组患儿给予普米克令舒雾化吸入及常规综合治疗,观察组在对照组基础上辅助微生态制剂双歧四联活菌片进行治疗。对两组患儿治疗效果、治疗前后肠道菌群变化、免疫功能和用药期间不良反应发生率等指标进行比较分析。结果两组患儿治疗后观察组有效率为92.0%,显著高于对照组的77.3%(P<0.05)。两组患儿治疗前肠道菌群差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。与治疗前比较,观察组患儿治疗后乳酸菌、双歧杆菌数量明显增多,肠球菌、肠杆菌数量明显减少(P<0.05),组间比较,观察组乳酸菌、双歧杆菌数量显著多于对照组,肠球菌、肠杆菌数量显著低于对照组(P<0.05)。与治疗前比较,治疗后两组患儿CD3⁺、CD4⁺水平、CD4⁺/CD8⁺比值均升高,CD8⁺水平下降(P<0....     

黄芪多糖对咪喹莫特诱导小鼠银屑病样皮炎的干预作用及其机制

目的:探讨黄芪多糖对咪喹莫特诱导的小鼠银屑病样皮炎的干预作用及其机制。方法:40只健康雌性C57BL/6小鼠随机分为空白对照组、模型组、黄芪多糖高剂量组(200 mg/kg)、中剂量组(100 mg/kg)和低剂量组(50 mg/kg),共5组,每组8只,利用5%咪喹莫特乳膏涂抹小鼠背部制备银屑病样皮炎模型,监测各组小鼠PASI评分,并采用ELISA测定小鼠炎症因子分泌的变化,通过流式细胞术检测皮炎中巨噬细胞的浸润程度。结果:与空白对照组比较,模型组小鼠PASI评分明显增加(P<0.05),血清TNF-α、IL-1β和IL-6水平明显升高(P<0.05),皮肤组织中浸润的巨噬细胞明显增加(P<0.05);与模型组比较,黄芪多糖高、中剂量组小鼠PASI评分明显明显减少(P<0.05),小鼠血清TNF-α、IL-1β和IL-6水平明显下调(P<0.05);黄芪多糖高剂量组小鼠皮肤组织中浸润的巨噬细胞明显减少(P<0.05)。结论:黄芪多糖通过抑制皮肤组织中巨噬细胞浸润,降低血清中TNF-α、IL-1β和IL-6的分泌,来改善小鼠银屑病样皮炎。     

Growth performance,haematological assessment and chemical composition of Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) fed different levels of Aloe vera extract as feed additives in a closed aquaculture system

A 105-day experimental trial was conducted to assess different levels of dietary Aleo vera extract supplementation on water quality parameters, proximate composition, growth performance and haematological parameters of fry Oreochromis niloticus. Four different percentages of dietary leaf extract powder of Aleo vera (ALE) with a basal feed, designated as, i.e., T0 (Control group; without ALE), T1 (1% ALE), T2 (2% ALE), and T3 (3% ALE). Fish fry was reared in concrete tanks (7.0 m, 1.6 m, 1.0: L, W, H; water volume 11.2 m3/tank), with an average initial weight 4.04 ± 0.03 g/ fry, and each treatment was triplicated. Fry was randomly distributed at a stocking rate of 450 individuals/ tanks. The water quality parameters revealed that temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrates were found in a promising range as given by FAO/WHO limits. However, the record values obtained for Electric Conductivity (EC), Total dissolved solids (TDS), and alkalinities were not found in all tanks' suitable range according to FAO/WHO limits. The results revealed a significant impact of different percentages of dietary ALE supplementation on fry's body composition and haematological parameters. Moreover, the final body weight, final body length, average daily weight gain (g), net weight gain (g) and specific growth rate (%) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in T1 and T2 compared with T0 and T3 treatments. The poorest feed conversion ratio was recorded in the T2 group compared with other treatments. Thus, the current study provides information about the nutritional quality of Nile tilapia culturing in Pakistan.     

基于肿瘤免疫微环境鉴定IDH突变型弥漫性胶质瘤的预后标志物

异柠檬酸脱氢酶(IDH)突变存在于大多数低级别胶质细胞瘤中,免疫逃逸是肿瘤标志性特征之一,免疫治疗在胶质瘤的治疗中的作用越来越重要。利用生信手段分析TCGA、CGGA、GEO数据集中IDH突变胶质瘤的770个免疫相关基因及其临床相关数据,从而获得每个患者的免疫风险评分(IMRS);结合IMRS和临床信息,筛选出6个差异表达基因(TRAF3、ATG10、BID、TAB1、MAP3K1、RPS6)组成IMRS模型并生成诺莫图对患者预后进行评估,发现低风险组患者的总生存期(OS)较高风险组均明显延长。此外,签名相关免疫细胞浸润分析发现肿瘤相关巨噬细胞浸润评分(TAM)与肿瘤相关T细胞浸润评分(TIS)呈明显的负相关,表明高IMRS富集了促肿瘤免疫浸润,而低IMRS则富集了相对较多的抗肿瘤免疫浸润。     

Immune dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM)

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have infections more often than those without DM. The course of the infections is also more complicated in this patient group. One of the possible causes of this increased prevalence of infections is defects in immunity. Besides some decreased cellular responses in vitro, no disturbances in adaptive immunity in diabetic patients have been described. Different disturbances (low complement factor 4, decreased cytokine response after stimulation) in humoral innate immunity have been described in diabetic patients. However, the clinical relevance of these findings is not clear. Concerning cellular innate immunity most studies show decreased functions (chemotaxis, phagocytosis, killing) of diabetic polymorphonuclear cells and diabetic monocytes/macrophages compared to cells of controls. In general, a better regulation of the DM leads to an improvement of these cellular functions. Furthermore, some microorganisms become more virulent in a high glucose environment. Another mechanism which can lead to the increased prevalence of infections in diabetic patients is an increased adherence of microorganisms to diabetic compared to nondiabetic cells. This has been described for Candida albicans. Possibly the carbohydrate composition of the receptor plays a role in this phenomenon.