The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of maltol, a food-flavoring agent, on alcohol-induced acute oxidative damage in mice. Maltol used in this study was isolated from red ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A Meyer) and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry. For hepatoprotective activity in vivo, pretreatment with maltol (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg; 15 days) drastically prevented the elevated activities of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and triglyceride (TG) in serum and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in liver tissue (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the levels of hepatic antioxidant, such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were elevated by maltol pretreatment, compared to the alcohol group (p < 0.05). Histopathological examination revealed that maltol pretreatment significantly inhibited alcohol-induced hepatocyte apoptosis and fatty degeneration. Interestingly, pretreatment of maltol effectively relieved alcohol-induced oxidative damage in a dose-dependent manner. Maltol appeared to possess promising anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory capacities. It was suggested that the hepatoprotective effect exhibited by maltol on alcohol-induced liver oxidative injury may be due to its potent antioxidant properties.

Most studies of adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection focus on peripheral blood, which may not fully reflect immune responses at the site of infection. Using samples from 110 children undergoing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy during the COVID-19 pandemic, we identified 24 samples with evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, including neutralizing antibodies in serum and SARS-CoV-2-specific germinal center and memory B cells in the tonsils and adenoids. Single-cell B cell receptor (BCR) sequencing indicated virus-specific BCRs were class-switched and somatically hypermutated, with overlapping clones in the two tissues. Expanded T cell clonotypes were found in tonsils, adenoids and blood post-COVID-19, some with CDR3 sequences identical to previously reported SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cell receptors (TCRs). Pharyngeal tissues from COVID-19-convalescent children showed persistent expansion of germinal center and antiviral lymphocyte populations associated with interferon (IFN)-γ-type responses, particularly in the adenoids, and viral RNA in both tissues. Our results provide evidence for persistent tissue-specific immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract of children after infection.

Phage peptide display is a powerful technique for discovery of various target-specific ligands. However, target-unrelated peptides can often be obtained and cause ambiguous results. Peptide PB-TUP has been isolated repeatedly in our laboratory on different targets and we conducted a research on PB-TUP phage to investigate their binding properties and rate of propagation. ELISA and phage recovery assay demonstrated that PB-TUP phage had a significant superior affinity to polystyrene solid surface compared with control phage clones. In this study, some incidental bindings are excluded like blocking agents and non-specific binding of secondary antibodies. Propagation rate assays of the selected phage clones showed that the growth rate of PB-TUP phage was not superior to the control phages. Furthermore, the binding of PB-TUB to polystyrene was concentration dependent and varied with solution pH. Molecular modeling revealed that stable structures of α-helix and β-turn may contribute to the binding of PB-TUP to polystyrene plate. The PB-TUP sequence was fused to the N-terminus of peptide P2 and the fusion peptide significantly increased the binding affinity to polystyrene. The fusion peptide also enhanced the cell adhesion ability of peptide P2 with human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC). The addition of the polystyrene binding peptide provided a convenient method for peptide immobilization.

Although previous studies confirmed that steaming and the fermentation process could significantly improve the cognitive-enhancement and neuroprotective effects of Codonopsis lanceolata, the anti-tumor efficacy of steamed C. lanceolata (SCL) and what mechanisms are involved remain largely unknown. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-tumor effect in vivo of SCL in H22 tumor-bearing mice. The results clearly indicated that SCL could not only inhibit the tumor growth, but also prolong the survival time of H22 tumor-bearing mice. Besides, the serum levels of cytokines, such as interferon gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-2 (IL-2), were enhanced by SCL administration. The observations of Hoechst 33258 staining demonstrated that SCL was able to induce tumor cell apoptosis. Finally, immunohistochemical analysis revealed that SCL treatment significantly increased Bax expression and decreased Bcl-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression of H22 tumor tissues in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, LC/MS analysis of SCL indicated that it mainly contained lobetyolin and six saponins. Taken all together, the findings in the present study clearly demonstrated that SCL inhibited the H22 tumor growth in vivo at least partly via improving the immune functions, inducing apoptosis and inhibiting angiogenesis.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 261 people living with HIV (PLWH) in Southeast China. A social capital questionnaire was used to measure social capital dimensions (trust, social connection, and social participation). A Chinese version of the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV) was used to assess Quality of Life (QoL); Physical Health Summary Scores (PHS) and Mental Health Summary Scores (MHS) were calculated. Multiple regression assessed whether social capital and its dimensions were associated with PHS and MHS. After controlling for sociodemographics and HIV-related factors, lower PHS scores were found among participants with low overall social capital (P < .01) and low trust (P < .001). Lower MHS scores were found among participants with low overall social capital (P < .001), low trust (P < .001) and low social connection (P < .01). Our findings identify potential intervention targets to improve QoL among PLWH in Southeast China, including the promotion of social capital.

Subdural haematoma (SDH) is a potentially life-threatening complication in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH). In serious cases, SIH patients who present with SDHs develop neurological deficits, a decreased level of consciousness, or cerebral herniation, and may even require an urgent neurosurgical drainage. Despite numerous publications on SDHs, few report its potential risk factors in patients with SIH. In this study, we retrospectively investigated 93 consecutive SIH patients and divided them into an SDH group (n = 25) and a non-SDH (NSDH) group (n = 68). The clinical and radiographic characteristics of these 93 patients were analyzed, and then univariate analysis and further multiple logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the potential risk factors for the development of SDHs. The univariate analysis showed that advanced age, male gender, longer clinical course, dural enhancement, and the venous distension sign were associated with the development of SDHs. However, multivariate analysis only included the latter three factors. Our study reveals important radiological manifestations for predicting the development of SDHs in patients with SIH.

This study investigated the role of interleukin (IL)-9 and IL-10 in the pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Autologous serum skin test and histamine release test were performed in CSU patients and normal subjects. Kunming mice were used to develop a mouse model for CSU. We induced IL-9 overexpression, IL-10 overexpression, and JAK/STAT pathway inhibition as well as a combination of all three conditions in CSU and control mice. Eosinophils in the skin tissues, inflammatory cytokine expression, and distribution of T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood of mice were detected. Expression patterns of IL-9, IL-10, STAT3, JAK2, and INF-γ in clinical samples and mice were detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis. The positive rate of autologous serum skin test and the histamine release rate of CSU patients, compared with normal subjects, were apparently elevated. Compared with controls, mice with CSU experienced longer duration and higher frequency of pruritus and demonstrated enhanced levels of CD8 + , the ratio of CD4 + /CD8 + , number of eosinophils, and inflammatory cytokine expression in serum as well as activated JAK/STAT signalling pathway; at the same time, levels of CD4 + and INF-γ were reduced. This trend was found in CSU mice overexpressing IL-9 and IL-10 when compared with the CSU mice without treatment. In contrast, JAK/STAT inhibition reversed the above trend.Overall, our study suggests that IL-9 and IL-10 contribute to CSU development via activation of the JAK/STAT signalling pathway. K E Y W O R D S chronic spontaneous urticaria, inflammation, interleukin-9, interleukin-10, JAK/STAT signalling pathway 1 | INTRODUCTION Chronic urticaria (CU), defined as urticaria that has been continuously or intermittently existing for more than 6 weeks, has an estimated prevalence in the general population of 0.5% to 5% and an incidence of 1.4% per year. 1 Patients where no underlying cause for CU was identified were diagnosed as chronic idiopathic urticaria (mainly used in North America) or chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). 2 CSU is caused by degranulation of basophils and/or cutaneous mast cells, which results in effective vasoactive mediators released to induce vasodilatation and increased capillary permeability, leading to erythema and wheal formation. 3 Wheal is an elementary dermatological lesion, characterized by itchiness and the presences of central oedema in various sizes, with a reflex erythema encircling and ephemeral

The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-hepatoma activity of maltol, a Maillard reaction product, in H22 tumor-bearing mice.