A pathological joint-liver axis mediated by matrikine-activated CD4^(+)T cells

The knee joint has long been considered a closed system.The pathological effects of joint diseases on distant organs have not been investigated.Herein,our clinical data showed that post-traumatic joint damage,combined with joint bleeding(hemarthrosis),exhibits a worse liver function compared with healthy control.With mouse model,hemarthrosis induces both cartilage degeneration and remote liver damage.Next,we found that hemarthrosis induces the upregulation in ratio and differentiation towards Th17 cells of CD4^(+)T cells in peripheral blood and spleen.Deletion of CD4^(+)T cells reverses hemarthrosis-induced liver damage.Degeneration of cartilage matrix induced by hemarthrosis upregulates serological type Ⅱ collagen(COL Ⅱ),which activates CD4^(+)T cells.Systemic application of a COL Ⅱ antibody blocks the activation.Furthermore,bulk RNAseq and single-cell qPCR analysis revealed that the cartilage Akt pathway is inhibited by blood treatment.Intra-articular application of Akt activator blocks the cartilage degeneration and thus protects against the liver impairment in mouse and pig models.Taken together,our study revealed a pathological joint-liver axis mediated by matrikine-activated CD4^(+)T cells,which refreshes the organ-crosstalk axis and provides a new treatment target for hemarthrosis-related disease.

Discovery of Muscle-Tendon Progenitor Subpopulation in Human Myotendinous Junction at Single-Cell Resolution

The myotendinous junction(MTJ)is a complex and special anatomical area that connects muscles and tendons,and it is also the key to repairing tendons.Nevertheless,the anatomical structure and connection structure of MTJ,the cluster and distribution of cells,and which cells are involved in repairing the tissue are still unclear.

Finite-time decentralized event-triggered state estimation for coupled neural networks under unreliable Markovian network against mixed cyberattacks

This article investigates the issue of finite-time state estimation in coupled neural networks under random mixed cyberattacks,in which the Markov process is used to model the mixed cyberattacks.To optimize the utilization of channel resources,a decentralized event-triggered mechanism is adopted during the information transmission.By establishing the augmentation system and constructing the Lyapunov function,sufficient conditions are obtained for the system to be finite-time bounded and satisfy the H∞ performance index.Then,under these conditions,a suitable state estimator gain is obtained.Finally,the feasibility of the method is verified by a given illustrative example.

Therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture,massage,and blocking therapy on external humeral epicondylitis

OBJECTIVE:To compare two therapeutic methods:electroacupuncture + massage + blocking therapy,and blocking therapy alone in the treatment of external humeral epicondylitis.METHODS:Eighty-six patients were randomized into two groups with 43 in each. The treatment group received electroacupuncture + massage +blocking therapy, while the control group received blocking therapy only. A course of electroacupuncture treatment included therapy once a day for 10days. There were 10 treatments in a massage course and massage was given once a day, with a1-week interval given before the next course. A course of blocking treatment included therapy once a week, for twototaltreatments,andgenerallyno more than three times. The therapeutic effects were evaluated with the visual analog scale(VAS),grip strength index(GSI) score, and Mayo elbow performance score(MEPS) before treatment and at0, 6, 12, and 24 months after treatment to observe thetotaleffectiverate.RESULTS: In the treatment and control groups before treatment and at 0, 6, 12, and 24 months after treatment, the VAS scores were: 6.5±1.9 and 6.4±1.6; 4.6±1.3 and 4.6±1.7; 4.8±1.3 and 4.8±1.2; 4.6±1.2 and 6.6±1.6; and 6.5±1.6 and 6.5±1.3, respectively. The GSI scores were 63±8 and 63±8; 84±6and82±7;82±7and82±6;84±6and62±8;and64±6 and 64±7, respectively.The MEPS of both groups were65±7and66±8;85±6and84±7;84±5and84±7;80±7and66±6;and65±6and65±7,respectively.The total effective rates of the treatment and control groups at 0, 6, 12, and 24 months after treatment were 87.5% and 85.0%; 85.0% and 82.5%;80.0% and 12.5%; and 2.5% and 5.0%, respectively.Compared with the treatment group, the control group had greater joint function, better the rapeutic effect, and lower pain intensity(P<0.01), indicating a high recurrence rate in the 12th month after treatment.There were no differences inVAS, GSI, or MEPS at 0, 6, and 24 months after treatment(P>0.05)betweenthetwogroups.CONCLUSION: We found that both methods were effective for external humeral epicondylitis. After 6months of treatment,the effects were good in both groups. However, in the 12th month, the control group had a relatively severe relapse. After 24months, both groups relapsed. The effect of electroacupuncture, massage, and blocking therapy used in combination lasted longer, delaying the recurrence of the disease.