Objective To discuss the influence of microRNA(miR)-155/miR-21 on toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in children with sepsis.Methods Fifty children with sepsis who were hospita-lized in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,Shenzhen Children's Hospital,were enrolled in the study,and 15 healthy children at the same age were selected as healthy control group.Expression levels of TLR4 protein and human leukocyte antigen(HLA)-DR in CD14 + monocytes (MC) were detected by using flow cytometry,and sepsis patients were divided into 2 groups according to whether they exceeded the value of HLA-DR by 30％ or not.Expression level of programmed cell death factor 4 (PDCDM) and inositol phosphatases 1 containing SH2 (SHIP1) were detected at the same time.MC were separated by CD14 + immune magnetic bead,and expression level of miR-155,miR-21 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),interleukin-10 (IL-10) mRNA in CD14 + MC were detected by using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR.Results Sepsis group consisted of 27 male and 23 female,and their ages were (2.34 ± 0.79) years old,among whom 9 patients died.There were 36 patients in the HLA-DR increase group and 14 patients in the HLA-DR decrease group.Expressions ofTLR4(2.33±0.90),miR-155[(7.19±3.75) ×10 3] and TNF-α[(21.98±14.15) ×10-2 pg/L] in CD14 + MC were higher in the HLA-DR increase group than those in the HLA-DR decrease group [1.24±0.60,(4.83 ±1.17) × 10-3,(14.18±5.45) ×10-2 μg/L] and healthy control group[1.57±0.55,(3.99 ± 1.29) × 10-3,(1.61 ± 0.84) × 10 2 pg/L],and the differences were statistically significant(F =11.943,7.583,18.538,all P ＜0.05),while the expressions of miR-21 (12.10 ±5.66),IL-10[(29.74 ± 12.55) × 10-4 μg/L] in CD14 + MC were lower in the HLA-DR increase group than those in the HLA-DR decrease group[4.68 ± 2.07,(12.50 ± 5.73) × 10-4 μg/L] and healthy control group [2.39 ± 0.86,(2.04 ± 0.92) × 10-4 μg/L],and the differences were statistically significant(F =41.673,54.991,all P ＜ 0.05).The levels of SH1P1 and PDCD4 decreased in sepsis compared with healthy control group[0.70 ±0.36)vs.(1.59 ±0.48);(1.55 ±0.56) vs.(3.01 ±0.70)],and the differences were statistically significant (t =7.682,8.339,all P ＜ 0.05),but SHIP1 decreased more significantly in the HLA-DR increase group than that in the HLA-DR decrease group [(0.60 ± 0.34) vs.(0.97 ± 0.26)],and the difference was statistically significant (F =39.214,P ＜ 0.05).PDCD4 decreased more significantly in the HLA-DR decrease group than that in the HLA-DR increase group (0.94 ±0.19 vs.1.79 ±0.47),the difference was statistically significant(F =65.367,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Regulation imbalance of miR-155/miR-21 may be one of the reasons for abnormal expression of TLR4 in children with sepsis,and it plays a role in enlarged or inhibited expression of TLR4 in the sepsis process which results in different immune status in sepsis patients.

Objective To investigate the correlation between liver and spleen stiffness measured by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) and hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG),and to evaluate its efficiency in the diagnosis of portal hypertension.Methods From April 2014 to March 2016,20 cases underwent HVPG measurement because of liver cirrhosis were enrolled.Before HVPG measurement,liver and spleen stiffness were assessed with ARFI.The correlation between HVPG and age,alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase (AST),total hilirubin,serum albumin,platelet count,prothrombin time,aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) score,Child-Pugh score,model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score,liver stiffness and spleen stiffness were analyzed.Pearson correlation and Spearman rank correlation were performed for statistical analysis.Results HVPG,liver and spleen stiffness were successfully measured in all 20 patients.The mean liver stiffness was (1.78±0.29) m/s,the mean spleen stiffness was (3.37±0.44) m/s and HVPG was (16.10±5.14) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa).Age,ALT,AST,total bilirubin,serum albumin,platelet count,prothrombin time,APRI score,Child-Pugh score and MELD score were all not correlated with HVPG (all P＞0.05).But HVPG was positively correlated with liver and spleen stiffness (r=0.449,P=0.047;r=0.487,P=0.030).In the diagnosis of HVPG≥12 mmHg,the area under curve (AUC) of liver stiffness was 0.875,the optimal cut-off value was 1.77 m/s,the sensitivity was 68.6 ％ and the specificity was 100.0％.In the diagnosis of HPVG≥20 mmHg,the AUC of liver stiffness was 0.798,the optimal cut off value was 1.85 m/s,the sensitivity was 100.0％ and the specificity was 68.8％.The AUC of spleen stiffness was 0.820,the optimal cut-off value was 3.23 m/s,the sensitivity was 100.0 ％ and the specificity was 56.3％.Conclusion In patients with liver cirrhosis,liver stiffness and spleen stiffness assessed by ARFI are positively correlated with HVPG and therefore ARFI has certain application value in the noninvasive diagnosis of portal hypertension.

Objective To determine the mortality and associated risk factors in the patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Methods One hundred and sixty-three patients with diabetic foot ulcers hospitalized from January 2001 to December 2006 were followed up until December 2009. Mortality rates were derived from Kaplan-Meier survival curves. The prognostic factors were evaluated with Cox proportional hazard model. Results Follow-up was successful in 139 out of 163 patients, with a mean follow-up period of(3.71 + 1. 80)years. 55 patients(39 males and 16 females)died during the follow-up. The 5-year mortality was 45.8% and mean survival time was 5.38 years(95% CI 4.87-5.89). The median survival time was 6.83 years. Age, smoking, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and diabetic nephropathy were found to be independent prognostic factors for mortality. Conclusions Diabetic foot ulcers increased the mortality of diabetic patients. Age, smoking, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and diabetic nephropathy were predictive risk factors for mortality.

Aim To study targeting capability of anti-CD19 (Fab)-LDMto CD19 +B lymphoma cells in vi-vo and in vitro.Methods Flow cytometry was em-ployed to determine the affinity of Cy5 labeled anti-CD19 (Fab)-LDP to human lymphoma Raji cells.And the optical imaging system was used to analyze the dis-tribution of Cy5-anti-CD19 (Fab )-LDP in lymphoma-transplanted xenograft nude mice in vivo.Results The results of flow cytometry demonstrated that Cy5-an-ti-CD19(Fab)-LDP had remarkable affinity with lym-phoma Raji cells;Raji lymphoma xenograft model was established successfully in nude mice and in vivo fluo-rescence imaging analysis indicated that the antibody-drug conjugates could specially be localized in the tar-get tumor.Conclusion The experiments in vivo and vitro confirm that anti-CD19 (Fab)-LDP has remarka-ble affinity to targeting CD19 +lymphoma cells,and the antibody drugs anti-CD19 (Fab )-LDP have the probability to be new drugs for the treatment of malig-nant lymphoma.

Objective To study the clinical characteristics of gynura segetum induced hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS).Methods From July 2008 to October 2016,a total of 115 cases of gynura segetum caused HSOS were retrospectively analyzed.The history of taking gynura segetum before disease onset was recorded and epidemiologic data of main clinical symptoms,clinical manifestations,laboratory examinations,imaging and pathological features were observed.Results Among the 115 cases of HSOS,there were 113 patients with abdominal pain,106 with anorexia and 42 with jaundice sclera.A total of 108 patients displayed increased serum total bilirubin,41 of them only with mildly increased total bilirubin.There were 29 patients with albumin lower than 30 g/L,64 patients with prolonged prothrombin time (PT) and PT of 11 patients was prolonged for more than three seconds.Meanwhile,31 patients were with prolonged activated partial prothrombin time (APTT).A total of 60 patients had low platelet count.And 92 patients underwent ultrasound examination,among them,71 patients had enlarged liver size,79 patients with uneven internal echo of liver,70 patients with ascites,14 patients with patchy low echo tissue around hepatic venous.A total of 60 patient accepted computed tomography (CT) examination,and all of them had ascites,14 patients with mildly enlarged spleen and eight patients with gastro-esophageal varices.The results of CT plain scan indicated hepatomegaly,decreased liver density,map-like changes of patchy low density in delayed phase,heterogeneous enhancement of liver parenchyma in arterial phase,compression and deformation of liver segment of inferior vena cava and halo sign around venous portal vein.The results of pathological examination demonstrated the widening of hepatic sinusoid with hemorrhage and congestion,destruction of liver plate in zone Ⅲ area.There were seven patients who received hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement which were all significantly increased.Conclusions The characteristics of patients with gynura segetum caused HSOS are abdominal pain,anorexia and jaundice;mildly increased serum total bilirubin and albumim liver enlargement,slow blood velocity of portal vein and splenic veim increased HVPG,hepatic sinus congestion and cell coagulation necrosis in zone Ⅲ area.

Objective To investigate the expression of miR-146a in CD14+ monocytes (MC) of children with sepsis.Methods Forty children with sepsis in PICU were enrolled in the study.Fifteen children with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) afteRsurgical treatment and fifteen healthy children were selected as control group.Expressions of miR-146a and TNF-α,IL-10 of CD14+ MC were detected by real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR).HLA-DRlevels of CD14+ MC were detected by flow cytometry.Levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) were detected.Results The HLA-DRlevels of CD14+ MC in all the children with sepsis were oveR30%.The miR-146a level of CD14+ MC were significantly higheRin sepsis group than SIRS group and healthy controls (P<0.05),and the level decreased when sepsis children were recovered (P<0.05).The TNF-α,IL-10 level of CD14+ MC in children with sepsis was significantly higheRthan healthy controls (P<0.05).Conclusion The expressions of CD14+ MC miR-146a in children with sepsis are significantly up-regulated.

Objective To investigate the expression of miR-146a in CD14+ monocytes (MC) of children with sepsis.Methods Forty children with sepsis in PICU were enrolled in the study.Fifteen children with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) afteRsurgical treatment and fifteen healthy children were selected as control group.Expressions of miR-146a and TNF-α,IL-10 of CD14+ MC were detected by real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR).HLA-DRlevels of CD14+ MC were detected by flow cytometry.Levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) were detected.Results The HLA-DRlevels of CD14+ MC in all the children with sepsis were oveR30%.The miR-146a level of CD14+ MC were significantly higheRin sepsis group than SIRS group and healthy controls (P<0.05),and the level decreased when sepsis children were recovered (P<0.05).The TNF-α,IL-10 level of CD14+ MC in children with sepsis was significantly higheRthan healthy controls (P<0.05).Conclusion The expressions of CD14+ MC miR-146a in children with sepsis are significantly up-regulated.

Objective:To explore the role of serum pyrrole-protein-adduct (PPA) in evaluating the severity and predicting the anticoagulant efficacy in patients with pyrrolidine alkaloid-related hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (PA-HSOS).Methods:From April 2018 to December 2019, the data of 48 patients with PA-HSOS admitted and treated at Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Medical College of Nangjing University were collected, which included PPA level, portal vein velocity (PVV), ascites grading, PA-HSOS severity grading (according to the new severity grading criteria for suspected hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in adults by the European Society of Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation and adjusted) and the outcome of anticoagulation. Patients with acute onset (onset of symptoms within 1 month after consuming pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plants) were taken as research subjects. The combination of PPA with PVV or with ascites classification of PA-HSOS severity assessment model was fitted by logistic regression, and the logit values of 2 combination models were calculated, the formula was logit 1=0.034×PPA(nmol/L)+ 0.055×PVV(cm/s)-3.287, logit 2=0.039×PPA(nmol/L)-2.712×ascites grade 2 (Yes=1, No=0)-0.388×ascites grade 3 (Yes=1, No=0)-0.899. The patients received initial anticoagulation therapy at Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Medical College of Nanjing University were selected as research subjects. The anticoagulant efficacy prediction model of combination of PPA with serum creatinine (SCR) and with hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) was fitted by logistic regression, and the logit value was calculated, the formula was logit 3=0.013×PPA(nmol/L)+ 0.064×SCR (mol/L)+ 0.542×HVPG (mmHg, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa)-16.005. The predictive value of PPA in evaluating the severity of PA-HSOS and anticoagulant efficacy was evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed for statistical analysis. Results:The serum PPA level of 48 patients was 10.81 nmol/L (3.91 nmol/L, 32.04 nmol/L). Among them, 33 cases (68.8%) were mild PA-HSOS, 3 cases (6.2%) were moderate PA-HSOS, no severe PA-HSOS case and 12 cases (25.0%) were very severe PA-HSOS. Among 23 patients received initial anticoagulant therapy at Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Medical College of Nanjing University and with complete data, 8 patients responded and survived, and 15 patients did not respond (5 patients died, 1 patient relieved after continue anticoagulant therapy, and 9 patients survived after switching to anticoagulant therapy and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) treatment). One patient without initial anticoagulant therapy, survived after TIPS treatment because of the progress of the disease. Area under the curve (AUC) of PPA to assess the severity of acute onset PA-HSOS was 0.75, 95% confidence interval ( CI) was 0.52 to 0.98 ( P=0.047). When PPA≥45.519 nmol/L, the specificity and sensitivity in evaluating severe and very severe PA-HSOS was 100.0% and 57.1%, respectively. AUC of combination of PPA and PVV to assess the severity of PA-HSOS was 0.77, 95% CI was 0.55 to 1.00 ( P=0.032). When the logit of combination model≥0.180, the specificity and sensitivity in evaluating severe and very severe PA-HSOS was 71.4% and 81.8%, respectively. AUC of combination of PPA and ascites grade (grade 1, 2 or 3) to assess the severity of PA-HSOS was 0.85, 95% CI was 0.63 to 1.00 ( P=0.005). When the logit of combination model≥0.347, the specificity and sensitivity in evaluating severe and very severe PA-HSOS was 85.7% and 92.0%, respectively. AUC of combination of PPA, SCR and HVPG to predict anticoagulation efficacy was 0.85, 95% CI was 0.69 to 1.00 ( P=0.009). When the logit≥0.393, the specificity and sensitivity in predicting anticoagulation efficacy was 62.5% and 91.7%, respectively. Conclusions:PPA can be used to assess the severity of acute onset PA-HSOS patients, and combined with ascites grading can significantly improve its efficiency. PPA combined with SCR and HVPG can better predict anticoagulant efficacy.

Objective To investigate the causal relationship between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) by the Mendelian randomization design method.Methods The data on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of exposure and outcome were obtained by using publicly available ge-nome-wide association studies and the summary analysis was conducted;the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method as the primary analysis method was used to assess the causal effect of exposure factors (RA) on the outcomes (PH);the MR-Egger regression method,weighted median method (WM),weighted model and sim-ple model were used as supplementary regression explanations to conduct the sensitivity analysis for evalua-ting the robustness of results;the "heterogeneity" function was used to calculate the "P value" for testing the heterogeneity,and the "horizontal pleiotropy" function was used to calculate the "P value" to test the level pleiotropy.Results In the "FINNGEN data" included in the GWAS database,the SNPs had the strong corre-lation after removing the linkage imbalance by Mendelian random analysis and satisfying "P<5×10-8" were selected,the effective instrumental variables were obtained by integrating the exposure and outcome.The IVW results showed that RA was a risk factor for PH (OR=1.295,95％CI:1.053-1.593,P=0.014)."heteroge-neity" function test showed that the results had no heterogeneity (P=0.221);" horizontal pleiotropy" func-tion test showed that the results had no horizontal pleiotropy (P=0.877),and the total results were steady and reliable.Conclusion RA is a risk factor for PH,and RA is positively associated with PH.

ObjectiveTo explore the potential mechanisms of Leigongteng （Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f.） in treating rheumatoid arthritis （RA） using bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation. MethodsBioinformatics approaches， including the Gene Expression Omnibus （GEO）， the traditional Chinese medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）， Gene Ontology （GO） enrichment analysis， Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment， protein-protein interaction （PPI） network analysis， molecular docking， receiver operating characteristic （ROC） analysis， and immune infiltration analysis， were used to predict the key active components of Leigongteng and its target genes for RA treatment. Experimental validation was conducted using human rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes （HFLS-RA） in vitro， with methotrexate as the positive control. A scratch assay was performed to assess cell migration after 24 hours of culture. Western blotting was used to detect protein expression levels， qPCR was used to measure target gene mRNA levels， and ELISA was conducted to evaluate inflammatory cytokine levels， including interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）. ResultsA total of 117 target genes of Leigongteng were identified and intersected with RA-related genes， yielding 55 key genes. Further screening identified three core genes： PTGS2， CXCR4， and TIMP1. Based on the correspondence between potential drug targets and key components， triptolide and nobiletin were identified as the primary active compounds. Molecular docking results showed that both triptolide and nobiletin had binding energies lower than -5 kcal/mol with their respective target proteins， indicating strong interactions. In vitro experiments demonstrated that， compared with the blank control group， the triptolide， nobiletin， and positive control groups exhibited reduced cell migration rates after 24 hours of culture （P＜0.01）. The expression levels of PTGS2 and CXCR4 （both mRNA and protein） were significantly downregulated， while TIMP1 expression was upregulated. Levels of IL-1β， IL-6， and TNF-α decreased， whereas IL-10 levels increased （P＜0.01）. Compared with the positive control group， the triptolide and nobiletin groups showed increased cell migration rates， upregulated PTGS2 and CXCR4 expression （mRNA and protein）， downregulated TIMP1 expression （mRNA and protein）， increased IL-1β， IL-6， and TNF-α levels， and decreased IL-10 levels （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionThe key active components of Leigongteng， triptolide and nobiletin， may alleviate RA by inhibiting PTGS2 and CXCR4 while promoting TIMP1 expression， thereby suppressing inflammatory responses.