Changes and significance of type 2 innate lymphoid cells and their related factors in bronchopulmonary dysplasia / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate the changes and significance of type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), interleukin-33 (IL-33), interleukin-25 (IL-25), thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin-5 (IL-5), and interleukin-13 (IL-13) in peripheral blood of preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).@*METHODS@#A total of 76 preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 weeks and a length of hospital stay of ≥14 days who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University from September 2020 to December 2021 were enrolled. According to the diagnostic criteria for BPD, they were divided into a BPD group with 30 infants and a non-BPD group with 46 infants. The two groups were compared in terms of the percentage of ILC2 and the levels of IL-33, IL-25, TSLP, IL-5, and IL-13 in peripheral blood on days 1, 7, and 14 after birth.@*RESULTS@#The BPD group had significantly lower birth weight and gestational age than the non-BPD group (P<0.05). On days 7 and 14 after birth, the BPD group had significantly higher levels of ILC2, IL-33, TSLP, and IL-5 than the non-BPD group (P<0.05), and these indices had an area under the curve of >0.7 in predicting the devolpment of BPD (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for gestational age and birth weight, peripheral blood IL-33, TSLP and IL-5 on days 7 and 14 after birth were closely related to the devolpment of BPD (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Early innate immune activation and upregulated expression of related factors may be observed in preterm infants with BPD. ILC2, IL-33, TSLP, and IL-5 may be used as biological indicators for early diagnosis of BPD.

Effects of heavy metals on the viability of A549 cells

Heavy metals, such as Cd and Pb, are present in the particulate matter (PM) suspended in ambient air. Once internalized, they often accumulate in the human body and cannot be metabolized for long periods. Most previous studies on Cd and Pb metabolism used high concentrations of these heavy metals. In this study, we analysed the effects of low concentrations of Cd or Pb (similar to their concentrations in the PM) on the viability of lung epithelial cells and the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors, IL-6 and IL-8. A549 cells were cultured in the presence of Cd and Pb at 1 µg/L and 1 mg/L for 0, 4, 12, and 24 h and analysed using WST-8 and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays and ELISA. Our results revealed that Cd and Pb induced comparable cytotoxicity and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and IL-8, in a time-dependent manner, even at low concentrations. Altogether, our results suggest that heavy metals present in PM can cause chronic long-term effects on human lungs.

Mixed amanita phalloides poisoning with rhabdomyolysis: analysis of 4 cases / 南方医科大学学报

We report the clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes of 4 rare cases of mixed amanita fuliginea and amanita rimosa poisoning with rhabdomyolysis, and review the research progress in the intoxication mechanism and treatment. The latent time of amanita poisoning, defined as the period from the ingestion of poisonous mushroom to the onset of gastrointestinal symptoms, was about 8 days, and the severity of poisoning was associated with the amount of mushroom ingested. All the 4 patients developed multiple organ dysfunctions within 3 to 4 days after mushroom ingestion, predominantly in the liver, kidney and central nervous system accompanied with acute gastrointestinal injury and rhabdomyolysis. The treatment measures included persistent hemofiltration and intermittent hemoperfusion once daily for 5-7 days, and plasma exchange was administered in 2 cases for 1 or 2 times. High-dose vitamin C, glucose and corticosteroid were also given to the patients. After the treatments, two patients were cured and the other two died due to an excess intake of poisonous mushroom and lack of early preemptive therapies. Early emetic, gastric lavage, catharsis, fluid infusion and diuresis are critical to interrupt the enterohepatic circulation of amanita phalloides toxins and prevent the development of multiple organ dysfunction. Enhanced hemofiltration and sequential plasma therapy might effectively eliminate toxin from the blood to protect against further organ damages.