Objective:The aim of this study was to develop and validate a new liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay for the quantification of melatonin in human serum.Methods:We describe the performance and validation of melatonin by LC-MS/MS. 182 serum samples from the patients diagnosed with Sleep disturbance who visited the Department of Psychiatry at Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University from February 2022 to March 2023(56 males,162 females,mean age [45.51±16.31]years), as well as 182 healthy individuals were included(87 males,95 females,mean age [48.55±11.93]years). The two groups were used to assess the application of serum melatonin levels as a diagnostic indicator for sleep disorders (SDs). The liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) system with an chromatography column (2.1×100 mm, 1.8 μm) was used for separation. The column temperature was set at 35 ℃, as well as the mobile phase consisting of a 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and pure acetonitrile. The flowing rate was set at 0.4 ml/min for gradient elution. The LC-MS/MS method was validated according to guidance documents, including the following parameters: specificity, selectivity, matrix effect, carryover contamination and reproducibility, lower limit of measuring interval, linearity, precision, recovery rate, dilution consistency, and serum sample stability. Then, it was subsequently employed to profile melatonin changes in Sleep disturbance.Results:The lower limit of quantification for melatonin was 1 pg/ml, and the linear range of detection was 1 pg/ml to 500 pg/ml ( r=0.999). The intra-day and intra-batch precision, expressed as the coefficient of variation ( CV), was within the range from 3.07% to 6.86%, which met the requirement of less than 15%. The recovery rate of the spiked samples ranged from 105.91% to 116.30%. The level of serum melatonin in the sleep disturbance group was significantly lower than that in the healthy control group ([2.00(1.00,3.28)] vs [8.35(4.28,14.80)] pg/ml, P<0.001). Conclusions:The LC-MS/MS method we developed for the quantification of melatonin is clinical practicable.

The global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has infected over 109 million people, leading to over 2 million deaths up to date and still lacking of effective drugs for patient treatment. Here, we screened about 1.8 million small molecules against the main protease (M^pro) and papain like protease (PL^pro), two major proteases in severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 genome, and identified 1851M^pro inhibitors and 205 PL^pro inhibitors with low nmol/l activity of the best hits. Among these inhibitors, eight small molecules showed dual inhibition effects on both M^pro and PL^pro, exhibiting potential as better candidates for COVID-19 treatment. The best inhibitors of each protease were tested in antiviral assay, with over 40% of M^pro inhibitors and over 20% of PL^pro inhibitors showing high potency in viral inhibition with low cytotoxicity. The X-ray crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro in complex with its potent inhibitor 4a was determined at 1.8 Å resolution. Together with docking assays, our results provide a comprehensive resource for future research on anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug development.
Humans ; Antiviral Agents/chemistry* ; COVID-19 ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Protease Inhibitors/chemistry* ; SARS-CoV-2/enzymology* ; Viral Nonstructural Proteins

Objective:To explore the risk stratification and prognostic significance of loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM).Methods:The clinical data of 193 male patients with newly diagnosed MM admitted to Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University from January 2018 to January 2020 were analyzed retrospectively and divided into a normal karyotype group(178) and a LOY karyotype group (15) according to the results of their primary conventional cytogenetics. Rank sum test, 2×2 chi-square test and independent sample t-test were used to compare laboratory findings, such as liver and kidney function, immunohistochemistry and cytogenetics, treatment efficacy and survival prognosis, between the two groups. The clinical prognostic significance of LOY was summarized through survival analysis and Cox regression. Results:Among the newly diagnosed male MM patients, 8%(15/178) were confirmed with LOY cases. The proportion of patients with Revised International Staging System(R-ISS) stage Ⅲ was significantly higher in the LOY group (8/15) than that in the normal karyotype group (40/178)(χ 2=7.052, P<0.01). A higher proportion of 1q21 amplification also occurred in the LOY group (10/13 vs 77/162)(χ 2=4.159, P<0.05). The proportion of complete response(CR)/stringent complete response(sCR) in the normal karyotype group after the fourth chemotherapy (63/171) was significantly higher than that in the LOY group (1/15)(χ 2=5.564, P<0.05). The proportion of progressive disease (PD) was lower in the normal karyotype group (16/171 vs 4/15) (χ 2=4.306, P<0.05). The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) of MM patients for the LOY group was significantly shorter compared to that for the normal karyotype group ( Z=?3.201, P<0.01). Univariate survival analysis showed that PFS was significantly shorter in newly diagnosed MM patients with Creatinine(Cr)≥93 μmol/L, β 2-microglobulin (β 2-MG)≥4.0 mg/L, serum free light chain(sFLC)<0.06, bone marrow plasma cells (BMPC)≥30%, R-ISS stage Ⅲ, failure to achieve CR/sCR after the fourth chemotherapy, with LOY, 1q21 amplification, P53 deletion and t(4;14) ( P<0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that Cr≥93 μmol/L( HR=4.460, 95% CI 1.615-12.314, P=0.004), sFLC<0.06( HR=2.873, 95% CI 1.206-6.849, P=0.017), failure to achieve CR/sCR after the fourth chemotherapy( HR=3.522, 95% CI 1.437-8.634, P=0.006)and with LOY( HR=3.485, 95% CI 1.473-8.249, P=0.006)were independent risk factors for PFS in newly diagnosed MM patients. Conclusions:LOY is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis. It is important for the clinical outcome and prognosis of patients with newly diagnosed MM, and may become a novel clinical assessment indicator.

Objective:This work aims to evaluate the clinical values of comprehensive genomic profiling examination based on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in advanced lung cancer patients.Methods:This is a single-center, retrospective study that collected peripheral blood samples from patients with advanced lung cancer and performed gene mutation analysis using the TruSight Oncology 500 ctDNA assay kits. Between February 2022 and March 2023, a total of 82 patients were enrolled in Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, and 76 patients were included in the final analysis.According to the AMP/ASCO/CAP guidelines, mutations of targeted genes were divided into four levels (Tier I-IV), and the effectiveness of targeted therapy guided by ctDNA was evaluated. Descriptive statistics were used for basic characteristics, and the analysis of factors related to tumor mutational burden (TMB) was performed using the rank-sum test.Results:The ctDNA detection success rate was 92.7%(76/82).The median turnaround time for ctDNA testing was 10.5 days (9,13 days). At least one actionable mutation (Tier I or Ⅱ) was detected in 82.9%(63/76) of patients, and 28.6% (18/63) of patients received matched therapy, achieving a disease control rate of 18/18 and an objective response rate of 12/18.Conclusion:Comprehensive genomic profiling based on ctDNA can effectively identify actionable alterations in patients with advanced lung cancer and provide valuable information for matched therapy.

Cell Cycle Checkpoints/genetics* ; Checkpoint Kinase 1/metabolism* ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Mitosis/genetics* ; Mutation ; Zygote/metabolism*

Objective : To investigate whether the application of melatonin (MT) in embryo culture in vitro can improve the treatment effect of in vitro fertilization embryo transfer(IVF⁃ET) in patients with decreasing ovarian reserve (DOR) . Methods : 128 DOR patients receiving assisted reproductive therapy were collected. All patients were treated with an antagonist scheme of super⁃ovulation. Patients were divided into melatonin group (n = 56) and control group (n = 72) according to whether melatonin ( melatonin concentration 10 - 9 mol/L) was added into embryo culture medium. Results : There was no statistically significant difference in oocytes fertilization rate and cleavage rate between the two groups during later embryo culture , but blastocyst formation rate ( 65. 22% vs 56. 16% ) and high⁃quality blastocyst rate (52. 96% vs 40. 94% ) in the melatonin group were higher than those in the control group , and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0. 05 ) . There were no significant differences in the implantation rate (50. 00% vs 38. 67% ) and clinical pregnancy rate (48. 39% vs 46. 00% ) of blastocysts after freezing⁃thawing between the two groups , but the cycle number of high⁃quality blastocysts obtained in the melatonin group was higher than that in the control group (85. 71% vs 69. 44% ) , and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0. 05) . Conclusion In a way , the application of melatonin in the in vitro culture of early embryos can promote the development of oocytes in patients with DOR , improve the quality of embryos , and finally substantially improve the therapeutic effect of such patients.

Objective:To verify the performance of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform and evaluate the application of NGS, droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) and super amplification refractory mutation system (super-ARMS) in the detection of circulating free DNA (cfDNA) mutations in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:A total of 75 patients with NSCLC in the respiratory department of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University were enrolled. The standards, cfDNA from 25 patients with newly diagnosed and untreated NSCLC, and self-made mixed samples mixed with hemoglobin (1 000 mg /dl), bilirubin (500 mg/l), fat emulsion (2%), enterococcus gDNA and Escherichia coli gDNA were used to verify the blank limit, analytical sensitivity, precision, accuracy and specificity of NGS platform. The cfDNA mutations of 75 NSCLC patients were detected by ddPCR and NGS, and the mutation positive rates of the two platforms were compared. The linear relationship between the two platforms was compared by Pearson correlation test. 12 patients were selected by simple random sampling for the detection of plasma super-ARMS platform. The performance of three platforms in the detection of plasma cfDNA mutation in patients with NSCLC was compared.Results:The blank limit of NGS platform was set to 0.00%, the analytical sensitivity was 0.2%, the intra-assay precision and inter-assay precision were 100%. The test results were not affected by endogenous hemoglobin, bilirubin or fat emulsion in plasma or exogenous DNA interference, and the analysis specificity was good. The mutation positive rates of plasma cfDNA in 75 NSCLC patients detected by ddPCR and NGS were 61.33% and 60.00%, respectively. The complete coincidence rate was 89.33%, which suggests there was a positive correlation between the mutation abundance of NGS and ddPCR ( r=0.984, P=0.001). Among the plasma of 12 NSCLC patients, the results of NGS, ddPCR and super-ARMS were completely consistent in 7 cases, including 2 wild-types and 5 mutants. Conclusion:The NGS platform was verified to be useful for cfDNA mutation detection in patients with NSCLC. The ddPCR, NGS and super-ARMS have their own advantages in detecting cfDNA mutations in patients with NSCLC.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia with BCR-ABL p210 fusion gene-positive.Methods:The clinical characteristics of a patient diagnosed in the Second Hospital of Jiaxing were analyzed and the related literature was reviewed.Results:BCR-ABL p210 fusion gene and Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Imatinib associated with multi-drug intravenous chemotherapy resulted in poor efficacy.Conclusions:Patient with Ph +/BCR-ABL + acute myeloid leukemia is rare with a very poor prognosis. There is no unified standard treatment and the efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors is unclear. Intravenous chemotherapy combined with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is expected to change the prognosis.

Objective We are going to establish a robust liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric(LC-MS/MS) method for plasma aldosterone assay.Methods 324 healthy individuals were enrolled in Zhongshan Hospital from February to April in 2016 for reference interval survey.The signallinearity,lower limits of quantitation,precision and accuracy of LC-MS/MS have been evaluated.Results from LC-MS/MS and RIA methods were compared.Software SPSS17.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results The performance characteristics for the method in terms of linearity,lowerlimits of quantitation,precision and accuracy were verified.Linear range of ALD were between 25-2000 pg/ml;the LC-MS/MS assay had a limit of quantitation of 20 pg/ml for ALD;the intra-and inter-assay CV of ALD were ＜10％ and ＜6％,respectively;the recovery of ALD from serum samples ranged between 97.3 and 105.8％ The reference value of ALD in health people ranged between 21-211.6 pg/ml The regression equation by LC-MS/MS (X) and RIA (Y) was:Y =0.271X + 138.900(r=0.43;n=322).Conclusion LC-MS/MS method is robust and reliable for the analysis of aldosterone in plasma and suitable for clinical application.

Objective To establish the reference interval for CA 72-4 in indirect method.Methods All results for CA72-4 that were stored in our laboratory information system of Zhongshan hospital between Jan.2010 and Dec.2012 were included in this study.Outliers were identified and omitted using Stem-and-Leaf&Box Plots in SPSS statistical software.The treated data was divided into several groups according to gender and age.Nonparametric rank sum test was used to observe the difference between male and female participants and Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine the correlation between CA 72-4 and age.Nonparametric reference intervals for CA 72-4 were estimated statistically in two gender sub-groups.Results After 139 cases excluded, there were 1 548 cases of male (Median 1.7, 0.4 to 18.9) and 773 cases of female ( Median 1.8, 0.2 to 18.9 ).There was a significant difference in serum CA 72-4 between male and female participants.No significant difference was found in serum CA 72-4 among age sub-groups.Indirect reference values for CA 72-4 of male and female were respectively 0 to 8.9 U/ml and 0 to 11.6 U/ml.Conclusion Indirect method to establish biological reference interval is a relatively simple and less expensive method under the high rapid development of the hospital information network .It can be used in the periodical review and establishing the reference intervals where the direct method can not be used.