Objective:To evaluate the role of IL-23 in the production of IFN-?, cell subsets and regulation by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs).Methods:PBMCs were isolated from normal human peripheral blood and cultured with IL-23 in different culture conditions. The level of IFN-? in the culture supernatants was examined by ELISA. The subsets and frequency of IFN-?-producing cells were examined at a single cell level by flow cytometry.Results:IL-23 could directly induce IFN-? production by PBMCs and have synergistic effect with IL-2 on the induction of IFN-? production in a dose dependent manner. The data from Flow cytometric analysis indicated that IL-23 could induce IFN-? expression by CD3~-CD56~+NK cells but not CD3~+CD4~+ and CD8~+T cells. It is noted that IL-23 predominantly induced IFN-? expression by NK cells with high expression of CD56 molecules. Addition of Th2 cytokines or anti-IL-12R?1 mAbs resulted in the inhibition of IL-23-inducing IFN-? production.Conclusion:IL-23 can directly induce IFN-? production by PBMCs. The induction of IFN-? induced by IL-23 can be suppressed by Th2 cytokines and anti-IL-12R?1 mAbs. The data indicated that Th2 cytokines and anti-IL-12R?1 mAbs might have the potential application for the treatment of IL-23-mediated autoimmune diseases.

Objective To observe clinical effect of treating pelvic effusion with twenty five tastes podophyllum pill combined with antibiotics, microwave. Methods 182 cases patients with inflammatory pelvic effusion were randomly divided into two groups. The treatment group was treated with twenty five tastes podophyllum pill combined with antibiotics、microwave, and the control group was treated with antibiotics combined with microwave. The absorption, symptoms disappeared and cure situations of pelvic effusion were observed between control group and treatment group after treatment.Results The complete absorption, symptoms disappeared and cure situations of pelvic effusion in the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control. The total effective rate of the treatment group was 100%, and the total effective rate of the control group was 87.5%, which has a significant difference (P<0.05) .Conclusion The treatment of twenty five tastes podophyllum pill combined with antibiotics, microwave on pelvic effusion is better than western medicine.

AIM: To study the effect and mechanism of BCG on human nature killer cells. METHODS: PBMC or purified NK cells were isolated from normal human peripheral blood with negative anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis antibody and cultured with BCG, IL-12, BCG plus IL-12 and BCG plus anti-IL-12Rβ1 mAb (2B10), respectively. The levels of IFN-γ and IL-12p40 in the culture supernatants were measured by ELISA. The frequency of IFN-γ and granzyme B producing cells were analyzed by ELISpot. The cytolytic activity was detected by MTT reduction assay. The surface expression of IL-12Rβ1 on NK cells was detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS: BCG significantly induced IFN-γ production by PBMC in a dose-dependent manner. When PBMC was stimulated with BCG, the frequency of granzyme B producing cells was higher than that in unstimulated PBMC (P<0.05). BCG enhanced the cytotoxic activity of PBMC. BCG alone didn' t induce IFN-γ production by purified NK cells, but it can augment IL-12-induced IFN-γ production by purified NK cells. The cytotoxic activities of BCG-stimulated and unstimulated purified NK cells were not significantly different (P>0.05). BCG induced IL-12 production by PBMC in a dose-dependent manner and enhanced IL-12Rβ1 expression on different subsets of NK cells. Blocking the effect of IL-12 by anti-IL-12Rβ1 mAb (2B10) inhibited BCG-induced IFN-γ production and granzyme B releasing by PBMC. CONCLUSION: BCG can indirectly promote biologic activity of NK cells and the production of endogenous IL-12 combined with up-regulation IL-12Rβ1 expression on the surface of NK cells is a part of the mechanisms of IL-12 on human NK cells.

AIM:To explore whether histamine can regulate the expression of early growth response factor-1 (Egr-1) in the cerebral cortex astrocytes.METHODS:Normal wild-type (WT) mice, histidine decarboxylase knockout ( HDC-KO) mice and histamine treated HDC-KO mice were sacrificed for extracting the total RNA of the cerebral cortex. Primary cultured rat cortical astrocytes were treated with histamine at concentrations of 10 -8 , 10 -7 , 10 -6 , 10 -5 or 10 -4 mol/L for 15, 30, 60, 120 or 240 min.H1 or H2 receptor antagonists were pretreated for 15 min before histamine treat-ment.After histamine treatment, the cell total RNA or protein was extracted.The expression of Egr-1 at mRNA and protein levels was determined by real-time PCR and Western blot.RESULTS:The mRNA level of Egr-1 in cerebral cortex of HDC-KO mice was significantly lower than that in WT mice, while exogenous histamine induced the mRNA expression of Egr-1 in HDC-KO mice.In cultured astrocytes, histamine induced the mRNA expression of Egr-1.The maximum increase in the mRNA level of Egr-1 was produced by histamine at concentration of 10 -5 mol/L.In addition, histamine-induced Egr-1 mRNA accumulation peaked at 30 min after commencing stimulation, while histamine significantly increased Egr-1 protein expression at 60 min.Furthermore, histamine-induced Egr-1 expression was inhibited by H1 receptor antagonist but not H2 receptor antagonist.CONCLUSION:Histamine up-regulates the Egr-1 expression in cerebral cortex and cultured astrocytes, which may attribute to H1 receptor activation.

Unfavorable psychic reactions or psychological crisis always occur in patients preliminarily diagnosed with cancer.By analyzing the psychological activities and affecting factors,we try to discuss the measures of psychological crisis intervention for patients preliminarily diagnosed with cancer.

Objective:To elucidate the characterization of antigen-specific memory T cells from PPD~+ individuals after stimulation with BCG in vitro.Methods:PBMCs were isolated from PPD~ -/+ normal human peripheral blood and stimulated with BCG. The level of IFN-? in the culture supernatants was assayed by ELISA and the frequency of IFN-?-producinging cells was detected by ELISPOT. The subsets and frequency of cytokine-producing cells were determined at a single cell level by flow cytometry.Results:After stimulation with BCG, PBMCs from PPD~+ but not PPD~- individuals produced significantly high levels of IFN-? in culture supernatants detected by ELISA(P

AIM: To determine the effect of endogenous histamine on transient forebrain ischemia-induced neuronal injury at the late phase of reperfusion using histidine decarboxylase knockout ( HDC-KO) mice.METHODS:Wild-type (WT) and HDC-KO mice were subjected to bilateral common carotid artery occlusion for 30 min followed by 3 d or 15 d of reperfusion.At different time points after reperfusion, the body weight, mortality rate, learning and memory in fear conditioning test and hippocampal CA 1 neuronal density were evaluated .RESULTS: At 1 d after reperfusion , the body weight loss was observed in both WT and HDC-KO mice.At 4 d, 5 d, 6 d and 7 d after reperfusion, the increment in the body weight of the HDC-KO mice was significantly smaller than that of the WT mice .During the period between 8 d and 14 d after reperfusion, the mortality rate of the HDC-KO mice was higher than that of the WT mice (P<0.05).At 14 d after reperfusion , the HDC-KO mice exhibited more aggravated deficits in contextual and cue memory compared with the WT mice.Correspondingly , a more severe CA1 neuronal injury in the HDC-KO mice than that in the WT mice was ob-served at 15 d but not at 3 d after reperfusion (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Endogenous histamine may attenuate learn-ing/memory deficits and neuronal injury at the late phase of ischemia /reperfusion.However, the involved mechanisms need to be further investigated .

Objective To evaluate values of Serum IgG 4,IgG4/IgG ratio,and IgG4/IgG1 ratio for distinguishing Mikulicz′s disease(MD)from primary Sj?gren′s syndrome(pSS).Methods It retrospectively analyzed 186 patients subjected to serum IgG subclass testing to differentiate MD from primary Sj?gren′s syndrome(pSS)at Peking University People′s Hospital from July 2012 to July 2016.This sample included 42 MD patients and 144 pSS patients.Serum IgG subclass concentrations were measured using Siemens reagents with nephelometry and BNⅡinstrument.In partial patients,serum antinuclear antibodies (ANA)were detected by indirect immunofluorescence assay, and serum anti-SSA antibodies and anti-SSB antibodies were detected by Western blot.Serum IgG subclass test results,ANA test results,serum anti-SSA antibody,and anti-SSB antibody test results were collected.The quantitative data were represented by median(quantile range).The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the medians between the two groups.Categorical variables were analyzed with a χ2test and were shown as percentages.The ROC curve was constructed to identify the optimal cut-off values and the area under the curve(AUC)values of the serum IgG4,IgG4/IgG ratio,and IgG4/IgG1 ratio for distinguishing MD patients from pSS patients.Results The medians of serum IgG4, IgG4/IgG ratio and IgG4/IgG1 ratio in MD patients were 11 200 mg/L(17 330),0.444(0.314)and 1.318(1.920), as compared with 329 mg/L(490),0.016(0.025)and 0.023(0.039)respectively in pSS patients(Z=-9.368, -9.560, and -9.571, respectively, P<0.001).For distinguishing MD from pSS, the optimal cut-off values of serum IgG4, IgG4/IgG ratio, and IgG4/IgG1 ratio were 1 870 mg/L,0.111, and 0.206, respectively.The corresponding AUC values were 0.976,0.985,and 0.986,respectively.Comparison of the ROC curves showed that there was no significant difference between AUC of serum IgG4/IgG ratio and IgG4/IgG1 ratio(Z=0.283, P=0.777).But AUC of serum IgG4/IgG ratio and IgG4/IgG1 ratio were significantly higher than AUC of serum IgG 4(Z=2.360 and 1.975,repectively,P=0.018 and 0.048,respectively).The positive rates of serum ANA in MD and pSS group were 10%and 85.8%,respectively(χ2=71.340,P<0.001).The positive rates of anti-SSA antibody and anti-SSB antibody in MD were 6.7%and 0%,respectively.Compared to 72.3%and 38.3%in pSS group, they were lower(χ2=44.773 and 16.792, P<0.001).Conclusions Measurements of serum IgG4 concentration,IgG4/IgG ratio, and IgG4/IgG1 ratio were of important values in differentiating MD from pSS.Serum IgG4/IgG ratio or IgG4/IgG1 ratio was superior to serum IgG4.

Objective To investigate the phenotypic and functional properties of in vitro-induced He-lios+regulatory T cells(Helios+iTreg) and to analyze the differences between Helios+iTreg and Helios+thymic-derived natural Treg (Helios+nTreg). Methods CD4+CD25- effector T cells (CD4+CD25- Teff) that were separated from healthy subjects were cultured with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies and stimulated with IL-2 and TGF-β to induce the generation of Helios+iTreg. Flow cytometry and real-time PCR were respectively used to analyze the differences in phenotype and CpG methylation in Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR) be-tween Helios+iTreg and Helios+nTreg derived from the same donor. Results CD45RA was highly expressed on Helios+iTreg, but not on Helios+nTreg. Additionally, Helios+iTreg expressed significantly higher levels of CD127,ICOS and PD-1,but lower levels of CXCR3,CCR4 and CD25 than Helios+nTreg did. IFN-γ and IL-2 that expressed by Helios+iTreg were more than those by Helios+nTreg. It was also found that the level of CpG methylation in TSDR was much higher in Helios+iTreg than in Helios+nTreg. Conclusion Both nTreg and iTreg expressed Helios,but the phenotypic and functional properties of the two Treg subsets were different. It was suggested that Helios+iTreg and Helios+nTreg might play different roles in the immune system.

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is the leading cause of drug-induced liver injury, and its prognosis depends on the balance between hepatocyte death and regeneration. Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) has been reported to protect against oxidative stress-associated DNA damage. But whether SIRT6 regulates APAP-induced hepatotoxicity remains unclear. In this study, the protein expression of nuclear and total SIRT6 was up-regulated in mice liver at 6 and 48 h following APAP treatment, respectively.