The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of revascularization in treating patients with thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO), to analyze the prognosis of TAO. The treatment group comprised 32 patients with TAO of lower limbs who were selected between March 2012 and March 2017. Patients in the treatment group were treated with revascularization (vascular bypass surgery, catheter-directed thrombolysis and angioplasty, endovascular angioplasty + stening, thromboectomy and/or endarterectomy) + Western medicine. Another 33 patients with TAO who were treated with Western medicine alone comprised the control group. Treatment outcomes were compared between the groups. Serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were also detected and compared between the groups. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the factors related to prognosis. Compared with control group, treatment outcomes were significantly better in the treatment group (P<0.05). After treatment, the serum levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α significantly decreased in both groups, and the decrease in the treatment group was more significant (P<0.01). Multivariate analysis revealed that vascular bypass surgery and preoperative ischemic degree are associated with treatment effect. Our results show that revascularization treatment of TAO is conducive to clinical symptoms and dysfunction of inflammatory cytokines, and the type of surgery and surgical timing significantly affect treatment outcomes.

Background. Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a highly heterogeneous disease, and allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is an effective treatment. This study aims to evaluate the circulating mas-related G protein-coupled receptor-X2 (MRGPRX2) and matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12) levels in evaluating disease severity and predicting efficacy of SLIT in AR patients. Methods. We enrolled 110 moderate-severe persist AR patients (AR group) and 40 healthy controls (HC group). Circulating levels of MRGPRX2 and MMP-12 were measured, and their associations with disease severity were evaluated. All AR patients were assigned to receive sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), and the efficacy was evaluated, and serum samples were collected at 1 year and 3 years after treatment. The correlations between serum MRGPRX2 and MMP-12 and clinical efficacy were assessed. Results. The serum concentrations of MRGPRX2 and MMP-12 were significantly higher in the AR group than the HC group, and the elevated MMP-12 levels were correlated with VAS and TNSS, and serum MRGPRX2 levels were correlated with VAS. Finally, 100 and 80 patients completed 1-year and 3-year follow-up and were classified into effective and ineffective groups. Serum MRGPRX2 and MMP-12 levels were lower in the effective group than the ineffective group. Although serum MRGPRX2 and MMP-12 levels did not significantly change after 1 year SLIT, serum MMP-12 levels were decreased 3 years post-SLIT than baseline and 1 year post-SLIT levels. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) showed that serum MMP-12 was a potential biomarker for predicting the efficacy of SLIT. Conclusion. Serum MRGPRX2 and MMP-12 appeared to be promising biological indicators in reflecting disease severity in AR patients. Moreover, circulating MMP-12 might serve as a reliable predictor for clinical responsiveness of SLIT.

Objective This study aimed to explore the immunoregulatory effect of flavonoids of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) leaves (FBL). Methods The flavonoids of blueberry leaves were prepared with 70% ethanol and were identified by ultraperformance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-Tof-MS). The immunoregulatory effect and possible regulatory mechanisms of FBL were investigated in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced RAW 264.7 cells. Results According to the results of UPLC/Q-Tof-MS, nine flavonoids of blueberry leaves were identified. FBL showed a significant reduction in the production of TNF-α in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. FBL significantly decreased the expression of NF-κB p65 and P-NF-κB p65 in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion Our study showed the immunoregulatory effect of FBL through the suppression of TNF-α via the NF-κB signal pathway.

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Micro-CT adequately displayed the bony CA canal and provided a new method for anatomical studies of the CA and a basis for functional studies.