Objective To explore the significance of changes of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9),interleukin-6 (IL-6),and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-oα) protein level in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with viral encephalitis (VE).Methods The concentration of neuron-specific enolase (NSE),structural proteins 100B (S100B),and MMP-9,IL-6,TNF-α in the CSF of VE children were detected by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay,and the correlations of them were analyzed.Results NSE,S100B,MMP-9,IL-6,TNF-α protein expression could be found significantly higher than those in the control group,and there were significant differences according to statistics expression trends(all P ＜0.05).The NSE protein expression was significantly positive related with S100B in the VE group (r =0.467,P =0.009),and the concentration was markedly negative related with the duration of viral encephalitis (r =-0.472,P =0.008).MMP-9,IL-6 protein expression were significantly positive related with NSE,S100B respectively (r =0.698,P =0.00 ; r =0.559,P =0.00 ; r =0.812,P =0.00 ; r =0.664,P =0.00).TNF-α protein expression was positive related with CSF S100B(r =0.363,P =0.049),but there was no correlation between TNF-α and NSE (r =0.245,P =0.193).Conclusions The neurons and the neuroglial cells are damaged in the viral encephalitis children.MMP-9,IL-6,TNF-α protein may participate in the pathological damage process of nerve cells in VE children in different degrees.

Objective To enhance the understanding of hemophagocytic syndrome(HPS)by analyzing the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and therapy. Methods The clinical data of 12 patients with HPS were retrospectively collected in the People's Hospital of Jiangsu Province from 2000 to 2007. The relevant literature were reviewed. Results Twelve patients were diagnosed as secondary hemophagocytic syndrome most secondary to virus and bacteria infection. Some patients condition was associated with systemic lupus erythematosus or histiocytic necrotizing lympheadenitis. All of the 12 patients had high fever, abnormal liver function and showed a decrease in the number of blood cells in a short time. After antivirus and antibiotic treatment, 11 patients'condition were improved and 1 patient died. Conclusion Hemophagocytic syndrome is not a common clinical condition but with poor prognosis. When patient presents with fever without apparent reasons and pancytopenia, bone marrow examination should be done and sometimes repeated bone marrow examinations are needed. The diagnosis of secondary haemophagocytic syndrome needs multidisciplineary cooperation. Aggressive diagnostic procedures are needed to clarify the diagnosis and prompt treatments are warranted to improve prognosis.

Objective To investigate the effects of cytokines on the expression of angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor (AT1R) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in rats. Methods Primary cultured VSMCs from SD rat thoracic aorta were cultured in serum-free DMEM for 24 h, and then in DMEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum for another 12 h. The cultured VSMCs were randomly divided into 5 groups (n =6 each): control group (group C); 10% cytokine group (group L); 50% cytokine group (group N); 100% cytokine group (group H) and L-arginine methy ester (L-NAME), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase) group. In group C, the cellswere cultured continuously for 12 h. In L, N and H groups, 10%, 50% and 100% cytokines (IL-1β 50 ng/ml +TNF-α 100 ng/ml + IFN-γ 500 ng/ml) were added to the culture medium respectively and the cells were then incubated for 12 h. In group L-NAME, 100% cytokines + L-NAME 5 mmol/L were added to the culture medium and the cells were then incubated for 12 h. The expression of AT1R mPNA and protin was determined by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively.Results Cytokines down-regulated AT1R mRNA and protein expression in a concentration-dependent manner (P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01). L-NAME reversed cytokines-induced changes in AT1R mRNA and protein expression ( P ＜ 0.01). Conclusion Cytokines can down-regulate the expression of AT1R in rat VSMCs and the mechanism is related to the NO synthesis.

Objective To explore the protective role of lipoxin A4 (LXA4) during early process of atherosclerosis formation in rats with juvenile metabolic syndrome (MS).Methods Rat models of juvenile MS were established with 3-week Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats fed on high-carbonhydrates and high-fat diet for 6 weeks.The other qualified ones were randomly grouped into model group,LXA4 low-dose group,LXA4 middle-dose group,and LXA4high dose group,and a control group fed with normal forage.The low,middle,high-dose groups were injected different doses of LXA4 daily,while the model group and control group were injected with the same dose of isotonic NaCl solution for 2 consecutive weeks.After 2-week medication,the visceral adipose tissue were isolated by laparotomy and heart blood collected by thoracotomy under anesthesia,followed the fixation of thoracic and abdominal aortas in the immobilized rats.The mRNA expression level of inflammation cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6),tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),C-reactive protein (CRP) in the adipose tissue were determined by semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR),respectively.Secretions of IL-6,and TNF-α in serum were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Immunocytochemistry was used to label endomembrane and middle-membrane of thoracic aorta,and endothelial cell layer in each group and the ratios of thickness of endomembrane and middle-membrane were compared.Results Compared with the control group,weight,body length and abdominal circumference of juvenile MS rats increased significantly (all P ＜ 0.05),and levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG),triglyceride (TG),high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and insulin in models increased significantly (P ＜ 0.05).RT-PCR showed that the mRNA expressions of inflammatory cytokines IL-6,TNF-α and CRP in adipose tissue in model rats were upexpressed (all P ＜ 0.05).Compared with model rats,mRNA of IL-6,TNF-oα,and CRP in mid,high-dose rats were downexpressed (all P ＜ 0.05),mRNA of TNF-α in low-dose rat downexpressed (all P ＜ 0.05),and there were no significant differences between mRNA expressions of IL-6,CRP in low-dose and model rats according to statistics (all P ＞0.05).Compared with control group,inflammatory cytokines IL-6,TNF-α secreted in serum of model rats were increased significantly (all P ＜ 0.05),and inflammatory cytokines secreted in serum of intervention rats were decreased significantly compared with model rats (P ＜ 0.05).Pathological changes were as follows:HE staining:compared to model group,aortic tunica intima of model rats were remarkably thickened and endothelial cell layer was fragmented and incomplete,which was attenuated in each intervention group.The ratios of endomembrane and middle-membrane in rats:at the end of consecutive medication for 2 weeks,the ratios of endomembrane and middle-membrane in model rats were significantly greater than those of control group (P ＜ O.05),and the ratios of endomembrane and middle-membrane in high-dose intervention rats were significantly smaller than those of the model group (P ＜ 0.05),but still greater than control group,while there were no statistical differences between the ratios in low,middle-dose intervention rats and model rats (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The increasing inflammatory cytokines are involved in early process of atherosclerosis formation in rats with juvenile MS.LXA4 by reducing the expression of inflammatory factor level in adipose tissue,thereby reducing the inflammatory cytokines in serum,alleviate the damage of arterial wall.

Objective To observe the effects of high-fat feeding on growth and the expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1),insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) in adolescent rats'liver with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,and to elucidate the relationship between growth failure in adolescent rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and IGF-1,IRS-1 turbulence.Methods Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley (SD) young rats of 21 days were randomly divided into normal control group(NC group,n =18) and high-fat feeding group(HF group,n =18).Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) model was induced by feeding the SD rats with high-fat food.Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect the expression levels of IGF-1 and IRS-1 in liver tissue.The expressions of mRNA of IGF-1 and IRS-1 were measured by RT-PCR.Results Compared with NC group,the serum alanine amino transferase (ALT),total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG) of HF group in the 6th,8 th,12th week were gradually increased.The serum ALT [(194.67 ± 11.15) U/L],TC [(1.81 ± 0.09) mmol/L],TG [(0.34 ± 0.05) mmol/L] contents of HF group at 8th week were higher than those at 6th week [(166.00 ± 22.01) U/L,(1.52 ± 0.22) mmol/L,(0.41 ±0.12) mmol/L,respectively],and the serum ALT[(213.0 ±27.67) U/L],TC[(2.15 ±0.37) mmol/L],TG[(0.38 ±0.15)mmol/L] contents of the 12th week were significantly increased compared with 6th week and 8th week.The constitution and body length of the HF group were lower than those of the normal control group.With time extended,the liver tissue steatosis,inflammation,the balloon like change of the liver tissue pathology of HF group in 6,8,12th week gradually increased.Immunohistochemistry results showed that HF group IRS-1 [(1.46 ± 0.23),(0.74 ± 0.17),(0.85 ± 0.31)],IGF-1 [(0.92 ± 0.02),(0.83 ± 0.02),(0.77 ± 0.03)] expression gradually decreased,the difference was statistically significant(F =36.024,P ＜ 0.05).IGF-1 and IRS-1 mRNA expressions in HF group were consistent.Conclusion The liver tissue IGF-1 and IRS-1 are correlated with the weight and body length.The growth failure of young rats induced by high-fat feeding may be related to the decreased expression of IGF-1 and IRS-1.

Objective To investigate the efficacy of different courses of saccharomyces boulardii powder combined with triple therapy in eradicating helicobacter pylori(Hp)in children.Methods A total of 135 children with Hp-related gastritis who received initial treatment in the Department of Pediatrics,Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from October 2021 to June 2022 were selected and divided into three groups according to random number table method:group A,group B and group C,with 45 cases in each group.Group A:triple therapy(omeprazole + clarithromycin + amoxicillin)for 14 days;group B and group C:on the basis of triple therapy,saccharomyces boulardii powder was added from the first day of treatment for 2 weeks and 4 weeks,respectively.The adverse reactions during treatment were recorded,the levels of serum pepsinogen Ⅰ(PGⅠ)and pepsinogen Ⅱ(PGⅡ),clinical efficacy and Hp eradica-tion rate were observed 4 weeks after the end of treatment.Results The levels of serum PGⅠ and PGⅡ in the three groups after treat-ment were significantly lower than those before treatment(P<0.05),the levels of serum PGⅠ and PGⅡ in group B and group C after treatment were lower than those in group A(P<0.05),and the levels of serum PGⅠ and PGⅡ in group B were lower than those in group C after treatment(P<0.05).The clinical effective rates of group B(93.0%)and group C(90.4%)were higher than those of group A(62.5%)(P<0.05).The clinical effective rate of group B was higher than that of group C(P>0.05).The Hp eradication rate of group B and group C was significantly higher than that of group A(P<0.05),and the Hp eradication rate of group B was higher than that of group C(P>0.05).The incidence of diarrhea and loss of appetite in group B and group C were lower than those in group A(P<0.05);the incidence of diarrhea and loss of appetite in group B was lower than that in group C(P<0.05).There was no signifi-cant difference in the incidence of abdominal pain,nausea and vomiting among the three groups(P>0.05).Conclusion Saccharomy-ces boulardii decoction combined with triple therapy for 2 or 4 weeks can effectively regulate PG level,improve the eradication rate of Hp,and reduce the incidence of adverse reactions.It is suggested that 2 weeks is the best course of treatment.

Objective:To explore the expression of the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain protein 6 (NLR family,pyrin domain containing 6,NLRP6) in the gastric tissue and gastric juice of children with chronic non-atrophic gastritis (CNG), and to analyze the influence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection on the expression of NLRP6.Methods:A case-control study was conducted to select 120 CNG patients in pediatrics of Department of Pediatrics, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from October 2020 to July 2021. According to pathological diagnosis, endoscopic gastric mucosal damage and Hp infection, they were divided into 4 groups: mild CNG group Hp negative, Moderate to severe CNG group Hp negative, Mild CNG group Hp positive, Moderate to severe CNG group Hp positive. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the expression level of NLRP6 in the four groups of gastric tissue and gastric juice, and Western blot was used to detect the expression of NLRP6 in the gastric tissue of the 4 groups, and the significance of expression in CNG of children is analyzed. Independent sample t-test was used to compare the mean between the two groups. One way ANOVA was used to compare the mean of multiple groups of samples, and LSD t-test was used for pairwise comparison. Comparison between count data groups χ 2 inspection. Results:The positive rate of Hp in the moderate to severe chronic non-atrophic gastritis group was 62.96% (34/54) higher than that in the mild chronic non-atrophic gastritis group 37.04% (20/54), and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=18.32, P<0.001). Under the same Hp conditions, the expression of NLRP6 in the mild chronic non-atrophic gastritis group (Hp negative mild CNG: gastric tissue (653.73±37.71) ng/L, gastric juice (471.75±38.47) ng/L; Hp positive mild CNG: Gastric tissue (616.69±43.33) ng/L, gastric juice (445.29±36.39) ng/L was higher than the moderate to severe chronic non-atrophic gastritis group (Hp negative moderate to severe CNG: gastric tissue (623.82±52.99) ng/L, gastric juice (446.48±47.49) ng/L; Hp positive Moderate to severe CNG: gastric tissue (580.43±62.75) ng/L, gastric juice (406.88±51.85) ng/L, the difference is statistically significant (under Hp negative, mild compared with moderate to severe CNG: gastric tissue P=0.035; gastric juice P=0.046; Under Hp positive, mild compared with moderate to severe CNG: gastric tissue P=0.010;gastric juice P=0.002); in the same degree of gastric mucosal injury, NLRP6 expression in Hp-negative group (Hp-negative mild CNG: gastric tissue (653.73±37.71) ng/L, gastric juice (471.75±38.47) ng/L; Hp negative moderate to severe CNG: gastric tissue (623.82±52.99) ng/L, gastric juice (446.48±47.49) ng/L higher than the positive group (Hp positive mild CNG: gastric tissue (616.69±43.33) ng/L, gastric juice (445.29±36.39) ng/L; Hp positive moderate to severe CNG: gastric tissue (580.43±62.75) ng/L, gastric juice (406.88±51.85) ng/L, the difference is statistically significant (under mild CNG, Hp negative is compared with positive: Gastric tissue P=0.005; gastric juice P=0.023; under moderate to severe CNG, negative versus positive: gastric tissue P=0.004; gastric juice P=0.003). Conclusion:Under the same Hp conditions, the more severe the gastric mucosal damage, the lower the NLRP6; under the same degree of mucosal damage, the expression level of NLRP6 in the Hp-negative group was significantly higher than that of the Hp-positive group. It is suggested that NLRP6 plays a role in inhibiting inflammation in chronic gastritis, maintaining the integrity of epithelial cells, and Hp can inhibit the expression of NLRP6.

Objective:To investigate the effect of helicobacter pylori (HP) infection and eradication treatment on small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in children.Methods:A prospective case-control study was conducted to select 68 children with symptoms of abdominal distension, abdominal pain, diarrhea and suspected digestive system diseases admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from June 2021 to June 2022. They were divided into HP negative group and HP positive group according to HP infection. HP positive group received triple standardized HP eradication treatment, 14 days as a course of treatment. The baseline SIBO positive rate and gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS) score of the two groups were compared. The HP positive group was followed up for 4 and 12 weeks after drug withdrawal for quantitative assessment of gastrointestinal symptoms and LHBT. The SIBO positive rate, GSRS score of the two groups and the change of SIBO positive rate and GSRS score of the HP positive group before and after treatment were compared. The measurement data with normal distribution were expressed, and independent sample t-test was used for comparison between the two groups. M( Q1, Q3) was used to represent the measurement data of non normal distribution, and Mann Whitney U test was used to compare the two groups; Friedman test was used for comparison between multiple time points, and Nemenyi test was used for pairwise comparison. Four grid table or paired χ 2 test was used to compare the counting data between groups. Results:The positive rate of SIBO in HP negative group was lower than that in HP positive group (36.1% (13/36) vs 62.5% (20/32)), the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=4.72, P=0.030). Four weeks after drug withdrawal, the SIBO positive rate in HP positive group was higher than that before treatment (87.5% (28/32) vs 62.5% (20/32)), and 12 weeks after drug withdrawal was lower than that before treatment (21.9% (7/32) vs 62.5% (20/32)), with statistically significant differences (χ 2=8.00, P=0.008; χ 2=13.00, P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in GSRS score between HP negative group and HP positive group ( P=0.098). The clinical symptoms of 32 children in HP positive group were improved 4 and 12 weeks after HP eradication was stopped. GSRS scores were lower than those before treatment (8.0 (6.0, 12.8), 7.0 (5.0, 9.0) points vs 15.0 (12.0, 19.0) points) , and the differences were statistically significant ( Z values were -3.91, -4.68, respectively; all P<0.001). Conclusions:HP infection can increase the positive rate of SIBO in children with suspected digestive system diseases. The standardized triple HP eradication therapy may further aggravate the overgrowth of intestinal bacteria while treating HP infection, but this effect can be eliminated after 12 weeks of treatment.

Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matched unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (MUD-HSCT) for adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a single center. Methods: Consecutive adult AML who received MUD-HSCT in our center from January 2008 to April 2017 were studied retrospectively, comparing with patients undergoing matched sibling donor (MSD) -HSCT in the same period. The rates of overall survival (OS) , disease free survival (DFS) , relapse, non-relapse mortality (NRM) , engraftment, acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD and cGVHD) were analyzed. Results: A total of 247 consecutive cases were enrolled, including 46 patients with MUD-HSCT and 201 with MSD-HSCT. All the patients experienced neutrophil engraftment except for one patient who died early in the MSD group, but the median day of engraftment was longer in the MUD group (15.0 vs 14.0, P=0.017) . The accumulative engraftment rate of platelet was comparable between the two groups (93.5%vs 98.0%, P=0.128) . The accumulative incidences of aGVHD (50.0%vs 46.3%, P=0.421) and cGVHD (37.8%vs 43.0%, P=0.581) were not statistically different between the two groups. Compared with the MSD group, the accumulative NRM rate at+36 months after transplantation was significantly higher in the MUD group (22.0%vs 10.4%, P=0.049) , while the relapse rate was not statistical difference (20.5 vs 28.3%, P=0.189) . Both the 3-year OS (61.6%vs 63.3%, P=0.867) and DFS (57.5%vs 61.6%, P=0.760) were comparable between the two groups. Four independent risk factors were confirmed by the multivariate analysis: patient age ≥45 years old, CR2 or NR before transplantation, a history of extramedullary infiltration and the occurrence of grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ aGVHD. No statistical differences were demonstrated in the survival rate between MUD-and MSD-HSCT in different subgroups. Conclusions The outcomes, such as GVHD, relapse, OS and DFS, were comparable between MUD-and MSD-HSCT for adult AML, but higher incidence of NRM and longer time to neutrophil engraftment in the MUD group. MUD-HSCT is practical and feasible for adult AML who are lack of MSD.

Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients who received HLA-matched sibling donor allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (MSD-PBSCT) . Methods: The clinical data of 138 MDS patients received MSD-PBSCT from Sep. 2005 to Dec. 2017 were retrospectively analyzed, and the overall survival (OS) rate, disease-free survival (DFS) rate, relapse rate (RR) , non-relapse mortality (NRM) rate and the related risk factors were explored. Results: ①After a median follow-up of 1 050 (range 4 to 4 988) days, the 3-year OS and DFS rates were (66.6±4.1) % and (63.3±4.1) %, respectively. The 3-year cumulative incidence of RR and NRM rates were (13.9±0.1) % and (22.2±0.1) %, respectively. ②Univariate analysis showed that patients with grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) or hematopoietic cell transplantation comorbidity index (HCT-CI) ≥2 points or patients in very high-risk group of the Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) had significantly decreased OS[ (42.9±13.2) %vs (72.9±4.2) %, χ²=8.620, P=0.003; (53.3±7.6) %vs (72.6±4.7) %, χ²=6.681, P=0.010; (53.8±6.8) %vs (76.6±6.2) %vs (73.3±7.7) %, χ²=6.337, P=0.042]. For MDS patients with excess blasts-2 (MDS-EB2) and acute myeloid leukemia patients derived from MDS (MDS-AML) , pre-transplant chemotherapy or hypomethylating agents (HMA) therapy could not improve the OS rate[ (60.4±7.8) %vs (59.2±9.6) %, χ²=0.042, P=0.838]. ③Multivariate analysis indicated that the HCT-CI was an independent risk factor for OS and DFS (P=0.012, HR=2.108, 95%CI 1.174-3.785; P=0.008, HR=2.128, 95%CI 1.219-3.712) . Conclusions HCT-CI was better than the IPSS-R in predicting the outcomes after transplantation. The occurrence of grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ aGVHD is a poor prognostic factor for OS. For patients of MDS-EB2 and MDS-AML, immediate transplantation was recommended instead of receiving pre-transplant chemotherapy or HMA therapy.