Our previous study demonstrated that pediatricians prescribe antibiotics without proper clinical justification to patients with enterovirus infection, although antibiotics are not effective in treating the infections caused by these viruses. To improve the quality of healthcare, we aim to evaluate the association of clinical and demographic characteristics of patients and further to identify the determining factors for prescribing antibiotics to children experiencing enterovirus infection.

Aeginetia indica Linn. (Guan-Jen-Huang, GJH), a traditional Chinese herb, has the potential to be an immunomodulatory agent. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of GJH in the treatment of renal cancer. Concentration-effect curves for the influence of GJH on cellular proliferation showed a biphasic shape. Besides, GJH had a synergistic effect on cytotoxicity when combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)which may be due to the alternation of the chemotherapeutic agent resistance-related genes and due to the synergistic effects on apoptosis. In addition, treatment with GJH extract markedly reduced 786-O cell adherence to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and decreased 786-O cell migration and invasion. In a xenograft animal model, GJH extract had an inhibitory effect on tumor cell-induced metastasis. Moreover, western blot analysis showed that the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in 786-O cells was significantly decreased by treatment with GJH extract through inactivation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). These results suggest that GJH extract has a synergistic effect on apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic agents and an inhibitory effect on cell adhesion, migration, and invasion, providing evidence for the use of water-based extracts of GJH as novel alternative therapeutic agents in the treatment of human renal cancer.

Flomoxef is potentially effective against β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae because limited clinical data demonstrate its effectiveness against Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections (BSIs) based on its minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). This study was conducted to determine the optimal breakpoints based on the survival of patients with Enterobacteriaceae BSIs treated with flomoxef.

Bispecific antibodies have gained increasing popularity as therapeutics as they enable novel activities that cannot be achieved with monospecific antibodies. Some of the most popular bispecific formats are molecules in which two Fab arms with different antigen specificities are combined into one IgG-like molecule. One way to produce these bispecific molecules requires the discovery of antibodies against the two antigens of interest that share a common light chain. Here, we present the generation and characterization of a common light chain mouse model, in which the endogenous IGKJ cluster is replaced with a prearranged, modified murine IGKV10-96/IGKJ1 segment. We demonstrate that genetic modification does not impact B-cell development. Upon immunization with ovalbumin, the animals generate an antibody repertoire with VH gene segment usage of a similar diversity to wildtype mice, while the light chain diversity is restricted to antibodies derived from the prearranged IGKV10-96/IGKJ1 germline. We further show that the clonotype diversity of the common light chain immune repertoire matches the diversity of immune repertoire isolated from wildtype mice. Finally, the common light chain anti-ovalbumin antibodies have only slightly lower affinities than antibodies isolated from wildtype mice, demonstrating the suitability of these animals for antibody discovery for bispecific antibody generation.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells that play a critical role in bridging innate and adaptive immunity. Numerous studies have shown that tobacco constituents present in conventional cigarettes affect the phenotype and function of DCs; however, no studies have examined the effects of vapour from E-cigarettes on human DCs. Here, the effects of E-cigarette vapour extract (ECVE) on the phenotype and function of DCs were investigated by creating an in vitro cell culture model using human monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs). Immature DCs were generated from peripheral blood monocytes and mature DCs were then produced by treatment with LPS or Poly I:C for 24 h. For LPS-matured DCs, 3% ECVE treatment slightly suppressed HLA-DR and CD86 expression, whereas 1% ECVE treatment enhanced IL-6 production. The overall expression of 29 signalling molecules and other cytoplasmic proteins (mainly associated with DC activation) was significantly upregulated in immature DCs by 1% ECVE, and in LPS-treated DCs by 3% ECVE. In particular, the condition that induced IL-6 production also upregulated MAPK pathway activation. These findings indicate that E-cigarette vapour moderately affects human DCs, but the effects are less pronounced than those reported for tobacco smoke.

VHHs or nanobodies are single antigen binding domains originating from camelid heavy-chain antibodies. They are used as diagnostic and research tools and in a variety of therapeutic molecules. Analyzing variable domain structures from llama and alpaca we found that VHHs can be classified into two large structural clusters based on their CDR-H3 conformation. Extended CDR-H3 loops protrude into the solvent, whereas kinked CDR-H3 loops fold back onto framework regions. Both major families have distinct properties in terms of their CDR-H3 secondary structure, how their CDR-H3 interacts with the framework region and how they bind to antigens. We show that the CDR-H3 conformation of VHHs correlates with the germline from which the antibodies are derived: IGHV3-3 derived antibodies almost exclusively adopt a kinked CDR-H3 conformation while the CDR-H3 adopts an extended structure in most IGHV3S53 derived antibodies. We do not observe any bias stemming from V(D)J recombination in llama immune repertoires, suggesting that the correlation is the result of selection processes during B-cell development. Our findings demonstrate a previously undescribed impact of germline usage on antigen interaction and contribute to a better understanding on how properties of the antibody framework shape the immune repertoire.

Vitiligo, a psychologically distressing pigmentary disorder characterized by white depigmented patches due to melanocyte loss, necessitates non-invasive tools for early detection and treatment response monitoring. High-cellular-resolution full-field optical coherence tomography (CRFF-OCT) is emerging in pigmentary disorder assessment, but its applicability in vitiligo repigmentation after tissue grafting remains unexplored. To investigate the feasibility of CRFF-OCT for evaluating vitiligo lesions following tissue grafting, our investigation involved ten vitiligo patients who underwent suction blister epidermal grafting and laser ablation at a tertiary center between 2021 and 2022. Over a six-month period, clinical features, dermoscopy, and photography data were recorded. Utilizing CRFF-OCT along with artificial intelligence (AI) applications, repigmentation features were captured and analyzed. The CRFF-OCT analysis revealed a distinct dark band in vitiligo lesion skin, indicating melanin loss. Grafted areas exhibited melanocytes with dendrites around the epidermal-dermal junction and hair follicles. CRFF-OCT demonstrated its efficacy in the early detection of melanocyte recovery and accurate melanin quantification. This study introduces CRFF-OCT as a real-time, non-invasive, and in vivo evaluation tool for assessing vitiligo repigmentation, offering valuable insights into pigmentary disorders and treatment responses.