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Jing Chen,1,* Jin-Hua Huang,1,* Zhen Wang,1,* Xiangzhi Song,2,* Zeyi Chen,1,* Qinghai Zeng,1,* Xiping Zhou,1,* Zhihong Zuo,1,* Shuang Zhao,3,* Xiang Chen,3,* Jian Kang1,* 1Department of Dermatology, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China *All authors contributed equally to this work Introduction: 5-ethylamino-9-diethylaminobenzo[a]phenoselenazinium (EtNBSe) is a novel synthetic bipolar photosensitizer with many promising applications. This study investigated the impact of EtNBSe-mediated photodynamic therapy (EtNBSe-PDT) on the autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress of squamous carcinoma cells (A-431 cells), as well as the related molecular mechanisms. Methods: The potency of EtNBSe-PDT against squamous cell carcinoma was evaluated in BALB/c nude mice. Cell viability was evaluated using MTT. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to determine the expression levels of ER stress- and autophagy-related proteins. Results: Both morphological and microscopic findings showed that the tumor on the xenograft mice exhibited an apparent reduction in volume and was replaced with fibrosis 20 days after EtNBSe-PDT. Additionally, in an in vitro study using A-431 cells, EtNBSe-PDT was found to inhibit A-431 cell survival in an EtNBSe concentration- and light dose- dependent manner, and to induce ER stress via the PERK-eIF2α signaling pathway. Additionally, EtNBSe-PDT could also induce autophagy of A-431 cells. Furthermore, the ER stress inhibitor 4-PBA and the eIF2α inhibitor salubrinal were found to inhibit the autophagy induced by EtNBSe-PDT. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the PERK-eIF2α signaling pathway was involved in the ER stress induced by EtNBSe-PDT. Meanwhile, the ER stress via the PERK-eIF2α pathway promoted the occurrence of autophagy in A-431 cells. Keywords: photodynamic therapy, endoplasmic reticulum stress, squamous cell carcinoma, autophagy

Bullous pemphigoid (BP), a common autoimmune skin disease, is associated with IgG autoantibodies against the hemidesmosomal proteins, BP180 and BP230. In addition to IgG, IgE has been shown to play a role in the disease. However, the association between disease activity and IgE specific to the NC16A domain of BP180 in blister fluid remains unclear. Our objective was to evaluate the correlation between BP disease activity and BP180 NC16A-specific IgE sera and blister fluid titers, and to analyze changes during treatment. We evaluated the levels of anti-BP180 IgE autoantibodies in the sera and blister fluids of 37 BP patients using an Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We also observed changes in the levels of these antibodies in 2 BP patients at 4 or 5 different time points (day 0 when the patient first visited our hospital, day 5, day 14, day 39 and day 62 for patient 1; day 0, day 4, day 8 and day 17 for patient 2). We also collected extra serum samples from the 2 patients when the disease was controlled (blister disappeared) (day 85, day 104 and day 146 for patient 1 and day 123, day 158 and day 189 for the other patient). IgE anti-BP180 antibodies were detected in the serum of 72.97 % of the patients. There was no correlation between disease activity scores and BP180 NC16A IgE titers in serum (r = -0.077, p > 0.05) or in blister fluid (r = 0.262, p > 0.05). The levels of the autoantibody in serum were positively correlated with that in blister fluid (r = 0.6651, p < 0.001); however, the levels continued to rise despite effective control of the disease in the initial two to 6 weeks of diagnosis. The level of this autoantibody reached a peak on day 39 for patient 1 and on day 17 for patient 2 although the systemic and topical medication of steroid had controlled the disease process effectively. We conclude that levels of anti-BP180 NC16A IgE are higher in the sera than blister fluids. These levels could generally reflect disease severity throughout the course of the disease, but not in the early stages of medication.

Research on the biodiversity of mangrove ecosystems should include not only the plants but other components, such as the macrobenthos. In order to understand the response of the macrobenthos to a mangrove habitat with high organics and nutrients, we compared the mangrove and non-mangrove macrobenthic communities, and analyzed their spatial-temporal distributions in these two habitats from April 2006 to January 2007 in Tong’an Bay, Fujian. Six sampling stations were set in Tong’an Bay, four of them (FL1, FL2, XA-A and XA-B) were in the mangrove habitat, the other two (FL3 and XA-C) were in the non-mangrove habitat. An analysis of sediment properties showed that total organic matter (TOM) of the three sampling stations at Fenglin exceeded the critical threshold, namely 3.4%, and TOM in mangrove stations was higher than in the non-mangrove ones. A total of 91 macrobenthic taxa were obtained from the six sampling stations in Tong’an Bay, including 77 and 67 taxa from the mangrove and non-mangrove habitats, respectively. Mean macrobenthic densities in the mangrove and non-mangrove habitats were 4,445.8 inds/m and 1,707.2 inds/m, respectively. Mean biomasses in the mangrove and non-mangrove habitats were 51.1 g/m and 94.6 g/m, respectively. The results of an independent-samples t-test showed that mean density and mean biomass were significantly different in the two habitats. The present study revealed that the mangrove habitat has a positive influence on the Oligochaeta, such as Limnodriloides sp., that thrives in the high TOM sediments. 第 1 期 周细平等: 福建同安湾潮间带红树林生境与非红树林生境大型底栖动物群落比较 61 Because of the shorter inundation period in the mangrove habitat, however, free-living molluscs and crustaceans preferred the non-mangrove habitat. Other sediment properties such as interstitial salinity and median particle diameter also affected the macrobenthic community.