The relationship between autoimmunity and changes in intestinal microbiota is not yet fully understood. In this study, the role of intestinal microbiota in the onset and progression of autoimmune lesions in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice was evaluated by administering antibiotics to alter their intestinal microenvironment. Flow cytometric analysis of spleen cells showed that antibiotic administration did not change the proportion or number of T and B cells in NOD mice, and pathological analysis demonstrated that autoimmune lesions in the salivary glands and in the pancreas were also not affected by antibiotic administration. These results suggest that the onset and progression of autoimmunity may be independent of enteral microbiota changes. Our findings may be useful for determining the appropriate use of antibiotics in patients with autoimmune diseases who are prescribed drugs to maintain systemic immune function.

ObjectiveInnate lymphoid cells (ILCs), including natural killer (NK) cells, ILC1, ILC2, lymphoid tissue-inducer (LTi) cells, and ILC3 cell, play a key role in various immune responses. Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of exocrine glands, such as the lacrimal and salivary glands (SGs). The role of NK cells among ILCs in the pathogenesis of pSS is still unclear. In this study, the characteristics and subsets of NK cells in the salivary gland (SG) tissue were analyzed using a murine model of pSS.MethodsMultiple phenotypes and cytotoxic signature of the SG NK cells in control and pSS model mice were evaluated by flow cytometric analysis. Intracellular expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) among T cells and NK cells from the SG tissues was compared by in vitro experiments. In addition, pathological analysis was performed using anti-asialo-GM1 (ASGM1) antibody (Ab)-injected pSS model mice.ResultsThe number of conventional NK (cNK) cells in the SG of pSS model mice significantly increased compared with that in control mice at 6 weeks of age. The production level of IFN-γ was significantly higher in SG NK cells than in SG T cells. The depletion of NK cells by ASGM1 Ab altered the ratio of tissue resident NK (rNK) cells to cNK cells, which inhibited the injury to SG cells with the recovery of saliva secretion in pSS model mice.ConclusionThe results indicate that SG cNK cells may enhance the autoreactive response in the target organ by upregulating of IFN-γ, whereas SG rNK cells protect target cells against T cell cytotoxicity. Therefore, the activation process and multiple functions of NK cells in the target organ could be helpful to develop potential markers for determining autoimmune disease activity and target molecules for incurable immune disorders.

It recently has been reported that partial‐epithelial–mesenchymal transition (p‐EMT) program is associated with metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We previously have identified POSTN (which encodes periostin) as an invasion‐promoting molecule in HNSCC. Interestingly, POSTN expression is frequently observed in cancer cells with higher p‐EMT score by using a previous single‐cell transcriptomic data of HNSCC cases. Although it is known that POSTN has 11 splicing variants, the role of them has not been determined in HNSCC. Here, we found that HNSCC cells with EMT features expressed POSTN isoforms, Iso3 (lacking exon 17 and 21) and Iso5 (lacking exon 17), whereas fibroblast expressed Iso3 and Iso4 (lacking exon 17, 18, and 21). The expression of POSTN Iso3 and Iso4 are known to be widely observed in various cell types including stromal cells. Therefore, we focused on the role of novel cancer cell‐derived POSTN isoform, Iso5, in HNSCC. Single overexpression of POSTN Iso5 as well as Iso3 promoted invasion. Surprisingly, Iso5 synergistically promoted invasion together with Iso3. Notably, Iso5 as well as Iso3 upregulated p‐EMT‐related genes. We suggest that a novel cancer‐specific POSTN isoform lacking exon 17 (Iso5) can be a useful marker for detecting cancer cells undergoing p‐EMT. Moreover, a POSTN Iso5 can be a novel target for diagnosis and therapy in HNSCC.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the hydration status and voluntary fluid intake among college age gymnasts practicing in a hot environment to establish the optimal guidelines on hydration for gymnasts. Since the duration of training sessions for gymnasts tends to be quite long, we hypothesized that gymnasts would not be able to maintain a sufficient hydration status during such training sessions. Twenty‐two college age gymnasts (10 males (M) and 12 females (F), mean age 20.7 (SD 1.6) years) participated in this study. The subjects were allowed to consume their usual drinks ad‐libitum during the training, and the intake was measured. The body mass (BM) significantly decreased in both M (M = ‐1.4 (0.6)%) and F (‐0.7 (0.7)%) after the training (P < 0.05). In terms of the body temperature and urine osmolality, there was no significant difference before and after the training. The urine specific gravity (USG) was significantly higher after the training (M = 1.036 (0.004), F = 1.034 (0.004)) than before the training (M = 1.030 (0.006), F = 1.027 (0.005)). The fluid intake was 549.6 (331.6) ml/5.5hrs for M and 1463.1 (424.8) ml/4.5hrs for F. These results demonstrated that college age gymnasts showed a BM decrease of less than 2% after the training in the hot environment, and the hydration status did not differ before and after the training. The USG, however, was greater than 1.025 even before the training in many gymnasts, suggesting that these athletes were dehydrated according to the ACSM guidelines.