Objective To establish a"quality-quantity"double standard control method of Schizonepeta Spike based on the reference material without relying on multiple reference substances.Methods HPLC technology was used to establish the characteristic atlas of Schizonepeta Spike based on the reference traditional Chinese medicinal materials.The chemical constituents of common peaks were identified by Q-TOF-MS technology,and the authenticity of Schizonepeta Spike was determined by the similarity of characteristic peaks of the reference traditional Chinese medicinal materials and the tested traditional Chinese medicinal materials.The relative content of each characteristic peak in different batches of the tested traditional Chinese medicinal materials was calculated by accurate quantition of pulegone.The"Average value-Standard deviation"was taken as the lower limit of the relative content of characteristic peak chemical components relative to pulegone,and the quality of Schizonepeta Spike was determined according to the lower limit of the relative content of characteristic peak.Results The characteristic atlas and content determination method met the requirements of methodology investigation.A total of 11 common chromatographic peaks were determined,and 6 chemical components were identified,which were luteolin,hesperidin,luteolin-7-O-glucuronide,luteolin,geranyl,pulegone.The similarity between the tested traditional Chinese medicinal materials and reference traditional Chinese medicinal materials was greater than 0.90.The lower limit of relative content of chemical components of Schizonepeta Spike characteristic peak was defined.Conclusion The method can identify Schizonepeta Spike clearly and quickly without many reference substances,and provide reference for quality control of Schizonepeta Spike.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a dedicated neonatal-infant brain 0.35 T MRI system.Methods:A dual-center controlled clinical trial was conducted with single-arm objective performance criteria. From June to July 2020, sixty-six infants aged 0-12 (6.3±3.4) months were recruited from Children′s Hospital of Soochow University and the First People′s Hospital of Lianyungang prospectively. All infants underwent brain MRI with a dedicated neonatal-infant 0.35 T brain MRI system, using the dedicated two-channel transceiver head coil. MRI protocol included spin echo T 1WI, fast spin echo T 2WI, fluid attenuated inversion recovery, diffusion weighted imaging and 3D gradient echo sequence. MRI sequences were set with three orientations (axial, sagittal and coronal). Each case received at least two scanning planes and two scanning sequences. Five-point Likert scoring system was used to evaluate the image quality of acquired images, and the target value was set as at least 3 points per image. The temperature, heart rate and breathe of the infants were recorded before and after MRI; the acoustic noise of the MRI system was measured during the scanning process; and the adverse reactions were recorded if presented. Results:Five infants successfully completed their examination during non-sedated sleep in a single attempt, and 61 infants after sedation with chloral hydrate. Based on MRI-based five-point Likert scoring system, 41 cases achieved a score of 5, 21 cases with a score of 4 and 4 cases with a score of 3. Cases with score of 3 was due to movement of the infants during the scan, which resulted in motion related artifacts. The vital signs of all infants showed stable before and after imaging, with heart rate of (126.8±12.9) beats per minute, breathe of (38.2±6.8) times per minute. It was found that 47 cases showed no sign of temperature raise after brain MRI, 15 cases had less than 0.3 ℃ raise and 4 cases had 0.3 ℃ to 0.5 ℃ raise. The noise recorded during the scanning process was (57.5±1.8) dB(A). One case had mild diarrhea on the day of MR scan, and the symptoms disappeared on the second day without treatment; no adverse reactions were found for the rest subjects.Conclusion:Dedicated neonatal-infant 0.35 T brain MRI system allows data acquisition with high safety and excellent image quality, which has potentials in the clinical applications.

BACKGROUNDBacterial inflammation is a common complication in patients with leukemia, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a bioactive molecule in modulating Gram-negative bacilli infection. This study aimed to examine the changes in SO2, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with Gram-negative bacterial inflammation.

METHODSFifty-five ALL children were enrolled in this study, including 30 males and 25 females, aged 3-13 years, and the median age was 7.8 years. All these children who accepted chemotherapy for ALL were divided into the control group (before chemotherapy), the infection group (after chemotherapy with infection), and the recovery group (the infection was controlled after 1 week). The serum level of SO2 was detected using high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence assay, and NF-κB and IL-8 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Human THP-1 cells were cultured, induced, and differentiated into macrophages, which were divided into five groups and each group was cultured with different stimulators: lipopolysaccharide (LPS) group, LPS+L-aspartate-β-hydroxamate (HDX) group, LPS+SO2 group, SO2, and control groups. NF-κB level and IL-8 protein contents by ELISA were examined in each group.

RESULTSIn comparison with those of the control group, levels of serum SO2, NF-κB, and IL-8 of the infection group were significantly increased (P < 0.05), while those of the recovery group were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). A positive correlation was found between levels of serum SO2 and intracellular NF-κB/IL-8, and the correlation coefficients were 0.671 and 0.798 (P < 0.05), respectively. According to the results found in human THP-1 cells, levels of NF-κB and IL-8 in LPS group were significantly increased compared with those of the control group (P < 0.05); when compared with those in LPS group, levels of NF-κB in LPS+HDX group further increased significantly (P < 0.05); however, the NF-κB levels of LPS+SO2 group decreased significantly (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSO2 may play an anti-inflammatory role during the process of inflammation by inhibiting the activation and transcription of NF-κB.

Adolescent ; Bacterial Infections ; blood ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; blood ; metabolism ; Interleukin-8 ; blood ; Male ; NF-kappa B ; blood ; metabolism ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; blood ; metabolism ; Sulfur Dioxide ; blood

BACKGROUNDAcute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and chemotherapy can cause immune imbalance, and gaseous molecule hydrogen sulfide (H2S) can participate in the process of immune response. This study aimed to investigate the immune regulation of H2S in pediatric ALL.

METHODSChildren (n = 78) with ALL admitted during 2010-2013 were included in this study. Two blood samples were collected in period of before chemotherapy, bone marrow remission and two days after chemotherapy, respectively. Serum contents of H2S and cytokines, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α), were detected using ELISA method. Stepwise regression was used to analyze the correlation between H2S and cytokines. Furthermore, human Jurkat cells were cultured in vitro, and nucleoprotein of Jurkat cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected, contents of cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) and certain cytokines were measured by Western blotting.

RESULTSSerum concentrations of H2S, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 and MIP-1a in children with ALL were increased significantly (P < 0.01), while concentrations of IL-2, TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-4 decreased obviously (P < 0.01). In patients after chemotherapy, concentrations of H2S and IL-10 were decreased significantly (P < 0.05), but IL-4 and IFN-γ concentrations increased markedly (P < 0.05). At remission stage, H2S, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and MIP-1α concentrations were further decreased markedly (P < 0.05), but concentrations of IL-2, TNF-α and IFN-γ increased again (P < 0.05). Protein contents of CSE, IL-10, IL-4 and IL-2 of PBMCs also increased markedly in children with ALL. Moreover, changes of CSE protein contents of PBMCs were consistent with serum H2S contents, and there were significant correlation between H2S and certain cytokines based on stepwise regression analysis. Furthermore, compared with those of PBMCs group, in vitro study indicated that Jurkat cells of H2S group expressed IFN-γ, IL-10, IL-4 and IL-2 protein increased obviously (P < 0.05), while IL-4, IL-2 and CSE expression of PPG group decreased markedly (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONGaseous molecule H2S might participate in the process of immune regulation in pediatric ALL through modulating transcription and expression of cytokines.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cystathionine gamma-Lyase ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrogen Sulfide ; blood ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; Interleukin-1beta ; blood ; Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Interleukin-4 ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; metabolism ; Male ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; blood ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood