Objective To explore the expressions of stromal cell derived factor 1 α (SDF-1α) and cysteine-X-cysteine chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in the peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods Forty hospitalized SLE patients were recruited and twenty healthy volunteers were enrolled as normal controls.The percentage of CD3+CD4+CXCR4+,CD3+CD8+CXCR4+ and the plasma concentration level of SDF-1α in the control group and SLE patients were detected by flow cytometry and ELISA.The relationship between SDF-1α/CXCR4 and SLEDAI was explored.Kruskal-Wallis H,Pearson's and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.Results the expression of SDF-1α [329 (127,539) pg/ml] and CXCR4 [CD3+CD4+CXCR4+:4.20(2.01,6.35)％,CD3+CD4+CXCR4+:2.70(1.68,4.20)％] were significantly elevated in SLE patients when compared to the normal controls (Z=-6.277,-5.707,-4.885,respectively,all P=0.000),and were significantly increased in highly active SLE patients than less active SLE (Z=-5.414,-5.256,-5.312,P＜0.01).The expression of SDF-1α and CXCR4 in the butterfly erythema group,anemia group and proteinuria group were significantly higher than the normal group (P＜0.05).Both SDF-1αand CXCR4 were positively correlated with SLEDAI (r=0.857,0.830,0.861,respectively,all P＜0.01).Conclusion The expressions of SDF-1α and CXCR4 increase significantly in the peripheral blood of SLE patients and there is close relationship between SDF-1α/CXCR4 and disease activity,organ damage.The results of this study suggestthat SDF-1α/CXCR4 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of the long non-coding RNA HOXA terminal transcript antisense RNA (HOTTIP) for diagnosing pancreatic cancer (PC).Methods:PC tissue and adjacent normal tissue (>1 cm distant from cancer tissue) from 18 PC patients confirmed by pathology after surgery were collected from June 2017 to December 2018 in Xuzhou Central Hospital. Plasma samples from 78 PC patients clinically confirmed were collected, those from 78 healthy individuals were designed as healthy controls and those from 50 patients of liver cancer, 50 patients of colorectal cancer and 50 patients of gastric cancer were also collected as disease controls. HOTTIP expression in PC tissue and plasma of PC patients, disease controls and healthy controls was tested by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction; the plasma CA19-9 level was tested by CLIA. The correlation between plasma HOTTIP, cancer tissue HOTTIP and plasma CA19-9 were analyzed, and the relationship between plasma HOTTIP and clinicopathological features was analyzed. The survival curves of patients with high and low expression of HOTTIP were drawn, and the difference of survival rates between the two groups was compared by log-rank test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to calculate area under the ROC curve (AUC), and the diagnostic performance of plasma HOTTIP for PC was evaluated.Results:Compared to normal pancreatic tissue, the level of HOTTIP expression was significantly up-regulated in pancreatic cancer tissue (2.24±0.25 vs 0.62±0.11, P<0.001), the relative expression of plasma HOTTIP of PC, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer patients and healthy controls were 1.33±0.32, 0.57±0.17, 0.51±0.10, 0.41±0.09 and 0.54±0.05; HOTTIP level of PC patients was higher than that of liver cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer patients and healthy controls (all P<0.05), but the difference on HOTTIP level between liver cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer patients and healthy controls was not statistically significant. The plasma HOTTIP of PC patients had a strong positive correlation with plasma CA19-9 and also had a positive correlation with HOTTIP level in cancer tissue (all P<0.05); meanwhile the plasma level of HOTTIP was significantly correlated with TNM stage ( P=0.029), but not with sex, age, lymph node metastasis and tumor size. The median survival time of patients with high HOTTIP level was obviously lower than that of those with low HOTTIP level (15.9 months vs 30.6 months, P<0.05). The AUC of plasma HOTTIP for diagnosing PC was 0.81(95% CI 0.74-0.87). At the optimal cutoff value of 1.14, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 62%, 94% and 74%. By combining plasma HOTTIP with CA19-9, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy can be increased to 81%, 97% and 84%, respectively. Conclusions:Plasma HOTTIP level has a significant value in the diagnosis of PC.

Objective:To explore the clinical application and diagnosis of the long non-coding RNA plasmacytoma variant translocation gene 1 (PVT1) in plasma for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods:One hundred and nineteen healthy individuals were designed as healthy control (HC), 158 patients with RA, 50 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 50 patients with primary Sj?gren′s syndrome (pSS) were collected from Xuzhou Central Hospital. The plasma PVT1 of HC, RA, SLE and pSS patients and were determined by real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The t test of two independent-samples and One-Way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare the levels of plasma PVT1 in HC, RA, SLE and pSS patients. The correlation between PVT1 and RF, IL-6 and anti-CCP of RA patients were analyzed by Spearman's rank correlation test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify the diagnostic performance of plasma PVT1 for RA. Results:Compared to HC [(1.32±1.22)], SLE [(1.15±0.83)] and pSS patients [(1.46±0.88)], the plasma PVT1 relative expression [(3.71±2.68)] were significantly increased in RA patients ( t=8.36, P<0.01; t=6.83, P<0.01; t=5.98, P<0.01). The PVT1 had a strong positive correlation with RF, IL-6 and anti-CCP( r=0.41, P<0.01; r=0.38, P<0.01; r=0.40, P<0.01). The area under curve (AUC) of plasma of PVT1 of RA was 0.79[95% CI(0.72, 0.85); P<0.01]. At the optimal cut-off of 1.97, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 68.27% and 86.45%, and in this point provided better diagnostic accuracy. When combination PVT1 with RF, the AUC was 0.88[95% CI(0.83, 0.93); P<0.01], the sensitivity and specificity were 80.22% and 82.73%. Conclusion:Plasma PVT1 has potential diagnostic value for RA, which may become a new biomarker for the diagnosis for RA patients.

Objective: To investigate the effect of acid-sensing ion channel 1 (ASIC1) gene knockout on articular cartilage injury in adjuvant arthritis (AA) of mice． Methods: Wild-type mice and ASIC1 knockout mice were divided into normal group and model group．Arthritis score was performed by observing the inflammation of paws，and the right paw swelling was measured．HE staining，immunohistochemistry，TUNEL and ELISA were used to detect the injury of articular cartilage and arthritic inflammation. Results : The arthritis score and paw swelling of AA mice with ASIC1 knockout was lower than that of the AA wild-type mice．AA mice with ASIC1 knockout showed less destruction and increased expression of collagen-Ⅱin articular cartilage． Moreover ，the lower apoptosis rate was observed by TUNEL assay in AA mice with ASIC1 knockout by comparing with AA wild-type mice．Furthermore，ELISA assay showed that the levels of IL-1 β、TNF-α in the serum decreased in AA mice with ASIC1 knock- out． Conclusion Knockout of ASIC1 may have protective effect on articular cartilage injury.

Galectin⁃3 is an endogenous lectin with extensive immunomodulatory effects, and plays an important role in inflammatory response, autoimmunity and tumorigenesis. However, the expression of galectin⁃3 in ulcerative colitis (UC) and its relationship with disease activity of UC are unclear. Aims: To detect the expression of galectin⁃3 in colon tissue and serum in UC patients, and explore the relationship between galectin⁃3 and disease activity. Methods: Thirty⁃ three patients with UC diagnosed and treated from March 2019 to December 2019 at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were recruited, and 20 paracancerous normal tissue of colon cancer patients were served as controls. The expression of galectin ⁃ 3 in colon tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry SABC. Serum samples of 24 UC patients and 20 healthy controls were collected. Serum level of galectin⁃3 was detected by ELISA. Results: The positive expression rate of galectin⁃3 in colon tissue in UC patients was significantly lower than that in paracancerous normal tissue, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The positive expression rate in mild UC patients was higher than that in moderate to severe UC patients, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The positive expression rate in remission stage was higher than that in active stage, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Serum galectin⁃3 level in UC patients was higher than that in healthy control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Serum galectin ⁃ 3 level in moderate to severe UC patients was higher than that in mild UC group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Serum galectin ⁃ 3 level in active UC patients was higher than that in remission UC patients, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusions: In UC patients, the expression of galectin⁃3 in colon tissue and serum are dysregulated, and the expression of galectin⁃3 in colon tissue is decreased, especially in moderate to severe UC, while the serum galectin⁃3 level is opposite to the tissue expression.