简介:AbstractAntimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small molecules produced by a myriad of cells and play important roles not only in protecting against infections and sustaining skin barrier homeostasis but also in contributing to immune dysregulation under pathological conditions. Recently, increasing evidence has indicated that AMPs, including cathelicidin (LL-37), human β-defensins, S100 proteins, lipocalin 2, and RNase 7, are highly expressed in psoriatic skin lesions. These peptides broadly regulate immunity by interacting with various immune cells and linking innate and adaptive immune responses during the progression of psoriasis. In this review, we summarize the recent findings regarding AMPs in the pathogenesis of psoriasis with a main focus on their immunomodulatory abilities.
简介:AIM:Toassessthemechanismsofprotectiveactionbydifferentmildirritantsthroughmaintenanceofgastricmucosalintegrityandmodulationofmucosalnitricoxide(NO)inexperimentalgastritisrats.METHODS:Etcher200mL/Lethanol,50g/LNaGor0.3mol/LHClwaspretreatedtonormalor800mL/Lethanol-inducedacutegastritisSprague-Dawleyratsbeforeasubsequentchallengewith500mL/Lethanol.Bothmacroscopiclesionareasandhistologicaldamagescoresweredeterminedinthegastricmucosaofeachgroupofanimals.Besides,gastricmucosalactivitiesofNOsynthaseisoformsandofsuperoxidedismutase,alongwithmucosallevelofleukotriene(LT)C4weremeasured.RESULTS:Macroscopicmucosaldamageswereprotectedby200mL/Lethanoland50g/LNaCIingastritisrats.However,although200mL/Lethanolcouldprotectthesurfacelayersofmucosalcellsinnormalanimals(protectionattenuatedbyNG-nitro-L-argininemethylester),nocytoprotectionagainstdeeperhistologicaldamageswasfoundingastritisrats.Besides,inducibleNOsynthaseactivitywasincreasedinthemucosaofgastritisanimalsandunalteredbymildirritants.Nevertheless,theelevationinmucosalLTC4levelfollowing500mL/Lethanoladministrationandundergastritisconditionwassignificantlyreducedbypretreatmentofallthreemildirritantsinbothnormalandgastritisanimals.CONCLUSION:Thesefindingssuggestthattheaggravated500mL/Lethanol-evokedmucosaldamagesundergastritisconditioncouldbeduetoincreasedinducibleNOandLTC4productioninthegastricmucosa.Only200mL/Lethanolistruly'cytoprotective'atthesurfaceglandularlevelofnongastritismucosa.Furthermore,themacroscopicprotectionofthethreemildirritantsinvolvesreductionofLTC4levelinbothnormalandgastritismucosa,implicatingpreservationofthevasculature.
简介:ECGisanimportanttoolfortheprimarydiagnosisofheartdiseases,whichshowstheelectrophysiologyoftheheart.Inourmethod,asinglematernalabdominalECGsignalistakenasaninputsignalandthematernalP-QRS-Tcomplexesoforiginalsignalisaveragedandrepeatedandtakenasareferencesignal.LMSandRLSadaptivefiltersalgorithmsareapplied.TheresultsshowedthatthefetalECGshavebeensuccessfullydetected.TheaccuracyofDaisydatabasewasupto84%ofLMSand88%ofRLSwhilePhysioNetwasupto98%and96%forLMSandRLSrespectively.
简介:AbstractObjective:Mifepristone (RU486), one of the most common medications for artificial abortion, attenuates the immunoregulatory effects of progesterone. However, the specific immune regulatory mechanism of RU486 in abortion remains unknown. We intended to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of RU486 on abortion.Methods:Sixty female mice were divided into the control group (0 mg RU486) and RU486 group (2 mg/kg RU486). The uterus, peripheral blood, and spleen were obtained for isolation of specific cell types. The population and phenotype of immune cells in the decidua, peripheral blood, and spleen were analyzed using flow cytometry. Statistical differences between groups were determined using two-tailed t-test. For all statistical tests, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:RU486 effectively induced abortion in pregnant mice, with a significantly higher number of decidual macrophages (dMφ) (control group = 25.55% ± 2.467%, RU486 group = 19.41% ± 1.423%; P < 0.05), especially the major histocompatibility complex IIhigh subset. No difference in Mφ number was observed in the spleen or peripheral blood. Moreover, the dMφ from mice with RU486-induced abortion displayed a remarkable activated phenotype, with increased expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin (IL)-12 but decreased expressions of arginase-1 and IL-10. We also found elevated levels of decidual CD4+ T-cells in the RU486 group that exhibited a higher level of the proinflammatory cytokine interferon-γ and a lower level of the anti-inflammatory cytokines, IL-4 and IL-10.Conclusions:We report a new mechanism of RU486-induced abortion via the regulation of innate cell Mφ activation and the adaptive response of CD4+ T-cells present in the decidua but not the periphery.
简介:摘要OBJECTIVEOur goal was to determine if pairing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with rehabilitation for two weeks could augment adaptive plasticity offered by these residual pathways to elicit longer-lasting improvements in motor function in incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI).DESIGNLongitudinal, randomized, controlled, double-blinded cohort study.SETTINGCleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.PARTICIPANTSEight male subjects with chronic incomplete motor tetraplegia.INTERVENTIONSMassed practice (MP) training with or without tDCS for 2 hrs, 5 times a week.OUTCOME MEASURESWe assessed neurophysiologic and functional outcomes before, after and three months following intervention. Neurophysiologic measures were collected with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS measures included excitability, representational volume, area and distribution of a weaker and stronger muscle motor map. Functional assessments included a manual muscle test (MMT), upper extremity motor score (UEMS), action research arm test (ARAT) and nine hole peg test (NHPT).RESULTSWe observed that subjects receiving training paired with tDCS had more increased strength of weak proximal (15% vs 10%), wrist (22% vs 10%) and hand (39% vs. 16%) muscles immediately and three months after intervention compared to the sham group. Our observed changes in muscle strength were related to decreases in strong muscle map volume (r=0.851), reduced weak muscle excitability (r=0.808), a more focused weak muscle motor map (r=0.675) and movement of weak muscle motor map (r=0.935).CONCLUSIONOverall, our results encourage the establishment of larger clinical trials to confirm the potential benefit of pairing tDCS with training to improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions for individuals with SCI.