Clinical value of growth differentiation factor-15 on myocardial injury in pediatric critical illness / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To study the clinical value of growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) in judgment of the degree of myocardial injury in children with critical illness.Methods Fifty cases of children [pediatric critical illness score (PCIS) ≤ 80] without primary cardiac disease in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of Changzhou Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University were selected after hospitalization,and 20 healthy children were taken as normal control group (n =20).The level of GDF-15 in peripheral blood serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and biochemical indicators like troponin I (cTnI),creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) and so on were recorded.Fifty cases of critically ill children were divided into myocardial injury group (n =23),and without myocardial injury group(n =27),according to the myocardial injury standard which was cTnI ＞ 0.2 μg/L.The relationship between the level of GDF-15 and myocardial injury in critically ill children was observed,and the correlation analysis of GDF-15 and cTnI was performed.Results 1.The rate of the myocardial injury in critically ill children was 46％ (23/50 cases).2.Compared with the without myocardial injury group [25.93％ (7/27 cases)] and the normal control group [5.00％ (1/20 cases)],GDF-15 positive rate in myocardial injury group [60.87％ (14/23 cases)] was significantly higher,and there were significant differences (P =0.027,0.000) ; there was no significant difference between the without myocardial injury group and the normal control group (P =0.056).3.The levels of GDF-15 had significant difference between myocardial injury group and the without myocardial injury group (P =0.000).4.GDF-15 was positively correlated with cTnI (r =0.9704,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The level of GDF-15 with myocardial injury in critically ill children is higher than that of without myocardial injury children.GDF-15 and cTnI have an important value in judging the degree of myocardial injury of critically ill children.

Protective effect of rosiglitazone against hyperoxia-induced lung injury in neonatal rats / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the protective effects of PPAR gamma ligand rosiglitazone (RGZ) against hyperoxia-induced lung injury in neonatal rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety-six neonatal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into three groups: control (room air exposure), hyperoxia (85%-90% oxygen exposure) and RGZ treatment [85%-90% oxygen exposure plus RGZ solution injection (2 mg/kg, once daily)］. Rats were sacrificed at 1, 3, 7 and 14 days after exposure. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to evaluate histological changes in lung tissues. The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and leucocyte count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No pathological changes were found in the control group at any time point after exposure. Alveolar epithelial cell swelling, interstitial edema and massive infiltration of inflammatory cells were found in the hyperoxia group 3 days after exposure. At 14 days after exposure, the number of pulmonary alveoli was reduced, alveolus interstitium had thickened and organizational structure had become disordered in the hyperoxia group. The RGZ treatment alleviated significantly the hyperoxia induced alterations in lung pathology. Radial alveoli count (RAC) decreased significantly in the hyperoxia group compared with the control group from 3 days through to 14 days after exposure (P<0.05). The RGZ treatment group showed significantly increased RAC compared with the hyperoxia group at 3, 7 and 14 days after exposure (P<0.05). MDA content and leucocyte count in BALF increased significantly in the hyperoxia group 3 days after exposure (P<0.05), reached a peak 7 days after exposure (P<0.01) and remained higher 14 days after exposure (P<0.05) compared with the control group. The RGZ treatment group significantly decreased MDA content and leucocyte count compared with the hyperoxia group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Hyperoxia may cause acute and chronic pulmonary injuries in neonatal rats, characterized by acute inflammatory reactions and decreased alveolus in lungs. RGZ may have protective effects against hyperoxia induced lung injury.</p>

Value of neutrophil CD64 in the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in children / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinical value of the expression of neutrophil surface CD64 in the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety-eight children with community acquired pneumonia were recruited into the study and were classified into three groups according to pathogene: bacterial pneumonia (n=48), viral pneumonia (n=29) and Mycoplasmal pneumonia (n=21). Twenty healthy children were enrolled as controls. The bacterial infection group was subdivided into mild infection (n=36) and severe infection groups (n=12). The levels of peripheral blood neutrophil CD64 were measured using flow cytometry. Dynamic changes of C-reactive protein were also detected for each patient.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The CD64 index and CRP levels in the bacterial pneumonia group were significantly higher than in the other three groups (P<0.05). The CD64 index in the severe bacterial infection group was significantly higher than in the mild group (P<0.05). After antibiotic treatment, expression of CD64 in the severe bacterial infection group decreased significantly (P<0.05). The CD64 index was positively correlated with CRP value (r=0.545, P<0.01). ROC curve analysis showed that the threshold of CD64 and CRP was 2.8 and 8 mg/L respectively. Specificity of CD64 index (90%) was much higher than CRP (74%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The determination of peripheral blood neutrophil CD64 contributes to the early diagnosis of pulmonary bacterial infection and the evaluation of anti-infection effect.</p>

Apoptosis induction and phosphorylated protein kinase C epsilon expression in 32D cells by sera from patients with aplastic anemia / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of phosphorylated protein kinase C epsilon (pPKC epsilon) on apoptosis of 32D cells induced by sera from patients with aplastic anemia (AA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of pPKC epsilon and apoptosis in 32D cells were measured by Western blotting and flow cytometry after incubation with sera from healthy individuals (controls, n = 8), patients with severe AA ( SAA, n = 8)and non severe AA (NSAA, n = 6).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After incubation for 0, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours in the presence of serum and for another 4 hours in medium deprived of serum, the levels of pPKC epsilon in cells in SAA and NSAA group increased gradually, peaked at 24 hours, and then declined (P < 0.05). Compared with that in control group (0.54 +/- 0.08), pPKC epsilon was overexpressed in both SAA group (0.90 +/- 0.10) and NSAA group (0.64 +/- 0.08) (P < 0.05) after 24 hours incubation with serum and subsequent 4 hours without serum. pPKC epsilon level was higher in SAA group than in NSAA group (P < 0.05). A greater proportion of 32D cells showed apoptosis after 24 hours incubation with sera from SAA patients [(4.05 +/- 1.05)%] and subsequent 4 hours incubation without serum than that in controls [(2.45 +/- 0.51)%, P < 0.05], which was correlated with the same serum-induced expression of pPKC epsilon (r = 0.869, P < 0.05). Although the mean level of pPKC epsilon expression was higher in NSAA group than in control group, no significant difference of apoptosis was found between the two groups [(2.45 +/- 0.51)% vs (3.24 +/- 0.56)%, P > 0.05].</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Sera from both SAA and NSAA patients could upregulate the expression of pPKC epsilon in 32D cells. The SAA sera induce apoptosis in 32D cells significantly, but the latter do not.</p>

Measurement of B-lymphocyte stimulator mRNA expression in children with infectious mononucleosis by real-time fluorescence quantitative method / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>B cell multiplication plays a key role in infections mononucleosis. The present study was designed to detect the expression of B-lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) mRNA in peripheral blood using real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RFQ-PCR) in children with infectious mononucleosis in order to explore the role of BLys in this disorder.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Specific primers and TaqMan probes of BLyS were designed, and fluorescence of the PCR products were detected continuously during amplification. According to the standard curves created by plasmid DNA, the expression level of target genes in clinical samples were calculated using Stata Software version 8.0, and the results were presented as the ratio of copies of target gene mRNA to beta2 microglobulin (beta2M) mRNA copies. BLyS mRNA expression in peripheral blood was measured by RFQ-PCR in 18 children with infectious mononucleosis and the results were compared with those measured in 15 healthy controls.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The range of target gene mRNA detected by REQ-PCR was from 109 ng/L to 101 ng/L. The coefficient of variation for intra-experimental and inter-experimental reproducibility ranged from 1.88% to 5.89% and 6.32% to 12.34%, respectively. BLyS mRNA expression in peripheral blood in children with infectious mononucleosis were significantly higher than that in controls (1.65+/-0.10 vs 0.56+/-0.08; P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>RFQ-PCR has a high sensitivity and reproducibility for the measurement of BLyS mRNA expression. BLyS may be involved in the development of infectious mononucleosis.</p>

Measurement of Expression Level of a Proliferation-Inducing Ligand and Its Receptors in Children with Non-Hodgkin′s Lymphoma / 实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To establish real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RFQ-PCR) for measurement of the expression level of a proliferation-inducing ligand(APRIL)and its receptors in children with non-Hodgkin′s lymphoma(NHL).Met-hods Specific primers and TaqMan probes of APRIL and its receptors had been designed,and fluorescence of the PCR products were detected continuously during amplification.According to the standard curves created by plasmid DNA,the expression level of target genes in clinical samples had been determined using software,and these results were presented as the ratios of target genes′ mRNA to ?2 microg-luobulin(?2M)′s mRNA.Results The detection range of RFQ-PCR was between 101-109 ng/L,the coefficient of variation values for both intra-experimental and inter-experimental reproducibility ranged from 1.68% to 5.97% and 6.40% to 10.58%,respectively.The results from 22 samples showed that the expression level of APRIL,B cell maturation antigen(BCMA) and transmembrane activator and calcium modulator and cyclophilin ligand(TACI) in peripheral blood of NHL were significantly higher than those in normal children(P

Bone marrow angiogenesis in aplastic anemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

The objective of this study was to investigate the status of bone marrow angiogenesis in aplastic anemia (AA). Bone marrow specimens from 32 patients with AA and 16 normal controls were studied. The number of bone marrow microvessels was examined by means of immunohistochemical staining for CD34. Determination of microvessel density (MVD) and angiogenesis grading were done in a blinded manner. The results showed that the bone marrow MVD in patients with AA was significantly lower than that in healthy subjects (P < 0.01). MVD in patients with severe and moderate AA was lower than that in control group, respectively (P < 0. 01). There is significant MVD difference between severe AA and moderate AA (P < 0.05). Angiogenesis grade and MVD in AA were positively correlated (r = 0.64, P < 0.01). It is concluded that bone marrow angiogenesis in AA patients is lower than that in normal controls. Defect of angiogenesis in bone marrow may play a role resulting in or aggravating hematopoietic aplasia in patients with AA.

Relationship between Plasma Brain Natriuretic Peptide,Endothelin-1 and Left Ventricular End Diastolic Vo-lume Index,Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Children with Heart Failure / 实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To explore the relationship between plasma brain natriuretic peptide(BNP),endothelin-1(ET-1)and left ventricular end diastolic volume index(LVEDVI),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)in children with heart failure and their clinical significance.Methods Forty-one children with heart disease were divided into Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ groups according to New York Heart Assciation(NYHA)heart functional class.Plasma BNP and ET-1 concentration were determined before and after treatment.All patients had echocardiographic study,including measurement of LVEDVI and LVEF.The relationship between plasma BNP,ET-1 and LVEDVI,LVEF were studied.Twenty healthy children were included in healthy control group,plasma BNP and ET-1 concentration were also determined.Results 1.Plasma BNP and ET-1 concentration in children with heart failure were significantly higher than those of healthy control group,and increased with the degree of heart failure.2.Plasma BNP and ET-1 concentration in children with heart failure were positively correlated with NYHA heart functional class(r=0.70,0.61 Pa