Objective To compare the Barcelona clinic liver cancer staging classification (BCLC), the Japan integrated staging score (JIS), the cancer of the liver Italian program score (CLIP) and Chinese staging system in terms of their ability to predict outcomes and to guide option of therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in China.Methods Clinical data of 861 HCC patients from Zhongshan Hospital between 2001 and 2002 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were classified acccording to different staging systems. Survival for patients in different stages and the effects of therapeutic methods on survival time were compared. Results BCLC, JIS and Chinese staging system showed the ability in predicting survival for patients in different staging. CLIP failed to show significant difference in survival rates for each subgroup. There was no significant difference in survival rate between surgery and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)/transarterial embolization (TAE) for patients classified as BCLC stage C, CLIP scores more than 3 or Chinese stage Ⅲ a.The survival rate, however, was higher in patients received operation than those received TACE/TAE if they were classified as earlier stages. Conclusions The BCLC, JIS and Chinese staging systems show prospective ability for Chinese HCC patients in prediction outcomes, whereas the BCLC and the Chinese staging systems are better at both predicting outcomes and guiding the option of treatment.

Objective: To study the recombinant epitope antigens of hepatitis C virus (HCV), in order to fulfil the requirements of recombinant immunoblot assay kit. Methods: An expressing vector pBVIL1 for expression of recombinant antigens in a fusion manner with IL-1β was constructed. A series of selected genes from the HCV antigens including the C, NS3, NS4 and NS5 were amplified from HCV gene-containing plasmids using PCR and the expression plasmids for these genes were constructed in pBVIL1, respectively. The activity of the purified recombinant antigens were tested against an identified HCV antibody positive and negative panel with ELISA. Results and Conclusions: All the cloned genes of chosen antigen epitopes were highly expressed in pBVIL1 in E.coli. The activity of the C and NS4 antigens were slightly higher than the RIBA3.0 antigens, while the activity of NS3 was slightly lower than the RIBA3.0 antigen. But the total evaluation for the panel was same as RIBA3.0. That means the cloned antigens were suitable for the use in RIBA test kit.

OBJECTIVETo identify the effect of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) on late recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after radical resection.

METHODSFrom year 2001 to 2007, 2436 HCC patients underwent radical resection were retrospectively selected. Patients underwent resection only were classified into control group, while those received adjuvant TACE within 2 months after operation were classified into intervention group. Patients were further stratified into those with tumor5 cm and presenting low or high risk factors for recurrence. Patients with single tumor and without microscopic tumor thrombus were defined as low risk for recurrence; otherwise they were defined as high risk. The effect of adjuvant TACE on late (>2 years) recurrence was evaluated.

RESULTSRecurrence rates of tumor5 cm and presenting low, high risk factors for recurrence at 2-year after resection were 20.38%, 33.06%, 30.54% and 50.82%, respectively in the control group, compared with 25.41%, 39.61%, 40.55% and 51.57%, respectively in the intervention group; there were no significant differences between intervention group and control group in each stratum. For patients recurred or died within the first 2 years after resection, the median survival of tumor>5 cm and presenting high risk factors for recurrence was 24 months in the intervention group and 12 months in the Control group. Only in this subgroup, the survival curve of the intervention group was significantly higher than that compared to the control group. For patients who remained recurrence free and survived within the first 2 years after resection, there were no significant differences in the recurrence curves between the intervention group and control group in each stratum; while cumulative survival rates in the subgroup of patients with tumor size is less than or equal to 5 cm and presenting low risk factors for recurrence were 93.95%, 91.50% and 88.42% respectively in the control group, compared with 91.70%, 81.32% and 78.19% respectively in the intervention group at 3-, 4- and 5-year after resection (P=0.0062); for other subgroups, there were no significant differences in the survival curves between the intervention group and the control group in each stratum. Cox regression model suggested adjuvant TACE was not an independent risk factor for late recurrence; however, it might have negative effect on survival [hazard ratio (HR)=1.50, P=0.062] for those patients (especially patients with tumor is less than or equal to 5 cm and presenting low risk factors for recurrence).

CONCLUSIONSThe value of adjuvant TACE was mainly due to its therapeutic actions on residual tumor or early recurrence. It had no effect on postponing or eliminating late recurrence; moreover, it could be a risk rather than a benefit in patients at low risk for recurrence (especially those with tumor is less than or equal to 5 cm and presenting low risk factors for recurrence).

Adult ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; therapy ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Female ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; therapy ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUNDThe genome of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) includes sequences encoding the putative protein X4 (ORF8, ORF7a), consisting of 122 amino acids. The deduced sequence contains a probable cleaved signal peptide sequence and a C-terminal transmembrane helix, indicating that protein X4 is likely to be a type I membrane protein. This study was conducted to demonstrate whether the protein X4 was expressed and its essential function in the process of SARS-CoV infection.

METHODSThe prokaryotic and eukaryotic protein X4-expressing plasmids were constructed. Recombinant soluble protein X4 was purified from E. coli using ion exchange chromatography, and the preparation was injected into chicken for rising specific polyclonal antibodies. The expression of protein X4 in SARS-CoV-infected Vero E6 cells and lung tissues from patients with SARS was performed using immunofluorescence assay and immunohistochemistry technique. The preliminary function of protein X4 was evaluated by treatment with and over-expression of protein X4 in cell lines. Western blot was employed to evaluate the expression of protein X4 in SARS-CoV particles.

RESULTSWe expressed and purified soluble recombinant protein X4 from E.coli, and generated specific antibodies against protein X4. Western blot proved that the protein X4 was not assembled in the SARS-CoV particles. Indirect immunofluorescence assays revealed that the expression of protein X4 was detected at 8 hours after infection in SARS-CoV-infected Vero E6 cells. It was also detected in the lung tissues from patients with SARS. Treatment with and overexpression of protein X4 inhibited the growth of Balb/c 3T3 cells as determined by cell counting and MTT assays.

CONCLUSIONThe results provide the evidence of protein X4 expression following SARS-CoV infection, and may facilitate further investigation of the immunopathological mechanism of SARS.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; BALB 3T3 Cells ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Growth Inhibitors ; analysis ; physiology ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; chemistry ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; SARS Virus ; chemistry ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; metabolism ; Vero Cells ; Viral Structural Proteins ; analysis ; physiology

Objective:To evaluate the values of 18F-PI-2620 PET/CT brain imaging with SUV ratio (SUVR) in the assessment of tau protein deposition in the brain of patients with different cognitive disorders and its correlation with cognition. Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. From December 2019 to November 2022, a total of 67 subjects including 54 patients with Alzheimer′s disease (AD; 21 males, 33 females, age (68.6±7.8) years), 7 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; 1 male, 6 females, age (63.1±11.2) years) and 6 healthy controls (HC; 4 males, 2 females, age (69.0±5.8) years) were enrolled retrospectively in Renji Hospital. All participants were examined by 18F-PI-2620 PET/CT. SUVRs of brain regions were obtained, including frontal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, insular lobe, whole brain, as well as 10 independent brain ROIs (amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, superior parietal gyrus, inferior angular gyrus, precuneus, inferior temporal gyrus, entorhinal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus), with inferior cerebellum cortex as the reference region. All participants were estimated by cognitive scales(mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA)). One-way analysis of variance and the least significant difference t test were used to compare the differences of SUVR in each brain region among HC, MCI and AD groups. ROC curve analysis was used to determine the optimal cut-off values of SUVR in each brain region for the differential diagnosis of AD-MCI and AD-HC. Pearson correlation analysis was employed to examine the correlations of SUVR with cognitive scale scores. Results:The SUVR of whole brain was 1.40±0.31 in AD group, 1.08±0.19 in MCI group, and 1.01±0.12 in HC group. SUVR analysis in the whole brain and each brain region could distinguish AD from HC, AD from MCI ( F values: 1.76-10.09, t values: 2.98-7.47, all P<0.05), but could not distinguish HC from MCI ( t values: 0.17-1.53, all P>0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the best cut-off value of SUVR was 1.18 for whole brain (AUC=0.89), 1.13 for amygdala (AUC=0.94) and 1.26 for parahippocampal gyrus (AUC=0.94) for differential diagnosis of AD and HC, which was 1.06 for whole brain (AUC=0.82), 1.18 for amygdala (AUC=0.88) and 1.28 (AUC=0.88) for infratemporal gyrus to differential diagnosis of AD and MCI. SUVRs of the whole brain, frontal, occipital, parietal, temporal and insula were significantly negatively correlated with MMSE and MoCA cognitive scale scores ( r values: from -0.64 to -0.40, all P<0.05). Conclusions:SUVR quantitative analysis in 18F-PI-2620 PET imaging can assist the differential diagnosis of AD and HC, AD and MCI. The SUVRs of whole brain and five lobes show negative correlations with MMSE and MoCA scores.

Objective:To assess the diagnostic efficiency of 18F-FDG PET for Alzheimer′s disease (AD) in patients with memory impairment. Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 96 patients (40 males, 56 females, age: 69.0(62.8, 74.0) years) initially diagnosed with memory impairment in Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University between August 2019 and September 2023. The amyloid-tau-neurodegeneration (ATN) criteria, based on 18F-AV45+ 18F-PI-2620 PET/CT+ MRI imaging results, were used as the diagnostic standard for AD. Visual analysis (temporoparietal or posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) hypometabolism) and semi-quantitative analysis methods (PET-SCORE and NeuroQ software analysis (SUV ratio, SUVR)) were applied to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of 18F-FDG PET imaging for AD. Diagnostic efficiencies of visual assessment and semi-quantitative parameters were compared by χ2 test. Additionally, Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between results of PET-SCORE and cognitive scales. Results:Of the 96 patients initially diagnosed with memory impairment, 61 were clinically diagnosed with AD, while 35 were non-AD patients. Visual assessment of temporoparietal hypometabolism showed the highest sensitivity (91.80%, 56/61), which was significantly different from the sensitivities of PET-SCORE (40.98%(25/61); χ2=29.03, P<0.001) and visual assessment of PCC hypometabolism (77.05%(47/61); χ2=5.82, P=0.016). While semi-quantitative assessment using PET-SCORE demonstrated the highest specificity (100%, 35/35), which was significantly different from the specificities of visual assessment methods (temporoparietal hypometabolism: 17.14%(6/35), χ2=27.03, P<0.001; PCC hypometabolism: 54.29%(19/35), χ2=14.06, P<0.001). PET-SCORE exhibited statistically significant correlations with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scores ( r values: -0.38, -0.36, 0.31, all P<0.01). Conclusions:Among patients initially diagnosed with memory impairment, visual assessment in 18F-FDG PET imaging analysis demonstrates higher sensitivity, while semi-quantitative analysis using PET-SCORE exhibits higher specificity. PET-SCORE shows statistically significant correlation with the severity of cognitive decline.

Objective:To investigate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhiza（AM） fungi inoculation on the rhizosphere soil of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis under field conditions，so as to provide a reference for the standardized cultivation and development of high-quality varieties of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Method:The effects of inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi on the rhizosphere soil structure of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis were observed through a combination of small-scale field inoculation test and laboratory analysis. Soil indexes were determined by soil agrochemical methods. Result:The treatment groups inoculated with exogenous AM fungi showed a regulatory effect on the infection rate and intensity of AM fungi infection in the root system of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. After treatment with AM fungi，the soil pH was basically not affected，and the contents of organic matter，available nitrogen，available phosphorus，and available potassium increased. Moreover，the number of fungi decreased，the number of bacteria and actinomycetes increased，and soil enzyme activities increased. The results of correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation among the soil physical and chemical indexes，especially the bacterial number and the three types of phosphatases showed extremely significant correlation （r=0.849，0.800，0.804，P<0.01）. Conclusion:The application of the two mixed fungicides could increase the number of microorganisms and enzyme activities in the rhizosphere of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis， and there was a certain synergy effect among the soil factors. Among the three field trials，the effects in Anshun，Guizhou and Wanzhou，Chongqing were more ideal，which provided a theoretical and practical basis for large-scale promotion of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis in the field.