The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of immunosuppressive therapy on the expression of TNF-α/IFN-γ in cytoplasm of peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with aplastic anemia (AA). The expression of TNF-α and IFN-γ in cytoplasm of peripheral CD3(+) lymphocytes were measured by flow cytometry in 25 cases of de novo AA patients and 20 cases of AA after immunosuppressive therapy. The results showed that the positive rates of CD3(+)/TNF-α(+) and CD3(+)/IFN-γ(+) in de novo AA patients were (5.97 ± 6.78)% and (15.20 ± 11.28)% respectively, and (1.56 ± 0.87)% and (1.76 ± 0.87)% in normal controls respectively. There was significant difference between de novo AA patients and normal controls (p < 0.05). The positive rates of CD3(+)/TNF-α(+) and CD3(+)/IFN-γ(+) in immunosuppressive therapy group were (1.67 ± 1.26)% and (4.35 ± 4.33)% respectively. The difference between immunosuppressive therapy group and de novo AA group was statistically significant (p < 0.05). It is concluded that the levels of intracellular TNF-α and IFN-γ in AA patients are higher than those in normal controls. Immunosuppressive therapy significantly reduces the expression of intracellular TNF-α and IFN-γ. Its relationship with the clinical treatment is worth further observing.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Anemia, Aplastic ; blood ; metabolism ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Interferon-gamma ; metabolism ; Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism ; Young Adult

The purpose of this study was to detect the minimal residual disease (MRD) in peripheral blood of newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on day 8 of induction chemotherapy and analyze the correlation between day 8 MRD (D8RD) and therapeutic effectiveness. 29 adult patients (13 males and 16 females, aged 16 - 75 years, median 41 years) with AML diagnosed and treated in West China Hospital from September 2009 to June 2010 were analyzed and followed up in the study. The leukemia-associated aberrant immunophenotype (LAIP) of all the patients were detected by multiparameter flow cytometry (FCM) before therapy. The level of MRD in the peripheral blood at day 8 of induction chemotherapy was detected by FCM based on the LAIP. The overall survival curve was drawn by calculation using Kaplan-Meier method using, and the comparison between different groups was carried out by Log-rank test. The results indicated that after first course therapy, the levels of peripheral D8RD in 7 out of 29 AML cases were lower than 0.01% (negative group), and that in another 22 cases were higher than 0.01% (0.08% - 55%, positive group). The sex, age, WBC, LDH, percentage of bone marrow blasts at diagnosis in these groups were not statistically different. 6 cases achieved CR (86%) in D8RD negative group, and also 6 cases achieved CR (27%) in D8RD positive group, CR rate in D8RD negative group was higher than in D8RD positive group (86% vs 27%, P < 0.05). The median follow-up of 29 cases lasted for 15 months; the 1-year overall survival rate of D8RD negative and D8RD positive groups was 100% and 39.4%, respectively (P < 0.01). It is concluded that MRD level in peripheral blood at day 8 of induction chemotherapy is an early index to predict clinical efficacy of induction therapy in AML.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; blood ; drug therapy ; mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm, Residual ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; mortality ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a reactive mental disorder that occurs after an individual was exposed to a traumatic event,and the core of the treatment is the extinction of conditioned fear memory caused by stress.Fear memory is an incentive mechanism based on external stimuli that occupy a central position in the defense system.Traditional memory concept convinced that the original memory traces were in an unstable state when the memory was activated.This process is called memory reconsolidation.The research has proved the existence of the fear memory reconsolidation,but the specific mechanism of reconsolidation has not been clarified.The animal studies show that many brain sites and molecular mechanisms are involved in the process of fear memory reconsolidation.Understanding the underlying mechanisms of fear memory reconsolidation is conducive to the treatment of specific phobias and PTSD.This review summarized the brain structure and molecular mechanism of conditioned fear memory reconsolidation,providing a new direction for the in-depth study of conditioned fear memory reconsolidation and PTSD.

This study was purposed to investigate the ratio of Th17 cells and CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells in peripheral blood of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and to explore their roles in the pathogenesis and clinical diagnosis. Based on the number of peripheral lymphocytes and treatment condition, the CLL patients were divided into 2 groups: untreated group (n = 30) and remission group (n = 15), the healthy control group (n = 20) was set up as well. The frequencies of Th17 and Treg cells of all cases were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The results showed that frequencies of CD3(+)CD4(+)T cells and Th17 cells were significantly higher in untreated group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05), the frequencies of CD3(+)CD8(+)T cells and Treg cells were significantly lower in untreated group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05), the ratio of Th17/Treg was significantly higher in untreated group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05). The frequencies of Th17 were not statistically different between remission and healthy control groups, the frequencies of Treg cells were significantly lower in remission group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05), the ratio of Th17/Treg was significantly higher in remission group than that in healthy control group (P < 0.05), frequencies of Th17 cells were markedly lower in remission group than that in untreated group (P < 0.05). It is concluded that Th17/Treg imbalance exists in patients with CLL, which may play a key role in pathogenesis and development of CLL.
Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell ; pathology ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; cytology ; Th17 Cells ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the ratio of Th17 cells and CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ regulatory T (Treg) cells in peripheral blood from patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and explore its pathological effects.

METHODS70 MM patients were divided into three groups: newly diagnosed group (n=30), plateau stage group (n=23) and relapsed/refractory group (n=17). The controls consisted of 20 healthy donors. The frequencies of Th17 and Treg cells were detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTSCompared with controls [(0.72±0.33)%] and plateau stage group [(0.74±0.29)%], frequencies of Th17 cells were higher in newly diagnosed group [(1.62±0.65)%] and relapsed/refractory group [(1.45±0.51)%], respectively (P<0.05). Compared with controls [(2.33±0.90)%] and plateau stage group [(1.69±0.70)%], frequencies of Treg cells were significantly lower in newly diagnosed group [(0.55±0.23)%] and relapsed/refractory group [(0.82±0.54)%], respectively (P<0.05). The ratios of Th17/Treg in newly diagnosed group and relapsed/refractory group were higher than those in controls (P<0.05). There were no differences of the frequencies of CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells and Th17 cells between plateau stage group and controls. The frequencies of Treg cells were significantly lower in plateau stage group than that in controls (P<0.05), and the ratio of Th17/Treg was significantly higher in plateau stage group than that in controls (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe remarkable abnormality of T cells subsets was reduction of CD4⁺ T cells in MM. Higher frequency of Th17 and lower ratio of Treg could lead to imbalance of Th17/Treg, which may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of MM.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; immunology ; pathology ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; cytology ; Th17 Cells ; cytology

Immunophenotype is critical for diagnosing common B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (common ALL) and detecting minimal residual disease. We developed a protocol to explore the immunophenotypic profiles of common ALL based on the expression levels of the antigens associated with B lymphoid development, including IL-7Rα (CD127), cytoplasmic CD79a (cCD79a), CD19, VpreB (CD179a), and sIgM, which are successive and essential for progression of B cells along their developmental pathway. Analysis of the immunophenotypes of 48 common ALL cases showed that the immunophenotypic patterns were highly heterogeneous, with the leukemic cell population differing from case to case. Through the comprehensive analysis of immunophenotypic patterns, the profiles of patient-specific composite leukemia cell populations could provide detailed information helpful for the diagnosis, therapeutic monitoring, and individualized therapies for common ALL.
Adult ; Antigens, CD19 ; metabolism ; B-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; metabolism ; CD79 Antigens ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin Light Chains, Surrogate ; metabolism ; Immunophenotyping ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; immunology ; pathology ; Receptors, Interleukin-7 ; metabolism

The aim of study was to investigate the immunophenotype characteristics and prognosis of acute leukemia patients with cross-expressing lymphoid and myeloid lineage-associated antigens. The immunophenotypes of leukemic cells were examined by using flow cytometry. All patients were classified into several groups according to FAB subtypes and immunophenotyping. The cross-expressed antigens analyzed for AML included CD2, CD7, CD19, CD56 and other co-expressed lymphoid antigens. The myeloid antigens analyzed for ALL included CD13 and co-expressed CD13/CD33. ALL and AML patients without expression of cross-expressing antigens were selected as control. Complete remission (CR) ratio and relapse-free survival (RFS) of patients in all groups were compared. The results indicated that among 161 patients analyzed, 91 cases of AML with cross-expressing lymphoid and myeloid antigens included that 24 cases of AML expressed lymphoid surface marker-CD7, namely CD7(+) AML, 14 cases of AML only expressed lymphoid surface marker-CD19, namely CD19(+) AML, 8 cases of AML expressed lymphoid surface marker-CD2 (including CD2/CD19 co-expressed), namely CD2(+) AML, 10 cases of AML expressed lymphoid surface marker-CD56 (including CD56/CD19 or CD56/CD2 co-expressed), namely CD56(+) AML, 16 cases of AML expressed two or more lymphoid surface markers, namely Ly ≥ 2(+) AML, 9 cases of ALL expressed myeloid surface markers CD13, namely CD13(+) ALL, 10 cases of ALL expressed myeloid surface markers CD13 and CD33, namely CD13/CD33(+) ALL. 29 cases of ALL did not expressed myeloid surface markers, namely My(-) ALL, and 41 case of AML did not expressed lymphoid surface markers, namely Ly(-) AML. CR ratio and RFS of Ly ≥ 2(+) AML patients were lower than those of Ly(-) AML patients. RFS of CD56(+) AML patients was lower, but CR ratio had no significant difference, when compared with Ly(-) AML patients. CR ratio and RFS of other AML patients with cross-expressing antigens had no significant difference when compared with Ly(-) AML patients. CR ratio and RFS of CD13(+) ALL and CD13/CD33(+) ALL patients had no significant difference when compared with My(-) ALL patients. It is concluded that the importance of cross-expressing antigens for prognosis of patients should be analyzed concretely. CD56(+) AML and Ly ≥ 2(+) AML have bad prognosis, while other cross-expressed lymphoid and myeloid lineage-associated antigens have no impact on prognosis of acute leukemia patients.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, CD ; immunology ; Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic ; immunology ; CD13 Antigens ; immunology ; CD56 Antigen ; immunology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Infant ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; classification ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; classification ; immunology ; Prognosis ; Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3 ; Young Adult

Objective: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of T-cell acute leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL) and explore the prognosis significance of early T-cell precursor leukemia/lymphoma. Methods: A cohort of 126 patients diagnosed with T-ALL from 2008 to 2014 in West China Hospital, Sichuan University were enrolled in this study. They were further categorized by immunophenotype according to the expression of T-cell lineage markers CD1a, CD8, CD5 and one or more stem cell or myeloid markers. The laboratory indicators and prognosis factors were also statistically analyzed. Results: Of all patients, the ratio of male to female was 2.5∶1, with the median age of 25 years old (range 14 to 77) . The percentage of ETP-ALL was up to 47.6%. T-ALL patients showed higher ratio in first clinical remission rate (CR(1)) than T-LBL ones (64.4% vs 30.8%, P=0.032) . Group with WBC count higher than 50×10(9)/L at presentation showed higher ration of achieving CR(1) than those lower than 50×10(9)/L (78.4% vs 50.9%, P=0.010) . In comparison with the non-ETP-ALL, ETP-ALL patients had older age of onset (P<0.001) , lower WBC count (P<0.001) , lower risk of CNS involvement (10.0% vs 30.2%, P=0.009) and slightly inferior overall survival (P=0.073) . T-cell lineage markers CD1a(-), CD8(-) and CD4(-) positive patients had higher CR(1) than their corresponding negative ones (P=0.002, P=0.000, P=0.001) , while CD33(-) and CD56(-) positive patients had lower ratio of achieving CR(1) than their negative ones, respectively (P=0.035, P=0.035) . Conclusion: Flow cytometry and associated markers for immunophenotyping was of significance in the diagnosis and prognosis monitoring of T-ALL/LBL. The percentage of ETP-ALL/LBL subtype was high in Chinese adolescent and adult T-ALL patients. ETP-ALL/LBL was a high risk subtype, which needs more precise standard for diagnosis and advanced therapies for better outcome.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cells, T-Lymphoid/cytology* ; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/diagnosis* ; Prognosis ; Young Adult