CD19 + CD21lo/neg cells are increased in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The purpose of this study was to examine recirculating lymphocytes from SSc patients for potential biomarkers of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from patients with SSc and healthy controls enrolled in the Vanderbilt University Myositis and Scleroderma Treatment Initiative Center cohort between 9/2017–6/2019. Clinical phenotyping was performed by chart abstraction. Immunophenotyping was performed using both mass cytometry and fluorescence cytometry combined with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding analysis and traditional biaxial gating. This study included 34 patients with SSc-ILD, 14 patients without SSc-ILD, and 25 healthy controls. CD21^lo/neg cells are significantly increased in SSc-ILD but not in SSc without ILD (15.4 ± 13.3% vs. 5.8 ± 0.9%, p = 0.002) or healthy controls (5.0 ± 0.5%, p < 0.0001). While CD21^lo/neg B cells can be identified from a single biaxial gate, tSNE analysis reveals that the biaxial gate is comprised of multiple distinct subsets, all of which are increased in SSc-ILD. CD21^lo/neg cells in both healthy controls and SSc-ILD are predominantly tBET positive and do not have intracellular CD21. Immunohistochemistry staining demonstrated that CD21^lo/neg B cells diffusely infiltrate the lung parenchyma of an SSc-ILD patient. Additional work is needed to validate this biomarker in larger cohorts and longitudinal studies and to understand the role of these cells in SSc-ILD.

     

A systematic review of the methodological quality of economic evaluations in genetic screening and testing for monogenic disorders

PurposeUnderstanding the value of genetic screening and testing for monogenic disorders requires high-quality, methodologically robust economic evaluations. This systematic review sought to assess the methodological quality among such studies and examined opportunities for improvement.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Web of Science for economic evaluations of genetic screening/testing (2013-2019). Methodological rigor and adherence to best practices were systematically assessed using the British Medical Journal checklist.ResultsAcross the 47 identified studies, there were substantial variations in modeling approaches, reporting detail, and sophistication. Models ranged from simple decision trees to individual-level microsimulations that compared between 2 and >20 alternative interventions. Many studies failed to report sufficient detail to enable replication or did not justify modeling assumptions, especially for costing methods and utility values. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or calibration were rarely used to derive parameter estimates. Nearly all studies conducted some sensitivity analysis, and more sophisticated studies implemented probabilistic sensitivity/uncertainty analysis, threshold analysis, and value of information analysis.ConclusionWe describe a heterogeneous body of work and present recommendations and exemplar studies across the methodological domains of (1) perspective, scope, and parameter selection; (2) use of uncertainty/sensitivity analyses; and (3) reporting transparency for improvement in the economic evaluation of genetic screening/testing.     

血府逐瘀汤合温胆汤加减联合西药治疗高血压颈动脉硬化的临床观察

目的:观察血府逐瘀汤合温胆汤加减联合西药治疗高血压颈动脉硬化的效果。方法:选取2017年6月至2018年6月聊城市中医院收治的高血压颈动脉硬化患者92例作为研究对象,按照随机数字表法随机分为对照组与观察组,每组46例。对照组患者给予左旋氨氯地平+阿托伐他汀口服,观察组在对照组基础上加用血府逐瘀汤合温胆汤加减口服。观察患者血压、血脂控制情况,测定颈动脉内膜中层厚度(IMT)、斑块面积、血管皮内皮功能、血清蛋白酶分子水平。结果:与对照组比较,观察组治疗后的血压SBP、DBP及血脂TG、TC、LDL-C等指标更低(P<0.05);颈动脉粥样硬化斑块IMT厚度、斑块面积明显缩小(P<0.05),血管内皮功能指标ET-1、AngⅡ、TXB2水平明显降低,NO水平明显升高(P<0.05);血清CatK、MMP-9水平明显降低(P<0.05);观察组不良反应发生率8.70%明显低于对照组不良反应发生率21.74%(P<0.05)。结论:血府逐瘀汤合温胆汤加减联合西药更利于控制高血压颈动脉硬化患者的血压,调节脂质代谢,改善血管内皮功能,降低血清蛋白酶分子的含量,用药安全。     

基于LC-MS的甘草炮制雷公藤降低肝毒性的代谢组学研究

目的 观察甘草炮制雷公藤Tripterygium wilfordii后对小鼠血清中代谢产物的影响，初步探讨其降低肝毒性的可能代谢通路。方法 将C57BL/6小鼠随机分为对照（Con）组、雷公藤（Raw）组、甘草炮制雷公藤（Pro）组，观察小鼠肝组织病理变化，检测小鼠肝功能生化指标、炎症因子水平；利用液质联用（LC-MS）技术结合代谢组学方法，对各组间的代谢差异进行表征。结果 与Raw组相比，Pro组小鼠肝组织损伤显著改善，肝功能生化指标、炎症因子水平显著降低，表明甘草炮制雷公藤后可以降低小鼠肝毒性；共筛选出脂肪酸、磷脂酸、甘油酯、磷脂酰胆碱、胆酸等12个潜在生物标志物，主要涉及脂肪酸生物合成、甘油磷脂代谢、花生四烯酸代谢等9个代谢通路。结论 甘草炮制雷公藤可有效降低小鼠的肝毒性，其机制可能与调节脂肪酸代谢等通路相关，为其临床合理应用提供参考依据。     

甘麦大枣汤改善肿瘤抑郁的临床疗效

目的：观察甘麦大枣汤治疗肿瘤抑郁的临床疗效。方法：选取2018年1月至2018年10月上海中医药大学附属龙华医院收治的肿瘤抑郁患者72例作为研究对象，按照随机数字表法分为对照组和观察组，每组36例。2组均给予抗肿瘤中成药消癌平片，观察组加用甘麦大枣汤。2组疗程均为28 d，比较2组治疗前后抑郁自评量表（SDS）评分，抑郁相关指标5-羟色胺(5-HT)，同型半胱氨酸(Hcy),肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)，白细胞介素-6(IL-6)、自然杀伤细胞(NK)、免疫学指标(CD3+、CD4+、CD8+、CD4+/CD8+)水平及生命质量评分(QLQ-C30)的变化情况。结果：治疗后，SDS评分观察组明显低于对照组，差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。抑郁相关炎性反应递质指标5-HT、TNF-α、IL-6改善，观察组好转程度明显高于对照组，差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。免疫学指标CD3+、CD4+、CD4+/CD8+水平观察组改善程度明显高于对照组，差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。生命质量量表中躯体、角色、情绪、社会功能、总健康状况、疲倦、失眠项目评分差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论：甘麦大枣汤联合消癌平片治疗肿瘤抑郁患者，可明显减轻抑郁，提高机体免疫功能，改善生命质量。     

玳玳果黄酮降脂提取物体内组织分布规律及特征研究

目的：建立UPLC-MS/MS分析方法同时测定玳玳果黄酮降脂提取物效应组分新橙皮苷和柚皮苷在大鼠10种脏器组织中含量，分布规律及特征。方法：采用UPLC-MS/MS技术建立提取物效应组分新橙皮苷及柚皮苷在大鼠心、肝、脾、肺、肾、脑、胃、小肠、脂质、肌肉组织中的定量分析方法；大鼠给药后分别于0.33，0.67，1，4，8 h的5个时间点，分别摘取以上10种脏器组织，测定脏器组织及血液中效应组分的质量浓度，采用DAS（V 2.0）药动学软件对各样本的药物浓度-时间数据进行房室拟合，并计算不同组织效应组分的药-时曲线下面积（AUC）及平均滞留时间（MRT）。结果：所建立的UPLC-MS/MS定量分析方法具备良好的专属性、标准曲线及线性范围良好、方法准确度与精密度、定量下限均符合有关规定；玳玳果黄酮降脂提取物效应组分在血液中的分布符合一室模型，除肾脏及脑组织外，其余脏器中提取物效应组分的房室特征多为静脉注射的二室模型，柚皮苷在肾脏中的拟合结果为非静脉注射的二室模型，新橙皮苷在脑组织拟合结果为静脉注射的三室模型，给药后8 h各组织中效应组分新橙皮苷及柚皮苷AUC值大小顺序均为小肠 > 胃 > 肾 > 脂质 ≈ 脾脏 > 肺 > 肌肉 > 肝 > 心 > 脑，效应组分在各脏器中均无明显蓄积；效应组分在血液、肾脏、肝脏中的滞留时间较长，MRT均大于2 h，脂质最短，MRT不足1 h；各脏器中新橙皮苷的药-时曲线下面积约是柚皮苷的3倍，而心、肝、肾中则是3.5，2.1和3.4倍。结论：玳玳果黄酮降脂提取物效应组分在大鼠组织中分布迅速，达峰时间早于血液；效应组分在肠道内消除缓慢，给药8 h后在各脏器中的含量均显著下降且无特异的蓄积部位。研究结果揭示玳玳果黄酮降脂提取物效应组分在大鼠体内的分布特征及规律，为进一步理解玳玳果黄酮降脂提取物在体内的作用靶点及机制奠定了基础。