Inflammaging refers to a continuous, low-grade inflammation associated with aging. Such chronic inflammatory response could build up with time and gradually causes tissue damage. It is considered as one of the driving forces for many age-related diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and skin aging. There is mounting evidence that indicates aging is driven by the pro-inflammatory cytokines and substances produced by our body’s innate immune system. The macrophage and complement system, two important components of innate immune system, have attracted more and more attention since they appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of several inflammaging-associated diseases, such as AMD and atherosclerosis. This paper will review what we know about these two innate immune systems in the pathogenesis of AMD, atherosclerosis and skin aging.

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To evaluate the effect of 3D printing in treating trimalleolar fractures and its roles in physician-patient communication, thirty patients with trimalleolar fractures were randomly divided into the 3D printing assisted-design operation group (Group A) and the no-3D printing assisted-design group (Group B). In Group A, 3D printing was used by the surgeons to produce a prototype of the actual fracture to guide the surgical treatment. All patients underwent open reduction and internal fixation. A questionnaire was designed for doctors and patients to verify the verisimilitude and effectiveness of the 3D-printed prototype. Meanwhile, the operation time and the intraoperative blood loss were compared between the two groups. The fracture prototypes were accurately printed, and the average overall score of the verisimilitude and effectiveness of the 3D-printed prototypes was relatively high. Both the operation time and the intraoperative blood loss in Group A were less than those in Group B (P < 0.05). Patient satisfaction using the 3D-printed prototype and the communication score were 9.3 ± 0.6 points. A 3D-printed prototype can faithfully reflect the anatomy of the fracture site; it can effectively help the doctors plan the operation and represent an effective tool for physician-patient communication.

Polycomb proteins play key roles in mediating epigenetic modifications that occur during cell differentiation. The Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) mediates the tri-methylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3). In this study, we identify a distinguishing feature of two classes of PRC2 target genes, represented by the Nr2F1 (Coup-TF1) and the Hoxa5 gene, respectively. Both genes are transcriptionally activated by all-trans retinoic acid (RA) and display increased levels of the permissive H3K9/K14ac and tri-methylated histone H3 lysine 4 epigenetic marks in response to RA. However, while in response to RA the PRC2 and H3K27me3 marks are greatly decreased at the Hoxa5 promoter, these marks are initially increased at the Nr2F1 promoter. Functional depletion of the essential PRC2 protein Suz12 by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) technology enhanced the RA-associated transcription of Nr2F1, Nr2F2, Meis1, Sox9 and BMP2, but had no effect on the Hoxa5, Hoxa1, Cyp26a1, Cyp26b1 and RARβ2 transcript levels in wild-type embryonic stem cells. We propose that PRC2 recruitment attenuates the RA-associated transcriptional activation of a subset of genes. Such a mechanism would permit the fine-tuning of transcriptional networks during differentiation.

Abstract. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a potential source of adult stem cells for cell-based therapeutics due to their substantial multilineage differentiation capacity and secretory functions. No information is presently available regarding the maintenance of immunosuppressive properties of this cell type with repeated passages. It was therefore the aim of the present study to analyze the biological properties, particularly the immunoregulatory effect, of MSCs from late passages. The differences between young and old MSCs in morphology, cell surface antigen phenotype, proliferation, gene expression and immunomodulatory ability were investigated. The results of the current study demonstrated that with the passage of cells, senescent MSCs displayed a characteristically enlarged and flattened morphology, different gene expression profiles and stronger immunosuppressive activities. Increased interleukin-6 production may be a possible underlying mechanism for this enhanced immunomodulatory ability of MSCs. These findings suggest that aged MSCs may provide a treatment option for patients with graft versus host disease and other diseases associated with dysregulation of the immune system.

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Breast cancer is the most common female cancer worldwide and represents 12% of all cancer cases. Improvements in survival rates are largely attributed to improved screening and diagnosis. Conventional chemotherapy remains an important treatment option but it is beset with poor cell selectivity, serious side effects and resistance. Nanoparticle drug delivery systems bring promising opportunities to breast cancer treatment. They may improve chemotherapy by targeting drugs to tumors, generating high drug concentrations at tumors providing slow release of the drug, increased drug stability and concomitant reductions in side effects. The nanotechnology-based drug delivery approaches and the current research and application status of nano-targeted agents for breast cancer are discussed in this review to provide a basis for further study on targeted drug delivery systems.

The expression level of miR-708 reflects differences among the clinical types of common-ALL, and CNTFR, NNAT, and GNG12 were identified as targets of miR-708.