Low interferon-gamma release in response to phytohemagglutinin predicts the high severity of diseases.

A clinically useful immune biomarker could potentially assist clinicians in their decision making. We stimulated T-cell proliferation to secret interferon gamma (IFN-γ) by phytohemagglutinin, and then measured the production of IFN-γ (mitogen value [M value]). We aimed to determine the relationship between the M value, clinical severity, and outcomes of diseases.In all, 484 patients admitted to intensive care units were enrolled in this retrospective study. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores were collected within the first 24 hours. M value, C-reaction protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and routine blood tests were analyzed and collected during the study.When APACHE II scores were greater than 15 and M values were less than 6, the hospital mortality rose in a straight line. There was an inverse correlation between APACHE II score and M value (rs = -0.212, P < .001). There was a positive correlation between M value and lymphocyte numbers (b' = 0.249, P < .001); however, there was an inverse correlation between M value and WBC (b' = -0.230, P < .001), and ESR (b' = -0.100, P = .029). Neurological diseases had the greatest influence on APACHE II scores (b' = 10.356, P < .001), whereas respiratory diseases had the greatest influence on M value (b' = 1.933, P < .001). Furthermore, in the respiratory system, severe pneumonia had a greater influence on M value. Taking the APACHE II score as the gold standard, the area under the curve of M was 0.632 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.575-0.690, P < .001), PCT was 0.647 (95% CI 0.589-0.705, P < .001), CRP was 0.570 (95% CI 0.511-0.629, P = .022), and ESR was 0.553 (95% CI 0.494-0.612, P = .078). Divided by M value = 5, the positive predictive value of the M value is 37.22% (115/309) and negative predictive value is 75.43% (132/175).The results show that the M values, PCT, and CRP were better than ESR to predict the severity of diseases. The number and proportion of lymphocytes also affected the result of the M value. To a certain extent, the M value may be a clinically useful immune biomarker, which may help clinicians objectively evaluate the severity of diseases, especially in the respiratory system.

[Study on the activity of serum bone alkaline phosphatase and its relations to the heritability among pre-puberty twins].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate calcium deficiency and demand in pre-puberty twins and to analyze the heritability of serum bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP). METHODS: A total of 73 pairs of twins aged 9-16 years were examined by BALP test. Microsatellite polymorphism was used to diagnose the zygosity of twins, while both intraclass correlation coefficient method and Christian formula were performed to investigate heritability of serum BALP. RESULTS: The results of zygosity diagnosis displayed that 34 pairs of twins were monozygotic (MZ) twins and 39 pairs were dizygotic (DZ) twins. 97.9% of the subjects appeared unusual in the activity of BALP, with activity of BALP > 250 U/L in 43.1% of subjects and 200-250 U/L in 54.8% of the subjects. The intake of calcium was unsatisfied in 48.4% of the boys and 39.0% in girls. Less than 10.0% of the subjects were satisfied with the intake of calcium in each age group while over 45.0% of the subjects in 10-13 age group were deficient in calcium. Differences between the means of BALP in different sex groups (t = 1.633, P = 0.105) and different age groups (F = 0.323, P = 0.924) were not statistically significant. Heritability analysis displayed that intra-class variation, inter-class variation, intra-class correlation coefficient were 191.54, 1462.22, 0.77 in MZ twins, and those were 491.03, 1475.57, 0.50 in DZ twins respectively with the heritability of BALP activity as 0.54. CONCLUSION: Calcium deficiency is commonplace in pre-puberty twins. Our data showed that the BALP activity was influenced both by genetic (54%) and environmental (46%) factors.

[Effects of atrial excitable period on the stability of atrial fibrillation in goats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of atrial excitable period (EP) on the stability of atrial fibrillation (AF) in goats. METHODS: Ten female goats were instrumented with epicardial electrodes patches on the left atrium (LA) free wall. AF was induced and maintained by a home-made stimulator with frequency of 50 Hz at a 1-second duration and a 2-seconds interval. The stimulator was disconnected regularly. AF-induced duration, average AF cycle length (AFCL), and atrial effective refractory period during AF (ERP(AF)) were measured; EP was calculated by AFCL-ERP(AF). RESULTS: Eight goats were studied. Persistent AF (> 24 h) could be induced in all the 8 goats within 6-16 days. When the induced AF lasted for 3-10 min or 24 h, the AFCL was 98.3 ms +/- 11.0 ms and 84.9 ms +/- 5.2 ms (P < 0.05), respectively, ERP(AF) was 90.5 ms +/- 13.2 ms and 63.0 ms +/- 4.8 ms (P < 0.05), respectively, and EP was 7.8 ms +/- 2.4 ms and 21.9 ms +/- 3.5 ms (P < 0.05), respectively. CONCLUSION: The decrease in ERP(AF) is more significant than the shortening in AFCL, resulting in the gradually widening of EP which may contribute to the perpetuation of AF.