LILRB2/PirB mediates macrophage recruitment in fibrogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Inhibition of immunocyte infiltration and activation has been suggested to effectively ameliorate nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Paired immunoglobulin-like receptor B (PirB) and its human ortholog receptor, leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B (LILRB2), are immune-inhibitory receptors. However, their role in NASH pathogenesis is still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that PirB/LILRB2 regulates the migration of macrophages during NASH by binding with its ligand angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8). Hepatocyte-specific ANGPTL8 knockout reduces MDM infiltration and resolves lipid accumulation and fibrosis progression in the livers of NASH mice. In addition, PirB^-/- bone marrow (BM) chimeras abrogate ANGPTL8-induced MDM migration to the liver. And yet, PirB ectodomain protein could ameliorate NASH by sequestering ANGPTL8. Furthermore, LILRB2-ANGPTL8 binding-promoted MDM migration and inflammatory activation are also observed in human peripheral blood monocytes. Taken together, our findings reveal the role of PirB/LILRB2 in NASH pathogenesis and identify PirB/LILRB2-ANGPTL8 signaling as a potential target for the management or treatment of NASH.

Three-dimensional optical trajectory tracing and energy deposition of a laser beam in a laser-driven fusion

A convenient method of three-dimensional ray tracing is suggested in the geometrical optical approximation, in which the laser ray propagation is completely based on the concept of optical trajectory tracing rather than depending upon the effective force and propagation time. This tracing has two obvious advantages that the direct application of Snell's law can be avoided when a ray crosses a different density zone and that to any desired accuracy it takes much less computation time than existing tracing. For Gaussian light beam propagation, in a spherically symmetric plasma atmosphere, the results emphasize that the deposition uniformity is strongly dependent not only on the wavelength of the laser but also on the temperature of the plasma.