OBJECTIVES: To investigate the genomic characteristics and prognostic factors of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) with RAS mutations. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of JMML children with RAS mutations treated at the Hematology Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, from January 2008 to November 2022. RESULTS: A total of 34 children were included, with 17 cases (50%) having isolated NRAS mutations, 9 cases (27%) having isolated KRAS mutations, and 8 cases (24%) having compound mutations. Compared to children with isolated NRAS mutations, those with NRAS compound mutations showed statistically significant differences in age at onset, platelet count, and fetal hemoglobin proportion (P<0.05). Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis revealed that hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and hepatomegaly (≥2 cm below the costal margin) were factors affecting the survival rate of JMML children with RAS mutations (P<0.05); hepatomegaly was a factor affecting survival in the non-HSCT group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Children with NRAS compound mutations have a later onset age compared to those with isolated NRAS mutations. At initial diagnosis, children with NRAS compound mutations have poorer peripheral platelet and fetal hemoglobin levels than those with isolated NRAS mutations. Liver size at initial diagnosis is related to the prognosis of JMML children with RAS mutations. HSCT can improve the prognosis of JMML children with RAS mutations.
Humans ; Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Juvenile/therapy* ; Mutation ; Male ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Retrospective Studies ; Child ; Infant ; GTP Phosphohydrolases/genetics* ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Adolescent ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)/genetics* ; Prognosis

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe disease caused by viral infection that triggers an uncontrolled inflammatory response. This study investigated the capacity of jasurolignoside (JO), a natural compound, to bind to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and treat ALI. The anti-inflammatory properties of JO were evaluated in vitro through Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence staining, and co-immunoprecipitation. The investigation utilized a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI animal model to examine the therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of JO in vivo. JO attenuated inflammatory symptoms in infected cells and tissues by modulating the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Molecular docking simulations revealed JO binding to TLR4 active sites, confirmed by cellular thermal shift assay. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) demonstrated direct interaction between JO and TLR4 with a Kd value of 35.1 μmol·L^-1. Moreover, JO inhibited tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 secretion and reduced leukocyte, neutrophil, lymphocyte, and macrophage infiltration in ALI-affected mice. JO also enhanced lung function and reduced ALI-related mortality. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated JO's ability to suppress TLR4 expression in ALI-affected mouse lung tissue. This study establishes that JO can bind to TLR4 and effectively treat ALI, indicating its potential as a therapeutic agent for clinical applications.
Toll-Like Receptor 4/chemistry* ; Animals ; Acute Lung Injury/chemically induced* ; Mice ; Humans ; Ilex/chemistry* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Male ; NF-kappa B/immunology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/immunology* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics* ; Interleukin-1beta/genetics* ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Disease Models, Animal

Objective To investigate the expression of Delta(24)-cholesteryl reductase(DHCR24)proteins in cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions(SILs)tissues and its value in different cervical lesion patho-logical diagnosis.Methods The expression of DHCR24,p16,and Ki-67 was quantitatively detected by immuno-histochemistry in 51 normal cervical tissues,44 LSILs,and 57 HSILs.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of DHCR24,p16,and Ki-67 proteins in evaluating the degree of SILs.Results The expression levels of DHCR24,p16 and Ki-67 protein were positively correlated with the progression of SILs(P<0.05).ROC analysis showed that the immunohistochemistry score cutoff value for DHCR24 between normal cervical tissue and LSIL was 0.1145,and between LSIL and HSIL was 0.1969.The sensi-tivity of DHCR24 in diagnosing LSIL was 79.55%,higher than that for p16 and Ki-67,which was 15.91%and 18.08%(P<0.05).The area under the ROC curve(AUC)for distinguishing normal cervical tissue from LSIL using a combination of DHCR24 and p16 was 0.932(95%CI:0.878～0.986),higher than that for p16 and Ki-67 combined,which was 0.861(95%CI:0.785～0.936).The AUC for distinguishing LSIL from HSIL using a combi-nation of DHCR24 and p16 was0.971(95%CI:0.946～0.997),higher than that for p16 and Ki-67 combined,which was 0.870(95%CI:0.790～0.949).Conclusions Both DHCR24 and p16 protein expression levels can pro-vide reference for the grading of SILs,and their combination can improve the diagnostic efficiency.The cutoff value derived from the ROC curve plotted by DHCR24 immunohistochemical staining intensity can improve the sensitivity of LSIL diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the expression of Delta(24)-cholesteryl reductase(DHCR24)proteins in cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions(SILs)tissues and its value in different cervical lesion patho-logical diagnosis.Methods The expression of DHCR24,p16,and Ki-67 was quantitatively detected by immuno-histochemistry in 51 normal cervical tissues,44 LSILs,and 57 HSILs.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of DHCR24,p16,and Ki-67 proteins in evaluating the degree of SILs.Results The expression levels of DHCR24,p16 and Ki-67 protein were positively correlated with the progression of SILs(P<0.05).ROC analysis showed that the immunohistochemistry score cutoff value for DHCR24 between normal cervical tissue and LSIL was 0.1145,and between LSIL and HSIL was 0.1969.The sensi-tivity of DHCR24 in diagnosing LSIL was 79.55%,higher than that for p16 and Ki-67,which was 15.91%and 18.08%(P<0.05).The area under the ROC curve(AUC)for distinguishing normal cervical tissue from LSIL using a combination of DHCR24 and p16 was 0.932(95%CI:0.878～0.986),higher than that for p16 and Ki-67 combined,which was 0.861(95%CI:0.785～0.936).The AUC for distinguishing LSIL from HSIL using a combi-nation of DHCR24 and p16 was0.971(95%CI:0.946～0.997),higher than that for p16 and Ki-67 combined,which was 0.870(95%CI:0.790～0.949).Conclusions Both DHCR24 and p16 protein expression levels can pro-vide reference for the grading of SILs,and their combination can improve the diagnostic efficiency.The cutoff value derived from the ROC curve plotted by DHCR24 immunohistochemical staining intensity can improve the sensitivity of LSIL diagnosis.

This umbrella review aimed to summarize and provide a general evaluation of the effectiveness of current treatments for male infertility and assess the quality of evidence and possible biases. An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses available in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, covering studies published up to October 2023, was conducted. Sperm concentration, morphology, and motility were used as endpoints to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments. Of 2998 studies, 18 published meta-analyses were extracted, yielding 90 summary effects on sperm concentration ( n = 36), sperm morphology ( n = 26), and sperm motility ( n = 28) on 28 interventions. None of the meta-analyses were classified as having low methodological quality, whereas 12 (66.7%) and 6 (33.3%) had high and moderate quality, respectively. Of the 90 summary effects, none were rated high-evidence quality, whereas 53.3% ( n = 48), 25.6% ( n = 23), and 21.1% ( n = 19) were rated moderate, low, and very low, respectively. Significant improvements in sperm concentration, morphology, and motility were observed with pharmacological interventions (N-acetyl-cysteine, antioxidant therapy, aromatase inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators, hormones, supplements, and alpha-lipoic acid) and nonpharmacological interventions (varicocele repair and redo varicocelectomy). In addition, vitamin supplementation had no significant positive effects on sperm concentration, motility, or morphology. Treatments for male infertility are increasingly diverse; however, the current evidence is poor because of the limited number of patients. Further well-designed studies on single treatment and high-quality meta-analysis of intertreatment comparisons are recommended.
Humans ; Male ; Antioxidants/therapeutic use* ; Infertility, Male/therapy* ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Systematic Reviews as Topic

Objective:To evaluate the role of minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring during early induction therapy for the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).Methods:This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Clinical data of 1 164 ALL patients first diagnosed between October 2016 and June 2019 was collected from 16 hospitals in South China Children′s Leukemia Group. According to MRD assay on day 15 of early induction therapy, they were divided into MRD<0.10% group, MRD 0.10%-<10.00% group and MRD≥10.00% group. According to MRD assay on day 33, they were divided into MRD<0.01% group, MRD 0.01%-<1.00% group and MRD≥1.00% group. Age, onset white blood cell count, central nervous system leukemia (CNSL), molecular genetic characteristics and other data were compared between groups. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. Cox regression model was used to analyze prognostic factors.Results:Of the 1 164 enrolled patients, there were 692 males and 472 females. The age of diagnosis was 4.7 (0.5, 17.4) years. The white blood cell count at initial diagnosis was 10.7 (0.4, 1 409.0) ×10 9/L. Among all patients, 53 cases (4.6%) had CNSL. The follow-up time was 47.6 (0.5, 68.8) months. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were (93.1±0.8) % and (90.3±1.1) %. On day 15 of early induction therapy, there were 466 cases in the MRD<0.10% group, 523 cases in the MRD 0.10%-<10.00% group and 175 cases in the MRD≥10.00% group. The 5-year OS rates of the MRD<0.10% group, MRD 0.10%-<10.00% group and MRD≥10.00% group were (95.4±1.0) %, (93.3±1.1) %, (85.4±2.9) %, respectively, while the RFS rates were (93.2±1.6) %, (90.8±1.4) %, (78.9±4.3) %, respectively ( &chi;2=16.47, 21.06, both P<0.05). On day 33 of early induction therapy, there were 925 cases in the MRD <0.01% group, 164 cases in the MRD 0.01%-<1.00% group and 59 cases in the MRD≥1.00% group. The 5-year RFS rates in the MRD 0.01%-<1.00% group was lowest among three groups ((91.4±1.2) % vs. (84.5±3.2) % vs. (87.9±5.1) %). The difference between three groups is statistically significant ( &chi;2=9.11, P=0.010). Among ALL patients with MRD≥10.00% on day 15 of induction therapy, there were 80 cases in the MRD <0.01% group on day 33, 45 cases in the MRD 0.01%-<1.00% group on day 33 and 45 cases in the MRD≥1.00% group on day 33. The 5-year RFS rates of three groups were (83.9±6.0)%, (67.1±8.2)%, (83.3±6.9)% respectively ( &chi;2=6.90, P=0.032). Univariate analysis was performed in the MRD≥10.00% group on day 15 and the MRD 0.01%-<1.00% group on day 33.The 5-year RFS rate of children with CNSL was significantly lower than that without CNSL in the MRD≥10.00% group on day 15 ((50.0±20.4)% vs. (80.3±4.4)%, &chi;2=4.13, P=0.042). Patients with CNSL or MLL gene rearrangement in the MRD 0.01%-<1.00% group on day 33 had significant lower 5-year RFS rate compared to those without CNSL or MLL gene rearrangement ((50.0±25.0)% vs. (85.5±3.1)%, &chi;2=4.06, P=0.044;(58.3±18.6)% vs. (85.7±3.2)%, &chi;2=9.44, P=0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that age ( OR=0.58, 95% CI 0.35-0.97) and white blood cell count at first diagnosis ( OR=0.43, 95% CI 0.27-0.70) were independent risk factors for OS. The MRD level on day 15 ( OR=0.55,95% CI 0.31-0.97), ETV6-RUNX1 fusion gene ( OR=0.13,95% CI 0.03-0.54), MLL gene rearrangement ( OR=2.55,95% CI 1.18-5.53) and white blood cell count at initial diagnosis ( OR=0.52,95% CI 0.33-0.81) were independent prognostic factors for RFS. Conclusions:The higher the level of MRD in early induction therapy, the worse the OS. The MRD levels on day 15 is an independent prognostic factor for RFS.The MRD in early induction therapy guided accurate risk stratification and individualized treatment can improve the survival rate of pediatric ALL.

Malignant insulinoma is a kind of rare and challenging neuroendocrine tumor. It is often accompanied by distant metastasis, among which liver metastasis is most common, and the prognosis is often non-promising. In this paper, we report a case of multiple liver metastases from malignant insulinoma. The patient, a 70-year-old male, was admitted to the hospital due to "episodic consciousness disorder for more than four months." Blood glucose monitoring revealed recurrent hypoglycemia in the early morning, after meals, and at night. Pancreatic perfusion CT and dynamic enhanced MRI of the liver revealed a mass in the uncinate process of the pancreatic head and multiple liver metastases. Percutaneous liver biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of insulinoma. After multidisciplinary discussions, hepatic artery embolization and radiofrequency ablation were performed in stages, in combination with everolimus treatment. Thereafter, the enhanced CT demonstrated that some liver metastases shrank. The patient had regular meals, and the blood sugar gradually increased and remained normal thereafter. This article discusses this case's clinical characteristics and multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment, aiming to provide experience for the comprehensive clinical diagnosis and treatment of malignant insulinoma patients.

In response to the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Inheritance， Innovation， and Development of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） and the spirit of the National Conference on TCM， Chinese Association of Chinese Medicine organized experts in Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of traditional Chinese and western medicine to discuss the clinical advantages of TCM and integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine in the treatment of allergic rhinitis （AR） and they reached a basic consensus. In recent years， the prevalence of AR has been on the rise， threatening the quality of life of patients and giving rise to a heavy burden to both the patients and the society. AR is resulted from immune imbalance rather than reduced immunity or hyperimmunity， and the imbalance is similar to the Yin-yang disharmony in TCM. In the treatment of this disease， western medicine features rapid onset. However， it is cost-intensive and causes severe surgical trauma， and the recurrence is common. TCM boasts diverse methods for AR， which can be used in all stages of this disease. It has advantages in controlling symptoms such as nasal congestion， runny nose， or dysosmia in the attack stage， preventing recurrence in the remission stage， and treating refractory AR or steroid-resistant AR. In particular， acupuncture enjoys a reputation in treatment of AR， which has been supported by evidence-based medicine and recommended by guidelines. While treating local symptoms of AR， TCM regulates the psychosomatic conditions， which facilitates chronic disease management and long-term follow-up. We should integrate the advantages of TCM and western medicine， give full play to the unique nonnegligible and irreplaceable advantages of TCM， formulate a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment scheme for learning and promotion， and summarize the research outcomes to promote the theoretical innovation of TCM on AR from the perspective of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine.

BACKGROUND: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are derived from internal cellular compartments, and have potential as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in degenerative disease associated with aging. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have become a promising tool for functional EVs production. This study investigated the efficacy of EVs and its effect on differentiation capacity. METHODS: The characteristics of MSCs were evaluated by flow cytometry and stem cell differentiation analysis, and a production mode of functional EVs was scaled from MSCs. The concentration and size of EVs were quantitated by Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA). Western blot analysis was used to assess the protein expression of exosomespecific markers. The effects of MSC-derived EVs were assessed by chondrogenic and adipogenic differentiation analyses and histological observation. RESULTS The range of the particle size of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs)- and Wharton’s jelly -MSCs-derived EVs were from 130 to 150 nm as measured by NTA, which showed positive expression of exosomal markers. The chondrogenic induction ability was weakened in the absence of EVs in vitro. Interestingly, after EV administration, type II collagen, a major component in the cartilage extracellular matrix, was upregulated compared to the EV-free condition.Moreover, EVs decreased the lipid accumulation rate during adipogenic induction.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a basis for genetic counseling and clinical precision therapy by exploring the genetic etiology of a child with recurrent hypoglycemia convulsion accompanied by language retardation. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from the proband, his sister and his parents. Whole genomic DNA was extracted and analyzed by the whole exon gene sequencing and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: The proband and his sister were found to carry compound heterozygous variants c.731T>A (p.M244L) and c.928G>A (p.G244S) of the GYS2 gene, which had not been reported in the past, the c.731T>A (p.M244L) site was derived from the maternal heterozygous mutation, while c.928G>A (p.G244S) site from the father heterozygous mutation. CONCLUSION The compound heterozygous variants c.731T>A (p.M244L) and c.928G>A (p.G244S) of the GYS2 gene were the genetic cause of glycogen storage syndrome type 0 in children, providing basis for family genetic counseling. When the patient had Hypoglycemia often accompanied with convulsions, which was easy to be misdiagnosed as seizures, and the antiepileptic treatment was ineffective. After genetic diagnosis, the seizure can be controlled by improving diet to maintain blood glucose stability.
Child ; Exons ; Glycogen ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Siblings