Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, is markedly influenced by both immune and inflammatory reactions throughout its progression. Dendritic cells, as pivotal antigen-presenting entities, play a crucial role in the initiation of immune responses and the preservation of immunological homeostasis. Accumulating data indicates that dendritic cells are present in healthy arteries and accumulate significantly in atherosclerotic plaques. Novel immunotherapeutic approaches and vaccination protocols have yielded substantial clinical advancements in managing chronic inflammatory diseases, with dendritic cell-centric modalities emerging for atherosclerotic management. In this review, we delineate the essential functions and underlying mechanisms of dendritic cells and their subsets in the modulation of atherosclerotic inflammation and immune responses. We underscore the immense promise of dendritic cell-based immunotherapeutic strategies, including vaccines and innovative combinations with nanotechnological drug delivery platforms for atherosclerosis treatment. We also discuss the challenges associated with dendritic cell immunotherapy and provide perspectives on the future direction of this field.

Objective:To explore the influence of different time intervals after stent implantation on the efficacy and prognosis of elective surgery in patients with malignant obstructive colorectal cancer(MOCRC).Methods:A total of 182 MOCRC patients were enrolled,including 92 who underwent emergency surgery(ES group)and 90 who received elective surgery after stent placement(SEMS group).The SEMS group was further divided into three subgroups based on the interval between stent placement and surgery:<11 d(n=27),11-17 d(n=39),and>17 d(n=24).Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare overall survival(OS)and disease-free survival(DFS),and Cox proportional hazards re-gression was employed to identify prognostic factors.Prognostic models based on surgical timing were constructed,and receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were drawn with area under the curve(AUC)calculated to assess model discrimination.A total of 182 patients with MOCRC were included.Among them,92 underwent emergency sur-gery(ES group),and 90 underwent elective surgery after stent implantation(SEMS group).The SEMS group was di-vided into the<11 d group(n=27),the 11-17 d group(n=39),and the>17 d group(n=24)according to the operation interval.Overall survival(OS)and disease-free survival(DFS)were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method,and prognostic factors were analyzed by Cox regression.Result:Compared with the ES group,the SEMS group had a higher rate of laparoscopic surgery and significantly less intraoperative blood loss(P<0.05),with no significant differ-ences in postoperative complication rate,stoma formation rate(P>0.05).Among SEMS patients,the 11～17 d group had the shortest hospital stay and the lowest complication rate(7.69%).Multivariate Cox analysis showed that surgery performed 11-17 d group significantly reduced the risk of death compared to emergency surgery(HR=0.650,P=0.034),while surgery 11 d group significantly increased the risk(HR=2.051,P=0.042).Independent predictors of OS in-cluded age(HR=1.060,P<0.001),preoperative CEA level(HR=1.323,P=0.002),tumor size(HR=1.421,P=0.028),tumor differentiation(HR=1.123,P=0.005),and venous invasion(HR=2.792,P<0.001).For DFS,age,tumor size,venous inva-sion,and perineural invasion were identified as independent risk factors(P<0.05),while surgical timing showed no sig-nificant association(P>0.05).Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no significant difference in OS among different groups in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ patients,whereas in stage Ⅲ patients,the 11-17 d group had better OS,and the>17 d group had signifi-cantly worse DFS than other groups(P=0.017).ROC curve analysis showed that the AUCs for OS prediction were 0.636(<11 d),0.601(11-17 d),and 0.750(>17 d);and for DFS prediction were 0.655,0.567,and 0.874,respectively,indicating that surgical timing has moderate discriminative value for survival outcomes.Conclusion:Elective surgery performed 11 to 17 d after stent placement can reduce mortality and improve postoperative recovery,although it has no significant impact on recurrence risk.Venous and peripheral nerve invasion are major factors affecting disease-free survival(DFS);therefore,clinical management should focus on identifying high-risk patients and optimizing individual-ized treatment strategies.

Objective:To explore the influence of different time intervals after stent implantation on the efficacy and prognosis of elective surgery in patients with malignant obstructive colorectal cancer(MOCRC).Methods:A total of 182 MOCRC patients were enrolled,including 92 who underwent emergency surgery(ES group)and 90 who received elective surgery after stent placement(SEMS group).The SEMS group was further divided into three subgroups based on the interval between stent placement and surgery:<11 d(n=27),11-17 d(n=39),and>17 d(n=24).Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare overall survival(OS)and disease-free survival(DFS),and Cox proportional hazards re-gression was employed to identify prognostic factors.Prognostic models based on surgical timing were constructed,and receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were drawn with area under the curve(AUC)calculated to assess model discrimination.A total of 182 patients with MOCRC were included.Among them,92 underwent emergency sur-gery(ES group),and 90 underwent elective surgery after stent implantation(SEMS group).The SEMS group was di-vided into the<11 d group(n=27),the 11-17 d group(n=39),and the>17 d group(n=24)according to the operation interval.Overall survival(OS)and disease-free survival(DFS)were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method,and prognostic factors were analyzed by Cox regression.Result:Compared with the ES group,the SEMS group had a higher rate of laparoscopic surgery and significantly less intraoperative blood loss(P<0.05),with no significant differ-ences in postoperative complication rate,stoma formation rate(P>0.05).Among SEMS patients,the 11～17 d group had the shortest hospital stay and the lowest complication rate(7.69%).Multivariate Cox analysis showed that surgery performed 11-17 d group significantly reduced the risk of death compared to emergency surgery(HR=0.650,P=0.034),while surgery 11 d group significantly increased the risk(HR=2.051,P=0.042).Independent predictors of OS in-cluded age(HR=1.060,P<0.001),preoperative CEA level(HR=1.323,P=0.002),tumor size(HR=1.421,P=0.028),tumor differentiation(HR=1.123,P=0.005),and venous invasion(HR=2.792,P<0.001).For DFS,age,tumor size,venous inva-sion,and perineural invasion were identified as independent risk factors(P<0.05),while surgical timing showed no sig-nificant association(P>0.05).Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed no significant difference in OS among different groups in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ patients,whereas in stage Ⅲ patients,the 11-17 d group had better OS,and the>17 d group had signifi-cantly worse DFS than other groups(P=0.017).ROC curve analysis showed that the AUCs for OS prediction were 0.636(<11 d),0.601(11-17 d),and 0.750(>17 d);and for DFS prediction were 0.655,0.567,and 0.874,respectively,indicating that surgical timing has moderate discriminative value for survival outcomes.Conclusion:Elective surgery performed 11 to 17 d after stent placement can reduce mortality and improve postoperative recovery,although it has no significant impact on recurrence risk.Venous and peripheral nerve invasion are major factors affecting disease-free survival(DFS);therefore,clinical management should focus on identifying high-risk patients and optimizing individual-ized treatment strategies.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the transcriptional gene expression profile up-regulated in human macrophages stimulated by interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and the underlying intracellular signaling mechanisms. METHODS: RNA-seq was used to sequence and compare the differential gene expression profiles of human macrophage cell line U937 before and after IFN-γ stimulation, and the significantly up-regulated genes were screened out, which were verified by fluorescence-based real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in U937 and THP1 cell lines, respectively. JAK/STAT, MAPK/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitors were added to simultaneously to the cultured U937 cells upon IFN-γ priming to detect their effects on the expressions of the up-regulated genes to explore the key regulatory mechanisms. RESULTS: RNA-seq and qPCR results showed that, the well-recognized chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11, the APOL family including APOL1, APOL2, APOL3, APOL4, APOL6 and GBP family GBP1, GBP2, GBP3, GBP4 and GBP5 as well were significantly up-regulated in IFN-γ-stimulated U937 cells. JAK/STAT3 pathway inhibitor inhibited the upregulation of APOL1, APOL4, GBP1, GBP4 and GBP5 genes induced by IFN-γ, while MAPK/ERK pathway inhibitor inhibited the upregulation of CXCL10 gene. PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitor inhibited the upregulation of APOL1,APOL4, APOL6, GBP1 and GBP5 genes induced by IFN-γ, all three signal pathway inhibitors could inhibit the upregulation of CXCL9 gene, and none of them could inhibit the upregulation of APOL3 gene. CONCLUSION Upon IFN-γ stimulation, some family molecules of APOL and GBP in macrophages are significantly up-regulated, and PI3K/AKT, JAK/STAT3 and MAPK/ERK pathways have positive regulation on their expressions, respectively.
Apolipoprotein L1/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma/pharmacology* ; Macrophages/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effects of Shexiang Tongxin Dropping Pill (, STDP) following sodium laurate-induced coronary microembolization (CME) in rats. METHODS: Forty rats were divided into 4 groups: the control (sham) group, CME group, low-dose STDP pretreatment group (20 mg·kg RESULTS: The rats in the CME group showed a significant increase in the fibrinogen-like protein 2 expression level and mitochondrial dysfunction and a decrease in the expression level of antioxidant biomarkers (superoxide dismutase and catalase, P<0.01 for all). In contrast, the rats in the low- and high-dose STDP pretreatment groups showed a significant decrease in coronary microthrombi (P<0.05); moreover, STDP restored the antioxidant-related protein activities and mitochondrial function, inhibited mPTP opening, decreased AKT-Ser473 phosphorylation, and increased GSK3β-Ser9 phosphorylation (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION STDP may be useful for treatment of CME, possibly via regulation of mPTP opening and AKT/GSK3β phosphorylation.

Some patients with corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19) experienced a severe exacerbation of the disease due to the occurrence of inflammatory storm during the development of the disease. They are complicated with acute respiratory distress, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and other serious complications, with a poor prognosis and a high mortality. For the inflammation storm, western medicine mostly adopts glucocorticoids, nutritional support, artificial ventilation assistance and other measures at present. The development of artificial liver, blood purification therapy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and other technologies have also reduced the mortality of patients to some extent. However, due to the high requirements for equipment, the measures have not yet been widely carried out. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), the basic pathogenesis of COVID-19 is epidemic toxin invasion, lung and spleen being affected by pathogens, damaging vital Qi, and pathological properties involving dampness, heat, poison, stasis and deficiency. At the stage of inflammation storm, the pathogens are abundant, while the vital Qi is deficient， and the pathogens occlude lung, and disturb the heart and mind, and blood stasis and toxicity are combined with Qi-Yin deficiency. In severe cases, even both Yin and Yang exhaustion occurs. At present, a number of studies have shown that a variety of Chinese herbal medicines have multi-target immunomodulatory effect on viral pneumonia and cytokine storm. TCM participates in whole process of the occurrence and development of inflammation storm, mainly eliminating pathogens in early stage, controlling inflammation and blocking occurrence of inflammation storm， eliminating pathogens and strengthening the body resistance to eliminate the pathological products of the inflammation storm, and promoting the dissipation and absorption of inflammation in the middle stage， and saving lives in late stage by benefiting Qi and relieving depletion, and restoring Yang and rescuing from collapse. On the basis of pathophysiological mechanism of COVID-19 inflammation storm and the theory of TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment, this paper summarized the pharmacological studies on intervention on inflammatory storm with relevant Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese medicine prescriptions and Chinese medicine preparations, and discussed the intervention measures of TCM in different development stages of inflammatory storm, in expectation of providing the guidance for clinical treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of Chinese medicine acupoint application (CMAA) combined with Western medicine for perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR) in children. METHODS: In this prospective, parallel, randomized, placebo-controlled and single-blind trial from August to September, 2017, 180 children with PAR were randomly assigned to an integrative group (CMAA and Montelukast), CMAA group (CMAA and placebo tablet), or Montelukast group (placebo CMAA and Montelukast). Participants were applied with CMAA for 6 sessions over 2 weeks, and/or Montelukast Chewable Tablet orally once daily for 12 weeks. The changes in severity of symptoms were measured by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and rhinitis control assessment test (RCAT) at 0, 2, 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. Blood samples were collected for serum interleukin-4, interferon gamma γ and T helper type 1 (Th1)/Th2 flow cytometric analysis at the time points of 0, 4 and 12 weeks. RESULTS: Eight cases dropped out from the trial, 3 in the integrative group, 2 in the CMAA group and 3 in the Montelukast group. The VAS scores decreased significantly while the RCAT scores increased significantly in all three groups at 4 and 12 weeks compared with baseline (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The VAS scores were significantly lower while the RCAT scores were significantly higher in the integrative and CMAA groups than the Montelukast group at 2 and 4 weeks (P<0.01 or P<0.05). At 2, 4 and 12 weeks, the scores of nasal congestion, sneezing, sleep problem, and rhinitis symptom control in the integrative and CMAA groups increased significantly compared with baseline (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The least percentages of Th2 and the most alleviated Th2 shift (highest Th1/Th2) were observed in the integrative group at 12 weeks compared with the other two groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The combination of CMAA with Montelukast might be more effective and appropriate than either option alone for children with PAR. (Registered at Chinese Clinical Trial Register, registration No. ChiCTR-IOR-17012434).

OBJECTIVE To investigate TCM syndromes on maternal separation in C5 7/BL6 mice.METHODS Neonatal mice were intervened through maternal separation.The effects of maternal separation on spontaneous activities of mice were e-valuated by field test and the effects on immobility times of mice were evaluated by forced swimming test and tail suspension test.Four diagnostic quantitative indicators measurement and quantitative dialectical method were employed to explore the state of Qi,Blood,Yin and Yang in mice.Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal(HPA) cortical axis function was observed through adre-nocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)and corticosterone(CORT)determination.The level of energy metabolism was investigated through the measurement of cyclic adenosine monophosphate/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cAMP/cGMP),ATPase and superoxide dismutase(SOD).RESULTS No statistical significance(P>0.05)was observed in the total path of animal activi-ties between each group in field test.Compared with the control group and MS1 5 group,in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test,the immobility time of mice of MS18 group was significantly increased(P<0.01).The levels of Yang heat, cAMP/cGMP,Na+-K+-ATPase and SOD significantly decreased(P<0.01),while ACTH and CORT significantly increased (P<0.01)of MS18 group,compared to the control group and MS15 group.CONCLUSION Maternal separation shows sig-nificant effects on behavior in mice.The mice exhibit depression-like behavior,upset HPA axis balance and reduce body energy metabolism,which characterized as Yang deficiency symptoms in TCM.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the performance of vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) for the bio-decontamination of the high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter unit.

METHODSSelf-made or commercially available bioindicators were placed at designated locations in the HEPA filter unit under VHP fumigation. The spores on coupons were then extracted by 0.5 h submergence in eluent followed by 200- time violent knocks.

RESULTSDue to the presence of HEPA filter in the box, spore recovery from coupons placed at the bottom of the filter downstream was significantly higher than that from coupons placed at the other locations. The gap of decontamination efficiency between the top and the bottom of the filter downstream became narrower with the exposure time extended. The decontamination efficiency of the bottom of the filter downstream only improved gently with the injection rate of H2O2 increased and the decontamination efficiency decreased instead when the injection rate exceeded 2.5 g/min. The commercially available bioindicators were competent to indicate the disinfection efficiency of VHP for the HEPA filter unit.

CONCLUSIONThis assay developed can detect all 16 β-lactams demanded by the European Union (EU). The whole procedure takes only 45 min and can detect 42 samples and the standards with duplicate analysis.

Air Filters ; Fumigation ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; chemistry

BACKGROUNDThe nocturnal nondipping and elevated morning blood pressure (BP) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) have not yet been well investigated in Chinese patients. This study aimed to describe the BP profile, and to elucidate the relationships between daytime BP and nighttime BP, and between evening BP and morning BP in patients with OSAS.

METHODSTwenty teaching hospital sleep centers in China were organized by the Chinese Medical Association to participate in this study and 2297 patients were recruited between January 2004 and April 2006. BP assessments were made at four time points (daytime, evening, nighttime and morning) and polysomnography (PSG) was performed and subjects were classified into four groups by their apnea-hypopnea index (AHI): control, n = 213 with AHI < 5; mild, n = 420 with AHI ≥ 5 and < 15; moderate, n = 460 with AHI ≥ 15 and < 30; and severe, n = 1204 with AHI ≥ 30. SPSS 11.5 software package was used for statistical analysis and figure drawing.

RESULTSAll the average daytime, nighttime, evening and morning BPs were positively correlated with AHI and negatively correlated with nadir nocturnal oxygen saturation. The ratios of nighttime/daytime and morning/evening average BP were positively correlated with AHI. The ratio of nighttime/daytime systolic BP became a "reversed BP dipping" pattern until the classification reached severe, while the ratio of nighttime/daytime diastolic BP became reversed at moderate. Similarly, the ratio of morning/evening diastolic BP becomes reversed even at mild.

CONCLUSIONSOSAS may result in higher BP levels at all four time points. The ratios of nighttime/daytime and morning/evening BP increase with increased AHI. The increasing of diastolic BP, which is inclined to rise more quickly, is not parallel with increasing systolic BP.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anthropometry ; Blood Pressure ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; physiopathology ; Young Adult