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Objective:To summarize the correlation between anterior pituitary function and tumor size in patients with different hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas.Methods:This was a retrospective case series study. The clinical data of 1 946 patients with pituitary adenoma hospitalized in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2020, were collected. The correlation between tumor size and anterior pituitary hormone levels was analyzed using Spearman rank correlation analysis in different types of pituitary adenomas.Results:The median age of the 1 946 patients was 45.1 years, of which 857 (44.0%) were men. The maximum tumor diameter of the patients [ M ( Q1, Q3)] was 22 (14, 30) mm. Tumor size in nonfunctioning adenomas ( n=1 191) was negatively correlated with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) ( r=-0.11, P<0.001), growth hormone ( r=-0.13, P<0.001), and luteinizing hormone (men: r=-0.26, P<0.001, women: r=-0.31, all P<0.001). The tumor size of somatotropic adenomas ( n=297) was positively correlated with growth hormone ( r=0.46, P<0.001), but negatively correlated with male testosterone ( r=-0.41, P<0.001). The tumor size of ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas ( n=155) was positively correlated with the ACTH level at 8∶00 AM ( r=0.25, P<0.001); however, no correlation was found with cortisol at 8∶00 AM ( P>0.05). The tumor size of prolactinomas ( n=303) was positively correlated with the prolactin level (men: r=0.34, P=0.001; women: r=0.13, P=0.070). Conclusions:The correlation between the function of the anterior pituitary and size of the tumor depends on the cellular origin of the pituitary adenoma and specific type of hormone secretion. In somatotroph adenomas, ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas, and prolactinomas, there is a positive correlation between tumor size and level of hormones secreted by the corresponding tumors. In patients with nonfunctioning adenomas, the tumor size was negatively correlated with the hormone levels of the pituitary-adrenal and pituitary-growth hormone axes.
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Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a type Ⅰ transmembrane protein, has been extensively studied in the Toll-like receptor family at present. TLR4 ligands include lipopolysaccharides ( LPS) present in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and monophosphoryl lipid A ( MPLA) which is a derivative of LPS. TLR4 agonists, alone, as a major component of compound adjuvants or in combination with other TLRs agonists, have been widely used as adjuvants in various vaccines and demonstrated great potential in vaccine development. This review addressed the discovery, application, features and prospect of novel vac-cine adjuvants based on TLR4 agonists, aiming to provide reference for rational use of adjuvants and further development.
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Objective To compare the adjuvant activity of oil-in-water emulsion MF59 and aluminum hydroxide on immune responses to HIV-1 multi-epitope protein MEP1 in BALB/c mice. Methods HIV-1 multi-epitope protein MEP1 with MF59 or aluminum was prepared to intramuscularly vaccinate female BALB/c mice for three times. Serum and splenocytes were isolated from the mice 10 d after the first and last vaccination. Specific anti-MEP1 antibodies and the subclasses in serum were detected by ELISA. The num-bers of splenic lymphocytes secreting IFN-γ and IL-4 were measured by ELISPOT. Differences in humoral and cellular immune responses induced by the two different adjuvants were compared. Results After a sin-gle-dose immunization, aluminum adjuvant promoted early humoral and cellular immune responses to MEP1 compared with MF59. After the three-dose immunization, both aluminum adjuvant and MF59 promoted MEP1 to induce Th2-biased humoral immune response, while MF59 also enhanced a balanced Th1/Th2 cel-lular immune response. Conclusions Aluminum adjuvant was a more suitable adjuvant than MF59 for HIV-1 multi-epitope protein MEP1.