[Changes of T Lymphocyte Subsets and Immunoglobulin in Peripheral Blood of Patients with ALL and N-ALL before and after Treatment and their Value for Monitoring of Disease and Evaluation of Prognosis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes of T lymphocyte subsets and immunoglobulin in peripheral blood of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and non-acute lymphocytic leukemia (N-ALL) before and after treatment and their value for monitoring of disease and evaluation of prognosis. METHODS: One hundred and six cases of leukemia were selected in our hospital, including 48 cases of ALL (ALL group) and 58 cases of N-ALL (N-ALL group); 54 peoples of normal physical examination were selected as the normal control group in the same period. The IgA, IgG and IgM levels of peripheral blood were detected, and the absolute value of T lymphocyte subsets was determined by cell slide method. According to whether the patients' status was improved or not by treatment, the 106 patients were divided into the unimproved group (55 cases including 25 ALL, 30 N-ALL) and improved group (51 cases including 23 ALL, 28 N-ALL). RESULTS: The levels of IgA, IgG and IgM in 106 cases of leukemia were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05), and the CD3+ level, CD3+CD4+/CD3+CD8+ ratio and the absolute value of CD3+CD4+T cells in the peripheral blood were significantly lower than those in the control group(all P<0.05); the absolute value of CD3+CD8+T cells showed no significant difference in comparison with the control group (P >0.05). After treatment, IgA,IgG and IgM levels in the improved group were significantly higher than those before therapy (all P<0.05), while their levels were not significantly different from that in the control group (all P>0.05); the CD3+ level, CD3+CD4+/CD3+CD8+ ratio and the absolute value of CD3+CD4+T cells in the peripheral blood were significantly higher than those before therapy (all P<0.05), while those were not significantly different from the control group (all P>0.05). Compared with levels before treatment, the levels of above mentioned indicators in the unimproved group after treatment were not significantly different (all P>0.05); and the CD3+ level, CD3+CD4+/CD3+CD8+ ratio and the absolute value of CD3+CD4+T cells were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05), and the absolute value of CD3+CD8+T cells were higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: After the treatment, the T lymphocyte subsets (CD3+, CD3+CD4+T cells) and immunoglobulin (IgA, IgG, IgM) levels in peripheral blood of patients with ALL and N-ALL have been improved significantly, and the detection of these indexes is helpful for disease monitoring and prognosis evaluation.

Assessment of the Number and Phenotype of Macrophages in the Human BMB Samples of CML.

Macrophages have emerged as a key player in tumor biology. However, their number and phenotype in human bone marrow of biopsy (BMB) samples of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and their association with disease progression from an initial chronic phase (CP) to accelerated phase (AP) to advanced blast phase (BP) are still unclear. BMB samples from 127 CML patients and 30 patients with iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) as control group were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of CD68, CD163, and CD206 in BMB samples of CML patients were significantly higher than those in the patients of control group (P < 0.01), and we observed that their positive expression was gradually elevated during the transformation of CML-CP to AP to BP (P < 0.01). However, the expressions of CD68, CD163, and CD206 in released group were downregulated and contrasted to these in control group; there exists statistical significance (P < 0.01). The percentage ratio of CD163 and CD206 to CD68 was pronounced to be increasing from CML-CP to AP to BP (P < 0.01). Hence, the higher proportion of CD68+, CD163+ and CD206+ macrophages in BMB samples can be considered a key factor for disease progression of CML patients. Targeting macrophages, especially the M2 phenotype may help in designing therapeutic strategies for CML.

[Protection of cryopreserved platelets by dimethyl sulfoxide combined with trehalose].

This study was aimed to investigate the protective effects of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) combined with trehalose on the cryopreserved platelets. The platelets were preserved at -80 degrees C. The experiments were divided into 5 groups: blank control group composed of apheresis platelet suspension; trehalose group composed of apheresis platelet suspension and 0.25 mol/L trehalose; DMSO group composed of apheresis platelet suspension and 5% DMSO; 5% combined group composed of apheresis platelet suspension, 5% DMSO and 0.25 mol/L trehalose; 2.5% combined group composed of apheresis platelet suspension, 2.5% DMSO and 0.25 mol/L trehalose. All the groups were thawed at 37 degrees C in a waterbath. The recovery rate of platelets and mean platelet volume (MPV) were assayed by using hemocytometer; the ultrastructural changes were examined by electron microscopy; the expressions of CD41, CD42b, CD61 and CD62p on platelets were detected by flow cytometry. The results indicated that single use of trehalose had no strong effect in increasing the recovery rate of platelets, but the morphology of platelets was close to normal. The DMSO showed significant effect in increasing the recovery rate of platelets and maintaining the intact property of platelets, however, the shape of platelets tended to sealing, and partial platelets still displayed heteromorphic changes. The combination of DMSO and trehalose revealed the protective effect on the external morphology and internal structure of platelets to be close to the normal homeostasis, and ensured an ideal recovery rate of the cryopreserved platelets and higher expression levels of CD41, CD42b, CD61 and CD62p in the same time. It is concluded that the combined use of DMSO and trehalose possesses the synergistic protective effect on the cryopreserved platelets, therefore, the combined use of both as the protective agent is hopeful to further raise the effectiveness of clinical infusion of the cryopreserved platelets.

[Study on the Polymorphism of Intron 22 (CA)n Repeat within FVIII Gene in Dai, Yi and Han Populations of Yunnan Province]

This study was designed to investigate the polymorphism of intron 22 (CA)n repeat within FVIII gene in Dai, Yi and Han populations of Yunnan province. PCR, DNA sequencing technique and PAGE were used in this study. The results showed that three different alleles corresponding to 24, 25 and 26 dinucleotides were found at this locus and the allele frequency ranged from 1.20% to 57.7% in Dai and from 16.43% to 63.00% in Yi populations. In Han population, five different alleles with 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 (CA)s were found, the allele frequency ranged from 8.97% to 32.00%. Heterozygotes of intron 22 (CA) repeat within FVIII gene were not found in the three populations. In conclusion, it was obvious that the locus cannot be acted as DNA genetic marker of FVIII gene in the three populations in Yunnan.