Objective To investigate the effect of miR-146a on the proliferation and interleukin (IL)-2 production of T helper cells from primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) patients.Methods MiR-146a in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC),monocytes,T helper cells,cytotoxic T cells and B cells from 20 confirmede PBC patients and age/sex matched healthy controls were detected by quantitative PCR.By gainand-loss of function,the miR-146a's effect on anti-CD3/anti-CD28 activated T helper's proliferation and IL-2 production ability were measured by CCK-8 approach and enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA),respectively.Statistical analysis were carried out by t-test.Results PBMCs (0.46±0.20 vs 1.00±0.26; t=7.47,P＜0.01),T helpers (0.33±0.13 vs 1.00±0.14; t=6.15,P＜0.01) and monocytes (0.56±0.11 vs 1.00±0.11; t=4.97,P＜0.05),but not B cells (0.91±0.06 vs 1.00±0.14; t=0.97,P＞0.05) and cytotoxic T cells (0.98±0.15vs 1.00±0.12; t=0.22; P＞0.05) from PBC patients had lower miR-146a expression level than that of healthy controls.Inducible up expression of miR-146a was observed in PBC patients'T helpers stimulated with antiCD3/anti-CD28 (1.00±0.18 vs 9.12±2.05; t=8.81; P＜0.01).The activated T helpers from PBC patients had higher proliferative ability [PBC:0.35±0.06 (A); healthy controls:0.26±0.04 (A); t=2.83; P＜0.05] and increased IL-2 production [PBC: (685.60±109.19 pg/ml)]; Healthy controls: [(512.20±72.26) pg/ml; t=2.96; P＜0.05 ] than those of healthy controls.For activated T helpers,the proliferation ability,as well as IL-2 production,was enhanced by miR-146a.Conclusion MiR-146a can down regulate the proliferation and IL-2 releasing of activated T helpers.The reduced miR-146a expression enhances IL-2 production and promotes proliferation of T helper of PBC patients,thus,may be involved in the pathogenesis of PBC.

Objective To isolate and identify exosomes from serum samples of the patients with polymyositis / dermatomyositis (PM/ DM),and analyze their protein composition preliminarily.Methods Exosomes from serum samples of the patients with PM/DM were isolated and purified by the ExoQuickTM kit.The morphological characteristics and particle size of exosomes were determined by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and NanoSight analyzer,respectively.The surface markers of exosomes such as CD9,CD81 and Flotillin-2 were identified by western blot.The concentration and composition of exosome protein were determined by the BCA method and SDS-PAGE,respectively.Results The exosomes from serum samples of PM/DM patients displayed round or oval vesicles with membrane structure under TEM,and their diameter range was about (92 ± 67) nm.western blot showed that these exosomes expressed CD9,CD81 and Flotillin-2.The total protein concentrations of exosomes in the patients with PM/DM and healthy controls were 14.68 (6.00,32.55) μg/μL and 14.09 (8.00,23.28) μg/μL,respectively.SDS-PAGE showed that high-abundance proteins enriched in 55-70 kD in both PM/DM patients and healthy controls,and that there were different bands in 40-55 kD between them.Conclusion Exosomes are isolated from serum samples of the patients with PM/DM successfully,and their protein concentration and composition are analyzed preliminarily,which provides the experimental evidences for further finding differential proteins.

Objective:To investigate the clinical features and prognosis of male with anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) autoantibody.Methods:The clinical data of 246 patients with DM and anti-MDA5 autoantibodies hospitalized by Jiangsu Myositis Cooperation Group from 2017 to 2020 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Chi-square test was performed to compared between counting data groups; Quantitative data were expressed by M ( Q1, Q3), and rank sum test was used for comparison between groups; Single factor survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method and Log rank test; Cox regression analysis were used for multivariate survival analysis. Results:①The male group had a higher proportion of rash at the sun exposure area [67.1%(47/70) vs 52.8%(93/176), χ2=4.18, P=0.041] and V-sign [50.0%(35/70) vs 30.7%(54/176), χ2=8.09, P=0.004] than the female group. The male group had higher levels of creatine kinase [112(18, 981)U/L vs 57 (13.6, 1 433)U/L, Z=-3.50, P<0.001] and ferritin [1 500 (166, 32 716)ng/ml vs 569 (18, 14 839)ng/ml, Z=-5.85, P<0.001] than the female group. The proportion of ILD [40.0%(28/70) vs 59.7%(105/176), χ2=7.82, P=0.020] patients and the red blood cell sedimentation rate[31.0(4.0, 101.5)mm/1 h vs 43.4(5.0, 126.5)mm/1 h, Z=-2.22, P=0.026] in the male group was lower than that of the female group, but the proportion of rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (PR-ILD) [47.1%(33/70) vs 31.3%(55/176), χ2=5.51, P=0.019] was higher than that of the female group. ②In male patients with positive anti-MDA5 antibodies,the death group had a shorter course of disease[1.0(1.0, 3.0) month vs 2.5(0.5,84) month, Z=-3.07, P=0.002], the incidence of arthritis [16.7%(4/24) vs 42.2%(19/45), χ2=4.60, P=0.032] were low than those in survival group,while aspartate aminotransferase (AST)[64(22.1, 565)U/L vs 51(14,601)U/L, Z=-2.42, P=0.016], lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) [485(24,1 464)U/L vs 352(170, 1 213)U/L, Z=-3.38, P=0.001], C-reactive protein (CRP) [11.6(2.9, 61.7) mg/L vs 4.95(0.6, 86.4) mg/L, Z=-1.96, P=0.050], and ferritin levels [2 000(681, 7 676) vs 1 125 (166, 32 716)ng/ml, Z=-3.18, P=0.001] were higher than those in the survival group, and RP-ILD [95.8%(23/24) vs 22.2%(10/45), χ2=33.99, P<0.001] occurred at a significantly higher rate. ③Cox regression analysis indicated that the course of disease LDH level, and RP-ILD were related factors for the prognosis of male anti-MDA5 antibodies [ HR (95% CI)=0.203(0.077, 0.534), P=0.001; HR (95% CI)=1.002(1.001, 1.004), P=0.003; HR (95% CI)=95.674 (10.872, 841.904), P<0.001]. Conclusion:The clinical manifestations of male anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients are different from those of female. The incidence of ILD is low, but the proportion of PR-ILD is high. The course of disease, serum LDH level, and RP-ILD are prognostic factors of male anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients.