OBJECTIVEAcute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) accounts for 15 to 25 percent of childhood acute leukemias. Cytogenetic information is important for diagnosis, classification and prognosis of AML. Our aim was to analyze the relationship between karyotypic characteristics and prognosis of childhood AML.

METHODAccording to karyotypic characteristics, 128 newly diagnosed children AML were separated into 4 subgroups: patients with t(15;17) (group APL), patients with t(8;21)/inv(16) (group A), patients with -7/t(9;22)/complex karyotypes (group C) and the others (group B). Prognoses of these patients were analyzed.

RESULTSThe ages ranged from 1 to 16 years with the mean age of 7 years. 85 boys and 43 girls were included in this study. The 4-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were (55.9 ± 4.7)% and (69.3% ± 4.5)%, respectively. The 4-year EFS and OS of non-M(3)-AML patients were (49.9 ± 5.2)% and (57.1 ± 6.0)%, respectively. The probabilities of 4-year EFS of the four subgroups were (72.2 ± 1.1)%, (66.3 ± 7.7)%, (38.5 ± 9.1)% and (20.1 ± 12.3)%, respectively (P = 0.000). The probabilities of 4-year OS were (92.6 ± 5.1)%, (69.4 ± 7.9)%, (55.6 ± 8.6)% and (30.0 ± 12.3)%, respectively (P = 0.000).

CONCLUSIONCytogenetic aberrations seen in pediatric AML had a significant impact on prognosis.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosome Disorders ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Karyotyping ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Male ; Prognosis ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo isolate and identify compounds from Picria fel-tarrae in order to utilize it better.

METHODConstituents from Picria fel-tarrae were isolated by several column chromatography and their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectral analysis.

RESULTSix compounds, N-benzoylphenylalanyl-L-phenylalaninol acetate (1), 1-hydroxy-7-hydroxymethyl-9,10-anthraquinone (2), 9, 16-dioxo-10,12,14-octadeca-trienoic acid (3), 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-flavone (4), beta-sitosterol (5), and daucosterol (6) were obtained from the fraction with relatively low polarity of EtOH extract of Picria fel-tarrae.

CONCLUSIONCompounds 1-6 were isolated from picria fel-tarrae Lour for the first time, and the 13C-NMR data of compounds 1-3 are provided firstly in the literature.

Apigenin ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Dipeptides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Scrophulariaceae ; chemistry ; Sitosterols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1) gene in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and the paired normal tissues.

METHODSThe differential expression of MMP1 mRNA between 30 OSCC and paired normal tissues were detected with reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR).

RESULTSThe relative expression level of MMP1 mRNA in the OSCC tissues showed a 3.26-fold increase in comparison with that in the paired normal tissues (4.06-/+0.52 vs 1.24-/+0.17, P<0.0001). In the 30 OSCC tissues, the relative expression level of MMP1 mRNA was higher in histological grade II/III tissues (4.31-/+0.68) than in grade I (3.87-/+0.57) tissues, higher in OSCC in advanced stages (III/IV) than in tumors in early stages (I/II) (4.18-/+0.67 vs 3.65-/+0.53), and also higher in OSCC with cervical lymph node invasion than in those without cervical lymph node invasion (4.32-/+0.71 vs 3.91-/+0.51), but these differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONMMP1 gene may play a role in local invasion of OSCC, and can serve as a potential biomarker molecule for diagnosis, treatment and prognostic evaluation of OSCC, with also clinical value for OSCC classification.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; enzymology ; genetics ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 ; genetics ; Middle Aged ; Mouth Mucosa ; enzymology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Mouth Neoplasms ; enzymology ; genetics ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

In order to explore the diagnosis and therapy of Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA), the clinical data of 45 cases of DBA admitted in our hospital from February 1994 to July 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. The clinical characteristics, results of laboratory examination, treatment reaction and outcome of disease were investigated. The results indicated that out of 45 children diagnosed as DBA, 14 cases (31.1%) had short stature and physical malformation. All patients had anemia with reticulocytopenia. Thirty-four patients (75.6%) had mean corpuscular volume. Eleven patients (24.4%) had macrocytic anemia. Bone marrow examination showed a marked erythroid hypoplasia in all patients. Out of 29 cases tested for fetal hemoglobin (HbF), 13 cases (44.8%) had high level of HbF. Erythroid colony-forming unit of bone marrow was tested in 25 patients, among them 12 patients (48%) showed normal plasia, 13 (52%) showed hypoplasia. The erythropoietin (EPO) levels of 17 patients were elevated. Karyotypes were examined in 28 patients, and showed all normal. The treatment was based on corticosteroids and Cyclosporine A. Thirty patients had good response to corticosteroid therapy, and 10 of them obtained a sustained corticosteroid-induced remission. Twenty cases discontinued corticosteroid therapy after remission, as a result, 15 cases (75%) relapsed, moreover all the relapsed cases still had good response to corticosteroid. Two relapsed patients suffered from aplastic anemia, one of them died of therapy failure. Six patients were unresponsive to corticosteroid, 1 of which achieved remission with cyclosporine A and the others continued to receive regular transfusions. 3 patients received iron chelation therapy. It is concluded that the clinical characteristics, complete blood count, bone marrow smear, HbF level and EPO level are useful to make a diagnosis of DBA. Most patients have a good response to corticosteroid therapy, but relapse rate is high when drug was discontinued. Patients unresponsive to corticosteroid should receive regular transfusions and chelation therapy.
Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Bone Marrow Examination ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Erythroid Precursor Cells ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

AIMTo study compounds isolated from Picria fel-terrae.

METHODSThe chemical constituents were separated and purified by column chromatography on silica gel and MCI. Their structures were identified on the basis of spectral data (IR, UV, MS, ID NMR and 2D NMR).

RESULTSA new cucurbitacin, along with a known one, were obtained from the 60% EtOH extract of the whole plant.

CONCLUSIONThe new compound was identified as 11, 24-dioxo-5, 21-diene-cucurbit-3alpha-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-16alpha-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (dehydrobryogenin glycoside). The known one, hexanorcucurbitacin F, was obtained for the first time from Picria fel-terrae.

Molecular Structure ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Saponins ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Scrophulariaceae ; chemistry ; Steroids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

This study is to investigate the effect of low doses of insulin (1 u x kg(-1)) and selenium (180 microg x kg(-1)) in combination on general physiological parameters and insulin signal molecules in cardiac muscle of STZ-induced diabetic rats. The levels of blood glucose were estimated using One Touch SureStep Blood Glucose meter. HbA1c levels were estimated using microcolumn assay. TG and TC were estimated using enzymatic assay. The levels of PI3K and GLUT4 in cardiac muscle were examined by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. The result showed that insulin in combination with selenium could significantly lower blood glucose and blood lipid levels and markedly restored the PI3K and GLUT4 levels in cardiac muscle. It could be concluded that there was cooperation between insulin and selenium, and that treatment of diabetic rats with combined doses of insulin and selenium increased cardiac glucose uptake by upregulating the level of PI3K-mediated GLUT4 in cardiac muscle, eventually ameliorating myocardial dysfunction.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; blood ; metabolism ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Glucose Transporter Type 4 ; metabolism ; Glycated Hemoglobin A ; metabolism ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; pharmacology ; Insulin ; pharmacology ; Male ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Selenium ; pharmacology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Triglycerides ; blood

BACKGROUNDPulmonary embolism (PE) can be difficult to diagnose in elderly patients because of the coexistent diseases and the combination of drugs that they have taken. We aimed to compare the clinical diagnostic values of the Wells score, the revised Geneva score and each of them combined with D-dimer for suspected PE in elderly patients.

METHODSThree hundred and thirty-six patients who were admitted for suspected PE were enrolled retrospectively and divided into two groups based on age (≥65 or <65 years old). The Wells and revised Geneva scores were applied to evaluate the clinical probability of PE, and the positive predictive values of both scores were calculated using computed tomography pulmonary arteriography as a gold standard; overall accuracy was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operator characteristic curve; the negative predictive values of D-dimer, the Wells score combined with D-dimer, and the revised Geneva score combined with D-dimer were calculated.

RESULTSNinety-six cases (28.6%) were definitely diagnosed as PE among 336 cases, among them 56 cases (58.3%) were ≥65 years old. The positive predictive values of Wells and revised Geneva scores were 65.8% and 32.4%, respectively (P < 0.05) in the elderly patients; the AUC for the Wells score and the revised Geneva score in elderly was 0.682 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.612-0.746) and 0.655 (95% CI: 0.584-0.722), respectively (P = 0.389). The negative predictive values of D-dimer, the Wells score combined with D-dimer, and the revised Geneva score combined with D-dimer were 93.7%, 100%, and 100% in the elderly, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThe diagnostic value of the Wells score was higher than the revised Geneva score for the elderly cases with suspected PE. The combination of either the Wells score or the revised Geneva score with a normal D-dimer concentration is a safe strategy to rule out PE.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angiography ; Female ; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Pulmonary Embolism ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Retrospective Studies

The distribution information of Lomatogonium rotatum. was collected by interview investigation and field survey, and 55 related environmental factors were collected, the habitat suitability study was conducted based on geographic information system (GIS) and maximum entropy model. The AUCs of ROC curve were both above 0.99, indicating that the predictive results with the maximum model were highly precise. The results showed that 13 major environmental factors have obvious influence on ecology suitability distributions of L. rotatum, including month average temperature of February et al., the suitable distribution areas are mainly concentrated in the east-central of Inner Mongolia, including Hexigten banner, Duolun county, Zhenglan banner et al., The zoning results basically coincide with the genuine producing areas, and further afford new suitable distribution areas, which can provide reference for L. rotatum's wild nursery and the siting of introduction and cultivation.
China ; Ecosystem ; Environment ; Gentianaceae ; growth & development ; Geographic Information Systems ; Rain ; Temperature

OBJECTIVETo study the postnatal changes in lymphocyte subsets in early preterm infants and the effect of perinatal factors on lymphocyte subsets.

METHODSA total of 61 early preterm infants were enrolled. Flow cytometry was used to measure the absolute counts of lymphocytes and lymphocyte subsets at 1, 7, 14, and 28 days after birth, as well as at 6 months after birth for 17 of these early preterm infants. The effects of perinatal factors, such as antepartum use of hormone, intrauterine infection, gestational age at birth, and Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) colonization, on lymphocyte subsets were analyzed.

RESULTSThe absolute counts of lymphocyte subsets except natural killer (NK) cells were lowest at birth, increased rapidly at 1 week after birth, and reached the levels in healthy infants at 6 months; the count of NK cells remained at a low level and increased significantly at 6 months after birth. Compared with those with a gestational age of <28 weeks, the early preterm infants with a gestational age of ≥28 weeks had significantly higher absolute counts of T cells, T helper (Th) cells, and NK cells at 7 days after birth, a significantly higher absolute count of T cells at 14 days after birth, and significantly higher absolute counts of lymphocytes and Th cells at 28 days after birth (P<0.05). Compared with the group not using hormone, the group using hormone showed a significantly higher absolute count of T cells at 7 days after birth and significantly higher absolute counts of lymphocytes and all subsets at 14 days after birth (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in lymphocyte subsets at 1 day after birth between the intrauterine infection and non-infection groups (P>0.05); the intrauterine infection group had significantly higher absolute counts of B cells at 7 and 14 days after birth than the non-infection group. Compared those without UU colonization, the infants with UU colonization had significantly higher absolute counts of lymphocytes, T cells, Th cells, and Ts cells at 1 day after birth and a significantly higher absolute count of B cells at 14 days after birth.

CONCLUSIONSEarly preterm infants have deficiencies in innate immune cells at birth and normal levels at about 6 months after birth. Various perinatal factors including antepartum use of hormone, gestational age at birth, intrauterine infection, and UU colonization have long-term effects on lymphocyte subsets in early preterm infants.

Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; immunology ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; microbiology ; physiology ; Male ; Ureaplasma urealyticum ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical significance of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) mutations including internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation and point mutation of tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

METHODSBone marrow samples from 116 children with newly-diagnosed AML were obtained. Gene mutations of FLT3/ITD and FLT3/TKD were detected by RT-PCR. The relationship of FLT3 gene mutations with the clinical characteristics and the therapeutic efficacy was observed.

RESULTSFLT3/ITD and FLT3/TKD mutations were detected in 9 cases (7.8%) and 13 cases (11.2%) respectively out of the 116 children. FLT3/ITD mutations were observed in 3 cases of AML-M3 (3/9; 33.3%) and in 3 cases of AML-M5 (3/9; 33.3%). FLT3/TKD mutations were the most common in AML-M3 patients (10/13; 76.9%). The patients with FLT3/ITD mutations had a significantly higher peripheral WBC count and marrow blast percentage compared with the patients without FLT3/ITD mutations at diagnosis (P<0.01). The 3-year overall survival rate in patients with FLT3/ITD mutations was significantly lower than that in patients without FLT3/ITD mutations (38.9% vs 64.3%; P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSFLT3/TKD mutations are common in children with AML-M3. The AML children with FLT3/ITD mutations present a high peripheral WBC count and a high marrow blast percentage at diagnosis and have an unfavorable outcome.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Male ; Mutation ; Tandem Repeat Sequences ; fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 ; genetics