With the rapid development of turfgrass industry in our country,more and more attentions are paid to the genetic breeding of turfgrass. Biotechnology has great application potential in varietals improvement of tall fescue,which is commonly grown as cool-season turf grass in the temperate region. The establishment of tall fescue regeneration and genetic transformation systems was summarized. Meanwhile,the historical and present situations of tall fescue breeding are introduced. The part of tall fescue regeneration was expounded from different explants and approaches. While,the part of genetic transformations was expounded from different means. At last,problems and prospects of genetic transformation of tall fescue are discussed.

Background: Acute graft?versus?host disease (aGVHD) is a common and severe complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo?HSCT). Some studies have found that the presence of certain specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci could affect the occurrence of aGVHD. Meanwhile, the impact of HLA haplotypes on aGVHD has been rarely studied. This study aimed to investigate the effects of HLA loci and haplotypes on intestinal aGVHD. Methods: Totally, 345 consecutive patients undergoing first HLA?matched sibling peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) from February 2004 to June 2013 at Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, were enrolled in this study. HLA loci and haplotypes of recipients with frequency over 5% were searched and their effects on intestinal aGVHD were investigated. Other important factors including donor age, recipient age, donor?recipient sex combinations, and conditioning regimens were also evaluated using logistic regression. Pure upper gastrointestinal tract aGVHD without diarrhea was excluded because the histological proof was unavailable. The follow?up end?point was 6 months after HSCT. Results:The cumulative incidence of intestinal aGVHD was 19.4%,with 18.0%of the patients classified as classic aGVHD and 1.4% aspersistent, recurrent,or late aGVHD.Multivariate analysis showed that HLA?A31 locus(odds ratio[OR]2.893,95% confidence interval[CI][1.054,7.935], P = 0.039), HLAB40?DR15 (OR 3.133, 95% CI [1.250, 7.857], P = 0.015), and HLAB46?DR9 haplotypes (OR 2.580, 95% CI [1.070, 6.220], P = 0.035), female donor for male recipient (OR 2.434, 95% CI [1.319, 4.493], P = 0.004) were risk factors for intestinal aGVHD. Conclusion: The presence of certain HLA loci and haplotypes may influence the occurrence of intestinal aGVHD in PBSCT with HLA?identical sibling donors.

Adenocarcinoma ; diagnosis ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Carcinosarcoma ; diagnosis ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Stromal Cells ; pathology ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To analyze basic data and outcomes in Chengdu Stroke Registry.Methods The stroke patients consecutively admitted to Department of Neurology,West China Hospital,Sichuan University since March 1,2002 were prospectively registered.The baseline demographic,risk factors,treatment,and outcome data was recorded with standardized stroke register form by trained specialists.The patients were followed up at seven days,one,three,six months and one year after onset of the stroke for death and disability.Results A total of 3123 consecutive patients were registered between March 1,2002 and August 31,2006,of which 65.5％ came from urban areas and 34.5％ from rural areas.The age was (63.05 ± 17.98) years old and male accounted for 60.3％.Ninety-seven percent (3028/3123) of patients completed CT or MRI scanning during hospitalization.A total of 1804 patients were included between March 2002 and September 2004,of which ischemic stroke accounted for 62.1％ (1120/1804),intracranial hemorrhage 28.4％ (513/1804),subarachnoid hemorrhage 4.0％ (72/1804) and TIA 5.5％ (99/1804).The median NIHSS score on admission was 8(3-15) points in patients with cerebral hemorrhage,and 5(2-10) points in patients with ischemic stroke.Compared with the patients with intracranial hemorrhage,patients with ischemic stroke more frequently had a history of diabetes (OR =2.427,95％ CI 1.811- 3.253,P=0.000),atrial fibrillation (OR=6.121,95％ CI3.535-10.60,P=0.000),coronary heart disease (OR=4.144,95％ CI 2.944-5.832,P =0.000) and TIA (OR=4.342,95％ CI 1.726-10.92,P =0.001 ),and less alcohol consumption ( OR =0.740,95％ CI 0.611-0.896,P =0.002 ).The proportion of in-hospital treatments were thrombolysis 0.9％,anti-platelet therapy 83.0％,mannitol 23.5％,neuroprotective agents (citicoline) 68.1％,and Chinese herbal medicine 89.7％.Case fatality rate was 10.7％ and 13.9％ respectively at 7 days and one month for patients with intracranial hemorrhage,3.0％ and 5.2％ respectively for ischemic stroke.Death or disability was 40.4％,40.3％ and 38.9％ in patients with intracranial hemorrhage and 37.1％,35.0％ and 33.4％ for ischemic stroke at the end of 3,6,12 months respectively.Conclusions Our stroke registry is featured with the largest sample,and the longest period of consecutively registration.It provides an important platform for clinical investigation of stroke.Our study suggested case fatality and disability is lower in this group than in other ethics.Above features should be considered in design of future clinical trials in China.

OBJECTIVEEpstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a common causative agent of infectious mononucleosis (IM) and capable of efficiently immortalizing primary B cells into continuously growing lymphoblastoid cells in vitro. As B cell activation antigen, CD23 expression is induced by EBV infection of B cells and remains constitutively expressed at high levels in virtually all EBV-immortalized cells, which have been strongly linked to the development of B-cell lymphoproliferative disease and lymphoma. Whereas previous studies were performed in vivo in animals or ex vivo cultures, the present study aimed to explore the role of EBV-immortalized cells (CD23(+)/CD19(+)) in vivo analysis of children with EBV-IM.

METHODSIn a prospective trial, a group of 30 patients with IM (18 boys and 12 girls) with mean age of 3.9 +/- 1.3 years (range 6 months to 8 years) were enrolled. Clinical diagnosis of IM was confirmed based on fever, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, lymphocytosis (> 50%), atypical lymphocytes (> 10%) in blood smears and the elevated levels of IgM antibody against EBV capsid antigen. The day of onset of fever was recognized as day 1 of illness. Blood samples taken during acute (3 - 5 days), early convalescent (about 11 - 15 days) and convalescent phase (about 30 - 45 days) were analyzed for expressions of CD19(+)/CD23(+), CD23, CD19 on peripheral blood mononuclear cells by flow cytometry (FCM) and was compared with those of control group.

RESULTS(1) The levels of CD23(+)/CD19(+) and CD23 expressions were markedly decreased in acute stage [CD23(+)/CD19(+) (2.22 +/- 1.47)%, (132 +/- 91)/mm(3); CD23 (3.12 +/- 1.88)%, (195 +/- 102)/mm(3)] and in early convalescent stage [CD23(+)/CD19(+) (4.51 +/- 2.25)%, (166 +/- 85)/mm(3); CD23 (5.55 +/- 2.76)%, (231 +/- 130)/mm(3)] in patients with IM as compared with those of the healthy controls [CD23(+)/CD19(+) (6.71 +/- 2.25)%, (215 +/- 68)/mm(3); CD23 (7.85 +/- 3.09)%, (249 +/- 86)/mm(3), respectively]. The earlier the history was, the lower the expressive levels were. The levels of CD23(+)/CD19(+) expressions returned to, but those of CD23 expressions exceeded, normal level in convalescent stage [CD23(+)/CD19(+) (6.72 +/- 2.16)%, (213 +/- 108)/mm(3); CD23 (9.46 +/- 2.73)%, (366 +/- 200)/mm(3)]. (2) There was a positive correlation in the expressions of CD23(+)/CD19(+) and CD23 among the three stages (P < 0.01). The positive correlation between the expressions of CD23(+)/CD19(+) and CD19 only occurred during acute stage (P < 0.01). There was no correlation between the expressions of CD23 and CD19 (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEBV-immortalized cells and CD23(+) cells were inhibited effectively during the acute and early convalescent stage of IM. With the recovery of the disease, they gradually recovered and the levels of CD23 expressions exceeded normal level in convalescent stage.

B-Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Survival ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; pathogenicity ; Humans ; Infant ; Infectious Mononucleosis ; metabolism ; Male ; Receptors, IgE ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEInfectious mononucleosis (IM) is a lymphoproliferative disease caused primarily by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. The initial viral infection by EBV occurs in B lymphocytes and is followed by an extensive proliferation of T lymphocytes. Previous studies on immunity to EBV (including IM) have mainly focused on activation of peripheral blood T cells, which are responsible for the lymphocytosis in blood during acute IM. B cells, regarding CD23 as their activation marker, are the target cells of EBV infection. There are few reports on their effect in patients with IM. The role of them during acute IM is not known yet. The present study aimed to explore the action of B cells in patients with IM.

METHODSIn a prospective trial, a group of subjects comprised 22 patients with IM (14 boys and 8 girls) with mean age of 3.48 +/- 0.81 years (range 7 months to 8 years). Clinical diagnosis of IM was confirmed based on fever, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, lymphocytosis (> 50%), atypical lymphocytes (> 10%) in blood smears and the elevated levels of IgM antibody against EBV capsid antigen. The day of onset of fever was recognized as day 1 of illness. Blood samples taken during acute (3 - 5 days) and convalescent phase (about 15 days) were analyzed for expressions of CD19, CD19(+)/CD23(+) on PBMC by flow cytometry (FCM) and was compared with those of control group. The number of the days with fever was recorded.

RESULTS(1) The levels of CD19 and CD19(+)/CD23(+) expressions were markedly decreased in acute stage [CD19 (5.63 +/- 2.91)%, (387 +/- 178)/mm(3), CD19(+)/CD23(+) (2.45 +/- 1.87)%, (160 +/- 99)/mm(3)] and in convalescent stage [CD19 (12.49 +/- 5.70)%, (428 +/- 156)/mm(3), CD19(+)/CD23(+) (5.05 +/- 2.79)%, (172 +/- 78)/mm(3)] in patients with IM as compared with those of the healthy controls [CD19 (16.20 +/- 2.80)%, (545 +/- 150)/mm(3); CD19(+)/CD23(+) (7.08 +/- 2.78)%, (249 +/- 136)/mm(3)]. The earlier the specimens were taken after onset, the lower the expressed levels were. (2) There was a positive correlation of the expressions of CD19 and CD19(+)/CD23(+) between acute and convalescent stage (P < 0.01);there was also a positive correlation between the expressions of CD19 and CD19(+)/CD23(+) during acute and convalescent stage (P < 0.01). (3) A negative correlation was found between the duration of fever and the level of CD19 and CD19(+)/CD23(+) in acute stage (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe results indicate that B cells and CD23(+) B cells were significantly inhibited during the onset of IM in the patients, that with the recovery of the disease, the condition was gradually improved, and that the more evidently the CD19 and CD19(+)/CD23(+) decreased, the more serious the clinical symptoms were and the longer time the recovery needed. The levels of CD19 and CD19(+)/CD23(+) expressions may be useful in diagnosis and predicting the severity.

Antigens, CD19 ; immunology ; B-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Humans ; Infant ; Infectious Mononucleosis ; diagnosis ; immunology ; virology ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Receptors, IgE ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo assess the HER-2 status in Chinese advanced gastric cancer patients and explore its correlation with clinical features, treatment response and prognosis.

METHODSA total of 107 patients with advanced gastric cancer treated in our hospital from December 2005 to November 2008 were included in this retrospective analysis. HER-2 status was determined by immunohistochemisty (IHC) and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The correlations of HER-2 status with tumor location, pathology, treatment response and prognosis were analyzed and the efficacy of different chemottherapy regimens was compared.

RESULTSThe overall positive rate of HER-2 expression was 14.7% (15/102). The HER-2 status was detected by both methods in 102 patients, and the concordance of the two methods was 66.5%. The tumor site distribution was gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) 28.0%, proximal stomach 19.4%, gastric corpus 16.1%, antrum 26.9% and whole stomach 9.7%, respectively. There was no significant difference of HER-2 status among different tumor sites (P = 0.726), and no significant correlation between HER-2 expression and differentiation (P = 0.110). Among the evaluable 51 patients treated by first-line chemotherapy, the total objective effective rate was 23.5%. The median time-to-progression was 7.47 months, and median overall survival time was 11.07 months. The effective rate was 43.8% in patients who received XP regimen chemotherapy (cisplatin + capecitabine), significantly higher than the 14.3% in patients treated with other regimens (P = 0.033). Their overall survival was 14.17 months and 9.53 months, respectively (P = 0.059). The TTP was 6.63 months in HER-2 positive patients and 7.47 months in HER-2 negative patients, with a non-significant difference (P = 0.510). However, there was a improving tendency in the efficacy and OS, showing a effective rate of 45.5% and 17.5% (P = 0.102) and OS of 14.17 months and 10.63 months, respectively (P = 0.205).

CONCLUSIONSHER-2-positivity rate in Chinese patients with advanced gastric cancer is similar to those reported in the literature. Along with the increasing use of targeted therapy and targeted agents, the efficacy and survival of gastric cancer patients is improving. HER-2-positive patients may benefit from it.

Adenocarcinoma ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Capecitabine ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; Deoxycytidine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Disease Progression ; Esophagogastric Junction ; pathology ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; metabolism ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach ; pathology ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate

Congestive heart failure is a syndrome that is usually initiated by a reduction in pump function of the heart, i.e. a decrease in cardiac output. Initially, a reduction in cardiac output leads to unloading of baroreceptor reflex that, in turn, increases heart rate through vago-sympathetic mechanisms and total peripheral resistance via an increase in sympathetic outflow to vascular beds. In this review we are thinking on how baroreceptor reflex plays a role in the abnormal control of the circulation in heart failure. This review and our recent studies suggest that: (1) baroreceptor reflex is blunted in heart failure; (2) central angiotensin II and reactive oxygen species play an important role in blunted baroreceptor reflex; (3) cardiac sympathetic afferent stimulation and chemoreceptor reflex inhibit baroreceptor reflex; and (4) exercise training normalizes abnormal reflexes in the heart failure state.
Angiotensin II ; metabolism ; Animals ; Baroreflex ; physiology ; Cardiac Output ; physiology ; Chemoreceptor Cells ; physiology ; Exercise ; physiology ; Heart Failure ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; physiology ; Vascular Resistance ; physiology

BACKGROUNDTo clarify the difference and significance of T-lymphocyte subsets in differential diagnosis between severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS) and common atypical pneumonia.

METHODSTotally 100 patients hospitalized in Beijing Ditan Hospital since March to June 2003 with clinical diagnosis of SARS were involved in this study. These patients courses of disease were over 3 weeks. These patients were divided into two groups, SARS group and common atypical pneumonia group (non-SARS group). The counts of CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocyte of two groups were systematically recorded and analyzed.

RESULTSSixty-five of the patients were confirmed to have common type of SARS, including 26 males and 39 females, 50 cases received methylprednisolone treatment. Thirty-five cases had common atypical pneumonia (non-SARS), 21 were males while 14 were females, 20 cases received methylprednisolone treatment. All the cases of two groups were cured in the end. The SARS patients T-lymphocyte counts decreased first and then increased. Before 15 days of disease course, mean CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ T-lymphocyte counts of SARS patients were decreased apparently (694+/-568/microl, 441+/-356/microl, 309+/-462/microl). After 15th day of disease course, the counts gradually returned to normal CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ T-lymphocyte counts of non-SARS patients were normal. Compared with patients of the same group who were not treated with glucocorticoids, T-lymphocyte counts of non-SARS patients treated with glucocorticoids had no obvious difference. But glucocorticoids had some effect on SARS patients recovery of cellular immune function, i.e., it delayed the recovery by about 6 days.

CONCLUSIONWith or without treatment with glucocorticoids,the lowered CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ T-lymphocyte counts in the early stage are of very important significance in differential diagnosis between severe acute respiratory syndrome and common atypical pneumonia.

Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia ; diagnosis ; immunology ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; diagnosis ; immunology ; T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; immunology

Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Paraganglioma, Extra-Adrenal ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; drug therapy ; Radiography ; Spinal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; drug therapy