Objective To investigate the clinical characteristic of vernier acuity in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients. Methods The vernier acuity test soft wear system was developed to detect the 23 cases (39 eyes) of AMD patients. Tweenty-one eyes were atrophic type and 17 eyes were exudative type. Two fixed targets and a movable target are shown on the computer screen. The examinee was asked to adjust the position of the central target and the relationship between it and align them by using a track ball. The computer automatically recorded the deviations of distances between the movable target and the specific one, and then computed and analysed the results of average threshold and variance. Results Both the atrophic and exudative AMD had higher vernier acuity threshold and its variance than normal subjects, and the differences were significant (P

BACKGROUND: Memory T lymphocytes of the immune system provide long-term protection in response to bacterial or viral infections/immunization. Ag concentration has also been postulated to be important in determining whether T cell differentiation favors effector versus memory cell development. In the present study we hypothesized that na?ve Ag-specific CD4+ T cells briefly stimulated with different Ag doses at the primary exposure could affect establishment of memory cell pool after secondary immunization. METHODS: To assess this hypothesis, the response kinetics of DO11.10 TCR CD4+ T cells primed with different Ag doses in vitro was measured after adoptive transfer to naive BALB/c mice. RESULTS: Maximum expansion was shown in cells primarily stimulated with high doses of ovalbumin peptide (OVA323-339), whereas cells in vitro stimulated with low dose were expanded slightly after in vivo secondary exposure. However, the cells primed with low OVA323-339 peptide dose showed least contraction and established higher number of memory cells than other treated groups. When the cell division was analyzed after adoptive transfer, the high dose Ag-stimulated donor cells have undergone seven rounds of cell division at 3 days post-adoptive transfer. However, there was very few division in naive and low dose of peptide-treated group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that primary stimulation with a low dose of Ag leads to better memory CD4+ T cell generation after secondary immunization. Therefore, these facts imply that optimally primed CD4+ T cells is necessary to support effective memory pool following administration of booster dose in prime-boost vaccination.
Adoptive Transfer ; Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Division ; Humans ; Immune System ; Immunization, Secondary ; Kinetics* ; Memory ; Mice ; Ovalbumin ; T-Lymphocytes* ; Tissue Donors ; Vaccination

Objective:To investigate if the dynamic optotype is comparable with conventional logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) optotype.Methods:This is a cross-sectional study investigating visual acuity measurement with two methods.The study lasted for 6 months from May to November 2017.One hundred and fifty subjects (150 right eyes) with age (58.7±14.3) years were recruited in the Optometry Clinics of the School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.Habitual distance visual acuity of each eye was measured with a 3-meter LogMAR E chart and a Dyop ? acuity chart displayed on a monitor placed at 6 meters, respectively.Subjects were asked to comment on the Dyop ? system regarding the overall speed and ease of understanding the test using a 5-point Likert scale.The agreement between the two charts was assessed.This study was approved by an Ethics Committee of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (No.HSEARS20170215006) in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and written information consent was obtained from all the subjects prior to any ocular examination. Results:The mean difference between the LogMAR E chart and Dyop ? system was (0.05±0.07) LogMAR units, and the 95% limits of agreement was -0.09 to 0.19.The intra-class correlation coefficient of the two methods was 0.957.In general, 70% (105/150) of the subjects considered the Dyop ? system fast and 81% (121/150) easy to understand. Conclusions:Visual acuity measured by the Dyop ? system is comparable to the traditional LogMAR E chart.

DNA vaccine approaches have been applied to generate the protective immunity against various pathogens. However, the strength of immune responses induced by DNA vaccine is weak compared with conventional vaccines. The primeboost vaccination using DNA vaccine and other viral vector has been suggested as one way to circumvent this limitation. In the present study, we used in vivo CTL activity assay to determine CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity induced by prime-boost vaccination with a DNA vaccine (gB498-505 DNA) and recombinant vaccinia virus (VVgB498-505) expressing gB498-505 epitope peptide (SSIEFARL) of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein B (gB). The most potent in vivo CTL activity was induced in mice received VVgB498-505 when both gB498-505 and VVgB498-505 were used at priming step and boosted with the alternative vaccine vector expressing whole antigen protein (gBw). Priming with vaccine vector expressing gBw followed by the use of VVgB498-505 at boosting step also induced strong in vivo CTL activity. We also examined in vivo CTL activity after immunization of mice with epitope-expressing vaccine vector at both priming and boosting step. Curiously, in vivo CTL activity mediated by CD8+ T cells was strongly elicited at memory stage when animals were primed with VVgB498-505 and subsequently boosted with gB498-505 DNA. Because the use of VVgB498-505 at priming followed by boosting with gB498-505 DNA induced most optimal immunity, these results suggest that the order of vaccine type should be carefully considered when used vaccine type expressing only epitope for prime-boost vaccination.
Animals ; DNA* ; Glycoproteins ; Herpesvirus 1, Human ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunization ; Memory ; Mice ; Simplexvirus ; T-Lymphocytes* ; Vaccination* ; Vaccines ; Vaccinia virus* ; Vaccinia*

BACKGROUND: The genus Flavivirus consists of many emerging arboviruses, including Dengue virus (DV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and West Nile virus (WNV). Effective preventive vaccines remain elusive for these diseases. Mice are being increasingly used as the animal model for vaccine studies. However, the pathogenic mechanisms of these viruses are not clearly understood. Here, we investigated the interaction of DV and JEV with murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (bmDC). METHODS: ELISA and FACS analysis were employed to investigate cytokine production and phenotypic changes of DCs obtained from bone marrow following flavivirus infection. RESULTS: We observed that these viruses altered the cytokine profile and phenotypic markers. Although both viruses belong to the same family, JEV-infected bmDC produced anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) along with pro-inflammatory cytokines, whereas DV infection induced production of large amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-alpha) and no IL-10 from murine bmDCs. Both flaviviruses also up-regulated the expression of co-stimulatory molecules such as CD40, CD80 and CD86. JEV infection led to down-regulation of MHC II expression on infected bmDCs. We also found that cytokine production induced by JEV and DV is MyD88-dependent. This dependence was complete for DV, as cytokine production was completely abolished in the absence of MyD88. With regard to JEV, the absence of MyD88 led to a partial reduction in cytokine levels. CONCLUSION: Here, we demonstrate that MyD88 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of flaviviruses. Our study provides insight into the pathogenesis of JEV and DV in the murine model.
Animals ; Arboviruses ; Bone Marrow ; Cytokines* ; Dendritic Cells* ; Dengue Virus ; Down-Regulation ; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flavivirus Infections ; Flavivirus* ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-6 ; Mice ; Models, Animal ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Vaccines ; West Nile virus

Replication-incompetent adenoviruses expressing three major glycoproteins (gB, gC, and gD) of pseudorabies virus (PrV) were constructed and used to examine the ability of these glycoproteins to induce protective immunity against a lethal challenge. Among three constructs, recombinant adenovirus expressing gB (rAd-gB) was found to induce the most potent immunity biased to Th1-type, as determined by the IgG isotype ratio and the profile of the Th1/Th2 cytokine production. Conversely, the gC-expressing adenovirus (rAd-gC) revealed Th2-type immunity and the gD-expressing adenovirus (rAd-gD) induced lower levels of IFN-gamma and IL-4 production than other constructs, except IL-2 production. Mucosal delivery of rAd-gB induced mucosal IgA and serum IgG responses and biased toward Th2-type immune responses. However, these effects were not observed in response to systemic delivery of rAd-gB. In addition, rAd-gB appeared to induce effective protective immunity against a virulent viral infection, regardless of whether it was administered via the muscular or systemic route. These results suggest that administration of replication-incompetent adenoviruses can induce different types of immunity depending on the expressed antigen and that recombinant adenoviruses expressing gB induced the most potent Th1-biased humoral and cellular immunity and provided effective protection against PrV infection.
Adenoviridae/genetics/*immunology/metabolism ; Animals ; Antibody Formation ; Cell Line ; Cytokines/immunology ; Female ; Glycoproteins/biosynthesis/genetics/*immunology ; Herpesvirus 1, Suid/genetics/*immunology/physiology ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunoglobulin G/immunology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Pseudorabies/*immunology/prevention & control ; Pseudorabies Vaccines/administration & dosage/*immunology ; Swine ; Th1 Cells/immunology ; Th2 Cells/immunology ; *Virus Replication

PURPOSE: Claudin-4 has been reported to function as a paracellular sodium barrier and is one of the 3 major claudins expressed in lung alveolar epithelial cells. However, the possible role of claudin-4 in bronchial asthma has not yet been fully studied. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of claudin-4 in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. METHODS: We determined claudin-4 levels in blood from asthmatic patients. Moreover, using mice sensitized and challenged with OVA, as well as sensitized and challenged with saline, we investigated whether claudin-4 is involved in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. Der p1 induced the inflammatory cytokines in NHBE cells. RESULTS: We found that claudin-4 in blood from asthmatic patients was increased compared with that from healthy control subjects. Plasma claudin-4 levels were significantly higher in exacerbated patients than in control patients with bronchial asthma. The plasma claudin-4 level was correlated with eosinophils, total IgE, FEV1% pred, and FEV1/FVC. Moreover, lung tissues from the OVA-OVA mice showed significant increases in transcripts and proteins of claudin-4 as well as in TJ breaks and the densities of claudin-4 staining. When claudin-4 was knocked down by transfecting its siRNA, inflammatory cytokine expressions, which were induced by Der p1 treatment, were significantly increased. CONCLUSIONS: These findings thus raise the possibility that regulation of lung epithelial barrier proteins may constitute a therapeutic approach for asthma.
Animals ; Asthma ; Claudin-4 ; Claudins ; Cytokines ; Eosinophils ; Epithelial Cells ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Inflammation ; Lung ; Mice ; Ovum ; Plasma ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Sodium

Objective To analyze the causes of visual impaired and explore the visual improvement with aids,application effects and problems.Methods A series of cases study was adopted.Seven hundred and ninetyseven patients with visual impairment were selected from January 2012 to December 2016 in Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital.The etiological analysis,visual function evaluation and visual aids fitting were performed for 797 patients with visual impairment.After 6 months,400 patients were randomly selected for follow-up,and application effects,daily use time and the reasons for abandon were evaluated and analyzed.This study followed the Helsinki declaration and was approved by Ethic Committee of the Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital.Results The causes for top three in 797 visual impairment patients were high myopia,congenital eye diseases and diabetic retinopathy respectively.With distant optical visual aids,distance vision of the patients was significantly improved.Thereinto,66.3％ patients used visual aids occasionally every day.The overall effective rate of visual aids fitting was 86.92％,the efficiency of electronic visual aids is obviously higher than that of other near optical visual aids,and the use effect evaluation of electronic aids is also the best.It is found that poor vision,inconvenient use and inability to use are common influencing factors,among which poor vision is the main reason.Conclusions High myopia has become the leading cause of visual impairment.Professional visual aids fitting can greatly improve residual vision and effectiveness of visual aids.During the process of application,most of the patients usually don't use the devices for longer duration due to severe eye diseases.Once visual aids meet the patients' visual demands in a certain,they work effectively.