The essence of clinical practice guidelines lies in their recommendations. It is common to find strong recommendations supported by low-quality evidence in current published guidelines. There is a typical misunderstanding among medical professionals that without high-quality evidence, it is impossible to develop high-quality guidelines or only expert consensus can be developed. Based on the GRADE approach, this paper explains the concept and clinical significance of low-quality evidence, and introduces the methods for formulating recommendations based on low-quality evidence in guidelines, with the aim to provide reference for guideline developers and users in China.

Objective:To carry out clinical and genetic analysis for a child featuring Brain-Lung-Thyroid syndrome (BLTS).Methods:A child who had presented at the Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University on May 27, 2022 was selected as the study subject. Clinical data was collected. Trio-whole exome sequencing (Trio-WES) was carried out for the child and his parents, and candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. The child was given individualized treatment following the diagnosis.Results:The child, a two-year-and-seven-month-old boy, had presented with global developmental delay, ataxia and hypothyroidism. WES revealed that he has harbored a heterozygous c. 674C>T variant of the NKX2-1 gene, based on which he was diagnosed with BLTS. CT scan revealed interstitial and parenchymal inflammation in his lungs, which was reduced by budesonide aerosol inhalation. Conclusion:Discovery of the novel c. 674C>T variant has enriched the mutational spectrum of the NKX2-1 gene. Budesonide aerosol may be used to treat lung inflammation associated with BLTS.

Cholesterol is an important precursor of many endogenous molecules. Disruption of cholesterol homeostasis can cause many pathological changes, leading to liver and cardiovascular diseases. CYP1A is widely involved in cholesterol metabolic network, but its exact function has not been fully elucidated. Here, we aim to explore how CYP1A regulates cholesterol homeostasis. Our data showed that CYP1A1/2 knockout (KO) rats presented cholesterol deposition in blood and liver. The serum levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol were significantly increased in KO rats. Further studies found that the lipogenesis pathway (LXRα-SREBP1-SCD1) of KO rats was activated, and the key protein of cholesterol ester hydrolysis (CES1) was inhibited. Importantly, lansoprazole can significantly alleviate rat hepatic lipid deposition in hypercholesterolemia models by inducing CYP1A. Our findings reveal the role of CYP1A as a potential regulator of cholesterol homeostasis and provide a new perspective for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.

As novel coronavirus infection has become a major public health problem affecting human health, vaccination is the most effective means of preventing novel coronavirus infection.Therefore, besides implementing regular epidemic prevention and control, it has become the consensus of international community for effective prevention and control of novel coronavirus infection through accelerating the speed of novel coronavirus vaccination, expanding the scope of vaccination and improving public vaccination rate.Kidney transplant recipients are at an elevated risk of novel coronavirus infection.This population has been in a low immune state for a long time.Thus there are problems such as reduced immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccine, selection and use of vaccine and breakthrough of infection.Based upon the published international and domestic data, this paper serves as a practical reference for clinicians and healthcare workers to provide consultations to kidney transplant recipients about the administration of novel coronavirus vaccine.

How to improve the long-term prognosis of transplant kidney and solve the shortage of donor kidney are still two major problems that plague clinicians. Among them, ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), rejection, infection, and immunosuppressive therapy are important issues in the research field of renal transplantation. Therefore, strengthening the literature study in the field of renal transplantation and understanding the nature of transplant kidney related diseases and international frontier research hotspots, help to further improve the function and prolong the survival time of the transplant kidney in clinic. This article interpreted literatures on the research hotspots and new progress in the field of renal transplantation in the third quarter of 2020, combined with the meeting minutes of the 12th Lingnan Reading Club, and reviewed from the three aspects of IRI, rejection and infection.

Objective To evaluate the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) on the expression of interleukin (IL)-10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in mice with ischemia-reperfusion acute kidney injury (IR-AKI). Methods All mice were randomly divided into the sham operation group (control group), ischemia-reperfusion injury group (IRI group) and BMSC treatment group (BMSC group), with 6 mice in each group, respectively. The renal function and pathological changes of mice were detected. The cell apoptosis of renal tissues of mice was determined. The expression levels of serum IL-10 and TNF-α of mice were quantitatively measured. The mouse BMSC was randomly divided into the control and hypoxia-reoxygenation groups (IRI group), and the expression levels of IL-10 and TNF-α in cell supernatant were determined. Results The renal structure of mice was normal in the control group, severe damage was observed in the IRI group, and mild damage occurred in the BMSC group. Compared with the control group, the renal tissue injury scores were significantly higher in the IRI and BMSC groups (both P < 0.05). Compared with the IRI group, the renal tissue injury score was significantly lower in the BMSC group (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the levels of serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were remarkably up-regulated in the IRI group, and the level of BUN was significantly up-regulated in the BMSC group (all P < 0.05). Compared with the IRI group, the levels of Scr and BUN were significantly down-regulated in the BMSC group (both P < 0.05). In the IRI group, the quantity of apoptotic cells in the renal tissues was considerably higher than those in the BMSC and control groups, and the quantity of apoptotic cells in the BMSC group was significantly higher than that in the control group (all P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the levels of serum IL-10 and TNF-α were significantly up-regulated in the IRI group, whereas the level of serum TNF-α was significantly down-regulated and the level of serum IL-10 was significantly up-regulated in the BMSC group (all P < 0.05). Compared with the IRI group, the levels of serum IL-10 and TNF-α were significantly down-regulated in the BMSC group (both P < 0.05). The levels of IL-10 and TNF-α in the cell supernatant did not significantly differ between the IRI and control groups (P=0.080、0.627). Conclusions BMSC infusion may reduce the incidence of renal IRI and inflammation, probably via the mechanism of down-regulating TNF-α expression rather than up-regulating IL-10 expression.

The quality of life of organ transplant recipients is closely correlated with immune status. Compared with those undergoing other solid organ transplantation, the long-term prognosis of lung transplant recipients is worse. The underlying immune mechanism is complex with both similarities and characteristics. Therefore, in-depth understanding of the immune mechanism in the process of immune response of allogeneic lung transplantation plays a critical role in improving the long-term survival of the recipients. In this article, the unique composition of immune cells in the lung, the characteristics of rejection after lung transplantation, the early warning and differential diagnosis of pathogen infection in lung transplantation and postoperative complications after lung transplantation were investigated. Research progress on clinical diagnosis and basic studies related to immunology in allogeneic lung transplantation were summarized, aiming to elucidate the immunological characteristics of lung transplantation and provide theoretical basis for improving the longterm survival of lung transplant recipients and prevention and treatment of allograft dysfunction.

Objective: This study investigated the characteristics of progestin-insensitive endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) and atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) patients receiving fertility-sparing treatments and assessed the therapeutic effects of second-line fertility-preserving treatments. Methods: Three hundred and thirty-eight patients with EEC (n=75) or AEH (n=263) receiving fertility-preserving treatment were retrospectively analyzed. ‘Progestin-insensitive’ was defined as meeting one of the following criteria: 1) presented with progressed disease at any time during conservative treatment, 2) remained with stable disease after 7 months of treatment, and/or 3) did not achieve complete response (CR) after 10 months of treatment. Clinical characteristics and treatment results of progestin-insensitive patients receiving second-line treatment and those of progestin-sensitive patients were compared. Results: Eight-two patients (59 AEH and 23 EEC) were defined as progestin-insensitive and 256 as progestin-sensitive. In multivariate analysis, body mass index ≥28.0 kg/m2 (odds ratio [OR]=1.898) and lesion size >2 cm (OR=2.077) were independent predictors of progestin-insensitive status. Compared to AEH patients, progestin-insensitive EEC patients had poorer second-line treatment responses (28-week cumulative CR rate after changing second-line treatment, 56.3% vs. 85.4%, p=0.011). No statistical difference was found in CR rate among different second-line treatments. Conclusion Obesity and larger lesion size were independent risk factors associated with progestin-insensitive status. In progestin-insensitive patients receiving second-line treatment, EEC patients had lower CR rate comparing with AEH patients. Further study with larger sample size is needed to evaluate efficacy of different second-line treatments for progestin insensitive patients.

Objective To explore the variation trend of natural killer (NK) cell subsets in the recipients infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) after renal transplantation. Methods Clinical data of 92 renal transplant recipients were retrospectively analyzed. All recipients were divided into the CMV infection group (n=43), CMV infection recovery group (n=13), stable renal function group (n=15), rejection group (n=11) and other infection group (n=10). In addition, healthy adult volunteers were enrolled in the healthy control group (n=15). The proportion of NK cells in peripheral blood, the expression proportion and the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD226 and CD16 in NK cells were observed and statistically compared among different groups. Results The proportion of NK cells was 4.9% (2.2%, 11.5%) in the CMV infection group and 3.7% (2.3%, 6.5%) in the CMV infection recovery group, which were significantly lower than those in the other groups (all P < 0.05). The expression proportion of CD226 and CD16 in NK cells in the CMV infection group was significantly lower compared with those in the healthy control group and stable renal function group(all P < 0.05). The expression proportion of CD226 and CD16 in NK cells in the CMV infection recovery group was remarkably higher than those in the CMV infection group (both P < 0.05). The MFI of CD226 and CD16 in the CMV infection group was significantly lower than those in the healthy control group (both P < 0.05). The MFI of CD226 and CD16 in the CMV infection recovery group was significantly higher than those in the CMV infection group (both P < 0.05). Conclusions The expression proportion and MFI of CD226 and CD16 in NK cells are down-regulated in CMV infection period, whereas up-regulated during the CMV infection recovery period, prompting that CD226 and CD16 expressed by NK cells are intimately correlated with the course of CMV infection.

As proposed in 2019 Annual Congress of the Chinese Society of Organ Transplantation, the overall objective of the development of organ transplantation in China is to deepen the structural reform of the supply side comprehensively, to promote the transition of organ transplantation from the quantitative scale model to the quality-lifting type, and to promote the scientific, balanced, standardized and high-quality development of organ transplantation. This paper introduces the construction of quality management system and the implementation of quality improvement program in the field of surgery and transplantation in the United States, summarizes the preliminary work of how to combine foreign experience to promote the construction of quality improvement program of renal transplantation in our country, and proposes the idea of extending the quality improvement program of organ transplantation.