Search

Decidualization, denoting the transformation of endometrial stromal cells into specialized decidual cells, is a prerequisite for normal embryo implantation and a successful pregnancy in human. Here, we demonstrated that knockout of Gαq lead to an aberrantly enhanced inflammatory state during decidualization. Furthermore, we showed that deficiency of Gαq resulted in over-activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling, due to the decreased expression of NFκBIA, which encode the IκB protein and is the negative regulator for NF-κB. Mechanistically, Gαq deficiency decreased the Protein kinase D (PKD, also called PKCμ) phosphorylation levels, leading to attenuated HDAC5 phosphorylation and thus its nuclear export. Aberrantly high level of nuclear HDAC5 retarded histone acetylation to inhibit the induced NFκBIA transcription during decidualization. Consistently, pharmacological activation of the PKD/PKCμ or inhibition of the HDAC5 restored the inflammatory state and proper decidual response. Finally, we disclosed that over-active inflammatory state in Gαq-deficient decidua deferred the blastocyst hatching and adhesion in vitro, and the decidual expression of Gαq was significantly lower in women with recurrent pregnancy loss compared with normal pregnancy. In brief, we showed here that Gαq as a key regulator of the inflammatory cytokine’s expression and decidual homeostasis in response to differentiation cues, which is required for successful implantation and early pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulatory B cells (Bregs), a newly described subset of B cells, have been proved to play a suppressive role in immune system. Bregs can inhibit other immune cells through cytokines secretion and antigen presentation, which give them the role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and cancers. There are no clear criteria to identify Bregs; different markers were used in the different experimental conditions. Massive researches had described the functions of immune cells such as regulatory T cells (Tregs), dendritic cells (DCs), and B cells in the autoimmune disorder diseases and cancers. More and more researches focused on the roles of Bregs and the cytokines such as Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) secreted by Bregs. The aim of this review is to summarize the characteristics of Bregs and the roles of Bregs in cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to assess the diagnostic performance of the 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients and methods: Between January 2010 and November 2012, an electronic search was conducted using MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL to find studies related to the diagnostic performance of the 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for RA in patients with inflammatory synovitis. Subgroup analyses were performed according to the adopted gold standards. The sensitivity and specificity of the 2010 criteria were extracted or calculated. Summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curves were drawn to evaluate the differences between the 2010 and 1987 criteria. Results: We found 10 studies which were eligible for inclusion. Based on the 2010 criteria, the pooled information showed a sensitivity of 0.804 (95% confidence interval [Cl]; range 0.737 to 0.857) and a specificity of 0.556 (95% Cl; range 0.417 to 0.687) in the methotrexate (MTX) group, a sensitivity of 0.706 (95% Cl; range 0.585 to 0.803) and a specificity of 0.691 (95% Cl; range 0.583 to 0.782) in the disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) group, and a sensitivity of 0.901 (95% Cl; range 0.856 to 0.933) and a specificity of 0.539 (95% Cl; range 0.429 to 0.645) in the expert group. The sensitivity and specificity were pooled under the bivariate binomial mixed model in this review due to the heterogeneous nature of the data. Compared to the 1987 criteria, the 2010 criteria showed a higher sensitivity, lower specificity and similar accuracy rate with more accuracy rate in the MTX group, compared the DMARD and expert groups. Conclusion: The 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria for RA have a better discriminative and diagnostic ability, higher sensitivity, and lower specificity than the 1987 criteria; therefore, we believe that it cannot be substituted for the 1987 criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the role of splenectomy in treating thrombocytopenia associated with systemic lupus erythematosus has been controversial, the study was focused on determining the efficacy of splenectomy in the SLE-associated thrombocytopenia. Between 1980 and 2008, 11 patients with SLE underwent splenectomy for treating their thrombocytopenia. Surgical indications, operative mortality and morbidity, and haematological outcomes were followed in both short term (first 30 days) and long term (last recorded platelet count, last contact, or death). Indications for splenectomy included: thrombocytopenia refractory to (63.7%), dependent on (27.3%), or patient intolerance of (9%) medical treatments. Perioperative mortality and morbidity was 0%. The overall rate of early partial or complete response rate to splenectomy was 100%. After a median follow-up of 36 months, 9 (81.9%) patients had sustained complete or partial response without relapse. Eight (72.8%) of these patients required adjunctive medical therapy, whereas the other 1 (9%) did not. The remaining 2 (18.2%) patients relapsed, could not been subsequently salvaged to at least partial response with further treatments. The overall PR or CR to splenectomy combined with medical therapy was 81.8%. Splenectomy should be considered as a safe and efficacious therapy for the severe thrombocytopenia associated with SLE in some selected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]