Objective: To investigate the frequencies of CD4+ regulatory T(Treg) cells(CD4+CD25+/CD4+CD25high) in peripheral blood of cancer patients,providing the opportunity to determine whether cancer patients exhibit an expanded CD4+CD25high pool. Methods: The frequency of CD4+CD25+/CD4+CD25high Treg in the peripheral blood of 62 cancer patients and 15 controls was determined by flow cytometry. Results: Compared with those of healthy control, the frequency of CD4+CD25+/CD4+CD25high in the peripheral blood of cancer patients showed a significant increase[(19.61?8.17)%/(4.20?1.90)%,P

OBJECTIVE: To investigated influence of co-stimulatory signal produced by CD40/CD40 ligand (CD40L) on proliferation and differentiation of leukemic stem cells and B cells as well as the role of CD40L anti-leukemia.DATA SOURCES: We searched Pubmed database and Springer database for the related literatures on CD40/40L, leukemic stem cell and leukemia published from January 1995 to December 2005, using the keyword "CD40, 40L, leukemic stem cell, leukemia" in English.STUDY SELECTION: We focused on published data that included the literatures of experimental groups and control groups, excluded obviously no random experiments, no random clinical studies and repeated researches.DATA EXTRACTION: We collected 30 experimental articles on influence of co-stimulatory signal produced by CD40/CD40L on proliferation and differentiation of leukemic stem cells and B cells as well as the role of CD40L anti-leukemia. Twenty-three articles that met inclusion criteria, excluded 7 articles were the same research ones.DATA SYNTHESIS: Twenty-three trials included influence of co-stimulatory signal produced by CD40/CD40L on proliferation and differentiation of leukemic stem cells, B cells and prognosis of leukemia, and the treatment of leukemic patients by CD40L. We analyzed the influence and role of co-stimulatory signal produced by CD40/CD40L on proliferation and differentiation of leukemic stem cells, B cells and leukemia.CONCLUSION: The evidence conformed that co-stimulatory signal produced by CD40/CD40L promoted proliferation and differentiation of leukemic stem cells , B cells, and it is important for the occurrence,progress and prognosis of leukemia. CD40/CD40L plays a crucial part in immune response, and proves wide application in the immune therapy of leukemia.

The proportion and changes of CD4+CD25high regulatory T cells (Trs) in peripheral blood of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were analyzed and their clinical significance explored. The peripheral blood was collected from 61 patients with NSCLC and 15 healthy controls. By using monoclonal antibodies, the blood samples were evaluated with the flow cytometry for lymphocyte subsets (CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+) and CD4+CD25high Tr cells. The results showed that the proportion of CD4+CD25high Tr cells in NSCLC group was significantly higher than in control group [(4.36 +/-2.07) % vs (2.04+/-1.03) %, P<0.01]. The proportion of CD4+CD25 high Tr cells in late stage was higher than that in early stage [stages I +II (2.26+/-0.6) %; stage III (3.28+/-1.38) %; stage IV (6.06 +/-4.08) %] (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the prognosis of the patients who had higher proportion of CD4+CD25high Tr cells in peripheral blood was worse (P=0.0026). In conclusion, the relative increase in CD4+CD25high Tr cells in peripheral blood may be related to immunosuppression and tumor progression in patients with NSCLC. This finding suggests that CD4+CD25+high Tr cells in peripheral blood of NSCLC may be positive for prognosis analysis. The use of depletion of the CD4+CD25high Tr cell therapy to treat NSCLC patients may be an effective strategy.

Aim To investigate the inhibitive effects of trichostatin A(TSA) on telomerase activity of HL-60 cells and expression of subunit hTERT during apoptosis in vitro and its mechanism.Methods The proliferative activity of HL-60 cells was assessed using morphology and MTT assay.Cell apoptosis was confirmed using Flow Cytometer.Telomerase activity was examined using TRAP-ELISA.The expression status of telomerase subunits was analyzed using RT-PCR.Results A time-and dose-dependent inhibition was detected in HL-60 cells treated with TSA.After 48 h TSA(300 nmol?L~(-1)) treatment,the apoptotic rate detected using cytometric assay(Annexin V/PI double staining)of HL-60 cells was 42.6%.Telomerase activity and expression level of hTERT and the key subunit of telomerase decreased at 24-hour after TSA treatment.No significant changes were observed in the expression of hTR,hTP and the other two subunits of telomerase.Conclusion TSA inhibits telomerase activity and induces apoptosis in HL-60 cells.The underlying mechanism might be related to the down regulation of hTERT transcription.

NanoString nCounter Analysis System is a newly developed gene expression detection platform that directly measures multiplexed mRNA levels through digital counting of individual mRNA transcripts.This technology uses as little as 100 ng of RNA and can obtain accurate gene quantitative data from up to 800 genes in one reaction.It requires no reverse transcription,enzymes and amplifications,and its sensitivity and accuracy are comparable to real time quantitative PCR.NanoString technology has been more and more extensively used in frontiers of biomedical research and clinics such as in validation of data from high-throughput platforms,gene expression profiling,gene regulatory network,molecular subtyping,diagnosis and prognosis of diseases.

BACKGROUND: Spinocerebel ar ataxia is a common neurodegenerative disease characterized by slowly progressive movement incoordination of the limbs. It responds badly to common medication. OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and al ogeneic umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells tranfusion in the treatment of spinocerebel ar ataxia. METHODS: A total of 27 spinocerebel ar ataxia patients treated with mesenchymal stem cells treatment were included for comprehensive statistical analysis. Among these patients, six patients received autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells lumbar puncture treatment and 21 patients received al ogeneic umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells lumbar puncture treatment combined with intravenous infusion. The neurologic function of the patients in the two groups was evaluated with International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale before and after treatment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There was no obvious adverse effect in the 27 spinocerebel ar ataxia patients during, before or after mesenchymal stem cells treatment. The effect of autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in six patents was not significant; for the other 21 patients treated with al ogeneic umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells transfusion, the subjective symptoms of the patients were improved, and the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale scores were decreased significantly at 3 months after treatment when compared with those before treatment (P < 0.05). The results suggest that umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells treatment is safe and able to ameliorate the clinical symptoms and improve life quality of spinocerebel ar ataxia patients to some extent.

The expression of resistin protein in normal human abdominal, thigh, pregnant women abdominal, non-pregnant women abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue and placenta and the relationship between obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), pregnant physiological insulin resistance (IR) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was investigated. The expression of resistin protein in normal human abdominal, thigh, pregnant women abdominal, non-pregnant women abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue and placenta was detected by using Western blotting method. Fasting serum glucose concentration was measured by glucose oxidase assay. Serum cholesterol (CHOL), serum triglycerides (TG), serum HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) and serum LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) were determined by full automatic biochemical instrument. Fasting insulin was measured by enzyme immunoassay to calculate insulin resistance index (IRI). Height, weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BF %). Resistin protein expression in pregnant women placental tissue (67 905 +/- 8441) (arbitrary A values) was much higher than that in subcutaneous adipose tissue in pregnant women abdomen (40 718 +/- 3818, P < 0.01), non-pregnant women abdomen (38 288 +/- 2084, P < 0.01), normal human abdomen (39 421 +/- 6087, P < 0.01) and thigh (14 942 +/- 6706, P < 0.001) respectively. The resistin expression in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue showed no significant difference among pregnant, non-pregnant women and normal human, but much higher than that in thigh subcutaneous adipose tissue (P < 0.001). Pearson analysis revealed that resistin protein was correlated with BMI (r = 0.42), fasting insulin concentration (r = 0.38), IRI (r = 0.34), BF % (r = 0.43) and fasting glucose (r = 0.39), but not with blood pressure, CHOL, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C. It was suggested that resistin protein expression in human abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue was much higher than that in human thigh subcutaneous adipose tissue. Resistin was closely related with central obesity, leading to IR, subsequently obesity and T2DM. Resistin protein expression in placental tissue was much higher than that in subcutaneous adipose tissue in normal human abdomen, pregnant abdomen, non-pregnant women abdomen and thigh. It was indicated that resistin protein could be secreted from human placental tissue. Resistin might be one of the factors that lead to pregnant physiological IR and GDM.

Purpose: Some patients with respiratory failure fail initial weaning attempts and need prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV). Prolonged MV is associated with many complications and consumption of heathcare resources. Objective weaning indices help staffs to identify high-potential patients for weaning from the MV. Traditional weaning indices are not reliable in clinical practice. Transitional percentage of minute volume (TMV%) is a new index of the work of breathing. This study aimed to investigate the utility of TMV% in the prediction of weaning potential. Methods: This study was prospectively performed including all patients with prolonged MV. Researchers recorded their demographics, TMV%, respiratory parameters, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, and laboratory data upon arrival at the respiratory care center. The factors associated with successful weaning were analyzed. Results: Out of the 120 patients included, 84 (70.0%) were successfully weaned from MV. Traditional weaning indices such as rapid shallow breathing index could not predict the weaning outcome. TMV% was a valuable parameter as patients with a lower TMV%, higher tidal volume, higher hemoglobin, lower blood urea nitrogen, and lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores had a higher rate of successful weaning. TMV%, tidal volume, and HCO3- levels were independent predictors of successful weaning, and the area under the curve was .79 in the logistic regression model. Conclusion TMV% is a novel and effective predictor of successful weaning. Patients with lower TMV% had a higher MV weaning outcome. Once patients with a high potential for successful weaning are identified, they should be aggressively weaned from MV as soon as possible.

Purpose: Some patients with respiratory failure fail initial weaning attempts and need prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV). Prolonged MV is associated with many complications and consumption of heathcare resources. Objective weaning indices help staffs to identify high-potential patients for weaning from the MV. Traditional weaning indices are not reliable in clinical practice. Transitional percentage of minute volume (TMV%) is a new index of the work of breathing. This study aimed to investigate the utility of TMV% in the prediction of weaning potential. Methods: This study was prospectively performed including all patients with prolonged MV. Researchers recorded their demographics, TMV%, respiratory parameters, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, and laboratory data upon arrival at the respiratory care center. The factors associated with successful weaning were analyzed. Results: Out of the 120 patients included, 84 (70.0%) were successfully weaned from MV. Traditional weaning indices such as rapid shallow breathing index could not predict the weaning outcome. TMV% was a valuable parameter as patients with a lower TMV%, higher tidal volume, higher hemoglobin, lower blood urea nitrogen, and lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores had a higher rate of successful weaning. TMV%, tidal volume, and HCO3- levels were independent predictors of successful weaning, and the area under the curve was .79 in the logistic regression model. Conclusion TMV% is a novel and effective predictor of successful weaning. Patients with lower TMV% had a higher MV weaning outcome. Once patients with a high potential for successful weaning are identified, they should be aggressively weaned from MV as soon as possible.

OBJECTIVETo explore the regulatory effects of hTERT and TEP1 on telomerase activity in hematopoiesis.

METHODSThe hTERT and TEP1 mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR and the telomerase activi-ty by TRAP.

RESULTSIn mononuclear cells (MNC) and CD(34)(-) cells, no detectable telomerase activity and hTERT mRNA expression were found. CD(34)(+) cells showed hTERT expression and a low level telomerase activity. TEP1 mRNA was detected in MNC, CD(34)(-) and CD(34)(+) cells with no significant difference in the expression level. In the CD(34)(+) cells cultured in vitro with growth factors for 7 days, the telomerase activity and the expression of hTERT mRNA were upregulated, but were downregulated in the long time culture. No significant changes in TEP1 expression was observed.

CONCLUSIONIn the course of hematopoiesis, hTERT mRNA expression was in accordance with telomerase activity, hTERT gene plays a crucial role in the expression of telomerase activity, while TEP1 gene plays, if any, a much smaller role.

Antigens, CD34 ; immunology ; Carrier Proteins ; genetics ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; Fetal Blood ; cytology ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; cytology ; immunology ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Telomerase ; genetics