High Interleukin-10 Expression in Type 2 T Helper Cells in Septic Patients

Effect of IL-10 in the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS patients with cryptococcal meningitis

This study aimed to explore the role of IL-10 in the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS patients with cryptococcal meningitis (CM).Patients were assigned into 4 groups (n = 40/group): group A (HIV/AIDS with CM), group B (HIV/AIDS with tuberculosis), group C (HIV/AIDS), and group D (CM). The levels of IL-10 and associated indicators were measured and the correlations were analyzed by Pearson correlation and partial correlation method. In plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), no significant difference was observed on IL-10 level between group A and other groups (P > 0.050). R values for IL-10 and relevant indicators in blood were as follows (P < 0.050): group A, IFN-γ (-0.377), IL-12 (0.743), IL-4 (0.881), and IL-6 (0.843); group B, IL-12 (0.740), IL-4 (0.573), and IL-6 (0.900); group C, IL-12 (0.402) and IL-4 (0.896); group D, IL-12 (0.575), IL-4 (0.852), and CD8 (0.325). R values for IL-10 and related indicators in CSF were as follows (P < 0.050): group A, TNF-α (0.664), IL-4 (0.852), white blood cells (WBCs, 0.321) and total protein (TP, 0.330); group B, TNF-α (0.566), IL-4 (0.702), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, 0.382); group D, IFN-γ (0.807) and IL-4 (0.441). IL-10 level was positively correlated with IL-4, IL-6, IL-12, TNF-α, WBC, and TP in blood or CSF, and negatively correlated with IFN-γ in blood, suggesting that IL-10 affected both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory activities in the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS with CM.

Monitoring of the Forgotten Immune System during Critical Illness-A Narrative Review

Immune organ failure is frequent in critical illness independent of its cause and has been acknowledged for a long time. Most patients admitted to the ICU, whether featuring infection, trauma, or other tissue injury, have high levels of alarmins expression in tissues or systemically which then activate innate and adaptive responses. Although necessary, this response is frequently maladaptive and leads to organ dysfunction. In addition, the counter-response aiming to restore homeostasis and repair injury can also be detrimental and contribute to persistent chronic illness. Despite intensive research on this topic in the last 40 years, the immune system is not routinely monitored in critical care units. In this narrative review we will first discuss the inflammatory response after acute illness and the players of maladaptive response, focusing on neutrophils, monocytes, and T cells. We will then go through commonly used biomarkers, like C-reactive protein, procalcitonin and pancreatic stone protein (PSP) and what they monitor. Next, we will discuss the strengths and limitations of flow cytometry and related techniques as an essential tool for more in-depth immune monitoring and end with a presentation of the most promising cell associated markers, namely HLA-DR expression on monocytes, neutrophil expression of CD64 and PD-1 expression on T cells. In sum, immune monitoring critically ill patients is a forgotten and missing piece in the monitoring capacity of intensive care units. New technology, including bed-side equipment and in deep cell phenotyping using emerging multiplexing techniques will likely allow the definition of endotypes and a more personalized care in the future.

Inhibition of chikusetsusaponin IVa on inflammatory responses in RAW264.7 cell line via MAPK pathway

Chikusetsusaponin IVa (CHS-IVa), a saponin from herb Panacis japonicas, possesses extensive biological activities. However, the roles and underlying mechanisms of CHS-IVa on inflammation have not been fully clarified in the setting of murine macrophages. In this study, we found that CHS-IVa effectively reduced the expression of inflammatory mediators, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells. Meanwhile, CHS-IVa could also evidently bate the contents of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in cell culture supernatants. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory activity of CHS-IVa may be via diminishing the phosphorylation of extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK), p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Collectively, these findings will help to understand of the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of P. japonicas deeply, and suggest a validated therapeutic use as an anti-inflammatory medication.

CXCL4 promoted the production of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+treg cells in mouse sepsis model through regulating STAT5/FOXP3 pathway

Background: CXCL4 plays an essential role in the regulation of multiple immune diseases. However, the underlying role of CXCL4 is still not clear in sepsis. Aim: In the present study, we aimed to investigate the function of CXCL4 in sepsis.Methods: Sepsis model was constructed on mouse. Flow cytometry was used to determine the ratio of CD4⁺CD25⁺FOXP3⁺Treg cells. ELISA assays were used to determine the levels of CXCL4, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α respectively. Western blot was used to examine protein contents.Results: Our results suggested that the serum level of CXCL4 was upregulated in patients with sepsis and positively associated with the ratio of human CD4⁺CD25⁺FOXP3⁺Treg cells. To further examine the role of CXCL4 in sepsis, we constructed the mouse sepsis model. Our results indicated that the mouse antibody of CXCL4 treatment reduced the expression of urine creatinine and urea nitrogen in sepsis model. Moreover, the frequency of CD25⁺FOXP3⁺ mouse regulatory T cells (Tregs) cells was decreased in mouse CD4⁺ T cells in the presence of mouse CXCL4 antibody. Further, the mouse recombinant protein CXCL4 was used to culture normal mouse CD4⁺ T cells in vitro. Our finding indicated that the recombinant protein CXCL4 promoted the percentage of mouse CD25⁺FOXP3⁺Treg cells and enhanced the phosphorylation of STAT5 in mouse CD4⁺ T cells in a dose-dependent manner. However, these effects were significantly reversed by the STAT5 inhibitor (p < .001). Conclusion: our findings not only indicated the function and signalling pathway of CXCL4 in CD4⁺ T cells but also provided novel insight and target in sepsis treatment.

Circulating CD14+HLA-DR-/low Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells as Potential Biomarkers for the Identification of Psoriasis TCM Blood-Heat Syndrome and Blood-Stasis Syndrome

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease. Identification of the biomarkers responsible for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndromes of psoriasis can help researchers recognize the different aspects of psoriasis and find novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of psoriasis. The current study investigated the levels of circulating Mo-MDSCs and Mo-MDSC-associated immune factors in the peripheral blood of psoriasis patients with different TCM syndromes. We found that the frequency of Mo-MDSCs (CD14⁺HLA-DR^−/low cells) among CD14⁺ cells from plaque psoriasis patients with blood-stasis (BS) syndrome was significantly increased when compared with healthy controls (p < 0.001) and blood-heat (BH) syndrome group (p < 0.001), respectively. However, serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, TNF-α, IFN-γ, iNOS, Arg-1, and NO concentration showed no statistically significant difference between healthy controls and psoriasis patients as well as no significant difference between the BH and BS syndrome groups. Compared with healthy controls, the mRNA expression of Arg-1, TNF-α, ROR-γ, and PD-L1 was increased, while the mRNA expression of PD-1 and IL-10 was decreased in PBMCs from psoriasis patients. Moreover, the mRNA expression of TNF-α and FOXP3 in PBMCs showed a pronounced statistical difference between the psoriatic BH syndrome group and the BS syndrome group. Therefore, we provide evidence that the percentage of CD14⁺HLA-DR^−/low MDSC/ CD14⁺ cells and TNF-α and Foxp3 mRNA expression levels in PBMCs are potential biomarkers for distinguishing TCM BH syndrome and BS syndrome.