Dendritic cells(DCs) are the most potent antigen presenting cells,which play a vital role in the initiation of immune response by presenting antigens to T cells and followed by induction of T-cell response.This established function of dendritic cells has attracted much attention in efforts to develop useful vaccines for the treatment of cancer.In several studies,DCs were genetically engineered by tumor-associated antigens or by immune molecules such as costimulatory molecules,cytokines,and chemokines.These new DC vaccines are more powerful in stimulating anti-tumor immunity.This review focuses on DC gene modifications for enhancing the multiple effector functions of DC,a variety of transferred genes,and recent clinical trials.

Objective To study the significance of anti-antibody of liver antigens in the diagnosis of autoim- mune hepatitis disease.Methods Patients were divided into three groups according the diseases:autoimmune hepatic disease 45 cases including autoimmune hepatitis(AIH)15 cases,primary biliary cirrhosis(PBC)20 cases,and prima- ry sclerotic cholangitis(PSC)10 cases;Various virus hepatitis 50 cases;Liver damage of unknown cause 30 cases.Au- to-antibody of liver antigens SLA/LP,LKM-1,LC-1,and AMA-M2 were identified by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF)assay and immunoblot assay.Results The positive rates of anti-SLA/LP(46.6%)was significantly higher than those of anti-LKM-1(13.3%),anti-LC-1(0%),and anti-AMA-M2(13.3%)in patients with AIR while these four antibodies were negative in patients with virus hepatitis.The positive rates of anti-AMA-M2 in patients of PBC and unknown liver damage were 95.0% and 6.6%,respectively.Conclusion Anti-SLA/LP is a new specific serum marker in diagnosis of AIR.The auto-antibody detection of liver antigens will be helpful to the diagnosis and therapy of autoimmune hepatic disease.

Objective: To examine the emotional states of asthmatic children with different degrees of severity, as well as the effects of emotion on change of cytokines in airway. Methods: Asthmatic children were divided into two groups according to the degrees of severity: moderate and mild. Their emotional states were measured and results were compared. Correlation analysis was conducted between scores on emotional scales and sputum levels of IL-8.Results: Total scores on anxiety and depression were higher in the moderate group than in the mild group. Negative correlation was found between levels of anxiety and IL-8 during acute exacerbation of asthmatic condition. Conclusion: Emotional distress was found to be increased with severity of asthmatic condition in children. Anxiety contributed to the decreased concentration of IL-8 in asthmatic children's airway.

Objective To investigate the role of leader sequence in anti-apoptotic action of clusterin in LNCaP cell. Methods The wild type LNCaP cells(L), LNCaP cells transfected with the control vector(M),LNCaP cells transfected with clusterin expression vector with(A) and without(B) the leader sequence were cultured.RT-PCR was used to observe the expression of clusterin mRNA in group A,B,M and L.Cultured with TNF-?,the expression of clusterin mRNA in group L was measured,MTT and ELISA were used to determine the status of cell proliferation and apoptosis of the 4 groups. Results The expression of clusterin mRNA in group A and B was significantly higher than that in group L and M (all P 0.05).Clusterin mRNA of group L transiently elevated after treated with TNF-? for 2 h( A =15 642.0?64.3, t =-77.106, P

Natural killer T(NKT) cells are a heterogeneous group T cells that share properties of both natural killer cells and T cells,play an important role in tumor immunity.Related researches have confirmed that actived NKT cells can inhabit tumor progress,but activated NKT cells commonly become anergic for some unknown reasons after a short time.This article reviews researches on the possible mechanisms and solutions to NKT cells anergy.

Objective Cyclic RNA ( circRNAs) was discovered in 1970s,which is different from other RNA,its structure is special,which is a closed covalent ring structure,and shows high and stable expression in eukaryotic cells?In recent years, the study found that a large number of endogenous circRNAs exists in mammalian cells,and most circRNAs with stable expression,RNA enzyme degradation resistance,usually in the tissue cells with the characteristic of diversity and specificity?CircRNAs most formed by exons,part formed by introns?For the functional study of circRNAs,circRNAs has a similar competitive endogenous RNA ( ceRNA) of the sponge function,but also can regulate transcription and translation?More and more evidence indicates that circRNAs circRNAs may be abnormal expression in many diseases,especially in tumor cells?This could be some new diagnostic and predictive biomarkers of disease?CircRNAs in the field of RNA is becoming a new research hotspot,and can be widely involved in many areas of life.

The activation of the proto-oncogene STAT3 is strongly controlled under physiological conditions. However, obtained evi-dence revealed that STAT3 is persistently activated in cancer cells and contributes to cancer initiation and progression. Studies demon-strated the various functions of activated STAT3 in promoting cancer development and aggravation, including cancer cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis, drug resistance, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, regulation of the tumor microenvironment, and promo-tion of the self-renewal and differentiation of cancer stem cells. Canonically, STAT3 is regulated by signaling pathways mediated by cy-tokines and growth factors. Many studies determined that STAT3 was also regulated by G protein-coupled receptors, cadherin engage-ment, Toll-like receptors, microRNA, and acetylation. We summarized the recent developments in the research on the regulation of STAT3 activation.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of 3-n-butylphthalide pretreatment on the delayed neuronal death(DND) and the expreesion of heat shock protein70 (HSP70) in rat hippocampus after ischemia/ reperfusion.

METHODSAll rats were randomly divided into sham group (n = 36), total cerebral ischemia (TCI) group (n = 36), butylphthalide (NBP) group (n = 6), NBP + TCI group( n = 36), quercetin + NBP + TCI group (n = 6), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) + NBP + TCI group (n = 6). The model of total cerebral ischemia/reperfusion was established by blocking vertebral arteries and carotid arteries. In sham group, TCI group and NBP group, the animals were further divided into instantly, 6 h, 12 h, 1 d, 3 d, 5 d groups according to the time interval after sham operation or TCI. Histological changes of the hippocampus were evaluated using thionin staining under light microscope by determining the delayed neuronal death (DND) and the expression of HSP70 was assayed using immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSNBP pretreatment could reduce delayed neuronal death in CA1 of hippocampus induced by TCI-reperfusion injury in rats, and up-regulated the expression of HSP70 in CA1 hippocampus of brain ischemic/reperfusion for 5 days. Quercetin blocked the acquirement of the brain ischemic tolerance induced by NBP preconditioning.

CONCLUSION3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) prevents the neurons from ischemia/reperfusion injury through upregulating the expression of HSP70.

Animals ; Benzofurans ; pharmacology ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal ; cytology ; pathology ; Cell Death ; Cerebral Infarction ; drug therapy ; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Ischemic Preconditioning ; Neurons ; cytology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reperfusion Injury ; drug therapy

Objective To investigate the correlation of the prevalence of periodontitis with age and course of disease in patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods A total of 884 patients with diabetes (both sexes,aged 35-79 yr) were involved in present study.Diagnosis of periodontitis was made according to the 1999 WHO standard,and of type 2 diabetes to the 1997 WHO standard.Age,gender,course of diabetes and periodontal state of those patients were recorded.The patients were grouped according to their age (10 yr interval) and course of disease (5 years interval).Based on the grouping,the collected data were input into ACCESS data bank and statistically analyzed with SAS software,and the prevalence of periodontitis were then compared.Results The prevalence of periodontitis in patients with type 2 diabetes increased with the increasing of age and with the prolonging of disease course (P

Objective To set up a method of detecting platelet associated antibody(PA Ig) by flow cytometry(FCM),and to investigate the value of FCM method in the diagnosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura(ITP).Methods We detected the platelet associated antibody of 20 healthy donors and 10 patients with ITP.These samples were also measured with ELISA.The results of FCM were compared with the results of ELISA.Results By FCM,the measured value of PA IgG,PA IgA and PA IgM,from 20 normal dornors,were 2.56?2.08%、13.75?5.98% and 13.90?7.28%,respectively.In patients with ITP,PA IgG,PA IgA and PA IgM were 28.13?17.74%、25.07?16.84% and 23.22?17.85%.Conclusion FCM can be a rapid,sensitive and new method in detecting platelet autoantibody,and has better potential than ELISA.