Objective: To investigate the correlation between peripheral blood CD4 T lymphocyte subsets and delayed graft function (DGF) and short-term prognosis in kidney transplant recipients, so as to help optimize preoperative assessment for kidney transplantation and provide insights into the immune mechanisms of DGF. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 103 kidney transplant recipients at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University during Jun.2022 and Oct.2023. A total of 61 recipients were finally included in this study, and were categorized into two groups based on postoperative renal function recovery：the DGF group (n=20) and the immediate graft function (IGF) group (n=41).Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportions and absolute counts of various CD4 T lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood on postoperative day 7.The clinical data and peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets between the two groups were compared.For the subsets that exhibited significant differences, the correlation between their proportions and absolute counts and serum creatinine (Scr) levels on postoperative day 7 was further analyzed in the DGF group.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the predictive performance of the most strongly correlated CD4 T lymphocyte subset in terms of proportion and absolute count for short-term renal function. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the proportions and absolute counts of Th1, Th2, Th17, and regulatory T cells (Treg) between the DGF and IGF groups (P>0.05).The proportions and absolute counts of follicular helper T cells (Tfh) and PD-1 Tfh cells were significantly higher in the DGF group than in the IGF group (P＜0.000 1). The Scr levels at 1 month and 1 year postoperatively were significantly higher in the DGF group than in the IGF group (P＜0.01), while the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was significantly lower in the DGF group compared with the IGF group (P＜0.01, P=0.02).Spearman correlation analysis showed that the proportions and absolute counts of Tfh and PD-1 Tfh cell subsets were positively correlated with the Scr level on post-operative day 7 in the DGF group (P＜0.05).The ROC curve demonstrated that the AUC for the proportion of PD-1 Tfh cells in predicting Scr and eGFR at 1 month after surgery was 0.73(95%CI:0.61-0.86) and 0.75 (95%CI:0.62-0.88), respectively.Additionally, the AUC for predicting Scr and eGFR at 1 year was 0.72(95%CI:0.59-0.86) and 0.70(95%CI:0.58-0.83), respectively. Conclusion: The increase in the proportions and absolute counts of Tfh and PD-1 Tfh cells is associated with postoperative DGF of renal transplant recipients, and the proportion of PD-1 Tfh cells may help predict the short-term renal function of recipients.

The clinical data, laboratory test, and gene mutations were collected from a family with pseudohypoaldosteronism type II(PHA2). The proband, aged 1 year and 7 months, presented with hyperkalemia(6.69 mmol/L; reference range 3.5-5.3 mmol/L), blood pressure of 110/68 mmHg(normal<106/61 mmHg, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), blood chloride of 111.5 mmol/L(reference 99-110 mmol/L), blood HCO 3- of 17.1 mmol/L(reference 22-29 mmol/L), estimated glomerular filtration rate of 128.5 mL·min -1·(1.73 m 2) -1[>90 mL·min -1·(1.73 m 2) -1], and blood renin concentration of 0.30 μIU/mL(reference 4.2-45.6 μIU/mL). The mother and maternal grandfather also exhibited normal renal function with hyperkalemia, hypertension, hyperchloremia, metabolic acidosis, and low renin. Genetic testing revealed a heterozygous missense mutation(c.1685A>G, p. E562G) in exon 7 of the no-lysine kinase 4(WNK4) gene. Treatment with hydrochlorothiazide was effective. Literature review comparing this E562G pedigree with other WNK4 variants suggested clinical heterogeneity of WNK4 mutations. For unexplained hyperkalemia, especially with concurrent hypertension, PHA2 should be considered early for genetic screening to prevent misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with rheumatic diseases and abnormal liver function, as well as determine the proportion and severity of liver function abnormalities.Methods:Cross-sectional study. Data were collected from patients registered in the Chinese Rheumatism Date Center from 2011 to 2021. The rheumatic diseases analyzed in this study were rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren syndrome (SS), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and gout. Patient data, including demographic characteristics [ such as age, sex, body mass index,(BMI), and smoking history], liver function test results [including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase(ALP), and total bilirubin], and use of anti-rheumatic immune drugs and liver-protective drugs, were collected and compared between groups with normal and abnormal liver functions. In addition, the proportions of abnormal liver function were compared between sex and age groups.Results:A total of 116 308 patients were included in this study, including 49 659 with RA, 17 597 with SLE, 9 039 with SS, 11 321 with AS, and 28 692 with gout. The lowest proportion of liver function abnormalities was observed in patients with RA[11.02% (5 470/49 659)], followed by those with SS[17.97% (1 624/9 039)] and AS [18.22% (2 063/11 321) ], whereas patients with SLE [21.14% (3 720/17 597) ] and gout [28.73% (8 242/28 692)] exhibited the highest proportion of these abnormalities. Elevated ALT, mostly classified as grade 1, was the most commonly noted liver function abnormality, whereas elevated ALP was the least common. Some patients who took liver-protective drugs had normal liver function, with the lowest percentage observed in patients with gout [7.45% (36/483) ] and ranging from 21.7% to 30.34% in patients with RA, SLE, SS, and AS. The proportion of liver function abnormalities was higher in males than in females for all disease types [RA: 13.8%(1 368/9 906) vs. 10.3%(4 102/39 753); SLE: 33.6% (479/1 424) vs. 20.0% (3 241/16 173); SS: 25.4%(111/437) vs. 17.6%(1 513/8 602); AS: 20.1%(1 629/8 119) vs. 13.6% (434/3 202); and gout: 29.3% (8 033/27 394) vs. 16.1% (209/1 298)]. In RA, SLE, and AS, the proportions of liver function abnormalities were similar across all age groups. In SS, the proportion of liver function abnormalities increased with age [<40 years: 14.9%(294/1 979); 40-59 years: 18.1%(858/4 741); ≥60 years: 20.4%(472/2 319)], whereas a reversal of this trend was observed in gout [<40 years: 34.9%(4 294/12 320); 40-59 years: 25.5%(2 905/11 398);≥60 years: 21.0%(1 042/4 971)].Conclusions:The proportions of combined liver function abnormalities in patients with rheumatologic diseases were high, and the utilization rates of liver-protective drugs were low. It is necessary to pay more attention to monitoring patients′ liver function, timely administer liver-protective drugs, and optimize liver-protective regimens during the treatment of rheumatic diseases.

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a class of functional RNAs that play critical roles in different diseases. NcRNAs include microRNAs, long ncRNAs, and circular RNAs. They are highly expressed in the brain and are involved in the regulation of physiological and pathophysiological processes of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Mounting evidence indicates that ncRNAs play key roles in CNS diseases. Further elucidating the mechanisms of ncRNA underlying the process of regulating glial function that may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets for CNS diseases.
Humans ; RNA, Untranslated/genetics* ; MicroRNAs/genetics* ; RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics* ; RNA, Circular ; Central Nervous System Diseases/genetics*

Objective To explore the clinical features of critical cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods The clinical data of nine patients who were diagnosed with critical COVID-19 in Hainan General Hospital from January 21, 2020 to February 6, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. RT-PCR testing for 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was performed with multi-sites synchronize specimens including pharyngeal swab, blood, excrement, and urine. The serum levels of leucocyte, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin and lactic acid between the improved group (five cases) and the deteriorated group (four cases) were compared. The t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups. Results There were eight males (88.9%) and 1 female enrolled. The patients aged 28-77 years old, with an age of (52.9±18.0) years. By March 4, 2020, all five cases in improved group were cured and discharged, three cases in deteriorated group died and 1case remained in critical condition. All multi-sites specimens of patients in improved group turned negative in 2-4 weeks of illness onset, while those of cases in deteriorated group showed sustained viral nucleic acid positive (up to 48th day of illness onset). The white blood cell counts ((13.52±8.24)×10 9 /L vs (10.49±4.46) ×10 9 /L), C-reactive protein ((139.71±87.46) mg/L vs (78.60±55.40) mg/L) and procalcitonin ((2.32±4.03) ng/mL vs (0.28±0.58) ng/mL) , lactic acid ((3.70±4.14) mmol/L vs (2.33±0.53) mmol/L) in deteriorated group were all significantly higher than those in improved group ( t =2.908, 5.009, 4.391 and 2.942, respectively, all P <0.01). A rapid rise of serum IL-6 level up to 8 500 pg/mL was observed in one patient three days prior to death. Conclusion Among the patients with critical COVID-19, serum levels of inflammatory cytokines of the death cases are higher than those of improved and discharged cases.

Objective To investigate the efficacy and application of bronchoalveolar lavage in chil-dren with severe pneumonia undergoing mechanical ventilation. Methods Using a prospective randomized controlled clinical study, 202 children with severe pneumonia received mechanical ventilation in Hunan Children′s Hospital from January 2016 to January 2018 were selected as the subjects. According to the digital method,all cases were divided into treatment group (101 cases) and control group (101 cases) randomly. The patients in the control group were given conventional treatment ( anti-infection and symptomatic thera-py) . The treatment group was treated with bronchoalveolar lavage on the basis of conventional treatment. The basic situation,the respiratory function before and after the treatment,the inflammation index,the curative effect and the prognosis of two groups were analyzed. Results There were no significant differences between the two groups in gender,age,course pre-admission,pediatric critical illness score,respiratory function and in-flammation index ( P>0. 05 ) . The respiratory function indexes of the treatment group were obviously im-proved 2 hours after the treatment and the PaO2 ,PaO2/FiO2 and SaO2 were significantly higher than those of the control group[PaO2:(82. 4 ± 6. 4) mmHg(1 mmHg=0. 133 kPa) vs. (74. 0 ± 5. 5) mmHg, PaO2/FiO2:(360. 2 ± 21. 3) mmHg vs. (332. 6 ± 23. 5) mmHg,SaO2:(94. 9 ± 8. 2)％ vs. (88. 6 ± 10. 3)％], while the PaCO2 were significantly lower than the control group [ ( 37. 3 ± 10. 3 ) mmHg vs. ( 45. 8 ± 5. 5 ) mmHg],and the differences were statistically significant (P<0. 05). Five days after treatment,the WBC, PCT and CRP of treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group[WBC:(8. 5 ± 2. 4) × 109/L vs. (11. 7 ± 3. 5) × 109/L,PCT:(1. 2 ± 0. 7) μg/L vs. (2. 3 ± 0. 9) μg/L,CRP:(9. 1 ± 3. 2) mg/L vs. (16. 5 ± 4. 7) mg/L,P<0. 05,respectively]. The total effective rate in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group[93. 1％(94/101)vs. 81. 2％(82/101)]. Mechanical venti-lation duration and PICU stay in treatment group were significantly shorter than those in the control group [(148. 5 ±30. 6)h vs. (159. 6 ±47. 3)h,(220. 8 ±49. 7)h vs. (330. 7 ±94. 6)h]. The positive rate of patho-genic bacteria was significantly higher than that in the control group [79. 2％(80/101)vs. 62. 4％(63/101), P<0. 05],but there was no significant difference in the 28 days mortality of the two groups[5. 0％(5/101) vs. 5. 9％(6/101),P>0. 05]. Conclusion The bronchoalveolar lavage can improve the respiratory func-tion,reduce the inflammatory reaction,shorten mechanical ventilation duration and PICU stay in children with severe pneumonia undergoing mechanical ventilation obviously. It is worth popularizing in the PICU because of the improvement of curative effect in these children.

Objective To analysis the correlation between the vulnerability of carotid plaque and ischemic stroke and to explore the clinical significance of assessing vulnerable plaques accurately.Methods A total of 64 patients,who underwent carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from October 2014 to February 2016,were classified into ischemic and non-ischemic stroke group according to whether ischemic stroke symptoms occurred during the last 6 months before surgery.To judge the stable and vulnerable plaques,the patients underwent carotid doppler ultrasonography (CDU) before surgery,and the carotid plaques were evaluated with HE staining after CEA.We also analyzed the risk factors of plaque formation and the relevance between the plaque characteristic and ischemic stroke with chi-square test.Kappa test were used to analyze the consistency of CDU and pathology.Results Of the 44 cases in ischemic stroke group,CDU identified 81.8％ (36/44) vulnerable plaques and 18.2％ (8/44) stable plaques,while pathology confirmed 86.4％ (38/44) vulnerable plaques and 13.6％ (6/44) stable plaques.Of the 20 cases in non-ischemic stroke group,CDU identified 35％ (7/20) vulnerable plaques and 65％ (13/20) stable plaques,while pathology confirmed 40％ (8/20) vulnerable plaques and 60％ (12/20) stable plaques.In both CDU and pathology,vulnerable plaques in ischemic stroke group were obviously higher than that in non-ischemia group (x2=13.67,P ＜ 0.001;x2=14.62,P ＜ 0.001).The results of CDU agreed well to that of pathology results (Kappa=0.669,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The vulnerability of plaques were closely related to the ischemic stroke.CDU is a reliable examination method to identify vulnerable plaques.The accurate assessment of vulnerability of plaques has a great significance in preventing ischemic stroke.

Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features and prognostic factors in patients with low grade glioma. Methods Eighty- seven patients with low grade glioma confirmed by cytological examination were retrospectively analyzed. Results Among 87 patients, male accounted for 62.1%(54/87), and the average age was 36.2 years. The average followed- up time was 51.4 months (3-135 months), and 5 cases were lost in follow-up. The follow- up rate was 94.3% (82/87). The 3- year survival rate was 84.1%, and the 5- year survival rate was 66.7%. The 3- year survival rate was related to clinical symptoms, maximum diameter of tumor and the extent of resection (P<0.01 or<0.05);and the 5- year survival rate was related to years, Karnofsky score, clinical symptoms, maximum diameter of tumor, the pathology classification and extent of resection (P<0.05 or<0.01). Conclusions Low grade glioma is more common in male patients and patients under the age of 40 years. Age below 40 years, Karnofsky score ≥ 70 scores, only epilepsy symptom, tumor diameter below 6.0 cm, oligodendrogliomas, complete resection or subtotal resection are positive prognostic factors. Postoperative radiotherapy can reduce the rate of tumor progression.

Objective: To assess the efficiency and safety of low-dose decitabine in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) to couple with the clinical significance of MDS-related gene mutations. Methods: This study was done in 4 institutions in Zhejiang Province. A total of 62 newly diagnosed patients with lower-risk MDS were assigned to two groups of decitabine (12 mg·m^-2·d^-1 for 5 consecutive days) and best supportive care (BSC) . Their bone marrow samples were subject to examinations of MDS-related 15 gene mutations. The primary endpoints were the proportion of patients who achieved overall response (ORR) after at least two cycles and progression-free survival (PFS) , and their relevances to the gene mutations. Results: Of 62 enrolled patients, and 51 cases were included in the final analysis. 16 of 24 patients (66.7%) in decitabine group achieved ORR versus 8 of 27 (29.6%) in BSC group (χ²=6.996, P=0.008) ; PFS prolongation of decitabine versus BSC was statistically significant (not reached vs 13.7 months, P=0.037) . Among 51 patients, at least one gene mutation was identified in 20 patients (39.2%) , including 4 single SF3B1 mutation. PFS in cases with gene mutations (not including single SF3B1 mutation) was significantly shorter than of no gene mutation (9.2 months vs 18.5 months, P=0.008) , but not for ORR (37.5% vs 58.1%, P=0.181) . Among 16 patients with mutated genes, ORR in decitabine and BSC groups were 75% (6/8) and 0 (0/8) , respectively. The most adverse events in decitabine group were grade 3 to 4 neutropenia (45.8%) and grade 3 to 4 infections (33.3%) . Conclusion This preliminary study showed that low-dose decitabine produced promising results with an acceptable safety in lower-risk MDS patients, especially for those with mutated genes. Further study targeting poor prognostic lower-risk MDS patients should be warranted.

Castleman disease (CD) is an uncommon non-clonal lymphoproliferative disorder with unknown etiology.No standard therapy is recommended for relapsed/refractory CD patients,thus requiring development of novel experimental approaches.Our cohort of three adult patients with multicentric CD (MCD) were treated with refractory to traditional chemotherapy ienalidomide-containing regimens (10-25 mg lenalidomide perorally administered on days 1-21 in 28-day cycle) as second-to fourth-line treatment.Partial remission was achieved in first plasma-cell CD patient,who relapsed seven months after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and then failed to respond to four cycles of chemotherapy.Partial remission was obtained in second patient with CD and polyneuropathy,organomegaly,endocrinopathy,monoclonal gammopathy,and skin changes syndrome.Third case showed complete remission with complete disappearance of pleural effusion and ascites and normalization of platelet count.To conclude,encouraging clinical responses were achieved in cohort of three patients with lenalidomide-based regimen,though long-term efficacy remains to be observed.We propose further investigation of therapeutic potential of this drug in treating MCD.