Relationship between the severity of iron overload in peripheral blood CD4+T cells and the key transcription factors of RORrt, IRF8, STAT3 for cell proliferation and differentiation in elderly patients with myelodysplastic syndrome / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective To investigate the effects RORrt (RORrt),IRF8 (IRF8) and STAT3 (STAT3) in peripheral blood CD4+T cells on the cell proliferation and differentiation in elderly patients with iron-overload myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS).Methods A prospective case-control study was conducted.Twenty-two elderly hospitalized patients(12 males and 10 females)aged 60-78 years with iron-overload MDS from Jan.2017 to Dec.2018 were enrolled and considered as the observation group.Twenty MDS patients without iron overload hospitalized in the same period were selected as the non-iron overload group,and 26 healthy elderly people were considered as the healthy control group.Peripheral blood monocytes(PBM)were prepared and resident CD4+T cells were sorted by flow cytometry.The mRNA and protein expression levels of transcription factors of RORrt,p-STAT3 and IRF8 were detected by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)and Western blotting.Results In peripheral blood CD4+T cells,the mRNA expression level of RORrt and p-STAT3 were higher and that of IRF8 was lower in the iron-overload group than in the non-iron overload group and the healthy control group(42.634± 18.613 vs.21.289 ± 15.158 and 22.520 ± 9.896;29.710±9.689 vs.12.355±4.681 and 9.818±3.845;19.293±8.258 vs.23.785±12.498 and 69.619±23.768,P＜0.01).In peripheral blood CD4+T cells,the protein expression level of RORrt and p-STAT3 was higher,and that of IRF8 was lower in the iron overload group than in the non-iron overload group and healthy control group(P＜0.01).Conclusions The abnormalities of the mRNA and protein expression levels of transcription factors of RORrt,IRF8 and p-STAT3 in CD4+ T cells play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of iron overload MDS in elderly patients.

The clinical significance of Th17 cells in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and iron overload / 中华内科杂志

Objective To study the significance of Th17 cells in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and iron overload.Methods A total of 77 patients with MDS admitted to Guangzhou First People's Hospital were enrolled from January 2017 to December 2018,who were divided into iron overload group (37 cases) with serum ferritin (SF) over 1000 μg/L and non-ferrous overload group(40 cases).CD4+T cells in peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) were sorted by flow cytometry.The ratio of Th17 cells and cells with abnormal karyotype were compared.IL-17 and IL-6 protein and RNA expression were detected by ELISA and quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR).Results The proportions of Th17 cells in PB and BM in iron overload group were significantly higher than those in non-iron overload group [(41.06± 0.96)％ vs.(26.80± 1.21)％;(47.39± 1.60)％ vs.(34.29± 1.03)％;P＜0.01].The Th17 positive cells with abnormal karyotype in iron overload group were more than those in non-iron overload group[(4.96±0.53)％ vs.(3.67±0.12)％ in PB;(10.06±1.67)％ vs.(4.36±0.43)％ in BM;P＜0.01].Similarly,the protein levels as well as mRNA expression of IL-6 and IL-17 in patients with iron overload were significantly higher than those in non-iron overload group (P＜0.01 both in PB and BM).Conclusions As hematopoietic regulators secreted by Th17 cells,the expression of IL-6 and IL-17 in MDS patients with iron overload are elevated.This may predict the influence of these factors to the differentiation of Th 17 cells.

Preliminary study on quantification of rabbit central nervous system by DTI sequence / 实用放射学杂志

Objective To explore the feasibility and application in quantifying the rabbit central nervous system by using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)sequences.Methods 12 normal New Zealand rabbits were used to scan the brain and spinal cord of rabbits by DTI sequence of 1.5T MR machine,and the normal apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)and fractional anisotropy (FA)values were obtained in the different regions of the brain and every spinal segment of rabbits,to analyse the characteristics and regularity of numerical changes.Results The average ADC value in the brain of rabbits was (0.87±0.08)×10-3mm2/s,the average FA value was 0.23±0.09;the average ADC value in cervical spinal cord was (1.05±0.14)×10-3mm2/s,the average FA value was 0.55±0.08.The average ADC value in thoracic spinal cord was (1.14±0.12)×10-3mm2/s,and the average FA value was 0.57±0.06;the average ADC value in lumber spinal cord was (1.20±0.12)×10-3mm2/s,and the average FA value was 0.61±0.06.Conclusion FA average value in the brain is lower than that in spinal cord (P<0.001),the difference is related to the distribution of nerve fibers and physiological curvature of spine.ADC average value in the brain is lower than that in spinal cord(P<0.001),this is related to the volume of spinal canal and the peripheral structure of spinal cord.The difference of FA value in the brain and spinal cord is higher than ADC value.

Plasma D-dimer Can Effectively Predict the Prospective Occurrence of Ascites in Advanced Schistosomiasis Japonica Patients

China still has more than 30,000 patients of advanced schistosomiasis while new cases being reported consistently. D-dimer is a fibrin degradation product. As ascites being the dominating symptom in advanced schistosomiasis, the present study aimed to explore a prediction model of ascites with D-dimer and other clinical easy-achievable indicators. A case-control study nested in a prospective cohort was conducted in schistosomiasis-endemic area of southern China. A total of 291 patients of advanced schistosomiasis were first investigated in 2013 and further followed in 2014. Information on clinical history, physical examination, and abdominal ultrasonography, including the symptom of ascites was repeatedly collected. Result showed 44 patients having ascites. Most of the patients' ascites were confined in the kidney area with median area of 20 mm². The level of plasma D-dimer and pertinent liver function indicators were measured at the initial investigation in 2013. Compared with those without ascites, cases with ascites had significantly higher levels of D-dimer (0.71±2.44 μg/L vs 0.48±2.12 μg/L, P=0.005), as well ALB (44.5 vs 46.2, g/L) and Type IV collagen (50.04 vs 44.50 μg/L). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated a moderate predictive value of D-dimer by its own area under curve (AUC) of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.54–0.73) and the cutoff value as 0.81 μg/L. Dichotomized by the cutoff level, D-dimer along with other categorical variables generated a prediction model with AUC of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.68–0.89). Risks of patients with specific characteristics in the prediction model were summarized. Our study suggests that the plasma D-dimer level is a reliable predictor for incident ascites in advanced schistosomiasis japonica patients.