Background and purpose: Previous studies suggested that the overall burden of prior infections contributes to cardiovascular diseases and stroke. In the present study, the association between infectious burden (IB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) was examined.Methods: Antibody titers to common infectious pathogens including cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1), Borrelia burgdorferi, Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay in 128 AD patients and 135 healthy controls. IB was defined as a composite serological measure of exposure to these common pathogens.Results: Seropositivities toward zero−two, three and four−five of these pathogens were found in 44%, 40% and 16% of healthy controls but in 20%, 44% and 36% of AD patients, respectively. IB, bacterial burden and viral burden were independently associated with AD after adjusting for age, gender, education, APOE genotype and various comorbidities. Mini‐Mental State Examination scores were negatively correlated with IB in all cases. Serum beta‐amyloid protein (Aβ) levels (i.e. Aβ40, Aβ42 and total Aβ) and inflammatory cytokines (i.e. interferon‐γ, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin‐1β and interleukin‐6) in individuals exposed to four−five infectious pathogens were significantly higher than those exposed to zero−two or three pathogens.Conclusions: IB consisting of CMV, HSV‐1, B. burgdorferi, C. pneumoniae and H. pylori is associated with AD. This study supports the role of infection/inflammation in the etiopathogenesis of AD.

Summary: Bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM‐MSC) are currently being investigated in preclinical and clinical settings because of their self‐renewal and multipotent differentiative capacity or their immunosuppressive function. However, BM may be detrimental because of the highly invasive donation procedure and BM‐MSC decline with age. Therefore, MSC derived from other sources have been considered as an alternative. However, there is only limited knowledge on their immunomodulatory properties. Human umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells are good substitutes for BM‐MSC because of the immaturity of newborn cells. In this study, we successfully isolated MSC from UCB. The morphological phenotypes, cell cycle status, surface markers and differentiation potential of these clonally expanded cells are consistent with BM‐MSC. Furthermore, UCB‐MSC expanded in vitro retain low immunogenicity and an immunomodulatory effect. Flow cytometry analysis showed that UCB‐MSC did not express CD40, CD40 ligand, CD80, CD86 and major histocompatibility complex class II molecules. We have demonstrated that UCB‐MSC are incapable of inducing allogeneic peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation and have a dose‐dependent inhibition of PBMC immune responses in mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLR) and phytohaemagglutinin activation assays, even after interferon‐γ treatment. Additionally, we have found that UCB‐MSC can suppress the function of mature dendritic cells. Using transwell systems, we have demonstrated an inhibition mechanism that depends on both cell contact and soluble factors. Based on the findings we conclude that banked UCB could serve as a potential alternative source of MSC for allogeneic application in the future.

Bone is a dynamic organ continuously undergoing shaping, repairing and remodeling. The homeostasis of bone is maintained by the balance between osteoblastic bone formation and osteoclastic bone resorption. Osteoclasts (OCs) are specialized multinucleated cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) or monocytes/macrophage progenitor cells. There are different stages during osteoclastogenesis, and one of the most important steps to form functional osteoclasts is realized by cell-cell fusion. In our study, microarray was performed to detect the expression profiles of lncRNA, mRNA, circRNA and miRNA at different stages during osteoclastogenesis of RAW264.7 cells. Often changed RNAs were selected and clustered among the four groups with Venn analysis. The results revealed that expressions of 518 lncRNAs, 207 mRNAs, 24 circRNAs and 37 miRNAs were often altered at each stage during OC differentiation. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) biological pathway analysis were performed to predict the functions of differentially expressed lncRNAs and co-expressed potential targeting genes. Co-expression networks of lncRNA-mRNA and circRNA-miRNA were constructed based on the correlation analysis between the differentially expressed RNAs. The present study provided a systematic perspective on the potential function of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) during osteoclastogenesis.

Rechargeable zinc-based batteries (RZBs) are attracting extensive attention because of their considerable energy density, high safety and low cost, but generally suffer from the uncontrollable dendrite formation and low reversibility of zinc (Zn) anodes along with the limited voltage and unsatisfactory cyclability of current oxide cathodes in aqueous electrolytes. Here, we report a nonaqueous phosphate-based electrolyte with dual cations consisting of 0.5 M Zn²⁺ and 1.0 M Na⁺ in trimethyl phosphate (TMP) solvent. The formulated electrolyte features a fire-extinguishing ability, an expanded anodic stability up to 2.8 V versus Zn, and a good compatibility to both Zn anode and polyanionic cathodes (e.g., Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂O₂F (NVPOF), Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃ (NVPF), and Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ (NVP)). A dendrite-free and high-coulombic-efficiency cycling of Zn anode with a high cycling stability (over 5000 h) is characterized. As a proof-of-concept, a new configuration of RZB by employing a high-voltage NVPOF cathode, a Zn anode, and the dual-cation electrolyte shows an average output voltage of 1.8 V with an energy density of 203 W h kg⁻¹ (based on the cathode) and a long-term cyclability with 83.5% retention over 1000 cycles. This battery chemistry operates through the reversible extraction/insertion of Na⁺ from/into the NVPOF cathode and electrochemical deposition/dissolution of Zn at the anode. Impressively, significantly improved performances of other polyanionic cathodes (e.g., NVPF and NVP) have also been realized in the formulated electrolyte. The present work broadens the horizon of electrolytes and cathode materials for Zn battery chemistries.