Objective:To establish a flow cytometric assay for myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in human peripheral whole blood and reference intervals for healthy adults in Shanghai region.Method:A whole blood eight-color and twelve-parameter flow cytometric assay was designed, utilizing fluorescently labeled antibodies against CD45, CD3, CD19, CD123, CD56, CD16, HLA-DR, CD33, CD11b, CD14, CD15 and CD20.A total of 246 healthy participants who met the health standards from the health check-ups conducted at the Tongji University Affiliated Shanghai East Hospital between May 8 to December 2, 2024 were enrolled. Peripheral venous whole blood was collected using EDTA-K 2 anticoagulant vacuum tubes for MDSC detection. A single-platform flow cytometry based relative count technique was used to quantify the percentage of each MDSC subpopulation. Kolmogorov Smirnov (K-S) test was used to test the distribution of specimens. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis (K-W) test were used to evaluate whether reference intervals should be established separately based on gender or age. According to the clinical significance of MDSC, bilateral reference intervals were taken. Non parametric methods were used to take the percentile P2.5 and P97.5 to represent the rank of the lower and upper reference limits, respectively. Results:The results showed that a gating strategy was designed to exclude granulocytes, lymphocyte lineage cells, and natural killer cells. The K-S test results showed that the MDSC in each group of healthy individuals were distributed in a skewed manner. The U test showed significant gender differences ( P0.05) in the distribution of total myeloid-derived suppressor cells (T-MDSC) and polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC). The K-W test showed no significant differences in MDSC among different age groups (21-30 years old, 30-40 years old, 40-50 years old, and 50-60 years old). T-MDSC reference interval is 0.056%-0.485%, PMN-MDSC reference interval is 0.035%-0.406%, Monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSC) reference interval is 0.000%-0.221%, early-stage myeloid-derived suppressor cells (E-MDSC) reference interval is 0.004%-0.125%. Reference interval verification was conducted on 20 healthy individuals, with a pass rate of 100%. Conclusion:A whole blood eight-color and twelve-parameter flow cytometric assay was established in this experiment. Based on the flow cytometry single platform method, reference intervals for healthy adults in Shanghai region were established.

Objective:To establish a flow cytometric assay for myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in human peripheral whole blood and reference intervals for healthy adults in Shanghai region.Method:A whole blood eight-color and twelve-parameter flow cytometric assay was designed, utilizing fluorescently labeled antibodies against CD45, CD3, CD19, CD123, CD56, CD16, HLA-DR, CD33, CD11b, CD14, CD15 and CD20.A total of 246 healthy participants who met the health standards from the health check-ups conducted at the Tongji University Affiliated Shanghai East Hospital between May 8 to December 2, 2024 were enrolled. Peripheral venous whole blood was collected using EDTA-K 2 anticoagulant vacuum tubes for MDSC detection. A single-platform flow cytometry based relative count technique was used to quantify the percentage of each MDSC subpopulation. Kolmogorov Smirnov (K-S) test was used to test the distribution of specimens. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis (K-W) test were used to evaluate whether reference intervals should be established separately based on gender or age. According to the clinical significance of MDSC, bilateral reference intervals were taken. Non parametric methods were used to take the percentile P2.5 and P97.5 to represent the rank of the lower and upper reference limits, respectively. Results:The results showed that a gating strategy was designed to exclude granulocytes, lymphocyte lineage cells, and natural killer cells. The K-S test results showed that the MDSC in each group of healthy individuals were distributed in a skewed manner. The U test showed significant gender differences ( P0.05) in the distribution of total myeloid-derived suppressor cells (T-MDSC) and polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC). The K-W test showed no significant differences in MDSC among different age groups (21-30 years old, 30-40 years old, 40-50 years old, and 50-60 years old). T-MDSC reference interval is 0.056%-0.485%, PMN-MDSC reference interval is 0.035%-0.406%, Monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSC) reference interval is 0.000%-0.221%, early-stage myeloid-derived suppressor cells (E-MDSC) reference interval is 0.004%-0.125%. Reference interval verification was conducted on 20 healthy individuals, with a pass rate of 100%. Conclusion:A whole blood eight-color and twelve-parameter flow cytometric assay was established in this experiment. Based on the flow cytometry single platform method, reference intervals for healthy adults in Shanghai region were established.

Objective:To investigate whether the rs612529 C/T and rs11669663 G/A in VSTM1 gene are associated with leukocyte signaling inhibitory receptor-1(SIRL-1)expression and an increased risk for systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)in a Han Chinese cohort.Methods:A total of 200 patients with SLE and 218 healthy controls(HC)were enrolled.Relevant laboratory characteris-tics of patients with SLE were also collected.Genotyping of rs612529 C/T and rs11669663 G/A were performed by Sanger sequencing technology.SIRL-1 expression was assessed in peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes was detected by flow cytometry.Levels of autoantibodies associated with SLE were detected by ELISA.Results:In both SLE group and HC,the C allele of rs612529 was asso-ciated with a decreased expression level of SIRL-1 on monocytes,with a gradual increased in SIRL-1 protein level from the CC over the CT to the TT genotype.C allele of rs612529 was associated with higher serum anti-dsDNA antibody titers in patients with SLE(P<0.05).In the case of rs11669663 G/A,no significant association of genotypes with SLE susceptibility was detected.Conclusion:VSTM1 rs612529 C/T may contribute to SLE disease activity and regulate SIRL-1 expression on monocytes in the Han Chinese cohort.

Objective:To investigate whether the rs612529 C/T and rs11669663 G/A in VSTM1 gene are associated with leukocyte signaling inhibitory receptor-1(SIRL-1)expression and an increased risk for systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)in a Han Chinese cohort.Methods:A total of 200 patients with SLE and 218 healthy controls(HC)were enrolled.Relevant laboratory characteris-tics of patients with SLE were also collected.Genotyping of rs612529 C/T and rs11669663 G/A were performed by Sanger sequencing technology.SIRL-1 expression was assessed in peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes was detected by flow cytometry.Levels of autoantibodies associated with SLE were detected by ELISA.Results:In both SLE group and HC,the C allele of rs612529 was asso-ciated with a decreased expression level of SIRL-1 on monocytes,with a gradual increased in SIRL-1 protein level from the CC over the CT to the TT genotype.C allele of rs612529 was associated with higher serum anti-dsDNA antibody titers in patients with SLE(P<0.05).In the case of rs11669663 G/A,no significant association of genotypes with SLE susceptibility was detected.Conclusion:VSTM1 rs612529 C/T may contribute to SLE disease activity and regulate SIRL-1 expression on monocytes in the Han Chinese cohort.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic erosive arthritis. Early diagnosis, standardized treatment and regular monitoring of the disease will effectively mitigate disease progression and reduce the disability rate. Currently, traditional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are used alone or in combination with new biological DMARDs or targeted synthetic DMARDS in the treatment of RA, resulting in effective remission in some refractory patients. However, the efficacy and toxicities of different treatments varies. With the development of proteomic and epigenetic technologies, some proteins, non-coding RNAs, and anti-drug antibodies (ADA) have been identified as potential markers for early diagnosis, concomitant diagnosis and disease assessment of RA. We summarized and analyzed the application prospects of novel RA diagnosis markers, including serum proteins, cell membrane proteins, non-coding RNAs, and ADA, with the aim of promoting the application of new markers that allow more precise diagnosis and treatment of RA.

Objective:This work aims to assess the distribution of peripheral blood monocyte subsets, the expression level of the functional markers in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and analyze the correlation between the above indexes and the onset of RA.Methods:Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected and isolated from 62 RA patients, 52 healthy control (HC) and 12 disease control group′s patients via density centrifugation. The enrolled patients were attended or underwent physical examination in East Hospital, Tongji University from June 2020 to December 2021. Monocytes could be classified into classical (CM), intermediate (IM) and non-classical (NCM). Then, the flow cytometry was performed to examine the distribution of monocyte subsets and the measure the expression level of human leukocyte antigen DR (HLA-DR), intracellular tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in peripheral blood monocytes. The statistical methods in this study mainly include: Kruskal-Wallis H test, Chi-Square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed ranks test, Spearman correlation coefficient test and Logistic regression analysis. The diagnostic value of IM proportion in RA was analyzed by ROC curve. Results:The monocytes number and monocytes proportion in white blood cells were much higher in RA [0.40 (0.40, 0.50), 7.60% (5.97%, 8.53%)] and disease control [0.40 (0.40, 0.68), 8.20% (5.85%, 10.28%)] compared with HC [0.30 (0.30, 0.40), 5.80% (5.03%, 6.38%)] ( H=24.733, P<0.001; H=27.469, P<0.001). A statistic-significant difference was detected among the proportion of CM[85.49%(76.91%,89.21%),88.94%(86.36%,91.72%),90.26%(80.25%, 92.56%)],IM[11.65%(8.47%,17.89%),7.89%(5.36%,10.75%), 5.56%(4.17%, 8.27%)], NCM[2.22%(1.39%, 3.74%), 2.49%(1.74%, 4.66%), 5.13%(3.39%, 9.85%)] in RA group, HC group and disease control group ( H=11.389, P=0.003; H=20.815, P<0.001; H=10.640, P=0.005). The proportion of CM was lower in RA and the IM proportion was increased in RA( P=0.003; P=0.003). The intracellular TNF-α level of monocytes in all three groups revealed the trend that IM>NCM>CM. The intracellular TNF-α in IM of RA was positively associated with serum TNF-α ( r=0.376, P=0.041). The HLA-DR expression in IM subsets were higher than CM and NCM subsets in all RA,HC and disease control groups. The expression of HLA-DR of IM in RA group and disease control was higher than HC group [8 611.50 (6201.3, 9890.8), 10 295.0 (7 899.0, 13632.0), 6 278.00(4 057.8, 9522.0), H=10.495, P=0.005]. There were no correlations between the proportion of peripheral blood IM and clinical characteristics CRP ( r=0.119, P=0.359), RF ( r=0.204, P=0.112) and ESR ( r=0.153, P=0.236). Logistic regression analysis showed that the proportion of IM ( OR=1.169, 95% CI 1.003-1.363, P=0.046), CRP ( OR=1.277, 95% CI 1.000-1.631, P=0.050), RF ( OR=1.179, 95% CI 1.080-1.287, P<0.001) are positively correlated with RA onset. The area under ROC curve for diagnosis of RA with IM proportion was 0.687, and the 95% confidence interval was 0.590-0.784, P<0.001. Conclusions:The distribution of monocyte subsets in peripheral blood of RA patients is abnormal. The increase in the proportion of IM, the enhanced antigen-presenting ability, and the increased level of TNF-α secretion in RA patients may play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA.

Objective:To explore the clinical significance of combined detection of the promoter methylation of plasma free Septin9, SDC2 and BCAT1 genes in peripheral blood for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Methods The data of patients admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai East Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University from January to September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into colorectal cancer group (62 cases of colon cancer, 59 cases of rectal cancer), precancerous lesions group (77 cases of colorectal adenoma, 5 cases of high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia), interference group (61 cases of colorectal cancer and advanced adenoma negative but suffered other intestinal lesions, 17 cases of non-colorectal cancer) and healthy group (94 cases). The methylation status of three genes (Septin9, SDC2 and BCAT1) in peripheral blood plasma was detected simultaneously by fluorescence PCR. The relationship between the positive rate of three genes detected jointly and the clinic pathological characteristics of colorectal cancer was analyzed and compared with serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) positive rate. The colorectal cancer group was divided into stage Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ according to TNM stage, and the colorectal cancer group was analyzed and counted by grade. The diagnostic efficiency of detection methods was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the area under ROC curve (AUC) was compared.Results:The positive rate of combined detection of SDC2 and BCAT1 gene methylation was higher than other three groups (χ 2 =237.246, P<0.001). The positive rate of combined detection of plasma Septin9, SDC2 and BCAT1 gene methylation was higher than CEA in colorectal cancer group ( P<0.001). The positive rates of the combined detection of plasma Septin9, SDC2 and BCAT1 gene methylation in stage Ⅰ-Ⅳ of colorectal cancer group were 73%(16/22), 87%(34/39), 86%(30/35) and 96%(24/25), respectively. Compared with CEA group, the positive rate of combined detection of plasma Septin9, SDC2 and BCAT1 gene methylation in stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ of colorectal cancer group was higher than serum CEA ( P<0.001), but the positive rate of stage Ⅳ was not statistically significant compared with CEA group ( P>0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of Septin9, SDC2 and BCAT1 was 0.857(95% CI 0.810-0.903),0.819(95% CI 0.768-0.871)and 0.862(95% CI 0.816-0.909), respectively. The AUC of combined detection of three gene methylations was 0.889 (95% CI 0.846-0.933), and the AUC of combined detection with serum CEA was 0.913 (95% CI 0.874-0.951). There was no significant difference in the positive rate of combined detection of Septin9, SDC2 and BCAT1 gene methylation among different gender, age and cancerous site of colon cancer patients (all P>0.05). Conclusion:The combined detection of the promoter methylation of plasma free Septin9, SDC2 and BCAT1 genes in peripheral blood plasma is helpful for the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The positive rate in stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ of colorectal cancer group is higher than serum CEA. The combined diagnosis of the three genes can improve the diagnostic efficiency.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is the main immunoglobulin in human serum and can be divided into four subclasses of IgGl, IgG2, IgG3and IgG4, respectively. IgG mainly play protective roles in body immunity. The structures of IgG subclass are different, therefore, their functions ale also different in the occurrence of diseases. There is evidence that IgG subclass analysis has important clinical application value in the diagnosis, pathogenesis and prognosis of IgG4-related diseases, antibody deficiency and other diseases. Accelerating development and transformation of new technologies for IgG subclass detection, focusing on IgG subclass detection and clinical applications will be helpful to improve the ability to diagnose and treat the difficult and complex diseases.

Objective: To establish a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method for the detection of serum oleic acid (OA), and preliminarily evaluate the role of OA in insulin resistance (IR) of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods: OA-［ 13 C 5 ］ was used as isotope-labeled internal standard, and the ion pairs of OA and OA-［ 13 C 5 ］ were 281.3/281.3 and 286.3/286.3, respectively. The ultrapure water was used as mobile phase A and methanol: acetonitrile (1∶1, v/v) as mobile phase B in a ZORBAX SB-Aq C18 reversed phase column. Meanwhile, the gradient elution system with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min was used. According to the CLSI guidelines (EP15-A3), the reliability of the established method was evaluated by detecting the performance indicators such as precision, trueness, linear range, stability and carrying contamination rate. Serum OA levels were detected by the established HPLC-MS/MS method in 109 patients with clinically diagnosed T2DM and 100 healthy controls. The insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was calculated to evaluate IR, and the relationship between OA and IR was further analyzed. Results: The established HPLC-MS/MS method for the detection of serum OA had good specificity and linearity in the range of 10-1 000 μmol/L (y=0.007 55x+0.004 83,r=0.997 7), and the low limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 10 μmol/L. It also had good precision, and the within-run coefficient of variation (CV) and total CV were not more than 1.62% and 1.73%, respectively, indicating that the method was suitable for the detection of serum OA. The serum OA levels in T2DM patients ［(425.58 ± 220.17) μmol/L］ were significantly higher than that in the healthy controls ［(113.20±58.00) μmol/L］, and serum OA levels were significantly correlated with HOMA-IR in T2DM patients and healthy controls. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of OA for the diagnosis of IR was 0.689. When the cut-off value identified by Youden index was 235.8 μmol/L, the sensitivity and specificity were 70.4% and 63%, respectively. When OA combined with fasting blood glucose (FBG) to diagnose IR, the AUC increased to 0.806, which was significantly higher than that of OA (P＜0.05). Conclusion A scientific and efficient HPLC-MS/MS method for the quantitative detection of serum OA is established successfully, which provides a reliable method for the dynamic monitoring of the changes of OA levels in the patients with metabolic diseases.

Objective To establish an ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method for detecting α-hydroxybutyrate (α-HB) in serum.Methods Electrospray ionization negative ion and multiple reaction monitoring mode were used to detect serum α-HB.The linearity,low limits of quantification,precision,recovery and interference of UHPLC-MS/MS were evaluated.The reference interval of this method was established in 130 serum samples (62 males and 68 females) from Shanghai East Hospital.Dixon method was used to judge the outliers and K-S test was used to analyze the data normality.The standard curve was scored by linear regression analysis.Results The total run time was 4 min of UHPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of α-HB.It has a good linear relationship in the range of 0.5-40.0 mg/L(r=0.999 4);the low limit of quantification was 0.5 mg/L;the in-batch and inter-batch coefficient of variation precision were less than 4.1％ and 6.3％,respectively;the recovery ranged between 95.8％ and 103.8％.Hemolytic samples (about 5 g/L hemoglobin),lipemic samples (about 12 mmol/L triglyceride),icteric samples (about 150 μmol/L total bilirubin) had no significant interference to the detection.The reference range of the apparent healthy population was 1.46-6.48 mg/L.Conclusions A method for the determination of serum α-HB by UHPLC-MS/MS was established.The method was simple,rapid,and could be used for the detection of clinical samples.