Correlation of the CTD structural domain of hepatitis B virus core protein with the encapsulation effect of indocyanine green / 生物工程学报

Hepatitis B virus core protein (HBc) has become a hot spot in drug carrier protein research due to its natural particle self-assembly ability and ease of modification. The truncation of the C-terminal polyarginine domain (CTD, aa 151-183) of HBc does not affect the self-assembly of the particles. However, it does affect the internal and external charges of the particles, which may subsequently affect drug encapsulation. Thus, the truncated C-terminal polyarginine domain (CTD) of HBc and the inserted RGD peptide were selected to construct and express three HBc variants (RH) encapsulated with ICG (RH/ICG) with different C-terminal lengths to compare the stability and drug activity of their nanoformulations. RH160/ICG was found to have a great advantages in encapsulation efficiency and biological imaging. Compared with other HBc variants, RH160/ICG significantly improved encapsulation efficiency, up to 32.77%±1.23%. Cytotoxicity and hemolysis assays further demonstrated the good biocompatibility of RH160/ICG. Cell uptake and in vivo imaging experiments in mice showed that RH160/ICG could efficiently deliver ICG in tumor cells and tumor sites with good imaging effect. This research provides a new direction for further expanding the diagnosis and treatment application of ICG and development of HBc-based nanoparticle drug carrier platform.

Effect of rapamycin on apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia THP-1 cells induced by idarubicin / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective:To investigate the effect of rapamycin (Rapa) on apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia THP-1 cells induced by idarubicin (IDA) and its molecular mechanism.Methods:The THP-1 cells were treated with 10, 20, 40 and 80 nmol/L Rapa for 1 h, and the cells without Rapa treatment were set up. Western blot was used to detect the conversion of autophagy marker LC3 protein in THP-1 cells (the ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ), flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptotic rate, and the pretreatment concentration of Rapa was determined. THP-1 cells were treated with different concentrations of IDA for 24 h, the cell proliferation inhibition rate of IDA for THP-1 cells was detected by CCK-8 method, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration ( IC50) was calculated. THP-1 cells with or without Rapa treatment were treated by IDA with the concentration of lower than IC50 for 24 h, CCK-8 method was used to detect cell proliferation inhibition rate, flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression changes of autophagy-related genes Beclin-1, LC3 and p62, and Western blot was used to detect the conversion of autophagy marker LC3 protein. Results:The ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ in THP-1 cells treated by 20 nmol/L Rapa was higher than that in the untreated cells ( P=0.002 4). The apoptotic rate in THP-1 cells treated by 80 nmol/L Rapa was higher than that in the untreated cells ( P=0.007 3). According to the results of Western blot and flow cytometry, 20 nmol/L Rapa was selected as the pretreatment concentration. The IC50 of IDA for THP-1 cells treated with IDA for 24 h was 59.874 nmol/L. After treated with 50 nmol/L IDA for 24 h, the proliferation inhibitory [(69.67±5.03)% vs. (41.67±3.51)%] and apoptotic rates [(74.35±4.83)% vs. (41.25±5.24)%] in THP-1 cells pretreated by Rapa were higher than those in the unpretreated cells (both P<0.05); the Beclin-1 and LC3 mRNA expression levels and the ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ in THP-1 cells pretreated by Rapa were higher than those in the unpretreated cells, and the expression of p62 mRNA was lower than that in the unpretreated cells (all P<0.05). Conclusion:Rapa can enhance the apoptosis of THP-1 cells induced by a relative low dose of IDA, which may be achieved through inducing excessive autophagy in THP-1 cells.

Expression of Fbxw7 protein in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and its clinical significance / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective:To explore the expression of Fbxw7 protein and its clinical significance in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and to provide a basis for prognostic judgement and searching the new therapeutic targets of DLBCL.Methods:A total of 72 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL who received immunohistochemical detection of c-myc protein from January 2011 to September 2017 in Cancer Hospital Affilicoted to Zhengzhou University were enrolled. The paraffin-embedded specimens after lymph node biopsy and the clinical data of patients were also collected. At the same time, 22 samples of lymph node reactive hyperplasia were selected as the control group. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of Fbxw7 protein in DLBCL tissues and control tissues. The relationship between the expression of Fbxw7 protein and c-myc protein, the association of Fbxw7 protein expression with DLBCL patients' clinicopathological characteristics, efficacy and prognosis were analyzed.Results:The positive rate of Fbxw7 protein in DLBCL tissues was lower than that in control tissues, and the difference was statistically significant [63.89% (46/72) vs. 86.36% (19/22), χ 2 = 3.990, P = 0.046]. Among DLBCL patients, the positive rate of Fbxw7 protein in non-germinal center B cell (non-GCB) group was lower than that in germinal center B cell (GCB) group, and the difference was statistically significant [48.15% (13/27) vs. 73.33% (33/45), χ 2 = 4.639, P = 0.031]. There were no statistically significant differences in the positive rate of Fbxw7 protein among patients with different age, gender, neoplasm staging, international prognostic index (IPI) scores, B symptom, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, β 2 microglobulin level, and therapeutic efficacy after initial treatment (all P > 0.05). In DLBCL tissues, the expression of Fbxw7 and c-myc protein was negatively correlated ( r = -0.255, P = 0.031). The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate and 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate (88.3% and 82.0%) of the Fbxw7 positive group were higher than those of the Fbxw7 negative group (70.2% and 60.1%). Cox multivariate analysis showed that the down-regulation of Fbxw7 protein expression was an independent risk factor affecting OS and PFS in DLBCL patients ( HR = 3.656, 95% CI 1.055-12.674, P = 0.041; HR = 2.897, 95% CI 1.092-7.688, P = 0.033). Conclusions:The expression of Fbxw7 protein and c-myc protein in DLBCL patients is negatively correlated. Fbxw7 protein is down-regulated in DLBCL, and it is more obvious in non-GCB subtype. The down-regulated expression of Fbxw7 protein is related to the poor prognosis of DLBCL, and Fbxw7 may become a new therapeutic target of DLBCL.

Chronic myeloid leukemia with blast phase as initial manifestation: report of three cases and analysis of laboratory characteristics / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective@#To explore the clinical and laboratory features of chronic myeloid leukemia(CML) patients with blast phase as initial presentation.@*Methods@#The clinical manifestation, laboratory bindings and treatment of 3 CML patients with blast phase as the initial presentation from January 2015 to November 2016 in Luoyang Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University were analyzed. The first symptoms of 3 patients were similar to acute leukemia.@*Results@#The patients were presented with splenomegaly, obvious rise of white blood cell count in peripheral blood, increasing number of initial cells in the bone marrow, Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+), fluorescence in situ hybridization of bcr-abl1 with fusion signals in segmented granulocytes, fusion gene with p210 positive and without the typical chronic phase of CML.@*Conclusions@#Due to the increased number of marrow blasts and the similarity of clinical manifestations to acute leukemia in CML patients with blast phase as the initial presentation, it is easy to misdiagnose as Ph+ acute leukemia in the initial phase. While some differences in genetics, clinical manifestations and genomics between them may help in differential diagnosis.