[Clinical features of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia complicated by pulmonary infection after chemotherapy].

OBJECTIVE: To examine the clinical features of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) complicated by pulmonary infection after chemotherapy. METHODS: The clinical data of 108 ALL children (115 case-times) with post-chemotherapy pulmonary infection were retrospectively reviewed. The risk factors for pulmonary infection and the relationship between pathogens and chest CT findings were evaluated. RESULTS: The highest incidence (77.4% ) of pulmonary infection occurred during remission induction, peaking at 31-60 days after chemotherapy. Patients with neutropenia had the highest incidence rate of pulmonary infection (67.0%). Bacteria (36%) and fungi (41%) were the two most common pathogens in the 41 patients who were etiologically suspected of or diagnosed with pulmonary infection. There was no significant difference in chest CT findings between patients with bacterial and fungal infections. CONCLUSIONS: The children with ALL are most susceptible to pulmonary infection during remission induction, especially when they are neutropenic. Bacteria and fungi are the main pathogens of pulmonary infections in these patients. However, the changes in chest CT images are poor indicators of the nature of pulmonary infection.

Microencapsulation of blueberry anthocyanins by spray drying with soy protein isolates/high methyl pectin combination: Physicochemical properties, release behavior in vitro and storage stability.

Eleven anthocyanins in the blueberry anthocyanins powders (BAP) were identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS. BAP microcapsules (MBAP) were produced by spray drying using high methyl pectin (HMP) combined with whey protein isolates (WPI) or soy protein isolates (SPI) in different proportions as wall materials. Generally, SPI/HMP combination was more efficient in increasing the encapsulation efficiency and Tg, and in decreasing the particle size and hygroscopicity of the microcapsules than WPI or HMP or WPI/HMP combination. Microcapsules created with 4% SPI + 2% HMP combination (MBAPc), possessed superior anthocyanin release behavior and antioxidant stability to those produced with 4% SPI alone (MBAPs). Both MBAPc and MBAPs had continuous release of anthocyanins throughout the simulated gastrointestinal digestion, and exhibited two first-order kinetics, but MBAPc exhibited higher stability than MBAPs and BAP, because it showed the longest half-life and the lowest anthocyanin degradation rate at 25 °C and 35 °C during 6-months' storage.

Orally administered DNA vaccine delivery by attenuated Salmonella typhimurium targeting fetal liver kinase 1 inhibits murine Lewis lung carcinoma growth and metastasis.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 2 (VEGFR-2), also called fetal liver kinase 1 (FLK1) in mice and kinase insert domain receptor (KDR) in humans, is an endothelial cell specific receptor tyrosine kinase that mediates lung cancer angiogenesis. We hypothesized that an active immunotherapy approach targeting FLK1 may inhibit lung cancer growth and metastasis. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated whether immune responses to FLK1 could be elicited in mice by immunization with an orally administered DNA vaccine encoding the extracellular domain (ECD) of FLK1 (pcDNA3.1-FLK1(ECD)) carried by attenuated Salmonella typhimurium. We found that the vaccine was effective at protective antitumor immunity in Lewis lung carcinoma models in mice by breaking immune tolerance to FLK1 self-antigen. Both FLK1-specific humoral and cellular immune responses against endothelial cells can be induced in mice by immunization with pcDNA3.1-FLK1(ECD). Immunization with pcDNA3.1-FLK1(ECD) resulted in tumor suppression and prolonged survival in mice challenged with Lewis lung carcinomas cells. Experimental pulmonary metastases were strongly inhibited in pcDNA3.1-FLK1(ECD) immunized mice challenged with Lewis lung carcinoma cells. Thus, we conclude that the plasmid DNA vaccine encoding the extracellular domain of FLK1 could be an important component of FLK1 DNA vaccine to prevent lung carcinoma recurrence and metastasis after surgery.

[Clinical features and genotype analysis in a case of dyskeratosis congenita].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical features and genotype in a 8-year-old boy with dyskeratosis congenita (DC). METHODS: We reviewed the clinical data of the case and amplified 7 DC-related genes (including DKC1,TERT,TERC,TINF2,NOP10, NHP2 and WRAP53) using polymerase chain reaction for DNA sequence analysis to identify the abnormal exons. RESULTS: DNA sequence analysis showed a c.85-15T>C mutation in DKC1 gene of the patient. His mother was a carrier of the mutated gene and presented with partial clinical features such as abnormal nails. CONCLUSION: The mutation of c.85-15T>C in DKC1 gene was reported for the first time in China. The diagnosis of DC should be considered if a young patient presents with mucocutaneous abnormalities, bone marrow failure, cancer susceptibility and a family history of cancer. Early genetic tests can improve the diagnosis rates and reduce misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis.

Anti-oxidative activity of glycosides from Ligustrum sinense.

Three active glycosides that afford protection to red blood cell membrane to resist hemolysis induced by a peroxyl radical initiator, 2,2'-azo-bis-(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) were isolated from the MeOH extract of Ligustrum sinense. The compounds are 10-hydroxyl-oleuropein (1), 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-kaempferol-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), and 8'-alpha-hydroxyl-lariciresinol-4'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (6). The structures of these glycosides were determined by 1D and 2D NMR spectral analysis.

[Progress and potential applications of induced pluripotent stem cell technology].

Differentiated somatic cells can be reprogrammed to a pluripotent state through ectopic expression of specific transcription factors. These reprogrammed cells, which were designated as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, are detected to exhibit unlimited self-renewal capacity and pluripotency. This breakthrough in stem cell research provides a powerful and novel tool for the studies on pathogenesis of diseases, reprogramming mechanism and development of new therapies. For this reason, the iPSC technology has currently become one of the hot topics in stem cells research. Recently, major progress in this field has been achieved: initially, researchers succeeded in inducing the reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts by retroviral transduction of four specific transcription factors; in succession, the accelerated development of iPSC technology by employing non-integrating viral vectors, non-viral vectors or removing the introduced foreign genes via gene knock-out has ensured the yields of much safer iPSC; meanwhile, some researches discovered the proofs that a number of micro molecular compounds were potent in accelerating the cellular reprogramming. For a prospect, iPSC are highly promising for regenerative medicine, disease modeling and drug screening. In this review, the recent progress in the generation of iPSC, prospects of their possible clinical applications and problems in the iPSC research are summarized and discussed.

Three new saponins from the leaves of Ilex hylonoma.

Three new triterpenoid saponins, hylonosides III-V (1-3) have been isolated, along with three known oleanolic acid saponins (4-6), from the methanol extract of leaves of Ilex hylonoma. The structures were elucidated using a combination of homo- and hetero-nuclear 2D NMR techniques (COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, HMQC and HMBC) and negative FAB-MS. The new compounds were characterized as 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 4)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl siaresinolic acid-28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (1), 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 2)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl siaresinolic acid-28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (2), 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 2)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid-28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (3).