A therosclerosis is a pathological injury-to-response process that is initiated by early inflammatory responses of vascular endothelial cells (ECs).1 Endothelial inflammation is characterized by increased production of proatherogenic molecules and inflammatory cytokines in ECs, and monocyte adhesion and infiltration into the neointima lesion, followed by oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced transformation of macrophages into foam cells.2 Accumulation of cholesterol ester in macrophages is a hallmark of foam cell formation. 2This accumulation depends on the balance between the uptake of oxidized low-density lipoprotein via CD36 and the efflux of free cholesterol controlled by ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), ATP-binding cassette transporter G1, or scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI).3 To protect the cells from the toxicity that would result from excessive free cholesterol accumulation, the free cholesterol is esterified to cholesterol ester by acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase-1 (ACAT1).3 Cholesterol ester stored in lipid droplets can be removed from cells only after hydrolysis to free cholesterol by neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase. 4 Apart from accumulation of macrophage-derived foam cells, the migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) followed by extracellular matrix (ECM) production play crucial roles in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. 1Cardiotrophin 1 (CT-1), a 201-aa member of the interleukin-6 cytokine family, was originally cloned from embryoid bodies as a 21.5-kDa protein capable of inducing hypertrophy in neonatal cardiomyocytes. 5 Human and mouse CT-1 share 80% amino acid sequence identity and exhibit cross-species activity.6 Subsequent studies confirmed that plasma concentrations of CT-1 are elevated in various cardiorenal diseases, such as hypertension, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and chronic renal disease.7-10 CT-1 exerts cardiovascular remodeling induced by hypertensive and ischemic heart diseases and congestive heart failure, through its receptor complex glycoprotein 130 (gp130) and leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR).11-14 Recently, CT-1 has been shown to be expressed in the intima in the early stages of atherosclerotic lesions in human carotid artery.15 CT-1 stimulates the synthesis of inflammatory cytokines and proatherogenic molecules, such as interleukin-6, Abstract-Cardiotrophin 1 (CT-1), an interleukin-6 family cytokine, was recently shown to be expressed in the intima of early atherosclerotic lesions in the human carotid artery. CT-1 stimulates proatherogenic molecule expression in human vascular endothelial cells and monocyte migration. However, it has not been reported whether CT-1 accelerates atherosclerosis. This study was performed to examine the stimulatory effects of CT-1 on human macrophage foam cell formation and vascular smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation in vitro, and on the development of atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE −/− ) mice in vivo. CT-1 was express...

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a major global public health concern. Although rapid point-of-care testing for detecting viral antigen is important for management of the outbreak, the current antigen tests are less sensitive than nucleic acid testing. In our current study, we produce monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that exclusively react with SARS-CoV-2 and exhibit no cross-reactivity with other human coronaviruses including SARS-CoV. Molecular modeling suggest that the mAbs bind to epitopes present on the exterior surface of the nucleocapsid, making them suitable for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples. We further select the optimal pair of anti-SARS-CoV-2 NP mAbs using ELISA, and then use this mAb pair to develop immunochromatographic assay augmented with silver amplification technology. Our mAbs recognize the variants of concern (501Y.V1-V3) that are currently in circulation. Due to their high performance, the mAbs of this study can serve as good candidates for developing antigen detection kits for COVID-19.

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Mushrooms contain large quantities of alpha-glucans. Shiitake (Lentinula edodes), Japan's most popular edible mushroom, has been reported to contain about 6% (weight/dried weight) of alpha-(1,3)-glucan. This glucan is one of the major components of oral biofilm formed by the cariogenic bacteria Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus. We found that extracts from shiitake and other edible mushrooms could reduce preformed biofilms of S. mutans and S. sobrinus in the presence of dextranase. We also investigated the alpha-glucanase activities of shiitake mushroom extracts and their effects on biofilm formation. The extracts possessed alpha-glucanase activity and degraded water-insoluble glucans from mutans streptococci. The extracts strongly inhibited the sucrose-dependent formation of biofilms by S. mutans and S. sobrinus in the presence of dextranase. Our results suggest that some components of mushrooms, including alpha-glucanases, might inhibit the sucrose-induced formation of oral biofilms.