Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only treatment method to cure hemato-logic malignancies. However, dififculty in obtaining the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match donors is a major lim-itation in this therapeutic strategy. Many studies have demonstrated that umbilical cord blood is rich in hematopoietic stem cells and can be used as a source of stem cells of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Growing evidence also supports the efifcacy of cord blood transplantation (CBT) to treat patients with haematological malignancies, and the number of CBTs is rapidly increasing. Compared to other sources of stem cells, umbilical cord blood is physical cryo-preserved. Therefore, it is very convenient for transplantation, particular for those who need to receive transplantation sooner. In addition, the incidence and severity of graft versus host disease(GVHD) in CBT are usually relatively lower. Herein, we review considerations regarding status, research progresses and selection of umbilical cord blood in CBT.

Objective To analyze the expression feature and function of microRNAs in exosomes secreted by leukemia cells (LCEX). Methods The mice leukemia cell line L1210 was taken as the example, and LCEXL1210 was obtained by isolating supernate of L1210 cells through density gradient centrifugation. MicroRNAs isolated from LCEXL1210 were analyzed by microarray analysis, compared with miRNA from L1210 cell line, and then some of miRNAs with different expression were verified by real-time PCR and were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) database. Results The number of miRNAs identified in LCEXL1210 was 1 044, and that in L1210 cell line was 872. The number of shared miRNAs between LCEXL1210 and L1210 cell line was 732, accounting for 70.1 % of LCEXL1210 and 83.9 % of L1210 cell line, respectively, which indicated that 70 % of LCEXL1210 was derived from the parental cells. Interestingly, 312 miRNAs in LCEXL1210 were found to be underrepresented in the parental cells, indicating their specificity in LCEXL1210. Some miRNAs were significantly highly expressed in LCEXL1210 compared with those in L1210 cell line, including miR-16-1, miR-210, miR-195 and so on, which showed that miRNAs isolated from LCEXL1210 were differentially expressed with those from the parental cells. Some differentially expressed miRNAs from LCEXL1210 were verified by real-time PCR, and then were analyzed by GO database, which demonstrated that these highly expressed miRNAs participated in the processes of various biological function and signal transduction. Conclusions MiRNAs isolated from LCEXL1210 show a high similarity to miRNAs isolated from L1210 cells, whereas of which one-third are specific. The highly expressed miRNAs participate in the processes of various biological function and signal transduction.

Objective To explore the expression of miRNA-181a (miR-181a) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and its effect on biological features of MM cells. Methods CD138+cells of bone marrow from 25 MM patients and 10 patients with hematological non-malignancies were purified by using immunomagnetic separation, and the expression of miR-181a in CD138+cells and MM cell lines including RPMI 8226, H929 and U266 were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. The effects of down-regulation and up-regulation of miR-181a expression on the biological characteristics of MM cells were studied with miR-181a antagomir and agomir. Results Compared with patients with hematological non-malignant diseases, the expression of miR-181a in CD138+ cells was upregulated in MM patients. Compared with CD138+ cells in hematological non-malignancies, high expressions of miR-181a were observed in RPMI 8226 and U266 myeloma cell line, while low expressions of miR-181a were observed in H929 cells. Down-regulation of miR-181a with 100 nmol/L miR-181a antagomir could inhibit the proliferation of U266 cells at 24,48 and 72 h [(67.1 ± 3.3) %vs. (50.5 ± 4.1) %, (71.5 ± 3.6) % vs. (52.3 ± 2.2) %, (78.1 ± 5.4) % vs. (69.5 ± 4.3) %, P < 0.05 respectively], whereas up-regulation of miR-181a with 100 nmol/L miR-181a agomir could significantly promote the proliferation of H929 cells at 24 h and 48 h [(21.2 ± 2.4) %vs. (38.5 ± 3.6) %, ( 61.3 ± 5.4) %vs. (82.2 ±6.9)%, P<0.01 respectively]. Cell cycle analysis showed that miR-181a antagomir made U266 cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. Meanwhile, susceptibility test results indicated that the apoptosis of U266 cells induced by doxorubicin, paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil was increased when the proliferation of miR-181a expression was down-regulated with miR-181a antagomir. In migration assay, the data showed that down-regulation of miR-181a with miR-181a antagomir could inhibit the migration of U266 cells, and the proportion of migrated cells in the experimental group (62 ± 10) %was lower than that in the control group (89 ± 12) %(P< 0.05), whereas up-regulation of miR-181a with miR-181a agomir could improve the migration of H929 cells, and the proportion of migrated cells in the experimental group (242 ± 9) % was higher than that in the control group (98 ± 8)%(P<0.01). Conclusions The high expression of miR-181a expressed highly by MM cells may promote the proliferation, migration and drug resistance of myeloma cells, indicating that miR-181a could be an important prognostic biomarker candidate, and the application of gene silencing may improve the prognosis of MM.

In recent years, the immunotherapy for hematological malignancies, especially acute leukemia (AL), has made great progress from bench to bedside and developed rapidly. For a long time, the immunotherapy targeted to AL mainly faces some problems, such as the identification and selection of specific antigens of leukemia cells, the enhancement of immunogenicity of leukemia-associated antigens, the promotion of endogenous immune response, and overcome the immunosuppression in tumor microenvironment. Therefore, the AL immunotherapy strategies in recent years are mainly aimed at these problems and achieved rapid development, including monoclonal antibodies against leukemia cells surface antigens and monoclonal antibodies conjugated cytotoxic drugs, bispecific antibodies, especially bispecific T cell engager monoclonal antibodies, chimeric antigen receptor T-cells, immune checkpoint inhibitors, dendritic cells and exosomes-based vaccines. This review will briefly introduce the research progress of the basic and clinical application of AL immunotherapy.

Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia(CMML)complicated with immune thrombocytopenia(ITP)is rare.This article reports the clinical data of a patient with CMML complicated with ITP treated with a combination of venetoclax,ripertamab(an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody),and hetrombopag.The coexistence mechanism of CMML and ITP needs to be further clarified.Venetoclax combined with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody and thrombopoietin receptor agonist may be an effective strategy for the treatment of this complication.

Objective: To investigate the occurrence and influencing factors of anemia in lymphoma patients and its effect on treatment. Methods: A total of 501 lymphoma patients, who were hospitalized in four general hospitals in Shanghai from January 2017 to June 2018, were followed up for six months. The clinical data about anemia were collected and statistically analyzed. Results: Among all the enrollment patients, there were 178 patients (35.5%) had anemia. Among 289 patients whom were initially treated for lymphoma, there were 99 patients (34.3%) with anemia. In the following-up time, there were 136 new cases (42.1%) of anemia. The total prevalence of anemia was 62.7%. The univariate analysis indicated that the anemia incidence for initially treated lymphoma patients was significantly related to their age, pathological type, bone marrow infiltration, IPI scores and Ann Arbor stage. The response to initially treatment in lymphoma patients with anemia was inferior to those without anemia. The multivariate analysis indicated that IPI scores 3-5 points (P<0.001, OR=4.230, 95%CI 2.339-7.650) and chemotherapy treatment (P<0.001, OR=11.049, 95%CI 5.149-23.711) were the independent influential factors to the emerging anemia incidence. PS score used to evaluate patient physical condition was obviously related to the anemia occurrence. Conclusion Lymphoma patients have a high prevalence and incidence of anemia. The occurrence and severity of anemia are closely related to the efficacy and physical condition of lymphoma patients.

Objective: To investigate the pathogen spectrum distribution and drug resistance of febrile neutropenic patients with hematological diseases in Shanghai. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on the clinical isolates from the febrile neutropenic patients hospitalized in the departments of hematology in 12 general hospitals in Shanghai from January 2012 to December 2014. The drug susceptibility test was carried out by Kirby-Bauer method. WHONET 5.6 software was used to analyze pathogenic bacteria and drug susceptibility data. Results: A total of 1 260 clinical isolates were collected from the febrile neutropenic patients. Gram-positive bacteria accounted for 33.3% and Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 66.7%. Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.5%) , Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (9.5%) , Escherichia coli (9.1%) , Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8.7%) , Acinetobacter baumannii (6.6%) , Staphylococcus aureus (5.6%) and Enterococcus faecium (5.0%) were ranked in the first 7 of all pathogens. In the respiratory tract secretions specimens, non-fermented strains accounted for 56.2%. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia accounted for 15.2%. Enterobacteriaceae and coagulase-negative Staphylococci accounted for 42.3% (104/246) and 32.6% (85/246) respectively in blood samples. Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus bacteria accounted for 39.4% (76/193) and 28.5% (55/193) respectively in pus specimens. The detection rates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin resistant coagulase negative Staphylococci (MRCNS) were 54.3% and 82.5%, respectively. Staphylococcus bacterial strain was not found to be resistant to linezolid, vancomycin and teicoplanin. The detection rate of Enterococcus vancomycin-resistant strains was 8.9%. Enterococcus was not detected resistance to oxazolidinone strains. Enterobacteriaceae bacteria were highly sensitive to carbapenems. The resistance rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to imipenem and meropenem was 34.1% and 15.8%, respectively. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was more sensitive to minocycline hydrochloride, levofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole. The resistance rate of Acinetobacter baumannii only to cefoperazone-sulbactam was less than 10.0%. The antibiotic resistance rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii to most of common antibiotics was lower than that of the CHINET surveillance. Conclusions The pathogenic strain distribution in common infection sites of febrile neutropenic patients was characterized. Bacterial resistance surveillance was better than the CHINET nationwide large sample surveillance in China.