The imbalance of Th17/Treg cell populations has been suggested to be involved in the regulation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis; however, the mechanism behind this phenomenon remains unclear. Recent studies have shown how microRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of immune responses and are involved in the development of a variety of inflammatory diseases, including RA. In this study, we demonstrated that the frequencies of CD3+CD4+IL-17+Th17 cells were significantly higher, and CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Treg cells significantly lower in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from RA patients. Detection of cytokines from RA patients revealed an elevated panel of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-17, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-22, which carry the inflammatory signature of RA and are crucial in the differentiation and maintenance of pathogenic Th17 cells and dysfunction of Treg cells. However, the level of miR-21 was significantly lower in RA patients, accompanied by the increase in STAT3 expression and activation, and decrease in STAT5/pSTAT5 protein and Foxp3 mRNA levels. Furthermore, lipopolysaccharide stimulation up-regulated miR-21 expression from healthy controls, but down-regulated miR-21 expression from RA patients. Therefore, we speculate that miR-21 may be part of a negative feedback loop in the normal setting. However, miR-21 levels decrease significantly in RA patients, suggesting that this feedback loop is dysregulated and may contribute to the imbalance of Th17 and Treg cells. MiR-21 may thus serve as a novel regulator in T-cell differentiation and homoeostasis, and provides a new therapeutic target for the treatment of RA.

Thick, wide-bandgap materials as photoactive layers in semi-transparent Pero-SCs realized >20% AVT and ∼10% PCE.

In planar n–i–p perovskite solar cells (Pero-SCs), interfacial engineering plays a critically important role in charge extraction and transportation, and hence influences the photovoltaic performances.

Background: Berberine, a well-known component of the Chinese herbal medicine Huanglian, has wide range of biochemical and pharmacological effects, including antineoplastic effect, but the exact mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential chemo-sensitization effect of berberine in ovarian cancer cell line A2780. Methods: The expression of miR-93 was measure by RT-PCR. The target of miR-93 was confirmed by luciferase activity assay. Hoechst 33258 staining, Annexin V and PI double staining were used for apoptosis analysis. Results: In this study, we found A2780/DDP cells that were incubated with berberine combined with cisplatin had a significantly lower survival than the control group. Berberine enhanced cisplatin induced apoptosis and induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in A2780 cells. Next, we observed that the miR-93 levels in cisplatin resistant cell lines were higher than that in cisplatin sensitive cell lines. Furthermore, our study found berberine could inhibit miR-93 expression and function in ovarian cancer, as shown by an increase of its target PTEN, an important tumor suppressor in ovarian cancer. A2780 cells that were treated with PTEN siRNA had increased survival compared to NC group and this could be partly alleviated by the AKT inhibitor Triciribine. More importantly, A2780 cells that were treated with PTEN siRNA had a survival pattern that is similar to cells with miR-93 overexpression. Conclusion: The results suggested that berberine modulated the sensitivity of cisplatin through miR-93/PTEN/AKT signaling pathway in the ovarian cancer cells.

Tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) has been widely applied as an electron transport layer (ETL) for the n-i-p-type perovskite solar cells (Pero-SCs). However, the existence of defects at the surface of SnO 2 and the hysteresis behavior of the devices with SnO 2 ETL limit its application in the Pero-SCs. In this study, a fullerene derivative pyrrolidinofullerene C 60 -substituted phenol (NPC 60 -OH) was synthesized and applied to modify the SnO 2 ETL in Pero-SCs for the first time. The systematic and comparative characterizations demonstrated that, after the introduction of an NPC 60 -OH modification layer on the SnO 2 ETL, the perovskite films in the corresponding device showed enlarged grain size and these devices presented enhanced electron transport and decreased charge recombination velocity. Besides, the NPC 60 -OH layer could significantly reduce the trap-state density in the perovskite film. As a result, a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.39% was achieved for the SnO 2 /NPC 60 -OH-based Pero-SCs, with suppressed hysteresis and improved stability, while the control devices with pristine SnO 2 ETL showed a lower PCE of 19.04%.