IL-4 Modulates Macrophage Polarization in Ankylosing Spondylitis

Background/Aims: Osteoclasts (OC) originate from monocytes/macrophages and play a critical role in the development of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Receptor activator of NF-kB ligand (RANKL) is critical for the differentiation and maturation of OC from monocytes/macrophages, the underlying mechanisms of which processes have not been completely elucidated. Interleukin 4 (IL-4) attenuates the pathogenesis of AS via ill-defined mechanisms. Methods: We used a proteoglycan-induced arthritis (PGIA) model in Balb/c mice to study AS in humans. We injected IL-4 into the articular cavity and evaluated its effects on PGIA by incidence of arthritis, clinical and pathological arthritis severity and PET tracer uptake. We isolated and analyzed the number and polarization of macrophages in the articular cavity before and after IL-4 treatment. We analyzed RANKL levels in macrophage subtypes. We then isolated bone-marrow derived macrophages and treated them with IL-4 in vitro, with or without histone deacetylase inhibitors trichostatin A (TSA), and then analyzed the polarization of cultured macrophages before and after IL-4 treatment and RANKL levels in macrophage subtypes. Results: IL-4 treatment decreased the incidence and severity of arthritis in a mouse AS model, and polarized macrophages from a classical M1 subtype to an M2 subtype in vivo and in vitro. RANKL was predominantly produced by M1, but not by M2 macrophages. IL-4-mediated inhibition of RANKL in macrophages was abolished by TSA. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the therapeutic effects of IL-4 on AS may result from a M1-to-M2 macrophage polarization and its inhibition of RANKL expression on macrophages, possibly through enhanced histone deacetylation

Single-Cell Sequencing Analysis Identified ASTN2 as a Migration Biomarker in Adult Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary central nervous system malignant tumors. With the development of targeted sequencing and proteomic profiling technology, some new tumor types have been established and a series of novel molecular markers have also been identified. The 2021 updated World Health Organization classification of central nervous system tumors first mentioned the classification of adult glioma and pediatric glioma based on the molecular diagnosis. Thus, we used single-cell RNA sequencing analysis to explore the diversity and similarities in the occurrence and development of adult and pediatric types. ASTN2, which primarily encodes astrotactin, has been reported to be dysregulated in various neurodevelopmental disorders. Although some studies have demonstrated that ASTN2 plays an important role in glial-guided neuronal migration, there are no studies about its impact on glioblastoma cell migration. Subsequent single-cell RNA sequencing revealed ASTN2 to be a hub gene of a cell cluster which had a poor effect on clinical prognosis. Eventually, a western blot assay and a wound-healing assay first confirmed that ASTN2 expression in glioblastoma cell lines is higher than that in normal human astrocytes and affects the migration ability of glioblastoma cells, making it a potential therapeutic target

Experimental Study on Residual Bending Strength of Corroded Reinforced Concrete Beam Based on Micromagnetic Sensor

This paper presents a nondestructive test method to evaluate the residual bending strength of corroded reinforced concrete beam by analyzing the self-magnetic flux leakage (SMFL) signals. The automatic scanning device was equipped with a micromagnetic sensor and sensor-based experimental details were introduced. Next, the theoretical formula of the normal component HS(z) of the SMFL signal that originated from the corroded region was derived based on the magnetic dipole model and the experimental results were discussed. The results indicate that the experimental data of HS(z) are consistent with the theoretical calculations, both location and extent of the steel bars corrosion can be qualitatively determined by using HS(z). The gradient K of HS(z) is approximately linearly related to the loss rate, S, of the bending strength, which can be used to evaluate the residual bending strength of the corroded reinforced concrete beam. This work lays the foundation for evaluating the residual bending strength of corroded reinforced concrete beams using the SMFL signal; the micromagnetic sensor is further applied to the civil engineering

Quantitative Evaluation of Corrosion Degrees of Steel Bars Based on Self-Magnetic Flux Leakage

Corrosion is among the most critical factors leading to the failure of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Less work has been devoted to nondestructive tests (NDT) to detect the corrosion degree of steel bars. The corrosion degree was investigated in this paper using an NDT method based on self-magnetic flux leakage (SMFL). First, a mathematic model based on magnetic dipole model was settled to simulate the SMFL of a V-shaped defect caused by corrosion. A custom 3-axis scanning device equipped with a magnetometer was used to scan the SMFL field of the 40 corroded steel bars. Experimental data obtained by scanning the 40 steel bars showed that the BZ curve of SMFL was consistent with the theoretical model analysis. Inspired by the qualitative analysis of the results, an index “K” based on a large number of experimental data was established to characterize the corrosion degree of steel bars. The experimental index “K” was linearly related to the corrosion degree α of steel bars. This paper provides a feasible approach for the corrosion degree NDT, which is not affected by the magnetization history and the initial magnetization state of steel bars

Solid Dispersions of Genistein via Solvent Rotary Evaporation for Improving Solubility, Bioavailability, and Amelioration Effect in HFD-Induced Obesity Mice

Genistein (GEN) is an active pharmaceutical ingredient that presents the challenges of poor water solubility and low oral bioavailability. To tackle these challenges, a GEN solid dispersion was prepared by solvent rotary evaporation using polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 (PVP K30) as a carrier. The optimal formulation was determined by drug loading efficiency and in vitro release. The physical state of the solid dispersion was characterized by DSC, XRD, SEM and FT-IR. And the results of the in vitro release study indicate that the drug release of SD (1:7) increased 482-fold that of pure GEN at 60 min. Following oral administration to rats, the Cmax and AUC0–24 of SD (1:7) was increased 6.86- and 2.06-fold to that of pure GEN. The adipose fat index and body weight of the SD (1:7) group were significantly lower than those of the GEN group (p p < 0.05). All experiments revealed that solid dispersion could be a promising formulation approach to improve the dissolution rate, oral bioavailability, and effect on the reduction of lipid accumulation in high-fat diet-induced obesity mice

Low-dose Bacillus Calmette-Guerin versus full-dose for intermediate and high-risk of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: a Markov model

Abstract Background To compare the efficacy of low dose (27 mg) Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and a full dose (81 mg) BCG immunotherapy for patients with intermediate and high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) after a typical transurethral bladder resection. Methods We constructed a Markov model for a 20-year simulation of the disease to compare the overall survival of patients with intermediate and high-risk of NMIBC between the full-dose therapy (FD group) and the low-dose therapy (LD group). Base case analysis, one-way and two-way sensitivity analysis and a second-order Monte Carlo analysis were performed based on data from 15 published articles. Results The expected overall survivals were 9.56 (9.55–9.57) years for FD group and 9.63 (9.61–9.64) years for LD group(P < 0.001). The estimated mortality in the FD group at 5, 10, and 20 years were 34.23%, 57.51% and 83.14%, respectively. The corresponding values in the LD group were 34.11%, 57.17%, 82.16%, respectively. Age-specific mortality and metastatic rate after undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) were the most two sensitive parameters in both groups. The rate of disease recurrence with disease worsening is the determining factor when choosing the optimal dose of BCG treatment. Conclusions A low-dose BCG treatment may act slightly better than a full-dose BCG treatment for patients with intermediate and high-risk of NMIBC. This finding will require further high-quality studies to validate

Technical Acoustic Measurements Combined with Clinical Parameters for the Differential Diagnosis of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Background and aim: Diagnosing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is challenging. This study intended to explore the diagnostic value of multiple technical acoustic measurements in the diagnosis of NASH, and to establish a diagnostic model combining technical acoustic measurements with clinical parameters to improve the diagnostic efficacy of NASH. Methods: We consecutively enrolled 75 patients with clinically suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who underwent percutaneous liver biopsy in our hospital from June 2020 to December 2021. All cases underwent multiple advanced acoustic measurements for liver such as shear wave dispersion (SWD), shear wave speed (SWS), attenuation imaging (ATI), normalized local variance (NLV), and liver–kidney intensity ratio (Ratio) examination before liver biopsies. A nomogram prediction model combining the technical acoustic measurements and clinical parameters was established and the model is proposed to improve the diagnostic performance of NASH. Results: A total of 75 cases were included in this study. The classification of pathological grade for NASH was as follows: normal liver, (n = 15, 20%), nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), (n = 44, 58.7%), and NASH, (n = 16, 21.3%). There were statistically significant differences in SWS (p = 0.002), acoustic coefficient (AC) (p = 0.018), NLV (p = 0.033), age (p = 0.013) and fasting blood glucose (Glu) (p = 0.049) between NASH and non-NASH. A nomogram model which includes SWS, AC, NLV, age and Glu was built to predict NASH, and the calibration curves showed good calibrations in both training and validation sets. The AUCs of the combined nomogram model for the training set and validation set were 0.8597 and 0.7794, respectively. Conclusion: There were statistically significant differences in SWS, AC, NLV, age and Glu between NASH and non-NASH. A nomogram model which includes SWS, AC, NLV, age and Glu was built to predict NASH. The predictive model has a higher diagnostic performance than a single factor model in the diagnosis of NASH and has good clinical application prospects