Objective:To study the inhibitory effect of human embryonic stem cells on the HepG2 cells in vitro.Methods:The co-culture system of Human embryonic stem cells (H9) and liver cancer HepG2 cells was established.The effect of H9 on the biological behavior of HepG2 cells was observed by microscope,the flow cytometry was used to detcct the apoptosis of tumor cells and the cell cycle alteration.Transwell assay was used to detect the migration and invasion of tumor cells.Gene microarray technique was used to examine the change of gene expression profile of HepG2 cells.Results:In the process of co-culture,the growth of hepatoma cells was inhibited.With the extension of the culture time,cells decreased gradually,and occurred signs of aging or apoptosis.Flow cytometry test results showed that the apoptosis rate of hepatoma ceils was significantly increased,and the cell cycle was blocked in the G0/G1 phase.Transwell test results showed that the invasion and migration of HepG2 cells were decreased.The gene chip results showed that the whole genome expression profile of HepG2 cells had a significant change.Conclusion:The human embryonic stem cells had an inhibitory effect on HepG2 cells in vitro.

This study was aimed to investigate the diuretic effect ofMori Cortex and to identify effective fractions inM. Cortex. Metabolic cages were used to firstly observe the diuretic effect ofM. Cortex aqueous extracts on rats. Medications were continuously given for 5 days to screen for the best dosage of diuretic effect. Picric acid assays were used to detect creatinine levels in serum and urine after 5-day medication. Then, the diuretic effect of each chemical split fraction inM. Cortex was studied in order to indentify the effective parts. The results showed that after administration ofM. Cortex aqueous extracts for 3 to 5 days, compared with the control group, there was a significant diuretic effect on rats (P<0.05 orP<0.01). And the medium-dose ofM. Cortex aqueous extracts showed the best effect (P<0.01). However,M. Cortex aqueous extracts had no significant effect on creatinine levels in serum and urine. Assays of diuretic effect of chemical split fractions ofM.Cortex indicated that compared with the control group, 30% ethanol fraction and fatty oil fraction had the best diuretic effect (P<0.01). It was concluded thatM.Cortex aqueous extracts had a significant diuretic effect. And the chemical fractions contributed mostly to this effect were mainly existed in the 30% ethanol fraction and fatty oil fraction.

Objective: To evaluate the outcomes and prognostic factors of myelodysplasia syndrome (MDS) patients who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) . Methods: 165 cases of MDS who underwent allo-HSCT from Jan. 2010 to Mar. 2018 were analyzed retrospectively, focusing on the overall survival (OS) , disease free survival (DFS) , relapse, non-relapse mortality (NRM) and their related risk factors. Results: Of all the 165 cases, 105 were male and 60 were female. The 3-year OS and DFS rate were 72.5% (95%CI 64.9%-80.1%) and 67.4% (95%CI 59.17%-75.63%) , respectively. The 3-year cumulative incidence of relapse and NRM were 12.11% (95%CI 7.03%-18.65%) and 20.44% (95%CI 14.15%-27.56%) , respectively. HCT-comorbidity index (P=0.042, HR=2.094, 95%CI 1.026-4.274) was identified as independent risk factor for OS by the multivariate analysis. Intensive chemotherapy before HSCT or hypomethylation agents treatment had no effects on OS[ (67.0±7.5) %vs (57.7±10.9) %, χ²=0.025, P=0.874]. Conclusions allo-HSCT is a promising means for MDS, and NRM is the major cause of treatment failure. MDS with refractory anemia with excess blasts and secondary acute myeloid leukemia patients may not benefit from intensive chemotherapy or hypomethylation agents treatment before HSCT.

Objective To observe the protective effects of carnosic acid on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in acute ocular hypertension rats model.Methods Sixty male SPF SD rats (8-12 weeks) were randomly assigned to normal control group,carnosic-acid treated group and model control group with 20 rats for each group.The acute ocular hypertension animal model was induced by the perfusion of normal saline solution into anterior chamber of eyes to elevate the intraocular pressure (IOP) to 110 mmHg for 60 minutes in the rats of the carnosic-acid treated group and model control group,and then the carnosic-acid (dissolving in DMSO) was intraperitoneally injected for consecutive 7 days in the carnosic-acid treated group,and only DMSO was injected in the same way in the model control group.The rates were sacrificed 2 weeks after experiment and retinal sections were prepared for histopathological and apoptotic retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) examination by hemotoxylin & eosin staining and TUNEL staining,and immunofluorescence was employed to examine the survival cell number of RGCs.This study protocol was approved by the Ethic Committee for Experimental Animal of Three Gorges University.Results The retinal morphology and structure were clear in the normal control group.The edema of retinal tissue,loosely arranged RGCs and swollen nucleus were seen in the model control group.In the carnosic-acid treated group,the retinal morphology and structure were regular.The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was (32.96±1.63),(58.96± 1.57) and (50.11±2.37)μm,and the apoptotic cell number was (6.92±2.96),(29.85±6.40) and (14.69± 2.98)/field,and the survived cell number was (2 363.17± 148.45),(1 308.67 ±106.02) and (1 614.17 ±96.39) / 0.235 mm2 in the normal control group,model control group and carnosic-acid treated group,respectively,with significant differences among the groups (F =339.284,81.583,122.68,all at P＜0.01).Compared with the normal control group,the RNFL thickness was thickened,the number of apoptotic RGCs was much more and the number of survived RGCs was decreased in the model control group,with significant differences (all at P＜0.01).In the carnosic-acid treated group,the RNFL thickness was thinner,the number of apoptotic RGCs was reduced and the number of survived RGCs was increased in comparison with the normal control group,with significant differences (all at P＜0.01).Conclusions Carnosic-acid plays a protective effect on RGCs by inhibiting the cell apoptosis in acute ocular hypertension rats.

Objective: To establish the norm of the Physical Activity afterschool Questionnaire for Preschooler(P-PAQ) in urban areas of China, so as to provide a basis for graded guidance from the family perspective and to improve children s physical activity levels. Methods: From October 2020 to January 2021, 6 267 children aged 3-6 years old were recruited from 40 kindergartens in eight cities across six major administrative regions by stratified cluster sampling, and the P-PAQ initially developed by the researchers of this study were completed by the primary caregivers. The questionnaire was administered to collect data relating to the amount of physical activity undertaken by the preschoolers, and the norm was determined by quartiles. Data relating to parental concepts of sports and parental behavior were assessed by calculating mean scores in order to establish the norm. Results: Among preschoolers in urban areas, the M(P 25 ，P 75 ) of total physical activity time (min/day), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time (min/day), outdoor time (min/day) and screen time (min/day) on school days outside kindergarten and on weekends were 84 (54,120), 22 (8,40), 12 (0,24) and 18 (6,30), and 170 (115,240), 60 (30,95), 90 (35,120) and 30 (20,60), respectively. When the score of parents sports concept and behavior (total score of 40) were≥34, 29-<34, 24-<29, <24, it was defined as four levels about above medium, medium, lower medium and lower, respectively. And for two dimensions，when the score of parental sports concept were ≥19, 17-<19, 15-<17, <15，and the score of parental behaviors were ≥16, 12-<16, 8-<12, <8, it was defined as four levels about upper medium, medium, lower medium and lower, respectively. Conclusion The norm of extracurricular activities among preschool children in Chinese cities has good representativeness and appropriate threshold values, which could provide a valuable reference for early assessment, as well as guidance in relation to out-of-school physical activity behaviors among children aged 3-6 years old.

Antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapies have taken center stage in immunotherapies for cancer, with multiple clinical successes. PD-1 signaling plays pivotal roles in tumor-driven T-cell dysfunction. In contrast to prior approaches to generate or boost tumor-specific T-cell responses, antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade targets tumor-induced T-cell defects and restores pre-existing T-cell function to modulate antitumor immunity. In this review, the fundamental knowledge on the expression regulations and inhibitory functions of PD-1 and the present understanding of antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapies are briefly summarized. We then focus on the recent breakthrough work concerning the structural basis of the PD-1/PD-Ls interaction and how therapeutic antibodies, pembrolizumab targeting PD-1 and avelumab targeting PD-L1, compete with the binding of PD-1/PD-L1 to interrupt the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. We believe that this structural information will benefit the design and improvement of therapeutic antibodies targeting PD-1 signaling.
Antibodies, Monoclonal ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; B7-H1 Antigen ; antagonists & inhibitors ; immunology ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; immunology ; pathology ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor ; antagonists & inhibitors ; immunology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes ; immunology

BACKGROUNDThoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is an emerging treatment modality, which has been rapidly embraced by clinicians treating thoracic aortic disease. However, the clinical manifestations of systemic inflammatory response after TEVAR as post-implantation syndrome (PIS) resemble the perioperative infection. This study aimed to evaluate changes and diagnostic value of procalcitonin (PCT) and other traditional inflammatory markers for infections after TEVAR.

METHODSWe conducted a prospective clinical study that enrolled 162 consecutive aortic dissection cases, who underwent TEVAR in our institution between July 2011 and November 2012. The PCT, C-response protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and blood routine examination were monitored before the operation and on days 1, 2, 3 and 5 after the operation. The diagnosis of infection was confirmed by the infection control committee with reference to Hospital Acquired Infection Diagnostic Criteria Assessment, released by the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China.

RESULTSPost endovascular repair of thoracic aorta, PCT changes significantly at different time points (χ(2) = 13.225, P = 0.021), without significant difference between the PIS group and the control group (0.24 ± 0.04 vs.0.26 ± 0.10, P = 0.804). PCT values were significantly higher in the first day after TEVAR than the preoperative levels (0.18 ± 0.03 vs. 0.11 ± 0.02, P < 0.001). Compared with PIS patients, the level of PCT, CRP, White blood cell (WBC) and neutrophil (NEU) in the infection patients elevated significantly (relatively χ(2) = 6.062, P = 0.048; χ(2) = 6.081, P = 0.048; χ(2) = 11.030, P = 0.004; χ(2) = 14.632, P = 0.001). According to the ROC analysis, the PCT levels in the first day after TEVAR (AUC = 0.785, P = 0.012) had better predictive values of infection than WBC, NEU CRP and ESR (AUC = 0.720, P = 0.040; AUC = 0.715, P = 0.045; AUC = 0.663, P = 0.274; AUC = 0.502, P = 0.991). The best predictive index was the changes of PCT between preoperative and postoperative (PCT), which possess AUC as 0.803 (P = 0.014). And PCT = 0.055 could be considered as an infection diagnosis cutoff value with a sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity 69.0%.

CONCLUSIONSPCT provides better diagnostic value of infection compared with other inflammatory markers. The potential applications of PCT in differential diagnosis of PIS and infection after percutaneous TEVAR deserve further studies.

Adult ; Aged ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Calcitonin ; metabolism ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Protein Precursors ; metabolism ; Vascular Surgical Procedures

Metabolic regulation has been proven to play a critical role in T cell antitumor immunity. However, cholesterol metabolism as a key component of this regulation remains largely unexplored. Herein, we found that the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), which has been previously identified as a transporter for cholesterol, plays a pivotal role in regulating CD8