OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical features of children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant infection. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 201 children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who were hospitalized and diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection in Quanzhou First Hospital from March 14 to April 7, 2022. Among the 201 children, there were 34 children with asymptomatic infection and 167 with symptomatic infection. The two groups were compared in terms of clinical features, results of experimental examinations, and outcome. RESULTS: Of all the 201 children, 161 (80.1%) had a history of exposure to COVID-19 patients and 132 (65.7%) had a history of COVID-19 vaccination. Among the 167 children with symptomatic infections, 151 had mild COVID-19 and 16 had common COVID-19, with no severe infection or death. Among the 101 children who underwent chest CT examination, 16 had ground glass changes and 20 had nodular or linear opacities. The mean time to nucleic acid clearance was (14±4) days for the 201 children with Omicron variant infection, and the symptomatic infection group had a significantly longer time than the asymptomatic infection group [(15±4) days vs (11±4) days, P<0.05]. The group vaccinated with one or two doses of COVID-19 vaccine had a significantly higher positive rate of IgG than the group without vaccination (P<0.05). The proportions of children with increased blood lymphocyte count in the symptomatic infection group was significantly lower than that in the asymptomatic infection group (P<0.05). Compared with the asymptomatic infection group, the symptomatic infection group had significantly higher proportions of children with increased interleukin-6, increased fibrinogen, and increased D-dimer (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Most of the children with Omicron variant infection have clinical symptoms, which are generally mild. The children with symptomatic infection are often accompanied by decreased or normal blood lymphocyte count and increased levels of interleukin-6, fibrinogen, and D-dimer, with a relatively long time to nucleic acid clearance. Some of them had ground glass changes on chest CT.
Child ; Humans ; Asymptomatic Infections ; COVID-19/virology* ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Fibrinogen ; Interleukin-6 ; Nucleic Acids ; Retrospective Studies ; SARS-CoV-2

Objective: To analyze the clinical and molecular diagnostic status of Fanconi anemia (FA) in China. Methods: The General situation, clinical manifestations and chromosome breakage test and genetic test results of 107 pediatric FA cases registered in the Chinese Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry Group (CBMTRG) and the Chinese Children Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry Group (CCBMTRG) from August 2009 to January 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. Children with FANCA gene variants were divided into mild and severe groups based on the type of variant, and Wilcoxon-test was used to compare the phenotypic differences between groups. Results: Of the 176 registered FA patients, 69 (39.2%) cases were excluded due to lack of definitive genetic diagnosis results, and the remaining 107 children from 15 hospitals were included in the study, including 70 males and 37 females. The age at transplantation treatment were 6 (4, 9) years. The enrolled children were involved in 10 pathogenic genes, including 89 cases of FANCA gene, 7 cases of FANCG gene, 3 cases of FANCB gene, 2 cases of FANCE gene and 1 case each of FANCC, FANCD1, FANCD2, FANCF, FANCJ, and FANCN gene. Compound heterozygous or homozygous of loss-of-function variants account for 69.2% (72/104). Loss-of-function variants account for 79.2% (141/178) in FANCA gene variants, and 20.8% (37/178) were large exon deletions. Fifty-five children (51.4%) had chromosome breakage test records, with a positive rate of 81.8% (45/55). There were 172 congenital malformations in 80 children.Café-au-Lait spots (16.3%, 28/172), thumb deformities (16.3%,28/172), polydactyly (13.9%, 24/172), and short stature (12.2%, 21/172) were the most common congenital malformations in Chinese children with FA. No significant difference was found in the number of congenital malformations between children with severe (50 cases) and mild FANCA variants (26 cases) (Z=-1.33, P=0.185). Conclusions: FANCA gene is the main pathogenic gene in children with FA, where the detection of its exon deletion should be strengthened clinically. There were no phenotypic differences among children with different types of FANCA variants. Chromosome break test is helpful to determine the pathogenicity of variants, but its accuracy needs to be improved.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Child ; Fanconi Anemia/genetics* ; Chromosome Breakage ; Retrospective Studies ; Exons ; China/epidemiology*

Objective: To analyze the immunological characteristics and antibody changes of patients infected with the Omicron BA.1 and evaluate the possibility of secondary infection. Methods: A total of 104 patients infected with Omicron BA.1 in the Jinnan District of Tianjin from January 8 to February 2, 2022, were included in the study. The control group and case group were matched 1∶1 based on age, sex and vaccination status. Serum was collected from the case group and control group at 3, 6 and 9 months after infection. The serum levels of interleukin4 (IL-4), IL-5 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), as well as the positive rates of IgG, IgG1 and IgG2, were detected by ELISA. Results: The highest concentration of IFN-γ in the case group at 6 months after infection was 145.4 pg/ml, followed by a decrease in concentration. The concentrations of IL-4 and IL-5 began to decrease at 6 months after infection (all P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the IgG2 positive rate between the case group and the control group at 6 months after BA.1 infection. However, at 9 months, there was a significant decrease compared to the control group (P=0.003). The ratio of IFN-γ/IL4 at 3 months after infection in the case group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the ratio between the case group and the control group at 9 months after infection. Conclusion: The cellular immune function has been impaired at 3 months after infection with BA.1, and the specific cellular immune and humoral immune functions decrease significantly after 6 months, and the risk of secondary infection increases.
Adult ; Humans ; Immunity, Humoral ; Coinfection ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-5 ; Immunoglobulin G ; Interferon-gamma

Objective: To analyze the immunological characteristics and antibody changes of patients infected with the Omicron BA.1 and evaluate the possibility of secondary infection. Methods: A total of 104 patients infected with Omicron BA.1 in the Jinnan District of Tianjin from January 8 to February 2, 2022, were included in the study. The control group and case group were matched 1∶1 based on age, sex and vaccination status. Serum was collected from the case group and control group at 3, 6 and 9 months after infection. The serum levels of interleukin4 (IL-4), IL-5 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), as well as the positive rates of IgG, IgG1 and IgG2, were detected by ELISA. Results: The highest concentration of IFN-γ in the case group at 6 months after infection was 145.4 pg/ml, followed by a decrease in concentration. The concentrations of IL-4 and IL-5 began to decrease at 6 months after infection (all P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the IgG2 positive rate between the case group and the control group at 6 months after BA.1 infection. However, at 9 months, there was a significant decrease compared to the control group (P=0.003). The ratio of IFN-γ/IL4 at 3 months after infection in the case group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the ratio between the case group and the control group at 9 months after infection. Conclusion: The cellular immune function has been impaired at 3 months after infection with BA.1, and the specific cellular immune and humoral immune functions decrease significantly after 6 months, and the risk of secondary infection increases.
Adult ; Humans ; Immunity, Humoral ; Coinfection ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-5 ; Immunoglobulin G ; Interferon-gamma

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of children with Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and to summarize the mid-term efficacy of China Net Childhood Lymphoma-mature B-cell lymphoma 2017 (CNCL-B-NHL-2017) regimen. Methods: Clinical features of 436 BL patients who were ≤18 years old and treated with the CNCL-B-NHL-2017 regimen from May 2017 to April 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Clinical characteristics of patients at disease onset were analyzed and the therapeutic effects of patients with different clinical stages and risk groups were compared. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression was used to identify the prognostic factors. Results: Among 436 patients, there were 368 (84.4%) males and 68 (15.6%) females, the age of disease onset was 6.0 (4.0, 9.0) years old. According to the St. Jude staging system, there were 4 patients (0.9%) with stage Ⅰ, 30 patients (6.9%) with stage Ⅱ, 217 patients (49.8%) with stage Ⅲ, and 185 patients (42.4%) with stage Ⅳ. All patients were stratified into following risk groups: group A (n=1, 0.2%), group B1 (n=46, 10.6%), group B2 (n=19, 4.4%), group C1 (n=285, 65.4%), group C2 (n=85, 19.5%). Sixty-three patients (14.4%) were treated with chemotherapy only and 373 patients (85.6%) were treated with chemotherapy combined with rituximab. Twenty-one patients (4.8%) suffered from progressive disease, 3 patients (0.7%) relapsed, and 13 patients (3.0%) died of treatment-related complications. The follow-up time of all patients was 24.0 (13.0, 35.0) months, the 2-year event free survival (EFS) rate of all patients was (90.9±1.4) %. The 2-year EFS rates of group A, B1, B2, C1 and C2 were 100.0%, 100.0%, (94.7±5.1) %, (90.7±1.7) % and (85.9±4.0) %, respectively. The 2-year EFS rates was higher in group A, B1, and B2 than those in group C1 (χ²=4.16, P=0.041) and group C2 (χ²=7.21, P=0.007). The 2-year EFS rates of the patients treated with chemotherapy alone and those treated with chemotherapy combined with rituximab were (79.3±5.1)% and (92.9±1.4)% (χ²=14.23, P<0.001) respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that stage Ⅳ (including leukemia stage), serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)>4-fold normal value, and with residual tumor in the mid-term evaluation were risk factors for poor prognosis (HR=1.38,1.23,8.52,95%CI 1.05-1.82,1.05-1.43,3.96-18.30). Conclusions: The CNCL-B-NHL-2017 regimen show significant effect in the treatment of pediatric BL. The combination of rituximab improve the efficacy further.
Adolescent ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Burkitt Lymphoma/drug therapy* ; Child ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Lactate Dehydrogenases ; Lymphoma, B-Cell/drug therapy* ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Rituximab/therapeutic use* ; Treatment Outcome

Excessive exercise makes the body consume more oxygen and produce excessive free radicals. The increased free radicals lead to oxidative stress injury and dysfunctions in liver tissue. Our previous study showed that Anwulignan, an active monomer in Schisandra sphenanthera Rehd. et Wils. (Schisandra), had anti-fatigue effects in mice. However, whether Anwulignan has a protective effect on liver damage in exhausted mice and the mechanism underlying remain elusive. An exhaustive swimming mice model was used to study the protective effects of Anwulignan on liver damage. The involvement of the nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (NRF2)/antioxidant responsive element (ARE) antioxidative pathway in Anwulignan-mediated anti-fatigue was analyzed using NRF2 inhibitor ML385 in HepG2 cells treated with H₂O₂. Animal welfare and experimental process follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Beihua University. Anwulignan significantly lowered serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, reduced liver tissue damages, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT), and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) contents in the livers of exhausted mice, demonstrating a strong antioxidant effect. Furthermore, Anwulignan up-regulated the NRF2/ARE antioxidant pathway in liver tissue, increased B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression, and decreased Bcl-2-like protein 4 (Bax) and caspase3 expression. In HepG2 cells, Anwulignan improved the cell viability and SOD activity, reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and MDA contents, up-regulated the expression of the NRF2/ARE signaling pathway and Bcl-2, and decreased Bax and caspase3 expression in the cells. Furthermore, pretreated ML385 partly abolished all these effects of Anwulignan. Anwulignan protects the liver from damage in the exhausted mice by its antioxidant effects and related to its activation of the NRF2 pathway.

BACKGROUND: It remains unclear whether the outcomes of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) during off-hours are as favorable as those treated during on-hours, especially those with a first medical contact-to-device (FMC-to-device) time within 90 min. We aimed to determine whether off-hours admission impacted late outcomes in patients undergoing PPCI and with an FMC-to-device time ≤90 min. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study included 670 STEMI patients who underwent successful PPCI and had an FMC-to-device time ≤90 min from 19 chest pain centers in Beijing from January 2018 to December 2018. Patients were divided into on-hours group and off-hours group based on their arrival time. Baseline characteristics, clinical data, and key time intervals during treatment were collected from the Quality Control & Improvement Center of Cardiovascular Intervention of Beijing by the "Heart and Brain Green Channel" app. RESULTS: Overall, the median age of the patients was 58.8 years and 19.9% (133/670) were female. Of these, 296 (44.2%) patients underwent PPCI during on-hours and 374 (55.8%) patients underwent PPCI during off-hours. Compared with the on-hours group, the off-hours group had a longer FMC-to-device time and fewer patients with FMC-to-device time ≤60 min (P < 0.05). During the mean follow-up period of 24 months, a total of 64 (9.6%) participants experienced a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), with 28 (9.1%) in the on-hours group and 36 (9.6%) in the off-hours group (P > 0.05). According to the Cox regression analyses, off-hours admission was not a predictor of 2-year MACEs (P = 0.788). Similarly, the Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the risks of a MACE, all-cause death, reinfarction, and target vessel revascularization were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This real-world, multicenter retrospective study demonstrated that for STEMI patients who underwent PPCI within 90 min, off-hours admission was safe, with no difference in the risk of 2-year MACEs compared with those with on-hours admission.
Beijing ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

We investigated the inhibitory effect and mechanism of action of bruceantin (BCT) on the proliferation, invasion and migration of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. The cytotoxic activity of BCT was measured by MTT assay; a colony forming assay, wound healing assay, and a Transwell assay were used to investigate the anti-proliferative, anti-migration, and anti-invasion effects, respectively; immunoblotting and RT-qPCR were used to detect the expression of related proteins, miRNA, and mRNA, respectively, that were involved in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Two gene prediction websites were used to predict the downstream target gene of miRNA. Our results show that BCT has a potent cytotoxic effect on NSCLC cell lines, with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of BCT against H1299, PC-9, and A549 of 0.12 ± 0.02, 0.31 ± 0.20, and 2.07 ± 0.70 μmol·L^-1, respectively. When H1299 cells were treated with 0.03, 0.15, and 0.75 μmol·L^-1 BCT for 24 h, the proliferation, migration, and invasive ability were inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner. It is worth noting that the expression level of miRNAs related to cell migration and invasion, such as miR-29a-3p, miR-21-3p, miR-183-5p, and miR-34b-5p increased with the concentration of BCT, especially for miR-29a-3p. Using the two gene prediction websites, we predict that integrin β1 (ITGB1) may be the target gene of miR-29a-3p; immunoblot results further show that a variety of proteins related to cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, such as various proteins of the integrin family, β-catenin, p-Src, and vascular endothelial growth factor, all decreased in a concentration-dependent manner, among which the reduction of ITGB1 protein was the most obvious. RT-qPCR results showed that there was no change in ITGB1 mRNA expression. We speculate that BCT might inhibit the expression of ITGB1 protein by up-regulating miR-29a-3p independent of its mRNA level. The in-depth mechanism needs to be further explored. This study suggests that BCT has the potential for further development in the treatment of NSCLC.

Objective To evaluate the effects of antiretroviral therapy(ART)for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission(PMTCT)of acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS)on the growth and development of 18-month-old children born by human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)-positive pregnant women in Lingshan County,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,and provide scientific evidence for improving the ART medication plan for PMTCT.Methods Lingshan County,ranking the first in the HIV-epidemic counties of Guangxi,was selected as the research site.According to the design of retrospective case-control study,we assigned all the subjects into the case group and the control group:(1)The case group included the HIV-positive pregnant women who had received ART for PMTCT and their HIV-negative infants in Lingshan County from 2010 to 2017.The historical cards and PMTCT data of them were collected from the national PMTCT database.(2)The control group included the healthy pregnant women and their healthy babies born in the Lingshan Maternity and Infant Hospital in 2017,and the children's growth and development data were collected.The stunted growth in children was defined as at least one of the three main indicators of body height,body weight,and head circumference below the normal range.Results The number of HIV-positive mothers and their infants in the case group was 391 and 368,respectively,and 87.21%(341/391)and 95.38%(351/368)of mothers and infants respectively received ART medication.The HIV positive rate,mortality rate,and mother-to-child transmission rate of 18-month-old children were 1.36%(5/368),4.35%(16/368),and 2.01%(5/249),respectively.The incidence of stunted growth of 18-month-old children in the case group and the control group was 42.12%(155/368)and 23.06%(101/438),respectively,with significant difference(
Case-Control Studies ; China/epidemiology* ; Female ; Growth and Development ; HIV ; HIV Infections/prevention & control* ; Humans ; Infant ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical/prevention & control* ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies

Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial/genetics* ; Humans ; Prealbumin/genetics*