In vitro-activated tumor-bearing host T cells and the effectiveness of tumor vaccine immunotherapy

Vaccination during periods of lymphopenia may facilitate immune responses to weak self-antigens and enhance antitumor immunity. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of tumor vaccine immunotherapy combined with immune reconstruction using tumor-bearing host immune cells in lymphopenia, and to investigate the role of tumor-bearing host T cells activated in vitro during immunotherapy. Animal study conducted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2009 to January 2010. Lymphopenia was induced by cyclophosphamide. A reconstituted immune system with different syngeneic lymphocytes was employed, including lymphocytes from naive rats [unsensitized group], tumor-bearing rats [tumor-bearing group], and tumor-bearing rats activated in vitro [activated group]. All rats were immunized with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF]-modified NuTu-19 ovarian cancer [GM-CSF/NuTu-19] cells. Tumor vaccine-draining lymph nodes [TVDLNs] were harvested, and then stimulated to induce effector T cells [T[E]]. T[E] were then adoptively transferred to rats bearing a 3-day pre-established abdominal tumor [NuTu-19], and the survival rate was calculated. Compared with the unsensitized group, the levels of interleukin-2 [IL-2] were significantly lower in the tumor-bearing group, whereas that of IL-4 were significantly higher [P<.05]. The number of CD4+T cells secreting interferon-gamma and the specific cytotoxicity of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes were significantly lower [P<.05]. The survival was significantly higher in the activated group compared with the other groups. Lymphocytes from tumor-bearing rats activated in vitro can effectively reverse the immunosuppressive effects of tumor-bearing hosts

Effect of integrative Chinese and Western medicine in treating pregnant women with intrahepatic cholestasis / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the therapeutic effect of compound salvia injection combined with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in treating pregnant women with intrahepatic cholestasis (ICP) and its influence on perinatal babies.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twenty-eight patients of ICP were assigned to two groups. The 72 patients in the treatment group were treated with salvia injection (20 mL in 10% glucose 500 mL for intravenous dripping once a day) and UDCA (15 mg, thrice daily by oral taken), and the 56 patients in the control group were treated with UDCA alone, all were treated for 14 days. Changes of itching symptom (estimated by scoring) and serum levels of biochemical indexes, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), bilirubin (TBil) and glycocholic acid (GCA), were determined before and after treatment, and conditions of the newborns were compared after delivery.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with before treatment, scores of itching were lowered from 3.6 scores to 1.4 scores in the treatment group, and from 3.4 scores to 1.6 scores in the control group, showing no significant difference between groups (P > 0.05), but the lowering was shown earlier in the former. Levels of biochemical indexes were improved significantly (P < 0.01) in both groups, but the improvements were more significant in the treatment group, the difference between groups was significant (P < 0.05). The difference between groups in the incidence of fetal distress, meconium-stained fluid and neonatal asphyxia were insignificant (P > 0.05). The birth weights of the newborns were higher in the treatment group than in the control group (3,108 +/- 236 g vs 2,681 +/- 269 g, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The combined therapy of compound salvia injection and UDCA shows better effect in treating ICP than that of UDCA alone.</p>