[Analysis of clinical characteristics of children with adenoid hypertrophy and pharyngolaryngeal reflux]

Objectives: To explore the clinical characteristics of children with adenoid hypertrophy (AH) and laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) by detecting the expression of pepsin in adenoids as a standard for AH with LPR. Methods: A total of 190 children who were admitted for surgical treatment due to AH were included in the study. The main clinical symptoms of the patients were recorded, and the degree of adenoid hypertrophy was evaluated. Before the surgery, Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) and Reflux Finding Score (RFS) were used to evaluate the reflux symptoms. After the surgery, pepsin immunohistochemical staining was performed on the adenoid tissue, and according to the staining results, the patients were divided into study group (pepsin staining positive) and control group (pepsin staining negative). SPSS 19.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Quantitative data conforming to normal distribution between the two groups were tested by two-independent sample t test, and quantitative data with skewed distribution were tested by Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The positive rate of pepsin staining in the 190 AH patients was 78.4% (149/190). The study group had higher levels of preoperative symptoms such as erythema and/or congestion of the pharynx(2.1±0.7 vs. 1.8±0.6,t=2.23), vocal cord edema[1.0(0, 1.0) vs. 1.0(0, 1.0), Z=2.00], diffuse laryngeal edema[0(0, 1.0) vs. 0(0, 0), Z=2.48], posterior commissure hypertrophy[(1.4±0.6 vs. 1.1±0.5), t=2.63], and a higher total score on the RFS scale than the control group(6.2±2.7 vs. 5.0±2.6, t=2.47), with statistical differences (P<0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of RFS score in diagnosing AH with LPR were 24.8% and 80.5%, respectively. When RFS>5 was used as the positive threshold, the sensitivity and specificity of RFS score in diagnosing AH with LPR were 61.1% and 58.5%, respectively. There was a statistical difference in the number of positive cases of RFS score between the study group and the control group(91 vs. 17,χ2=5.04,P=0.032). Conclusions: LPR is common in AH children. Children with AH and LPR have specific performance in electronic laryngoscopy, such as erythema with edema in the pharynx, posterior commissure hypertrophy, and vocal cord edema.

[The effects of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 inflammasome on obstructive sleep apnea and its complications]

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder with a high incidence and severe impact on the human body, which can induce systemic chronic inflammatory responses. Chronic inflammation is an important cause of exacerbation of OSA and its associated complications. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) is an inflammasome that is widely found in epithelial cells and immune cells and plays an important role in inflammatory diseases as an important component of innate immunity. Research evidence suggests that the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes can exacerbate the damage to neurons, endothelial cells, lung and kidney caused by OSA, and these effects can be eliminated by genetic or pharmacological deletion of NLRP3. Targeting inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome may serve as a co-therapeutic strategy for OSA-induced related complications. This article reviews NLRP3 inflammasome and its mechanism in OSA-related concurrent diseases, which can provide scientific basis for prevention and intervention of OSA and its related complications.

[Prevalence of allergic rhinitis in Chinese children from 2001 to 2021: Meta analysis]

Objective: To analyze the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in Chinese children from 2001 to 2021, in order to provide data support for the prevention and treatment of allergic rhinitis in children. Methods: "Allergic rhinitis" "children" "adolescent" "infant" "prevalence" "epidemiology" were used in the main search terms. The combination of Mesh words and free words was adopted. CNKI, CBM, VIP, WanFang Data, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and The Cochrane Library for publications between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2021 were searched systemically and data were extracted from eligible studies by two independent reviewers. Supplementary collection was made by identifying retrospective references from the included literature. After study quality assessment, Meta analysis was completed using Stata 16.0 software. Results: A total of 20 cross-sectional studies were included, involving 54 886 cases. Meta analysis results showed that the overall prevalence of allergic rhinitis among the participants was 18.46% (95%CI:14.34%-22.59%). Subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence of allergic rhinitis from 2012 to 2021 (19.75%) was higher than that from 2001 to 2011 (14.81%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The prevalence of different regions from high to low was East China (22.77%), North China (20.82%), Northwest China (17.77%), Central China (16.62%), Southwest China (16.33%), Northeast China (16.16%) and South China (7.29%) respectively, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The prevalence of male (20.73%) was higher than that of female (16.34%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The prevalence of Han nationality(17.31%) was higher than that of ethnic minorities (15.93%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis in Chinese children is high and the prevalence in children varies by publication year, region, sex and nationality.

[Study on the correlation between meteorological factors and acute otitis media in outpatients of children in Beijing]

Objective: To explore the characteristics of acute otitis media(AOM) in children in Beijing and its correlation with meteorological factors. Methods: Data were collected in 2011-2013 in the Otolaryngology Department of Capital Institute of Pediatrics. AOM in children with relevant information, such as age, sex and season, with the same period of the Beijing municipal meteorological data (the average temperature, average pressure, average wind speed, humidity and PM2.5) were compared to analysis the relationship of meteorological environmental parameters and the onset of AOM in children. Results: Annual morbidity of AOM was 7 589, 8 245, 7 242 respectively, no obvious difference(P=0.761). It was noted that one peak could be seen in December, and a valley in February, followed by August. Summer was less than the other three seasons (P<0.05). The morbidity of AOM had a small peak within one year after birth, then reached peak at the age of about 4, and then reduced gradually. In different age groups, male patients were higher than those of female. The incidence of AOM was positively correlation tendency with air pressure and PM2.5 (r=0.333, 0.093, P=0.000, 0.002), which was negatively correlation tendency with daily temperature or humidity (r=-0.327, -0.195, P=0.000, 0.000). Conclusions: The incidence of AOM of children in Beijing changes with age, and has obvious seasonal variation. There may be some correlation between the meteorological factors and the incidence of AOM in children.

[Effect of treating obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome on chronic cough in children]

Objective: To understand the effect of treating obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) on chronic cough in children. Methods: A total of 100 consecutive children with OSAHS diagnosed by polysomnography(PSG) and chronic cough were included in this study. All children underwent cough condition assessment, OSA-18 scales and MS-IOS before and after surgery, and all children were followed-up for 3 months. Children were separated into three groups according to the severity of OSAHS. Related parameters like Zr, Rf, R5, R20, X5, X35, Rc, Rp obtained from MS-IOS, OSA-18 scores and cough scores were compared between different groups using paired t-test or Wilcoxon sum test. Results: There existed significantly positive correlations between AHI and scores of OSA-18(r=0.653, P<0.01). AHI positively related to cough scores including diurnal(r=0.470, P<0.01)and nocturnal cough scores(r=0.459, P<0.01). Scores of OSA-18 had similarity in correlations with diurnal(r=0.527, P<0.01)and nocturnal cough scores(r=0.532, P<0.01). All children got improved in OSA-18 scales and cough scores after treatment. In details, the three groups were mild group(n=34), moderate group(n=37), severe group(n=29). OSA-18 scales decreased dramatically in each group after surgery, Z values were -5.014, -5.035, -4.624 respectively(P=0.000). Cough scores in day and night got reduced after treatment, Z values were -5.112, -5.102, -5.394, -5.374, -4.777, -4.770 in three groups. Rp in all children got alleviated after surgical management, Z were -3.150, -5.035, -5.374(P=0.000). Other parameters were analyzed using paired t test. Z5, R5, R20, R35 got reduced in all three groups.X5 got reduced in mild and moderate groups. Rc reduced only in the moderate group. Conclusions: OSAHS may be a trigger or inducer of chronic cough. Active treatment of OSAHS via surgery can improve the quality of children's life and alleviate the symptoms of cough in day and night.

Upregulated Hoxc6 expression is associated with poor survival in gastric cancer patients

Human Hox genes (Homeobox) have crucial roles in development and differentiation, regulating numerous processes including apoptosis, receptor signalling, differentiation, motility and angiogenesis. Aberrant expression of Hoxc6 gene has been reported in several tumor tissues and cancer cell lines. The prognostic significance of Hoxc6 in gastric cancer remains largely unknown.This study was aimed to investigate the clinical significance of Hoxc6 in gastric cancer.Total RNA of paired tissue samples (n=25) and a tissue microarray containing 161 paired tissues from patients with gastric cancers at different stages were collected. Quantitative real-time PCR and immunochemistry assay were carried out to investigate the expression of Hoxc6. Hoxc6 mRNA was increased in gastric cancer tissues ( 16 of 25) compared with the adjacent normal mucosa (P<0.05). Immunohistochemical detection showed that expression of Hoxc6 was associated with the depth of tumor invasion (P<0.05). Patients with higher expression levels of Hoxc6 had a shorter overall survival rate (P<0.05).Hoxc6 might contribute to the progression of gastric carcinogenesis and may be a significant predictor of poor survival in patients with gastric cancer after curative operations.

[Effects of novel human chemokine-like factor superfamily 8 on proliferation and EGFR expression of HL-60 cells]

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of chemokine-like factor superfamily 8 (CKLFSF8) on proliferation and expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) of HL-60 cells. Expression of CKLFSF8 mRNA on HL-60 cell line was assayed by RT-PCR; the target gene was transfected into the cells by lipid vector, cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay, while expression of EGFR in HL-60 was determined by immunocytochemical technique. The results indicated that expression of CKLFSF8 existed in HL-60 cells. After transfection, cell proliferation was inhibited (P < 0.05) and the expression of EGFR in HL-60 cells was also discovered to be inhibited (P < 0.05). It is concluded that the proliferation and expression of EGFR in HL-60 cells can be inhibited by transfection of CKLFSF8. The novel chemokine may provide a new approach in the treatment of leukemia.

[Production of specific CTL induced by exosomes derived from K562 cells]

The aim of this study was to investigate whether exosomes derived from K562 cells and human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) transfected with total RNA of K562 cells are capable of inducing antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) responses in vitro. DCs were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) of healthy volunteers in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4, and then were transfected with K562 RNA by using DOTAP lipofection. Exosomes was extracted from the supernatant of DCs and K562 cells. The T cell were activated to be tumor specific CTL after DCs and exosomes were co-cultured with autologous T cells derived from healthy volunteers' PBMNC. The effect of CTL on K562 cells was detected by MTT assay. The results showed that treatment of T cells with exosomes derived from K562 cells or DCs transfected with total RNA of K562 cells could significantly promote their killing ability on K562 cells as compared with untreated T cells (P < 0.05). The killing ability of T cells treated with exosomes on K562 cells was stronger than on HL-60 cells (P < 0.05). It is concluded that the specific CTL immune response to leukemia cells can be induced by exosomes derived from K562 cells.

A new experimental and clinical approach of combining usage of highly active tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and highly sensitive antitumor drugs for the advanced malignant tumor

In recent years, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been reported to be effective for tumors in experimental and clinical research. In order to increase the therapeutical effect, we modified some steps of Rosenberg's approach: a. cold digestion with collagenase at 4 degrees C for 24 hours; b. sedimentation instead of centrifugation; c. elimination of tumor cells before the cultivation procedure. Compared with the original approach, the proliferation, activity and cytotoxicity of TILs obtained by the modified procedure were much improved. TILs' expansion-fold was greater than that with the original approach. Cytotoxicity against tumor cells was more potent. Increased TILs' subsets were CD3 and CD8 cells. Meanwhile, we took tumor cells from tumor tissues to test their in vitro chemosensitivities to different drugs in order to select highly sensitive antitumor drugs for treatment of cases with advanced tumors. According to the design of using highly active TILs and highly sensitive drugs (H & H therapy), preliminary clinical results of 50 cases showed higher response rates than those in treatment with TIL/IL2, LAK/IL2 and TIL+IL2+CTX. Less toxic side effects were observed in 14 patients.

[Granule protein contents of polymorphonuclear leucocytes and serum in 30 cases of myelodysplastic syndromes]

Intracellular contents and serum levels of neutrophilic granule protein components, including myeloperoxidase (MPO), lactoferrin (LF) and lysozyme (LYZ), were investigated in 30 cases of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), with 59 healthy adult donors as controls. Both neutrophilic MPO and LF decreased significantly, suggesting the transformation of abnormal clones. Both serum levels of LF and LYZ exhibited a considerable fluctuation which may reflect reflect granulopoiesis in the bone marrow. We are of the opinion that measurement of intracellular MPO, LF, LYZ and their serum levels may aid in the diagnosis and prognosis of MDS and is proved to be of great clinical significance.