The Immunologic Profiles of Kawasaki Disease Triggered by Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection.

OBJECTIVE: We compared the immunologic characteristics of mycoplasma pneumoniae-triggered Kawasaki disease (MP-KD) with Kawasaki disease (KD) not associated with mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP), with mycoplasma pneumoniae-triggered Henoch-Schönlein purpura (MP-HSP), and with healthy controls. METHODS: Complement levels, cellular and humoral immunity were assessed in KD, in MP-KD, in MP-HSP, and in healthy children. RESULTS: Of 622 children with KD, 74 had MP-KD. Complement C3 and CD4/CD8 ratio were significantly increased in MP-KD compared to KD. C3, C4, and the ratio of CD4/CD8 in the MP-KD group were higher than those in the MP-HSP group. IgA and CD56 were lower in the MP-KD group than the MP-HSP group. CONCLUSIONS: Both C3 and polyclonal CD4+ T lymphocytes may be activated in the patients with MP-KD.

Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Henoch-Schönlein Purpura Associated with Streptococcal Infection in 217 Children in Hubei Province, China.

Objectives The objectives of present study were to analyze the association of the streptococcal infection with childhood Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) in China. Methods: We performed a case-control study over a period of five years to evaluate the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of group A ß-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) triggered HSP. Results: 1. The frequency of GABHS-triggered HSP was 15.1%, while that of GABHS infection developing HSP in children was 4.7%. 2.The epidemiological characteristics of HSP with streptococcal infection were similar to those of HSP alone. 3. The GABHS-triggered HSP cases had a significantly higher frequency of renal involvement than the noninfectious group. 4. IgA and IgG were significantly increased in the streptococcal infection group than in the noninfectious group, while the levels of C3 and C4 decreased significantly. Conclusions: GABHS infection is the most frequent agent in HSP children, and may aggravate the immune dysfunction and prolong the course of HSP.

Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Henoch-Schönlein Purpura Associated with Epstein-Barr Virus Infection.

BACKGROUND: Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is an immune-mediated vasculitis, and the formation of immune complexes may be triggered by exposure to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. METHODS: We performed a five-year case-control study to evaluate the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of HSP associated with EBV infection. RESULTS: The incidence of EBV-triggered HSP was 4.2%, while EBV infection in children with HSP was 0.9%; The EBV-triggered HSP cases had a significantly higher frequency of abdominal pain than the Mycoplasma Pneumoniae (MP)-triggered HSP group (χ2 = 8.024, p = 0.005); Significant differences were observed in the duration of abdominal pain (Z = -1.935, p = 0.027) between the two groups; C3 (t = 9.709, p < 0.001), IgA (t = 20.39, p < 0.001) and IgG (t = 6.407, p < 0.001) were significantly increased in the EBV infection group than those in the healthy control group. Notably, significantly higher proportion of CD19 (t = 6.773, p < 0.001) and lower proportion of CD56 (t = 11.13, p < 0.001) was found in EBV infection group compared with healthy control group. The IgA level was higher than that of the non-infectious group (t = 2.162, p = 0.032), but their CD4/CD8 ratio (t = 10.070, p < 0.001) and CD56 proportion (t = 2.096, p = 0.037) were significantly lower. CONCLUSIONS: Both cellular and humoral immunity were involved in the pathogenesis of EBV-triggered HSP, leading to increased production of inflammatory mediators and immunoglobulins. Those events may cause or promote the development of systemic vessel vasculitis.

[Comparison and Discussion of National/Military Standards Related to Flow Measurement of Medical Injection Pump].

Medical injection pump is a commonly used clinical equipment with high risk. Accurate detection of flow is an important aspect to ensure its reliable operation. In this paper, we carefully studied and analyzed the flow detection methods of three standards being used in medical injection pump detection in our country. The three standards were compared from the aspects of standard device, flow test point selection, length of test time and accuracy judgment. The advantages and disadvantages of these standards were analyzed and suggestions for improvement were put forward.

Cloud point extraction-HPLC method for the determination and pharmacokinetic study of aristolochic acids in rat plasma after oral administration of Aristolochiae Fructus.

Based on cloud-point extraction (CPE), a high performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC) was developed and validated for the determination of aristolochic acids (AAs) in rat plasma after oral administration of Aristolochiae Fructus (AF). Non-ionic surfactant Genapol X-080, an environmentally friendly solvent, was used for the micelle-mediated extraction. Various influencing factors on CPE process were investigated and optimized. AAs were extracted from rat plasma after adding 1ml of 4.5% (v/v) surfactant in the presence of 0.2mol/l HCl and 20mg NaCl, and the incubation temperature and time were 50°C and 10min, respectively. Base-line separation was obtained for the AAs in rat plasma with the optimized chromatography conditions. The detection limits (LOD) reached downward 10ng/ml. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 7.8%, the accuracies were within ±5.5%, and the average recovery factors were in the range of 94.5-105.4%. In comparison with liquid-liquid extraction, the CPE method has a considerable LOD and higher recoveries. The proposed CPE-HPLC method was specific, sensitive and reliable, and could be an effective tool for the determination of AAs in biological matrixes. With the method the pharmacokinetics of AAs were investigated successfully after oral administration of AF by rats.

Determination of aristolochic acid I and its metabolites in cell culture with a hyphenated high-performance liquid chromatographic technique for cell toxicology.

Aristolochic acid I (AA I), a major component of the carcinogenic plant extract aristolochic acid (AA), is known to be nephrotoxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic. A simple, rapid and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-fluorescence detection (HPLC-DAD-FLD) method was developed and validated for the analysis of AA I and its metabolites in cell culture medium for the first time. The samples were prepared with ethyl acetate liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Good separation was obtained on an ODS C(18) analytical column with 0.2% HAc/methanol gradient solution. Linearities of about three orders of magnitude were gained with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.9990. The method appears to be a suitable tool for the cellular toxicokinetic study with acceptable precisions and recoveries. Cytotoxicity of AA I on human liver cells (L-02) was investigated with morphological observation and MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide) assay, cytotoxicity increased in AA I concentration-dependent manner. AA I and its metabolites were monitored with the proposed chromatographic analysis, and some preliminary toxicokinetics were investigated.

New derivatizing reagent for analysis of diethylene glycol by HPLC with fluorescence detection.

N-(2-Phenyl-indolyl)-acetic acid (PIAA), a new fluorescent derivatizing reagent, was used for the determination of diethylene glycol (DEG) by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. DEG was derivatized to ester by using PIAA in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodimide hydrochloride (as dehydrating agent) and 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (as base catalyst) in acetonitrile at 60 degrees C for 75 min. The influence of solvent, temperature, catalyst base, concentration of labeling reagent, and couple reagent on the derivatization was investigated. The fluorescence detection was performed with excitation at 340 nm and emission at 377 nm. Baseline separation was obtained on an Ultimate XB-C18 analytical column with water/acetonitrile gradient elution, good linearity was obtained within 0.5-50 microg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The limit of detection was 0.01 microg/mL (signal-to-noise ratio = 3). The method has been successfully applied to determine DEG in toothpaste samples with satisfactory recoveries ranging from 89.0 to 94.9%. The proposed method was shown to be a promising technique for the determination of DEG with high sensitivity.