Efficacy and Prognosis of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Acute Monocytic Leukemia Patients / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in the treatment of acute monocytic leukemia (AML-M5) and the related factors that affecting the prognosis of the patients.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 71 patients with AML-M5 treated with allo-HSCT in Zhujiang Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University from April 2009 to October 2019 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. The incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), cumulative overall survival (OS) rate, cumulative progression-free survival (PFS) rate, transplantation-related mortality (TRM), relapse rate and the risk factors affecting prognosis in the patients were analyzed.@*RESULTS@#66 patients obtained hematopoietic reconstruction after transplantation, the median time of granulocyte implantation was 12 (9-26) d, and the median time of megakaryocytic implantation was 13 (8-72) d. The incidence of acute GVHD and chronic GVHD was 33.8% (24/71) and 36.6% (26/71), respectively. The median follow-up time was 13.81 (0.16 to 112.54) months; the median OS and PFS was 31.27 and 26.07 months, respectively. The cumulative OS of the patients in 1 and 3 years after transplantation was 64.9% and 48.6%, respectively, and the cumulative PFS of the patients in 1 and 3 years was 55.0% and 39.5%, respectively. The cumulative relapse rate of the patients in 1 and 3 years was 24% and 40%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that pre-transplantation relapse was the independent risk factor affecting OS (HR=2.32, 95%CI:1.17-4.62, P=0.02) and PFS (HR=3.08, 95%CI:1.61-5.90, P=0.001) of the patients; invasive fungal disease after transplantation was the independent risk factor affecting OS (HR=2.71, 95% CI:1.32-5.56, P=0.007) and PFS (HR=2.87, 95%CI=1.40-5.86, P=0.004) of the patients; FLT3 mutation was the independent risk factor affecting PFS (HR=2.13, 95%CI=1.07-4.24, P=0.03) of the patients.@*CONCLUSION@#AML-M5 is the intermediate or high-risk leukemia, and allo-HSCT can improve the survival prognosis of the patients. Pre-transplantation relapse and invasive fungal disease after transplantation are the important factors affecting the efficacy of allo-HSCT in patients with AML-M5.

Advances in the research of inhibitors of enzymes of bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis / 药学学报

In recent years, owing to the abuse of antibiotics, the widespread of resistant bacterial strains became a serious threat to public health. This status demands development of new antibacterial agents with novel mechanisms of action. The reason for the limited new antibacterials is the small number of effective therapeutic targets, which cannot meet the current needs for the multiple drug-resistant treatment. Screening for new targets is the key step in the development of novel antibacterial agents. Peptidoglycan is the main component of the cell wall of bacteria, which is essential for survival of pathogenic bacteria. Within the biochemical pathway for peptidoglycan biosynthes is the Murligases, described in this review as highly potential targets for the development of new classes of antibacterial agents. This review provides an in-depth insight into the recent developments in the field of inhibitors of the Mur enzymes (MurA-F). Moreover, the reasons for the lack of candidate inhibitors and the challenges to overcome the hurdles are also discussed.

Expression of asparagine synthetase in relapsed or refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect the expression level of asparagine synthetase (ASNS) in patients with relapsed or refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma and explore its clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ten patients with relapsed or refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma admitted in our department from January, 2013 to January, 2016 were analyzed. The diagnoses were confirmed by pathological and immunohistochemical examination following failed chemotherapies in all cases. Branched DNA-liquidchip technique (bDNA-LCT) was used for detecting ASNS mRNA expression in paraffin-embedded tissue sections in the 10 cases of relapsed or refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma and in 5 cases of chronic rhinitis. The correlations were analyzed between ASNS expression and the clinicopathological features and outcomes of the patients with failed chemotherapy regimens containing asparaginasum.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Six out of the 10 patients with relapsed or refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma died due to diseaseprogression. The expression level of ASNS was significantly higher in the lymphoma tissues than in tissue specimens of chronic rhinitis (P<0.05). The expression level of ASNS was associated with the International Prognostic Index (P=0.023) in patients with relapsed or refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma, and Kaplan-Meier curve showed that a high ASNS expression was correlated with a reduced overall survival and progression-free survival of the patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Asparaginasum-based chemotherapy regimens are recommended for treatment of relapsed or refractory extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma with low ASNS expressions.</p>

Diagnostic value of 18F-FDG uptake by spleen in acute radiation disease / 解放军医学杂志

Objective To investigate whether 18F-FDG uptake can be applied in dosimetry to facilitate a rapid and accurate evaluation of individual radiation dosage after a nuclear accident. Methods Forty-eight Tibetan minipigs were randomly assigned into 6 groups, i.e., 0, 1, 2, 5, 8 and 11Gy groups. Animals in all except 0Gy group received total body irradiation (TBI) with a 8MV X centrifugal linear accelerator, and 18F-FDG combined positron-emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) were carried out before TBI, and also at 6, 24 and 72h after receiving TBI in different doses ranging from 1 to 11Gy. Spleen tissues and blood samples were collected for histological examination, apoptosis, and routine blood analysis. Results Mean standardized uptake values (SUVs) of the spleen showed significant differences between experimental groups and control group. The spleen SUVs at 6h post-irradiation showed significant correlation with radiation dose; Spearman's correlation coefficient was 0.95(P18F-FDG uptake of spleen. This finding suggests that 18F-FDG PET/CT may be useful for the rapid detection of individual radiation dosage after acute radiation disease (ARD).