Objective To investigate the role of T helper 17 ( Th17) cells and CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3+regulatory T cells ( Treg) in the pathogenesis of asthma in a mouse model. Methods Twenty-four BALB/ c mice were randomly divided into an asthma group and a normal control group, with 12 mice in each group.Asthma model was established by ovalbumin sensitization and aerosol challenge in the asthma group. Airway reactivity was measured by plethysmography. The total and differential cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( BALF) were measured. The ratio of Th17 and Treg cells to mononuclear cells in the spleens of mice were detected by flow cytometry. The levels of IL-17 and IL-10 in BALF and lung homogenates were measured by ELISA. Results The bronchial provocation test showed that the average lung resistance increased remarkably in the asthma group. In spleens of the asthmatic mice, the percentage of Th17 cells was significantly higher [ ( 5.68 ±1. 99)% vs ( 2.80 ±0. 82) %, P lt; 0. 01] , and the percentage of Treg cells was significantly lower [ (2.88 ±0. 46) % vs ( 6.10 ±2.44) % , Plt; 0. 01] , with the ratio of Th17 to Treg significantly increased( 1. 93 ±0. 41 vs 0. 50 ±0. 15,P lt;0. 01) . In BALF and lung homogenates of the asthma group, the level of IL-17 was significantly higher[ ( 22. 37 ±3. 00) pg/mL vs ( 11. 42 ±2. 15) pg/mL, ( 52. 93 ±5. 39) pg/mL vs ( 19. 38 ±2. 65) pg/mL, both Plt; 0. 01] , and the level of IL-10 was significantly lower[ ( 6. 05 ±1. 25) pg/mL vs ( 14. 23 ±2. 94) pg/mL, ( 9. 33 ±1. 79) pg/mL vs ( 21. 40 ±2. 44) pg/mL, both P lt; 0. 01] compared with the control group.Conclusion The imbalance of Th17/ Treg plays an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma.
For the detection and identification of abnormal nodular tissues on the body surface, a microwave sensor structure loaded with a spiral resonator is proposed in this paper, a sensor simulation model is established using HFSS software, the structural parameters are optimized, and the actual sensor is fabricated. The S21 parameters of the tissue were obtained when nodules appeared by simulation, and the characteristic relationship between the difference of S21 parameters with position was analyzed and tested experimentally. The results showed that when nodules were present in normal tissues, the curve of S21 parameter difference with position change had obvious inverted bimodal characteristics, and the extreme value of S21 parameter difference appeared when the sensor was directly above the nodules, which was easy to identify the position of nodules. It provides an objective detection tool for the identification of abnormal nodular tissues on the body surface.
This study aims to clarify host factors of IFN treatment in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients by screening the differentially expressed genes of IFN pathway CHB patients with different response to interferon (IFN) therapy. Three cases were randomly selected in IFN-responding CHB patients (Rs), non-responding CHB patients (NRs) and healthy participants, respectively. The human type I IFN response RT2 profiler PCR array was used to detect the expression levels of IFN-related genes in peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) from healthy participants and CHB patients before and after Peg-IFN-α 2a treatment. The results showed that more differentially expressed genes appeared in Rs group than NRs group after IFN treatment. Comparing with healthy participants, IFNG, IL7R, IRF1, and IRF8 were downregulated in both Rs and NRs group before IFN treatment; CXCL10, IFIT1, and IFITM1 were upregulated in the Rs; IL13RA1 and IFI35 were upregulated in the NRs, while IFRD2, IL11RA, IL4R, IRF3, IRF4, PYHIN1, and ADAR were downregulated. The expression of IL15, IFI35 and IFI44 was downregulated by 4.09 (t = 10.58, P < 0.001), 5.59 (t = 3.37, P = 0.028) and 10.83 (t = 2.8, P = 0.049) fold in the Rs group compared with the NRs group, respectively. In conclusion, IFN-response-related gene array is able to evaluate IFN treatment response by detecting IFN-related genes levels in PBMC. High expression of CXCL10, IFIT1 and IFITM1 before treatment may suggest satisfied IFN efficacy, while high expression of IL13RA1, IL15, IFI35 and IFI44 molecules and low expression of IFRD2, IL11RA, IL4R, IRF3, IRF4, PYHIN1 and ADAR molecules may be associated with poor IFN efficacy.
Objective To investigate the relationship between skin/pectoral muscle invasion and the prognosis of male breast cancer. Methods Clinical data and follow-up information of 79 male breast cancer patients who received treatment between September 2008 to April 2020 in West China Hospital were retrospectively reviewed, to analyze the clinicopathological features of male breast cancer and prognostic value of skin/pectoral muscle invasion. Results Among 79 male breast cancer patients, a total of 23 patients (29.1%) were with skin/pectoral muscle invasion at diagnosis. All the patients were followed up, with a median follow-up period of 63.3 months (1.0–204.5 months). Within follow-up period, 8 patients (10.1%) suffered from relapse, 19 patients (24.7%, 19/77) suffered from metastasis, and 4 patients (5.1%) died. Multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model suggested that patients with skin/pectoral muscle invaded had poor disease free survival [RR=4.48, 95%CI (1.08, 18.52), P=0.038]. Conclusions Skinor pectoral muscle invasion might be a valuable prognostic factor for male breast cancer patients. However, limited by sample size, the conclusion should be proved by further high-level studies.
ObjectiveTo study the clinical features, short-term prognosis and risk factors of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (P.aeruginosa) infection in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). MethodsThis study enrolled patients hospitalized for AECOPD in ten tertiary hospitals of China from September 2017 to July 2021. AECOPD patients with P.aeruginosa infection were included as case group, AECOPD patients without P.aeruginosa infection were randomly selected as control group from the same hospitals and same hospitalization period as the patients in case group, at a ratio of 2∶1. The differences in basic conditions, complications, clinical manifestations on admission and in-hospital prognosis between the two groups were compared, and the risk factors of P.aeruginosa infection were analyzed. ResultsA total of 14007 inpatients with AECOPD were included in this study, and 338 patients were confirmed to have P.aeruginosa infection during hospitalization, with an incidence rate of 2.41%. The in-hospital prognosis of AECOPD patients with P.aeruginosa infection was worse than that of the control group, which was manifested in higher hospital mortality (4.4% vs. 1.9%, P=0.02) and longer hospital stay [13.0 (9.0, 19.25)d vs. 11.0 (8.0, 15.0)d, P=0.002]. In terms of clinical features, the proportions of patients with cough, expectoration, purulent sputum, dyspnea in the case group were higher than those in the control group, and the inflammatory indicators (neutrophil ratio, erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood gas were higher than those in the control group, while the serum albumin was significantly lower than that in the control group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Parkinson's disease [odds ratio (OR)=5.14, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.43 to 18.49, P=0.012], bronchiectasis (OR=4.97, 95%CI: 3.70 to 6.67, P<0.001), invasive mechanical ventilation (OR=2.03, 95%CI: 1.23 to 3.36, P=0.006), serum albumin<35 g/L (OR=1.40, 95%CI: 1.04 to 1.88, P=0.026), partial pressure of carbon dioxide ≥45 mm Hg (OR=1.38, 95%CI: 1.01 to 1.90, P=0.046) were independent risk factors for P.aeruginosa infection in AECOPD patients. ConclusionsP.aeruginosa infection has a relative high morbidity and poor outcome among AECOPD inpatients. Parkinson’s disease, bronchiectasis, invasive mechanical ventilation, serum albumin below 35 g/L, partial pressure of carbon dioxide ≥45 mm Hg are independent risk factors of P.aeruginosa infection in AECOPD inpatients.
ObjectiveTo compare the predictive value of the BAP-65 score, the DECAF score, the CURB-65 score, and the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) on short-term mortality and adverse outcomes in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). MethodsThis study enrolled patients hospitalized for AECOPD and CAP from ten hospitals in China from September 2017 to July 2021. All-cause mortality within 30 days was investigated. Patients were divided into the death and the survival groups according to their survival status. The differences in basic conditions, complications, symptoms, signs and auxiliary examination results between the two groups were compared, and the independent risk factors of all-cause mortality were analyzed. The included patients were scored and graded according to the 4 scales, respectively, and the validity of the four scales in predicting short-term mortality and adverse outcomes was compared based on the receiver operating charateristic (ROC) curve analysis. ResultsA total of 3375 patients including 2545 males and 830 females with a mean age of (73.66 ±10.73) years were enrolled in this study. Within 30 days, 129 (3.82%) patients died and 614 (18.19%) patients had an adverse outcome (including all-cause death, invasive mechanical ventilation and admission into intensive care unit). Altered state of consciousness, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, chronic pulmonary heart disease, age, pulse rate, serum albumin, diastolic blood pressure, and pH value were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality in AECOPD patients with CAP. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the CURB-65 score, BAP-65 score, DECAF score, and PSI score for predicting all-cause mortality were 0.780, 0.782, 0.614, and 0.816, and these AUCs for predicting adverse outcomes were 0.694, 0.687, 0.564 and 0.705, respectively. PSI score had the best predictive efficacy for all-cause mortality and adverse outcomes, and the DECAF score had the worst predictive efficacy. ConclusionsAECOPD patients with CAP have a relatively high incidence of all-cause mortality and adverse outcomes within 30 days. Altered state of consciousness, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, chronic pulmonary heart disease, age, pulse rate, serum albumin, diastolic blood pressure, and pH value are independent risk factors for 30-day mortality. PSI score has the best performance in predicting all-cause mortality and adverse outcomes, while the DECAF score has the worst performance.