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There have been extensive studies on the immunological mechanism of primary membranous nephropathy (PMN). Autoantibodies, being the end product of humoral auto-immunity, matter much in diagnosis, therapy and prediction. Although PMN has been thought of as oligoinflammatory glomerulopathy, autoimmune diseases usually involve inflammation and it may be long-lasting. Cytokines are key mediators and effector molecules of inflammatory and humoral immune responses. Their function and network are helpful to understand the immune mechanism of PMN, but there is a lack of systematic summary. Accordingly, this review explores the advance of cytokines in PMN, and clarifies whether inflammation involves in the pathological process of PMN, based on which certain cytokines are proposed as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets, and the importance of updating existing therapy regimens is highlighted.

It is a challenge to carry G2/M-phase specific antitumor drugs into G2/M phase of cancer cells. For this purpose, we set up a pH-sensitive mixed micellar system based on poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly( l -histidine) (PEG-PHIS) and poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(D, l -lactide) (PEG-PDLLA), and we used duramycin, a highly specific phosphatidylethanolamine-binding peptide, as a G2/M-phase specific targeting ligand to modify PEG-PDLLA. The mixed micelles were characterized by dynamic light scattering, electron microscopy and the pyrene fluorescence probe method. The G2/M-phase specific anti-cancer drug paclitaxel was loaded with a size of 189 ± 5 nm. And the drug-loading content and encapsulation efficiency were 14.7 ± 0.3% and 89.1 ± 2.5%, respectively. In addition, cytotoxicity assay showed that paclitaxel-loaded mixed micelles had effective antitumor effects, and the blank mixed micelles were safe. Importantly, the micelles showed pH sensitivity and G2/M-phase specific uptake. What's more, pharmacokinetic and in vivo imaging study showed that the mixed micelles displayed a prolonged circulation time and improved targeted accumulation at tumor sites. All these results suggest that the mixed micelle was a promising G2/M-phase specific drug delivery system.