Objective:To investigate the hepatoprotective effect of N-acetylcysteine(NAC)on rats with liver injury induced by cisplatin and its effect on intestinal flora and the expression of interleukin-6(IL-6),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),and nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB).Methods:Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group(CG),cisplatin group(CP),and NAC group.The rats in the NAC group were given NAC 15 mg/kg by gavage for 8 consecutive days.At half an hour after intragastric administration on the fifth day,all rats except those in the NC group were given intraperitoneal injection of 8 mg/kg cisplatin to induce acute liver injury.An automatic biochemical analyzer was used to measure the content of aspartate aminotransferase(AST),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),alkaline phosphatase(ALP),and total bilirubin(TBIL);liver index was calculated for the rats;Western blot was used to measure the relative expression levels of NF-κB,IL-6,and TNF-α in liver tissue;the 16S rDNA technique was used to measure and analyze the amplification information of the V3-V4 regions of each sample.Results:Compared with the NC group,the CP group had significant increases in the content of AST,ALT,ALP,and TBIL,while NAC reversed the abnormal liver function caused by cisplatin.Compared with the NC group,the CP group had a sig-nificant increase in liver index(P=0.000),while the NAC group had a significant reduction in liver index compared with the CP group(P=0.007).Compared with the NC group,the CP group had signifi-cant increases in the expression levels of IL-6,TNF-α,and NF-κB,while the NAC group showed reductions in the expression of these genes,with significant differences in the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α(P=0.006 and 0.000).Compared with the NC group,the CP group had a significant increase in the α-diversity index of intesti-nal flora,while compared with the CP group,the NAC group tended to have a reduction in the α-diversity index of intestinal flora.Com-pared with the CP group at the phylum level,the NAC group had an increase in the abundance of Actinobacteria and a reduction in the abundance of Firmicutes.Compared with the CP group at the genus level,the NAC group had a reduction in the abundance of Rumino-coccaceae and increases in the abundance of Bifidobacterium and Allobaculum.Conclusion:NAC can alleviate acute liver injury caused by cisplatin,possibly by downregulating the expression of IL-6,TNF-α,and NF-κB and regulating the abundance and diver-sity of intestinal flora.

Objective:To explore the changes of peripheral blood Th17/Treg and serum cytokines in AECOPD patients with secondary pulmonary fungal infection.Methods:Selected the clinical data of 27 AECOPD patients who were admitted between January 2018 to March 2020 in the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hai'an People's Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University with fungal infection (fungal infection group), and 58 AECOPD patients without fungal infection (non-fungal infection group) who received treatment in the hospital during the same period. Compared the general clinical data, peripheral blood Th17 and Treg cell levels, Th17/Treg ratio, interleukin-17 (IL-17), interleukin-23 (IL-23), interferon-γ (interferon-γ, IFN-γ), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) levels. Meanwhile, compared the levels of Th17 and Treg cells in peripheral blood, the ratio of Th17/Treg and serum cytokines in patients with different infection severity in fungal infection group. The measurement data with normal distribution were compared by independent samplet t-test between the two groups, one-way ANOVA between multiple groups, LSD-t test for pairwise comparision, and χ 2 test for counting data. Results:In the 27 AECOPD patients with fungal infection group, the pathogen distribution was 65.52% (19/27) of candida albicans, 10.34% (3/27) of candida tropicalis,10.34% (3/27) of candida albicans, and 6.90% (2/27) of Aspergillus. The level of Th17 [(16.18±3.15) % and (12.34±2.64) %, t=5.87, P<0.001)], the ratio of Th17/Treg [(4.70±0.85) and (2.41±0.51), t=22.87, P<0.001] in Patients with fungal infection group were higher than those in the non-fungal group. The level of Treg [(3.42±0.42) % and (5.13±0.51) %, t=20.77, P<0.001] in Patients with fungal infection group was lower than those in the non-fungal group. The levels of IL-17 [(85.67±21.51) μg/L and (53.64±14.36) μg/L, t= 8.12, P<0.001], and IL-23 [(61.38±16.58) μg/L and (38.29±12.60) μg/L, t=7.10, P<0.001] in Patients with fungal infection group were higher than those in non-fungal infection group, but the levels of IFN-γ ((47.75±17.72) μg/L and (62.37±19.06) μg/L, t=3.37, P=0.001) and TGF-β ((110.34±26.03) μg/L and (131.40±35.03) μg/L, t=2.87, P=0.007) were lower than those in non-fungal infection group, and the differences were statistically significant. There were statistically significant differences in the ratio of Th17/Treg, and the levels of Th17, Treg cells and cytokine among patients with different infection severity in the fungal infection group. With the increase of infection severity, the levels of Th17 ((13.06±1.98)%, (15.94±2.11)%, (17.75±2.20)%, F=10.19, P<0.001), the ratios of Th17/Treg ((5.01±0.60), (5.66±0.69), (6.52±0.65), F=10.77, P<0.001), the levels of IL-17 ((63.39±11.64) μg/L,(78.66±12.82) μg/L, F=9.01, P=0.001), and IL-23 ((42.52±13.11) μg/L, (59.97±15.25) μg/L, (69.75±14.30) μg/L, F=7.41, P=0.003) were increase, the levels of Treg ((4.33±0.39)%, (3.32±0.42)%, (2.50±0.35)%, F=44.42, P<0.001), IFN-γ ((57.78±10.52) μg/L, (48.82±10.39) μg/L, (38.90±10.56) μg/L, F=6.50, P=0.006), TGF-β ((126.62±18.94) μg/L, (115.34±13.66) μg/L, (102.52±17.73) μg/L, F=4.25, P=0.026) were significantly decreased. Conclusion:The imbalance of Th17/Treg ratio and related serum cytokines play an important role in the process of lung fungal infection in AECOPD patients, and their imbalance is related to the severity of fungal infection. Therefore, the levels of Th17/Treg and serum cytokines should be closely monitored in AECOPD patients.

Objective To explore the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of bronchial asthma in people over 40 years old in Hai'an. Methods The stratified random sampling method was used in this study. A questionnaire survey was conducted and pulmonary function measurement was performed among the residents over 40 years old in Hai'an, ​Jiangsu Province to analyze the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of asthma. Results A total of 2 237 valid questionnaires were collected in the survey, and 116 patients with bronchial asthma were found, with an incidence rate of 5.19%. The prevalence of asthma was related to gender, age, family history, active and passive smoking, occupational exposure, childhood history of lung disease, history of respiratory allergies, and exposure to cooking fumes (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that being male (OR=0.637, 95%CI: 0.499~0.691) was a protective factor for asthma, while advanced age (OR=1.438, 95%CI: 1.207~1.972), active smoking (OR=1.795, 95%CI: 1.423~2.399), passive smoking (OR=2.098, 95%CI: 1.423~2.399), occupational exposure (OR=3.446, 95% CI: 2.175~6.290), childhood history of lung disease (OR=2.228, 95%CI: 1.337~4.491), history of respiratory allergies (OR=2.287, 95%CI: 1.535~5.219) were risk factors for asthma (P<0.05). Conclusion The prevalence rate of bronchial asthma in people over 40 years old in Hai'an was high. Advanced age, active and passive smoking, occupational exposure, a history of lung disease in childhood, and a history of respiratory allergies were related to asthma development. It is necessary to strengthen the prevention and treatment of asthma among high-risk population in clinical practice to reduce the incidence of asthma.

Objective To discuss the expression and significance of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio(NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio(PLR) in peripheral blood in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods One hundred and fifty cases COPD patients who were treated in Respiratory Departments of Hai'an People′s Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University from January to December 2015 were selected and divided into stable period group with 60 cases and acute exacerbation period group with 90 cases,and 50 healthy subjects were selected as control group.Clinical data were collected and white blood cell count(WBC),neutrophil count(NC),lymphocyte count(LC),platelet(PLT),NLR,PLR,forced expiratory volume in one second(FEV1%) predicted and C reactive protein(CRP) were tested.Results NLR,PLR and CRP values were significantly higher in patients in acute exacerbation period group than in stable period group and control group(NLR:(10.30±9.93) vs.(6.76±5.90) vs.(5.85±3.67);PLR:(335.88±164.94) vs.(286.80±118.98) vs.(194.11±88.14);CRP: (42.18±24.89) mg/L vs.(23.27±13.59) mg/L vs.(22.49±13.47) mg/L,F=6.637,6.808,11.007,P<0.05),but FEV1% predicted was no difference in stable period group and acute exacerbation period group((58.85±16.83)% vs.(57.47±17.76)%;t=0.228,P>0.05).There was a significant positive correlation between NLR,PLR and CRP in acute exacerbation period group(r=0.374,0.379,P<0.01),there was a positive correlation between NLR and PLR(r=0.482,P<0.01),there was a negative correlation between NLR,PLR and FEV1(r=-0.297,-0.299,P<0.05).There was a significant positive correlation between NLR,PLR and CRP in table period group(r=0.593,0.433,P<0.01),NLR and PLR were also positively correlated(r=0.618,P<0.01),NLR,PLR and FEV1 accounted for the expected value of the negative correlation(r=-0.324,-0.342,P<0.05).Conclusion Both NLR and PLR are inflammatory markers,furthermore they show a significant negative correlation to airflow limitation in patients with COPD.