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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive neurodegeneration disease that causes photoreceptor demise and vision impairments. In AMD pathogenesis, the primary death of retinal neurons always leads to the activation of resident microglia. The migration of activated microglia to the ongoing retinal lesion and their morphological transformation from branching to ameboid-like are recognized as hallmarks of AMD pathogenesis. Activated microglia send signals to Müller cells and promote them to react correspondingly to damaging stimulus. Müller cells are a type of neuroglia cells that maintain the normal function of retinal neurons, modulating innate inflammatory responses, and stabilize retinal structure. Activated Müller cells can accelerate the progression of AMD by damaging neurons and blood vessels. Therefore, the crosstalk between microglia and Müller cells plays a homeostatic role in maintaining the retinal environment, and this interaction is complicatedly modulated. In particular, the mechanism of mutual regulation between the two glia populations is complex under pathological conditions. This paper reviews recent findings on the crosstalk between microglia and Müller glia during AMD pathology process, with special emphasis on its therapeutic potentials.

Prolyl-isomerase 1 (Pin1) is a conserved enzyme that regulates cell processes such as cell cycle progression, transcriptional regulation, and apoptosis. However, overexpression of Pin1 is correlated with a higher probability of prostate tumor recurrence. We utilized a molecular docking technique to identify Pin1 inhibitors from a database of natural product and natural product-like compounds. The action of the hit compounds against Pin1 activity was studied using multiple methods, including a fluorometric enzymatic assay, co-immunoprecipitation, western blotting, cell thermal shiftm, and other techniques. We have identified compound 1 as a natural-product-like inhibitor of Pin1 activity via structure-based virtual screening and showed that compound 1 could target Pin1 and disrupt the interaction between Pin1 and the p65 subunit of NF-κB in cells. Furthermore, compound 1 reduced nuclear p65 (Thr254) phosphorylation and attenuated NF-κB activity in cells. Finally, compound 1 induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells. Compound 1 represents a natural product-like Pin1 inhibitor that acts via targeting the Pin1-NF-κB interaction., (© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Hainan is a single bancroftian filariasis endemic province where filariasis is prevalent in all 18 cities and counties. A program to control filariasis was started in 1953. The strategy of eliminating infection sources has been adopted as the principal intervention measure in filariasis control. Over 30 years, the sustained effort throughout the province reached the point of basic elimination of filariasis in 1987. After the basic elimination of filariasis, the patterns of filariasis transmission in residual microfilaremia cases in Hainan Province were studied so as to provide a scientific basis for formulating strategies to eliminate filariasis. According to the "Technical scheme for surveillance in areas where fialariasis has been basically eliminated" issued by the Ministry of Health, a longitudinal and cross-sectional and entomological surveillance of fialariasis was carried out using parasitological and entomological and serological methods in the whole province during 1983-2004. In the cross-sectional and entomological surveillances, the last microfilaremia case was found in 1999, no mosquitoes were found to be infected with filarial larvae. A total of 132 microfilaremia cases found in the longitudinal surveillance become negative by 10 years. Since 1997 no mosquitoes were found to be infected with filarial larvae in the longitudinal surveillance. Serological surveillance of the population showed the mean positive rate of IFAT dropped from 10.63% in 1990 to 0.28% in 2000, which being similar to that of nonendemic areas. The results show that residual sources of infection after basic elimination of filariasis were tending to be naturally eliminated and transmission of filariasis has been interrupted in Hainan Province.