Objective:To investigate the effect of human tumor suppressor folliculin (FLCN) on the expression of melanocyte chemokines (MC) mediated by immune factors in vitiligo.Methods:The MC of vitiligo patients that received autologous melanocyte transplantation in the Department of Dermatology, Hangzhou Third People′s Hospital from January to April 2019 were collected. The blister fluid of the white spot and the normal part was taken. Western blot was used to analyze the expression difference of MC and FLCN protein in normal, vitiligo patients and that induced by immune factors; FLCN shRNA lentivirus was constructed by shRNA and transfected into normal MC (FLCN shRNA MC) to interfere with the expression of silenced FLCN gene. The effect of immune factors on chemokines in FLCN shRNA MC was detected by ELISA.Results:The results of Western blot showed that FLCN protein was highly expressed in melanocytes of vitiligo patients, immune factors stimulated FLCN protein expression in normal melanocytes significantly increased ( t=1.27; P<0.001), chemokine CXCL10 and CCL20 also significantly increased ( t=104.53 and 60.21, respectively; P<0.001). The expression of FLCN in FLCN shRNA MC was significantly decreased ( F=1.95, P<0.001); and the high expression of CXCL10 and CCL20 induced by immune factors was significantly inhibited ( F=93.676 and 74.096, all P<0.001). Conclusions:Immune factors can stimulate the expression of CXCL10 and CCL20, which are closely related to vitiligo, while FLCN is a key protein involved in immune factors inducing melanocyte chemokine expression.

Objective To explore the solution for regional population health information platform based on the involvement of internet plus and big data.MethodsThe objective and contents of the platform were discussed,and its logic structure and deployment architecture were designed.The functions of a platform-based application system and two information integration platforms were described.The key technical links of the system were demonstrated.Results The solution for regional population health information platform based on internet plus completed population health information service system,and laid a foundation for the application of medical big data.Conclusion The solution contributes to the inter-connection and communication between medical fields in some region,promotes healthcare informatizatoin platform and is thus worthy applying practically.

Objective To evaluate the effect of human dermal mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) on the expression and secretion of interleukin (IL)-13 by perilesional CD8+ T lymphocytes from patients with vitiligo.Methods Tissue specimens were obtained from the perilesional region of six patients with active vitiligo,and CD8+ T lymphocytes were isolated from both the tissue specimens and peripheral blood of these patients.DMSCs and melanocytes were obtained from the foreskin tissue of healthy males.The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium,inner salt (MTS) assay was performed to estimate the effect of different concentrations of recombinant IL-13 on the proliferation of melanocytes,reverse transcripition-PCR and Western blotting to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of IL-13 in perilesional and peripheral blood CD8+ T lymphocytes respectively,real-time quantitative reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the IL-13 mRNA expression in,and IL-13 protein expression in the culture supematant of,CD8+ T lymphocytes before and after coculture with DMSCs,respectively.Statistical analysis was done by t test.Results No obvious changes were observed in the proliferation of melanocytes treated with different concentrations (10,50,100,250,500 μg/L) of recombinant IL-13 for various durations (24,48,72 and 96 hours)compared with untreated melanocytes (all P ＞ 0.05).Both perilesional and peripheral blood CD8+ T lymphocytes expressed IL-13,and the expression was stronger in perilesional than in peripheral blood CD8+ T lymphocytes.A significant decrease was noted in IL-13 mRNA expression (0.100 0 ± 0.002 4 vs.0.383 2 ± 0.018 7,P ＜ 0.05) and protein level in the culture supernatant ((1 509.62 ± 48.44) ng/L vs.(5 507.98 ± 34.11) ng/L,P ＜ 0.05) of CD8+ T lymphocytes cocultured with DMSCs compared with monocultured CD8+ T lymphocytes.Conclusions There is a strong expression of IL-13 by perilesional CD8+ T lymphocytes in patients with vitiligo,which may be inhibited by DMSCs and serve as a target for the treatment of vitiligo.

Objective To evaluate the effect of injuries on monobenzone-induced vitiligo-like depigmentation in mice.Methods Forty C57BL/6 mice were randomly and equally divided into four groups:negative control group topically treated with vaseline cream,model group induced by topical monobenzone (40％) cream,acupuncture group receiving acupuncture treatment (15 times) once every three days,and acupuncture combined with monobenzone group receiving both monobenzone induction and acupuncture treatment.The treatment lasted 50 days and mice were sacrificed 15 days after the end of treatment.Hair decolorization was observed with naked eyes,and skin decolorization with reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) on a daily basis.Tissue specimens were obtained from depigmented skin at monobenzone-uninduced sites,and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining for the cvaluation of lymphocytic infiltration as well as immunofluorescence staining for the detection of CD8+ T cell expression.Statistical analysis was done by t test.Results Varying degrees of depigmentation were observed in both monobenzone-induced and-uninduced sites in both the model group and acupuncture combined with monobenzone group,and the latter group showed earlier,larger and more stable depigmentation than the former group.At 15 days after the end of treatment,the decolorization area index in the model group and acupuncture combined with monobenzone group was 3.45 ± 0.17 and 3.90 ± 0.25 at monobenzone-induced sites respectively(t =7.433,P ＜ 0.05),1.90-± 0.12 and 2.85 ± 0.27 at monobenzone-uninduced sites respectively (t =7.529,P ＜ 0.05).Significant differences were observed in the fluorescence intensity of CD8 + T cells at monobenzone-uninduced depigmented sites between the model group and acupuncture combined with monobenzone group (175.528 ± 10.711 vs.645.928 ± 12.652,t =8.105,P ＜ 0.05),and there was a more evident infiltrate with lymphocytes and CD8+T cells in the monobenzone-uninduced depigmented sites in the acupuncture combined with monobenzone group.Conclusion Local destruction of skin barrier may promote monobenzone-induced vitiligo-like decolorization in mice.

Objective To evaluate the performance of the hypersensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) rapid quantitative chemilu-minescent detection kit .Methods According to National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) EP10-A2 docu-ment ,hs-CRP rapid quantitative chemiluminescent detection kit was employed to measure the CRP at low ,medium and high con-centration levels of quality control serum .Bias ,total imprecision and their slope rates ,intercepts ,carryover ,non-linearity and drift were calculated ,and its clinical acceptability was evaluated .Results Bias and total imprecision of hs-CRP rapid quantitative chemi-luminescent detection kit were within the allowable ranges ,the average values of slope rates ,intercepts ,carryover ,non-linearity and drift were 1 .005 7 ,0 .537 8 ,0 .789 6% ,0 .019 2 ,0 .036 0 ,respectively ,the differences showed no statistically significance ( P>0 .05) .Conclusion hs-CRP rapid quantitative chemiluminescent detection kit has good accuracy and precision ,stable perform-ance ,and consistent with the clinical testing requirements .

The aim of the present study was to obtain the crystal of transcription factor LytR of streptococcus pneumoniae for X-ray crystal structure and function analysis. The LytR gene of D39 strains from Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pn) was cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET32a(+), then overexpression was obtained in the E. coli BL21 (DE3) through transformation of the recombinant plasmid that had been verified by colony PCR and sequencing. Soluble fusion protein with His-tag highly expressed by the induction of 0.5 mmol/L IPTG and was purified by a three step procedure, the purity of the purified LytR recombinant protein was over 90%. Preliminary screening of crystallization conditions was performed using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusing method with Hampton Crystal screen and PEG screen kits. The protein crystals X-ray diffraction data were collected from a single crystal and more stick crystals whose X-ray diffraction reached 4.0 A were obtained. These works laid the foundation for further research on the 3D structure of putative transcription factor LytR and its biological aspects.
Bacterial Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transcription Factors ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification

Objective To evaluate the protective effects of tea polyphenols against the destruction of melanocytes by CD8+ T cells from vitiligo patients.Methods Skin tissue was resected from the margin of vitiligo lesions followed by the isolation and culture of CD8+ T lymphocytes,and from the normal skin of vitiligo patients followed by the isolation and culture of melanocytes.Flow cytometry was carried out to evaluate the purity of CD8+ T cells.The melanocytes were cocultured with the CD8 + T cells at different ratios followed by the evaluation of killing effect of CD8+ T cells.Various concentrations (200 and 400 μg/ml) of tea polyphenols were added into the co-culture system of CD8+ T cells and melanocytes at a ratio of 5 ∶ 1 followed by an additional culture of 48 hours.Then,flow cytometry was performed to detect the apoptosis in melanocytes in the coculture system.Results CD8+ T lymphocytes were successfully obtained from the marginal area of vitiligo lesions with a purity of more than 90％,which highly expressed the antigens CD137 and CD69.The coculture with CD8+ T cells markedly accelerated the apoptosis in melanocytes,while the accelerative effect was inhibited by tea polyphenols of 200 and 400 μg/ml.Conclusions The CD8+ T cells infiltrating the edge of vitiligo lesions display a potential destructive effect on autologous melanocytes from vitiligo patients,and tea polyphenols have a protective effect against the destruction of melanocytes by CD8+ T cells.

Objective To investigate the effect of nuclear translocation of E2p45 related factor 2 (Nrf2)on the biological activity of melanocytes.Methods Plasmid vectors containing wild-type nrf2 gene (pcDNA-nrf2) and nls-deleted nrf2 gene (pcDNA-nrf2△nls) were constructed.B10BR normal murine melanocytes were classified into three groups,i.e.,untransfected group,wild-type nrf2 group transfected with pcDNA-nrf2,and mutated nrf2 group transfected with pcDNA-nrf2△nls.Each of the above groups were further divided into three subgroups:control subgroup receiving no treatment,hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) subgroup treated with H2O2 of 200 μmol/L for 24 hours,and combined subgroup pretreated with tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) followed by treatment with H2O2 of 200 μmol/L for 24 hours.Subsequently,methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was performed to evaluate the proliferative activity of cells,dopa oxidation assay to determine tyrosinase activity,Transwell assay to estimate cell migration ability,Western blot to quantify the expressions of Nrf2 and his tag fusion protein.Results TBHQ significantly enhanced the nuclear expression of Nrf2 in B10BR cells transfected with pcDNA-nrf2 or pcDNA-nrf2△nls (both P ＜ 0.01).No significant difference was observed in tyrosinase activity between untreated wild-type nrf2 group,mutated nrf2 group,and untransfected group (P ＞ 0.05).There was a statistical decrease in tyrosinase activity in the two H2O2-treated transfected groups compared with the untreated transfected groups (both P ＜ 0.05),and the decrease was reversed by TBHQ pretreatment in the wildtype nrf2 group (P ＜ 0.05),but not in the mutated nrf2 group (P ＞ 0.05).Further more,the proliferative activity of B10BR cells experienced no obvious changes in the wild-type nrf2 group (P ＞ 0.05),but was significantly reduced in the untransfected group (P ＜ 0.05) and mutated nrf2 group (P ＜ 0.01) after the H2O2 treatment compared with the corresponding untreated groups.TBHQ could protect the pcDNA-nrf2-transfected B10BR cells,but not pcDNA-nrf2△nls-transfected B10BR cells,from H2O2-induced oxidative damage.Transwell assay showed no significant difference in migration ability among these nine groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Abnormal nuclear translocation of Nrf2 could affect antioxidant activity of,proliferative activity of and tyrosinase activity in melanocytes.TBHQ may enhance the tyrosinase activity in,proliferative activity and antioxidant activity of melanocytes via activating the nuclear expression of wild type Nrf2.

Objective To investigate the intracellular signal transduction pathways involved in the protective effect of nicotinic acid against ultraviolet B(UVB)-induced damage in human skin keratinocytes.Methods Cultured human keratinocyte HaCaT cells were divided into several groups to be treated with nicotinic acid,UVB irradiation,LY294002(an inhibitor of Akt),U0126(an inhibitor of extracellular signal-regulated kinase(ERK)1/2),SB203580(an inhibitor of P38)alone or in combination for different durations.Then,Western blot was performed to quantify the phosphorylation levels of the protein kinase B(Akt)/MAPK pathwayassociated proteins including Akt,P38,JNK and ERK1/2,MTT assay to evaluate the activity of HaCaT cells,enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine the levels of endothelin-1(ET-1)and basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF)in the culture supernatant of HaCaT cells,and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)to evaluate the apoptosis in HaCaT cells.Results As Western blot showed,phosphorylated Akt,P38,JNK and ERK1/2 were markedly activated within 60 minutes after pretreatment with nicotinic acid and irradiation with UVB(all P ＜ 0.01),and the activation was more significant for phosphorylated Akt,P38,and ERK1/2 within 2 hours(all P ＜ 0.01).Nicotinic acid effectively suppressed the UVB-induced cell death and apoptosis in HaCaT cells.The levels of supernatant ET-1 and bFGF were significantly decreased in HaCaT cells treated with the above 3 inhibitors followed by UVB irradiation than in those treated with the inhibitors alone(all P ＜ 0.05),and nicotinic acid pretreatment only reversed the decrease in supernatant bFGF in HaCaT cells treated with SB203580 followed by UVB irradiation.Conclusion The Akt signaling pathway may play a regulatory role in the protection by nicotinic acid against UVB-induced damage in HaCaT cells.

ObjectiveTo assess the relationship of interleukin-17(IL-17) and transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) with the development of vitiligo.MethodsEnzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out to measure the levels of IL-17 and TGF-β in sera from 120 patients with vitiligo and 60 healthy controls.The correlations of serum IL-17 and TGF-β levels with patients' gender,stage and duration of disease,involved body area and presence of family history were assessed.ResultsThe level of serum IL-17 was significantly higher in patients with active vitiligo than in the controls and patients with stable vitiligo (both P ＜0.05).With the rise in involved body area,the level of serum IL-17 gradually increased (x2 =12.656,P ＜0.05).The level of TGF-β in patients with active vitiligo was a little higher than that in the controls and patients with stable vitiligo,with no significant difference between these groups(both P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The levels of serum IL-17 and TGF-β are somewhat correlated with the activity of vitiligo,and both of them may play a certain role in the pathogenesis of vitiligo.