A multi-color tunable circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) xerogel film with a large luminescence dissymmetry factor (glum) is achieved using a single compound upon protonation.

Revealing the photoluminescence (PL) origin and mechanism is a most vital but challenging topic of carbon dots. Herein, confined-domain crosslink-enhanced emission (CEE) effect was first studied by a well-designed model system of carbonized polymer dots (CPDs), serving as an important supplement to CEE in the aspect of spatial interactions. The “addition-condensation polymerization” strategy was adopted to construct CPDs with substituents exerting different degrees of steric hindrance. The effect of confined-domain CEE on the structure and luminescence properties of CPDs have been systematically investigated by combining characterizations and theoretical calculations. Such tunable spatial interactions dominated the coupling strength of the luminophores in one particle, and eventually resulted in the modulated PL properties of CPDs. These findings provide insights into the structural advantages and the PL mechanism of CPDs, which are of general significance to the further development of CPDs with tailored properties.

These data suggest that IL-21+CXCR5+CD4+ T cells may be associated with development of AS and that the frequency of IL-21+CXCR5+CD4+ T cells may be a biomarker for evaluation of disease activity and drug responses in patients with AS, particularly in drug-responding patients.

Follicular helper T (TFH) cells and B cells are linked to the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Follicular regulatory T (TFR) cells suppress TFH cell and germinal center B cell numbers in vivo. The role of TFR cells in AS is unknown. The frequency of peripheral blood inducible FOXP3+CXCR5+CD4+TFR cells and CXCR5+CD4+TFH cells were taken from 20 onset AS patients and 10 healthy controls, and were examined by flow cytometry, their disease activity were measured by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index. The concentrations of serum interleukin (IL)-21, immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin M and C-reactive protein were examined, and the values of erythrocyte sedimentation rate were measured. The frequency of peripheral blood FOXP3+CXCR5+CD4+TFR cells, CXCR5+CD4+TFH cells, the ratio of FOXP3+CXCR5+CD4+TFR/CXCR5+CD4+TFH cells and the concentration of serum IL-21 in the AS patients were significantly higher than those in the healthy controls (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0027, P < 0.0001, P = 0.0039, respectively). The frequency of FOXP3+CXCR5+CD4+TFR cells and the ratio of FOXP3+CXCR5+CD4+TFR/CXCR5+CD4+TFH cells still significantly rose in those patients after standard treatment (P = 0.0006, P < 0.0001), the concentration of serum IL-21 decreased after treatment (P = 0.0049), accompanied by significantly minimized disease activities. Furthermore, the TFR cells were negatively correlated with serum immunoglobulin A in those patients before treatment (r = -0.582, P = 0.0071), and the frequency of TFR cells was negatively correlated with that of TFH cells and the concentration of serum IL-21 after treatment (r = -0.550, P = 0.046; r = -0.581, P = 0.0371). TFR cells might participate in the pathogenesis of AS, and might be responsible for controlling the autoantibodies, the frequency and function of TFH cells to inhibit the development of AS.

Purpose: The function of lncRNAs in cancer stem cells (CSCs) remains to be elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate the regulating role of a novel lncRNA, hypoxia-inducible factor-2a (HIF-2a) promoter upstream transcript (HIF2PUT), in osteosarcoma stem cells. Methods: The expression of lncRNA HIF2PUT and HIF-2a in osteosarcoma stem cell lines and tissues was monitored by real-time PCR and western blot. The proliferation ability was examined by MTT assay when HIF2PUT overexpression or knockdown. The self-renewing capabilities of the cells were assessed by spheroid formation assay. The migration and invasion of cells were monitored by wound-healing assay and transwell cell assay, respectively. The correlation of HIF2PUT and HIF-2a expression was determined in osteosarcoma cancer tissues. Results: LncRNA HIF2PUT and HIF-2a were downregulated in osteosarcoma cell lines. HIF2PUT exhibited a significant decline in proliferation capacity. Wound healing and transwell assays showed that lncRNA overexpression inhibited osteosarcoma stem cell migration and invasion. HIF2PUT inhibited sphere formation in osteosarcoma stem cells. Increased HIF2PUT expression inhibited the enrichment of CD133 in osteosarcoma stem cells. There was a strong positive correlation between relative HIF2PUT level and relative HIF-2a level in the 30 paired osteosarcoma cancer tissues. Conclusions: Overexpression of lncRNA HIF2PUT significantly attenuated the proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma stem cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that lncRNA overexpression inhibited the sphere-formation of osteosarcoma stem cells by downregulating HIF-2a. These findings suggest that lncRNA HIF2PUT may act as a tumour suppressor in osteosarcoma. LncRNA HIF2PUT/HIF-2a may be a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of osteosarcoma.

Reversible gel–sol transitions accompanied by fluorescence switching of BAPBIA gel upon multiple stimuli including heat, light, TBAF and TFA.

An aberrant immune response has been implicated in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the role of peripheral blood follicular helper T (TFH) cells in the pathogenesis of OA has yet to be elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of TFH cells and serum interleukin-21 (IL-21) in the pathogenesis of OA. Frequency of peripheral blood inducible costimulator (ICOS)+, programmed death 1 (PD-1)+, and IL-21+ CXCR5+CD4+ T cells in 40 patients with OA and 13 healthy controls (HCs) were examined by flow cytometry. The disease state in individual patients was assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Concentrations of serum IL-21, interferon-γ (INF-γ), IL-4, IL-17A, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was measured. The percentages of CXCR5+CD4+ cells, PD-1+CXCR5+CD4+, ICOS+CXCR5+CD4+ and IL-21+CXCR5+CD4+ T cells in OA patients were significantly higher than those in the HCs. Furthermore, serum IL-21, IL-17A and IFN-γ levels in OA patients were significantly higher than those in HCs. Expression of IL-21+TFH cells in OA patients demonstrated a positive correlation with OA disease activity, CRP levels and WOMAC. TFH cells and IL-21 appear to serve an important role in the progression of OA. IL-21+TFH cells may prove to be a marker of OA disease activity.

Supramolecular interactions play an important role in regulating the optical properties of molecular materials. Different arrangements of identical molecules can afford a more straightforward insight into the contributions of supramolecular interactions. Herein, a novel gelator, BTTPA, composed of a benzene‐1,3,5‐tricarboxamide (BTA) central unit functionalized with three cyanostilbenes is designed, which forms two kinds of gels in DMSO/water mixtures. Depending on the water volume content, the gels exhibit quite different aggregation‐induced emission enhancement (AIEE) properties, with one emitting a green emission (G‐gel), and the second emitting a blue emission (B‐gel). The main reason for this difference is that water affects H‐bonding and π–π interactions, further resulting in disparate packing modes of gelators. In addition, only the G‐gel displays gel‐to‐sol transition accompanied with fluorescence switching according to the trans‐cis photoisomerization of cyanostilbene under UV light irradiation. The B‐gel does not exhibit any change because of its tight hexagonal packing arrangement. Such packing modes restricted the space in which molecules were located and inhibited the transformation of configuration of cyanostilbene. These phenomena underline the incomparable status of packing modes and molecular configuration in regulating fluorescence properties and photoresponse behavior in organic solid‐state luminescent materials.