泼尼松联合丙种球蛋白对重症肌无力患者外周血 乙酰胆碱受体抗体水平及转化生长因子 -β1 的影响

目的：观察泼尼松联合丙种球蛋白对重症肌无力（MG）患者外周血乙酰胆碱受体抗体（AChR-Ab）水平及转 化生长因子 -β1（TGF-β1）的影响。方法：选择 94 例 MG 患者为观察对象，按随机数表法分为观察组和对照组各 47 例。 对照组给予泼尼松口服，观察组采用泼尼松联合丙种球蛋白治疗，比较治疗前及治疗 1 个月后两组患者外周血 AChRAb、TGF-β1 水平变化，并分析两组患者治疗 1 个月后的疗效及治疗 1 个月内的不良反应情况差异。结果：治疗 1 个月后， 观察组疗效明显高于对照组（P＜0.05）；两组外周血 AChR-Ab 水平均较治疗前明显降低，且观察组明显较同期对照组 低（P＜0.05），两组 TGF-β1 水平均较治疗前明显升高，且观察组明显较对照组高（P＜0.05）。治疗 1 个月内，两组 药物不良反应率比较无明显差异（P＞0.05）。结论：丙种球蛋白联合泼尼松治疗 MG 有效，可显著提高 TGF-β1 水平 并降低外周血 AChR-Ab 水平，且安全性良好，不易发生不良反应。     

Defects in mandibular bone area,enamel iron content and dentine formation following gastrectomy in rats

Fourteen 5-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided into two groups, sham-operated and gastrectomized. Tetracycline and calcein were given to label dentine. Four weeks after surgery, blood was collected for measurement of serum iron, calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the mandibles and maxillae were then removed. Sagittal sections of the maxilla or cross-sections of the mandible were prepared and examined. Backscattered electron images of the maxilla were taken and the iron content at the neck of incisors was measured by energy-dispersive X-ray. The dentine apposition rate in maxillary incisors was measured by fluorescence microscopy. Serum iron was significantly decreased, while PTH was significantly elevated without any change in the serum calcium in gastrectomized rats. Gastrectomy caused a gross loss of iron content in superficial enamel. The dentine apposition rate was significantly reduced by 30%. Both cortical and cancellous bone in the mandibula were significantly reduced. However, the total bone area in gastrectomized rats was similar to that in sham-operated rats. These results suggest that bone resorption was enhanced and dentine formation was reduced after gastrectomy.     

Potential Remineralization of Postorthodontic Demineralized Enamel and the Use of Enamel Microabrasion and Bleaching for Esthetics

Prevention of enamel demineralization during orthodontic treatment is of utmost importance. Should enamel demineralization occur (white spot lesions), early diagnosis and intervention is appropriate. Improved brushing with fluoridated dentifrice and over-the-counter fluoride rinses would be the first recommended intervention. If more aggressive intervention is considered to be necessary due to the extent of demineralized enamel or expected noncompliance with oral hygiene by the patient, professionally applied and/or prescribed fluorides are recommended. Likewise, casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate systems have demonstrated remineralization effects.     

Function of monoamine neurotransmitter transporters

Monoamine transporters include plasma membrane and vesicular monoamine transporters(VMAT). The former selectively and Na+/Cl(-)-dependently transport dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin into the cytoplasma, and the latter non-selectively carries monoamine into the vesicle. These transporters are composed of amino acid groups containing 12 folds more transmembrane components. Cytoplasmic transporters are a target site of certain drugs. Antiepileptic drugs such as SSRI and tricyclic antidepressants bind with serotonin transporter(SERT), noradrenaline transporter(NET) and/or dopamine transporters(DAT) to inhibit transport of monoamines into the cytoplasma, thereby increasing monoamine levels within the synaptic cleft. However, amphetamine, known to induce drug dependence, is transported by DAT and inhibit VMAT to induce reverse-transport of monoamines into the synaptic area, thereby producing psychiatric and behavioral alterations. Thus, monoamine transporters are target sites of drugs, and functional changes in the transporters may be involved in the pathogenesis of affective diseases, schizophrenia and/or personality disorders including neurogenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.     

Current Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Pediatric Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia: Success,Failure and Future Perspectives—A Single-Center Experience, 2008 to 2016

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only curative option for a subset of patients with high-risk or relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Given evolving practices, it is important to continually evaluate outcomes for pediatric ALL following HSCT. Outcomes after HSCT are influenced by the type of donor used as this determines the degree and method of T cell depletion used and, consequently, specific transplant-related morbidities. We retrospectively analyzed HSCT data from our center for transplants performed between January 2008 and May 2016, comparing outcomes among different donor types. One hundred and twenty-four pediatric patients underwent HSCT from a matched sibling donor (MSD; n?=?48), an unrelated matched donor (UMD; n?=?56), or a haploidentical donor (n?=?20). We observed a similar 3-year event-free survival (EFS) for MSD recipients (of .64) and for UMD recipients (.62), but a significantly lower EFS for recipients of haploidentical transplants (.35; P?=?.01). Relapse was the main cause of HSCT failure and was significantly higher in the haploidentical donor group (.47 versus .19 for MSD and .24 for UMD; P?=?.02). Treatment-related mortality was evenly distributed among the donor groups (.17, .16, and .15 for the MSD, UMD, and haploidentical groups, respectively). Rates of infection-related mortality were lower than previously reported. Relapse is the main obstacle for successful HSCT in the contemporary era, and this effect is most evident in recipients of haploidentical donor grafts. Newer methods to improve graft-versus-leukemia effect are being evaluated and will need to be incorporated into the management of high-risk patients.     

Therapeutic advances in BIG3‐PHB2 inhibition targeting the crosstalk between estrogen and growth factors in breast cancer

Our previous studies demonstrated that specific inhibition of the BIG3‐PHB2 complex, which is a critical modulator in estrogen (E2) signaling, using ERAP, a dominant negative peptide inhibitor, leads to suppression of E2‐dependent estrogen receptor (ER) alpha activation through the reactivation of the tumor suppressive activity of PHB2. Here, we report that ERAP has significant suppressive effects against synergistic activation caused by the crosstalk between E2 and growth factors associated with intrinsic or acquired resistance to anti‐estrogen tamoxifen in breast cancer cells. Intrinsic PHB2 released from BIG3 by ERAP effectively disrupted each interaction of membrane‐associated ERα and insulin‐like growth factor 1 receptor beta (IGF‐1Rβ), EGFR, PI3K or human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) in the presence of E2 and the growth factors IGF or EGF, followed by inhibited the activation of IGF‐1Rβ, EGFR or HER2, and reduced Akt, MAPK and ERα phosphorylation levels, resulting in significant suppression of proliferation of ERα‐positive breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, combined treatment with ERAP and tamoxifen led to a synergistic suppression of signaling that was activated by crosstalk between E2 and growth factors or HER2 amplification. Taken together, our findings suggest that the specific inhibition of BIG3‐PHB2 is a novel potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of tamoxifen‐resistant breast cancers activated by the crosstalk between E2 and growth factor signaling, especially in premenopausal women.