T1rho mapping of cartilage and menisci in patients with hyperuricaemia at 3 T: a preliminary study

AIM

To compare and assess T_1rho values of the femorotibial cartilage compartments and subregional menisci in patients with hyperuricaemia at 3 T.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-two patients were enrolled in the study and were subdivided into two subgroups: 15 healthy controls (three women, 12 men; mean age = 45.3 ± 10.9 years, age range 25-72 years) and 17 patients with asymptomatic hyperuricaemia (two women, 15 men; mean age = 44.4 ± 12.7 years, age range 26-77 years). All patients were evaluated using 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using an eight-channel phased-array knee coil (transmit-receive). Wilcoxon's rank sum test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted to determine whether there were any statistically significant differences in the T_1rho values of the femorotibial cartilage compartments and subregional menisci between the two subgroups.

RESULTS

Lateral tibial cartilage (45.8 ± 2.9 ms) in the healthy subgroup had significantly lower (p<0.05) T_1rho values than those of all subcompartments of the femorotibial cartilage in the hyperuricaemia subgroup. The lateral femoral cartilage (LF) in hyperuricaemia (54.6 ± 3.9 ms) subgroup had significantly higher (p<0.05) T_1rho values than those of all subcompartments of the femorotibial cartilage except the LF in the healthy subgroup. Significantly higher (p<0.05) T_1rho values existed in the LF of the healthy (54.6 ± 4.7 ms) subgroup in comparison with those of all subcompartments of femorotibial cartilage except the LF in hyperuricaemia subgroup.

CONCLUSIONS

T_1rho values in certain compartments of the femorotibial cartilage in patients with hyperuricaemia are elevated compared to those in healthy patients presumably due to reduced proteoglycan content, to which particular attention should be paid when diagnosing and treating the patients with hyperuricaemia in a clinical setting.

Participation in sport and physical activity in adults with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

People with intellectual disability face a number of barriers to participation in physical activity. This paper aimed to determine rates of sport and physical activity participation in an Australian sample of adults with intellectual disability, compared with rates of participation in the general Australian population. A secondary aim was to investigate factors that may contribute to participation of adults with intellectual disability.

METHOD

Participants were part of the Australian Child to Adult Development (ACAD) study, consisting of a community sample with intellectual disability (n = 305), groups of adults with autism (n = 94), Down syndrome (n = 64), fragile X syndrome (n = 52), Williams syndrome (n = 45), and Prader-Willi syndrome (n = 30). Participation in sport/physical activity was reported over the past 3 months. Rates of participation were reported for adults with intellectual disability and compared with rates in a general Australian population sample. The relationship between participation in physical activity and age, degree of intellectual disability, physical mobility, living situation, socio-economic disadvantage, and behaviour and emotional problems were also conducted.

RESULTS

Participants in the ACAD community sample with intellectual disability participated in sport/physical activity at lower rates than the general Australian population (42% compared with 71%). Having no physical mobility impairment was significantly associated with higher rates of participation. Those with Down syndrome participated in sport/physical activity at higher rates than the community sample with intellectual disability, while no difference in sport/physical activity participation was observed in the groups with autism or other syndromes.

CONCLUSION

Australian adults with intellectual disability participate in sport and physical activity at lower rates than the general population. Having a physical mobility impairment was associated with lower rates of participation. However, people living in supported accommodation were more likely to participate than those in other living situations. Having Down syndrome was associated with a higher participation rate than the community sample.

[Epidemiological characteristics of human brucellosis in Tongliao city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 2004-2018]

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of human brucellosis (HB), evolution and origin feature of Brucella strains in Tongliao city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region during 2004-2018, and to provide evidence for strategy development against the disease. Methods: Data from the reports on HB in Tongliao during 2004-2018 were extracted from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention before being analyzed with software Excel 2016. Epidemiologic feature was described, using the number of cases, constituent ratio and related rates. Conventional biotypes methods were used for identification of species/biovars strains while species of six Brucella strains were further verified by AMOS-PCR. Cluster analyze on six Brucella strains were performed with Bio-Numerics 5.0 software and for examining and revealing the genetic characteristics of the related strains. Results: During 2004-2018, a total of 16 704 HB cases were reported, with the incidence rate as 35.41/100 000. The incidence rates appeared as 110.51/100 000 in Jarud Banner and 67.84/100 000 in Kulun flag, which were both higher than the other areas. Most of the cases were reported in the 40-54 year olds, which accounted for 48.75% (8 143/16 704). The number of HB in farmers appeared as 14 873, which counted for 89.04% (14 873/16 704) of all the cases. Male to female ratio of incidence was 2.40∶1. Most of the reported cases appeared between March to May, which accounted for 56.30% (9 405/16 704). Peak of the disease was seen in April. Using the conventional identification method, results showed that the available six strains all belonged to B. melitensis, including three of them as B. melitensis bv.1 and others three strains as B. melitensis bv. 3. Results from the amplified AMOS-PCR showed that all the strains were B. melitensis. The six strains clustered in two MLVA-11 genotypes (111 and 116) and all belonged to the Eastern Mediterranean lineage. Based on the MLVA-16 cluster analysis, results suggested that strains from this study were having close genetic relationship with B. melitensis strains that were from Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. Conclusions: Human brucellosis identified in Tongliao area was with greater risk in spreading the disease to the vicinity. Our findings indicated that the programs on detection and control of the disease should be strengthened.

[Correlation study of IL-18 expression in HBsAg positive parturients in intrauterine transmission of HBV]

Objective: To investigate the expression of IL-18 in peripheral blood of HBsAg positive parturients in intrauterine transmission of HBV. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 282 HBsAg positive parturients and 43 health parturients (control group) in Northwest Women and Children Hospital of Shaanxi Province. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect five serological makers of hepatitis B, real time PCR was used to detect HBV DNA, and flow liquid chip method was used to detect IL-18 levels in peripheral blood of parturients and newborns. Results: The incidence of dominant HBV infection (DBI), occult HBV infection (OBI) and intrauterine transmission of HBV were 8.42% (24/285), 40.00% (114/285) and 48.42% (138/285), respectively. The level of IL-18 in peripheral blood of HBsAg-negative parturients were significantly lower than those of HBsAg-positive parturients (P=0.001), non-HBV intrauterine transmission (NBIT) group (P=0.001) and OBI group (P<0.001). The level of IL-18 in HBeAg negative group was significantly lower than that in HBeAg positive group (P=0.023). When HBV DNA load was ≥10(3) copies/ml, the level of IL-18 was significantly higher than that in HBsAg-negative group (P<0.01). With the increase of HBV DNA load in maternal blood, the level of IL-18 increased (P=0.024). When HBV DNA load was 10(3)-10(6) copies/ml, the level of IL-18 in DBI group was significantly lower than that in NBIT group (P=0.022), and increased with the increase of HBV DNA load in maternal blood (P=0.016). With the increased severity of intrauterine transmission of HBV, the level of IL-18 in non-hepatitis B vaccine group decreased significantly (P=0.044). The level of IL-18 in non-hepatitis B vaccine group and immunoglobulin injection group was significantly higher than that in NBIT group (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that the linear relationship between maternal HBeAg status and maternal IL-18 levels had statistical significance (P=0.01). Conclusions: IL-18 is a higher level balance regulator of Th1/Th2 immune network. Monitoring the level of IL-18 in HBsAg-positive parturients can be used not only for predicting the probability of DBI and OBI, but also as an intervention mean, especially for those who are HBeAg-positive and had HBV DNA load ≥10(3) copies/ml, to improve maternal cellular immune function, which is conducive to interrupting intrauterine transmission and providing a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of HBV intrauterine transmission.

[Effect of IFN-γ and IL-12 expressions on intrauterine transmission in HBsAg-positive parturientsin late pregnancy]

Objective: To investigate the influence of IFN-γ and IL-12 levels in prenatal peripheral blood of HBsAg-positive parturients on intrauterine transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Methods: A case-control study was conducted in 282 HBsAg positive parturients and 43 health parturients (control group) in Northwest Women and Children Hospital of Shaanxi Province. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect five serological makers of hepatitis B in peripheral blood of parturients. HBV DNA was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. Detection of cytokines IFN-γ and IL-12 levels were conducted with liquid chip-based flow cytometry method. The serum levels of five serological markers of hepatitis B and HBV DNA in 285 newborns were detected within 24 hours after birth. Results: The incidence of intrauterine dominant infection (DBI), occult infection (OBI) and intrauterine transmission of HBV in HBsAg positive parturients were 7.37% (21/285), 40.70% (116/285) and 48.07% (137/285), respectively. The level of IFN-γ in peripheral blood of HBsAg-negative parturients was significantly lower than those of HBsAg-positive parturients (t=-2.55, P=0.011), NBIT group (t=-2.54, P=0.012) and OBI group (t=-2.33, P=0.021). In HBV DNA load of 10(3)-10(6) copies/ml group, the levels of IFN-γ in the DBI group were significantly lower than those in OBI group and NBIT group (P<0.01). The level of IFN-γ in maternal peripheral blood decreased significantly with the increased severity of intrauterine transmission of HBV (χ(2)=6.40, P=0.041). In the antiviral treatment group, the level of IL-12 in maternal peripheral blood decreased significantly with the increased severity of intrauterine transmission of HBV (χ(2)=8.90, P=0.012). Multivariate analysis showed that there was a significant linear relationship between maternal IFN-γ level and maternal age, placenta previa and hepatitis B vaccine injection (P<0.05). The linear relationship between the level of maternal IL-12 and the mode of rupture and hepatitis B vaccine injection had statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusions: HBV can stimulate the expression of IFN-γ and inhibit the secretion of IL-12 in pregnant and lying-in women, but the expression of IFN-γ in HBsAg-positive parturients showed intra-group differentiation, and the maternal level of IFN-γ will decrease in HBeAg-positive and high-HBV DNA loadstatus. Increasing the levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 in HBsAg-positive parturients is beneficial to block intrauterine transmission of HBV, especially DBI.

Specific genes related to nucleopolyhedrovirus in Bombyx mori susceptible and near-isogenic resistant strains through comparative transcriptome analysis

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is one of the primary pathogens that causes severe economic losses to sericulture. Comparative transcriptomics analysis has been widely applied to explore the antiviral mechanism in resistant strains. Here, to identify genes involved in BmNPV infection, we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) between two Bombyx mori strains: strain 871 (susceptible to BmNPV infection) and the near-isogenic strain 871C (resistant to BmNPV). Our results showed that 400 genes were associated with resistance in strain 871C, and 76 genes were related to susceptibility in strain 871. In addition, the correlation analysis of DEGs and WGCNA showed that 40 genes related to resistance were highly expressed in the resistant strain. Among them, gene BGIBMGA004291 was the most noticeable. We further identified the effect of gene BGIBMGA004291, which encoded a multiprotein bridge factor 2 (MBF2) family member (MBF2-10), on viral infection in cells. Our data suggested that MBF2-10 inhibited viral infection. Taken together, this study showed specific module trait correlations related to viral infection in strains 871 and 871C, and we identified a resistance-related gene. These findings suggested promising candidate genes with antiviral activity, aiding in the analysis of the antiviral molecular mechanisms in resistant strains.

Abstract P6-18-29: Real-world treatment patterns and clinical outcomes with palbociclib combination therapy received in US community oncology practices

Background:

The treatment landscape for women with HR+/HER2- advanced and metastatic breast cancer (A/MBC) is changing as new agents are being combined with more established treatments to achieve greater efficacy in combating resistant and unresponsive disease. The present study is designed to describe patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes in a cohort of women with HR+/HER2- A/MBC treated with palbociclib plus aromatase inhibitor (P+AI) or palbociclib plus fulvestrant (P+FV) in the US community oncology setting.

Methods:

Retrospective medical record data from adult women diagnosed with HR+/HER2- A/MBC who initiated P+AI or P+FV for treatment of A/MBC on or after February 3, 2015 were collected from the Vector Oncology Data Warehouse, a network comprised of 10 community oncology practices across the US. Descriptive analyses were performed on patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes. Time to event outcomes (progression-free rate (PFR) and survival rate (SR)) at 12 (PFR-12, SR-12) and 24 (PFR-24, SR-24) months for the P+AI combination as first line endocrine therapy and 12 and 18 months for the P+FV combination as treatment following prior endocrine based therapy in either the adjuvant or metastatic setting.

Results:

Among 304 patients who received palbociclib combination therapy, 281 (92.4%) received it per labeled indication. Of the 281 on-label users, the focus of reporting here, 233 (82.9%) received P+AI as their initial endocrine therapy after A/MBC diagnosis; 48 (17.1%) received P+FV after prior endocrine therapy for breast cancer. Patient mean age (SD) was 63.1 (11.4) and 68.2 (10.2) years for patients receiving P+AI and P+FV, respectively. Patients were predominantly white (74.2% for P+AI and 77.1% for P+FV patients).The initial dosing for palbociclib was 125mg/day in 85.4% (n=199) of P+AI and 79.2% (n=38) of P+FV patients. Among patients who received P+AI, PFR-12 was 69.8% and PFR-24 was 46.8% with median follow up time of 10.8 months and 36.8% of progression events. The SR-12 was 89.8% and SR-24 was 71.4%. For patients who received P+FV, PFR-12 was 43.5% and PFR-18 was 39.9% with a median follow up time of 7.6 months and 50.0% of progression events. The SR-12 was 76.3% and SR-18 was 65.0%.

Conclusions:

This study provides real-world assessment of treatment patterns and clinical outcomes of patients with HR+/ HER2- A/MBC who received palbociclib in combination with an AI or a FV in US community oncology settings. These findings demonstrate the benefit of palbociclib combination therapy in a diverse real world population.

Sponsor: Pfizer, Inc.

Citation Format: Trocio J, Lin J, Fisher MD, Hu N, Davis C, McRoy L, Walker MS, Iyer S. Real-world treatment patterns and clinical outcomes with palbociclib combination therapy received in US community oncology practices [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-18-29.

Abstract P4-02-15: The effect of the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) guidelines in HER2 positivity rates among women with breast cancer in SEER registries

Introduction: The American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) revised the HER2 testing guidelines in breast cancer (BC) which was published in December 2013, practically becoming effective in 2014. Since then, many studies reported a significant increase in HER2 positivity rate in BC. Although HER2 has been routinely evaluated in BC for over a decade, HER2 status was not included in SEER registries until 2010. The aim of this study is to look at the effect of the 2013 ASCO/CAP guidelines on HER2 status in the SEER database that captures approximately 28% of all cancers in the US.

Material and Methods. Using data from 18 SEER cancer registries between the years of 2010-2015 when HER2 status for breast cancers was available, women with invasive BC were identified and their HER2 status and race was recorded. The Chi-square test was used to test the significance between positive proportions before and after the new ASCO/CAP guidelines were effective. Logistic regression was used to test if the changes in positivity rate were the same among different races. All calculations were made after excluding cases with unknown/missing HER2 status.

Results: We identified 376,278 women diagnosed with invasive BC between the years 2010-2015. HER2 positivity before 2014 (2010-2013) was 14.4% compared to 15.6% after 2013 (2014-2015) (p&lt;0.001). HER2 positivity increased in all races after 2013. There was no significant difference in the increase of HER2 positivity between whites and blacks after the new guidelines went into effect. Unknown/missing HER2 status continually decreased over the study period from 7.4% in 2010 to 5.3% in 2015. Overall unknown/missing HER2 was significantly different among races: 6.5% in whites; 7.1% in blacks; and 6.2% in other races (p&lt;0.01).

Conclusion: Revised ASCO/CAP HER2 guidelines significantly increased HER2 positivity rates in SEER registries from 14.4% to 15.6% after implementation started in 2014. HER2 positivity increased in all races after 2013. Unknown/missing HER2 status is significantly different among different races. Blacks have highest unknown/ missing HER2 status in SEER registries.

Citation Format: Wang XK, Hu N, Herget K, Cinbis BR, Gulbahce EH. The effect of the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) guidelines in HER2 positivity rates among women with breast cancer in SEER registries [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-02-15.

Abstract P5-12-13: Changing level of serum heat shock protein 90 alpha as a diagnostic and predictive marker in breast cancer: Diagnosis of early breast cancer and prediction of response to neo-adjuvant and surgical therapy

To analyze the correlation of the level of serum heat shock protein 90α (HSP-90α) in healthy and breast cancer patients, studying the evaluation of neoadjuvant efficacy and Clinical value of relapse monitoring.

A total of 102 healthy women were selected, 51 cases of breast benign tumor ,423 cases of female breast cancer all diagnosed by pathology,other system malignancies 62 cases. ALL the serum samples HSP-90αwas detected by double-antibody ELISA. The CEA, CA125,CA15-3 were detected by Roche Cobas ECL analyzer. The ROC curve was used to analyze the effectiveness of serum HSP-90α in the early diagnosis of breast cancer. The dynamic changes of HSP-90αlevel before and after treatment were analyzed by Wilcoxon's rank test. Moreover, we also combine the HSP-90αwith CEA,CA125,CA15-3 to evaluate the clinical value of monitoring the recurrence of breast cancer.

The levels of serum HSP-90α (123.49 ± 105.1ng / ml) in breast cancer patients wes significantly higher than that in healthy controls (40.33 ± 14.18ng / ml), benign breast disease (80.15 ± 103.09ng / ml) and carcinoma in situ (34.7 ± (114.31 ± 146.91ng / ml),the difference was statistically significant (P &lt;0.001). .According to the ROC curve analysis of patients and healthy subjects, the cut-offvalue was set as HSP-90=59.7ng / ml, AUC=0.834, the sensitivity and specificity to diagnosis of breast cancer was 90.3% and 78.6% respectively ,the negative predictive value was 93.88%.The levels of serum HSP-90α was significantly decreased (P &lt;0.05) after tumor resection and the patients who obtain PR from the neoadjuvant chemotherapy. When HSP-90=43.22ng / ml was set as the cut-off value for diagnosing the recurrence of breast cancer, AUC=0.877,the sensitivity and specificity were 95.7% and 74.5% respectively, and the negative predictive value was 96.2%. At the same time, we find that combined HSP-90α with CEA, CA125, CA15-3 can improve the accuracy of recurrence prediction.

Serum HSP-90α has a good clinical diagnostic value in breast cancer and can be used as a recurrence monitoring tool for post-adjuvant treatment patients.

Citation Format: Hu N, Li M, Zhu A, Du F, Yuan P. Changing level of serum heat shock protein 90 alpha as a diagnostic and predictive marker in breast cancer: Diagnosis of early breast cancer and prediction of response to neo-adjuvant and surgical therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-12-13.

Abstract P1-09-12: TP53 expression in relation to clinical and etiologic factors in breast cancer subtypes

TP53 is a well-known tumor suppressor gene and mutations in TP53 are the most frequent genomic event in most cancers including breast cancer. Recent studies have shown that the frequency, spectrum, timing, and clinical implications of TP53 mutations varied in different molecular subtypes of breast cancer. For example, the frequency of TP53 mutations is the highest in basal-like subtype and lowest in luminal A tumors. However, the evaluation of TP53 protein expression, as a surrogate for TP53 mutations, in large studies in the context of tumor subtypes is limited. In addition, the etiologic relevance of TP53 expression is yet to be investigated. The goal of this study is to evaluate the association of clinical and breast cancer risk factors with TP53 expression, measured using immunohistochemistry (IHC), in breast cancer molecular subtypes. The analysis included 7,226 women with invasive breast cancer who were diagnosed and treated in a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China. Subtypes were defined as Luminal A: ER+ and PR+, HER2–, and low grade (grades 1 or 2); luminal B/HER2–: ER+ and/or PR+, HER2–, and high grade (grade 3); luminal B/HER2+: ER+ and/or PR+, HER2+ (regardless of grade); HER2-enriched: ER–, PR–, and HER2+; Triple-negative (TN): ER–, PR–, and HER2–. As expected, positive TP53 staining showed the lowest frequency in the luminal A (46%) and highest in the TN (61%) and HER2-enriched (63%) subtypes (P-value &lt;0.001). Overall and particularly in luminal A patients, positive TP53 staining was associated with higher frequencies of aggressive tumor features such as higher grade, larger tumor size, higher proliferative index, and EGFR expression. Compared with TP53– patients, TP53+ patients were more likely to have younger ages at onset and increased parity, but these associations were largely driven by the luminal A subtype [OR (95% CI) vs nulliparity = 2.67 (1.59, 4.51); 2.63 (1.52, 4.55); 3.68 (2.01, 6.72) for 1, 2, and ≥3 children, respectively (P-trend = 0.006)]. Luminal A/TP53+ patients were also more likely to have breastfed [OR (95% CI) ever vs never = 1.38 (1.03, 1.85)] than luminal A/TP53– patients. These findings suggest that TP53 IHC staining might be used to further refine the classification of luminal A breast cancer into subgroups with distinct clinical and etiologic relevance.

Citation Format: Yang XR, Abubakar M, Guo C, Koka H, Sung H, Guida J, Deng J, Zhou B, Hu N, Lu N. TP53 expression in relation to clinical and etiologic factors in breast cancer subtypes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-09-12.

Increased CD4+CD25-Foxp3+ T cells in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus: correlate with disease activity and organ involvement

Objective

The increment of CD4+CD25−Foxp3+T cells has been reported in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. However, the exact identity of this T cell subset is still unclear. Thus, we analyzed CD4+CD25−Foxp3+T cells and Treg cells (CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells) in a large sample of Chinese SLE patients in different disease states.

Methods

A total of 280 SLE patients and 38 healthy volunteers were enrolled, which included 21 patients with untreated new-onset lupus (UNOL), 13 patients with drug withdrawal more than 6 months and 246 patients with treatments. Phenotypic and functional analysis of peripheral blood CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells and Treg cells were performed by flow cytometry. The correlation of CD4+CD25−Foxp3+T cells and Treg cells with disease activity, clinical indicators and organ involvement were analyzed.

Results

CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells and Treg cells were significantly increased in SLE patients and showed significantly positive correlations with disease activity. CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells were significantly increased in patients with skin and hematologic involvement as well as arthritis. Diverse changes between CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells and Treg cells when faced with different medications, especially HCQ and MMF. CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells expressed more IFN-γ and less CTLA-4 than CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells, which were similar to CD4+CD25+Foxp3− T cells, and expressed similar IL-17, ICOS and Helios to CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells. The synthesis capacity of IL-10 of CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells and the expression of GITR on CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells were between CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ and CD4+CD25+Foxp3− T cells.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that increased CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells in lupus patients, which combined the features of suppression and pro-inflammatory, may serve as a biomarker for disease activity and organ involvement in SLE.

Association of polymorphisms in TNF and GRN genes with ankylosing spondylitis in a Chinese Han population

The aim of this study is to investigate the association of the polymorphisms in tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and granulin (GRN) with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in a Chinese Han population. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering TNF and six SNPs covering GRN were investigated in 861 Chinese Han AS patients and 864 healthy controls. For rs1799964, the C allele was linked to reduced risk of AS (p < 0.0001, OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.50-0.71). The carriers of the C/C homozygote showed a significantly lower risk of AS compared with the TT homozygote and the C/T heterozygote under the recessive model (p < 0.0001, OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.12-0.45). For rs1800629, the A allele was also linked to reduced risk of AS (p < 0.0001, OR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.39-0.74). For rs1800630, the A allele was also linked to reduced risk of AS (p < 0.0001, OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.48-0.72). The carriers of the A/A homozygote showed a significantly lower risk of AS compared with the C/C homozygote and the A/C heterozygote under the recessive model (p < 0.0001, OR = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.07-0.47). For rs769178, the T allele was linked to increased risk of AS (p < 0.0001, OR = 2.59, 95% CI = 2.18-3.09). The carriers of the T/T homozygote showed a significantly higher risk of AS compared with the GG homozygote and the G/T heterozygote under the recessive model (p < 0.0001, OR = 3.34, 95 %CI = 1.95-5.72). There was no significant difference between the AS patients and the controls in the genotype or allele frequencies of rs361525. For GRN, there was no significant difference between the AS patients and the controls in the genotype or allele frequencies of rs25646, rs3760365, rs3785817, rs4792939, rs5848, rs850713 (p > 0.05). This study indicates that polymorphisms in TNF are related to AS, but polymorphisms in GRN are not related to AS susceptibility in a Chinese Han population.

[Research advances in withdrawal of nucleos(t)ide analogues in chronic hepatitis B patients]

Withdrawal of nucleos(t)ide analogues in chronic hepatitis B patients has always been a clinical problem for scholars and patients. Many studies showed that the withdrawal of nucleos(t)ide analogues often leads to a high recurrence rate in clinical practice. The factors such as age, baseline HBV DNA load, time of drug consolidation therapy, and HBsAg level are associated with recurrence after withdrawal of nucleos(t)ide analogues. In addition, there are many studies on safety after withdrawal of nucleos(t)ide analogues and response to retreatment after recurrence. This article reviews the research advances in the aspects mentioned above.

International cancer seminars: a focus on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) have initiated a series of cancer-focused seminars [Scelo G, Hofmann JN, Banks RE et al. International cancer seminars: a focus on kidney cancer. Ann Oncol 2016; 27(8): 1382-1385]. In this, the second seminar, IARC and NCI convened a workshop in order to examine the state of the current science on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma etiology, genetics, early detection, treatment, and palliation, was reviewed to identify the most critical open research questions. The results of these discussions were summarized by formulating a series of 'difficult questions', which should inform and prioritize future research efforts.

Rimonabant improves metabolic parameters partially attributed to restoration of high voltage-activated Ca2+ channels in skeletal muscle in HFD-fed mice

Cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) inhibition tends to be one of the promising strategies for the treatment of obesity and other related metabolic disorders. Although CB1R inhibition may cause adverse psychiatric effects including depression and anxiety, the investigation of the role of peripheral CB1R on weight loss and related metabolic parameters are urgently needed. We first explored the effect of rimonabant, a selective CB1R antagonist/inverse agonist, on some metabolic parameters in high fat-diet (HFD)-induced obesity in mice. Then, real-time PCR and electrophysiology were used to explore the contribution of high voltage-activated Ca²⁺ channels (HVACCs), especially Ca_v1.1, on rimonabant's effect in skeletal muscle (SM) in HFD-induced obesity. Five-week HFD feeding caused body weight gain, and decreased glucose/insulin tolerance in mice compared to those in the regular diet group (P<0.05), which was restored by rimonabant treatment compared to the HFD group (P<0.05). Interestingly, HVACCs and Ca_v1.1 were decreased in soleus muscle cells in the HFD group compared to the control group. Daily treatment with rimonabant for 5 weeks was shown to counter such decrease (P<0.05). Collectively, our findings provided a novel understanding for peripheral CB1R's role in the modulation of body weight and glucose homeostasis and highlight peripheral CB1R as well as Cav1.1 in the SM as potential targets for obesity treatment.

Edge effect of strained bilayer nanofilms for tunable multistability and actuation

We employed both theoretical and computational models supported by experiments to study the multistable behavior of an edge-effect driven Si/Cr micro-claw. Our study showed that individual micro-claws demonstrate either monostability or bistability as the magnitude of the edge effect is varied.

Antioxidant metallothionein alleviates endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced myocardial apoptosis and contractile dysfunction

AIMS

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress exerts myocardial oxidative stress, apoptosis, and contractile anomalies, although the precise interplay between ER stress and apoptosis remains elusive. This study was designed to examine the impact of the cysteine-rich free radical scavenger metallothionein on ER stress-induced myocardial contractile defect and underlying mechanisms.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Wild-type friendly virus B and transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of metallothionein were challenged with the ER stress inducer tunicamycin (1 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, 48 h) prior to the assessment of myocardial function, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Our results revealed that tunicamycin promoted cardiac remodeling (enlarged left ventricular end systolic/diastolic diameters with little changes in left ventricular wall thickness), suppressed fractional shortening and cardiomyocyte contractile function, elevated resting Ca(2+), decreased stimulated Ca(2+) release, prolonged intracellular Ca(2+) clearance, and downregulated sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase levels, the effects of which were negated by metallothionein. Treatment with tunicamycin caused cardiomyocyte mitochondrial injury, as evidenced by decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (∆Ѱm, assessed by JC-1 staining), the effect of which was negated by the antioxidant. Moreover, tunicamycin challenge dramatically facilitated myocardial apoptosis as manifested by increased Bax, caspase 9, and caspase 12 protein levels, as well as elevated caspase 3 activity. Interestingly, metallothionein transgene significantly alleviated tunicamycin-induced myocardial apoptosis.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, our data favor a beneficial effect of metallothionein against ER stress-induced cardiac dysfunction possibly associated with attenuation of myocardial apoptosis.

Effect of hyperbaric oxygenation on mitochondrial function of neuronal cells in the cortex of neonatal rats after hypoxic-ischemic brain damage

The timing and mechanisms of protection by hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) have only been partially elucidated. We monitored the effect of HBO on the mitochondrial function of neuronal cells in the cerebral cortex of neonatal rats after HIBD. Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats (total of 360 of both genders) were randomly divided into normal control, HIBD, and HIBD+HBO groups. The HBO treatment began immediately after hypoxia-ischemia (HI) and continued once a day for 7 consecutive days. Animals were euthanized 0, 2, 4, 6, and 12 h post-HI to monitor the changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) occurring soon after a single dose of HBO treatment, as well as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 days post-HI to study ΔΨm changes after a series of HBO treatments. Fluctuations in ΔΨm were observed in the ipsilateral cortex in both HIBD and HIBD+HBO groups. Within 2 to 12 h after HI insult, the ΔΨm of the HIBD and HIBD+HBO groups recovered to some extent. A secondary drop in ΔΨm was observed in both groups during the 1-4 days post-HI period, but was more severe in the HIBD+HBO group. There was a secondary recovery of ΔΨm observed in the HIBD+HBO group, but not in the HIBD group, during the 5-7 days period after HI insult. HBO therapy may not lead to improvement of neural cell mitochondrial function in the cerebral cortex in the early stage post-HI, but may improve it in the sub-acute stage post-HI.