Detection of IgE autoantibodies to BP180 and BP230 and their relationship to clinical features in bullous pemphigoid

BACKGROUND

IgE autoantibodies are considered to be involved in the pathogenesis of bullous pemphigoid (BP), particularly inflammatory and erythematous phenotypes.

OBJECTIVES

To develop reliable enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of IgE autoantibodies to both BP180 and BP230 in BP sera, and to compare the ELISA results with clinical features.

METHODS

We used commercially available IgG ELISAs to develop IgE ELISAs for both BP180 and BP230. To determine the influence of excess amounts of IgG autoantibodies, all normal and BP sera were tested before and after IgG adsorption. The results of the IgE ELISAs were statistically compared with various ELISAs and various clinical parameters, including our own severity scores and BP phenotypes.

RESULTS

IgG adsorption generally showed no changes in sensitivity and specificity for IgE ELISAs, although slight cross-reactivity of anti-IgE secondary antibody to IgG and interference of excess amounts of IgG autoantibodies to IgE reactivity were suggested. IgE autoantibodies to BP180 were found in 21 of 36 BP sera and IgE autoantibodies to BP230 were found in 18 of 36 BP sera. The results of IgG and IgE ELISAs for both BP180 and BP230 were well correlated. IgG and IgE anti-BP180 antibodies correlated with disease activity but IgG and IgE anti-BP230 autoantibodies did not. IgE anti-BP230 autoantibodies correlated with nodular phenotype but not erythematous phenotype.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicated that IgE autoantibodies to both BP180 and BP230 are frequently detected in BP sera. IgE anti-BP180 autoantibodies seemed to be pathogenic, while an association between IgE autoantibodies and inflammatory BP phenotype was not indicated.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Heart Transplant Recipients With Transplant Coronary Arterial Vasculopathy

BACKGROUND

Transplant coronary arterial vasculopathy (TCAV) is a major cause of death after heart transplantation (HTx). Palliative coronary revascularization has been attempted in patients with severe TCAV; however, the outcome has not been fully elucidated.

METHODS

Ninety-six patients who were treated after HTx at our institute between 1999 and 2015 were screened for TCAV. TCAV was defined as >70% stenosis on coronary angiography (CAG) or a maximal intimal thickness of >0.5 mm in the right or left coronary arteries on intracoronary ultrasonography (IVUS). In the present study, the outcomes of patients with severe TCAV who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were investigated.

RESULTS

TCAV containing donor-transmitted atherosclerosis was cumulatively found in 69 patients (71.9% of the total; mean age, 34.6 ± 13.1 years; 52 men; mean follow-up duration, 83.0 ± 60.4 months). Five (7.2%) and 64 (92.8%) of the 69 patients were diagnosed as having TCAV by use of CAG and IVUS, respectively. All 5 patients diagnosed by with the use of CAG underwent coronary revascularization between 1 and 236 months after HTx. Three patients underwent PCI with drug-eluting stents, with a primary success rate of 100%. No angiographic restenosis occurred in 2 patients at 31 and 36 months after PCI, respectively. Meanwhile, 2 patients underwent CABG. No peri-operative complications occurred, and all grafts were patent as assessed by use of CAG at 34 and 5 months after CABG.

CONCLUSIONS

Coronary revascularization was feasible and effective for severe TCAV with middle-term follow-up.

Orbital-Dependent Band Narrowing Revealed in an Extremely Correlated Hund's Metal Emerging on the Topmost Layer of Sr_{2}RuO_{4}

We use a surface-selective angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and unveil the electronic nature on the topmost layer of Sr_{2}RuO_{4} crystal, consisting of slightly rotated RuO_{6} octahedrons. The γ band derived from the 4d_{xy} orbital is found to be about three times narrower than that for the bulk. This strongly contrasts with a subtle variation seen in the α and β bands derived from the one-dimensional 4d_{xz/yz}. This anomaly is reproduced by the dynamical mean-field theory calculations, introducing not only the on-site Hubbard interaction but also the significant Hund's coupling. We detect a coherence-to-incoherence crossover theoretically predicted for Hund's metals, which has been recognized only recently. The crossover temperature in the surface is about half that of the bulk, indicating that the naturally generated monolayer of reconstructed Sr_{2}RuO_{4} is extremely correlated and well isolated from the underlying crystal.

Slater to Mott Crossover in the Metal to Insulator Transition of Nd_{2}Ir_{2}O_{7}

We present an angle-resolved photoemission study of the electronic structure of the three-dimensional pyrochlore iridate Nd_{2}Ir_{2}O_{7} through its magnetic metal-insulator transition. Our data reveal that metallic Nd_{2}Ir_{2}O_{7} has a quadratic band, touching the Fermi level at the Γ point, similar to that of Pr_{2}Ir_{2}O_{7}. The Fermi node state is, therefore, a common feature of the metallic phase of the pyrochlore iridates. Upon cooling below the transition temperature, this compound exhibits a gap opening with an energy shift of quasiparticle peaks like a band gap insulator. The quasiparticle peaks are strongly suppressed, however, with further decrease of temperature, and eventually vanish at the lowest temperature, leaving a nondispersive flat band lacking long-lived electrons. We thereby identify a remarkable crossover from Slater to Mott insulators with decreasing temperature. These observations explain the puzzling absence of Weyl points in this material, despite its proximity to the zero temperature metal-insulator transition.

Generation of Transient Photocurrents in the Topological Surface State of Sb_{2}Te_{3} by Direct Optical Excitation with Midinfrared Pulses

We combine tunable midinfrared (mid-IR) pump pulses with time- and angle-resolved two-photon photoemission to study ultrafast photoexcitation of the topological surface state (TSS) of Sb_{2}Te_{3}. It is revealed that mid-IR pulses permit a direct excitation from the occupied to the unoccupied part of the TSS across the Dirac point. The novel optical coupling induces asymmetric transient populations of the TSS at ±k_{∥}, which reflects a macroscopic photoexcited electric surface current. By observing the decay of the asymmetric population, we directly investigate the dynamics of the long-lived photocurrent in the time domain. Our discovery promises important advantages of photoexcitation by mid-IR pulses for spintronic applications.

Investigation of the extraordinary null reconstruction phenomenon in polarization volume hologram

Polarization holography is the superposition of differently polarized beams. Due to its ability to record the polarization states, some extraordinary optical phenomena were found in the polarization holography. For example, the recently reported null-reconstruction phenomenon in polarization volume hologram is odd for the conventional holography which only records the amplitude and phase. In this paper, we perform a thorough investigation of the null reconstruction of polarization hologram recorded by orthogonal circularly polarized waves. To explore the mechanism behind this phenomenon, an interferometry was built to measure the phase difference between the same polarized components within the reconstructed wave. The phase difference of π was secured in our experiment, indicating a destructive interfering effect, which nicely explains the extraordinary null reconstruction observed in the polarization hologram.

Development of slow sponge sand filter (SpSF) as a post-treatment of UASB-DHS reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater

In this study, conventional slow sand filter (SSF) and modified slow sponge sand filter (SpSF) were investigated for the post-treatment of up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB)-down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor effluent. The seasonal variation did not show significant differences in removal efficiencies of both filters. However in summer, both filters were able to achieve high total suspended solids and total biochemical oxygen demand removal averaging 97% and 99%, respectively. Contrary to organic removal, total nitrogen removal efficiency was satisfactory, showing increased removal efficiencies averaging 58% and 62% for SSF and SpSF in summer. On the other hand, average total coliform removal of SSF and SpSF was 4.2 logs and 4.4 logs and corresponding Escherichia coli removal was 4.0 logs and 4.1 logs, respectively. From our observation, it could be concluded that the relative performance of SpSF for nutrients and coliforms was better than SSF due to the effectiveness of sponge media over fine sands. Moreover, microbial community analysis revealed that the members of phylum Proteobacteria were predominant in the biofilms of both filters, which could have contributed to pollutant removal. Therefore, SpSF could be concluded to be a suitable post-treatment of UASB-DHS system in warmer conditions.