Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in neuronal apoptosis, autophagic cell death and necroptosis. Necroptosis is a newly discovered caspases-independent programmed necrosis pathway which can be triggered by activation of death receptor. Previous works identified that necrostatin-1 (NEC-1), a specific necroptosis inhibitor, could reduce tissue damage and functional impairment through inhibiting of necroptosis process following TBI. However, the role of NEC-1 on apoptosis and autophagy after TBI is still not very clear. In this study, the amount of TBI-induced neural cell deaths were counted by PI labeling method as previously described. The expression of autophagic pathway associated proteins (Beclin-1, LC3-II, and P62) and apoptotic pathway associated proteins (Bcl-2 and caspase-3) were also respectively assessed by immunoblotting. The data showed that mice pretreated with NEC-1 reduced the amount of PI-positive cells from 12 to 48 h after TBI. Immunoblotting results showed that NEC-1 suppressed TBI-induced Beclin-1 and LC3-II activation which maintained p62 at high level. NEC-1 pretreatment also reversed TBI-induced Bcl-2 expression and caspase-3 activation, as well as the ratio of Beclin-1/Bcl-2. Both 3-MA and NEC-1 suppressed TBI-induced caspase-3 activation and LC3-II formation, Z-VAD only inhibited caspase-3 activation but increased LC3-II expression at 24 h post-TBI. All these results revealed that multiple cell death pathways participated in the development of TBI, and NEC-1 inhibited apoptosis and autophagy simultaneously. These coactions may further explain how can NEC-1 reduce TBI-induced tissue damage and functional deficits and reflect the interrelationship among necrosis, apoptosis and autophagy.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from healthy human and normal mice can inhibit normal B cell proliferation, differentiation, and Ab secretion in vitro. However, it remains unknown whether MSC from lupus-like mice and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) exhibit the same immunoregulatory activity as normal MSC for B cell inhibition and, if not, what the underlying molecular mechanism would be. In this study, we showed that bone marrow-derived MSCs from lupus-like mice and SLE patients had an impairment in suppressing normal B cell proliferation and differentiation, which was caused by the reduction of CCL2 levels. Knockdown of CCL2 in normal MSC damaged their suppressive capacity for B cells. Conversely, overexpression of CCL2 in lupus MSCs restored their immunoregulatory ability for B cells in vitro and ameliorated the pathology of lupus nephritis and serological changes in MRL/lpr mice in vivo. Mechanistically, MSC-mediated B cell inhibition was dependent on matrix metalloproteinase proteolytic processing of CCL2. These findings reveal a novel function of CCL2 in B cell regulation by MSCs and suggest that CCL2 manipulation on MSCs may serve as a potential pathway for developing the more effective MSC-based therapy in autoimmune diseases associated with B cell activation, such as SLE.

A novel nanostructured ferroelectric photovoltaic material, consisting of the ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) film and Ag(2) O semiconductor nanoparticles of comparatively narrow bandgap, has demonstrated a remarkable enhancement in the photovoltaic effects and the highest light-electricity conversion efficiency among those PZT-based photodiodes previously reported. This work sheds light on the design and enhanced performance of new optoelectronic and solar energy devices.

This study aimed to determine whether umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSC) regulate Cadherin-11 (CDH11) expression by fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). FLS were isolated from the synovium of RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients. FLS from RA patients were cocultured with UCMSC in a transwell system. CDH11 mRNA levels in FLS were tested, and levels of soluble factors expressed by UCMSC, such as indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and interleukin- (IL-) 10, were determined. IDO, HGF, and IL-10 were upregulated in cocultures, so that appropriate inhibitors were added before determination of CDH11 expression. The effects of UCMSC on arthritis were investigated in the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model in Wistar rats. FLS from RA patients expressed higher CDH11 levels than those from OA patients, and this effect was suppressed by UCMSC. The inhibitory effect of UCMSC on CDH11 expression by FLS was abolished by suppression of IL-10 activity. CDH11 expression in synovial tissues was higher in the context of CIA than under basal conditions, and this effect was prevented by UCMSC administration. IL-10 mediates the inhibitory effect of UCMSC on CDH11 expression by FLS, and this mechanism might be targeted to ameliorate arthritis.