Ginsenoside Rh1 Improves the Effect of Dexamethasone on Autoantibodies Production and Lymphoproliferation in MRL/lpr Mice

Ginsenoside Rh1 is able to upregulate glucocorticoid receptor (GR) level, suggesting Rh1 may improve glucocorticoid efficacy in hormone-dependent diseases. Therefore, we investigated whether Rh1 could enhance the effect of dexamethasone (Dex) in the treatment of MRL/lpr mice. MRL/lpr mice were treated with vehicle, Dex, Rh1, or Dex + Rh1 for 4 weeks. Dex significantly reduced the proteinuria and anti-dsDNA and anti-ANA autoantibodies. The levels of proteinuria and anti-dsDNA and anti-ANA autoantibodies were further decreased in Dex + Rh1 group. Dex, Rh1, or Dex + Rh1 did not alter the proportion of CD4+ splenic lymphocytes, whereas the proportion of CD8+ splenic lymphocytes was significantly increased in Dex and Dex + Rh1 groups. Dex + Rh1 significantly decreased the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ splenic lymphocytes compared with control. Con A-induced CD4+ splenic lymphocytes proliferation was increased in Dex-treated mice and was inhibited in Dex + Rh1-treated mice. Th1 cytokine IFN-γ mRNA was suppressed and Th2 cytokine IL-4 mRNA was increased by Dex. The effect of Dex on IFN-γ and IL-4 mRNA was enhanced by Rh1. In conclusion, our data suggest that Rh1 may enhance the effect of Dex in the treatment of MRL/lpr mice through regulating CD4+ T cells activation and Th1/Th2 balance

Effects of modified Bushen Huoxue Prescription combined with active immunotherapy on immunomodulatory functions and pregnancy outcomes of patients with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion

585-591Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a common pregnancy disease mostly occurring in the first trimester of pregnancy, and unexplained RSA (URSA) occurs in approximately 40% of RSA patients even after careful examination. Here, we assessed the effects of modified Bushen Huoxue Prescription combined with active immunotherapy on immunomodulatory functions and pregnancy outcomes of URSA patients. Ninety-six eligible URSA patients were randomly divided into control and experimental groups (n=48). Active immunotherapy was performed for control group, while experimental group were treated with modified Bushen Huoxue Prescription combined with active immunotherapy. Counts of peripheral blood helper T lymphocytes 17 (Th17) and regulatory T lymphocytes (Treg), levels of inflammatory factors interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10 and IL-17, and mRNA expression levels of retinoic acid-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) and forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) were compared. Compared with before treatment, ratios of Th17/CD4+ cells and Th17/Treg, IL-17 level and RORγt mRNA level decreased, whereas ratio of Treg/CD4+ cells, IL-4 and IL-10 levels and FoxP3 mRNA level increased in both groups after treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, ratios of Th17/CD4+ cells and Th17/Treg, IL-17 level and RORγt mRNA level were lower in experimental group than those in control group, while ratio of Treg/CD4+ cells, IL-4, IL-10 levels and FoxP3 mRNA level were higher in experimental group (P<0.05). Modified Bushen Huoxue Prescription combined with active immunotherapy worked well for URSA to improve pregnancy outcomes and lower abortion rate

Liposome Lipid-Based Formulation Has the Least Influence on rAAV Transduction Compared to Other Transfection Agents

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors are considered ideal vehicles for human gene therapy. Meanwhile, non-viral strategies, such as transfection agents (TAs), have also shown promise to deliver genetic materials, such as siRNA. Transduction with the rAAV vector is performed concurrently with transfection with plasmid DNA or RNA. In the present study, we report that various TAs inhibited rAAV-mediated transgene expression at diverse levels. Overall, cationic polymers and dendrimers dramatically blocked rAAV transduction, while lipid-based liposomes displayed the least effect. The inhibitory effect was dependent on the dose of TAs and the timing of infection, suggesting that the early stages of viral infection were involved. In addition, the present results indicate that the transgene expression of rAAV vectors was significantly increased by liposome-mediated transfection with adenoviral helper genes. At the same time, this was dramatically inhibited by liposome-mediated transfection with the trichosanthin gene encoding a type I ribosome-inactivating protein isolated from traditional Chinese medicine. Furthermore, liposomes also have little effect on rAAV-mediated transgene expression in vivo. Taken together, these findings suggest liposome as the best choice of TAs, which should be used in combination with rAAV-mediated gene therapy. Keywords: liposome lipid-based formulation, rAAV, transduction, transfection agents, trichosanthi

Confined Crystallization of Pigment Red 146 in Emulsion Droplets and Its Mechanism

In this work, the effect of confined space on crystallization processes of pigments was investigated by using C.I. Pigment Red 146 (PR 146) as a model compound. The colloidal system (i.e., emulsion droplets) was used as a nanoreactor to prepare nanoscale PR 146 for the inkjet printer. The effects of the space confinement were investigated by comparing the products of PR 146 prepared from bulk solution, macroemulsion, and miniemulsion. The results showed that PR 146 crystallized in mini-emulsion had the narrowest particle size distribution and the average particle size can be as small as 172.5 nm, one order of magnitude smaller than the one obtained from the bulk solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data revealed that PR 146 crystallized in all three solutions where the crystalline state and had similar crystallite sizes. The process mechanism of crystallization confined in the miniemulsion droplets was proposed and explained. The function mechanism of the co-stabilizer during the crystallization of PR 146 in emulsion was also explained. It was found that sodium chloride could counteract the pressure difference as an osmotic pressure agent and prevent the migrating of water from small droplets into big droplets. The influences of dosages of emulsifiers and co-stabilizers on droplet size and the size of the obtained PR 146 particles were evaluated and the optimal conditions were determined. Furthermore, the disparity of PR 146 products prepared by different methods was investigated by UV&ndash;Vis spectra. The aqueous dispersion of PR 146 crystallized in miniemulsion had the highest absorbance and darkest color

Study on the Structure of a Mixed KCl and K2SO4 Aqueous Solution Using a Modified X-ray Scattering Device, Raman Spectroscopy, and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

The microstructure of a mixed KCl and K2SO4 aqueous solution was studied using X-ray scattering (XRS), Raman spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulation (MD). Reduced structure functions [F(Q)], reduced pair distribution functions [G(r)], Raman spectrum, and pair distribution functions (PDF) were obtained. The XRS results show that the main peak (r = 2.81 &Aring;) of G(r) shifted to the right of the axis (r = 3.15 &Aring;) with increased KCl and decreased K2SO4. The main peak was at r = 3.15 &Aring; when the KCl concentration was 26.00% and the K2SO4 concentration was 0.00%. It is speculated that this phenomenon was caused by the main interaction changing, from K-OW (r = 2.80 &Aring;) and OW-OW (r = 2.80 &Aring;), to Cl&minus;-OW (r = 3.14 &Aring;) and K+-Cl&minus; (r = 3.15 &Aring;). According to the trend of the hydrogen bond structure in the Raman spectrum, when the concentration of KCl was high and K2SO4 was low, the destruction of the tetrahedral hydrogen bond network in the solution was more serious. This shows that the destruction strength of the anion to the hydrogen bond network structure in solution was Cl&minus; &gt; SO42&minus;. In the MD simulations, the coordination number of OW-OW decreased with increasing KCl concentration, indicating that the tetrahedral hydrogen bond network was severely disrupted, which confirmed the results of the Raman spectroscopy. The hydration radius and coordination number of SO42&minus; in the mixed solution were larger than Cl&minus;, thus revealing the reason why the solubility of KCl in water was greater than that of K2SO4 at room temperature