Search

Macrophages have strong plasticity and heterogeneity, and can undergo functional transformation in response to different signal stimuli, such as classical activation of M1 type (M1 type polarization) and selective activation of M2 type (M2 type polarization). The pathways of macrophage M1/M2 polarization are quite extensive, involving nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, interleukin-4 (IL-4)/signal transduction and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) signaling pathway, Notch signaling pathway, Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, etc. At the same time, M1/M2 polarization of macrophages is also regulated by exosomes, metabolites, non-coding RNA, electrical stimulation, probiotics, etc., and its imbalance is closely related to the occurrence and development of different types of liver disease. In this paper, the mechanism of its polarization was reviewed, and it was found that M1 polarization of macrophages played a promoting role in the process of liver tissue injury, inflammation and fibrosis, while M2 polarization of macrophages played the opposite role. Among them, hepatocellular carcinoma, as the advanced stage of chronic liver disease, was characterized by increased M2 polarization and impaired M1 polarization of macrophages. Therefore, this paper pays attention to the role of M1/M2 polarization of macrophages in different types of liver diseases, in order to better establish the targeted therapy of macrophage subsets.

The study compares interactional metadiscourse used by American and Chinese corporate leaders in corporate social responsibility [CSR] statements to serve the interpersonal and persuasive purposes of the genre. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on the corpus of English CSR statements made respectively by corporate leaders of 21 Chinese and 21 American companies from 2015 to 2019. The results indicate that although both American and Chinese sub-corpora are rich in interpersonal resources, the American CSR statements overall utilize remarkably more interactional metadiscourse features than the Chinese CSR statements. Specifically, the American CSR statements employ more hedges and boosters for argumentation and persuasion. They also use more polarized attitude markers for overt expressions of emotions, in comparison to the Chinese CSR statements which favor moderate emotional appeals through centralized attitude markers. The American CSR statements use more first-person pronouns to accentuate authorial stance, whereas the Chinese CSR statements utilize more third-person pronouns to play down authorial presence. These differences can be traced to the influences of different social-cultural backgrounds and communication traditions rooted in the Chinese and American contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The features of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) differ from those without. This study aims to spot a routinely tested parameter with discriminative, predictive and prognostic value to enhance CURB-65's prognostic accuracy in CAP patients with T2DM. Methods: We retrospectively studied consecutive CAP patients from 2020 to 2021, comparing laboratory parameters between patients with and without T2DM. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify key parameters. The area under the ROC curve (AUC), Fagan's nomogram, net reclassification improvement (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) evaluated the added predictive accuracy. Results: A total of 720 patients were included, comprising 180 diabetic CAP patients and 540 non-diabetic controls after matching for age, gender, and comorbidities through propensity score matching. In diabetic CAP patients, the aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) ratio showed the highest AUC (0.676, 95% CI, 0.575–0.776) among laboratory parameters with different distributions between the groups. AST/ALT was also identified as an independent predictor of poor treatment outcome (OR = 3.672, 95% CI, 1.455–9.268, p = 0.006). Adding AST/ALT to CURB-65 slightly increased the AUC, but remarkably enhanced NRI and IDI (AUC, 0.756 vs. 0.782, p = 0.017; continuous NRI, 0.635, 95% CI, 0.304–0.966, p < 0.001; categorical NRI, 0.175, 95% CI, 0.044–0.307, p = 0.009; IDI, 0.043, 95% CI, 0.006–0.080, p = 0.021). An AST/ALT ratio of ≥ 1.625 conferred a 74% post-test probability of poor treatment outcome, while < 1.625 predicted 21%. AST/ALT also predicted outcomes for all the CAP patients enrolled (OR = 1.771, 95% CI, 1.231–2.549, p = 0.002). Predictive accuracy improved after incorporating AST/ALP into CURB-65 in these population (AUC, 0.615 vs. 0.645, p = 0.038; continuous NRI, 0.357, 95% CI, 0.196–0.517, p < 0.001; categorical NRI, 0.264, 95% CI, 0.151–0.376, p < 0.001; IDI, 0.019, 95% CI, 0.008–0.029, p < 0.001). Conclusions: AST/ALT was identified as a discriminative, predictive and prognostic factor for CAP patients with T2DM. The integration of AST/ALT into CURB-65 enhanced outcome prediction for both diabetic and non-diabetic CAP patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chondrocyte viability, apoptosis, and migration are closely related to cartilage injury in osteoarthritis (OA) joints. Exosomes are identified as potential therapeutic agents for OA. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of exosomes derived from osteocytes in OA, particularly focusing on their effects on cartilage repair and molecular mechanisms. Methods: An injury cell model was established by treating chondrocytes with IL-1β. Cartilage repair was evaluated using cell counting kit-8, flow cytometry, scratch test, and Western Blot. Molecular mechanisms were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR, bioinformatic analysis, and Western Blot. An OA mouse model was established to explore the role of exosomal DLX2 in vivo. Results: Osteocyte-released exosomes promoted cell viability and migration, and inhibited apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Moreover, exosomes upregulated DLX2 expression, and knockdown of DLX2 activated the Wnt pathway. Additionally, exosomes attenuated OA in mice by transmitting DLX2. Conclusion: Osteocyte-derived exosomal DLX2 alleviated IL-1β-induced cartilage repair and inactivated the Wnt pathway, thereby alleviating OA progression. The findings suggested that osteocyte-derived exosomes may hold promise as a treatment for OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]