Wuxi Municipal Health Bureau

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore the association of low complement items with the performance of the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) classification criteria.MethodsThis study included 352 patients with SLE and 385 individuals with positive antinuclear antibodies with other diseases. The performance of the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)-2012, European League Against Rheumatism and American College of Rheumatology (EULAR/ACR)-2019, and SLE Risk Probability Index (SLERPI) were compared before and after excluding the low complement item.ResultsThe exclusion of the low complement item decreased the sensitivity and increased the specificity of SLICC-2012 and EULAR/ACR-2019, whereas SLERPI demonstrated stable classification performance in classifying patients with and without SLE. SLICC-2012 exhibited the highest sensitivity in identifying patients with SLE with hypocomplementemia (99.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 97.2–99.8%), followed by SLERPI (98.4%; 95% CI: 96.3–99.5%) and EULAR/ACR-2019 (97.7%; 95% CI: 95.4–99.1%). After excluding the low complement item, the sensitivities decreased to 93.0% (89.5–95.5%) for SLICC-2012, 97.5% (86.8–99.9%) for SLERPI, and 93.3% (90.0–95.8%) for EULAR/ACR-2019. SLICC-2012, EULAR/ACR-2019, and SLERPI identified 16, 17, and 21 patients with SLE with hypocomplementemia before clinical diagnosis, decreasing to 10, 16, and 20 cases after excluding the low complement item. Further, patients with SLE with both low C3 and C4 levels demonstrated shorter disease duration, higher acute cutaneous lupus prevalence, nonscarring alopecia, and increased positivity rates for anti-DNA antibodies, antiphospholipid antibodies, and direct Coombs’ tests compared with those with low C3 or C4 levels. The SLE group with low C3 and C4 levels demonstrated significantly higher total scores than the SLE group with low C3 or C4 levels in all three classification criteria, and this significance persisted even after excluding the low complement item.ConclusionThe low complement item strongly improved the sensitivity and early classification capacity of SLICC-2012 while minimally influencing SLERPI. Furthermore, higher weights assigned to combined low C3 and C4 levels in EULAR/ACR-2019 appear clinically justified.

ABSTRACT Background Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) is a bacterial pathogen that results in diverse infections. NLRP12, one of the NLR family members, acts as an inflammasome in response to specific infections. Herein, the role and mechanisms of NLRP12 involving in severe Kp pneumonia were investigated. Methods SD rats were infected with Kp and manipulated with shNLRP12 lentivirus, macrophage M1 polarization inhibitor (abietic acid), and autophagy activator (rapamycin). Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, bacterial load in lung tissue, and ELISA were used to assess lung tissue injury and inflammation in rats. NLRP12 and autophagy proteins LC3B II/I and p62 in lung tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot. Flow cytometric analyses were followed to calculate the proportion of M1 and M2 macrophages in BALF. Results In addition, NLRP12 was upregulated in lung tissue of rats with Kp infection-caused severe pneumonia, while NLRP12 knockdown enhanced Kp-induced M1 polarization of macrophages and exacerbated lung injury and inflammatory response. NLRP12 attenuated inflammation caused by Kp infection by reducing macrophage M1 polarization. Kp infection induced autophagy deficiency in rat lung tissues, while activation of autophagy could ameliorate Kp-induced lung injury and inflammation. Conclusion NLRP12 facilitates autophagy to affect macrophage M1 polarization and drives host defense against Kp infection.

Ca2+-sensors, calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), and calcineurin B-like protein-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) form a CBL–CIPK complex to regulate signal transduction. This study aimed to reveal the characteristics of the CBL–CIPK gene family in oil persimmon (Diospyros oleifera). Ten DoCBL and 23 DoCIPK genes were identified, and gene duplication among them was mainly attributed to segmental duplication. According to phylogenetic and structural analysis, DoCBLs were clustered into four groups with distinct motifs, namely myristoylation and palmytoylation sites in their N-terminus, and DoCIPKs containing a NAF/FISL domain were clustered into intron-rich and intron-less groups. The expression patterns of DoCBLs and DoCIPKs were tissue- and time-specific in different tissues and at different stages of fruit development. Most CBL–CIPK genes were upregulated under NaCl, drought, and Ca(NO3)2 stress using qRT-PCR analysis. DoCBL5 and DoCIPK05 were both located in the plasma membrane of cells using green fusion proteins (GFP) in tobacco leaves. DoCBL5 and DoCIPK05 might interact with AKT1, PP2C, and SNF to regulate the Ca2+ signals, K+, and ABA homeostasis in cells. In conclusion, these results suggested that the CBL–CIPK family genes might play important roles in oil persimmon growth and stress responses.

Key message This paper provides an important direct proembryogenic mass initiation and plant regeneration method that might be supportive and stable for gene transformation and commercial production of Torreya grandis. Abstract Torreya grandis is an important and commer- cially valuable tree that is utilized as a source of essential oil and nuts. Propagation researches of T. grandis have been focused on micropropagation and somatic embryogenesis which derived from callus but limited data regarding direct somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration are available in the literature. This study investigated the effects of plant growth regulators combinations on direct proembryogenic masses initiation and plant regeneration. Proembryogenic masses were initiated from cotyledons and hypocotyls of immature zygotic embryos directly. The frequency of direct proembryogenic masses initiation (52.6 %) was signifi- cantly greater than other treatments when the explants were cultured on Schenk and Hildebrandt medium which sup- plemented with 0.1 mg l -1 N6-benzylaminopurine, 0.1 mg l -1 Kinetin and 0.1 mg l -1 2,4-dichlorophenoxy- acetic acid. Combined application of Abscisic acid and Polyethylene glycol 6000 stimulated cotyledons formation and resulted in morphologically superior somatic embryos. Schenk and Hildebrandt medium supplemented with 10 mg l -1 Abscisic acid and 20 mg l -1 Polyethylene glycol 6000 was optimum (88 %) for somatic embryos maturation. Highest germinated somatic embryos percentage (35.6 %) was obtained on Schenk and Hildebrandt medium supple- mented with 2000 mg l -1 activated charcoal, with root and shoot lengths of 2.3 and 1.9 cm, respectively. As proem- bryogenic masses were initiated without the formation of callus, this study will aid to establish stable genetic trans- formationandwillalsobeusefulinimprovingunderstanding of the somatic embryogenesis of T. grandis.