Objective:To preliminarily investigate the safety and efficacy of programmed death-1(PD-1)inhibitor combined with cord blood-derived natural killer cells(NK cells)in the treatment of advanced malignant solid tumors in an exploratory clinical trial.Methods:Three patients with advanced solid tumors treated at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Medical University from December 2019 to December 2021 were enrolled.According to tumor type and CSCO guidelines,patients received multiple treatment cycles(21 days per cycle)consisting of standard chemotherapy,targeted therapy,or bevacizumab combined with PD-1 inhibitor.Umbilical cord blood-derived NK cells(8×107 cells per infusion)were infused at appropriate intervals during the treatment course.Target lesion size,tumor markers,levels of 12 peripheral blood cytokines,and lymphocyte subsets were assessed in each treatment cycle.Adverse events were also monitored throughout the treatment.Results:Following the treatment with PD-1 inhibitor combined with cord blood NK cells,2 patients achieved stable disease(SD,per RECIST 1.1 criteria),with durations of 118 days and 92 days,respectively.After NK cell infusion,patient#1 exhibited a marked decrease in the tumor marker CA199 to normal range and sustained for three follow-up periods;patient#2 showed significant reductions in tumor markers CA199,CA242,and CA724.Conclusion:The combination of NK cells with chemotherapy and PD-1 inhibitor demonstrates potential therapeutic efficacy for solid tumors.No severe immune-related adverse reactions were observed in the three patients enrolled in this study.

Objective:To investigate the effect of bone morphogenetic protein-9(BMP9)overexpression on inflammatory response and apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS).Methods:A549 cells were stimulated with 0.1 μg/ml LPS,expressions and changes of BMP9 protein at different time points(LPS stimulation for 0 h,6 h,12 h,24 h)were detected by Western blot.Expression of BMP9 in A549 cells was up-regulated by transfection of BMP9 plasmid,and the transfection efficiency was verified by Western blot and qPCR.After 12 h of LPS stimulation,levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α,IL-6,IL-1β in cell supernatant were detected by ELISA,expressions of anti-apoptotic protein(Bcl-2)and pro-apoptotic protein(Bax)were detected by Western blot,and apoptosis of cells was detected by TUNEL staining.Results:With the extension of LPS stimulation time,expression of BMP9 was down-regulated.Overexpression of BMP9 successfully up-regulated expression of BMP9 in A549 cells.LPS stimulation promoted secretions of TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-1β from A549 cells,increased apoptosis,promoted Bcl-2 expression while inhibited Bax expression.Overexpression of BMP9 inhibited TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-1β releasing,decreased apoptosis,inhibited Bcl-2 expression,while promoted Bax expression.Conclusion:In LPS-stimulated A549 cells,BMP9 expression is gradually decreased at a time-depen-dent manner.Overexpression of BMP9 can inhibit LPS-induced inflammatory response and apoptosis in A549 cells.

Objective:To investigate the effect of bone morphogenetic protein-9(BMP9)overexpression on inflammatory response and apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS).Methods:A549 cells were stimulated with 0.1 μg/ml LPS,expressions and changes of BMP9 protein at different time points(LPS stimulation for 0 h,6 h,12 h,24 h)were detected by Western blot.Expression of BMP9 in A549 cells was up-regulated by transfection of BMP9 plasmid,and the transfection efficiency was verified by Western blot and qPCR.After 12 h of LPS stimulation,levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α,IL-6,IL-1β in cell supernatant were detected by ELISA,expressions of anti-apoptotic protein(Bcl-2)and pro-apoptotic protein(Bax)were detected by Western blot,and apoptosis of cells was detected by TUNEL staining.Results:With the extension of LPS stimulation time,expression of BMP9 was down-regulated.Overexpression of BMP9 successfully up-regulated expression of BMP9 in A549 cells.LPS stimulation promoted secretions of TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-1β from A549 cells,increased apoptosis,promoted Bcl-2 expression while inhibited Bax expression.Overexpression of BMP9 inhibited TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-1β releasing,decreased apoptosis,inhibited Bcl-2 expression,while promoted Bax expression.Conclusion:In LPS-stimulated A549 cells,BMP9 expression is gradually decreased at a time-depen-dent manner.Overexpression of BMP9 can inhibit LPS-induced inflammatory response and apoptosis in A549 cells.

Humans ; Asthma/drug therapy* ; Biological Therapy

The many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, has been recorded as the animal resource of JinQianBaiHuaShe in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Characterization of its venoms classified chief phyla of modern animal neurotoxins. However, the evolutionary origin and diversification of its neurotoxins as well as biosynthesis of its active compounds remain largely unknown due to the lack of its high-quality genome. Here, we present the 1.58 Gbp genome of B. multicinctus assembled into 18 chromosomes with contig/scaffold N50 of 7.53 Mbp/149.8 Mbp. Major bungarotoxin-coding genes were clustered within genome by family and found to be associated with ancient local duplications. The truncation of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor in the 3'-terminal of a LY6E paralog released modern three-finger toxins (3FTxs) from membrane tethering before the Colubroidea divergence. Subsequent expansion and mutations diversified and recruited these 3FTxs. After the cobra/krait divergence, the modern unit-B of β-bungarotoxin emerged with an extra cysteine residue. A subsequent point substitution in unit-A enabled the β-bungarotoxin covalent linkage. The B. multicinctus gene expression, chromatin topological organization, and histone modification characteristics were featured by transcriptome, proteome, chromatin conformation capture sequencing, and ChIP-seq. The results highlighted that venom production was under a sophisticated regulation. Our findings provide new insights into snake neurotoxin research, meanwhile will facilitate antivenom development, toxin-driven drug discovery and the quality control of JinQianBaiHuaShe.

Objective:To explore the occurrence and influencing factors of serum uric acid elevation in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treated with favipiravir.Methods:Medical records of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Beijing Ditan Hospital between June 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 and treated with the 5- or 10-day regimen of favipiravir were collected and retrospectively analyzed. After favipiravir withdrawal, if the elevation in serum uric acid was ≥30% of baseline level, it was defined as serum uric acid elevation. Then patients were divided into serum uric acid elevation group and non-serum uric acid elevation group. The clinical characteristics such as gender, age, body mass index, comorbidities, smoking and drinking behavior, COVID-19 grade, favipiravir regimen, and serum uric acid level and renal function before treatment in patients between the 2 groups were compared. Influencing factors of favipiravir-associated serum uric acid elevation was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression method.Results:A total of 179 patients were included in the analysis, including 104 (58.1%) males and 75 (41.9%) females, aged from 19 to 70 years with a median age of 43 years. The level of serum uric acid in 179 patients after favipiravir treatment was significantly higher than before [(451±119) μmol/L vs. (332±94) μmol/L, P<0.001]. The change rate of serum uric acid from baseline level ranged from -57.1% to 157.8% with the median of 38.6%. The elevation in serum uric acid of ≥ 30% of baseline level occurred in 108 (60.3%) patients. The incidences of serum uric acid elevation in patients treated with 5-day and 10-day regimens of favipiravir were 46.8% (36/77) and 70.6% (72/102), respectively, and the difference between them was significant ( P=0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that body mass index 24.0 to <28.0 kg/m 2 ( OR=3.109, 95 %CI: 1.209-7.994, P=0.019) and 10-day regimen of favipiravir ( OR=3.017, 95 %CI: 1.526-5.964, P=0.001) were independent risk factors for favipiravir-associated serum uric acid elevation. Conclusions:More than half of COVID-19 patients treated with favipiravir can develop serum uric acid elevation. Overweight and 10-day regimen of favipiravir are independent risk factors for serum uric acid elevation in patients.

Objective:To explore the occurrence and influencing factors of serum uric acid elevation in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treated with favipiravir.Methods:Medical records of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Beijing Ditan Hospital between June 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 and treated with the 5- or 10-day regimen of favipiravir were collected and retrospectively analyzed. After favipiravir withdrawal, if the elevation in serum uric acid was ≥30% of baseline level, it was defined as serum uric acid elevation. Then patients were divided into serum uric acid elevation group and non-serum uric acid elevation group. The clinical characteristics such as gender, age, body mass index, comorbidities, smoking and drinking behavior, COVID-19 grade, favipiravir regimen, and serum uric acid level and renal function before treatment in patients between the 2 groups were compared. Influencing factors of favipiravir-associated serum uric acid elevation was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression method.Results:A total of 179 patients were included in the analysis, including 104 (58.1%) males and 75 (41.9%) females, aged from 19 to 70 years with a median age of 43 years. The level of serum uric acid in 179 patients after favipiravir treatment was significantly higher than before [(451±119) μmol/L vs. (332±94) μmol/L, P<0.001]. The change rate of serum uric acid from baseline level ranged from -57.1% to 157.8% with the median of 38.6%. The elevation in serum uric acid of ≥ 30% of baseline level occurred in 108 (60.3%) patients. The incidences of serum uric acid elevation in patients treated with 5-day and 10-day regimens of favipiravir were 46.8% (36/77) and 70.6% (72/102), respectively, and the difference between them was significant ( P=0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that body mass index 24.0 to <28.0 kg/m 2 ( OR=3.109, 95 %CI: 1.209-7.994, P=0.019) and 10-day regimen of favipiravir ( OR=3.017, 95 %CI: 1.526-5.964, P=0.001) were independent risk factors for favipiravir-associated serum uric acid elevation. Conclusions:More than half of COVID-19 patients treated with favipiravir can develop serum uric acid elevation. Overweight and 10-day regimen of favipiravir are independent risk factors for serum uric acid elevation in patients.

Objective:To investigate the influencing factors of hospitalization for pregnant women with influenza A.Methods:From December 2018 to February 2019, 261 pregnant women with influenza A were admitted to Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University. The clinical data of age, gestational period, underlying diseases, time from onset to treatment, white blood cell count and lymphocyte count of these patients were collected. Data of out-patients were compared with those of inpatients. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the influencing factors of hospitalization in pregnant women with influenza A.Results:Among the 261 cases of pregnancy with influenza A, 36 cases (13.79%) were hospitalized, of which 10 (27.78%) were hospitalized due to severe influenza complications, the other 26 cases (72.22%) were hospitalized due to pregnancy related adverse events. The proportions of hospitalized patients with age ≥30 years old, gestational period ≥28 weeks, combined with underlying diseases and lymphocyte count <1×10 9/L were 75.00%(27/36), 83.33%(30/36), 16.67%(6/36) and 50.00%(18/36), respectively, which were significantly higher than those of out-patients (47.11%(106/225), 35.56%(80/225), 0.89%(2/225) and 13.22%(16/121), respectively; χ2=9.66, 29.05, 26.00 and 22.12, respectively, all P<0.05). The proportions of inpatients and out-patients with white blood cell count ≥4×10 9/L were 97.22%(35/36) and 97.52%(118/121), respectively, and there was no significant difference ( χ2=0.01, P=0.921). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥30 years (odds ratio ( OR)=5.181, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.628-16.489, P=0.005), gestational period ≥28 weeks ( OR=11.054, 95% CI 3.233-37.796, P<0.01), lymphocyte count <1×10 9/L ( OR=6.864, 95% CI 2.237-20.729, P=0.001), and time from onset to treatment <24 h ( OR=0.076, 95% CI 0.012-0.468, P=0.005) were the influencing factors for hospitalization of pregnant women with influenza A. Conclusion:Age ≥30 years old, gestational period ≥28 weeks, lymphocyte count <1×10 9/L and time from onset to treatment <24 h are the influencing factors for hospitalization of pregnant women with influenza A.

Objective:To evaluate the identification rate of separating gel or HB&L pretreatment methods of MALDI-TOF-MS, thereby to provide a new idea for the rapid and accurate identification of pathogens of bloodstream infections in daily clinic practice.Methods:A total of 149 alarmed positive blood culture samples of single bacterial infection by routine laboratory methods were collected between January to December 2020 from the Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital. Samples were pretreated with the separation gel accelerating tube method or the HB&L microbial culture system, followed by direct MALDI-TOF MS bacterial identification, the identification rates of the two pretreatment methods were compared and results from the traditional method were used as the standard control.Results:Among the 149 positive blood culture samples, 47.0% (70/149) were gram-negative (G -) bacteria and 53.0% (79/149) were gram-positive (G +) bacteria. Identification rate of G -strain level was 78.6% (55/70) by serum separation gel coagulation tube method and 91.4% (64/70) by HB&L microbial culture system, the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.033). Identification rate of G +strain levels was 73.4% (58/79) by serum separation gel coagulation tube method and 87.3% (69/79) by HB&L microbial culture system, the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.028). For G -bacteria in the range of 3.000-2.300, the identification rate was 22.9% (16/70) by serum separation gel accelerating tube method and 38.6% (27/70) by the HB&L microbial culture system, the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.044). For G +bacteria in the range of 3.000-2.300, the identification rate was 19.0% (15/79) by serum separation gel accelerating tube method and 34.2% (27/79) by the HB&L microbial culture system, the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.031). Conclusion:The identification rate of HB&L microbial culture system is higher than that of serum separation gel coagulation tube method. Direct MALDI-TOF MS identification of pathogenic bacteria in positive blood culture samples after pretreatment is feasible in daily clinical practice.

Objective To explore the impact of glucocorticoid on coagulation through administrating on rats with smoke inhalation.Methods Totally 150 male S-D rats were randomly (random number) divided into 5 groups:control group (ambient air inhalation),smoke group (smoke inhalation for 30 min),smoke+high dosage methyl prednisolone group(MP 40 mg/kg,intraperitoneal injection,s+HMP group),smoke+medium dosage MP (4 mg/kg) group (s+MMP group),smoke+low dosage MP (0.4 mg/kg) group (s+LMP group) (all n=30).Survival rates were calculated 24 h after smoke inhalation.Lung tissues were collected for histopathology and wet to dry (W/D) ratio.Arterial blood was collected for blood gas test.Coagulation factors in lung and plasma were tested.Results Survival rates of three MP groups were markedly improved compared with the smoke group (all P＜0.05),and was significantly higher in the medium dosage group(85.17％) than those in the low and high dosage groups (65.73％ and 60.07％,all P＜0.05).The W/D ratio and blood gas test were markedly improved in the high and medium groups (all P＜0.05).Tissue factor (TF) and thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT-c) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) increased dramatically after SI (P＜0.01,P=0.005) with a remarkable drop of factor Ⅱ (F Ⅱ) (P=0.007),all of which were attenuated by MP with dosage dependence.The mRNA expression of TF increased dramatically after SI and recovered significantly with MP administration,while the expression of thrombomodulin (TM) recovered in the opposite direction with MP,all of which were in a dosage dependent manner.TF,fibrinogen (FIB),TAT-c increased significantly in plasma after smoke inhalation (P＜0.01,P=0.027,P=0.005).F Ⅷ ％ increased with MP administration and TF was raised by high dosage MP compared with the smoke group.FIB and TAT-c were decreased in all MP groups,which were significant higher in the high and middle dosage groups.The change of TM and endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) in circulation were similar with FIB or TAT-c with or without MP.Protein C (PC％) and antithrombin (AT Ⅲ ％) dropped dramatically after SI,high and middle dosages of MP could restore the activity significantly,while low dosage would restore AT Ⅲ ％ but not PC％.Conclusions Glucocorticoid can significantly improve local and systemical coagulation disorder caused by smoke inhalation,and high-and medium-dosage hormones are effective.The regulation of hormones on the coagulation system is an important mechanism in the treatment of smoke inhalation induced lung injury.