Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD)so as to improve the understanding of IgG4-RD in China.Methods IgG4-RD patients were recruited from Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2011 and January 2016.All patients were followedup for more than 6 months.The demographic characteristics,symptoms,organ involvements,laboratory examinations and treatment efficacy were evaluated and analyzed.Results A total of 346 patients were finally enrolled,including 230 males (66.5％) and 116 females (33.5％).The mean age of disease onset was (53.8 ± 14.2) years old.The mostly common involved organs were lymph nodes (56.4％) and submandibular glands (52.6％).Other affected organs and manifestations included:swelling of the lacrimal glands (46.5％),autoimmune pancreatitis (38.4％),pulmonary involvement (28.0％),sclerosing cholangitis (25.4％),naso-sinusitis (23.4％),parotid gland swelling (21.7％),retroperitoneal fibrosis (19.9％),large arteries involvement (9.5％),kidney involvement (obstructive nephropathy caused by retroperitoneal fibrosis was excluded) (6.9％),skin lesions (6.4％).Rare features consisted of thyroid glands,pituitary glands,gastrointestinal tract,pachymeningitis,pericardium,sclerosing mediastinitis and orchitis.The majority of patients had multi-organ involvement,such as 74.3％ patients with 3 and more,18.2％ and 7.5％ patients with 2 and single organ involvement respectively.The average IgG4-RD responder index (IgG4-RD RI) was 13.21 ±5.70.History of allergy was found in 172 (49.7％) patients.As to the laboratory tests,elevated serum IgG4 levels were confirmed in 285 (94.1％) patients,which was positively correlated with IgG4-RD RI.There were 33.5％ patients receiving monotherapy of glucocorticoid,52.6％ treated with glucocorticoids combined with immunosuppressive agents,4.9％ patients with immunosuppressant only,and 9.0％ patients with mild disease not receiving medication.The majority (336,97.1％) patients improved the above regimens.Conclusion IgG4-RD is a systemic fibro-inflammatory disease with multiple organ involvement.The mostly common involved organs include lymph node,submandibular glands,and pancreas.Glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive agents were effective for IgG4-RD.

Objective:To investigate the effect of radiofrequency radiation (RF) from 5G mobile phone communication frequency bands (3.5 GHz and 4.9 GHz) on the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in mice.Methods:A total of 24 healthy adult male C57BL/6 mice (6-8 weeks old) were randomly divided into Sham, 3.5 GHz RF and 4.9 GHz RF groups, and 8 mice in each group. Mice in the RF groups were systemically exposed to 5G cell phone radiation for consecutive 35 d(1 h/d) with 50 W/m 2 power density. The BBB permeability of mice was detected by Evans Blue (EB) fluorescence experiment. The expression levels of the BBB tight junction-related proteins (ZO-1, occludin and claudin-11) and the gap junction-related protein Connexin 43 were determined by Western blot. Results:The number of spots, fluorescence intensity and comprehensive score of EB were significantly increased in 3.5 GHz RF group and 4.9 GHz RF group compared with the Sham group ( t=12.98, 17.82, P<0.001). Compared with the Sham group, the content of S100B in mouse serum was significantly increased in 3.5 GHz RF group and 4.9 GHz RF group ( t=19.34, 14.68, P<0.001). The BBB permeability was increased in the RF group. The expression level of occludin protein was significantly reduced in the 3.5 GHz RF group ( t=-3.13, P<0.05), and this decrease was much profound in the 4.9 GHz RF group ( t=-6.55, P<0.01). But the protein levels of ZO-1, Claudin-11 and Connexin 43 in the cerebral cortex of the RF groups had no significantly difference in comparison with the Sham group( P>0.05). Conclusions:The continuous exposure of mobile phone RF at 3.5 GHz or 4.9 GHz for 35 d (1 h/d) induces an increase of BBB permeability in the mouse cerebral cortex, perhaps by reducing the expression of occludin protein.

Objective To investigate the effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) on reproductive function of male adult mice.Methods A total of 48 healthy adult male BALB/c mice (8 weeks old) were randomly divided into sham group and EMP group with 24 animals in each group.The mice were wholebody exposed or sham exposed to EMP at 720 kV/m for 100 pulses with 1 Hz repetition rate and 40 ns pulse width.At 1,7,14 and 35 d after EMP exposure,the mice were anesthetized and the sperms were collected from the bilateral epididymal tail.After that,the sperm quality including the number of sperms,the ratio of abnormalities and the survival rate was evaluated.In addition,the morphology of testis was observed by HE staining and the diameter of seminiferous tubules was measured by Image J 1.43 u software.The protein level of stem cell factor (SCF) and glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in testis tissue were detected by ELISA and Western blot.Results The sperm quality and the morphology of testis did not change obviously at different times after exposing mice to EMP at 720 kV/m for 100 pulses,compared with sham group (P＞0.05).The diameters of seminiferous tubules at 1,7,14 and 35 d after exposure were (196.85+ 16.65),(196.79+ 14.33),(196.35±22.71) and (198.60±25.88) μm in exposed mice,respectively,while (204.31±27.13),(197.07± 18.11),(194.37±21.45) and (200.59± 19.36) Iμm in sham exposed mice,respectively.There was no significant difference between two groups (P＞0.05).Additionally,the levels of SCF and GDNF in testis tissue between EMP group and sham group had no statistically significant difference (P＞0.05).Conclusion Under this exposure condition,EMP couldn't affect the reproductive function of male adult mice.

Objective:To investigate the effect of 5.8 GHz radiofrequency (RF) radiation on learning and memory along with hippocampal synaptic plasticity in rats, in order to provide theoretical and experimental references for scientific evaluation of potential hazards of 5.8 GHz RF radiation.Methods:A total of 56 healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham exposure group ( n=28) and RF exposure group ( n=28). RF groups were exposed to 5.8 GHz RF for 1 h each day in 15 d or 30 d continuously, and the whole-body absorption rate was 1.15 W/kg. The learning and memory ability of rats was tested by Morris water maze (MWM). The hippocampal structure of rats was observed by Nissl stain. The density of dendritic spines in CA1 region of hippocampus was detected by Golgi stain. The expression of synaptic related protein (PSD95, Synaptophysin) in hippocampus was detected by Western blot. The level of hippocampal neurotransmitters was detected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results:In MWM experiments, at 15 d and 30 d after RF exposure, there was no statistically significant difference between sham group and RF group in the escape latency, frequency of crossing plateau, percentage of stay time in plateau quadrant and latency of first arrival to the plateau ( P>0.05). Besides, the structure and the number of neurons in the hippocampus, the density of apical and basal dendritic spines of pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region (apical: 5.10±0.20, 4.89±0.24, 4.58±0.27, 4.49±0.24, and basal: 4.81±0.17, 4.79±0.34, 4.20±0.27, 4.22±0.17, named as Sham 15 d group, RF 15 d group, Sham 30 d group, RF 30 d group, respectively), the expression of PSD95 and Synaptophysin and the level of multiple kinds of neurotransmitters in the hippocampus had no significant changes ( P>0.05). Conclusions:In this study, 5.8 GHz RF radiation has no significant influence on the spatial learning and memory ability along with the synaptic plasticity of hippocampal neurons of rats.

Objective:To investigate the effect of thoracic X-ray irradiation on the spermatogenesis of adult male mice.Methods:A total of 24 healthy adult male C57BL/6 mice (6-8 weeks old) were randomly divided into radiation group (Radiation) and sham-radiation group (Sham), 12 mice in each group. The area of thoracic irradiation was 1.5 cm× 2 cm, and the dose rate was 3.04 Gy/min, 8 Gy/d for 3 consecutive days, 24 Gy in total. At 7 d and 21 d after thoracic irradiation, the bilateral testes and epididymal tails were stripped and the testicular index was calculated. The morphology of testis was examined by haematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, then the diameter of seminiferous tubules and the thickness of seminiferous epithelium were measured. The sperms were collected from the bilateral epididymal tails for sperm counting. The level of apoptosis in testis and levels of apoptosis-related proteins were detected by TUNEL and Western blot, respectively.Results:Compared with Sham group, the morphology of testis and epididymis was seriously damaged, the diameter of seminiferous tubules significantly decreased at 21 d after irradiation ( t = 8.93, P < 0.05), and the seminiferous epithelium significantly decreased at 7 d and 21 d after irradiation ( t = 4.24, 12.77, P < 0.05). In addition, the number of sperms significantly decreased ( t = 4.30, 2.98, P < 0.05). The number of TUNEL positive cells in the seminiferous epithelium significantly increased at 7 d and 21 d after irradiation ( t = -2.73, -3.74, P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the level of cleaved Caspase-3 protein significantly increased at 7 d and 21 d after irradiation ( t = -2.96, -2.46, P < 0.05). The concentrations of SCF and GDNF did not change at 7 d after irradiation, but were significantly increased at 21 d after irradiation ( t = -10.46, -5.42, P < 0.05). Conclusions:The thoracic X-ray irradiation could lead to spermatogenesis disorder in male adult mice, and the induction of spermatogenic cell apoptosis and the secretory dysfunction of sertoli cells may be involved.

Objective: To  investigate  the  effect  of  X-ray  on  the  polarization  of  mouse  microglia  BV-2  cells. Methods: BV-2 cells at the logarithmic growth stage were randomly divided into the Sham irradiation group and 10 Gy irradiation group. The latter group was given a single X-ray irradiation at a dose of 1.28 Gy/min for 7 min 49 s. The activation rate of BV-2 cells was observed and analyzed under a microscope at 1, 3, 6, 24 h and 48 h after irradiation.The changes of cell morphology were observed by HE staining and immunofluorescence staining; The levels of M1-type activation markers (TNF-α and IL-1β) and M2-type activation marker TGF-β1 in the supernatant of BV-2 cells were detected by ELISA. The levels of polarization-related proteins of M1-type (CD86 and iNOS) and M2-type (CD206) in BV-2 cells were detected by Western blotting. Results　: Morphological results showed that BV-2 cells became larger, and their protrude became coarse and shorter, showing "amoeba" like changes after 10 Gy X-ray irradiation. Compared with the Sham group, the activation rate of BV-2 cells was significantly increased at 3 h, and reached the peak at 6 h, and began to recover at 48 h after irradiation. ELISA results showed an obvious increase in the level of TNF-α and TGF-β1 48 h after irradiation.The level of IL-1β showed a transient decrease at 3～6 h, increased at 24 h, and reached the peak 48 h after irradiation. Western blotting results showed that CD86 protein level did not change significantly at each time points after irradiation, and iNOS protein level in- creased significantly at 1, 6, 24 h and 48 h after irradiation. A fluctuating change in CD206 protein level was found after irradiation. Conclusion　 10 Gy X-ray irradiation can induce the activation of BV-2 cells in vitro, and the polarization type changes with the time after irradiation.