The loss of endothelial connective integrity and endothelial barrier dysfunction can lead to increased vascular injury, which is related to the activation of endothelial inflammasomes. There are evidences that low concentrations of aspirin can effectively prevent cardiovascular diseases. We hypothesized that low-dose aspirin could ameliorate endothelial injury by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and ultimately prevent cardiovascular diseases. Microvascular endothelial cells were stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (2 μg/mL) and administrated by 0.1–2 mmol/L aspirin. The wild type mice were stimulated with LPS (100 μg/kg/day), and 1 h later treated with aspirin (12.5, 62.5, or 125 mg/kg/day) and dexamethasone (0.0182 mg/kg/day) for 7 days. Plasma and heart were harvested for measurement of ELISA and immunofluorescence analyses. We found that aspirin could inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome formation and activation in vitro in dose-dependent manner and has correlation between the NLRP3 inflammasome and the ROS/TXNIP pathway. We also found that low-concentration aspirin could inhibit the formation and activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and restore the expression of the endothelial tight junction protein zonula occludens-1/2 (ZO1/2). We assume that aspirin can ameliorate the endothelial layer dysfunction by suppressing the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome.

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Although a promising strategy, the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)‐based therapy of cartilage defects is sometimes accompanied with chronic inflammation during the remodeling status, which may hinder cartilage regeneration. During this process, the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) plays an important role and may be a potential target. In this study, we investigated the effect of Tnfα RNA interference by introducing a functional and highly safe carbon dot (CD)‐SMCC nanovector synthesized by bioconjugation of CDs with a protein crosslinker, sulfosuccinimidyl‐4‐(N‐maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane‐1‐carboxylate (sulfo‐SMCC), as the vehicle of the silenced TNFα (si Tnfα ) on chondrogenesis of MSCs. The results showed that CD‐SMCC displayed intense fluorescence with well‐dispersed and positively charged properties, which favored effective binding and delivering of si Tnfα into the MSCs. CD‐SMCC‐si Tnfα nanoformula also exhibited considerably high transfection efficiency and nearly no cytotoxicity, which is preferred over commercial polyethyleneimine. Interference of Tnfα by CD‐SMCC‐si Tnfα markedly promoted the chondrogenesis of MSCs, as indicated by upregulating cartilage‐specific markers. Furthermore, in vivo exploration indicated that CD‐SMCC‐si Tnfα transfected MSCs accelerated cartilage regeneration. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that in combination with the novel CD‐SMCC nanovector, targeting Tnfα may facilitate stem cell‐based therapy of cartilage defects. stem cells translational medicine 2019;8:724&736

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Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising diagnostic markers in various types of cancers, including papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, there is sparse information reported with regards to miRNA expression in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) or concerning the role of a combination of miRNAs and ultrasound (US) in the diagnosis of PTMC before surgery. Therefore, we designed a study that aimed to evaluate miRNA expression levels and their potential associations with US findings and determine whether miRNAs could be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of PTMC. miR-222, miR-221, miR-146b and miR-21 levels were determined using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in serum from 58 patients with PTMC and 47 with PTC, 35 patients with benign thyroid nodules (BTN) and 40 control subjects. Expression levels of the four miRNAs in serum were evaluated before and after surgery. The results indicated that miR-222, miR-221, miR-146b and miR-21 expression levels were higher in the PTMC samples than in those from the BTN and control groups and the combination of miRNAs and US had a high sensitivity and specificity for discrimination between BTN and PTMC by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and improved the accuracy of diagnosis of PTMC before surgery. In addition, serum miRNA expression levels were significantly related to poor prognostic factors including metastatic lymph nodules (MLNs), multifocal and bilateral lesions, advanced stage and high-risk PTMC patients. The miRNA expression levels in serum from PTMC patients were rapidly reduced after surgery compared with levels before surgery. In addition, we also analyzed the miRNA expression levels in serum from patients who were divided into two groups according to factors indicating a good or poor prognosis associated with PTMC after surgery. The results suggested that after surgery, the miR-222, miR-146b and miR-21 expression levels were significantly higher in the poor prognosis group compared with these levels in the good prognosis group. Serum miRNA expression levels helped distinguish between benign and malignant nodules and were associated with a poor prognosis in PTMC. Circulating miRNAs may be useful as follow-up biomarkers and as diagnostic and prognostic tools.

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a b s t r a c tAs a cleavage enzyme of precursor TNF-a, the high expression level of ADAM17 in endothelial cells is an important factor in atherosclerosis. In this study, we demonstrate that ADAM17 is the target of miR-152. We found that miR-152 could reduce TNF precursor cleavage and inhibit cell proliferation and migration by targeting ADAM17 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Furthermore, the expression pattern of miR-152 and corresponding target ADAM17 was opposite in HUVECs under hypoxic conditions. The levels of circulating miR-152 in AS patient sera were lower than those detected in the sera of normal individuals. Our results indicate that miR-152 may be involved in the development of human atherosclerosis and could be used as diagnostic biomarker or therapeutic target in atherosclerosis.