Objective:To explore the role of interleukin (IL)-9 and other T helper (Th) cell-related cytokines in the pathogenesis of acute anterior uveitis.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted.Thirty-six patients (36 eyes) with acute anterior uveitis who were treated at Gansu Provincial Hospital from May 2018 to May 2019 and 40 matched healthy subjects (40 eyes) who had no eye diseases or systemic diseases in the same period were enrolled as the acute anterior uveitis group and healthy control group, respectively.The disease severity of the subjects in the acute anterior uveitis group was graded and the subjects were divided into mild, moderate and severe groups according to the grading.Serum of all subjects was collected to determine the concentration of serum IL-9, IL-17, transforming growth factor-β 1 (TGF-β 1), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-4, IL-35 and IL-22 by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between IL-9 concentration and other Th cell-related cytokines.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by an Ethics Committee of Gansu Provincial Hospital (No.2019-204). Written informed consent was obtained from each subject prior to any medical examination. Results:The serum levels of IL-9, IFN-γ, IL-4, TGF-β 1, IL-35 and IL-22 in the acute anterior uveitis group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all at P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the concentration of IL-17 between the two groups ( U=704.500, P=0.872). The IL-9 concentration of patients with acute anterior uveitis in the mild, moderate and severe groups was 57.24 (47.47, 65.10), 71.68 (67.55, 78.91) and 114.01 (74.78, 139.30) ng/L, respectively, and the overall difference was statistically significant ( Z=8.766, P=0.012), and the IL-9 concentration of the mild group and the moderate group was significantly lower than that of the severe group (both at P<0.05). The concentration of IL-9 in the patients with acute anterior uveitis was positively correlated with the concentration of IL-17, TGF-β 1 and IL-35 ( rs=0.449, 0.517, 0.400; all at P<0.05), and no significant correlations were found between the concentration of IL-9 and the concentration of IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-22 ( rs=0.293, 0.286, 0.316; all at P>0.05). Conclusions:IL-9 plays a role in promoting the immune inflammatory response in the occurrence and development of acute anterior uveitis, and it is closely related to Th17 and Treg cell-related cytokines (TGF-β 1, IL-35).

Objective To analyze the relationship of the volume of 87 brain regions with postnatal age and neurobehavior in full-term neonates.Methods A total of 75 full-term newborns[gestational age(39.38±1.22)weeks;male/female(51/24);postnatal age(11.11±6.67)days]without abnormalities on brain MRI(three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging,3D T1WI)at our hospital between November 2010 and September 2017 were retrospectively included.Based on the template of 87 brain regions,the neonatal brains were divided into 87 brain regions and their volumes were calculated by using V-shape Bottleneck network(VB-Net)deep learning segmentation technique,Pearson partial correlation and regression analysis were used to explore the relationship of the volume of each brain region with postnatal age and neurobehavioral scores.Results After adjusting for gestational age,birth weight,head circumference,body length and sex,66.7％of the regional brain volumes(58/87 brain regions)significantly increased with the postnatal age(correlation coefficient r:0.2-0.7,P＜0.05).The volumes of gray matter in bilateral lentiform nucleus,left caudate nucleus,right occipital lobe,right inferior temporal lobe,and bilateral anterior temporal lobe strongly correlated with the postnatal age(r＞0.50,P＜0.05).The gray matter volume of the right occipital lobe linearly increased with age(slope:100.67),and was positively correlated with behavioral scores(r=0.324,P＜0.01).Conclusion Most of regional brain volumes increase with the postnatal age during the neonatal period,and the fastest growth occurs in primary sensorimotor-related brain regions,presenting the spatial heterogeneity.Partial brain region grows with the development of behavioral ability.

The adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, IrtAB, plays a vital role in the replication and viability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), where its function is to import iron-loaded siderophores. Unusually, it adopts the canonical type IV exporter fold. Herein, we report the structure of unliganded Mtb IrtAB and its structure in complex with ATP, ADP, or ATP analogue (AMP-PNP) at resolutions ranging from 2.8 to 3.5 Å. The structure of IrtAB bound ATP-Mg2+ shows a "head-to-tail" dimer of nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs), a closed amphipathic cavity within the transmembrane domains (TMDs), and a metal ion liganded to three histidine residues of IrtA in the cavity. Cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) structures and ATP hydrolysis assays show that the NBD of IrtA has a higher affinity for nucleotides and increased ATPase activity compared with IrtB. Moreover, the metal ion located in the TM region of IrtA is critical for the stabilization of the conformation of IrtAB during the transport cycle. This study provides a structural basis to explain the ATP-driven conformational changes that occur in IrtAB.
Siderophores/metabolism* ; Iron/metabolism* ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/metabolism* ; Cryoelectron Microscopy ; Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism* ; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters