[Immunogenicity, safety and immune persistence of the sequential booster with the recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell) in healthy people aged 18-84 years]

Objective: To evaluate the immunogenicity, safety, and immune persistence of the sequential booster with the recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell) in healthy people aged 18-84 years. Methods: An open-label, multi-center trial was conducted in October 2021. The eligible healthy individuals, aged 18-84 years who had completed primary immunization with the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine 3 to 9 months before, were recruited from Shangyu district of Shaoxing and Kaihua county of Quzhou, Zhejiang province. All participants were divided into three groups based on the differences in prime-boost intervals: Group A (3-4 months), Group B (5-6 months) and Group C (7-9 months), with 320 persons per group. All participants received the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell). Blood samples were collected before the vaccination and after receiving the booster at 14 days, 30 days, and 180 days for analysis of GMTs, antibody positivity rates, and seroconversion rates. All adverse events were collected within one month and serious adverse events were collected within six months. The incidences of adverse reactions were analyzed after the booster. Results: The age of 960 participants was (52.3±11.5) years old, and 47.4% were males (455). The GMTs of Groups B and C were 65.26 (54.51-78.12) and 60.97 (50.61-73.45) at 14 days after the booster, both higher than Group A's 44.79 (36.94-54.30) (P value<0.05). The GMTs of Groups B and C were 23.95 (20.18-28.42) and 27.98 (23.45-33.39) at 30 days after the booster, both higher than Group A's 15.71 (13.24-18.63) (P value <0.05). At 14 days after the booster, the antibody positivity rates in Groups A, B, and C were 91.69% (276/301), 94.38% (302/320), and 93.95% (295/314), respectively. The seroconversion rates in the three groups were 90.37% (272/301), 93.75% (300/320), and 93.31% (293/314), respectively. There was no significant difference among these rates in the three groups (all P values >0.05). At 30 days after the booster, antibody positivity rates in Groups A, B, and C were 79.60% (238/299), 87.74% (279/318), and 90.48% (285/315), respectively. The seroconversion rates in the three groups were 76.92% (230/299), 85.85% (273/318), and 88.25% (278/315), respectively. There was a significant difference among these rates in the three groups (all P values <0.001). During the sequential booster immunization, the incidence of adverse events in 960 participants was 15.31% (147/960), with rates of about 14.38% (46/320), 17.50% (56/320), and 14.06% (45/320) in Groups A, B, and C, respectively. The incidence of adverse reactions was 8.02% (77/960), with rates of about 7.50% (24/320), 6.88% (22/320), and 9.69% (31/320) in Groups A, B, and C, respectively. No serious adverse events related to the booster were reported. Conclusion: Healthy individuals aged 18-84 years, who had completed primary immunization with the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine 3 to 9 months before, have good immunogenicity and safety profiles following the sequential booster with the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cell).

[The effect of diallyl sulfide on the lung tissue of rats poisoned by paraquat]

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of diallyl sulfide (DAS) on paraquat (PQ) - induced acute lung injury in rats. Methods: In May 2016, 32 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group, model (PQ) group, DAS treatment group and dexamethasone (DXM) treatment group, with 8 rats in each group. PQ poisoning model was established by intragastric administration of PQ solution (70 mg/kg) . 100 mg/kg DAS (DAS treatment group) , normal saline (control group and PQ group) and 1 mg/kg DXM (DXM treatment group) were injected intraperitoneally before and after modeling. After 24 hours, the rats were killed and the degree of lung injury was observed. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lung tissue was measured. Alveolar macrophages were isolated and cultured. The supernatant was taken to determine the content of NO, and the expressions of iNOS mRNA in alveolar macrophages were detected. Results: Compared with the control group, the pathological injury score and the expression of iNOS in the lung tissue of PQ group were significantly increased, and the content of NO secreted by alveolar macrophages and the expression of iNOS mRNA were significantly increased (P<0.05) . Compared with PQ group, the pathological injury scores and the expressions of iNOS in lung tissue of rats in DAS treatment group and DXM treatment group were significantly decreased, and the contents of NO secreted by alveolar macrophages and the expressions of iNOS mRNA were significantly decreased (P<0.05) . There was no significant difference between DXM group and DAS group (P>0.05) . Conclusion: DAS may have protective effect on acute lung injury induced by PQ in rats.

[Prevalence and related factors of CD4+T lymphocytes immune recovery among adult HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture]

Objective: To analyze the longitudinal characteristics of CD4⁺T lymphocytes (CD4) among the adult HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the related factors. Methods: A retrospective cohort of adult HIV/AIDS starting ART in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture (Dehong) in 2007-2016 was followed up to December 31, 2018. Group-based trajectory models were utilized to identify CD4 subgroups based on immune recovery (whether and when CD4 reached the average level of >500 cells/μl). The demographics and information at ART baseline were described, and the related factors were analyzed with polytomous logistic regression. The SAS 9.4 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 7 605 adults with HIV/AIDS were included, of which the median (P₂₅,P₇₅) age at ART were 36 (30,43) years old, 61.0% were male, 42.5% were Han nationality, and 60.8% with the education of primary school or below. The follow-up duration M (P₂₅, P₇₅) was 6.1 (4.1,8.1) years. HIV/AIDS in Dehong showed four CD4 trajectory subgroups from low to high: below the average level, primary recovery to a normal level, full recovery to a moderate level, and normal steady level, accounting for 34.4%, 39.8%, 20.6%, and 5.2%, respectively. When compared with corresponding control groups, age <35 years at ART, female, education of middle school or above, sexual transmission, no opportunistic infection, CD4 ≥200 cells/μl, baseline regimen with tenofovir (TDF) and time from HIV diagnosis to ART <1 year were the related factors facilitating the higher CD4 subgroups. Conclusions: The various CD4 immune recoveries of HIV/AIDS were changing patterns after ART. Starting ART with a high CD4 level was beneficial to CD4 recovery to normal level during the follow-up period. Early initiation of ART and exceptional attention to CD4 immune recovery should be encouraged after the ART.

Intratumoral IL17-producing cells infiltration correlate with antitumor immune contexture and improved response to adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Tumor IL17-producing (IL17A+) cells infiltration has different prognostic values among various cancers. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of IL17A+ cells in gastric cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study included two patient cohorts, the Cancer Genome Atlas cohort (TCGA, n = 351) and the Zhongshan Hospital cohort (ZSHC, n = 458). The TCGA and ZSHC were used for mRNA-related and cells infiltration-related analyses, respectively. The roles of IL17A mRNA and IL17A+ cells in overall survival (OS), response to adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT), and immune contexture were evaluated. Another independent cohort was included to identify the correlation between mRNA of IL17A and IL17A+ cells infiltration (the preliminary Zhongshan Hospital cohort, PZSHC, n = 21).

RESULTS

The infiltration of IL17A+ cells was positively correlated with the expression of IL17A mRNA (Spearman's ρ = 0.811; P < 0.001). High IL17A mRNA expression and intratumoral IL17A+ cells were correlated with improved OS and remained to be significant after adjusted for confounders. Patients with TNM II/III disease whose tumor present higher intratumoral IL17A+ cells or lower peritumoral IL17A+ cells can benefit more from ACT. Elevated IL17A mRNA expression and increased intratumoral IL17A+ cells infiltration was associated with more antitumor mast cells and nature killer cells infiltration and less pro-tumor M2 macrophages infiltration. High IL17A mRNA expression represented a Th17 cells signature and immune response process and was correlated with increased cytotoxic GZMA, GZMB, IFNG, PRF1, and TNFSF11 expression.

CONCLUSIONS

IL17A mRNA expression and intratumoral IL17A+ cells infiltration were correlated with antitumor immune contexture. IL17A+ cells infiltration could be used as an independent prognostic biomarker for OS and predictive biomarker for superior response to ACT, and further prospective validation needs to be conducted.

[A cohort study of HIV incidence among injecting drug users in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province]

Objective: To investigate the incidence rates of HIV among injection drug users (IDU) in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Methods: We recruited 1 413 HIV-negative IDU attending drug rehabilitation centers and identified a further 1 830 potential participants from a historical database from 2004-2009 using the same criteria. Fingerprint recognition technology was used to confirm the identity of all participants. A total of 3 243 HIV-negative IDU were recruited by the end of 2015, of which 2 546 (78.5%) had been followed up at least once since the initial data collection and 697 (21.5%) were lost to follow-up. Epidemiological data were collected through structured face-to-face interviews which included items on knowledge of AIDS, drug use, sexual activity and history of HIV testing. We collected 3-5 ml of venous blood from each subject for HIV testing. The Chi-squared test was used to compare the characteristics of those IDUs successfully followed up and those lost to follow-up. Results: We identified 226 new HIV cases among the 2 546 respondents-representing 13 907.1 person-years of follow-up and implying an average HIV incidence rate of 1.6 per 100 person-years over the entire study period (95%CI: 1.4-1.9). The incidence rate (per 100 person-years) was 2.6 (95%CI: 2.2-3.1) for the period 2004-2009 and 1.6 (95%CI: 1.0-2.3), 1.7 (95%CI: 1.1-2.4), 1.2 (95%CI: 0.8-1.9), 0.6 (95%CI: 0.3-1.1), 0.2 (95%CI:0.0-0.7), 0.5 (95%CI: 0.1-1.4) for each year from 2010 to 2015 respectively. Conclusion: Although the incidence rate of HIV remains high among IDUs in Dehong, there was a declining trend over the period studied.

[Phenotypic characteristics of LAP(+) CD4(+) T lymphocytes in colorectal cancer tissues]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the phenotypic characteristics of LAP(+) CD4(+) T lymphocytes and investigate their molecular mechanisms in colorectal cancer (CRC) microenvironment.

METHODS

Fifty colorectal cancer patients treated in our two hospitals from January 2014 to May 2014 were included in this study. Their tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues, peripheral blood samples, and peripheral blood samples of 25 healthy donors (HD) were collected to isolate the lymphocytes. The different expressions of CCR7, CD45RA, Foxp3, CTLA-4, CCR4 and CCR5 in LAP(+) CD4(+) T and LAP(-)CD4(+) T lymphocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM).

RESULTS

The FCM assay detected that the percentage of LAP(+) CD4(+) T cells in peripheral blood of the CRC patients were significantly higher than that of HD [(9.44±3.18)% versus (1.49±1.00)%, P<0.001]. In addition, significantly more LAP(+) CD4(+) T cells were also recruited into tumor tissue than those in the tumor-adjacent normal tissue [(11.76±3.74)% versus (3.87±1.64)%, P<0.001]. LAP(+) CD4(+) T cells in the tumor-adjacent normal tissue and peripheral blood of both HDs and CRC patients mainly displayed a central memory phenotype. However, effector memory lymphocytes were predominant in the tumor tissue.In the tumor tissue, the expression of Foxp3 in the LAP(+) CD4(+) T cells was (3.87±1.12)%, significantly lower than that in the LAP(-)CD4(+) T cells (16.70±2.61)%, (P<0.001); the expression of CTLA-4 in the LAP(+) CD4(+) T cells was (36.36±19.14)%, significantly higher than the (19.60±8.91)% in the LAP(-)CD4(+) T cells (P<0.001); the expression of CCR4 in the LAP(+) CD4(+) T cells was (37.72±11.14)%, significantly higher than the (30.06±9.14)% in the LAP(-)CD4(+) T cells (P<0.001); and the expression of CCR5 in the LAP(+) CD4(+) T cells was (18.86±7.10)%, significantly higher than the (13.92±3.31)% in the LAP(-)CD4(+) T cells (P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

LAP(+) CD4(+) T cells with low expression of Foxp3 and high expressions of CTLA-4, CCR4 and CCR5 are tend to be enriched and accumulated in the tumor tissue. The unique phenotypic characteristics make these cells a distinct subset of lymphocytes, apparently different from the traditional CD4(+) CD25(+) Treg cells.

[Multiple primary lung cancer]

From November 1957 to June 1984, 30 patients with multiple primary lung cancer were diagnosed, basing on clinical features, diagnostic means, histologic type, treatment and prognosis. Out of 3,815 cases of resected primary lung cancer, the incidence of multiple primary cancer was 0.8%. There were 10 synchronous and 20 metachronous cases. There were 17 unilateral, only 1 simultaneous bilateral and 12 contralateral after resection of cancer in the opposite lung. Four of the 10 synchronous cases were definitely diagnosed preoperatively. Among the 20 metachronous cases, 9 were definitely diagnosed as a second primary lesion and the other 11 were proved by thoracotomy. Pathologically, 19 had identical types (15 squamous cell and 4 adenocarcinoma) but 11 had double types (9 squamous cell + adenocarcinoma, 2 squamous cell + anaplastic). The average survival of these 30 patients was 27.1 months, that in the synchronous group was 29 months and that in the metachronous group was 26.2 months. The 5 year survival rate of the synchronous cases was 35%, that of the metachronous cases was 42%. The clinicopathological criteria of multiple primary lung cancer, early diagnostic and operative procedure are also discussed.

[CMC chemotherapy regimen combined with surgery of small cell lung cancer (SCLC)]

From Dec. 1982 to Oct. 1984, 35 patients with SCLC proved by pathology or cytology, were treated by cyclophosphamide + methotrexate + CCNU (CMC) regimen combined with surgery in our hospital. All the patients received chemotherapy for more than 2 courses and the overall response rate was 85.7%, complete remission (CR) rate was 14.3%. Toxic reactions were tolerable to the patients. Treatment result was better in SCLC with localized than extensive disease. Operation was done for 9 out of 21 patients with localized lesions which had responded to chemotherapy. Of them, 1 died of postoperative complication, 2 were lost in follow-up and the rest 6 were disease-free for 8-32 months with a median survival time of 19 months. The 1 year survival rate was 75%. The results indicate that in limited disease of SCLC, successful chemotherapy combined with surgery can prolong the survival time. For patients with an limited disease which has given a CR, surgical resection should be strived for.

[Chemotherapy combined with selective resection in small cell lung cancer--analysis of 239 patients]

From 1957 to 1976, 143 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were treated with surgical resection followed by chemotherapy. The 5 year survival rates were 38.7%, 8.7% and 3.5% in stages I, II and III. The prognostic factors were clinical stage and chemotherapy. 4 stage I and 1 stage II patients without chemotherapy have survived for more than 5 years. It seems to suggest that SCLC in stage I be indicated for surgery. 4 stage III have survived for more than 5 years, all of whom had received postoperative chemotherapy for more than 4 courses. From 1980 to 1982, 96 patients with SCLC were treated, 37 of whom by chemotherapy combined with surgery. 11/37 patients were alive for more than 2 years, 7 for more than 3 years and 4 for more than 4 years. In the preoperative chemotherapy followed by selective resection plus postoperative chemotherapy group (13 patients), the mean survival time was 22.7 months, but in the postoperative chemotherapy group (24 patients), it was 11.0 months. It indicates that full-dose chemotherapy before and after operation may be superior to the postoperative chemotherapy alone.