Renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) is the crucial pathway in chronic kidney disease (CKD) leading to the end-stage renal failure. However, the underlying mechanism of Shen Qi Wan (SQW) on RIF is not fully understood. In the current study, we investigated the role of Aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in SQW on tubular epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). A RIF mouse model induced by adenine and a TGF-β1-stimulated HK-2 cell model were etablished to explore the involvement of AQP 1 in the protective effect of SQW on EMT in vitro and in vivo. Subsequently, the molecular mechanism of SQW on EMT was explored in HK-2 cells with AQP1 knockdown. The results indicated that SQW alleviated kidney injury and renal collagen deposition in the kidneys of mice induced by adenine, increased the protein expression of E-cadherin and AQP1 expression, and decreased the expression of vimentin and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Similarly, treatmement with SQW-containing serum significantly halted EMT process in TGF-β1 stimulated HK-2 cells. The expression of snail and slug was significantly upregulated in HK-2 cells after knockdown of AQP1. AQP1 knockdown also increased the mRNA expression of vimentin and α-SMA, and decreased the expression of E-cadherin. The protein expression of vimentin increased, while the expression of E-cadherin and CK-18 significantly decreased after AQP1 knockdown in HK-2 cells. These results revealed that AQP1 knockdown promoted EMT. Furthermore, AQP1 knockdown abolished the protective effect of SQW-containing serum on EMT in HK-2 cells. In sum, SQW attentuates EMT process in RIF through upregulation of the expression of AQP1.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Animals ; Mice ; Male ; Cell Line ; Rats ; Kidney/physiology* ; Fibrosis/drug therapy* ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/drug therapy* ; Adenine ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Aquaporin 1/metabolism*

Objective:To investigate the immune characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 membrane (M) protein, especially the possibility of inducing antibody-dependent enhancement effect (ADE).Methods:Full-length SARS-CoV-2 M protein was prepared by prokaryotic expression system and purified. BALB/c mice were immunized subcutaneously three times (on day 1, day 14 and day 21) by purified M protein. Serum samples were collected before immunization and after each immunization. The specificity of immune sera against M protein was identified by Western blot, and the antibody titers were detected by ELISA and neutralization test. In the presence of anti-M protein serum, the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 in dendritic cells, nature killer cells, T and B cells was detected in vitro. Results:The immune sera from BALB/c mice immunized with purified full-length M protein of SARS-CoV-2 specifically recognized viral M protein. The titer of anti-whole virus antibody in immune sera was about 1∶400, but the antibody could not neutralize live virus. Moreover, the antibody could not help the virus to infect and proliferate in the various types of immune cells with Fc receptor (FcR).Conclusions:Non-neutralizing antibody induced by M protein could not cause ADE through FcR pathway.

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection is one of the most threatening infectious diseases facing humanity in this century. Currently, four classes of vaccines have been approved for marketing or authorized for emergency use worldwide, including inactivated vaccines, mRNA vaccines, adenovirus-based vector vaccines, and recombinant protein vaccines. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and antibody levels in the fully immunized population gradually decrease, booster immunization is a necessary measure, and sequential immunization strategies appear to be a better vaccination strategy. In this paper, the research on four different technical routes of vaccines in sequential immunization is reviewed.

Objective:To analyze the characteristics of immune cross-reaction between herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 in terms of serology and clinical protection aiming to provide data for the control and prevention of diseases caused by the two viruses.Methods:An attenuated HSV-1 strain M3 was used to immunize BALB/c mice. Specific immune responses indicated by the production of neutralizing antibodies were detected. Wild-type HSV-1 and HSV-2 strains were respectively used to infect the mice through different ways 28 d after the immunization to observe the protective immunity in the M3-immunized mice against HSV-1/2 infection.Results:M3 strain could not induce specific neutralizing antibodies against HSV-2. Therefore, viral loads in tissues of the immunized mice increased significantly following different modes of HSV-2 exposure. However, no obvious abnormal clinical manifestations were found and the histopathological damage was only slight inflammatory reaction. In contrast, HSV-1-specific neutralizing antibodies were elicited in the M3-immunizaed mice with significant protective effects against HSV-1 infection.Conclusions:The immune response induced by attenuated HSV-1 strain M3 in mice exhibited immune-protective effects characterized by production of neutralizing antibodies and inhibition of virus proliferation in vivo against wild-type HSV-1 infection. For HSV-2, instead of neutralizing virus in form of antibodies, it featured by more of clinical cross-immunoprotective abilities to control virus growth.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), as a pathogen usually leading to herpes labialis, has been found to cause more cases of genital herpes and be associated with the occurrence of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer′s disease (AD). AD is a chronic and progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system, the pathogenesis of which has not been fully elucidated, and currently there is a lack of drugs that can effectively treat the disease. The hypothesis that HSV-1 infection is involved in the pathogenesis of AD has been discussed for a long time, but there is no definite evidence to prove it. This article briefly reviewed the research progress in the pathogenesis of AD caused by HSV-1.

Objective:To observe the effect of spectral-domain OCT with different subfoveal choroidal areas on choroid vascular index (CVI) in normal healthy eyes.Methods:Retrospective clinical study. From October 2017 to May 2018, 174 eyes of 87 healthy people who visited in the Ophthalmology Department of Beijing Friendship Hospital and had no eye abnormalities were included in the study. All patients received single line scan of macular fovea by enhanced depth imaging OCT. After binary processing of the collected choroidal images, CVI as the center radius of 750, 1500, 3000 and 4500 μm were calculated. Repeated measurement analysis of variance was performed for comparison of CVI between groups.Results:The mean values of CVI in the 750, 1500, 3000 and 4500 μm groups were 0.681±0.003, 0.678±0.002, 0.677±0.002 and 0.676±0.002, respectively. The difference between the 750 μm group and the 4500 μm group was 0.005±0.002 ( P=0.009). The other pairwise comparison results showed no statistically significant difference ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The CVI is different in healthy eyes with the different distance from macular fovea.

Background: Mature oocytes at the metaphase II status (MII-stage oocytes) played an important role in assisted reproductive technology in non-human primates. Objectives: In order to improve the proportion of MII-stage oocytes retrieval, three different superovulation protocols were performed on 24 female cynomolgus monkeys. Methods: All the monkeys received once-daily injection of follicle-stimulating hormone (25 international unit [IU]) on day 3 of the menstruation, 3-day intervals, twice daily for 8–12 days until the time of human chorionic gonadotropin (1,500 IU) injection, on the 14–17th day of menstruation collecting oocytes. The difference between protocol I and protocol II was that 0.1 mg the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist was injected on day 1 of the menstruation, while the difference between personalized superovulation protocol and protocol II was that oocytes could be collected on the 14–17th day of menstrual cycle according to the length of each monkey. Results: The total number of oocytes harvested using the personalized superovulation protocol was much higher than that using protocol I (p < 0.05), and the proportion of MII-stage oocytes was significantly greater than that from either superovulation protocol I or II(p < 0.001 and p < 0.01 respectively), while the proportion of immature oocytes at the germinal vesicle was less than that from superovulation protocol I (p < 0.05). Conclusions The personalized superovulation protocol could increase the rate of MII-stage oocytes acquired, and successfully develop into embryos after intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and eventually generated fetus.

Objective To investigate the molecular characteristics of immune response signaling molecules induced by transfection of coxsackievirus B2 ( CVB2 ) structural proteins into epithelial cells. Methods Recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmids containing the coding regions of CVB2 structural proteins VP1-VP4 were constructed and then transfected into 16HBE cells. Culture supernatants and cell ly-sates of the transfected 16HBE cells were collected. Expression of signaling molecules involved in innate im-mune responses in transfected 16HBE cells at mRNA level was detected by RT-Q-PCR. The proliferation of T cells co-cultured with culture supernatants and cell lysates of the transfected 16HBE cells was analyzed by ELISPOT. Results Expression of innate immunity-related signaling molecules such as TGF-β-activated ki-nase ( TAK) , NF-κB-inducing kinase ( NIK) , IκB kinase α ( IKKα) and IFN-β at mRNA level was up-regulated in 16HBE cells transfected with CVB2 structural proteins VP1-VP4. Both culture supernatants and cell lysates of the transfected 16HBE cells enhanced the proliferation of T cells. Conclusions CVB2 struc-tural proteins VP1-VP4 could enhance the expression of innate immunity-related signaling molecules to var-ying degrees and promote the activation of adaptive immunity.

The newly identified innate lymphoid cells ( ILCs) are a member of innate lymphocytes which functionally resemble adaptive lymphocytes. ILCs arise from a common lymphoid progenitor ( CLP) and locate in multiple tissues. Three distinct groups of ILCs have been identified on the basis of transcription factors and expression of effector cytokines and termed ILC1s, ILC2s and ILC3s. These heterogeneous sub-sets play different roles in different tissues. They are involved in tissue remodeling, healing, anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial infections, tumor development, metabolic stability and immune tolerance to symbiotic mi-croorganisms. Here we focused on the most recent data concerning the classification, development and differ-entiation of ILCs as well as the new functions of ILCs.

Objective To observe and analyze the pathological changes in BALB/c mice infected with herpes simplex virus typeⅡ (HSV-2) through nasal and genital inoculation. Methods Six-week old female BALB/c mice were divided into two groups, experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, the mice were infected with HSV-2 (104 CCID50/20μl per mouse) through nasal and genital tract in-oculation. Accordingly, the mice in the control group were injected with equal volume of PBS. Tissue speci-mens were collected from lung, nervous system and reproductive system for pathological analysis and viral load detection at different time points after infection. Lat gene expression in mouse trigeminal and sacral gan-glia was detected through in situ hybridization. In addition, the proliferation of viruses isolated form trigemi-nal and sacral ganglia of the infected mice was observed in vitro. Results Weight loss and histopathological lesions were observed in the mice of the experimental group 6 d after infection. Major pathological changes in the HSV-2-infected mice through nasal tract inoculation involved the lung and central nervous system( CNS) , including alveolar wall congestion, cerebrovascular cuff response and lymphocyte infiltration. How-ever, the major lesions in the infected mice through genital tract inoculation were found in the reproductive ducts, such as sacral ganglion necrosis, eosinophilia in the vagina and uterus, and ovarian congestion. Re-sults of the viral load detection in tissues and organs of the infected mice were consistent with the pathological changes. The mice infected through nasal tract inoculation had significantly higher viral loads in the nerves and lungs than those by genital tract inoculation, but lower viral loads in the genital tracts and sacral ganglia. Positive expression of lat gene at mRNA level was detected in the trigeminal and sacral ganglia of mice with HSV-2 latency 28 d after infection. In addition, both of the tissue fragments from trigeminal and sacral ganglia had cytopathic effects ( CPEs) on Vero cells. Enhanced expression of lat gene at mRNA level and much severer CPEs were induced by genital tract inoculation than by nasal tract inoculation. Conclu-sions HSV-2 could infect and cause histopathological damages in BALB/c mice through both nasal and genital tracts. In addition, the locations of the pathological lesions were closely related to the mode of infection.