1.The impact of anti-TNF rcMAb to Th cell subsets of rheumatoid arthritis
Tao YUE ; Xiaoyin NIU ; Guangjie CHEN ; Liqing NI
Chinese Journal of Rheumatology 2012;16(7):481-485
Objective To explore the effect of anti-TNF rcMAb in the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its effect on peripheral blood Th1,Th17 and Treg cells.Methods Fifty rigorously screened RA patients were randomly divided to the therapy group (n=40) who received the combined treatment of anti-TNF rcMAb and MTX,and control group (n=10) who were given MTX along with placebo,both at week 0,2,6,and 14.The clinical data of the two groups were observed and accessed respectively at week 0 and 18.In addition,the percentage of Th1,Th17,Treg cells in the peripheral blood and the relative gene expressions of transcription factors T-bet,RORC,Foxp3 in these patients were also observed respectively before and after treatment.We used t inspection and x2 inspection as the statistical analysis methods in conducting this study.Results Comparing with the control group,more patients achieved ACR20,ACR50 and ACR70 response in the combined therapy group (Z=1.671,P=0.000 94).The percentage of peripheral blood Th1 cells decreased [week 0:(7.1±3.9)%; week 18:(4.2±2.8)%] and the percentage of Treg cells obviously increased [week 0:(1.5±0.8)%; week 18:(3.0±0.6)%,t=2.301,P=0.048] in the combined therapy recipients,while the percentage of Th1 cells fell [week 0:(9.1±3.1)%; week 18:(5.8±2.6)%] and that of Treg cells slightly increased [week 0:(1.2±0.6)%; week 18:(2.2±0.6)%] in the controls.The mRNA expressions of RORC and T-bet,the transcription factors of Th17 and Th1,were decreased respectively and that of Foxp3,the transcription factor of Treg,were elevated in both groups.Conclusion The combined therapy of anti-TNF rcMAb and MTX is very effective in RA patients.Good outcome is likely achieved by modifying the peripheral blood Th cell subsets in patients with RA.
2.A comparison of the infection related critical illness scores for predicting mortality in patients with infection or suspected infection: a network Meta-analysis
Lu XIAO ; Liqing NIU ; Xuemin ZHANG ; Chongxiang SUN ; Xuezheng LIU ; Xinqiao LIU
Chinese Critical Care Medicine 2021;33(10):1187-1192
Objective:To evaluate the prognostic accuracy of the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria in predicting the mortality in patients with infection or suspected infection by using network Meta-analysis.Methods:Five databases including Wanfang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), PubMed, Web of Science were searched from February 23, 2016 to September 5, 2020 to identify the relevant literatures comparing the prognostic accuracy of two or more scores for mortality in patients with infection or suspected infection. The literatures screening, data extraction and the quality assessment of the included studies were all conducted independently by two reviewers. Stata 14.0 software was used to test the heterogeneity between the original studies of pairwise comparison of each of the three scoring systems. Ring inconsistency test was used to judge the consistency between direct comparison and indirect comparison. Then network Meta-analysis was performed and the results were ranked. The predictive ability of the three scoring systems was evaluated by surface under cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). A "comparison-correction" funnel plot was drawn to assess whether there was publication bias in the included studies.Results:A total of 38 studies were enrolled, the overall quality was high. Network meta-analysis showed that SOFA had a great prognostic performance in predicting mortality for patients with infection or suspected infection, which was followed by qSOFA [mean difference ( MD) = 0.07, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 0.05-0.09] and SIRS scores ( MD = 0.16, 95% CI was 0.14-0.18), and the qSOFA score was better than SIRS score ( MD = 0.09, 95% CI was 0.07-0.11). In the order of predicting the death risk of patients with infection or suspected infection, SOFA score had higher predictive value, followed by qSOFA score, and SIRS score was the lowest, with SUCRA values of 1.0, 0.5 and 0, respectively. Funnel plot showed that all the studies were distributed on both sides of the midline, but the distribution was not symmetrical, suggesting that there was a high possibility of publication bias and small sample effect. Conclusions:SOFA score had the best prognostic performance in predicting mortality of patients with infection or suspected infection as compared with qSOFA score and SIRS score. However, the funnel plot showed that included literatures may exist small sample effects or publication bias. So the final results should be validated by more prospective studies with multicenters and large samples.
3.Recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone for post-operative assessment in patients with low- to intermediate-risk differentiated thyroid cancer: results of phase Ⅰ study
Yansong LIN ; Hui YANG ; Xiaoyi LI ; Liqing WU ; Bin ZHANG ; Yingqiang ZHANG ; Kai CHEN ; Zhuanzhuan MU ; Jianmin JIA ; Na NIU ; Di SUN ; Xin ZHANG ; Baoxia HE
Chinese Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2022;42(2):84-89
Objective:To evaluate the efficacy by using domestic recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) before or after 131I therapy. Methods:From May 2019 to November 2020, a total of 24 patients with DTC (5 males, 19 females, median age 41 years) in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Zhengzhou University were enrolled into the open-label, dose escalation phase Ⅰ study. All patients were divided into 4 domestic rhTSH dose groups: 0.9 mg×1 d (group A), 0.9 mg×2 d (group B), 1.8 mg×1 d (group C), 1.8 mg×2 d (group D) in succession, with 6 patients in each group. Each patient underwent rhTSH phase and thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) phase. The end point included safety, tolerability, the quality of life (hypothyroidism symptom and sign score (Billewicz score), profile of mood states (POMS)), effectiveness (thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroglobulin (Tg) levels, diagnostic whole-body scan (Dx-WBS)) and pharmacokinetic characteristics (peak time, peak concentration) of rhTSH. Paired t test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for statistical analysis. Results:There were no dose-limiting toxicities, serious adverse events, or no grade ≥3 adverse events reported. The quality of life in rhTSH phase was significantly better than those in THW phase, including the lower Billewicz score (-53.00(-53.00, -53.00) vs -39.50(-47.00, -23.00); S=119.50, P<0.001) and the lower POMS score (91.92±12.06 vs 99.67±19.13; t=0.95, P=0.025). Serum TSH level was increased from 0.04(0.02, 0.11) mU/L (baseline) to 150.00(105.20, 173.31) mU/L 24 h after the last rhTSH administration, which was increased along with the elevation of rhTSH doses. In the THW phase, patients′ TSH levels were≥30 mU/L after 23 d (median) of THW, with the median of 73.51(57.22, 106.22) mU/L. Median Tg level of baseline was 0.10(0.10, 0.41) μg/L, which reached a peak of 0.85(0.12, 3.01) μg/L at 48 h after rhTSH administration. The peak Tg level in the THW phase was 0.88(0.15, 8.04) μg/L. The Dx-WBS consistency rate between rhTSH and THW phase was 95.8%(23/24). Conclusion:rhTSH is a safe and effective method to stimulate the serum Tg level and radioiodine uptake in patients undergoing post-operation or post- 131I assessment for DTC, as well as maintain a higher quality of life in comparison to THW phase.
4.Protective effect of marein against alcoholic fatty liver and its mechanism
Guanghao NIU ; Junchi XU ; Liqing GU ; Ying XU ; Yuren GU ; Huafeng SONG
China Pharmacy 2024;35(9):1044-1049
OBJECTIVE To explore the protective effect of marein against alcoholic fatty liver (AFL) and its potential mechanisms. METHODS AFL mice model was established with strong wine by gavage. The mice were randomly divided into normal control group (n=9, 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose solution), model group (n=10, 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose solution) and marein 75 and 150 mg/kg groups (n=9). Mice were given relevant medicine intragastrically, once a day, for consecutive 30 days. After the last medication, the levels of triglyceride (TG), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in liver tissue were determined, and hepatic histopathological changes of liver tissue were observed; the protein expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1), and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) were determined in liver tissue. BRL hepatocytes injury model was induced by ethanol combined with ferrous sulfate and oleic acid; after treatment with 3, 6 and 12 μmol/L of marein for 24 h, the distribution of lipid droplets, the levels of TG, MDA and SOD and protein expressions of PPARα, CPT-1 and DGAT in hepatocytes were examined. After pretreatment with MK886 (PPARα inhibitor, 10 μmol/L),modeled hepatocytes were treated with 12 μmol/L of marein for 24 h, and the protein expressions of PPARα, CPT-1 and DGAT were determined. RESULTS As the results showed in vivo, compared with the model group, after treatment with 75 and 150 mg/kg of marein, the degree of steatosis was significantly reduced, and the levels of TG and MDA and protein expression of DGAT were significantly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01); the levels of SOD, protein expressions of PPARα and CPT-1 were significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01). As the results showed in vitro, after treatment with 3, 6 and 12 μmol/L of marein, the lipid accumulation of hepatocytes was significantly inhibited, and the levels of TG and MDA, protein expression of DGAT were significantly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the levels of SOD, protein expressions of PPARα and CPT-1 were significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01). After MK886 pretreatment, the effects of marein on the above protein expressions were abolished. CONCLUSIONS Marein might exert a protective effect against AFL. The mechanisms might be related to inhibiting oxidative stress-mediated injury and improving PPARα-mediated lipid metabolism signaling pathway.