Objectives To investigate the expression of B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) and its receptor BAFF-R(a receptor of B-cell activator factor, belonging to the TNF family) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to explore their clinical significance. Methods The patients were separated into active group (n = 28) and inactive group (n = 24) according to the SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI). The mRNA and protein expression of BLyS and its receptor BAFF-R were measured by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western-blot in PBMCs from the patients and 21 healthy volunteers. The relationship between the expression of BLyS and BAFF-R and SLEDAI was analyzed. Results In the case of the expression of mRNA and protein of BLyS and BAFF-R, the patients had a higher level than the healthy controls (P 0.05). Conclusions These findings indicate that BLyS and its receptor BAFF-R might be involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. Also, BLyS expression level might be a new parameter for the evaluation of SLE disease activity and therapeutic effect.

Fluorescence imaging has been widely used in the fields of biomedicine and clinical diagnosis. Compared with traditional fluorescence imaging in the visible spectral region (400-760 nm), near-infrared (NIR, 700-1 700 nm) fluorescence imaging is more helpful to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and the sensitivity of imaging. Highly-sensitive fluorescent probes are required for high-quality fluorescence imaging, and the rapid development of nanotechnology has led to the emergence of organic dyes with excellent fluorescent properties. Among them, organic fluorescent probes with the advantages of high safety, good biocompatibility, and high optical stability, are more favorable than inorganic fluorescent probes. Therefore, NIR fluorescence imaging assisted with organic fluorescent probes can provide more structural and dynamic information of biological samples to the researchers, which becomes a hot spot in the interdisciplinary research field of optics, chemistry and biomedicine. This review summarizes the application of NIR organic fluorescent probes in cervical cancer imaging. Several typical organic fluorescent probes (such as indocyanine green, heptamethine cyanine dye, rhodamine and polymer fluorescent nanoparticles) assisted NIR fluorescence imaging and their applications in cervical cancer diagnosis were introduced, and the future development and application of these techniques were discussed.
Female ; Fluorescent Dyes ; Humans ; Nanoparticles ; Optical Imaging ; Polymers ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging*