Epitope spreading often occurs in patients with autoimmune bullous diseases (ABDs), resulting in exposure of more antigenic epitopes, aggravation or transformation of pre-existing diseases, or concurrence of other diseases. With the increase in the immunological evidence for epitope spreading, more and more scholars have realized that epitope spreading plays an important role in the development of ABDs. This review introduces the phenomenon of epitope spreading in ABDs from 4 aspects, including the concurrence of or transformation between different types of pemphigoid, different types of pemphigus, pemphigus and pemphigoid, as well as between ABDs and other skin diseases.

Objective To predict the intervention targets of empagliflozin(EMPA),a specific inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2(SGLT2),in gastric adenocarcinoma through comprehensive network pharmacology,and to validate the effects and the molecular mechanisms of EMPA through cellular and molecular biology experiments.Methods Bioinformatics analysis of gastric adenocarcinoma was conducted to assess the correlation between gastric adenocarcinoma prognosis and SGLT2 expression.Network pharmacology was utilized to identify shared targets of EMPA and gastric adenocarcinoma.AGS cells,a human gastric adenocarcinoma cells line,were incubated with EMPA at different concentrations for 24 h and,then,cell proliferation was assessed using the CCK8 assay.After AGS cells were incubated with EMPA at the doses of 0,3,and 6 mmol/L,real-time cell analysis(RTCA)and 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine(EdU)incorporation were used to evaluate EMPA's inhibitory effects on the proliferation of the AGS cells.In addition,wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to assess the inhibitory effect of EMPA on the migration and invasion of the APC cells and Western blot analysis was conducted to examine the expression of mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)and phosphorylated mTOR(p-mTOR).BALB/c(nu/nu)nude mice were implanted with 5x106 AGS cells in the axilla.The mice were divided into three groups,a control group,a low-dose group,and a high-dose group,each consisting of 7 mice.After one week,the control group received daily intraperitoneal injections of normal saline,while the low-dose group and high-dose group received daily intraperitoneal injections of EMPA at the doses of 3 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg,respectively.The tumor volume was measured one week after the drug intervention started.Results Gastric adenocarcinoma patients with low expression of SGLT2 exhibited longer survival time and higher survival rate than those with high expression of SGLT2 did.A total of 104 EMPA-related potential targets and 2028 targets associated with gastric adenocarcinoma were identified.Among these,45 targets associated with gastric adenocarcinoma overlapped with potential targets of EMPA.Further analysis revealed 10 relevant pathways and 4 core genes.The core genes were cyclin-dependent kinase 4(CDK4),glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GAPDH),mTOR,and cyclin El(CCNE1).CCK-8 assay revealed that EMPA at concentrations ranging from 0.39 to 50 mmol/L effectively inhibited the proliferation of AGS cells.RTCA results indicated a downward shift in the cell growth curve.In comparison to the findings for the control group,EdU assay demonstrated that EMPA at the concentrations of 3 mmol/L and 6 mmol/L significantly inhibited AGS cell proliferation(P＜0.05).Results from wound healing and Transwell assays indicated a decrease in the levels of cell migration and invasion(P＜0.05)and,notably,there was a significant difference between the high and low-dose EMPA groups(P＜0.05).Western blot showed no statistically significant difference in the expression of total mTOR protein between the groups.However,the expression of p-mTOR in the 3 mmol/L and 6 mmol/L EMPA groups decreased compared to that of the control group(P＜0.05),with the 6 mmol/L EMPA group exhibiting a more pronounced reduction(P＜0.05).Nude mice xenograft tumor experiment demonstrated that,compared to that of the control group,the tumor volumes in the EMPA-treatment groups were significantly reduced(P＜0.05),with the high-dose group showing a more pronounced reduction(P＜0.05).Conclusion EMPA inhibits the abnormal proliferation and migration of gastric adenocarcinoma cells,potentially through the modulation of mTOR protein activation.This study provides new potential medication and intervention targets for gastric adenocarcinoma treatment.

Nonbullous pemphigoid (NBP) , which is related to bullous pemphigoid, has various clinical manifestations, and is frequently accompanied by itching. Typical clinical manifestations of bullous pemphigoid (BP) , such as tense blisters or bullae, are absent in NBP cases. It is easy to misdiagnose. Histopathological findings are not specific, and its diagnosis should be confirmed by direct immunofluo-rescence, indirect immunofluorescence or salt-split indirect immunofluorescence. NBP may develop into BP in some cases, and the prognosis of NBP is better than that of BP. However, delayed diagnosis usually leads to a relatively high dosage of drugs for disease control, and a high rate of adverse reactions.

Objective: To construct a scientific behavioral research of pasta matrix reaching task (PMRT) and comprehensively evaluate sensory-motor dysfunction caused by brain injury. Methods: Twenty-one SD rats were subjected to 14-days pasta matrix grasping training and then were randomly divided into model group (11 rats) and sham group (6 rats). Motor cortex ischemia was induced by injection of endothelin-1 in SD rats. The number of pasta grabed by the injured forelimb and the location in matrix were evaluated daily 7 days after surgery. The infarct volume was measured by Nissl staining at the 7 days, 14 days, and 28 days after stroke. Results: The number of pasta obtained by rats was reduced from (33.43±1.02) to (20.57±0.57) at 7 days post stroke in model group, and then increased to (26.85±0.98) at 28 days post stroke, although there was a significant difference between sham group(32.33±1.45) and ischemic group (t=3.198, P<0.05). The frequency of retrieval from each slot of the pasta matrix represented that sham group demonstrated a significant gain in performance in the antero quadrant of the matrix compared to ischemic rats by the fourth week after stroke.The stroke volume was decreased from (37.82±1.17)mm³ at 7 days post-stroke to (24.35±0.38)mm³ at 28 days post-stroke, indicating brain recovery from ischemic injury. Conclusion The pasta matrix reaching task can function as a versatile and sensitive behavioral assay that permits experimenters to collect accurate outcome data and manipulate limb use to mimic human clinical phenomena including compensatory strategies and focused rehabilitative training after stroke.

Viral myocarditis (VM) refers to human infections thermophilic myocardium virus that causes the circumscribed or diffuse myocardium-inflammatory lesion.Myocarditis can be caused by a variety of microbial infections,and VM is the most common one.In order to make the medical staff in clinical work have a more in-depth understanding of VM,this paper describes the common rviruses related,VM and its pathogenesis,process.At present,there is no effective drug and treatment method for VM.It is particularly important to further study the pathogenesis of VM on the role of the virus in,and inhibit its role in the further exploration of clinical therapeutic targets,to improve the quality of life of patients with VM and prolong the survival time is of great significance.Studying in-depth virus in the pathogenesis of VM and restraining its function are particularly important for the further exploration of clinical therapeutic targets.It is significant to improve the life quality and prolong the survival time for VM patients.

Objective To investigate the expression level of thymus microRNA-27a-3p in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and to explore the pathogenesis of MG.Methods Thymus tissue samples from 36 cases were collected from December 2014 to February 2015 in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University.Nineteen thymus tissue samples of MG group were collected from department of chest surgery,17 thymus tissue samples of control group were collected from department of chest surgery or congenital heart disease patients from department of cardiac surgery.The expression of microRNA-27a-3p in the thymus from 36 patients was determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR),using U6 as housekeeping control.The Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test was used to analyze the relative expression of microRNA-27a-3p of the two groups.Spearman rank correlation was used to determine the correlation coefficient between microRNA-27a-3p and Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis Score (QMGS).Results (1) The expression level of microRNA-27a-3p in thymus was significantly higher in MG group (0.195(0.049,0.714)) compared with control group (0.045(0.004,0.088),Z =-2.646,P =0.008).(2) Nineteen MG patients were included in the study,out of which 7 were ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) patients and 12 were generalized myasthenia gravis (GMG) patients.The expression of microRNA-27a-3p in GMG patients (0.493 (0.157,1.123)) was significantly higher than that in OMG patients (0.035 (0.008,0.103),Z =-2.620,P =0.009).(3) There was a positive correlation between the expression of microRNA-27a-3p and QMGS (r =0.576,P =0.010).Conclusions The expression of microRNA-27a-3p in thymus is significantly up-regulated in the patients with MG.MicroRNA-27a-3p may be associated with MG severity and significantly elevated in GMG patients compared with OMG patients.

Objective To investigate the association between myasthenia gravis (MG) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PTPN22 + 1858C/T,CTLA-4 (+ 49A/G;-1772C/T;-1661A/G),KRAS(rs9226),BCL2(rs4987855) and IGF-1R(rs34804698) genes.Methods Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was adopted to detect the gene types of SNPs in 76 MG patients who were enrolled in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University from July 2011 to June 2015 and 59 healthy blood donors.Results In MG patients,the frequences of CTLA-4 +49A/G(rs231775) (57.9％) and-1772C/T (rs733618) (43.4％) were higher than that in the healthy controls (22.1％) (x2 =35.252,P =0.000; x2 =4.098,P =0.043).The frequence of CTLA-4 +49A/G in MG patients combined with thymoma (25.6％) was higher than other subgroups (thymic hyperplasia group:13.8％; normal thymus group:18.4％)(x2 =7.564,P=0.006; x2 =7.155,P=0.007).Meanwhile,the frequence of the C-1772 allele was higher in thymoma group (19.7％) compared with other two groups (thymic hyperplasia group:9.86％ ; normal thymus group:13.8％) (x2 =5.331,P =0.021 ;x2 =4.411,P =0.036).However,the other SNPs were not associated with the risk of MG.Conclusion There are associations of MG with CTLA-4 + 49A/G and-1772C/T SNPs,but not with PTPN,KRAS,BC12 and IGF-1R SNPs.

Objective To study the characteristic findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) induced by chronic kernicterus.Methods The MR imagings in 13 CP cases induced by chronic kernicterus were retrospectively studied, which were compared with 6 healthy and age-matched controls. 13 cases were finally diagnosed as dyskinetic cerebral palsy (athetoid subtype).Results In 13 cases, all showed symmetric high signals in the the globus pallidus on T2-weighted imaging. There were not apparent abnormality on T1-weighted imaging.Conclusion The bilateral high intensity signals in the globus pallidus on T2-weighted imaging are the characteristic findings on MRI in CP children induced by chronic kernicterus. Paying attention to the globus pallidus on MRI may be useful in determining the type of cerebral palsy.