Sortilin deletion in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus ameliorates depressive-like behaviors in mice via regulating ASM/ceramide signaling.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common psychiatric disorder characterized by persistent mood despondency and loss of motivation. Although numerous hypotheses have been proposed, the possible pathogenesis of MDD remains unclear. Several recent studies show that a classic transporter protein, sortilin, is closely associated with depression. In the present study, we investigated the role of sortilin in MDD using a well-established rodent model of depression. Mice were subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) for 6 weeks. We showed that the expression levels of sortilin were significantly increased in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of CUMS mice. The depressive-like behaviors induced by CUMS were alleviated by specific knockdown of sortilin in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. We revealed that sortilin facilitated acid sphingomyelinase (ASM)/ceramide signaling, which activated RhoA/ROCK2 signaling, ultimately causing the transformation of dendritic spine dynamics. Specific overexpression of sortilin in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus induced depressive-like behaviors, which was mitigated by injection of ASM inhibitor SR33557 (4 µg/µL) into the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. In conclusion, sortilin knockdown in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus plays an important role in ameliorating depressive-like behavior induced by CUMS, which is mainly evidenced by decreasing the trafficking of ASM from the trans-Golgi network to the lysosome and reducing the ceramide levels. Our results provide a new insight into the pathology of depression, and demonstrate that sortilin may be a potential therapeutic target for MDD.

CTLA-4 polymorphisms are associated with treatment outcomes of patients with multiple myeloma receiving bortezomib-based regimens.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) are important risk factors associated with autoimmune diseases and malignancies. This study explored the association of CTLA-4SNPs with the development of myeloma and evaluated the outcome of patients receiving bortezomib-based regimens in relation to CTLA-4SNPs. Peripheral blood samples from 86 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and 154 healthy controls were obtained to investigate CTLA4 polymorphisms. Five SNP genotypes of CTLA-4, namely, -1772 (rs733618), -1661 (rs4553808), -318 (rs5742909), CT60 (rs3087243), and +49 (rs231775), were evaluated through TaqMan SNP genotyping assays (Applied Biosystems). Some of the CTLA-4 polymorphisms displayed frequencies that vary among ethnic groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patients with rs733618 GG showed a significantly lower disease-free survival (0 vs. 57.4%, P = 0.020) and overall survival (46.3 vs. 83.3%, P = 0.026) than those with GA+AA following bortezomib-based therapy. Multivariate analyses showed that rs733618 GG was a risk factor for OS (HR = 0.012; 95% CI = 0.001-0.199; P = 0.002). The incidence of nonhematologic grade 3/4 adverse events significantly increased in the rs4553808 GG+GA group compared with that in the AA group (P = 0.036). CTLA-4 rs733618 GG reduced the progression-free survival and the overall survival of patients with MM who received bortezomib-based therapy. Information regarding CTLA-4 polymorphisms and haplotypes may be used to improve MM therapy. Future studies must determine the precise effect of CTLA-4 polymorphisms and haplotypes on MM therapy outcomes by using different cohorts with a large number of subjects.

Liquid-Phase Manipulation Securing Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Ag2Se.

Developing n-type materials with high peak and/or average ZT (ZT is the figure of merit) is an urgent need for the lower ZT of the existing n-type BiTeSe materials compared with the p-type BiSbTe materials. Here, we demonstrate that liquid-phase sintering can lead to lowered thermal conductivity and an improved power factor in n-type Ag2Se, which originates from the greatly lowered electronic thermal conductivity attributed to the decreased mobility and improved Seebeck coefficients because of increased effective mass. Benefiting from this, the maximum ZT (ZTmax) of ∼1.21 and the average ZT (ZTave) of 1.06 are successfully achieved in polycrystalline Ag2Se. In this work, ZTave is the highest reported value, being 26% larger than that of Ag2Se reported. Our work shows that liquid-phase sintering to achieve improved thermoelectric (TE) performance opens a great opportunity for designing prospective thermoelectrics.

Methylation pattern of preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.

Preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma (PRAME), a tumor-associated antigen, is overexpressed in a variety of hematologic malignancies with a great variation in expression. The majority of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) 1-eight-twenty one (ETO)+ AML and a certain number of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have an abnormally high increase in PRAME expression level. The landscape of PRAME methylation requires evaluation in order to determine the most relevant sites and the exact association of its methylation with expression level and type of disease. In the present study, bone marrow samples collected from 8 AML1-ETO+ AML, 4 MDS, 3 AML1-ETO- AML and 2 normal volunteers underwent bisulfate sequencing to analyze the methylation status of all four 5'-C-phosphate-G-3' (CpG) regions within the entire PRAME gene. The median PRAME transcript level of 15 patients was 204.5% (range, 0.02-710.3%). PRAME transcript levels were inversely associated with the degree of methylation of the -389 to -146 CpG sites (r=-0.69; P=0.002) in the 3' part of the promoter region and the +132 to +363 CpG sites (r=-0.69; P=0.006) in the exon 1b region. However, not every sample strictly followed this correlation: Certain samples with high degrees of methylation demonstrated abnormally high expression levels, and vice versa. The methylation ratios of CpG sites in exon 1a were low for all samples (range, 0.0-13.8%), and those in exon 2 were similar in 16 samples (range, 72.4-93.4%), with the exception of one patient with high expression (425.2%) and significantly low degree of methylation in the PRAME gene (22.2%). MDS patients revealed similar methylation ratios in the 3' section of the promoter region, but tended to have lower methylation ratios in the exon 1b region (P=0.62 and P=0.09, respectively) compared with those observed in AML1-ETO+ patients with AML and similar degree of PRAME overexpression. Therefore, the hypomethylation of CpG sites in the 3' part of the promoter region and in exon 1b was typically found with PRAME overexpression in AML and MDS. Methylation of other CpG islands, epigenetic and genetic mechanisms, and type of disease may also be involved.

Antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant effects of standard ethanol extract of Bombax ceiba leaves in high-fat-diet- and streptozotocin-induced Type 2 diabetic rats.

The present study aimed at exploring the therapeutic potential of standard extract of Bombax ceiba L. leaves (BCE) in type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM). Oral administration of BCE at doses of 70, 140, and 280 mg·kg-1, to the normal rats and the high-fat-diet- and streptozotocin-induced T2DM rats were carried out. Effects of BCE on blood glucose, body weight, and a range of serum biochemical parameters were tested, and histopathological observation of pancreatic tissues was also performed. HPLC-ESI-Q/TOF-MS/MS analysis indicated that the chemical composition of BCE mainly contained mangiferin, isoorientin, vitexin, isomangiferin, isovitexin, quercetin hexoside, 2'-trans-O-cumaroyl mangiferin, and nigricanside. BCE caused a significant decrease in the concentrations of fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, serum insulin, and malondialdehyde, and increases in oral glucose tolerance, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and superoxide dismutase in the T2DM model rats. Moreover, considerable pancreatic ß-cells protection effect and stimulation of insulin secretion from the remaining pancreatic ß-cells could be observed after BCE treatment. The results indicated that BCE exhibited an excellent hypoglycemic activity, and alleviated dyslipidemia which is associated with T2DM. Antioxidant activity and protecting pancreatic ß-cells are the possible mechanisms involved in anti-diabetic activity of BCE.

Effects of ethanol extract of Bombax ceiba leaves and its main constituent mangiferin on diabetic nephropathy in mice.

The present study was designed to explore the mechanism by which ethanol extract of Bombax ceiba leaves (BCE) and its main constituent mangiferin (MGF) affect diabetic nephropathy by combating oxidative stress. Oral administration of BCE and MGF to normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice were carried out. Fasting blood glucose, 24-h urinary albumin, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen were tested, histopathology, and immunohistochemical analysis of kidney tissues were performed. Moreover, mesangial cells were treated with BCE and MGF for 48 h with or without 25 mmol·L-1 of glucose. Immunofluorescence, Western blot and apoptosis analyses were used to investigate their regulation of oxidative stress and mitochondrial function. BCE and MGF ameliorated biochemical parameters and restored STZ-induced renal injury in the model mice. In vitro study showed that high glucose stimulation increased oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in mesangial cells. BCE and MGF limited mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) collapse by inhibiting Nox4, mitochondrially bound hexokinase II dissociation, and subsequent ROS production, which effectively reduced oxidative stress, cleaved caspase-3 expression and cell apoptosis. Our work indicated that BCE and MGF had protective effects on diabetic caused kidney injury and prevented oxidative stress in mesangial cells by regulation of hexokinase II binding and Nox4 oxidase signaling.

[Mechanism of tetra-arsenic tetra-sulfide in inducing apoptosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of tetra-arsenic tetra-sulfide (As4S4) in inducing apoptosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells. METHODS: The gene expression patterns in NB4 cells pre- and post-treatment with As4S4 were analyzed by cDNA microarray, and differentially expressed genes related with apoptosis were identified. The mRNA expression levels of these apoptosis related genes in the peripheral blood of APL patients treated with As4S4 pre- and post-remission were examined by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Among the differentially expressed genes in NB4 cells pre- and post-treatment with As4S4, two genes were related with cellular apoptosis, which were Apaf-1 and PNAS-2. Apaf1 ratio between pre- and post- As4S4 in NB4 cells was 2.910, PNAS-2 ratio was 0.420. RT-PCR results showed that the expression ratios of Apaf-1, caspase-9 and PNAS-2 in APL patients pre- and post-remission were 2.31 and 3.21, 0.99 respectively. CONCLUSION: As4S4 induced cellular apoptosis in NB4 cells involves the expression changes of the two genes: the up-regulation of Apaf1 and down-regulation of PNAS-2. The increased expressions of Apaf1 and caspase-9 indicate that As4S4 induced apoptosis in APL cells is through mitochondrial pathway, but not the death-receptor pathway. The role played by PNAS-2 in cellular apoptosis needs to be clarified.

Phenolic metabolite profiles and antioxidants assay of three Iridaceae medicinal plants for traditional Chinese medicine "She-gan" by on-line HPLC-DAD coupled with chemiluminescence (CL) and ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS.

An on-line analysis method by HPLC-DAD coupled with chemiluminescence (CL) and ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS was established for simultaneous detection and identification of antioxidants in three original plants of traditional Chinese medicine "She-gan". Two new isoflavonoid glycosides, along with 48 known compounds, including isoflavonoid glycosides and their aglycones, xanthones, flavones and other phenolic compounds, were identified or tentatively identified from the rhizomes of three Iridaceae plants, namely, Belamcanda chinensis, Iris tectorum and Iris dichotoma, which were used as "She-gan" in China. Among those compounds, isoflavone glycosides of iristectorigenin A and its isomers exhibited obviously inhibit CL, which suggested their strong free radical scavenging activity. The chemometric methods dealing with the data gained by chromatographic and antioxidant activity profiles exhibited the "similarities" and "differences" of chemical constituents and antioxidant activities for three studied Iridaceae species. The results indicated that the established method might provide for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the herbal medicines.

Co-precipitation synthesis of nanostructured Cu3SbSe4 and its Sn-doped sample with high thermoelectric performance.

Large-scale fabrication of nanostructured Cu3SbSe4 and its Sn-doped sample Cu3Sb0.98Sn0.02Se4 through a low-temperature co-precipitation route is reported. The effects of hot-pressing temperatures, time and Sn doping on the thermoelectric properties of Cu3SbSe4 are explored. The maximum figure of merit ZTmax obtained here reaches 0.62 for the un-doped Cu3SbSe4, which is three times as large as that of Cu3SbSe4 synthesized by the fusion method. Due to the ameliorated power factor by optimized carrier concentration and the reduced lattice thermal conductivity by enhanced phonon scattering at grain interfaces, Sn doping leads to an improvement of thermoelectric performance as compared to Cu3SbSe4. The maximum ZT for Cu3Sb0.98Sn0.02Se4 is 1.05 in this work, which is 50% larger than the largest value reported.

A new lignan with anti-HBV activity from the roots of Bombax ceiba.

A new lignan bombasinol A (1), together with three known compounds was obtained from the ethanol (95%) extract of roots of Bombax ceiba L. through its being subjected to silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 chromatography. Their structures were elucidated as 4-(4-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)hexahydrofuro[3,4-c]furan-1-yl)-2-methoxy-phenol (1), 5,6-dihydroxymatairesinol (2), (+)-pinoresinol (3) and matairesinol (4) on the basis of spectroscopic methods, including 1-D and 2-D NMR (HSQC and HMBC) experiments and by comparison of the data with those previously reported literatures. All these compounds were the first reported from Bombacaceae. The anti-Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) activity of all compounds isolated from B. ceiba in the research was evaluated. From the results of the HBV assay, these tested compounds showed inhibitory activity against HepG2 2.2.15 cell lines. Compounds 1-4 showed relative differences in their abilities to inhibit HBsAg secretion, with IC50 values of 118.3, 123.7, 118.9 and 218.2 mM, respectively.

Application of an efficient strategy for discovery and purification of bioactive compounds from Chinese herbal medicines, a case study on the Puerariae thomsonii Flos.

In this study, an efficient strategy based on bioassay-guided fractionation, high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-Q/TOF-MS) and high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was established to screen and purify bioactive compounds from Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs). This screening system was efficient and successfully applied to reveal anti-prostate cancer candidates from Puerariae thomsonii Flos. As a result, an active fraction with strong in vitro anti-prostate cancer activity was obtained, and the main compounds in the fraction were purified by HSCCC, giving 82 mg of tectoridin, 36 mg of tectorigenin-7-O-[ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→6)-ß-D-glucopyranoside and 64 mg of tectorigenin. Among them, tectorigenin, possessing the highest anti-prostate cancer activity with IC50 value of 0.08 µM, has priority to be lead compound. The results of this work demonstrated that the developed method was efficient and could be employed for the rapid screening, identification and purification of active components from CHMs.

Monitoring the source of mesenchymal stem cells in patients after transplantation of mismatched-sex hematopoietic stem cells plus third-party cells.

BACKGROUND: In bone marrow transplant patients, the microenvironment in bone marrow is damaged after chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Subsequent to allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with clinically successful engraftments, the source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) remains controversial. To further verify the stimulatory effect of the simultaneous transplantation of cells from second donors on engraftment success for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in support of donor MSCs engraftments, the aim of this study is to monitor the dynamics of the engraftment of bone marrow-derived MSCs in patients after transplantation with mismatched-sex hematopoietic stem and third-party cells. METHODS: In this study, the hematopoietic stem cells from 32 clinical donors of different sexes that resulted in successful engraftments were selected for transplantation and were classified into three groups for research purposes: group A consisted of 14 cases of transplantation with bone marrow and recruited peripheral hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, group B contained 8 cases of simultaneous re-transfusion of MSCs from the second donor, and group C contained 10 cases of simultaneous re-transfusion of umbilical blood from the second donor. The bone marrow from 32 patients with successful engraftments of hematopoietic transplantation were selected and sub-cultured with MSCs. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to measure the expression of surface antigens on MSCs. Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) in combination with polymerase chain reaction amplification of short tandem repeats (STRPCR) was used to measure the engraftment status of fifth-generation MSCs in patients. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed the sex origin of the fifth-generation MSCs in 32 patients. Dynamic examinations were performed on patients receiving donor transplantations. RESULTS: The progenies of fifth-generation MSCs were successfully cultured in 32 cases. The results of FCM demonstrated that the expression levels of CD14+ and CD45+ cells were lower than 0.04% in the fifth-generation MSCs. The analysis using DHPLC and FISH showed similar results. One patient from group B also received a temporary transplantation of MSCs from the donor. The MSCs in the remaining 31 patients all originated from the patients themselves. CONCLUSIONS: After transplantation, the MSCs present in patients originated from the host. In patients transplanted with MSCs from a second donor, the phenomenon of temporary chimerization of MSCs was observed.

New isoflavones with cytotoxic activity from the rhizomes of Iris germanica L.

Two new compounds, 5-methoxy-3',4'-dihydroxy-6,7-methylenedioxy-4H-1-benzo-pyran-4-one(iriskashmirianin A) (1) and 5,3'-dihydroxy-3-(4'-ß-D-glucopyranosyl)-6,7-methylenedioxy-4H-1-benzo-pyran-4-one (germanaism H) (2), along with eight known compounds (3-10), were isolated from the rhizomes of Iris germanica L. The cytotoxicities of these compounds were tested using Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) cancer cell line by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazoli-umbromide (MTT) and ATP assays. The results showed that these compounds possessed antiproliferative effects on EAC cell line. Among them, compound 1 possessed the best cytotoxic activity with IC50 ± SD of 20.9 ± 2.7 and 4.3 ± 0.9 µM for MTT and ATP assay methods, respectively.

Tectorigenin Attenuates Palmitate-Induced Endothelial Insulin Resistance via Targeting ROS-Associated Inflammation and IRS-1 Pathway.

Tectorigenin is a plant isoflavonoid originally isolated from the dried flower of Pueraria thomsonii Benth. Although its anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperglycosemia effects have been well documented, the effect of tectorigenin on endothelial dysfunction insulin resistance involved has not yet been reported. Herein, this study aims to investigate the action of tectorigenin on amelioration of insulin resistance in the endothelium. Palmitic acid (PA) was chosen as a stimulant to induce ROS production in endothelial cells and successfully established insulin resistance evidenced by the specific impairment of insulin PI3K signaling. Tectorigenin effectively inhibited the ability of PA to induce the production of reactive oxygen species and collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential. Moreover, tectorigenin presented strong inhibition effect on ROS-associated inflammation, as TNF-α and IL-6 production in endothelial cells was greatly reduced with suppression of IKKß/NF-κB phosphorylation and JNK activation. Tectorigenin also can inhibit inflammation-stimulated IRS-1 serine phosphorylation and restore the impaired insulin PI3K signaling, leading to a decreased NO production. These results demonstrated its positive regulation of insulin action in the endothelium. Meanwhile, tectorigenin down-regulated endothelin-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 overexpression, and restored the loss of insulin-mediated vasodilation in rat aorta. These findings suggested that tectorigenin could inhibit ROS-associated inflammation and ameliorated endothelial dysfunction implicated in insulin resistance through regulating IRS-1 function. Tectorigenin might have potential to be applied for the management of cardiovascular diseases involved in diabetes and insulin resistance.

Quantitative chimerism kinetics in relapsed leukemia patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Chimerism analysis is an important tool for the surveillance of post-transplant engraftment. It offers the possibility of identifying impending graft rejection and recurrence of underlying malignant or non-malignant disease. Here we investigated the quantitative chimerism kinetics of 21 relapsed leukemia patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). METHODS: A panel of 29 selected sequence polymorphism (SP) markers was screened by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to obtain the informative marker for every leukemia patient. Quantitative chimerism analysis of bone marrow (BM) samples of 21 relapsed patients and 20 patients in stable remission was performed longitudinally. The chimerisms of BM and peripheral blood (PB) samples of 14 patients at relapse were compared. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients experienced leukemia relapse at a median of 135 days (range, 30 - 720 days) after transplantation. High recipient chimerism in BM was found in all patients at relapse, and increased recipient chimerism in BM samples was observed in 90% (19/21) of patients before relapse. With 0.5% recipient DNA as the cut-off, median time between the detection of increased recipient chimerism and relapse was 45 days (range, 0 - 120 days), with 76% of patients showing increased recipient chimerism at least 1 month prior to relapse. Median percentage of recipient DNA in 20 stable remission patients was 0.28%, 0.04%, 0.05%, 0.05%, 0.08%, and 0.05% at 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, respectively, after transplantation. This was concordant with other specific fusion transcripts and fluorescent in situ hybridization examination. The recipient chimerisms in BM were significantly higher than those in PB at relapse (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This SP-based RT-PCR assay is a reliable method for chimerism analysis. Chimerism kinetics in BM can be used as a marker of impending leukemia relapse, especially when no other specific marker is available. Based on our findings, we recommend examining not only PB samples but also BM samples in HSCT patients.

Characterization and determination of the major constituents in Belamcandae Rhizoma by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS(n).

Belamcandae Rhizoma, derived from the rhizome of Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC., has been used as traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of coughing and pharyngitis. However, there have been few studies dealing with the systematic analysis of the bioactive constituents in Belamcandae Rhizoma. In this work, high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionization multiple-stage mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS(n)) combined with liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (HPLC-TOF/MS) was established for profiling and characterization of multi-constituent in Belamcandae Rhizoma. The ESI-MS(n) fragmentation behaviors of the authentic references were proposed for aiding the structural identification of components in the extract. Thirty-five flavonoids, including 30 isoflavones and five xanthones, were identified or tentatively identified by comparing their retention times, UV and MS spectra with those of authentic compounds or literature data. Twelve of the identified compounds (neomangiferin, mangiferin, tectoridin, iristectorin B, iristectorin A, iridin, tectorigenin, iristectorigenin A, irigenin, irisflorentin, irilone and dichtomitin) were determined by HPLC-DAD using a C(18) column. The results indicated that the developed analysis method could be employed as a rapid, effective technique for structural characterization of chemical constituents in herbal medicine. This work is expected to provide comprehensive information for the quality evaluation of Belamcandae Rhizoma, which would be a valuable reference for the further study and development of this herb and related medicinal products.

Quantitative assessment of hematopoietic chimerism by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction of sequence polymorphism systems after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Analysis of changes in recipient and donor hematopoietic cell origin is extremely useful to monitor the effect of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and sequential adoptive immunotherapy by donor lymphocyte infusions. We developed a sensitive, reliable and rapid real-time PCR method based on sequence polymorphism systems to quantitatively assess the hematopoietic chimerism after HSCT. METHODS: A panel of 29 selected sequence polymorphism (SP) markers was screened by real-time PCR in 101 HSCT patients with leukemia and other hematological diseases. The chimerism kinetics of bone marrow samples of 8 HSCT patients in remission and relapse situations were followed longitudinally. RESULTS: Recipient genotype discrimination was possible in 97.0% (98 of 101) with a mean number of 2.5 (1-7) informative markers per recipient/donor pair. Using serial dilutions of plasmids containing specific SP markers, the linear correlation (r) of 0.99, the slope between -3.2 and -3.7 and the sensitivity of 0.1% were proved reproducible. By this method, it was possible to very accurately detect autologous signals in the range from 0.1% to 30%. The accuracy of the method in the very important range of autologous signals below 5% was extraordinarily high (standard deviation <1.85%), which might significantly improve detection accuracy of changes in autologous signals early in the post-transplantation course of follow-up. The main advantage of the real-time PCR method over short tandem repeat PCR chimerism assays is the absence of PCR competition and plateau biases, with demonstrated greater sensitivity and linearity. Finally, we prospectively analyzed bone marrow samples of 8 patients who received allografts and presented the chimerism kinetics of remission and relapse situations that illustrated the sensitivity level and the promising clinical application of this method. CONCLUSION: This SP-based real-time PCR assay provides a rapid, sensitive, and accurate quantitative assessment of mixed chimerism that can be useful in predicting graft rejection and early relapse.

[Chronic hepatic damage in acute promyelocytic leukemia patients treated with tetra-arsenic tetra-sulfide].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chronic hepatic damage in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients long-term treated with tetra-arsonic tetra-sulfide (As(4)S(4)). METHODS: The periodical liver biochemical examinations and ultrasonography results and hepatic fibrosis indicators (P III NP and type IV collagen) of patients were analysed. RESULTS: 106 APL patients treated with As(4)S(4), the median follow-up time was 36 months (6 - 72). The HCV(-) group includes 84 APL patients. During the first course the abnormal rate of the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was 16.7% and 14.5% (higher than the two times of the normal value), the ALT, AST, gamma-glyoxylate aminotransferase (GGT) levels during the first course were statistically higher than As4S4 treatment before (P < 0.05). There were no statistically differences between the ALT, AST, GGT levels after and before treating with As(4)S(4) in half a year, one year, two year, more than three years (P > 0.05). Other biochemical indicators such as ALP, LDH, TBIL, DBIL, TP, ALB, A/G, BUN, CRE, there were no significantly differences before and after As(4)S(4) treatment (P > 0.05). The HCV(+) group includes 22 APL patients, during the first course, the abnormal rate of the ALT, AST were 63.6% and 59.1%, but at the 2 year, more than 3 years there were no significantly differences compared with As(4)S(4) treatment before (P > 0.05). 42 APL patients were treated with As(4)S(4) more than 3 years, in 33 HCV(-) APL patients, two APL patients had splenomegaly, one APL patient's breadth of the portal vein was wider than 1.4 cm, 21 APL patients had fatty liver (63.6%). The hepatic fibrosis indicators of the 16 APL patients were all normal. In 9 HCV(+) APL patients, 4 APL patients had splenomegaly, 2 APL patients, breadth of portal vein were wider than 1.4 cm, 6 APL patients had fatty liver (66.7%). 6 patients were examined with the hepatic fibrosis indicators, 2 patients, were higher than the normal value. CONCLUSION: Long term As(4)S(4) treatment for APL patients had no obvious effects on hepatic function, no obvious hepatic fibrosis and portal hypertension signs at more than 3 years, excepting for the rate of fatty liver was high.