Ⅱ型固有淋巴样细胞在嗜酸性粒细胞性慢性鼻窦炎发病机制中的作用研究进展

慢性鼻窦炎(CRS)是一种常见的慢性非特异感染性鼻部疾病,病理分型主要分为Th2细胞介导的嗜酸性粒细胞性鼻窦炎(ECRS)和Th1细胞介导的非嗜酸性粒细胞性鼻窦炎(非ECRS)2种表型。欧洲国家CRS患病人群主要表现为ECRS,而随着亚洲国家的急剧工业化发展,其ECRS的比例也在急剧增加。ECRS发病机制复杂,涉及多种免疫细胞和相关因子相互作用。其治疗方法包括抗生素、激素药物治疗及手术治疗等,但仍有部分患者症状难以改善或存在复发的风险。Ⅱ型固有淋巴样细胞(ILC2s)是一种非B、非T的新型淋巴细胞,与Th2免疫应答关系密切。文章就ILC2s在ECRS发病机制中的作用进行综述,以期为ECRS的诊断和治疗提供理论参考。     

2型糖尿病患者不同脂质参数与糖尿病肾病的关系

目的:探讨2型糖尿病(T2DM)患者不同脂质参数与糖尿病肾病(DKD)发生的相关性。方法:检测226例T2DM患者血清TC、TG、LDL-C、HDL-C水平及相关生化指标,计算血浆致动脉硬化指数(AIP)以及脂质三角相关指标(TC/HDL-C、TG/HDL-C、LDL-C/HDL-C)。根据DKD临床诊断标准和Mogensen分期标准分为:Ⅰ~Ⅱ期组136例,Ⅲ期组55例,Ⅳ~Ⅴ期组35例。应用多因素logistic回归分析不同脂质参数与DKD发生的关系。结果:与Ⅰ~Ⅱ期组相比,随着DKD分期加重,TC、TG、LDL-C、LDL-C/HDL-C、AIP水平明显增高(P<0.01)。LDL-C/HDL-C和AIP与24 h尿蛋白水平呈正相关(r=0.724;r=0.769,均P<0.05)。LDL-C/HDL-C和AIP是T2DM合并DKD患者的独立预测因子(P=0.002;P=0.004)。结论:LDL-C/HDL-C和AIP对T2DM合并DKD病情进展有较高的预测价值,可为临床诊治提供参考。     

HER2-positive advanced breast cancer treatment in 2020

HER2-positive breast cancer is an aggressive subtype identified in the 1980s. The development of therapies targeting the HER2 has improved outcomes. The current standard of care, established in 2012 is dual blockade with trastuzumab + pertuzumab as first-line followed by TDM-1 as second-line. Several suboptimal choices are available in third-line or more. In 2019 the presentation of several trials evaluating new drugs and regimens in third-line has re-opened questions about sequencing, treatment of triple positive disease and treatment choice after exposure to TDM-1. These include tucatinib, neratinib and trastuzumab-deruxtecan. Other agents – including other antibody drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies as well as combinations - will lead to further changes in coming years. Additionally, should the numerous putative biomarkers thus identified ever come into use at the clinic, choice of treatment and response evaluation may be substantially changed.     

Arachidonic acid-stimulated platelet tests: Identification of patients less sensitive to aspirin treatment

Serum thromboxane-B2 (TxB2), together with arachidonic acid (AA)-induced platelet aggregation, are, at the moment, the most used tests to identify patients displaying high on-aspirin treatment platelet reactivity (HAPR). Both tests are specific for aspirin action on cyclooxygenase-1. While the correlation between serum TxB2 assay and clinical outcome is established, data are conflicting with regard to aspirin treatment and a possible association with AA-stimulated platelet markers and clinical outcome. To understand such discrepancy, we performed a retrospective study to compare both assays. We collected data from 132 patients receiving a daily dose of aspirin (100?mg/day) and data from 48 patients receiving aspirin on alternate days. All Patients who received a daily dose of aspirin were studied for AA-induced platelet aggregation together with serum TxB2 levels and AA-induced TxB2 formation was also studied in 71 patients out of entire population. Consistent with recommendations in the literature, we defined HAPR by setting a cut-off point at 3.1?ng/ml for serum levels of thromboxane B2 and 20% for AA-induced platelet aggregation. According to this cut-off point, we divided our overall population into two groups: (1) TxB2?<?3.1?ng/ml and (2) TxB2?>?3.1?ng/ml. We found low agreement between such tests to identify patients displaying HAPR. Our results show that AA-induced platelet aggregation >20% identify a smaller number of HAPR patients in comparison with TxB2. A good correlation between serum TxB2 and arachidonic acid-induced TxB2 production was found (r?=?0.76619).     

Disease burdens from environmental tobacco smoke in Korean adults

In this study, we estimated the disease burdens attributable to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in Korean adults in 2010 and analyzed the trend of that from 2005 to 2010. We obtained information on the study population from the 2010 Cause of Death Statistic and estimated the ETS-attributable fraction using data from the Korean Community Health Survey and the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The numbers of ETS-attributable deaths in female and male non-smokers were estimated to be 4.1 and 69.6?% of the numbers of deaths attributable to current smoke, respectively. The deaths attributable to ETS were larger in female than in male non-smokers (710 vs. 420). The ETS-attributable deaths increased slightly in 2005–2008 but decreased in 2009–2010. The number of potential years of life lost from ETS was 9077.24?years in 2010. If there were no exposure to ETS in adult non-smokers, we would expect to see 1130 fewer deaths (9.9?% of the deaths from current smoke). The results suggest that ETS poses considerable disease burdens for non-smokers, especially women, in Korea.     

COVID-19 and hematology findings based on the current evidences: A puzzle with many missing pieces

In December 2019, a new type of coronavirus was detected for the first time in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. According to the reported data, the emerging coronavirus has spread worldwide, infecting more than fifty-seven million individuals, leading to more than one million deaths. The current study aimed to review and discuss the hematological findings of COVID-19. Laboratory changes and hematologic abnormalities have been reported repeatedly in COVID-19 patients. WBC count and peripheral blood lymphocytes are normal or slightly reduced while these indicators may change with the progression of the disease. In addition, several studies demonstrated that decreased hemoglobin levels in COVID-19 patients were associated with the severity of the disease. Moreover, thrombocytopenia, which is reported in 5%-40% of patients, is known to be associated with poor prognosis of the disease. COVID-19 can present with various hematologic manifestations. In this regard, accurate evaluation of laboratory indicators at the beginning and during COVID-19 can help physicians to adjust appropriate treatment and provide special and prompt care for those in need.     

miR-451a suppresses the development of breast cancer via targeted inhibition of CCND2

Extensive research has indicated that miRNAs are crucial for the occurrence and progression of cancers. miR-451a, involved in breast cancer (BC), is one of the miRNAs. This study focused on the mechanism by which miR-451a regulates BC. The levels of miR-451a in BC tissues and cell lines were examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Kaplan‒Meier analysis showed that this was intimately related to the patient's overall survival rate. Functional experiments revealed the negative effects of miR-451a on the abilities of BC cells to multiply (tested by Cell Counting Kit-8), migrate (tested by wound healing assay), and invade (tested by Transwell assay) and its positive effects on apoptosis (tested by flow cytometry). Western blotting indicated that the expression of tumor-related proteins was affected by miR-451a. Moreover, in vivo experiments suggested that tumor growth was clearly restrained by an miR-451a agonist in a xenograft tumor model. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that miR-451a directly targeted Cyclin D2 (CCND2), as demonstrated by the luciferase reporter assay. An opposite change in the level of CCND2 and miR-451a in BC was indicated by qRT-PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Subsequently, functional experiments and western blotting analysis confirmed that CCND2 accelerated BC progression, which was regulated by miR-451a. Cumulatively, research on miR-451a may be valuable for BC treatment.