Chemokine receptor CCR6 as a prognostic factor after hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma

Background and Aims: Chemokines and their receptors have recently been shown to have major roles in cancer metastasis. The aim of this study was to determine whether the interaction between chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) and its ligand, macrophage inflammatory protein‐3 alpha (MIP‐3α), correlates with metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: To observe the reaction of CCR6 expressed cancer cells to MIP‐3α stimulation, chemotactic and actin polymerization assays for both CCR6 high cells (HepG2) and CCR6 low cells (MCF‐7) were performed. CCR6 mRNA levels in tumor specimens from 30 HCC patients were quantified by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Patients were classified into two groups, high (≥ 20 copies; n = 10) CCR6 and low (<20 copies; n = 20) CCR6 on the basis of CCR6 expression, and the groups were compared with respect to clinicopathological features. Results: When HepG2 cells (CCR6 high) were stimulated with MIP‐3α, they migrated in a dose‐dependent manner, and formation of pseudopodia was observed. These phenomena were not observed in the CCR6 low cells. The incidence of intrahepatic metastasis was higher in the high CCR6 expression group than in the low CCR6 expression group (P < 0.05). Disease‐free survival was significantly poorer in the high CCR6 expression group than in the low CCR6 expression group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: It was indicated that CCR6 might be associated with intrahepatic metastasis of HCC and might be able to become one of the prognostic factor after hepatic resection for HCC.     

Post-polio syndrome patients treated with intravenous immunoglobulin: a double-blinded randomized controlled pilot study

Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is characterized by new muscle weakness, atrophy, fatigue and pain developing several years after the acute polio. Some studies suggest an ongoing inflammation in the spinal cord in these patients. From this perspective, intravenous immunoglobulin (IvIg) could be a therapeutic option. We performed a double-blinded randomized controlled pilot study with 20 patients to investigate the possible clinical effects of IvIg in PPS. Twenty patients were randomized to either IvIg 2 g/kg body weight or placebo. Primary endpoints were changes in pain, fatigue and muscle strength 3 months after treatment. Surrogate endpoints were changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytokine levels. Secondary endpoints were pain, fatigue and isometric muscle strength after 6 months. Patients receiving IvIg reported a significant improvement in pain during the first 3 months, but no change was noted for subjective fatigue and muscle strength. CSF levels of tumour necrosis factor- α (TNF- α ) were increased compared with patients with non-inflammatory neurological disorders. In conclusion, in this small pilot study no effect was seen with IvIg treatment on muscle strength and fatigue, however IvIg treated PPS patients reported significantly less pain 3 months after treatment. TNF- α was increased in the CSF from PPS patients. The results are promising, but not conclusive because of the low number of patients studied.     

Serum intact parathyroid hormone levels in elderly Chinese females with hip fracture

Summary Serum intact parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25 hydroxyvitamin D(25OHD), 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)₂D), albumin, and ionized calcium were measured in 61 Chinese female patients with hip fracture and 61 control subjects. Hip fracture patients had low albumin, ionized calcium, and 250HD levels. Serum PTH and 1,25 (OH)₂D values were not different between the two groups. We conclude that although 250HD level in hip fracture patients is low, there is no evidence of secondary hyperparathyroidism, suggesting that the low 250HD levels may be a secondary phenomenon in response to the fracture.     

深低温储皮后其抗原性改变的免疫学研究

以人皮和豚鼠皮新鲜及－１９６℃冷冻皮片匀浆做为抗原，研制出兔抗人和豚鼠的新鲜及－１９６℃冷冻皮片匀浆的可溶性蛋白高效价的免疫血清，并通过免疫电泳、火箭免疫电泳、免疫火箭扩散电泳及单相免疫扩散电泳等不同免疫学电泳的检测，分别对新鲜皮片及－１９６℃冷冻皮片抗原性改变的这一现象进行探讨与研究。结果表明：人皮、豚鼠皮其新鲜皮片的抗原成份、抗原决定簇及抗原量均显著高于相应的－１９６℃冷冻组皮片，因而证实了通过深低温冷冻的皮片其抗原性低于新鲜皮片的论断。     

膀胱前间隙炎性假瘤临床病理观察及文献复习

目的 探讨膀胱前间隙炎性假瘤的临床病理特征及发病因素，以提高对本病的认识。方法 复习3例膀胱前间隙炎性假瘤的临床特征、组织病理学、免疫表型及相关文献。结果 3例患者均为女性，均为输卵管结扎术后1～2年发现膀胱前间隙炎性假瘤，CT及B超提示膀胱前壁肿块，但膀胱黏膜光滑。术中发现肿块位于膀胱前间隙并累及膀胱前壁。病理检查：眼观为灰白色质韧的结节状肿块，镜下见炎性假瘤的病理特征及不同程度炎症背景，有组织疏松区、黏液样区、部分区域梭形细胞和纤维母细胞排列杂乱，细胞较大，光镜检查时易误诊为肉瘤，但缺乏核异型。3例均成功行肿块连同部分膀胱壁切除术，随访3～5年无复发。结论 膀胱前间隙炎性假瘤形态上需与软组织肉瘤、结节性筋膜炎、术后梭形细胞结节、间质性膀胱炎等疾病相鉴别，既往输卵管结扎术和感染可能是其重要的致病因素。     

Challenges in the Diagnosis of the Right Patient for Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Diagnosis of testosterone deficiency is important to identify patients who might benefit from testosterone replacement therapy. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of hypogonadism may be a challenge for many practicing physicians, including endocrinologists and urologists. Signs and symptoms, such as sexual dysfunction, change in body composition, lethargy, and mood changes, are nonspecific and the available questionnaires are generally not useful in clinical practice. The diagnosis of testosterone deficiency is ultimately based on measurement of serum testosterone levels. However, marked variations in the reference ranges of serum testosterone levels among laboratories pose a challenge for physicians when interpreting the results. In addition, initial laboratory assessments usually determine total testosterone levels. About 1–2% of total testosterone is free and a further 30–50% is bound with low affinity to albumin; only these two components are bioavailable to the target tissues. In general, assuming the normal reference range for serum total testosterone in adult men is 300–1000 ng/dl (10–35 nmol/l), levels of < 250 ng/dl (8.7 nmol/l) suggest the patient is likely to be hypogonadal, whereas levels of > 350 ng/dl (12.7 nmol/l) suggest the symptoms may not be due to androgen deficiency. Values between 250 to 350 ng/dl warrant a repeat morning serum testosterone determination with assessment of free or bioavailable testosterone. In men with symptoms suggestive of androgen deficiency and borderline serum testosterone levels, where there are no contraindications to androgen therapy, a short therapeutic trial of testosterone may be justified.     

Cigarette smoking and acne in adolescents: results from a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Previous studies on the association between smoking and acne have reported conflicting results. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between smoking and acne among school-going adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Smoking was defined as smoking > 3 cigarettes daily for 6 months or more. We defined acne as having > 20 retentional and/or inflammatory facial acne lesions. Multivariate (proportional) logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounding variables. RESULTS: Of the 594 participants, 36.2% had acne. Acne sufferers were less likely to smoke (18.1 vs. 23.7%, P = 0.10). In girls, smoking was significantly associated with lower prevalence of acne (adjusted OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.82). Smoking, daily cigarette consumption and duration of smoking appeared to be protective in the development of inflammatory acne in girls. No significant associations between acne and smoking variables were detected among boys. Limitations: although this study suggests a significant negative association between smoking and inflammatory acne in girls, it does not prove causality. This association did show a trend for linear relationship. Because of the unexpected differences between boys and girls, sample size may have affected our results. CONCLUSION: The anti-inflammatory effects of smoking may inhibit the development of papulopustular acne in girls more than in boys. However, smoking should not be considered a therapeutic option for acne. Additional studies that consider possible differences across age, gender and type of acne are needed to clarify the association between smoking and acne.     

高血胆固醇症病人体内铁贮水平与心肌灌注 左心室功能的相关研究

目的评价血清铁参数与高血胆固醇症(HCL)病人心肌灌注、室壁运动异常及血管造影显示的冠状动脉疾病(CAD)程度的相互关系.方法选择38名具有高血胆固醇症(LDL-C＞3.38mmol/L)从未治疗过的男性病人(平均年龄59±6岁)作为HCL组和32名年龄匹配而胆固醇水平正常(NCL)的男性为NCL组,进行冠状动脉造影并在10d内行SPECT检查,应用99mTc-甲氧基异丙基异氰(MIBI)进行静息/负荷门控断层心肌灌注显像、室壁运动功能图像分析;同时测定血清铁参数、血脂及常规血液学参数.结果在HCL组发现血清铁蛋白(SF)与心肌灌注系数(r=0.70,P＜0.01),可逆系数(r=0.66,P＜0.01)和室壁运动系数(r=0.53,P＜0.05)之间呈显著性相关;而总铁结合力与灌注系数之间呈一弱(负)相关(r=-0.52,P＜0.05).在NCL组铁参数与灌注系数及室壁运动系数之间无显著性相关.多元回归分析证实血清铁蛋白水平是决定HCL病人中心肌灌注的独立因素(β=0.55,P＞0.05).铁参数与两组通过冠状动脉造影(CAG)进行评分所定义的CAD程度无关.结论体内铁贮水平升高与HCL病人心肌灌注和功能异常的严重性和程度有着密切的关系,但与CAD的造影显示的病变范围无关.血清铁蛋白水平增高,可增加铁介导的氧化应力和LDL过氧化作用,导致HCL相关的血管内皮功能紊乱并进一步损伤心肌灌注和室壁运动功能.     

Cytokine production, activation marker, and skin homing receptor in children with atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma

T cells are known to develop a critical role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) and bronchial asthma. T cells involved in AD express the skin homing receptor CLA, but no lung homing receptor has been identified in bronchial asthma. We compared different cell markers and the cytokine production in T cells from children with AD or bronchial asthma. We studied the involvement of CLA+ and CLA- T-cell subpopulations in these diseases. We studied 20 children with acute AD lesions, 15 with mild persistent asthma, and 15 non-atopic controls. All patients were sensitized to house dust mite (DP) and evaluated during the acute phase. Total and specific IgE were measured by immunoassay and the expression of different cell markers and the cytokine production was analyzed by flow cytometry in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Total IgE was significantly higher in AD children and IgE to DP in the asthmatic children. There was a significant increase in CD25+ CD4+ cells in asthmatic children and in HLA-DR+ CD4+ and HLA-DR+ CD8+ cells in AD. In the CD4+ subsets, there was an increase in IL-13, IL-5 and TNF-alpha in AD compared to controls, a decrease in IFN-gamma in asthmatic children compared to controls, and an increase in IL-13, IL5, IL2, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma in the AD compared to asthmatic children. Changes in cytokine production were mainly detected in CLA+ cells in AD and in CLA- cells in asthma. Differences exist in total and specific IgE, activation markers, and cytokine patterns between AD children and children with asthma, with the former expressing a Th2 pattern whereas in asthmatic children we only detected a decrease in IFN-gamma. Moreover, the subpopulations (CLA+ vs. CLA-) expressing these changes were different, indicating that the underlying mechanisms in the two diseases are not exactly the same.     

Common human Toll-like receptor 9 polymorphisms and haplotypes: association with atopy and functional relevance

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is a pattern-recognition receptor that detects unmethylated CpG motifs prevalent in bacterial and viral DNA. TLR9 stimulation is a key event after bacterial infection, triggering innate immunity and T-helper type 1 skewed adaptive immunity. Synthetic CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) represent a promising and novel class of immune adjuvants for allergy treatment, vaccination, and cancer therapy. However, common functional TLR9 gene variants could interfere with the clinical utilization of CpG-ODN in immunotherapy. Recently, a possible association of TLR9 polymorphism C-1237T with asthma has been reported. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether TLR9 polymorphisms or haplotypes have functional relevance and are associated with atopy. METHODS: We genotyped five common TLR9 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in promoter, exon, and intron regions of the gene in 527 healthy blood donors, and estimated four common haplotypes. The total IgE and specific IgE levels against the most common aeroallergens were measured (n=303). IFN-alpha production by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) was analysed after stimulation with TLR9 ligand CpG-ODN (n=220). RESULTS: No significant influence of common TLR9 polymorphisms and haplotypes on the total and specific IgE levels was found. Functional analysis of CpG-ODN-induced IFN-alpha did not indicate a significant role for common TLR9 gene polymorphisms in TLR9 function. CONCLUSION: We conclude that common genetic differences in the TLR9 gene exert no major influence on allergy susceptibility, and are unlikely to have on impact on clinical application of CpG-ODNs.