Objective To examine the sensitivity of human colorectal carcinoma cells to 5-fluorouracil treatment by stable transfection of extrinsic Fas-associated death domain protein(FADD) gene，both in vitro and in vivo，so as to investigate the feasibility of combination therapy of FADD gene and 5-fluorouracil in human colorectal carcinoma.Methods①RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expressions of both mRNA and protein of FADD gene in SW480／FADD (stably transfected with FADD)，SW480／neo and SW480 cells.②After treatment with 5-fluorouracil as an apoptotic inducer，in vitro cell growth activities were investigated by MTT assay.Cell apoptosis and its rates were determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)assay and flow cytometry of annexin V-FITC／PI staining.The expressions of caspase-8 and caspase-3 were examined by Western blotting.③To examine the inhibitory effect of FADD gene combined with 5-fluorouracil, tumor xenograft model was prepared for in vivo study.Results ① Compared with SW480 and SW480/neo cells, FADD mRNA and protein levels of SW480/FADD cells were higher (P<0.05). ② Inhibitory rate of SW480/FADD cells was remarkably higher than SW480 and SW480/neo cells (P＜0.05 ). ③ Forty-eight hours after treatment with 5-fluorouracil (10 mg/L), the apoptotic rate of SW480/FADD cells was (33.3 ± 4.5)%, which was higher than SW480 [(13. 9 ± 3. 2)%3 and SW480/neo [(14. 1 ± 3. 4)%], with significant difference (P< 0.05).④ Forty-eight hours after treatment with 5-fluorouracil (10 mg/L),procaspase-8 and procaspase-3 expressions of SW480 and SW480/neo cells were higher than SW480/FADD cells, whereas their cleaved caspase-8 and cleaved caspase-3 expressions were lower than SW480/FADD cells (P＜0. 05).⑤ In in vivo study, SW480/FADD cells increased the efficacy of fluorouracil-induced inhibition of tumor growth in nude mice. ConclusionsStable overexpression of FADD increases sensitivity of the cells to 5-fluorouracil and combination of FADD with 5-fluorouracil will he a promising alternative in colorectal cancer treatment.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of lactulose combined with polyethylene glycol for bowel preparation before colonoscopy in patients of different risks.Methods:A total of 208 patients undergoing colonoscopy were enrolled, including 108 high-risk and 100 low-risk patients. The high-risk patients were divided into group A (54 taking lactulose + polyethylene glycol) and group B (54 taking polyethylene glycol), and the low-risk patients were divided into group C (49 taking lactulose + polyethylene glycol) and group D (51 taking polyethylene glycol). The Boston bowel preparation score, cecal intubation time, withdrawal time, the detection rate of colonic polyps and adenoma, and the incidence of adverse reactions were observed.Results:Among the high-risk patients, the Boston bowel preparation score and adenoma detection rate in group A [(6.35±1.15) scores, 46.3%] were significantly higher than those in group B [(5.76±0.89) scores, 22.2%, both P<0.05], and the first defecation interval in group A was significantly shorter than that in group B [(1.20±0.85) h VS (3.29 ± 2.93) h, P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in adequate bowel preparation rate, polyp detection rate, frequency of defecation or incidence of adverse reactions between group A and B. In the low-risk patients, the first defecation interval in group C was significantly shorter than that in group D [(1.65 ± 1.35) h VS (3.42 ± 2.64) h, P<0.05], and the incidence of adverse reactions was significantly lower than that in group D (44.9% VS 64.7%, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in adequate bowel preparation rate, Boston bowel preparation score, adenoma detection rate, polyp detection rate or frequency of defecation between group C and D. Conclusion:For the high-risk patients, the effect of lactulose combined with polyethylene glycol for bowel cleansing is better than that of traditional polyethylene glycol in the improvement of the Boston bowel preparation score, adenoma detection rate, and the first defecation interval. For low-risk patients, lactulose combined with polyethylene glycol regimen has few advantages over traditional polyethylene glycol regimen.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of hospitalized children infected with the Omicron variant in Kunming after the withdrawal of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) and analyze the risk factors of severe cases. Methods: Clinical data was retrospectively collected from 1 145 children with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection who were hospitalized in six tertiary grade A hospitals in Kunming from December 10^th, 2022 to January 9^th, 2023. According to clinical severity, these patients were divided into the general and severe SARS-CoV-2 groups, and their clinical and laboratory data were compared. Between-group comparison was performed using t-test, chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test. Spearman correlation test and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to determine the risk factors of severe illness. Results: A total of 1 145 hospitalized patients were included, of whom 677 were male and 468 female. The age of these patients at visit was 1.7 (0.5, 4.1) years. Specifically, there were 758 patients (66.2%) aged ≤3 years at visit and 387 patients (33.8%) aged >3 years. Of these children, 89 cases (7.8%) had underline diseases and the remaining 1 056 cases (92.2%) had no combined diseases. Additionally, of all the patients, 319 cases (27.9%) were vaccinated with one or two doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, 748 cases (65.3%) had acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURTI), and six cases died (0.5%). A total of 1 051 cases (91.8%) were grouped into general SARS-CoV-2 group and 94 cases (8.2%) were grouped into severe SARS-CoV-2 group. Compared with the general cases, the severe cases showed a lower rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and younger median age, lower lymphocyte count, as well as proportions of CD8⁺T lymphocyte (36 cases (38.3%) vs. 283 cases (26.9%), 0.5 (2.6, 8.0) vs. 1.6 (0.5, 3.9) years, 1.3 (1.0, 2.7) ×10⁹ vs. 2.7 (1.3,4.4)×10⁹/L, 0.17 (0.12, 0.24) vs. 0.21 (0.15, 0.16), respectively, χ²=4.88, Z=-2.21,-5.03,-2.53, all P<0.05). On the other hand, the length of hospital stay, proportion of underline diseases, ALT, AST, creatine kinase isoenzyme, and troponin T were higher in the severe group compared to those in the general group ((11.6±5.9) vs. (5.3±1.8) d, 41 cases (43.6%) vs. 48 cases (4.6%), 67 (26,120) vs. 20 (15, 32) U/L, 51 (33, 123) vs. 44 (34, 58) U/L、56.9 (23.0, 219.3) vs. 3.6 (1.9, 17.9) U/L, 12.0 (4.9, 56.5) vs. 3.0 (3.0, 7.0) ×10^-3 pg/L,respectively, t=-20.43, χ²=183.52, Z=-9.14,-3.12,-6.38,-3.81, all P<0.05). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that increased leukocyte count (OR=1.88, 95%CI 1.18-2.97, P<0.01), CRP (OR=1.18, 95%CI 1.06-1.31, P<0.01), ferritin (OR=1.01, 95%CI 1.00-1.00, P<0.01), interleukin (IL)-6 (OR=1.05, 95%CI 1.01-1.08, P=0.012), D-dimer (OR=2.56, 95%CI 1.44-4.56, P<0.01) and decreased CD4⁺T lymphocyte (OR=0.84, 95%CI 0.73-0.98, P=0.030) were independently associated with the risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 in hospitalized children with Omicron infection. Conclusions: After the withdrawal of NPI, the pediatric inpatients with Omicron infection in Kunming were predominantly children younger than 3 years of age, and mainly manifested as AURTI with relatively low rate of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality. Elevated leukocyte counts, CRP, ferritin, IL-6, D-dimer, and decreased CD4⁺T lymphocytes are significant risk factors for developing severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Humans ; Child ; Female ; Male ; COVID-19 ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Retrospective Studies ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Ferritins ; Interleukin-6