Specific MSI2 deletion maintains intestinal barrier integrity by down-regulating ILC3s-derived IL-17 a in mice with colitis.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease with an unknown cause. Previous studies have shown that Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) are crucial for maintaining intestinal mucosal immune homeostasis by producing key cytokines such as IL-22 and IL-17 A. While the RNA-binding protein Musashi-2 (MSI2) is recognized as essential for promoting intestinal epithelial regeneration post-injury, its impact on immune regulation remains unclear.

A dual-mechanism luminescent antibiotic for bacterial infection identification and eradication.

Because of the rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, there is a growing need to discover antibacterial agents. Here, we design and synthesize a compound of TPA2PyBu that kills both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria with an undetectably low drug resistance. Comprehensive analyses reveal that the antimicrobial activity of TPA2PyBu proceeds via a unique dual mechanism by damaging bacterial membrane integrity and inducing DNA aggregation.

Effect of HBeAg/anti-HBe coexistence on HBeAg seroconversion in treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients with peginterferon-α.

Background: As an uncommon serological pattern, the effect of hepatitis B e antigen/anti-hepatitis B e (HBeAg/anti-HBe) coexistence on peginterferon-α (Peg-IFN-α) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains unknown. Moreover, Peg-IFN-α is clinically limited due to several side effects. It is of significant value to early identify the favored population for Peg-IFN-α therapy in CHB patients.

Case report: A rare case of intragastric metastasis after liver transplantation for liver cancer.

A 13-year-old boy was admitted to Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University due to HBV-related liver cancer. Intrahepatic metastasis was considered to occur by CT scan. A gastroscope revealed esophagogastric variceal bleeding, and later, the patient underwent a successful liver transplantation.

Pentraxin-3 modulates hepatocyte ferroptosis and the innate immune response in LPS-induced liver injury.

The liver plays a crucial role in the immune response during endotoxemia and is one of the critical targets for sepsis-related injuries. As a secretory factor involved in inflammation, pentraxin-3 (PTX3) has been demonstrated to regulate hepatic homeostasis; however, the relationship between PTX3 and cell crosstalk between immune cells and hepatocytes in the liver remains incompletely understood. In this study, we revealed that, compared with WT mice, Ptx3 mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia exhibited alleviated liver damage, with reduced serum alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase levels and an improved survival rate.

Effect of dyslipidemia on HBsAg clearance in nucleos(t)ide analogues-experienced chronic hepatitis B patients treated with peginterferon alfa.

Background: While previous reports have shown that hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affects lipid metabolism and vice versa, the impact of dyslipidemia on the functional cure of HBV infection following peginterferon alfa (PegIFNα) therapy remains unknown. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the effect of dyslipidemia on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance and develop a nomogram model for predicting patients for whom PegIFNα therapy is indicated.

Methods: A total of 160 nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs)- experienced chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with PegIFNα (180 µg/week) were enrolled in this study.

Combating Fungal Infections and Resistance with a Dual-Mechanism Luminogen to Disrupt Membrane Integrity and Induce DNA Damage.

Antifungal drug resistance is a critical concern, demanding innovative therapeutic solutions. The dual-targeting mechanism of action (MoA), as an effective strategy to reduce drug resistance, has been validated in the design of antibacterial agents. However, the structural similarities between mammalian and fungal cells complicate the development of such a strategy for antifungal agents as the selectivity can be compromised.

The positive impact of targeted modulating food intolerance on immune-related recurrent pregnancy loss.

Background: It has been proven that immune disorders are one of the vital risk factors of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), and the presence of food intolerance seems to play an essential role in this. However, the impact of immune status induced by food intolerance on RPL has not been reported. This study utilized a targeted diet avoiding food intolerance as much as possible for each participant to investigate their effects on pregnancy outcomes in RPL patients with positive autoimmune markers.

A TLR4-Targeting Bioactive Peptide Hydrogel to Regulate Immune-Microenvironment for Diabetic Wound Repair.

Persistent inflammation and disrupted immunoregulation are critical factors in impeding diabetic wound healing. While immunoregulatory hydrogel dressings hold significant promise for clinical applications in diabetic wound healing, the current application often demands intricate interventions and high-cost treatments involving cytokines and cell therapies. The development of single component immunoregulatory hydrogels remains a complex challenge.

Arrhythmogenic mechanism of a novel ryanodine receptor mutation underlying sudden cardiac death.

Aims: The ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) is essential for cardiac muscle excitation-contraction coupling; dysfunctional RyR2 participates in the development of inherited arrhythmogenic cardiac disease. In this study, a novel RyR2 mutation A690E is identified from a patient with family inheritance of sudden cardiac death, and we aimed to investigate the pathogenic basis of the mutation.

Methods And Results: We generated a mouse model that carried the A690E mutation.

Somatotype and Its Impact on Asymptomatic Target Organ Damage in the Elderly Chinese: The Northern Shanghai Study.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between asymptomatic target organ damage (TOD) and different somatotypes in a population of elderly from Chinese community-dwelling.

Methods: A total of 2098 Chinese senior residents from northern Shanghai older than 65 years were recruited in the research. The following somatotype parameters were recorded and analyzed: body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-hip ratio were recorded and calculated.

Functional Profile of Human Cytomegalovirus Genes and Their Associated Diseases: A Review.

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), whose genome is 235 ± 1.9 kbp long, is a common herpesvirus. However, the functions of many of its genes are still unknown.

Pan-genome analysis of Streptococcus suis serotype 2 revealed genomic diversity among strains of different virulence.

Streptococcus suis (SS) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that causes severe infections in swine and humans. Among the 33 known serotypes, serotype 2 is most frequently associated with infections in pigs and humans. To better understand the virulence characterization of S.

SBP1 is an adhesion-associated factor without the involvement of virulence in Streptococcus suis serotype 2.

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (SS2) is an important zoonotic pathogen that infects swine and humans with high mortality and morbidity. Although a number of virulence-associated factors have been reported, the understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying SS2 pathogenicity remains limited. Our previous studies revealed that srtBCD-associated protein 2' (SBP2') contributed to the pathogenesis of SS2, but the function of another member in the srtBCD cluster, srtBCD-associated protein 1 (SBP1) was still unknown.

Pathogenic mechanism of a catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia causing-mutation in cardiac calcium release channel RyR2.

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a condition that is characterized by an abnormal heart rhythm in response to physical or emotional stress. The majority CPVT patients carry mutations in the RYR2 gene that encodes the calcium release channel/ryanodine receptor (RyR2) in cardiomyocytes. The pathogenic mechanisms that account for the clinical phenotypes of CPVT are still elusive.

Infection and adaption-based proteomic changes of Streptococcus suis serotype 2 in a pig model.

Unlabelled: Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is an emerging zoonotic agent that is responsible for significant economic losses to the porcine industry worldwide. However, most research regarding the pathogenic mechanisms has used in vitro cultures of S.

Fibronectin-/fibrinogen-binding protein (FBPS) is not a critical virulence factor for the Streptococcus suis serotype 2 strain ZY05719.

Fibronectin-/fibrinogen-binding protein (FBPS) of Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (SS2) is an atypical anchorless microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules (MSCRAMM) for which the role in bacterial infection are not clearly established. To investigate the biological functions of FBPS, an fbps knockout mutant was constructed in SS2 strain ZY05719 to explore the phenotypic changes between the wild-type and mutant strains. Cell morphology analyses combined with the basic growth curves showed that deletion of fbps does not significantly influence neither the thickness of the capsule of SS2 nor the cell growth characteristic.

SBP2 plays an important role in the virulence changes of different artificial mutants of Streptococcus suis.

Streptococcus suis (SS) is an important bacterial zoonotic pathogen, which can cause infections in pigs and humans. However, the pathogenesis of this bacterium remains unclear, even though some putative virulence factors (VFs) have been reported. Comparative proteomics could be used to identify markers that can distinguish bacterial strains with different virulence; however, the application of this method is restricted by the genome diversities existing in different strains.

Anti-transferrin receptor-modified amphotericin B-loaded PLA-PEG nanoparticles cure Candidal meningitis and reduce drug toxicity.

Fatal fungal infections in central nervous system (CNS) can occur through hematogenous spread or direct extension. At present, hydrophobic amphotericin B (AMB) is the most effective antifungal drug in clinical trials. However, AMB is hydrophobic and therefore penetrates poorly into the CNS, and therapeutic levels of AMB are hard to achieve.

Improved antifungal activity of amphotericin B-loaded TPGS-b-(PCL-ran-PGA) nanoparticles.

To develop amphotericin B-loaded biodegradable TPGS-b-(PCL-ran-PGA) nanoparticles (PLGA-TPGS-AMB NPs) for fungal infection treatment, PLGA-TPGS NPs and PLGA NPs were synthesized by a modified double emulsion method and characterized in terms of size and size distribution, morphology and zeta potential. Drug encapsulation efficiency, in vitro drug release, and in vitro/vivo tests against Candida glabrata were completed. The data showed that both of the two AMB-loaded NPs (PLGA-AMB NPs, PLGA-TPGS-AMB NPs) achieved significantly higher level of antifungal effects than water suspended AMB.