First-in-class small molecule drugs in 2022 / 药学学报

2022 is the third year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and its troubles on new drug discovery are gradually apparent. 37 new drugs were approved by the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) last year, down from the peak of 50 new drug approvals in 2021. Notably, first-in-class drugs still occupy a dominant position this year, with a total of 21 drugs. Among them, 7 are first-in-class small molecule drugs. Although the total number of new drug approvals in 2022 sharply decreased, some first-in-class small molecule drugs were regarded as significant, including mitapivat, the first oral activator targeting the pyruvate kinase (PK); mavacamten, the first selective allosteric inhibitor targeting the myocardial β myosin ATPase; deucravacitinib, the first deuterated allosteric inhibitor targeting the tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); and lenacapavir, the first long-acting inhibitor targeting the HIV capsid. Generally, the research of first-in-class drugs needs to focus on difficult clinical problems and can treat some specific diseases through novel targets and biological mechanisms. There are tremendous challenges in the research processes of new drugs, including biological mechanism research, target selection, molecular screening, lead compound identification and druggability optimization. Therefore, the success of first-in-class drugs development has prominent guidance significance for new drug discovery. This review briefly describes the discovery background, research and development process and therapeutic application of 3 first-in-class small molecule drugs to provide research ideas and methods for more first-in-class drugs.

Design of small molecules targeting molecular chaperone system: review and perspective / 药学学报

Molecular chaperone system, which mainly consist of heat shock proteins family and their cochaperones, is crucial for maintaining proteostasis in life. It assists in folding, maturation and ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated degradation of proteins, thus to play a key role in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Functional disorder of molecular chaperone system is highly relevant to occurrence and development of multiple diseases including cancers, autoimmune disease/inflammatory, infective diseases, neurodegenerative disease, etc. Therefore, molecular chaperone system has long been regarded as potential drug targets. In this review, we outline the progress in the design of small molecules targeting molecular chaperone system and analyze the features of small molecules with different mechanisms. Finally, we put forward expects about potential development directions for future drug design in this field.

Prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia in hospitalized patients with lung malignant tumor / 中华临床营养杂志

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia (SAR) in hospitalized patients with lung malignant tumor and to identify the risk factors, so as to inform the nutritional management of lung malignant tumor patients.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. Adult patients admitted into the lung cancer ward of a Class A tertiary hospital in Beijing from December 2021 to March 2022 were screened for enrollment. Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS) 2002 was applied for eligible patients within 24 hours of admission. Medical history was obtained via questionnaire survey, laboratory test results prior to any intervention were extracted from Hospital Information System and muscle mass was measured using bio-impedance analysis. SAR was diagnosed according to the recommendation from Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) in 2019.Results:Among the enrolled 126 hospitalized patients with lung cancer, the prevalence of SAR was 19.8% (25/126). The prevalence was 19.6% in males and 21.4% in females, with no significant difference. Patients aged 65 years or above showed significantly higher SAR prevalence of 27.4% than those who were young or middle-aged (9.4%, P = 0.013). Older age (OR = 4.43, P = 0.048), lower BMI (OR = 0.644, P = 0.001), lower serum creatinine (OR = 0.931, P = 0.008), comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, OR = 13.748, P = 0.007) and comorbidity of coronary artery disease (OR = 13.748, P = 0.007) were risk factors for SAR in lung cancer patients. SAR risk was significantly increased in patients ≥ 65 years old and in those with COPD or coronary artery disease. Conclusions:Lung cancer patients showed high prevalence of SAR. For hospitalized patients with lung cancer, especially the elderly, a moderate BMI level and good management of comorbidities including COPD and coronary artery disease may help delay SAR development.

Identification of chemical constituents in Zhachong Shisanwei Pills by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS / 中国中药杂志

Zhachong Shisanwei Pills, composed of 13 Chinese medicinal materials, are used for treating the diseases such as hemiplegia, pain of muscles and bones, rheumatism, and joint pain. The chemical composition and pharmacodynamics of Zhachong Shisanwei Pills have not been reported. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) was employed to quickly identify the chemical components of Zhachong Shisanwei Pills, which was performed with Shim-pack GIST C_(18) column(4.6 mm×150 mm, 5 μm). The gradient elution was conducted with methanol-0.05% acetic acid as the mobile phase. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(ESI-MS) was carried out in both positive and negative ion modes. The compounds were identidied based on accurate relative molecular weight, fragment ion species, and the MS data of reference substances and in literature. In conclusion, a total of 98 compounds were identified, including 19 organic acids, 36 flavonoids, 13 volatile oils, 8 tannins, 5 2-(2-phenylethyl)chromones, 5 amino acids, 3 sesquiterpenoids, 3 alkaloids, and 2 other compounds. This study characte-rized the chemical components of Zhachong Shisanwei Pills rapidly for the first time, laying a foundation for further research on the pharmacodynamic material basis and quality evaluation.

The development of small-molecule inhibitors targeting MYC / 药学学报

The MYC gene, one of the most common dysregulated driver genes in human cancers, is composed of three paralogous genes C-MYC, N-MYC and L-MYC. It is abnormally activated in more than half of cancer types. Since MYC plays an important role in the formation, maintenance and progression of cancer, targeting MYC is an effective strategy for cancer treatment. As a potential anti-cancer target, MYC is considered "undruggable" because it lacks a suitable pocket for accommodating small molecule inhibitors. Recently, under the guidance of protein structure information and many computational tools, many indirect strategies to inhibit MYC have emerged and shown favorable anti-cancer effects in tumor models. In this paper, the recent small molecules that indirectly target MYC are divided into inhibitors acting on the protein-protein interaction (PPI) among MYC and other proteins, and targeting inhibitors regulating MYC action. Additionally, the introduction and assessment towards compounds with different mechanisms are summarized to provide reference for the further research of MYC inhibitors.

The SACT Template: A Human Brain Diffusion Tensor Template for School-age Children / 神经科学通报·英文版

School-age children are in a specific development stage corresponding to juvenility, when the white matter of the brain experiences ongoing maturation. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI), especially diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), is extensively used to characterize the maturation by assessing white matter properties in vivo. In the analysis of DWI data, spatial normalization is crucial for conducting inter-subject analyses or linking the individual space with the reference space. Using tensor-based registration with an appropriate diffusion tensor template presents high accuracy regarding spatial normalization. However, there is a lack of a standardized diffusion tensor template dedicated to school-age children with ongoing brain development. Here, we established the school-age children diffusion tensor (SACT) template by optimizing tensor reorientation on high-quality DTI data from a large sample of cognitively normal participants aged 6-12 years. With an age-balanced design, the SACT template represented the entire age range well by showing high similarity to the age-specific templates. Compared with the tensor template of adults, the SACT template revealed significantly higher spatial normalization accuracy and inter-subject coherence upon evaluation of subjects in two different datasets of school-age children. A practical application regarding the age associations with the normalized DTI-derived data was conducted to further compare the SACT template and the adult template. Although similar spatial patterns were found, the SACT template showed significant effects on the distributions of the statistical results, which may be related to the performance of spatial normalization. Looking forward, the SACT template could contribute to future studies of white matter development in both healthy and clinical populations. The SACT template is publicly available now ( https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/SACT_template/14071283 ).

Berberine exerts antidepressant-like effects via regulating miR-34a-synaptotagmin1/Bcl-2 axis / 中草药·英文版

Objective: Berberine, a cationic alkaloid first isolated in 1917, has been approved by the China Drug Administration for decades. Accumulating evidence demonstrated its antidepressant-like activities in vivo. Our previous study has shown that chronic stress leads to the upregulation of miR-34a in the hippocampus of mice. This study aims to evaluate the underlying miR-34a mediated mechanism of berberine in chronic stress-induced depression in mice. Methods: In the present study, mice were administered with berberine during chronic stress. Levels of miR-34a, dendritic density, mitochondrial morphology, and neurogenesis were assessed in the hippocampus. Subsequently, miR-34a agomir was used as a pharmacological intervention for the investigation of berberine. Results: The results showed that berberine reversed the decrease in sucrose preference and the increase in latency to feed without altering total food consumption. Furthermore, chronic stress-induced overexpression of miR-34a decreased synaptotagmin-1 and Bcl-2 levels, thereby impairing spinal morphology, mitochondria and neurogenesis. Berberine inhibited miR-34a expression, in turn restored synaptotagmin-1 and Bcl-2 levels, and thus improved spinal morphology, mitochondria and neurogenesis in the hippocampus. However, the improvements induced by berberine were totally blocked by the pretreatment of miR-34a agomir, which caused the elevation of miR-34a levels in the hippocampus. Conclusion: This finding demonstrated that miR-34a downregulation was involved in the antidepressant-like effects of berberine in mice exposed to chronic stress.

Mapping Domain- and Age-Specific Functional Brain Activity for Children’s Cognitive and Affective Development / 神经科学通报·英文版

The human brain undergoes rapid development during childhood, with significant improvement in a wide spectrum of cognitive and affective functions. Mapping domain- and age-specific brain activity patterns has important implications for characterizing the development of children’s cognitive and affective functions. The current mainstay of brain templates is primarily derived from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and thus is not ideal for mapping children’s cognitive and affective brain development. By integrating task-dependent functional MRI data from a large sample of 250 children (aged 7 to 12) across multiple domains and the latest easy-to-use and transparent preprocessing workflow, we here created a set of age-specific brain functional activity maps across four domains: attention, executive function, emotion, and risky decision-making. Moreover, we developed a toolbox named Developmental Brain Functional Activity maps across multiple domains that enables researchers to visualize and download domain- and age-specific brain activity maps for various needs. This toolbox and maps have been released on the Neuroimaging Informatics Tools and Resources Clearinghouse website (http://www.nitrc.org/projects/dbfa). Our study provides domain- and age-specific brain activity maps for future developmental neuroimaging studies in both healthy and clinical populations.

From rural practice to national strategy for colorectal cancer screening in China--Mr. Zheng Shu who is a pioneer and practitioner / 中华胃肠外科杂志

Haining City and Jiashan County in Zhejiang Province are the first areas to carry out colorectal cancer screening in China, which started in the early 1970s and has been going on for more than 40 years. Meanwhile, Haining and Jiashan have also become the first batch of National Demonstration Bases for Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer. In the past 40 years, owing to Professor Zheng Shu who is brave and innovative, with an indomitable spirit, as well as the unremitting efforts and active exploration of all the team members, colorectal cancer screening which was unknown by the public and implemented with difficulties, has gradually been widely accepted and benefited the population. Today, remarkable achievements have been fulfilled in the colorectal cancer screening of Haining and Jiashan which has become the pioneer power in promoting the progress of colorectal cancer prevention and control in China and has certain influence both on China and the world. Meanwhile, a set of colorectal cancer screening strategies suitable for China has been explored and further promoted to be used nationwide, which is of great significance to the prevention and control of colorectal cancer in China. Looking forward to the future, the prevention and control of colorectal cancer in China is still difficult. We will continue to give full play to our existing advantages, not forget our original intention, move forward, explore innovation, and create greater glories!

Evaluation of shoulder function after repairing head and neck defects with supraclavicular flap / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective: To evaluate the shoulder function in patients after repair of head and neck defects with supraclavicular flap. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 56 patients (54 males, 2 females, aged 35-74 years old) who received the repair of head and neck defects with supraclavicular flaps at Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University in January 2013-December 2020. The areas and types of flaps, disruption or infections of the incision at the donor sites and other postoperative complications were recorded. Quick disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (Quick-DASH) was used for evaluating the shoulder functions in 43 patients conforming to the standard for evaluation of the clinical functions of shoulders and upper limbs, to compare the postoperative upper limb functions between patients treated with clavicular flaps and patients with acromion flaps. Meanwhile, 30 patients who received bilateral neck lymph node dissection over the same period of time were selected for a comparative evaluation of the donor sides (observation group) and the opposite sides (control group). Data were processed with SPSS 22.0. Results: The areas of obtained supraclavicular flaps were (4-10) cm × (10-18) cm. Three patients (5%) showed the defect widths of 8-10 cm at the donor sites, which couldn't be sutured directly, received the repair of their shoulder defects with partial flaps. Defects in other patients were sutured directly. After surgery, 3 patients (5%) suffered from disruption of the acromion incision, which healed after 2 weeks of local dressing. The follow-up time was 6-43 (27±14) months. All patients expressed no dissatisfaction with the appearance. Among 43 patients, 28 (65%) were clavicular type and 15 (35%) were acromion type. The acromion type showed average motor ability and Quick-DASH scores higher than the clavicular type [(average motor ability: (14.4±4.7) vs. (11.8±3.1), t=2.105, P=0.048; Quick-DASH: (16.9±11.6) vs. (12.2±7.1), t=2.284, P=0.033]. Among 30 patients who received bilateral neck lymph node dissection over the same period of time, the observation group showed higher average motor ability, local symptoms and Quick-DASH scores than the control group [average motor ability: (13.4±5.8) vs. (9.8±4.2), t=3.024, P=0.004; average local symptoms: (4.1±1.0) vs. (3.4±1.0), t=2.537, P=0.014; Quick-DASH: (15.6±14.7) vs. (5.2±11.1), t=3.106, P=0.003]. Conclusion: Shoulder dysfunction exists after treatment with supraclavicular flap, which is related to the flap type.

Polymorphisms in TYMS for Prediction of Capecitabine-Induced Hand-Foot Syndrome in Chinese Patients with Colorectal Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Purpose@#Capecitabine is an extensively used oral prodrug of 5-fluorouracil in treatment of colon cancer and is known to cause hand-foot syndrome (HFS). As the target enzyme for capecitabine, thymidylate synthase (TYMS) plays a key role for 5-fluorouracil metabolism and has been associated with some side effects caused by capecitabine. The aim of our study is to identify the possible genetic predictors of capecitabine-induced HFS (CAP-HFS) in Chinese colorectal cancer patients. @*Materials and Methods@#Whole exons of TYMS were sequenced for 288 extreme phenotype HFS patients, including 144 severe or early-onset (first 2 cycles) moderate HFS extreme cases and 144 extreme controls with no reported HFS. The associations between polymorphisms and CAP-HFS were analyzed using logistic regression under an additive model. @*Results@#We identified a novel risk mutation (c.1A>G, chr18:657743), was associated with severe HFS in an extreme case who was affected during the first cycle of treatment. Moreover, we identified three new variants, rs3786362, rs699517, rs2790, and two previously reported variants, 5’VNTR 2R/3R and 3′-untranslated region 6-bp ins-del, which were significantly associated with CAP-HFS (p < 0.05). In silico analysis revealed that the effect of these polymorphisms in the TYMS region on the development of HFS might not be restricted solely to the regulation of TYMS expression, but also the TYMS catalytic activity through the indirect effect on ENOSF1 expression. @*Conclusion@#This study identified new polymorphisms in TYMS gene significantly associated with CAP-HFS, which may serve as useful genetic predictors for CAP-HFS and help to elucidate the underlying mechanism of HFS.

Biopharmaceutical classification and transport mechanism of 4 alkaloids in Mongolian herbal medicine Sophorae Flavescentis Radix / 中国中药杂志

In this study, we studied the solubility and permeability of matrine, oxymatrine, sophoridine, and oxysophocarpine, four alkaloids in the Mongolian herbal medicine Sophorae Flavescentis Radix, and evaluated the absorption mechanism with the Caco-2 cell model, so as to provide a basis for the new drug development and efficacy evaluation of Sophorae Flavescentis Radix. The results showed that all the four alkaloids had high solubility and high permeability and can be well absorbed, belonging to the class-I drugs of Biopharmaceutical Classification System(BCS). The absorption(AP→BL) and excretion(BL→AP) of matrine and oxymatrine were not affected by the concentration while the absorption depended on P-gp protein. The absorption(AP→BL) and excretion(BL→AP) of sophoridine and oxysophocarpine were positively related to the concentration and time, and the absorption process was independent from P-gp protein. The results provide scientific reference and an experimental basis for the development of Mongolian medical prescriptions containing Sophorae Flavescentis Radix.

First-in-class small molecule drugs in 2020 / 药学学报

With the development of the research on innovative drugs in our country, first-in-class drugs are becoming a main goal for both pharmaceutical companies and scientific institutions. Discovery of first-in-class drugs require amounts of basic research, a massive investment and novel methods, acting as a beacon for the new drug development. In 2020, FDA totally approved 53 novel drugs with 38 small molecules, which still accounting for a major component. Among them, many first-in-class drugs are important including a first EZH2 inhibitor (tazemetostat) for the treatment of epithelioid sarcoma, a first attachment inhibitor (fostemsavir) with novel mechanism for the treatment of HIV, a first farnesyltransferase inhibitor (lonafarnib) for the treatment of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) and a first MC4 receptor agonist for the treatment of rare genetic diseases of obesity, etc. The research procedures of the above drugs are representative with new ideas. In this review, we outline 3 of the first-in-class drugs to discuss the research background, discovery and development process as well as the therapeutic potentials to provide methods and ideas for the further drug development.

Investigation of the metabolites of five major constituents from Berberis amurensis in normal and pseudo germ-free rats / 中国天然药物

Berberis amurensis (Berberidaceae) is a traditional Chinese medicine, which is often used to treat hypertension, inflammation, dysentery and enteritis. It contains alkaloids, mainly including berberine, berbamine, magnoflorine, jatrorrhizine and palmatine. Berberis amurensis extracts (BAEs) is often orally taken. Oral herbs might be metabolized by intestinal bacteria in the small intestine. However, the interaction between the herb and the gut microbiota is still unknown. In the current study, UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with Metabolitepilot and Peakview software was used to identify the metabolites of BAEs in anti-biotic cocktail induced pseudo germ-free rats and normal rats. As a result, a total of 46 metabolites in normal rats were detected and its main metabolic pathways include demethylation, dehydrogenation, methylation, hydroxylation, sulfation and glucuronidation. Only 29 metabolites existed in pseudo germ-free rats. Dehydrogenated metabolites (M29, M30, M34 and M36), methylated metabolites (M33, M41 and M46) and other metabolites were not detected in pseudo germ-free rats. The result implied that the intestinal bacteria have an influence on the metabolism of BAEs. Furthermore, this investigation might contribute to the understanding of the metabolism of BAEs, and further promote its clinical application.

Traditional use of Paris polyphylla and its active components / 中国中药杂志

This paper reviewed the traditional use of Paris polyphylla and its active components, aiming to provide reference for the development and utilization of this plant. It was found that P. polyphylla has been used as a medicinal plant by eight ethnic minorities. A total of 62 experiential effective recipes, including 29 simple recipes and 33 compound recipes, were analyzed for their indications, traditional processing methods, medicinal compatibilities, and administration doses. The top three in the eight ethnic minorities sorted by the quantity of folk recipes were the Yi nationality(18), Naxi nationality(13) and Bai nationality(12). P. polyphylla has been widely employed for the treatment of nine categories of diseases, especially the dermatologic diseases, trauma, and toxicosis currently. The collating of material basis for its traditional functions revealed 26 active components, among which 19 were steroidal saponins capable of resisting cancer, furuncles, carbuncles, abscesses, bacteria, inflammation and stopping bleeding. This study preliminarily proved the efficacy of P. polyphylla in treating cancer and respiratory system, digestive system, and genitourinary system diseases, which has provided clues for related basic research of P. polyphylla and development of new preparations.

Polymorphisms in TYMS for Prediction of Capecitabine-Induced Hand-Foot Syndrome in Chinese Patients with Colorectal Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Purpose@#Capecitabine is an extensively used oral prodrug of 5-fluorouracil in treatment of colon cancer and is known to cause hand-foot syndrome (HFS). As the target enzyme for capecitabine, thymidylate synthase (TYMS) plays a key role for 5-fluorouracil metabolism and has been associated with some side effects caused by capecitabine. The aim of our study is to identify the possible genetic predictors of capecitabine-induced HFS (CAP-HFS) in Chinese colorectal cancer patients. @*Materials and Methods@#Whole exons of TYMS were sequenced for 288 extreme phenotype HFS patients, including 144 severe or early-onset (first 2 cycles) moderate HFS extreme cases and 144 extreme controls with no reported HFS. The associations between polymorphisms and CAP-HFS were analyzed using logistic regression under an additive model. @*Results@#We identified a novel risk mutation (c.1A>G, chr18:657743), was associated with severe HFS in an extreme case who was affected during the first cycle of treatment. Moreover, we identified three new variants, rs3786362, rs699517, rs2790, and two previously reported variants, 5’VNTR 2R/3R and 3′-untranslated region 6-bp ins-del, which were significantly associated with CAP-HFS (p < 0.05). In silico analysis revealed that the effect of these polymorphisms in the TYMS region on the development of HFS might not be restricted solely to the regulation of TYMS expression, but also the TYMS catalytic activity through the indirect effect on ENOSF1 expression. @*Conclusion@#This study identified new polymorphisms in TYMS gene significantly associated with CAP-HFS, which may serve as useful genetic predictors for CAP-HFS and help to elucidate the underlying mechanism of HFS.

Differences of Energy Spectrum CT Findings between Small Cell Lung Cancer with Mediastinal Lymph Node Metastasis and Mediastinal Sarcoidosis / 中国医学科学院学报

Objective To compare the differences of energy spectrum CT between small cell lung cancer(SCLC)with mediastinal lymph node metastasis and mediastinal sarcoidosis.Methods Twenty-five SCLC patients with mediastinal lymph node metastasis(SCLC group)and 26 patients with mediastinal sarcoidosis(sarcoidosis group)confirmed by bronchoscopy and biopsy in Tangshan People's Hospital from January 2018 to June 2019 were selected as the research objects.The CT value,iodine concentration,water concentration and energy spectrum curve slope under different single energy levels were compared between SCLC group and sarcoidosis group.Results The single-energy CT values of 40-80 keV segments in the arterial phase of the SCLC group were significantly higher than those in the sarcoidosis group(all P 0.05).The single-energy CT values of 40-90 keV segments in venous phase of the SCLC group were significantly higher than those of the sarcoidosis group(all P 0.05).The concentrations of iodine in the arterial phase and venous phase of the SCLC group were(11.56±4.06)μg/cm

Prevalence and risk factors of Blastocystis infections among primary school students in Jiangjin District, Chongqing City / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of Blastocystis infections among primary school students in Jiangjin District, Chongqing City. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among students sampled from a primary school in Jiangjin District, Chongqing City on April, 2018, and their stool samples were collected for microscopic examinations, in vitro culture and PCR assays to analyze the prevalence of Blastocystis infections and subtype of the parasite. In addition, the risk factors of Blastocystis infections among primary school students were identified using univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results A total of 466 primary students were surveyed, and the subjects had a mean age of (9.81±1.66) years and included 236 males (50.64%) and 230 females (49.36%). The prevalence of Blastocystis infections was 15.24% (71/466) among the study students, and there was no significance difference in the prevalence between male and fe- male students (16.52% vs. 13.91%; χ2 = 0.616, P = 0.433). In addition, there was a significant difference in the prevalence of Blastocystis infections among grade 1 (6.35%, 4/63), grade 2 (5.17%, 3/58), grade 3 (21.74%, 15/69), grade 4 (25.30%, 21/83), grade 5 (10.19%, 11/108) and grade 6 students (20.00%, 17/85) (χ2 = 15.410, P = 0.009). There were four Blastocystis subtypes characterized (ST1, ST3, ST6 and ST7), in which ST6 was the most common subtype (45.07%, 32/71), followed by ST3 (25.35%, 18/71). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that minority ethnicity [odds ratio (OR) = 4.259, 95% confidential inter- val (CI) : (1.161, 15.621)] and low maternal education level (primary school and below) [OR = 9.038, 95% CI: (1.125, 72.642)] were identified as risk factors of Blastocystis infection among primary school students in Jiangjin District, Chongqing City. Conclusions There is a high prevalence of Blastocystis infections detected among primary school students in Jiangjin District, Chongqing City, and ST6 and ST3 are predominant subtypes. Minority ethnicity and low maternal education level (primary school and below) are risk factors for Blastocystis infections in primary school students.

Research Advance on the Immune Escape of Acute Myeloid Leukemia--Review / 中国实验血液学杂志

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a kind of malignant hematological disease with high mortality. Patients 5-year survival rate is less than 25% and that of elderly patients is lower than 10%. Although the standardized chemotherapy or hematopoetic stem cell transplantation can significantly improve the therapeutic efficacy for AML, but disease recurrence is still a difficult problem in most patients. Chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy has been regarded as the most promising treatment for AML in recent years, but immunotherapy is prone to immune escape, which has become an important factor affecting the therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of immune escape of AML and taking corresponding measures in time to improve the therapeutic effect and reduce the recurrence of AML are of great significance. In this review, the important cells that cause immune escape, such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), natural killer cells (NK), and cell surface inhibitory receptor PD-1 (programmed death 1), which mediate immune escape of AML cells are summarized, so as to provide valuable reference for research to improve the effect of AML immunotherapy.

Different Energy Spectrum CT Findings between Anterior Mediastinal Lymphoma and Thymic Carcinoma / 中国医学科学院学报

To investigate the differences in energy spectrum CT findings between anterior mediastinal lymphoma and thymic carcinoma. Twenty-two cases of anterior mediastinal lymphoma and 28 cases of thymic carcinoma confirmed by biopsy in Tangshan People's Hospital were selected.The CT values and changes of iodine content and water content in lesion sites were measured by energy spectrum analysis software.The differences between anterior mediastinal lymphoma and thymic carcinoma were compared. The single-energy CT value of 40-80 keV in thymus carcinoma was higher than that in anterior mediastinal lymphoma(=0.001,=0.037,=0.042,=0.034,=0.002;=0.016,=0.013,=0.018,=0.024,=0.012).The difference in the single-energy CT value of 90-110 keV between anterior mediastinal lymphoma and thymic carcinoma showed no statistical significance(all >0.05).The concentrations of water in the arterial and venous stages of thymic carcinoma were significantly lower than those in the anterior mediastinal lymphoma(=0.030,=0.037),whereas the iodine concentrations were significantly higher(=0.026,=0.000). Anterior mediastinal lymphoma and thymic carcinoma have remarkably different 40-80 keV single energy CT value and iodine concentration in arterial and venous phases,which may be helpful for the differential diagnosis of these two malignancies.