Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, and Th17 cells are key factors in the pathogenesis of human inflammatory conditions, such as RA. Catalpol (CAT), a component in Rehmanniae Radix (RR), has been found to regulate human immunity. However, the effects of CAT on Th17 cell differentiation and improvement of RA are not clear. Materials and Methods: Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice were constructed to detect the effects of CAT on arthritis and Th17 cells. The effect of CAT on Th17 differentiation was evaluated with let-7g-5p transfection experiments. Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Th17 cells after CAT treatment. Levels of interleukin-17 and RORγt were assessed by qRT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results: We found that the proportion of Th17 cells was negatively associated with let-7g-5p expression in CIA mice. In in vitro experiments, CAT suppressed traditional differentiation of Th17 cells. Simultaneously, CAT significantly decreased Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation. Our results demonstrated that CAT inhibited Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation by up-regulating let-7g-5p and that the suppressive effect of CAT on traditional differentiation of Th17 cells is not related with let-7-5p. Conclusion Our data indicate that CAT may be a potential modulator of Tregs-to-Th17 cells transdifferentiation by up-regulating let-7g-5p to reduce the expression of STAT3. These results provide new directions for research into RA treatment.

Objective:To investigate the common types, surgical treatment and effects of tracheal stenosis in children.Methods:A total of 23 children with tracheal stenosis in our hospital from December 2017 to August 2020 were retrospectively reviewed, including 14 males and 9 females. The mean age at operation was(8.9±5.8)months(range: 2-3 months) and the mean weight was(6.4±2.3)kg(range: 4.2-10.5 kg). The common types of tracheal stenosis were complete tracheal ring in 9 children, tracheomalacia in 10 and subglottic membranous annular hyperplasia in 4. The type of congenital heart diseases included 10 patients of pulmonary artery sling, 1 of tetralogy of Fallot, 5 of ventricular septal defect, 1 of pulmonary atresia, and 1 of right aortic arch with aberrant left subclavian artery. Slide tracheoplasty was performed in 9 patients, external splint in 8, endotracheal stent in 2 and tracheal dilation in 4. All children were followed up after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months of operation with CT and bronchoscopy.Results:There was 1 death in all 23 patients and the mortality was 4.3%, which died of granulation tissue hyperplasia after slide tracheoplasty. Reoperation was performed in 1 patient with endotracheal stent. All patients were followed for 1 to 24 months. Clinical symptoms of tracheal stenosis disappeared and the results of CT and bronchoscopy were satisfied.Conclusion:Slide tracheoplasty is the effective surgical method for complete trachea ring. 3D printing bioresorbable external splint is a promising method for the treatment of tracheomalacia.