Effects of endoplasmic reticulum stress on the expressionof inflammatory cytokines in patients with ulcerative colitis

AIM: To explore the changes of X-box binding protein 1splicing(XBP1s) and inflammatory cytokine expression in patients with ulcerative colitis(UC) in response to endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS).METHODS: Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were performed to detect the forms of XBP1 s and the expression of interleukin(IL)-2, interferon(IFN)-γ, and IL-17α. Differences between patients with UC and normal subjects were then determined.RESULTS: Mononuclear cells of the peripheral blood of normal subjects and UC patients with were stimulated with no drugs(control), phytohemagglutinin(PHA), thapsigargin(TG), or both PHA and TG. XBP1 s in patients with UC exhibited splicing, which was greater with co-stimulation than single stimulation. Costimulation increased the expression level of IL-2, IFN-γ, and IL-17α.CONCLUSION: The T lymphocytes of both normal subjects and patients with UC responded to ERS by activating the XBP1s-mediated signalling pathway, upregulating the expression of inflammatory cytokines, and increasing the occurrence of inflammation. The mononuclear cells in the peripheral blood of patients with UC were more sensitive to ERS than those in the peripheral blood of normal subjects.

Fibrous Separator with Surface Modification and Micro-Nano Fibers Lamination Enabling Fast Ion Transport for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Appropriate materials collaborated with reasonable structure can significantly increase the separator performance for lithium-ion batteries.In this work,taking the advantages of microfibrous and nanofibrous membranes and compensating for their defects,we developed a composited separator(GOPPH)with excellent overall performance by first wetting-modifying the polyethylene terephthalate microfibers and then laminating a polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene nanofiber layer.Such a combination not only offers the GOPPH separator,from the perspective of structure,with high porosity and hierarchical structure in terms of fiber diameter and pore size,but also provides satisfactory features including wettability,mechanical strength and thermal shutdown function that benefit from the selected materials.Meanwhile,as determined by experimental and theoretical approaches,the obtained GOPPH separator exhibits considerably enhanced lithium ion transport ability with a high lithium ion transference number and transport rate,which thereby endowing the cell with superior cycling stability with a capacity retention of 93%after 200 cycles at 1 C.Therefore,considering battery safety and performance,the GOPPH fibrous membrane could be a promising separator candidate for lithium-ion batteries.