ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the expression of promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) in human peripheral blood with asthma and its clinical significance.Methods:Forty patients with stable asthma from May 2021 to October 2021 in the Department of Respiratory Medicine of the Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital were enrolled, and forty healthy controls were recruited in the study. The levels of cytokines in serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the expression of PLZF mRNA in plasma. The level and distribution of PLZF+ cells in PBMCs were detected by flow cytometry after isolating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ 2 test, ROC curve and Logistic regression were used to analyze the results with SPSS 26.0 and Graphpad Prism 7.0. A P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:The levels of cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, TNF-α and IL-17 in human peripheral blood from the asthma group were obviously higher than those in the control group ( P<0.05), whereas there was no significant difference in the level of cytokine IL-10 between the two groups. The level of PLZF mRNA in PBMCs from the asthma group was significantly up-regulated compared to that in the control group [(3.40%±2.52%) vs. (1.23%±0.78%), P<0.05]. CD8+PLZF+ and Vβ11+PLZF+T cells in the asthma group were significantly outnumbered than those in the control group ( P<0.05). Logistic regression and ROC curve analysis showed that PLZF expression in PBMC was a risk factor for the development of asthma ( OR =3.67, AUC=0.87, P<0.05). Conclusions:The high expression of PLZF in peripheral blood may play an important role in the development of asthma, which needs to be further confirmed by large sample studies.
ABSTRACT
There has been increasing interest in research and development of nanocrystals for the delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs that can be directly produced from solution. Compared with traditional carrier-based or encapsulation designs, drug nanocrystals circumvent possible side-effects due to carrier polymers and poor stability issues associated with encapsulation. The production of carrier-free nanocrystals requires careful control of nucleation and thus a thorough understanding of the relevant solution's metastable zone. A solution may stay supersaturated without forming any nuclei and become metastable. The maximal degree of supersaturation is known as the metastable zone width. When nucleation is triggered directly from the metastable zone, it helps to produce homogeneous nuclei leading to uniform nanocrystals. Herein, we report a study in which the solubility and metastable limit of paclitaxel (PTX) in ethanol aqueous solution were measured at 40 °C. A wide range of metastable compositions were studied to prepare carrier-free PTX nanocrystals with particle size smaller than 250 nm and PDI less than 0.25. Compared with the raw material, dissolution rate of PTX nanocrystals was significantly increased. The study enables production of high-quality drug nanocrystals for treating patients.