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The combination of both Cl− and[Formula: see text] secretion inhibitors causes an accumulation of mucins within the submucosal gland ducts of acetylcholine (ACh)-treated bronchi [S. K. Inglis, M. R. Corboz, A. E. Taylor, and S. T. Ballard. Am. J. Physiol. 272 ( Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 16): L372–L377, 1997], suggesting indirectly that these agents block airway gland liquid secretion. The present study tested the hypotheses that ACh-stimulated liquid secretion is driven by Cl−and [Formula: see text] secretion and that inhibition of this process leads to secretion of a dehydrated mucus with altered rheological properties. Excised distal bronchi from pigs were pretreated with either a combination of Cl− and[Formula: see text] secretion inhibitors (bumetanide, acetazolamide, dimethylamiloride, and 4,4′-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid) or the dimethyl sulfoxide vehicle and were then treated with ACh to induce secretion. The rate of mucus liquid secretion was substantially reduced when the airways were pretreated with the anion secretion inhibitors. Mucus liquid from inhibitor-pretreated airways contained almost threefold more nonvolatile solids than the control liquid. Rheological analysis revealed that mucus liquid from inhibitor-pretreated airways expressed a significantly greater log G * (rigidity factor), whereas tangent δ (recoil factor) was significantly reduced. These results suggest that 1) ACh-induced liquid secretion in bronchi is driven by both Cl− and[Formula: see text] secretion and 2) inhibition of ACh-induced liquid secretion results in the secretion of mucus with a reduced water content and altered rheological properties.

BackgroundMetagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is a powerful method for pathogen detection. In this study, we assessed the value of mNGS for bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples in the diagnosis of pulmonary infections.MethodsFrom February 2018 to April 2019, BAL samples were collected from 235 patients with suspected pulmonary infections. mNGS and microbial culture were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of mNGS in pulmonary infection diagnosis.ResultsWe employed mNGS to evaluate the alpha diversity, results suggesting that patients with confirmed pathogens had a lower microbial diversity index compared to that of patients with uncertain pathogens. For the patients admitted to the respiratory intensive care unit (RICU) or on a ventilator, they experienced a lower diversity index than that of the patients in the general ward or not on a ventilator. In addition, mNGS of BAL had a diagnostic sensitivity of 88.89% and a specificity of 14.86% in pulmonary infection, with 21.16% positive predictive value (PPV) and 83.87% negative predictive value (NPV). When rare pathogens were excluded, the sensitivity of mNGS decreased to 73.33%, and the specificity increased to 41.71%. For patients in the simple pulmonary infection group and the immunocompromised group, the main infection types were bacterial infection (58.33%) and mixed-infection (43.18%). Furthermore, mNGS had an advantage over culture in describing polymicrobial ecosystem, demonstrating the microbial distribution and the dominant strains of the respiratory tract in patients with different underlying diseases.ConclusionsThe study indicated that mNGS of BAL samples could provide more accurate diagnostic information in pulmonary infections and demonstrate the changes of respiratory microbiome in different underlying diseases. This method might play an important role in the clinical use of antimicrobial agents in the future.

Atherosclerosis is an autoimmune disease caused by self- and non-self-antigens contributing to excessive activation of T and B cell immune responses. These responses further aggravate vascular infiammation and promote progression of atherosclerosis and vulnerability to plaques via releasing pro-infiammatory cytokines. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) as the major immunoregulatory cells, in particular, induce and maintain immune homeostasis and tolerance by suppressing the immune responses of various cells such as T and B cells, natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes, and dendritic cells (DCs), as well as by secreting inhibitory cytokines interleukin (IL)-10, IL-35 and transcription growth factor β (TGF-β) in both physiological and pathological states. Numerous evidence demonstrates that reduced numbers and dysfunction of Treg may be involveved in atherosclerosis pathogenesis. Increasing or restoring the numbers and improving the immunosuppressive capacity of Tregs may serve as a fundamental immunotherapy to treat atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. In this article, we briefiy present current knowledge of Treg subsets, summarize the relationship between Tregs and atherosclerosis development, and discuss the possibilities of regulating Tregs for prevention of atherosclerosis pathogenesis and enhancement of plaque stability. Although the exact molecular mechanisms of Treg-mediated protection against atherosclerosis remain to be elucidated, the strategies for targeting the regulation of Tregs may provide specific and significant approaches for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.

Per2 regulates other molecular and biochemical processes beyond their established role in the regulation of the mammalian circadian clock, herein we investigated the growth inhibiting potential of Per2 in human K562 leukemia cells and the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that over-expression of Per2 induced not only cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase but also an increase in apoptosis, which was confirmed by characteristic morphological changes, FCM and evident DNA fragmentation. Further experiments confirmed both up-regulation of P53 and down-regulation of CylinB1and C-myc. On the other hand, while P53 was found to be down-regulated. CylinB1 and C-myc were up-regulated. after Per2 knockdown. In leukemia mice, Per2 transfection was shown to suppress cellular proliferation and accelerate apoptosis of K562 cells. Moreover, fewer leukemia cells were found to have infiltrated into the livers and spleens of the mice from the Per2 transfected group as compared with those from the control group. In summary, Per2 displayed a significant anti-tumor effect through cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction in K562 cells. These data further support the emerging role of the circadian clock in critical aspects of cancer development and thorough research is underway on the mechanism of Per2 in the leukemia.