OBJECTIVEConflicting data have been generated from previous studies to determine which kind of relationship exists between HIV-1 specific CD8 Tcell responses and HIV-1 viral load or CD4 count over the course of infection. In this study, 153 HIV-1 infected LTNPs were enrolled to investigate the role of HIV-1 specific CD8 T-cell responses in chronic HIV-1 infection among HIV-1 infected former blood donors.

METHODSThe patients were stratified into three groups according to CD4 count: CD4≥500 cells/μL; 350 cells/μL≤CD4<500 cells/μL; CD4<350 cells/μL. PBMCs were isolated from the patients' anticoagulated blood samples. IL-2 and IFN-γ secretions of CD 8 T cells against 17 HIV-1 consensus B full peptide pools were analyzed by using ICS assay.

RESULTSAn overall inverse correlation were observed between CD4 count and plasma viral load. Although no significant difference was observed during the comparisons of frequency/breadth of HIV-1 specific CD8 T cell responses, CD4 count stratification analysis showed that different correlation pattern existed in three strata: as for patients whose CD4 counts were less than 350 cells/μL, no significant correlations were identified between frequency/breadth of HIV-1 specific CD8 T cell responses and CD4 count/viral load; as for patients whose CD4 counts ranged from 350 cells/μL to 500 cells/μL, significant correlation was only observed between the response breadth of IL-2+IFN-γ+ CD8 T cells and CD4 count; however, as for patients whose CD4 counts were more than 500 cells/μL, direct correlations were identified between IL-2+IFN-γ+/IL-2+/IFN-γ+ CD8 T cells and viral load or CD4 count.

CONCLUSIONSUniversal consistent inverse correlation was only indentified between CD4 count and viral load. The relationship between HIV-1 specific CD8 T cell responses and CD4 count/viral load varied in different CD4 strata, which showed that better preserved CD4 T cells were correlated with better CD8 T cell functions.

Adult ; Antigens, Viral ; immunology ; Blood Donors ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; immunology ; China ; epidemiology ; Chronic Disease ; Cohort Studies ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; HIV Infections ; blood ; epidemiology ; immunology ; virology ; HIV-1 ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; immunology ; Interleukin-2 ; immunology ; Lymphocyte Activation ; immunology ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Viral Load ; Viremia

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which play a role in tumorigenesis, may also serve as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. However, studies on human miRNA profiles in plasma from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients are in their infancy. Here, we used microarrays to perform systematic profiling of human miRNAs in plasma from NPC patients. We subsequently used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) to validate miRNAs with aberrant expression that could serve as potential biomarkers. By comparing the plasma miRNA profiles of 31 NPC patients and 19 controls, 39 of 887 human miRNAs were found to be aberrantly expressed. Considering the fold change and P value, miR-548q and miR-483-5p were validated in 132 samples from 82 NPC patients and 50 controls. Moreover, high expression of miR-548q and miR-483-5p was further found in 3 NPC cell lines and clinical biopsy tissues from 54 NPC patients and 22 controls. Our results revealed that miR-548q and miR-483-5p are potential biomarkers of NPC. Combining the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses of these 2 miRNAs, an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.737 with 67.1% sensitivity and 68.0% specificity were obtained, showing the preliminary diagnostic value of plasma miRNAs. Moreover, most NPC patients with a poor outcome exhibited high expression (> median) of miR-548q (70.6%) and miR-483-5p (64.7%) in tissue samples, indicating their prognostic value. The high expression levels of miR-548q and miR-483-5p in plasma, cell lines, and clinical tissues of NPC patients indicate that their roles in NPC should be explored in the future.
Aged ; Biomarkers ; Carcinoma ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; Plasma ; Prognosis ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Several research groups have recently reported that persistent GB virus C (GBV-C) co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leads to slower AIDSs disease progression than HIV-1 infection alone. However, these findings were not confirmed by several other studies. To investigate the association between GBV-C replication and plasma HIV loads and CD4+ T cell counts, 203 HIV-1 positive former blood/plasma donors(FBDs) were enrolled from Fuyang city of Anhui Province in China. Plasma specimens were collected from them and were tested for GBV-C using RT-PCR and ELISA. Out of 203 specimens, 52 (25.6%) cases were positive for GBV-C, including 35 male (67.3%) and 17 female (32.7%) cases. No significant association was identified between GBV-C infection and CD4+ T-cell counts or between GBV-C infection and HIV viral loads. Since all the subjects studied were naive to ART, the influence of therapy on AIDS disease progression was ruled out in this study. Overall, our data indicated that HIV-1 positive male FBDs were prone to be infected, GBV-C coinfection with HIV-1 does not significantly influence HIV/AIDS disease progression during the late stage of chronic HIV-1 infection.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; complications ; immunology ; virology ; Adult ; Aged ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Flaviviridae Infections ; immunology ; virology ; GB virus C ; HIV-1 ; physiology ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; immunology ; virology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Viral ; blood ; Virus Replication

Objective To study the anatomical structure of normal and scoliotic thoracic vertebrae in adolescents aged 12-15 years in Northern Shanxi Province, to provide detailed information for pedicle screw placement, and to provide data references for screw size design. Methods Totally 120 cases of normal thoracolumbar CT of 120 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years and 30 cases of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis were collected in Northern Shaanxi Province. The raw data of thoracolumbar tomographic images scanned continuously were imported into Mimics16. 0 software for analysis and measurement in DICOM format. Measurement indicators: pedicle width, pedicle height, pedicle length, transverse diameter of spinal canal, longitudinal diameter of spinal canal, transverse pedicle angle,maximum transverse pedicle angle, sagittal pedicle angle and pedicle area. Results Pedicle width:12-13 years old, T

Objective: To understand the sources and characteristics of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, from 2015 to 2016. Methods: From January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016, newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Yiwu were recruited in the study and they were asked to complete an in-depth field epidemiology questionnaire. Information related to their previous sexual behaviors and infection sources or routes were collected in the survey. The data were processed and analyzed with EpiData 3.0 and SPSS 19.0 software. Results: A total of 320 participants from 393 newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Yiwu during this period were surveyed and recruited in the study. Most of them were males (268, 83.8%), unmarried (141, 44.1%), aged between 25-44 years (166, 51.9%), had census register in other provinces (217, 67.8%) and educational level of junior high school (128, 40.0%). Among 305 cases whose infection times could be determined, 107 (35.1%) were newly infected within one year, and among 267 cases whose infection location could be determined, 200 (74.9%) were infected in Yiwu. New infections were mainly detected in those who had homosexual behaviors or causal sex partners (during the past year) and through active detection approach. Local infections were mainly among those who had local residence and commercial heterosexual behavior in Yiwu. Conclusions: Most newly reported HIV/AIDS cases in Yiwu from 2015-2016 were infected for more than one year and locally infected. Census registration of other provinces, homosexual sexual behavior, and casual sexual behavior give major contribution to HIV/AIDS epidemic in Yiwu.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; Adult ; China/epidemiology* ; HIV Infections/epidemiology* ; Homosexuality, Male ; Humans ; Male ; Risk-Taking ; Sexual Behavior ; Sexual Partners ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective: To investigate the clinical features of children with chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO), and raise awareness among clinicians. Methods: In this retrospective study, 18 patients with CNO who were diagnosed in Children's Hospital of Fudan University from January 2015 to December 2021 were included. Results: Eighteen children with CNO (12 males, 6 females) were identified. Their age at onset was 9 (5, 11) years, the delay in diagnosis was 2 (1, 6) months, and follow-up-was 17 (8, 34) months. The most common symptoms were fever in 14 children, as well as bone pain and (or) arthralgia in 14 children. In terms of laboratory results, normal white blood cell counts were observed at onset in 17 patients; increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in all patients; increased C reactive protein (CRP) over the normal value in 14 patients. Of the 18 patients, 2 had positive antinuclear antibodies, while none had positive human leukocyte antigen-B27 or rheumatoid factor. Imaging examination revealed that all the patients had symmetrical and multifocal skeletal lesions. The number of structural lesions detected by imaging investigation was 8 (6, 11). The most frequently affected bones were tibia in 18 patients and femur in 17 patients. Bone biopsy was conducted in 14 patients and acute or chronic osteomyelitis manifested with inflammatory cells infiltration were detected. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) found bone lesions in all the patients and bone scintigraphy were positive in 13 patients. All the patients were treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, among whom 10 cases also treated with oral glucocorticoids, 9 cases with traditional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, 8 cases with bisphosphonates and 6 cases with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. The pediatric chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis disease activity score, increased by 70% or more in 13 patients within the initial 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: The clinical manifestations of CNO are lack of specificity. The first symptom of CNO is fever, with or without bone pain and (or) arthralgia, with normal peripheral blood leukocytes, elevated CRP and (or) ESR. Whole body bone scanning combined with MRI can early detect osteomyelitis at subclinical sites, and improve the diagnostic rate of CNO.
Female ; Male ; Humans ; Child ; Retrospective Studies ; Osteomyelitis/drug therapy* ; Arthralgia ; Diphosphonates ; Fever ; Graft vs Host Disease

Objective: To verify the health advisory for short-term exposure to phenol. Methods: The method of this validation experiment was the same as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methodology for toxicology experiments used to determine phenol drinking water equivalent level (DWEL). Pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats were administered phenol in distilled water by gavage at daily doses of 15, 30, 60, 120, and 240 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) from implantation (the 6th day post-mating) to the day prior to the scheduled caesarean section (the 20th day of pregnancy). The following information was recorded: general behavior; body weight; number of corpus luteum, live birth, fetus, stillbirth, and implantation; fetal gender; body weight; body length; tail length; and abnormalities and pathomorphological changes in the dams. Results: In the 60 mg/kg b.w. dose group, the mortality of pregnant rats increased with increasing doses, suggesting maternal toxicity. Fetal and placental weights decreased as phenol dose increased from 30 mg/kg b.w., and were significantly different compared those in the vehicle control group, which suggested developmental toxicity in the fetuses. However, the phenol-exposed groups showed no significant change in other parameters compared with the vehicle control group ( > 0.05). Conclusion Despite using the same method as the US EPA, a different NOEAL of 15 mg/(kg·d) was obtained in this study.
Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Environmental Pollutants ; toxicity ; Female ; Fetal Development ; drug effects ; Phenol ; toxicity ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Toxicity Tests, Acute