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The effect of vitamin D pertinent to cardiovascular health on the heart itself is considered to shift toward an anti-inflammatory response in chronic heart failure (CHF); however, its underlying mechanism is not completely understood. In this study, we demonstrated that plasma 25(OH)D level, negatively associated with NT-ProBNP, correlated with the decreased Treg in CHF compared to the patients with other cardiovascular diseases and healthy and older donors. Naïve Treg cell (CD4+CD45RA+Foxp3loT) subset, rather than whole Treg cells, contributes to the reduction of Treg in CHF. 1,25(OH)2D treatment maintained partial expression of CD45RA on CD4+T cell after αCD3/CD28 monoclonal antibodies activation and ameliorated the impaired CD4+CD45RA+T cell function from CHF patients through upregulating Foxp3 expression and IL-10 secretion in vitro. Low level of vitamin D receptor (VDR) was detected in CD4+CD45RA+T cell of CHF than control, while 1,25(OH)2D treatment increased the VDR expression to exert its immunosuppression on T cell. The results of this study might provide tangible evidence to our knowledge of the impact of vitamin D supplementation on naïve Tregs, which may offer new means of preventing and treating CHF.

A series of phosphine oxide (PO) hosts based on diphenylphosphine oxide and spiro[fluorene-9,9′-xanthene] (SFX) moieties, SFX2PO, SFX27PO, SFX2′PO, and SFX2′7′PO, were designed and synthesized. On the basis of the different electrical properties of xanthene and fluorene in SFX, the influence of substitution position on the chemical and optophysical properties of the ambipolar-core based systems were investigated in detail. The effective strategy of introducing electron-withdrawing PO moieties in electron-deficient moieties in the molecules accompanied with suitable linkages insulating the electron-rich and -deficient moieties was convincingly demonstrated, which can endow the hosts with much better carrier injecting and transporting ability and high enough T1for blue and green phosphors. As the results, the operating voltages of the devices based on SFX2PO and SFX27PO were much lower than those of the devices based on SFX2′PO and SFX2′7′PO. Simultaneously, the efficiencies of the SFX2PO based devices were about twice of those of the devices based on SFX2′PO and SFX2′7′PO. We suppose that it is not necessary to achieve too high T1 and improved electron injection through PO moieties at the cost of sacrificing the hole injecting ability of the chromophores. An ideal strategy is preserving high enough T1 and improving electron injection by utilizing PO moieties without reducing hole injection and transportation in the hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Since the Fas/Fas Ligand (FasL) interaction has been recognized as an apoptotic pathway, it eliminates the activated T cells and promotes the survival of grafts. In this study, the effect of FasL transfection of pig chondrocytes on allogeneic transplantation was examined in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Chondrocytes were isolated from articular and aural cartilages of anesthetized Guizhou Xiang (Gz) pig. The cells were transfected with G418 selected virus, packed from PA3 17 cells with a constructed plasmid using pig FasL (pGCEN-FasL). The apoptotic effect of FasL transfection was examined on Jurkat cells and activated recipient Gz T cells. The FasL expression was assessed by Western blot and flow cytometry. FasL+chondrocytes—Pluronic F-127 complex was injected into the right abdomen of recipient Gz pig. Histology and morphology of the engineered tissue were examined after 2 and 5 weeks of transplantation. Results: The FasL expression was confirmed in pGCEN—FasL transfected chondrocytes. The expression of FasL of chondrocytes from Gz pig was analyzed by FACS. The apoptosis of Jurkat cells and activated recipient Gz T cells was increased by co-culture with FasL+ chondrocytes (53.4 1% and 30.38% (E/T = 10:1), in contrast of 32.27% and 13.16% with the control chondrocytes, respectively, P<0.01). FasL+ chondrocytes-Pluronic F-127 implant expressed FasL and Type II collagen at the 5th week and survived until the 8th week. Interpretation: The result indicates that the expression of FasL by chondrocytes is capable of inducing apoptosis of activated T cells. This suggests a potential role for allogeneic transplantation with chondrocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hole injection improvement in organic light-emitting devices with Fe3O4 as a buffer layer on indium tin oxide (ITO) has been demonstrated. The luminance and the current density are significantly enhanced by using the Fe3O4/ITO anode, as well as the turn-on voltage is reduced by 1.5 V compared to the devices without the buffer. Results of atom force microscopy, x ray, and UV photoelectron spectroscopy studies reveal that the enhanced hole injection is attributed to the modification of the ITO surface and the reduced hole-injection barrier by the insertion of the Fe3O4 thin film between the ITO and hole-transporting layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]