Increased Expression of miR-146a in Children With Allergic Rhinitis After Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy

PURPOSE: MicroRNAs (miRs) were recently recognized to be important for immune cell differentiation and immune regulation. However, whether miRs were involved in allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) remains largely unknown. This study sought to examine changes in miR-146a and T regulatory cells in children with persistent allergic rhinitis (AR) after 3 months of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). METHODS: Twenty-four HDM-sensitized children with persistent AR were enrolled and treated with SCIT (n=13) or SLIT (n=11) for 3 months. Relative miR-146a and Foxp3 mRNA expression, the TRAF6 protein level, and the ratio of post-treatment to baseline IL-10+CD4+ T cells between the SCIT and SLIT groups were examined in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of AR patients using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), flow cytometry, and Western blot analysis, respectively. Serum levels of IL-5 and IL-10 were determined using ELISA. RESULTS: After 3 months of SIT, both the TNSS and INSS scores were significantly decreased compared to the baseline value (P<0.01). The relative expression of miR-146a and Foxp3 mRNA was significantly increased after both SCIT and SLIT (P<0.01). The ratio of post-treatment to baseline IL-10+CD4+ T cells and the serum IL-10 level were significantly increased in both the SCIT and SLIT groups (P<0.01), whereas the TRAF6 protein level and serum IL-5 level were significantly decreased (P<0.01). No significant differences in these biomarkers were observed between the SCIT and SLIT groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that miR-146a and its related biomarkers may be comparably modulated after both SCIT and SLIT, highlighting miR-146a as a potential therapeutic target for the improved management of AR.

Expression and Regulation of Transcription Factor FoxA2 in Chronic Rhinosinusitis With and Without Nasal Polyps

PURPOSE: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is characterized by the excessive production of mucus. However, the molecular mechanism underlying mucin overproduction in CRS with or without nasal polyps (CRSwNP and CRSsNP, respectively) is poorly understood. This study was conducted to assess the importance of the transcription factor FoxA2 in mucin production and to investigate the targeting of FoxA2 as a potential therapeutic strategy for mucus hypersecretion in CRS patients. METHODS: We enrolled 15 CRSwNP patients, 15 CRSsNP patients, and 10 normal controls in this study. The expression levels of FoxA2, MUC5AC, and MUC5B in inflamed and healthy nasal tissues were examined via immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and the levels of several proinflammatory cytokines in nasal secretions were measured via FlowCytomix analysis. In addition, the expression of MUC5AC and FoxA2 was determined in polyp-derived epithelial cells and NCI-H292 cells after in vitro stimulation. RESULTS: FoxA2 was significantly down-regulated, and MUC5AC and MUC5B were significantly up-regulated in both the CRSwNP and CRSsNP patients compared to the controls (P<0.05), and the protein level of FoxA2 was negatively associated with the IL-6 level in the CRS patients (P<0.05). IL-6 significantly increased MUC5AC expression but inhibited FoxA2 expression in vitro (P<0.05). Transfection with a FoxA2 expression plasmid significantly decreased MUC5AC promoter activity (P<0.05) and inhibited IL-6-induced MUC5AC production (P<0.05). In addition, clarithromycin significantly alleviated IL-6-induced FoxA2 suppression and decreased MUC5AC expression in vitro (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that FoxA2 may be considered a therapeutic target for the modulation of mucus hypersecretion in CRS patients.

Clinical study on the left ventricular function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients / 中国基层医药

Objective To explore the left ventricular overall systolic and diastolic function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients with echocardiography.Methods 30 normal people and 30 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients were examined by routine echocardiography and examine the results of LVDd,IVSd,LVPW,LVFE and E/A.Results The results of IVSd [(16.47 ± 2.08) cm],LVPW [(10.28 ± 0.56) cm] and LVEF [(62.18 ±6.74) ％] in HCM patients were superior than control group [(9.56 ± 0.45) cm,(9.30 ± 0.98) cm,(57.66 ±5.22) ％] (t =-17.809,-4.756,-2.91,all P ＜ 0.05) while the results of LVDd [(40.28 ± 3.80) cm] and E/A[(0.99 ±0.17)] of HCM patients were obviously lower than control group [(45.15 ±3.84) cm,(1.10 ±0.24)](t =4.899,2.132,all P ＜ 0.05) and LVEF was obviously larger than control group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Echocardiography can exactly evaluate left ventricular overall systolic and diastolic function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients and guide the diagnosis and treatment.

Effect of Guangzhou healthcare insurance policy on the quality of life of patients with chronic hepatitis C / 中华临床感染病杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of Peg-Interferon α-2a therapy on the quality of life (QOL) of patients with chronic hepatitis C,and to evaluate the effect of healthcare insurance policy in Guangzhou city on these patients.Methods Totally 102 patients with chronic hepatitis C were enrolled.Forty-two patients (group A) were treated with Peg-Interferon α-2a plus ribavirin whose medical expenses were covered by medical insurance; 30 patients (group B ) received the same therapy but at their own expenses ; and the other 30 patients ( group C) were not treated with Peg-Interferon α-2a.QOL of patients in three groups were investigated using the general quality of life inventory questionnaire (GQOLI-74) before and after Peg-Interferon α-2a treatment.Wilcoxon test was used to compare on all scales and total scores before and after treatment in each group,and Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to compare on all scales and total scores among three groups.Results Before treatment,the physical function,psychological function,social function,material life and total score of group A were 55.3,58.8,61.9,60.6 and 58.5 ; those of group B were 57.5,60.4,61.1,55.2 and 58.3; those of group C were 58.6,60.3,57.5,54.8 and 56.4.There was no statistic difference on all scales and total scores among three groups (Z =- 1.177,- 0.846,- 1.062,-0.377 and - 1.085,P ＞ 0.05).After treatment,group A had higher QOL on all scales (67.1,76.4,68.1,70.1) and total score (72.6) than group C (54.6,54.0,53.3,57.5 and 54.6,P ＜0.01) ; group B had higher QOL (P ＜0.05) on three scales (65.1,65.0 and 69.6) and total score ( 64.3 ) except material life ( 56.3 ) than group C ; group A had higher QOL on psychological function,material life and total score than group B ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusions QOLs of chronic hepatitis C patients treated with Peg-Interferon α-2a are higher than those without Peg-Interferon α-2a treatment.Patients whose medical expenses are covered by medical insurance may have higher QOLs than those at their own expenses.