Difference in the distribution of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells and FOXP3+ T cells between micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma and micronodular thymic carcinoma with lymphoid stroma

Micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma (MNT) is a rare thymic epithelial neoplasm subtype characterized by a micronodular tumor cell growth pattern and abundant lymphoid stroma. Micronodular thymic carcinoma with lymphoid stroma (MNCA) is considered as a malignant counterpart of MNT and exhibits a growth pattern similar to that of MNT but has histologic features reminiscent of thymic squamous cell carcinoma, such as cytologic atypia and CD5 and CD117 immunoexpression. Although both MNT and MNCA are characterized by abundant lymphoid stroma, it remains unknown whether there are differences in infiltrating lymphocytes between MNT and MNCA. We analyzed the immune microenvironment profile in eight MNT and three MNCA cases. The cell density of CD8-positive T cells was significantly higher in MNT than in MNCA, whereas that of FOXP3-positive T cells was significantly higher in MNCA than in MNT. There was no significant difference in the cell density of programmed death protein 1-positive T cells and programmed death ligand 1 expression between the MNT and MNCA cases. Our findings indicated that the immune microenvironment of MNCA differed from that of MNT and, compared with the T-cell profile of MNT, that of MNCA was more suppressive to patients′ antitumor immune response.     

Relationship between Plasma Fibrinogen Levels and Pulmonary Function in the Japanese Population: The Takahata Study

Background:Plasma fibrinogen is considered a biomarker of respiratory disease, owing to the relationship between plasma fibrinogen and pulmonary function established in Western populations. However, such a relationship has not yet been confirmed in an Asian population. We assessed this relationship in the general Japanese population.Methods:Totally, 3,257 men and women aged ≥40 years who participated in a community-based annual health checkup in Takahata, Japan, from 2004 to 2006, underwent spirometry, and their plasma fibrinogen levels were determined.Results:We found an inverse relationship between spirometric measures (percent predicted forced vital capacity [%FVC] and forced expiratory volume in 1s [%FEV₁], and FEV₁/FVC) and plasma fibrinogen levels in men, but not in women. The plasma fibrinogen levels were significantly higher in subjects with restrictive, obstructive, and mixed ventilatory disorders than in those with normal spirometry results. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that in men, plasma fibrinogen levels were predictive for %FVC and %FEV₁ (independent of age, body mass index, and cigarette smoking) but not for FEV₁/FVC.Conclusions:Plasma fibrinogen was significantly associated with pulmonary function in Japanese men, and as such, plasma fibrinogen might be a potent biomarker for pulmonary dysfunction in men.     

间充质干细胞在调节新型冠状病毒肺炎患者免疫功能中的应用

新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）是一种具有潜在致死性的传染性疾病,严重损害机体免疫系统,会导致免疫细胞过度激活,使炎性细胞因子大量释放,形成细胞因子风暴,从而加剧组织损伤和病情的发展。有效控制炎症因子风暴,已成为治疗COVID-19患者的关键点。间充质干细胞（MSCs）凭借其低免疫原性和对先天性和适应性免疫的调节能力,能够有效控制异常的免疫反应,抑制其对人体多器官造成的损伤。结合COVID-19患者免疫改变的特征和先前的研究,MSCs对COVID-19的治疗可能具有有良好的效果。本文通过分析COVID-19患者先天性和适应性免疫反应的改变,阐明MSCs对免疫的调节作用及机制,以期为COVID-19患者临床免疫治疗提供新的思路和理论基础。     

In vitro remineralization of enamel white spot lesions with a carrier-based amorphous calcium phosphate delivery system

Clinical Oral Investigations - To achieve in vitro remineralization of enamel white spot lesions (WSLs) via a mesoporous delivery system of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) precursors....     

Congenital Hypoplasia of the Dorsal Pancreas: With Special Reference to Duodenal Papillary Dysfunction

We report a case of dorsal pancreatic hypoplasia complicated with atresia of the vagina, type-A chronic atrophic gastritis, duodenal papillary dysfunction, and insulin-requiring diabetes mellitus, in a 32-yr-old woman. The laboratory data showed elevated hepatobiliary enzymes. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) revealed a slightly dilated common bile duct and a short major pancreatic duct connected with a minor pancreatic duct. Ultrasonography and computerized tomography could not identify any pancreatic tissue in the region of the body or tail of the pancreas. The pancreatic tissue weight calculated by the serial thin slice of computerized tomography was 43.1 g, approximately 45% of the standard Japanese adult pancreas. Reevaluated pancreatic exocrine function based on this weight showed a hypersecretory state. The pancreatic ductal pressure was slightly increased, and the motility of the sphincter of Oddi (SO) was abnormal when measured with a 4Fr. microtransducer inserted through a duodenoscope. These findings suggest that dysfunction of the sphincter of Oddi may play some role in the pathophysiology in the hypoplasia of the dorsal pancreas and pancreaticobiliary diseases associated with it.     

Silent cerebral infarction in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy. Effects of antiplatelet drug dilazep dihydrochloride

BACKGROUND: To determine whether diabetic nephropathy is a risk factor for silent cerebral infarction and whether antiplatelet drug dilazep dihydrochloride decreases the occurrence of silent cerebral infarction in type 2 diabetes patients with microalbuminuria. METHODS: Two hundred four type 2 diabetes patients (124 men, 80 women; age, median 56 years, range 42-74 years) and 60 healthy age-matched subjects (no diabetes, normal renal function) were recruited for brain magnetic resonance imaging. The diabetes patients included 40 without nephropathy (group A), 42 with microalbuminuria (20-200 microg/min) (group B), 44 with macroalbuminuria (>200 microg/min) and normal renal function (blood creatinine <132.7 micromol/L) (group C), 33 with chronic renal failure but not undergoing haemodialysis (blood creatinine >132.7 micromol/L; mean creatinine 335.9 micromol/L) (group D) and 45 undergoing haemodialysis (duration; median 4 years, range 3-6 years) (group E). RESULTS: Silent cerebral infarction was found in 20, 29, 34, 45, 53 and 8% of group A, B, C, D, E and control patients respectively. The incidence of silent cerebral infarction was increased with diabetic nephropathy. Thirty group B patients with no silent cerebral infarction were divided into two groups: (B1) 15 treated with dilazep dihydrochloride and (B2) 15 not treated with dilazep dihydrochloride. Treatment continued for 24 months. The incidence of silent cerebral infarction was significantly lower in the dilazep-treated patients (6.7%) than in the untreated patients (33.3%) (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that diabetic renal dysfunction increases the risk of silent cerebral infarction and that dilazep dihydrochloride prevents its onset in early type 2 diabetic nephropathy patients.     

Low prevalence of antibodies to glucose-6-phosphate isomerase in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a spectrum of other chronic autoimmune disorders

OBJECTIVE: Arthritis in the K/BxN mouse model results from pathogenic immunoglobulins that recognize glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI), a glycolytic enzyme residing in the cytoplasm of all cells. Antibodies directed against GPI can, alone, transfer arthritis to healthy recipients. Previous experiments have revealed significant titers of anti-GPI antibodies in the serum of many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We evaluated the generality of these observations in cohorts of patients with 12 different arthritic and chronic autoimmune diseases and in population-matched healthy control subjects. METHODS: Anti-GPI antibodies were assayed in 811 individual serum samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with 2 forms of GPI, recombinant and native. Results were confirmed by immunoblotting. RESULTS: Several patients had significantly elevated anti-GPI antibody titers, but without the prevalence or the specificity reported previously. Only 15% of RA patients had anti-GPI antibodies (range 12-29% in different cohorts), with a higher prevalence in patients with active disease. Psoriatic arthritis, undifferentiated arthritis, and spondylarthropathy patients also displayed anti-GPI antibodies at similar frequencies (12-25%). Similar titers were detected in a proportion (5-10%) of control subjects or patients with Crohn's disease or sarcoidosis. Very high titers were found in rare cases of RA and systemic lupus erythematosus. CONCLUSION: No disease-specific pattern of antibody positivity to GPI was apparent. While the antibody-mediated mechanism at play in the mouse model may exemplify a generic mechanism for some forms of arthritis in humans, GPI itself does not appear to be a target common to the majority of RA patients.