[Effects of Cytokines on Early Death in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of cytokine levels on early death and coagulation function of patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). METHODS: Routine examination was performed on 69 newly diagnosed APL patients at admission. Meanwhile, 4 ml fasting venous blood was extracted from the patients. And then the supernatant was taken after centrifugation. The concentrations of cytokines, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and ferritin were detected by using the corresponding kits. RESULTS: It was confirmed that cerebral hemorrhage was a major cause of early death in APL patients. Elevated LDH, decreased platelets (PLT) count and prolonged prothrombin time (PT) were high risk factors for early death (P <0.05). The increases of IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p70 and IL-17A were closely related to the early death of newly diagnosed APL patients, and the increases of IL-5 and IL-17A also induced coagulation disorder in APL patients by prolonging PT (P <0.05). In newly diagnosed APL patients, ferritin and LDH showed a positive effect on the expression of IL-5, IL-10 and IL-17A, especially ferritin had a highly positive correlation with IL-5 (r =0.867) and IL-17A (r =0.841). Moreover, there was a certain correlation between these five high-risk cytokines, among which IL-5 and IL-17A (r =0.827), IL-6 and IL-10 (r =0.823) were highly positively correlated. CONCLUSION: Elevated cytokine levels in newly diagnosed APL patients increase the risk of early bleeding and death. In addition to the interaction between cytokines themselves, ferritin and LDH positively affect the expression of cytokines, thus affecting the prognosis of APL patients.

A life-threatening bleeding prediction model for immune thrombocytopenia based on personalized machine learning: a nationwide prospective cohort study.

Rare but critical bleeding events in primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) present life-threatening complications in patients with ITP, which severely affect their prognosis, quality of life, and treatment decisions. Although several studies have investigated the risk factors related to critical bleeding in ITP, large sample size data, consistent definitions, large-scale multicenter findings, and prediction models for critical bleeding events in patients with ITP are unavailable. For the first time, in this study, we applied the newly proposed critical ITP bleeding criteria by the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis for large sample size data and developed the first machine learning (ML)-based online application for predict critical ITP bleeding. In this research, we developed and externally tested an ML-based model for determining the risk of critical bleeding events in patients with ITP using large multicenter data across China. Retrospective data from 8 medical centers across the country were obtained for model development and prospectively tested in 39 medical centers across the country over a year. This system exhibited good predictive capabilities for training, validation, and test datasets. This convenient web-based tool based on a novel algorithm can rapidly identify the bleeding risk profile of patients with ITP and facilitate clinical decision-making and reduce the occurrence of adversities.

[Expression and Prognostic Value of Cytokines in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and prognostic value of cytokines in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: Clinical data of 62 patients diagnosed with DLBCL in the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province from June 2017 to November 2018 were collected. The differences in expression levels of 14 serum cytokines [interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-22, interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, TNF-ß] in patients with different survival outcomes, and the impact of the cytokines on 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and 3-year overall survival (OS) of patients with DLBCL were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Among the 14 cytokines, only the expression of IL-10 was significantly different in patients with different survival outcomes (P =0.007). According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the optimal cut-off value for IL-10 was 11.74 pg/ml. Serum IL-10 was positively correlated with infection markers procalcitonin (PCT) (r =0.321, P =0.029), C-reactive protein (CRP) (r =0.320, P =0.013) and tumor burden index lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (r =0.439, P <0.001) in newly diagnosed DLBCL patients. The level of IL-10 in patients with pulmonary infection was significantly higher than that in patients without pulmonary infection (P =0.012). However, there was no statistically significant difference on the 3-year survival outcomes between patients with or without pulmonary infection. There was no significant difference in IL-10 level in patients with different Ann Arbor stages (P >0.05). Patients with high IL-10 level (IL-10>11.74 pg/ml) had significantly higher LDH level than those with low IL-10 level (IL-10≤11.74 pg/ml) (P <0.001). The 3-year PFS rate and 3-year OS rate of DLBCL patients with high IL-10 level were significantly lower than those of low IL-10 level group [(44.4±11.7)% vs (81.8±5.8)%, P <0.001; (61.6±11.5)% vs (93.2±3.8)%, P =0.001]. CONCLUSION: Serum IL-10 level in newly diagnosed DLBCL patients can reflect the inflammatory state of the body, which may be related to tumor load. Newly diagnosed DLBCL patients with serum IL-10>11.74 pg/ml have higher early mortality and worse prognosis.

The novel HLA-DPB1*05:01:18 allele, identified by Sanger dideoxy nucleotide sequencing in a Chinese individual.

HLA-DPB1*05:01:18 differs from HLA-DPB1*05:01:01:01 by one nucleotide in exon 4.

[Research Progress of Cytokines in the Prognosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia --Review].

At present, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is mainly treated with combination medication, high-dose, and early intensification. The treatment has achieved good results, but the long-term treatment effect is still not satisfactory. Studies have shown that the different levels of cytokine expression in AML patients can help AML risk stratification, search for treatment directions and predict the prognosis. It has been confirmed that the expression of IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, and TGF-ß1 are increased in AML patients, and they all indicate a poor prognosis. However, IL-8, IFN-γ, and CCL5 have great research value in chemotherapy resistance and improvement of treatment effect. This article reviews the research progress of cytokine biomarkers in the prognosis of AML patients.

Prednisone plus IVIg compared with prednisone or IVIg for immune thrombocytopenia in pregnancy: a national retrospective cohort study.

Background: The responses of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) or corticosteroids as the initial treatment on pregnancy with ITP were unsatisfactory. This study aimed to assess the safety and effectiveness of prednisone plus IVIg versus prednisone or IVIg in pregnant patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Methods: Between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2020, 970 pregnancies diagnosed with ITP at 19 collaborative centers in China were reviewed in this observational study. A total of 513 pregnancies (52.89%) received no intervention. Concerning the remaining pregnancies, 151 (33.04%) pregnancies received an initial treatment of prednisone plus IVIg, 105 (22.98%) pregnancies received IVIg alone, and 172 (37.64%) pregnancies only received prednisone. Results: Regarding the maternal response to the initial treatment, no differences were found among the three treatment groups (41.1% for prednisone plus IVIg, 33.1% for prednisone, and 38.1% for IVIg). However, a significant difference was observed in the time to response between the prednisone plus IVIg group (4.39 ± 2.54 days) and prednisone group (7.29 ± 5.01 days; p < 0.001), and between the IVIg group (6.71 ± 4.85 days) and prednisone group (p < 0.001). The median prednisone duration in the monotherapy group was 27 days (range, 8-195 days), whereas that in the combination group was 14 days (range, 6-85 days). No significant differences were found among these three treatment groups in neonatal outcomes, particularly concerning the neonatal platelet counts. The time to response in the combination treatment group was shorter than prednisone monotherapy. The duration of prednisone application in combination group was shorter than prednisone monotherapy. The combined therapy showed a lower predelivery platelet transfusion rate than IVIg alone. Conclusion: These findings suggest that prednisone plus IVIg may represent a potential combination therapy for pregnant patients with ITP.

[Establishment and Validation of Immune Risk Score for Predicting Survival of Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To establish an immune gene prognostic model of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and explore its correlation with immune cells in bone marrow microenvironment. METHODS: Gene expression profile and clinical data of TCGA-AML were downloaded from TCGA database. Immune genes were screened by LASSO analysis to construct prognosis prediction model, and prediction accuracy of the model was quantified by receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve. Survival analysis was performed by Log-rank test. Enriched pathways in the different immune risk subtypes were evaluated from train cohort. The relationship between immune prediction model and bone marrow immune microenvironment was verified by flow cytometry in the real world. RESULTS: Patients with low-risk score of immune gene model had better prognosis than those with high-risk score. Multivariate analysis showed that the immune gene risk model was an independent prognostic factor. The risk ratio for AML patients in the training concentration was HR=24.594 (95%CI: 6.180-97.878), and the AUC for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival rate was 0.811, 0.815, and 0.837, respectively. In addition, enrichment analysis of differential gene sets indicated activation of immune-related pathways such as cytokines and chemokines as well as autoimmune disease-related pathways. At the same time, real world data showed that patients with high immune risk had lower numbers of CD8+T cells and B lymphocytes compared with low immune risk patients. CONCLUSION: We constructed a stable prognostic model for AML, which can not only predict the prognosis of AML, but also reveal the dysregulation of immune microenvironment.

Prediction of postpartum hemorrhage in pregnant women with immune thrombocytopenia: Development and validation of the MONITOR model in a nationwide multicenter study.

Globally, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal death. Women with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) are at increased risk of developing PPH. Early identification of PPH helps to prevent adverse outcomes, but is underused because clinicians do not have a tool to predict PPH for women with ITP. We therefore conducted a nationwide multicenter retrospective study to develop and validate a prediction model of PPH in patients with ITP. We included 432 pregnant women (677 pregnancies) with primary ITP from 18 academic tertiary centers in China from January 2008 to August 2018. A total of 157 (23.2%) pregnancies experienced PPH. The derivation cohort included 450 pregnancies. For the validation cohort, we included 117 pregnancies in the temporal validation cohort and 110 pregnancies in the geographical validation cohort. We assessed 25 clinical parameters as candidate predictors and used multivariable logistic regression to develop our prediction model. The final model included seven variables and was named MONITOR (maternal complication, WHO bleeding score, antepartum platelet transfusion, placental abnormalities, platelet count, previous uterine surgery, and primiparity). We established an easy-to-use risk heatmap and risk score of PPH based on the seven risk factors. We externally validated this model using both a temporal validation cohort and a geographical validation cohort. The MONITOR model had an AUC of 0.868 (95% CI 0.828-0.909) in internal validation, 0.869 (95% CI 0.802-0.937) in the temporal validation, and 0.811 (95% CI 0.713-0.908) in the geographical validation. Calibration plots demonstrated good agreement between MONITOR-predicted probability and actual observation in both internal validation and external validation. Therefore, we developed and validated a very accurate prediction model for PPH. We hope that the model will contribute to more precise clinical care, decreased adverse outcomes, and better health care resource allocation.

An Immune Risk Score Predicts Survival of Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Receiving Chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: Prediction models for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are useful, but have considerable inaccuracy and imprecision. No current model includes covariates related to immune cells in the AML microenvironment. Here, an immune risk score was explored to predict the survival of patients with AML. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We evaluated the predictive accuracy of several in silico algorithms for immune composition in AML based on a reference of multi-parameter flow cytometry. CIBERSORTx was chosen to enumerate immune cells from public datasets and develop an immune risk score for survival in a training cohort using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression model. RESULTS: Six flow cytometry-validated immune cell features were informative. The model had high predictive accuracy in the training and four external validation cohorts. Subjects in the training cohort with low scores had prolonged survival compared with subjects with high scores, with 5-year survival rates of 46% versus 19% (P < 0.001). Parallel survival rates in validation cohorts-1, -2, -3, and -4 were 46% versus 6% (P < 0.001), 44% versus 18% (P = 0.041), 44% versus 24% (P = 0.004), and 62% versus 32% (P < 0.001). Gene set enrichment analysis indicated significant enrichment of immune relation pathways in the low-score cohort. In multivariable analyses, high-risk score independently predicted shorter survival with HRs of 1.45 (P = 0.005), 2.12 (P = 0.004), 2.02 (P = 0.034), 1.66 (P = 0.019), and 1.59 (P = 0.001) in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our immune risk score complements current AML prediction models.

[Level of Microparticles in Patients with Essential Thrombocythemia and Its Relation with JAK2V617F Mutation].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the levels of microparticles (MP) in plasma of patients with esseutial thrombo-cythermia(ET) and analyze the relationship between the JAK2V617F mutant and MP in ET patients. METHODS: The numerical values of MPs were analysed by using flow cytometry. Venous blood of 56 ET patients and 28 healthy persons was collected in the morning and anticoagulated with sodium citrate (1∶9). The RMP, PMP, TF+MP and EMP were detected by FCM using phycoerythrin (PE)-conjugated monoclonal antibodies to CD235a for red blood cells, CD61 for platelets, CD142 for tissue factor (TF) and CD62E for endothelial cells, respectively. Forward scatter was set in scale using fluorescent microspheres of 0.8 µm. Standard fluorescent microbeads (0-0.8 µm) in diameter were used to set the microparticles gate. Genomic DNA was extracted from mononuclear cells by using a commercial DNA isolation kit and amplified by allele specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). According to the size of molecular weight, the amplified products were separated by electrophoresis on a 2% agarose gel to screen 26 JAK2V617F mutations. RESULTS: The detection results showed that the MP levels in ET group were higher than those in normal control group: RMP (157.2±304.9/µl vs 21.3±18.4/µl), PMP (1378.9±2454/µl vs 113.8±97.1/µl), TF+MP (123±354.6/µl vs 21±15.7/µl) and EMP (1434.7±2601.9/µl vs 291.7±297.7/µl) (P<0.05). In 8 patients with thrombus, the levels of these four kinds of MP were higher than those of controls without thrombus: RMP (258.2±327.7/µl vs 55.6±63.8/µl), PMP (1853±1874.7/µl vs 444.7±712/µl), TF+MP (120.4±112.5/µl vs 60.3±128.3/µl) and EMP (1637.1±1563.5/µl vs 629.4±1000.2/µl) (P<0.05). The levels of those 4 kinds of MP in 17 patients with splenomegaly were significantly higher than those in 11 patients without splenomegaly: RMP (306.8±491.1/µl vs 59.3±51/µl), PMP (2944.8±3767.6/µl vs 334.8±420.2/µl), TF+MP (162.9±166.8/µl vs 31.0±28.7/µl) and EMP (3031.8±4048.8/µl vs 701.5±729.2/µl) (P<0.05). The level of other MP showed no difference between MPN patients with JAK2V617F mutation and without JAK2V617F mutation (P>0.05), except TF+MP (154.7±516.3/µl vs 100.5±126.6/µl) (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The numerical values of MP detected are more in ET patients than those in healthy controls. The number of MP is higher in patients with thrombus than that without thrombus, so do in patients with splenomegaly and without splenomegaly. Patients with JAK2V617F mutation show higher number of TF+MP than that without JAK2V617F mutation. But the other three kinds of MP show no this difference.

[Research Progress on Pathogenic Genes of Ph-like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia--Review].

Abstract　　Philadelphia chromosome-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-like ALL or BCR-ABL1-like ALL) is a kind of acute leukemia which has the similar gene expression profiles and manifests the biological behavior same to Ph-positive ALL, but lacks the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene. Ph-like ALL was involved in multiple abnormal changes of genomes, activating kinase and cytokine receptor signaling. This review focuses on the progress of classical genetic abnormalities of PH-like ALL in the JAK-STAT signaling, ABL kinase activation, TKI resistance in Ph-like ALL, SH2B3 gene inactivating mutation and IKZF1 gene abnormality. Besides, also summarizes the frontier progress of novel gene mutation (ATF7IP exon 9 fused with PDGFRB exon 11, PDGFRBC843G mutation caused by fusion of exon 11-23 of PDGFRB with exon 1-6 of AGGF1 gene) in recent years.

Cyperane-Type and Related (Nor)Sesquiterpenoids from the Root Bark of Acanthopanax gracilistylus and Their Inhibitory Effects on Nitric Oxide Production.

An enantiomeric pair of rare cyperane-type sesquiterpenoids, (+)- and (-)-gracilistones C (1a, 1b), together with a novel norsesquiterpenoid, gracilistone D (2), bearing a bicyclic lactone system were isolated from the root bark of Acanthopanax gracilistylus using LC-MS-IT-TOF analyses. The structures and absolute configurations of 1a, 1b, and 2 were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and ECD spectroscopic methods. Intermediate 1b suggests a possible biosynthesis process involving compound 2. The bioassay results showed that compounds 1a, 1b, and 2 exhibited significant inhibitory effects against lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 cells, with IC50 values of 7.7 ± 0.6, 6.8 ± 1.5, and 2.6 ± 0.4 µM, respectively. Additional docking analyses provided some perspective of this activity in human inducible nitric oxide synthase.

[Relationship between Polymorphism in ALOX5, ALOX5AP and Susceptibility to Myeloid Leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase gene (ALOX5) rs2029253, rs2228064 and rs2228065 sites, 5-lipoxygenase activating protein gene (ALOX5AP) rs10507391, rs4769874 sites with the risk for genesis of adult myeloid leukemia. METHODS: By the approval from the hospital ethics committee and the informed consent of participants. 150 patients with myeloid leukemia (ML) as ML group and 134 healthy people as the control group were selected. The genomic DNA was extracted from the samples. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) combined with directly sequencing, PCR-amplified products were applied to test the polymorphism of 5 sites in ALOX5 and ALOX5AP gene. RESULTS: A allele frequencies of ALOX5 gene rs2029253 site in the ML group and the control group were 43.0% and 34.3%, respectively. And the G allele frequencies in the ML group and the control group were 57.0% and 65.7%, respectively. The genotype distributions of AA, AG and GG in ALOX5 gene rs2029253 site in the ML group were 32.2%, 21.5% and 46.3% respectively. That in the control group were 15.7%, 37.3% and 47.0% respectively. The genotype AA and A allele frequency of ALOX5 gene rs2029253 site were linked with the increased risk of myeloid leukemia (OR=2.26, 95% CI: 1.43-4.56, P＜0.05; OR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.02-2.03, P＜0.05). And the genotype AG and allele G reduced the susceptibility to myeloid leukemia (OR=0.46, 95% CI: 0.27-0.78, P＜0.01; OR=0.69, 95% CI: 0.50-0.98, P＜0.05), however, the polymorphisms of ALOX5 gene rs2228064 and rs2228065 site not correlated with the risk of myeloid leukemia (P＞0.05). The A allele frequency of ALOX5AP gene rs10507391 site in the ML group and the control group were 30.7% and 36.2% respectirely. The genotype distribution rates of AA, AT and TT in ALOX5AP gene rs10507391 site in the ML group was 1.3%, 58.7% and 40.0% respectively, that in the control group were 9.7%, 53.0% and 37.3% respectively. The genotype AA of ALOX5AP gene rs10507391 site correlated with the decreased risk of myeloid leukemia (OR=0.13, 95% CI: 0.03-0.57, P＜0.05), but the polymorphism of ALOX5AP gene rs4769874 site not correlated with the risk of myeloid leukemia (P＞0.05). CONCLUSION: The genotype AA, AG and allele A, G of ALOX5 rs2029253, as well as ALOX5AP rs10507391 may be correlate with the susceptibility to myeloid leukemia.

Termipaniculatones A-F, chalcone-flavonone heterodimers from Terminthia paniculata, and their protective effects on hyperuricemia and acute gouty arthritis.

Terminthia paniculata (Sanyeqi) is widely used for treating inflammation and rheumatic arthritis in the folk areas of Yunnan province, China. Its total extract was first revealed with xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory activity in vitro and anti-hyperuricemic effect in vivo. Bioassay-guided separation on Fr. A5 yielded six chalcone-flavonone heterodimers, termipaniculatones A-F. Their structures were elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analyses involving HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR, UV, IR and [α]D, and the absolute configuration of termipaniculatone F was verified by ECD calculation. Termipaniculatones A and E showed obvious XO inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 55.6 and 89.5 µM, respectively, which took effects via a mix-type mode. A molecular modeling study revealed that termipaniculatone A was well located into the active site of XO by interacting with Glu802, Arg880, Thr1010 and Val1011 residues. Termipaniculatone A showed anti-hyperuricemic effects by decreasing serum uric acid levels and inhibiting XO activity in both serum and liver on potassium oxonate (PO)-induced hyperuricemia mice, and anti-inflammatory activity through alleviating paw swelling on monosodium urate (MSU)-induced mice, at the concentration of 20 mg/kg. This is the first time to reveal the anti-hyperuricemic and anti-acute gouty arthritis potency of T. paniculata and the characteristic biflavonoids as active constituents, which provides valuable information for searching new XO inhibitors from natural sources.

Chepraecoxins A-G, ent-Kaurane Diterpenoids with α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities from Chelonopsis praecox.

Our random bioassay revealed that the CHCl3 part of Chelonopsis praecox (Lamiaceae) showed significant activity against α-glucosidase with the inhibitory rate of 99.6 ± 0.4 % (330 µg/mL). Bioassay-guided isolation yielded seven new ent-kaurane diterpenoids, chepraecoxins A-G (1-7), and three known ones (8-10), driven by LC-MS analyses. The structures of chepraecoxins A-G (1-7) were elucidated by X-ray crystallographic and extensive spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 1, 6, and 10 showed obvious α-glucosidase inhibitory effects with IC50 values of 305.0, 361.0 and 174.5 µM, respectively. Enzyme kinetics study suggested that compound 1 inhibited the α-glucosidase by a noncompetitive type mechanism (Ki = 354.4 µM).

Phytochemical and Health-Beneficial Progress of Turnip (Brassica rapa).

Despite the advancement of medical science, diseases are part-and-parcel of human life. Plants have provided humans with medicines since time immemorial, and are still one of the primary sources for drug discovery. Brassica rapa L., commonly known as turnip, is one of the world's oldest cultivated vegetables. Besides being an important vegetable and source of oil, turnip is also used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of headaches, chest complaints, rheumatisms, oedemas, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and rabies. Glucosinolates and isothiocyanates (mainly 2-phenylethyl, 4-pentenyl, and 3-butenyl derivatives) are the main constituents of turnip with diverse bioactivities, especially for the protective effect against cancers. Besides, flavonoids, phenolics, indoles and volatiles are also concomitant in this plant. Pharmacological investigation on turnip revealed the antitumor, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective effects. The anticancer property was found to be the most promising biological activity of turnip with 2-phenylethyl isothiocyanate, phenylpropionitrile, brassicaphenanthrene A, 6-paradol, and trans-6-shogaol as the major active constituents. Flavonoids and phenolics with high free radical scavenging activity should be corresponding to the antioxidant effects. Arvelexin, an indole derivative in turnip, was reported with various effects involving antiinflamatory, antihypertensive and hypolipidemic potency. In spite of many studies concerning either the chemical constituents or the biological activities of turnip, only a few cases disclosed the active ingredients responsible for diverse bioactivities. This review summarizes the research progress on the chemistry and health-benefits of turnip over the past 20 years to provide a reference for the further investigation.

Antidepressant potential of Uncaria rhynchophylla and its active flavanol, catechin, targeting melatonin receptors.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are fascinating sources for natural drug candidates. Uncaria rhynchophylla (Gouteng) is a famous TCM used for alleviating central nervous system (CNS) disorders, while its antidepressant constituents are still disputed. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study was designed to assess the antidepressant property of U. rhynchophylla and characterize the active constituents targeting melatonin receptors which are closely related to CNS diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The total extract and each fraction of U. rhynchophylla were extensively assessed for their agonistic activity on melatonin receptors in vitro. The following bioassay-guided fractionation yielded the active constituents, whose activity was confirmed by dose-dependent bioassay and antagonistic experiment on HEK293 cells. Their antidepressant effects were evaluated on forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and open-field test (OFT) mice models in vivo. Their metabolic profiles in mice plasma were analyzed by LCMS-IT-TOF. RESULTS: The stems and hooks of U. rhynchophylla were revealed with agonistic activity on melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2). Under the guidance of bioassay, two flavanols, catechin and epicatechin were obtained and showed obviously activity agitating MT1 (EC50 = 25.8 and 156.1 µM) and MT2 (EC50 = 47.3 and 208.8 µM) receptors. The agonistic activity of catechin on melatonin receptors can be antagonized by luzindole at the concentrations of 1.57-100 µM. Catechin could significantly reduce the immobility time in both FST and TST mice models at doses of 80 and 40 mg/kg, without obvious effect on locomotor activity in OFT mice model. Five phase II (M1-M5) and one phase I (M6) metabolites of catechin were detected in mice plasma after intragastric (i.g.) administration. CONCLUSION: Catechin is a potent antidepressant candidate from U. rhynchophylla by targeting melatonin receptors. The main metabolic pathways of catechin in mice plasma are glucuronidation (M3) and methylated glucuronidation (M4 and M5). This study provides valuable information for understanding the antidepressant potency of Gouteng and its active constituents.

[Impact of JAK2V617F Mutation Burden on Clinial Presentation and Survival in ET Patients].

OBJECTIVE: To better define the effect of JAK2V617F mutant allele burden on clinical presentation of patients with essential thrombo cythamia (ET), especially thrombosis. METHODS: Two ml of heparin anti-coagulated bone marrow was collected from 229 ET cases, who were diagnosed and treated in the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province during 2013.10 to 2016.12. and then the mononuclear cells were separated by Red Blood Cell Lysis Buffer, genomic DNA was extracted from mononuclear cells by using a commercial DNA isolation kit and amplified by allele specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). According to the size of molecular weight, the amplified products were separated by electrophoresis on a 2% agarose gel to screen the JAK2V617F mutation, then the JAK2V617F mutation burden was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 120 patients with JAK2V617F mutation. Meanwhile, these samples were sequenced in order to verify the accuracy of the PCR screewing. RESULTS: ET patients with thrombotic events had significantly higher JAK2V617F allele burden than those without thrombosis (23.2% vs 14.2%) ( P<0.05). Meanwhile, ET patients showed increased JAK2V617F allele burden in the group with higher leukocytosis (WBC > 10×109/L) (P<0.001) and hemoglobin (> 150 g/L) (P<0.05). JAK2V617F mutation burden in 17 patients with splenomegaly was higher than that in 45 patients without splenomegaly (28.1% vs 11.8%) (P<0.05). but the JAK2V617F mutation burden was regatively correlated with platelet count (P<0.05). On the other hand, no correlation was found between JAK2V617F mutation burden and sex (P > 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that the JAK2V617F allele burden did not affect survival. Multivariable analysis showed that prognostic variable including WBC counts, hemoglobin level, age, sex, and splenomegaly not affected survival, (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The clinical presentations of ET patients, such as WBC counts, hemoglobin level and splenomegaly, are influenced by the JAK2V617F mutation burden. ET patients with thrombotic events has significantly higher JAK2V617F allele burden than those in ET palients without thrombosis.JAK2V617F mutation burden has no relations with sex and age..

[Clinical Efficacy of Autologous Transplantation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells Cryopreserved by Ladder-style Freezing from Low Temperature Refrigerator to Liquid Nitrogen].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of hematopoietic stem cells cryopreserved by ladder-style freezing from low temperature refrigerator to liquid nitrogen in treatment of hematological malignancies, and to analyze the survival condition of patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. METHODS: The coyoprotectant formed by 3% hydroxyethyl starch, 4% albumin and 5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was need for cryopreservation of hematopoietic stem cells,which were first placed in -800C low temperature refrigerator and then were stored in -1960C liquid nitrogen tank. 98 cases of hemafologic malignancies (io cases of ALL, 24 cases of AML, L-cases of MM and 53 case of malignant lymphoma) were selected from January 2002 to December 2016, and recived transplantatin auto-hematopoiehc stem cells cryopresorved by above-mentined method. The overall survival rate (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: One case failed in implantation due to intracranial hemorrhage and the other 97 cases all succeeded in hematopoietic reconstitution. The average time needed for neutrophil count ≥0.5×109/L was 9.24±1.89 d, and the average time needed for blood platelet ≥20×109/L without platelet transfusion for 3 days was 11.04±1.84 d. The median survival time was 47.6 months (1-80 months). The 3 and 5 year OS rates were (97.2±1.9) %, (84.2±4.6) % and (77.8±5.6) %, respectively. 3- and 5-year PFS of patients were (74.4±5.1)% and (61.2±6.2)%. CONCLUSION: ladder-style freezing from low temperature refrigerator to liquid nitrogen can reach the same clinical transplantation effect with traditional programmed cooling freezing method in autologous hematopoietic stem cells transplantation. moreover the incidence of complications after transpeantatim does not show increase.

LC-MS guided isolation of gracilistones A and B, a pair of diastereomeric sesquiterpenoids with an unusual tetrahydrofuran-fused tricyclic skeleton from Acanthopanax gracilistylus and their potential anti-inflammatory activities.

Gracilistones A (1) and B (2), two new eudesmane-type sesquiterpenoids with an unusual tetrahydrofuran-fused 6/6/5 tricyclic ring system, were obtained from Acanthopanax gracilistylus under the guidance of LC-MS investigation. Their structures and absolute configurations were assigned by extensive spectroscopic analyses and quantum calculation methods. Compounds 1 and 2 showed potent inhibitory activity against LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 macrophages, compared with the positive control L-NMMA. In addition, compounds 1 and 2 were also evaluated for their antioxidant (DPPH• and ABTS•+) and xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitory activities, and they exhibited weak inhibitory effects at 100 µM.