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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a significant global public health burden, affecting over 10% of the world's population. Its high morbidity, multifactorial complications, and substantial mortality impose significant burdens on healthcare systems and patients, necessitating considerable investment in healthcare resources. Renal fibrosis (RF) is a key pathological feature and driver of CKD progression. Extensive research indicates that autophagy participates in the complete pathogenesis of RF. Under physiological conditions, autophagy is essential for maintaining renal cellular homeostasis. However, under pathological conditions, perhaps aberrant and sustained activation of autophagy contributes to oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammation, etc. Ultimately, they accelerate the development of RF. The role of autophagy in RF is currently controversial. This review investigates the molecular mechanisms by which intrinsic renal cell autophagy contributes to RF across diverse disease models, suggesting that autophagy and its associated regulatory pathways represent potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets for CKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ91–SiC nanocomposites processed by cyclic closed-die forging were investigated. The results showed that much finer grain size and more homogeneous distribution of Mg17Al12 phase and SiC nanoparticles were obtained along with significant improvement in strength and elongation after five passes. During cyclic closed-die forging processing, the agglomeration of nanoparticles disintegrated through kneading effect induced by intense matrix flow, and the nano-sized SiC particles were dispersed uniformly into the matrix. However, a few SiC clusters still existed due to the high surface energy of nanoparticles. Properties enhancement of the composites was mainly attributed to Hall–Petch effect and Orowan strengthening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study for detection, genetic analysis and epidemiological survey for swine fever virus including classical swine fever virus (CSFV), Pseudorabies virus (PRV) and Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) by the Nested-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) of different samples from different farms in Guangxi Zhuang, China. It was observed that mixed infection was dominant with the CSF in Guangxi with complexity and E2 protein amino acid sites of CSFV Guangxi strains have mutated.

OBJECTIVE: Helicobacter pylori is documented to have infected more than half of the world’s population. It colonizes the human stomach and is associated with the development of chronic active gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric adenocarcinoma and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Immunization against this bacterium represents a cost-effective strategy to reduce global gastric cancer rates and would have a major impact on H. pylori -related peptic ulcer disease. HpaA, a subunit protein of H. pylori adhesin, is known to be the pathogenic factor and attenuated Salmonella typhimurium is a live vaccine vector. The present study aimed at constructing and identifying a live attenuated S. typhimurium vaccine carrying the hpaA gene of H. pylori.. METHODS: The hpaA gene was amplified from H. pylori genomic DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cloned into the Nco I-Sal I site of the prokaryotic expression plasmid pTrc99A. After sequence analysis of the hpaA gene, the identified recombinant plasmid was then used to transform a live attenuated S. typhimurium , namely SL3261, and positive clones were screened by PCR and restriction enzyme digestion. RESULTS: Confirmed by PCR, restriction enzyme digestion and sequence analysis, a recombinant prokaryotic expression plasmid, namely pTrc99A-hpaA, harboring approximately 560 bp hpaA was constructed and the recombinant plasmid was then successfully introduced into a live attenuated S. typhimurium SL3261. CONCLUSION: A recombinant live attenuated S. typhimurium vaccine harboring the H. pylori hpaA gene was constructed and identified. This work will help develop an oral recombinant live vaccine against H. pylori infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-four patients with cold, dampness, obstructive ankylosing spondylitis were treated with sulfasalazine and sulfasalazine in combination with moxibustion for 3 weeks. The results showed that the combined treatment of traditional Chinese and western medicine was significantly higher than those of western medicine treatment, meanwhile, the scoreofsymptoms quantification, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate of the integrated Chinese and western medicine treatment were significantly lower than those of western medicine treatment, and the level of physical signs was significantly higher than that of western medicine treatment, and there were no significant differences in adverse reactions. Moxibustion combined with sulfasalazine in the treatment of cold and damp obstructive ankylosing spondylitis can effectively improve the characteristics of the body, relieve pain symptoms and improve the prognosis.

Objective: To improve Luo-Ye pump-based stress-forming system and optimize the stimulating effect on smooth muscle cells during cultivation of tissue-engineered blood vessels (TEBV)., Methods: A new Luo-Ye pump-based TEBV 3D culture system was developed by adding an air pump to the output of the bioreactor. A pressure guide wire was used to measure the stress at different points of the silicone tube inside the TEBV bio-reactor, and fitting curves of the stress changes over time was created using Origin 8.0 software. The TEBVs were constructed by seeding vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) isolated from human umbilical artery on polyglycolic acid (PGA) and cultured under dynamic conditions with 40 mmHg resistance (improved group), dynamic conditions without resistance (control group) or static condition (static group) for 4 weeks. The harvested TEBVs were then examined with HE staining, masson staining, α-SMA immunohistochemical staining, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy with semi-quantitative analysis of collagen content and α-SMA expression., Results: The measured stress values and the fitting curves showed that the stress stimuli from the Luo-Ye pump were enhanced by adding an air pump to the output of the bioreactor. Histological analysis revealed improved VSMC density, collagen content and α-SMA expression in the TEBVs constructed with the improved method as compared with those in the control and static groups., Conclusion: Adding an air pump to the Luo-Ye pump significantly enhances the stress stimulation in the TEBV 3-D culture system to promote the secretion function of VSMCs.

The circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are derived from primary or metastatic tumor lesions and can be detected in the peripheral blood. With certain specific features, CTCs can,to certain extent, reflect the progression and invasiveness of tumors. Detection of CTCs may provide a powerful and noninvasive approach for diagnosing neoplastic disease, identifying drug sensitivity, and enabling real-time treatment monitoring and prognosis prediction. Improvements in cell isolation and molecular identification will enable a broad range of clinical applications.

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) promoting the calcification of smooth muscle cells., Methods: The successfully cultured smooth muscle cells were divided into three groups: normal culture group (group A), calcified culture group (group B), calcification + AGEs group (group C); the concentration of intracellular calcium ion was detected in each group; the promotion of AGEs on the calcification of HSMCs was confirmed by VON KOSSA staining; and the expressions of β-catenin, RAGE, β-catenin, OPG and E-cadherin protein were detected by immunofluorescence and western blot., Results: The morphology of the cells in each group showed that the amount of calcified plaques in calcification + AGES group were significantly higher than the calcification group. VON KOSSA staining showed that with increasing concentrations of AGE-BSA, the amount of its calcification gradually increased. Calcium concentration in Calcification + 20 mg/L AGEs group was significantly higher, followed by 40 mg/L AGEs group. The expression of β-catenin increased with the increasing concentrations of AGEs., Conclusion: AGEs can promote the calcification of human femoral artery smooth muscle cells, with a concentration gradient effect. With increasing concentrations of AGEs, the expression of RAGE increased, indicating that AGEs-induced HSMCs proliferation was correlated with RAGE expression.

Long non-coding RNAs(LncRNA)may play a key role in tumorigenesis by regulating gene expression and intervening transcription. Recent studies have demonstrated that a series of patterns including protein modification,chromosomal reconstruction,regulation of target gene expression,transcription intervention,epigenetic modification,and natural antisense transcript are involved in this process. This article reviews recent research advances in this aspect with an attempt to better understand the role of LncRNA in tumorigenesis.

Aim: To analyze the expression profiles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma., Methods: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and matched adjacent non-tumor (NT) liver tissues were collected from 29 patients with HCC, immediately after liver resection, between March 2011 and July 2013. The diagnosis of HCC was made based on histological examination. Differentially expressed lncRNAs between HCC and NT tissues were revealed through microarray-based lncRNAs expression profiling. Further, quantification of selected lncRNAs was performed using quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR)., Results: Six hundred and fifty-nine lncRNAs were differentially expressed between HCC and NT tissues, of which five [TCONS_00018278, AK093543, D16366, ENST00000501583, NR_002819 (MALAT1)] were selected for validation. Four of them were significantly downregulated in HCC tissues compared with NT tissues (P = 0.012, 0.045, 0.000 and 0.000, respectively), and the expression level of MALAT1 showed no significant difference (P = 0.114)., Conclusion: This study identified a set of lncRNAs differentially expressed in HCC tissues and provided useful information for exploring potential therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers of this cancer.

Aim: To construct the fusion gene of transmembrane programmed death ligand (PD-L1) and red fluorescent protein (DsRed2), and to study the expression and effect of the fused PD-L1/pDsRed2-N1., Methods: The cloning technology was employed to construct the PD-L1/pDsRed2-N1 fusion gene. The fusion gene was transfected into NIT cells by lipofectamine. The expression of the fusion gene was determined by flow cytometry (FCM) and inverted phase contrast microscope. The effects on allo-spleen cells proliferation were detected by single mixed lymphocyte reaction. FCM was used to detect the proliferation of spleen cells., Results: The expression of the fusion gene was observed in transiently transfected NIT cells. The fusion protein was expressed on cell membrane. These data suggested that the red fluorescent protein tag did not interfere with the natural assembly and the biological activity of PD-L1 molecule., Conclusion: The PD-L1-RFP fusion gene is constructed successfully and the fusion protein has biological activity.

Background: Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is expressed highly in epithelial tumours associated closely with human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) infections. However, evidence about the direct relationship between HSP70 expression and HPVs infections are still lacking. In the present study, we examined the expression of HSP70 in keratinocytes introduced with HPV16 E6/E7 oncogenes., Methods: Stable transfected cells were established by transfection of the plasmids pLXSN16E6/E7 into cultured primary keratinocytes and subsequently selected by plasmid specific selection antibiotic (G418) at the required concentration. The expression of HSP70 in pLXSN16E6/E7 transfected keratinocytes was determined by Western blot. The correlation of HSP70 expression and E6/E7 transfection was further confirmed by doubly labelled immunofluorescent staining., Results: Compared to non-transfected keratinocytes, there was a significant trend for higher levels of HSP70 in pLXSN16E6/E7 transfected keratinocytes. Doubly labelled immunofluorescent staining experiment showed that the co-localization of HPV16 E6/E7 and HSP70 in transfected keratinocytes was observed and increased expression of HSP70 was strongly associated with the transfection of HPV16 E6/E7., Conclusions: Our studies demonstrated increased levels of HSP70 proteins in keratinocytes stably transfected by HPV16 E6/E7 oncogenes. It suggests that the expression of HSP70 is modulated by HPV16 E6/E7 proteins, which may be involved in HPV16 E6/E7 induced immortalization.

Aim: To study the effect of dendritic cells (DCs) modified by CTLA4Ig on T-cell proliferation and the cytotoxic T lymphocyte killer activity., Methods: The expressing vector pG/CTLA4Ig was transfected into DCs via lipofectamine reagent mediation. CTLA4Ig fusion protein secreted by DCs in the culture supernatant was confirmed by sandwich ELISA and SDS-PAGE. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from C57BL/6 mice (as reaction cells) and DCs modified or unmodified by CTLA4Ig (as stimulation cells) were co-cultured for 6 days. MTT colorimetry was used to detect lymphocyte proliferation. Lactate dehydrogenase release method and sandwich ELISA assay was used to examine the cytotoxic activity and T-cell apoptosis., Results: CTLA4Ig fusion protein and DCs modified by CTLA4Ig could significantly inhibit lymphocyte proliferation response and cytotoxic activity of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and induce T-cell apoptosis, while unmodified-DCs could markedly induce lymphocyte proliferation response., Conclusion: The DCs of stably expressing CTLA4Ig fusion protein could not only markedly inhibit T-cell proliferation and cytotoxic activity of CTL, but also induce T-cell apoptosis.