Objective:To investigate the mechanism of tissue damage caused by neutrophil matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) in Fusarium keratitis. Methods:A total of 108 male C57BL/6J SPF grade mice, 6-8 weeks old, were selected to establish a model of Fusarium keratitis (FK) in the right eyes.Corneal inflammation in mice was observed and scored under a slit lamp microscope.Based on the corneal inflammation scores, the modeling eyes were divided into 0, 12, 24, 48, and 72-hour groups post-modeling.At the corresponding time points, mice were euthanized, and corneal tissues were collected.The expressions of MMP-8, adenylate-activated protein kinase (AMPKα) and its serine 172-site phosphorylated form (p-AMPKα) proteins in corneal tissues were detected by Western blot.The neutrophil count in mice corneal tissues at each time point was determined using hematoxylin and eosin staining.The co-localization of neutrophils and MMP-8 protein in the cornea was observed by immunofluorescence staining.In the in vitro corneal collagen degradation experiment, corneal tissues were divided into MMP-8 group, buffer group, and normal saline group, which were treated with 100 μl of activated recombinant MMP-8, detection buffer, and normal saline, respectively.Hydroxyproline content in corneal tissues was determined using a hydroxyproline assay kit, and the mass fractions of hydroxyproline were compared among the groups.Peripheral blood neutrophils were isolated from human blood samples, and Fusarium spores were collected for experiments.Human neutrophils were divided into four groups, negative control group (cultured neutrophils), co-culture group (neutrophils co-cultured with spores), AICAR-treated group (neutrophils co-cultured with spores and treated with p-AMPK protein kinase activator AICAR), and compound C-treated group (neutrophils co-cultured with spores and treated with the inhibitor compound C).The MMP-8 protein expression levels in each group of human neutrophils were assessed via immunofluorescence staining.The use and care of animals complied with the ARVO statement and Regulations for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals.The animal experiment protocol was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Henan Eye Hospital (No.HNEECA-2017-04-02).One healthy adult volunteer was selected and 10 ml of peripheral venous blood was collected.The clinical study protocol was approved by the Clinical Ethics Committee of Henan Eye Hospital (No.HNEECKY-2019[16]). Results:At 24 hours post-modeling, corneal opacification was observed in the modeling eyes, and corneal perforation occurred in 72-hour post-modeling group.The corneal inflammation scores in 24, 48, and 72-hour post-modeling groups were all higher than those in 12-hour post-modeling group, and the differences were statistically significant (all at P<0.001).The relative expression levels of MMP-8 protein in the cornea were higher in 12, 24, and 48-hour post-modeling groups compared to 0-hour group, with statistically significant differences (all at P<0.001).There was a moderate positive correlation between the relative expression level of MMP-8 protein in the cornea and the inflammation scores of the modeling eye ( rs=0.50, P<0.05).In the cornea, the p-AMPKα (Thr 172)/AMPKα ratio was higher in 24, 48, and 72-hour post-modeling groups than in 0-hour group, and the differences were statistically significant (all at P<0.05).The p-AMPKα(Thr 172)/AMPKα ratio in the cornea was moderately positively correlated with the relative expression level of MMP-8 protein ( r=0.54, P<0.01).The number of neutrophils in the cornea was significantly higher in 24, 48, and 72-hour post-modeling groups than in 0-hour group, with statistically significant differences (all at P<0.001).The number of neutrophils in the cornea was strongly positively correlated with the inflammation score ( rs=0.77, P<0.001), and was moderately positively correlated with the relative expression level of MMP-8 protein ( r=0.56, P<0.05).MMP-8 protein expression in the cornea of the modeling eyes showed a high degree of co-localization with neutrophils.The hydroxyproline content in the cornea was (0.52±0.02)μg/mg, (0.51±0.03)μg/mg, and (0.27±0.02)μg/mg in buffer group, normal saline group and MMP-8 group, respectively, with a significant overall difference among them ( F=156.63, P<0.01).The corneal hydroxyproline content was lower in MMP-8 group compared to buffer and normal saline groups, and the differences were statistically significant (all at P<0.05).In the experiment involving the infection of cultured Fusarium spores with human neutrophils, the fluorescence intensity of MMP-8 expression was significantly higher in AICAR-treated group than in negative control group and compound C-treated group, with statistically significant differences (all at P<0.05). Conclusions:The MMP-8 secreted by neutrophils in mice with fungal keratitis can degrade corneal stromal collagen fibers, leading to corneal opacification or perforation.The variations in MMP-8 protein expression levels in human neutrophils may be associated with AMPK activation.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between the volume of irradiated pelvic bone marrow and acute hematologic toxicity (HT), in order to provide clinical data to reduce the risk of acute HT and optimize the radiotherapy plan.Methods:From October 2017 to May 2019, 41 LARC patients who received neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) were retrospectively reviewed in our center. All patients were treated with 5-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and the prescription dose delivered to PTV was 45-50.4 Gy in 25-28 fractions. Capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) wasadministered daily 5 days a week during radiotherapy. Different HTswere recorded according to National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria Version 5.0 (NCI-CTC.V5.0) based on laboratory tests. The volume of PBM or each site (coxal, sacrum, femoral) receiving more than x Gy refers to as TVx, CVx, SVx, and FVx, respectively. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between the volume of irradiated pelvic bone marrow and different HT. Generalized additive model (GAM) and piecewise regression were used to further analyze the possible nonlinear relationship and threshold effect between them. Results:Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low-dose of irradiated total pelvic bone marrow volume ( TV5) and coxal bone marrow volume ( CV5, CV10) were significantly correlated with Grade ≥2 leukopenia( P<0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between the sacrum bone marrow volume ( SV5, SV10) and Grade ≥2 leukopenia ( P<0.05). A thresholdeffect has been observed between CV10 and Grade ≥2 leukopenia by Generalized additive model (GAM) and piecewise linear regression. The threshold between CV10 and Grade ≥2 leukopenia was 575 ml, OR (95% CI) was 1.85 (1.08, 3.16). Conclusions:In neoadjuvant IMRT of rectal cancer, CV is a better predictor of acute HT induced by CCRT than TV. The irradiated volume of CV associated with acute HT was mainly low-dose levels ( CV5, CV10). The thresholds of our study ( CV10= 575 ml) could be a good reference for the optimization of the radiotherapy plan.

Objective:To investigate the expression of adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation in corneal epithelial cells and the effects of fungus on AMPK phosphorylation and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in corneal epithelial cells.Methods:The human immortalized corneal epithelial cell line was selected.The safe concentration range of AMPK agonist 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1-β-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR) (100, 300, 500, 1 000 μmol/L) and inhibitor Compound C (10.0, 12.5, 15.0, 17.5, 20.0 μmol/L) on corneal epithelial cells was screened by multi-function real-time unlabeled cell analyzer.Corneal epithelial cells without any treatment were used as the normal control group, and those co-cultured with spores were used as the spore control group.Corneal epithelial cells co-cultured with spores were treated with AICAR and Compound C for 4 hours in the AICAR group and Compound C group, respectively.The expression of phosphorylated AMPK (p-AMPK) and AMPK in corneal epithelial cells was detected by Western blot, and the concentration of IL-6 in the culture supernatant was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results:After treatment with different concentrations of AICAR for different periods, there was no statistical significance in the cell index of corneal epithelial cells (all at P>0.05). The cell index of corneal epithelial cells was increased with 10.0 μmol/L and 12.5 μmol/L Compound C treatment compared with that of the normal control group.The expression levels of p-AMPK were 0.67±0.15, 2.57±0.12, 3.67±0.58 and 1.50±0.50, respectively, in the normal control group, spore control group, AICAR group and Compound C group, showing a statistically significant difference among them ( F=32.820, P<0.001). The expression level of p-AMPK was significantly higher in the spore control group compared with the normal control group ( P<0.001). The expression level of p-AMPK in the AICAR group was higher than that in the spore control group, and the expression level of p-AMPK in the Compound C group was lower than that in the spore control group, and the differences were statistically significant (both at P=0.010). There was no significant difference in the relative expression level of AMPK among the four groups ( F=0.120, P=0.950). The expression levels of IL-6 concentration in the normal control group, spore control group, AICAR group and Compound C group were (107.81±17.15), (156.32±9.94), (167.96±14.16) and (127.42±19.75)pg/ml, respectively, showing a statistically significant difference among them ( F=15.210, P<0.001). The IL-6 concentration of the spore control group was higher than that of the normal control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.001). The IL-6 concentration of the AICAR group was higher than that of the spore control group, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P=0.260). The IL-6 concentration of the Compound C group was lower than that of the spore control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.010). Conclusions:In corneal epithelial cells, AMPK phosphorylation is found, which is enhanced after fungal spores stimulation, and the secretion of IL-6 increases.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between the X-ray cross-complementary gene 1 (XRCC1) rs25487 gene polymorphism and the effect of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).Methods:This research was a prospective cohort study consisting of 55 patients with LARC who were treated in the Affiliated Hospital, Guizhou Cancer Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from August 2018 to July 2019. The XRCC1 rs25487 genotype was detected, followed by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. The logistic regression with adjusted confounding factors was used to analyze the relationship between down-staging of T-stage and N-stage and XRCC1 rs25487 gene polymorphism. The stratified analysis was used to explore interactions of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) based on logistic regression.Results:The frequencies of all genotypes were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. After adjusting confounding factors, compared to patients with AA genotype, patients with GG genotype had lower rate of down-staging of T-stage after neoadjuvant radiotherapy ( OR=0.1, P<0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference between GA and AA genotypes ( P>0.05). There was interactions between AA/GA genotypes and NLR, which affected the down-staging of T-stage after radiotherapy. Conclusions:XRCC1 rs25487 gene polymorphism is associated with the efficacy of neoadjuvant radiotherapy and concurrent system chemotherapy in patients with LARC, which may be used as a predictor of the efficacy of neoadjuvant intensive therapy.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding neoadjuvant chemotherapy following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.Methods A total of 80 patients confirmed with locally advanced rectal cancer were enrolled during January 2012 and December 2015 in Guizhou Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital and were randomized with the method of lottery into the experimental group and the control group.In the experimental group,40 patients received 4 cycles of FOLFOX4 after chemoradiotherapy and then had total mesorectal excision (TME).Another 4 cycles of FOLFOX4 were administered after surgery.In the control group,40 patients had TME surgery 6-8 weeks after chemoradiotherapy and received 8 cycles of FOLFOX4 as adjuvant chemotherapy.Pelvic radiotherapy dose was 50 Gy in 25 fractions,5 days per week for 5 weeks.5-Fu continuous infusion was administered throughout radiotherapy.The pCR rate,downstaging rate,R0 resection rate,local recurrence rate,distant metastasis rate,survival rate,incidence of toxicities,surgical complications and completion of treatment were observed.Results The pCR rate was 20.0％ in the experimental group and 5.0％ in the control group (x2 =4.114,P ＜ 0.05).The downstaging rate was 77.4％ in the experimental group and 55.6％ in the control group(P ＞ 0.05).No statistically significant difference was observed in R0 resection rate,3-year local recurrence rate,3-year distant metastasis rate and 3-year survival rate between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Patients in the experimental group had higher completion rate of 8 cycles of systemic chemotherapy (87.1％ vs.61.5％,x2 =4.985,P ＜0.05).No statistically significant difference was observed in acute toxicities and postoperative complications.Conclusions Adding systemic chemotherapy after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer has significantly higher pCR rate and lower toxicities and side events compared with chemoradiotherapy alone.Longer follow-up and larger scale of clinical research are needed.Trial registration Chinese clinical trial registry,ChiCTR-IPR-17010454.

Objective This study aimed to establish a reliable primary culture protocol for preparing murine spleen-derived mesenchymal stem cells ( MSCs) by tissue explant culture.Methods Healthy mouse spleens were crushed by syringe handle to harvest spleen mesenchymal tissues.Then the tiny pieces of spleen tissue were digested by collagenase II before seeded into culture flasks.The morphological characteristics of spleen tissue-derived cells were observed under the inverted microscope.Further, the surface antigen profile of the cells was analyzed by flow cytometry (FACS).The cells were induced to differentiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes.Results The murine spleen-derived MSCs exhibited a spindle-shaped appearance.The FACS results showed that the spleen-derived MSCs highly expressed CD29, CD44, CD105 and Sca-1, but weakly expressed CD11b, CD34, CD45 and Ia. In addition, the spleen-derived MSCs steadily differentiated into osteoblasts and adipocytes in the induction medium.Conclusions A method of primary culture of murine spleen-derived MSCs by explant culture is successfully established.The harvested MSCs exhibit high purity and cell proliferation ability, and provide a reliable cell model for related researches.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic effects of the conditioning regimen with busulfan plus cyclophosphamide (BU+CY) or total body irradiation plus cyclophosphamide (TBI+CY) on haploidentical stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in hematologic malignancy.

METHODSThe clinical outcomes of 77 HSCT recipients with hematologic malignancy from January 2001 to December 2010, including 21 AML, 33 ALL, 19 CML and 4 MDS were retrospectively evaluated. Among them, 65 patients obtained complete remission (CR) and 12 non-remission (NR) before transplantation; 39 patients received conditioning regimen with BU+CY, and 38 with TBI+CY.

RESULTSThere were no statistically significant differences in hematopoietic reconstitution, disease free survival (DFS), and transplant- related mortality (TRM) between two groups. The estimated 3- years overall survival (OS) was 56.4% for BU+CY and 31.6% for TBI + CY (P=0.0283). The overall relapse rate was similar between two groups (15.4% vs 34.2%; P=0.1538). However, the accumulative probability of relapse at 1-year was significantly lower in BU+CY than that in TBI+CY group (2.56% vs 26.67%; P=0.0116). The incidence of grade II-IV graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was similar between two regimens (20.5% in BU+CY group and 18.4% in TBI+CY group; P=0.8168). The incidence of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was higher in the TBI+CY group than that of BU+CY group (84.6% vs 41.1%; P=0.0007). The extensive GVHD obtained the similar outcome (30.8% vs 10.5%; P=0.0416).

CONCLUSIONPatients using BU+CY as conditioning regimen before transplant could obtain a better 3 year OS and lower short-term relapse rate. The TBI+CY conditioning regimen could significantly increase the incidence of cGVHD without increasing the acute GVHD. BU+CY conditioning regimen could be used for HSCT, but the attention should be paid to prevent the related hemorrhagic cystitis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Busulfan ; administration & dosage ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cyclophosphamide ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; therapy ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Transplantation Conditioning ; methods ; Whole-Body Irradiation ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND:Spinocerebel ar ataxia is a inherited neurodegenerative disease with progressive cerebel ar masonic movement disorders as the main clinical manifestation. So far, no drug is available to control the disease progression. OBJECTIVE:To observe the clinical effect of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in treating spinocerebel ar ataxia by intrathecal injection. METHODS:Thirty-eight cases of spinocerebel ar ataxia were given umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells by intrathecal injection, 1×106/kg once a week, four times as a course. These 38 cases received 52 courses. Among them, 27 cases received 1 course, 8 cases received 2 courses and 3 cases received 3 courses. International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) and Activity of Daily Living Scale (ADL) were used to evaluate patients’ neural functions (the greater scores, the more severe damage) and ability of daily living (the lower score, the stronger the ability of daily living). After treatment, al patients were subjected to fol ow-up visit. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The total effective rate of 52 courses of treatment was 84.62%. ICARS and ADL scores were significantly decreased at 1 month after treatment (P<0.01). In most of effective patients, unstable walking and standing, slow movement, upper limb fine motor disorder, writing difficulties, dysarthria, eye movement disorders were improved. After treatment, common adverse effects were dizziness (1 case), low back pain (2 cases), headache (1 case), and fever (2 cases). Al these symptoms disappeared within 1-3 days. No treatment-related adverse events happened in the median fol ow-up of 39 months (11-59 months). The il ness of effective patients had been stable for 1-19 months, average (5.95±4.84) months. Intrathecal injection of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells is safe to ameliorate clinical symptoms to some extent within a certain time. It may delay the progression of spinocerebel ar ataxia. Multiple courses of treatment can help to further improve neurological function in most patients.

Objective To compare the adherence condition of mycobacterium tuberculosis on 2 kinds of artificial joint interface. Methods The Chromium-Cobalt-Alloy with hydroxyapatite ceramic coating and porous coating were cocultured with the bacterial liquid of mycobacterium tuberculosis. The optical density of mycobacterium tuberculosis in different interfaces were detected by turbidimetry. Adherence conditions were observed by electron microscope scanning. Results There was no significant difference between two groups in the optical density value (P>0.05). The electron microscope scanning showed that more mycobacterium tuberculosis adhered to the porous coating than hydroxyapatite ceramic coating (P<0.05). Conclusion The hydroxyapatite ceramic coating has more advantages to the porous coating in prosthetic replacement for patients with joint tuberculosis.

Objective To evaluate prognostic factors of patients with cerebral postoperative glioma treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). Methods62 patients with cerebral glioma who had residual tumor received 3DCRT. Factors such as gender, age, location of the glioma, pathological type, pathological grade, degree of surgical resection, combined chemotherapy, radiation dose, Karnofsky score before treatment were analyzed to show wether the impact on prognosis, Drawing survival curve with the Kaplan-Meier method, Log-rank test for univariate analysis and multivariate analysis were performed by using COX regression model.ResultsLast follow-up time was April 1, 2009. Median follow-up was 22 months, 43patients died. The 1-, 2- and 3-year overall survival rate were 65.7 %, 34.2 % and 20.5 %. In univariate analysis, the survival was related to age (P=0.008), pathological grade (P=0.016), degree of surgical resection (P=0.000), Karnofsky score before treatment (P =0.018). In COX multivariate modal, age (P =0.031), degree of surgical resection (P =0.000), Kamofsky score before treatment (P =0.035) were independent prognostic factors. ConclusionAge ＜40 years, Karnofsky score before treatment ≥70 and mostly resection are independent factors for predicting better survival of glioma patients.