miR-19a/b-3p promotes inflammation during cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury via SIRT1/FoxO3/SPHK1 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Stroke affects 3-4% of adults and kills numerous people each year. Recovering blood flow with minimal reperfusion-induced injury is crucial. However, the mechanisms underlying reperfusion-induced injury, particularly inflammation, are not well understood. Here, we investigated the function of miR-19a/b-3p/SIRT1/FoxO3/SPHK1 axis in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). METHODS: MCAO (middle cerebral artery occlusion) reperfusion rat model was used as the in vivo model of I/R. Cultured neuronal cells subjected to OGD/R (oxygen glucose deprivation/reperfusion) were used as the in vitro model of I/R. MTT assay was used to assess cell viability and TUNEL staining was used to measure cell apoptosis. H&E staining was employed to examine cell morphology. qRT-PCR and western blot were performed to determine levels of miR-19a/b-3p, SIRT1, FoxO3, SPHK1, NF-κB p65, and cytokines like TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1ß. EMSA and ChIP were performed to validate the interaction of FoxO3 with SPHK1 promoter. Dual luciferase assay and RIP were used to verify the binding of miR-19a/b-3p with SIRT1 mRNA. RESULTS: miR-19a/b-3p, FoxO3, SPHK1, NF-κB p65, and cytokines were elevated while SIRT1 was reduced in brain tissues following MCAO/reperfusion or in cells upon OGD/R. Knockdown of SPHK1 or FoxO3 suppressed I/R-induced inflammation and cell death. Furthermore, knockdown of FoxO3 reversed the effects of SIRT1 knockdown. Inhibition of the miR-19a/b-3p suppressed inflammation and this suppression was blocked by SIRT1 knockdown. FoxO3 bound SPHK1 promoter and activated its transcription. miR-19a/b-3p directly targeted SIRT1 mRNA. CONCLUSION: miR-19a/b-3p promotes inflammatory responses during I/R via targeting SIRT1/FoxO3/SPHK1 axis.

Anti-inflammatory Effect of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Transplantation and Quercetin Treatment in a Rat Model of Experimental Cerebral Ischemia.

Here, we have investigated the synergistic effect of quercetin administration and transplantation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (HUMSCs) following middle cerebral artery occlusion in rat. Combining quercetin treatment with delayed transplantation of HUMSCs after local cerebral ischemia significantly (i) improved neurological functional recovery; (ii) reduced proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin(IL)-1ß and IL-6), increased anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, and transforming growth factor-ß1), and reduced ED-1 positive areas; (iii) inhibited cell apoptosis (caspase-3 expression); and (iv) improved the survival rate of HUMSCs in the injury site. Altogether, our results demonstrate that combined HUMSC transplantation and quercetin treatment is a potential strategy for reducing secondary damage and promoting functional recovery following cerebral ischemia.

Therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells for cerebral small vessel disease.

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), as the most common, chronic and progressive vascular disease on the brain, is a serious neurological disease, whose pathogenesis remains unclear. The disease is a leading cause of stroke and vascular cognitive impairment and dementia, and contributes to about 20% of strokes, including 25% of ischemic strokes and 45% of dementias. Undoubtedly, the high incidence and poor prognosis of CSVD have brought a heavy economic and medical burden to society. The present treatment of CSVD focuses on the management of vascular risk factors. Although vascular risk factors may be important causes or accelerators of CSVD and should always be treated in accordance with best clinical practice, controlling risk factors alone could not curb the progression of CSVD brain injury. Therefore, developing safer and more effective treatment strategies for CSVD is urgently needed. Recently, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy has become an emerging therapeutic modality for the treatment of central nervous system disease, given their paracrine properties and immunoregulatory. Herein, we discussed the therapeutic potential of MSCs for CSVD, aiming to enable clinicians and researchers to understand of recent progress and future directions in the field.

[The Study of Recombinant Interfering Lentiviruses and Overexpressed Adenovirus Vectors Targeting Human c-Cbl Gene： Construction, Identification and Efficacy].

OBJECTIVE: To construct recombinant lentivirus and adenovirus which regulate the expression of c-Cbl gene and evaluate their efficacy. METHODS: The interference lentivirus and overexpressed adenovirus targeting human c-Cbl gene were constructed by gene recombination technology. Quantitative PCR and western blotting were used to detect the expression changes in c-Cbl gene and its transcription after leukemia cells (HL60,THP1) were infected by virus. RESULTS: Three recombinant interfering lentiviral vectors targeting human c-Cbl genes to successfully constructed and were identified by DNA sequencing, and the titers of the packaged viruses were all greater than 1×108 TU/ml. Among them, shRNA-2 lentivirus had the highest interference efficiency, and the expression of c-Cbl gene and CBL protein were decreased about 95% and 60% respectively after leukemia cells were infected with shRNA-2; In addition, the recombinant overexpression adenovirus targeting human c-Cbl gene was packaged successfully with the virus titer greater than 1×109 TU/ml. When leukemia cells were infected with adenovirus, the expression of c-Cbl gene and CBL protein were up-regulated about 10 times and 1.5 times respectively. CONCLUSION: Both recombinant interfering lentivirus and overexpression adenovirus can efficiently infect leukemia cells and affect the expressions of c-Cbl gene and CBL protein. It will lay a preliminary foundation for the subsequent study on the function of c-Cbl gene in tumor cells.

A pathway analysis of the impact of childhood domestic violence on depression in middle-aged and elderly people from the perspective of life course.

BACKGROUND: Negative life events in early life have a cumulative effect on health trajectory changes in middle and old age, and some scholars have used life course theory as a guide to empirically explore the effect of childhood adversity or adverse experiences on depression in the elderly, but few study focuses on violence within the family. OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence mechanism of domestic violence experience on depression in later life in middle-aged and elderly people, and to provide academic support for the whole society to pay attention to good family function and intergenerational interaction, and to propose whole-life health promotion strategies. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: This paper selects the 2014 life course survey data and 2018 cross-sectional data of the China Health and Elderly Care Longitudinal Survey for analysis, and the research objects are middle-aged and elderly people aged 45 and above. METHODS: Based on a retrospective survey of 3008 middle-aged and elderly people, this study analyzed the influence path of domestic violence on depression level in childhood by using multiple mediation models, and used the Bootstrap method to test the significance of indirect effects. RESULTS: Based on controlling for gender, age, age square, household registration, marital status, community environment and education level, childhood domestic violence had a direct positive effect on depression level in the elderly (P < 0.001), and childhood domestic violence also had an indirect effect on the depression level of the elderly through childhood health status, income logarithm and IADL (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: As a life experience in early life, childhood domestic violence has a cumulative effect on depression in middle-aged and elderly people, is an important risk factor for depression, and has an important impact on mental health in later life.

Thalassaemia in China.

Because of successful thalassaemia prevention programmes in resource-rich countries and it's huge population China now has the greatest number of new cases of thalassaemia globally as well as more people with thalassaemia than any other country. 30 million Chinese have thalassaemia-associated mutations and about 300,000 have thalassaemia major or intermedia requiring medical intervention. Over the past 2 decades there has been tremendous economic growth in China including per capita spending on health care. There is now nation-wide availability and partial or full insurance for prenatal genetic testing, RBC-transfusions, iron-chelating drugs and haematopoietic cell transplants. Prenatal screening and educational programmes have reduced the incidence of new cases. However, substantial challenges remain. For example, regional differences in access to medical care and unequal economic development require innovations to reduce the medical, financial and psychological burdens of Chinese with thalassaemia and their families. In this review we discuss success in preventing and treating thalassaemia in China highlighting remaining challenges. Our discussion has important implications for resource-poor geospaces challenged with preventing and treating thalassaemia.

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.

[Modulation on the P-glycoprotein in the jejunum by combined use of Glycyrrhiza inflata and Kansui].

To investigate the modulation on the P-glycoprotein in the jejunum by combined use of Glycyrrhiza inflata and Kansui with ussing chamber and rt-pcr, Rhodamine 123 (R123), a P-gp substrate and fluorescein sodium (CF), a model drug of non-P-gp substrate transported by a passive diffusion were taken as investigational drugs. Because these two drugs can be easily assayed and widely used in various research fields. The permeability of R123 or CF via Wistar rat jejunum membranes was evaluated by in vitro ussing chamber after oral administration of four different decoctions of Glycyrrhiza inflata and Kansui for 1 week. And the concentration of R123 or CF was determined by the fluorospectrophotometry in the receiving solution. Meanwhile the expression of mdr1a in P-glycoprotein was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. After oral administration of combined decoction of the single drug, the absorptive directed permeability of R123 increased significantly (P < 0.01). On the other hand, Kansui and combine decoction of the two drugs also decrease the permeability of secretory directed transport (P < 0.05). No action of Glycyrrhiza inflata was found on the secretory transport of R123 [Papp = (2.56 +/- 0.38) x 10(-5), cm x s(-1)] across the jejunum tissues, while Papp of control group was found [Papp = (2.35 +/- 0.27) x 10(-5), cm x s(-1)]. After oral administration of Kansui decoction for 1 week and 2 weeks, the levels of mdr1a expression in Wistar rats were lower than that of the control group, but there were no significant difference in the results. Meanwhile, Glycyrrhiza inflata had no effect on transport of CF across the jejunum tissues, though the other three groups could decrease the permeability of CF, as compared with control group. Kansui may slightly inhibit P-glycoprotein function in the intestinal membrane. For another, some compositions in Kansui inhibit P-glycoprotein function, and some others strengthen the tight junction between cells in the intestinal membrane to decrease permeability of CF. As the inhibitory action to P-glycoprotein was enhanced by combination of Glycyrrhiza inflata and Kansui, based on the results, it may be one of the mechanisms of creating toxicity once co-administration of Glycyrrhiza inflata and Kansui.

[Role of allograft inflammatory factor-1 in regulating the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of allograft inflammatory factor-1 (AIF-1) in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression and explore the possible mechanism. METHODS: The expression levels of AIF-1 in 70 CRC tissues and paired adjacent tissues were detected using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting, and the correlation of AIF-1 expression with the clinicopathological features of the patients was analyzed. In the CRC cell line SW480, the functional role of AIF-1 in regulating tumor progression was investigated by transfecting the cells with an AIF-1-overexpressing plasmid (AIF-1) and a negative control plasmid (NC). EdU proliferation assay and flow cytometry were used to assess the cell proliferation and cell cycle changes; Transwell migration assay and Annexin V-APC/7-AAD apoptosis assay kit were used to analyze the cell migration and apoptosis. The changes in the biological behaviors of the cells were observed after application of SB203580 to block the p38 MAPK pathway. The expression levels of CDK4, cyclin D1, P21, P27, MMP2, MMP9, Bax, Bcl2, Bcl-xl, p38 and p-p38 were detected using Western blotting. RESULTS: AIF-1 was down-regulated in CRC tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues, and its expression level was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.008), TNM stage (P=0.003) and tumor size (P=0.023). Overexpression of AIF-1 in SW480 cells significantly reduced EdU-positive cells and caused obvious cell cycle arrest in G1 phase (P<0.05). AIF-1 overexpression resulted in significantly lowered protein expressions of CDK4 and cyclin D1, enhanced expressions of P21 and P27, attenuated cell migration ability (P<0.001), and decreased protein levels of MMP2 and MMP9. AIF-1 overexpression also induced obvious apoptosis of SW480 cells (P<0.01), significantly increased the protein levels of Bax and p-p38, and decreased the protein levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl; SB203580 significantly attenuated the apoptosis-inducing effect of AIF-1 overexpression. CONCLUSION: AIF-1 plays the role of a tumor suppressor in CRC by inhibiting cell proliferation, suppressing cell migration and inducing cell apoptosis. AIF-1 overexpression promotes the apoptosis of CRC cells by activating the p38 MAPK pathway.

Sunitinib Induces NK-κB-dependent NKG2D Ligand Expression in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Hepatoma Cells.

Multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (MTKIs) have been shown to combine with natural killer (NK) cell adoptive transfer for the treatment in various cancers. MTKIs sensitize cancer cells to NK cell therapy through upregulation of nature killer group 2 member D ligands (NKG2DLs) on tumor cells. However, the molecular mechanism of MTKIs-mediated upregulation of NKG2DLs is still unknown. In this study, we confirmed sunitinib induced downregulation of its targets, such as vascular endothelial growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, and c-kit in multiple-drug-resistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE2/DDP and hepatoma cell line HepG2. Then, we further showed sunitinib induced cell proliferation inhibition, apoptosis, and DNA damage in CNE2/DDP and HepG2 cells. Coculture experiments showed that sunitinib-treated CNE2/DDP and HepG2 cells were able to increase the activation and cytotoxicity of NK cells. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction results showed that sunitinib upregulated NKG2DLs, apoptotic genes, DNA damage repair genes, and nuclear factor (NF)-κß family genes. Silencing of NF-κß1, NF-κß2, or RelB (NF-κß pathway) inhibited sunitinib-induced upregulation of NKG2DLs. Taken together, we concluded that sunitinib upregulated NKG2DLs through NF-κß signaling noncanonical pathway which might mediate higher cytotoxic sensitivity of CNE2/DDP and HepG2 cells to NK cells.

[The outcomes of the thirty patients with refractory leukemia treated with related HLA haploidentical stem cells transplantation].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes of the therapy for patients with refractory leukemia with HLA haploidentical stem cells transplantation. METHODS: To analyze the outcomes of 30 patients with refractory leukemia who underwent HLA haploidentical peripheral blood stem cells transplantation from August 1998 to August 2004. RESULTS: Thirty refractory leukemia patients including 13 cases of acute non-lymphocytic leukemia, 10 cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), 6 cases of chronic myeloid leukemia and 1 case of phase IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma underwent HLA haploidentical peripheral blood stem cells transplantation. The median age was 25 years old (3-52 years old). Twelve patients received stem cells from parent donors, four from daughter or son donors and the remaining from sibling donors. Three HLA loci mismatched in twelve cases, two HLA loci mismatched in thirteen cases and one HLA locus mismatched in five cases. The conditioning regime consisted of fludara (25 mg/m(2) x 5 d), busulfan (4 mg/kg x 4 d) and cyclophosphamide (60 mg/kg x 2 d). Rabbit anti-human lymphocyte globulin (5 mg/kg x 5 d) was added in some patients in the conditioning regime. A mean of 5.0 (2.9-8.0) x 10(8)/kg mononucleated cells was grafted. The number of mean CD(34)(+) cells was 5.5 (3.0-6.5) x 10(6)/kg. Twenty-seven patients were successfully grafted, one failed to graft, one died from severe fungal infection at day 2 and one died from severe veno-occlusive disease at day 28. The mean time of white cell count more than 1.0 x 10(9)/L was 14 (11-18) days and platelet count more than 20 x 10(9)/L was 15 (11-18) days. ALL the 27 successfully grafted patients got complete remission. Severe acute graft versus host disease occurred in six patients and four of them died. Seven patients suffered from chronic graft versus host disease. Seven patients relapsed and died. The median relapse time was 10 (3-24) months. Fourteen patients are still surviving, and ten have disease free survival. CONCLUSION: It is concluded from our observation that HLA haploidentical peripheral blood stem cells transplantation may be an effective therapy for refractory and relapse leukemia. Some patients with refractory and relapse leukemia treated with HLA haploidentical stem cells transplantation may have disease free survival. Graft versus leukemia effect may be strong in patients receiving HLA haploidentical blood stem cells transplantation and leukemia will probably be relapsed when the patient without complete remission was treated with this therapy.

[Clinical Efficacy of Sorafenib Combined with Low Dose Cytarabine for Treating Patients with FLT3+ Relapsed and Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy and safety of sorafenib combined with low dose cytarabine for treating patients with FLT3(+) relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia (FLT3(+) RR-AML). METHODS: Seven patients with FLT3(+) RR-AML were treated with sorafenib and low dose cytarabine. The curative rate and adverse effects were observed in these patients. RESULTS: Out of 7 RR-AML patients after treatment, 5 patients achieved complete remission (CR), 2 patients achieved partial remission (PR), and the overall response rate (ORR) after one course of therapy was 100%. No severe bleeding, nausea, vomiting and other side effects were found in these patients. CONCLUSION: Sorafenib combined with low dose cytarabine can effectively induce the remission of FLT3(+) RR-AML patients, and is worth for further clinical trails to verify its safty and efficiency.

[Clinical Summarization of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Leukemia: A Report of 100 Cases].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the treatment outcome of a consecutive series of 100 leukemia patients received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). METHODS: The clinical data of leukemia patients received allo-HSCT were analyzed retrospectively, the therapeutic efficacy was summarized. 100 evaluable cases of leukemia included 47 cases of AML, 33 cases of ALL, 2 cases of AL (biphenotypic), 16 CML and 2 CMML. Before transplantation, 76 cases were in first complete remission, 9 cases in second or greater complete remission and 15 cases in non-remission or relapse. All the patients received peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (PBHSCT). The conditioning regimen of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched allo-HSCT group was modified BuCy, but in HLA-mismatched group Fludarabine and anti-human thymocyte globulin (ATG) was added. CsA+MTX regimen was used for prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in HLA-identical allo-HSCT, while additional MMF was added in HLA-mismatched group. The average time of follow-up was 13 months. RESULTS: At the last follow-up, 66.0% (66/100) patients survived, 53.0% (53/100) patients survived without leukemia, 28.0% (28/100) patients relapsed and 34.0% (34/100) patients died, 44.1% patients of them died from infectious pulmonary complications. During transplantation, 65.0% of the patients were suffered from lung infection. The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of all cases was 60.9% and 48.8%, respectively. The recurrence rate was significantly higher in non-remission (66.7%) than in CR (21.2%) patients (P < 0.05). The cumulative incidence of GVHD in HLA-mismatched transplantation was 60.8%, which was significantly higher than that of HLA-matched transplantation (38.8%) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Allo-HSCT can cure a significant proportion of leukemia patients, especially for those in CR status. Since the incidence of infectious pulmonary complications after allo-HSCT is still high, much more attention should be paid to it. The comprehensive prognosis of HLA-matched transplantation is better than the HLA-mis-matched transplantation.

Overexpression of EPS8 is associated with poor prognosis in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Molecular markers have become an invaluable tool in monitoring disease status particularly of leukemias, as bone marrow samples can be easily collected for analysis during all stages of disease development including diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. Two genes that have been used as prognostic markers in acute leukemia are Wilms' tumor (WT1) and multidrug resistance-1 (MDR1). A novel gene, epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8 (EPS8), is often over-expressed and associated with poor outcome in some solid tumor types. However, whether EPS8 is also associated with the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is unclear. Here, quantitative real-time PCR was used to evaluate the expression of EPS8, MDR1, and WT1 in bone marrow samples of adult ALL patients (n=107) and non-leukemia controls (n=22). EPS8, MDR1, and WT1 were detected in ALL patients, and significant correlations were found between expression profiles for EPS8 and MDR1, EPS8 and WT1, and MDR1 and WT1. In general, high expression of EPS8, MDR1, or WT1 in patients was associated with a higher risk of relapse. Furthermore, when patients were stratified based on high or low expression of the genes, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that disease-free survival of patients with the high-EPS8/high-WT1/high-MDR1 profile was significantly shorter than in patients with the low-EPS8/low-WT1/low-MDR1 profile or those excluded from either of these groups (P<0.0001). Thus, EPS8, as MDR1 and WT1, may be a clinically valuable biomarker for assessing the outcome of ALL patients.

Purification of Protein Disulfide-isomerase from Human Liver and Preparation of Its Antiserum.

Protein disulfide-isomerase has been isolated from human liver. The preparative procedure involved heat treatment, (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation, CM-Sephadex C50 and DEAE-fast flow chromatography. The enzyme was homogenous and had a molecular mass of 60 kD or 120 kD as determined by sodium dodecy1 sulphate electro-phoresis and gel filtration respectively, indicating that the enzyme was a 120 kD dimmer with a subunit with molecular mass of 60 kD. The enzyme activity was as high as 830 U/g.protein as measured by the reactivation of "scrambled" ribonuclease. The antiserum of high titer was prepared by immunizing New Zealand rabbit with a mixture of the protein disulfide-isomerase and adjuvant.

Isolation and purification of pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A from human amniotic fluid and its bioactivity assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To isolate and purify pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A(SP-A) from human amniotic fluid. METHODS: Human amniotic fluid was collected from 11 parturients and SP-A was isolated by extraction and dialysis followed by purification procedures. The specificity of SP-A was detected by Western blotting and the bioactivity assessed by MTP-1 film balance. RESULTS: An amount of 12 mg (20 ml) purified SP-A was obtained, and the protein presented a single band upon SDS-PAGE with relative molecular mass of 31 000. Western blotting also displayed one specific band. Film balance demonstrated that the minimum surface tension alphamin of Exosurf, an synthetic pulmonary surfactant, was 7.7+/-0.3, significantly higher than alphamin of Exosurf and SP-A mixture(1.5+/-0.22, P<0.05), indicating enhanced bioactivity of the mixture. CONCLUSION: Dialysis can effectively purify SP-A from human amniotic fluid with little damage of its biological activity.

A controlled clinical trial of itraconazole for prevention of fungal infections secondary to chemotherapy.

To study the preventive effect of itraconazole against fungal infections following chemotherapy in tumor patients, we conducted a double-blind randomized clinical trial in 114 tumor patients receiving chemotherapy, who were divided into itraconazole treatment group (n=52) and control group (n=62) and the incidences of fungal infections after chemotherapy were recorded. In comparison with the control group, itraconazole treatment group exhibited a significant decrease in fungal infection episodes (12.8% vs 3.8%), illustrating the efficacy of itraconazole treatment as a preventive measure against fungal infections secondary to chemotherapy.

[Prophylaxis of hepatic veno-occlusive disease by low-molecular-weight heparin and lipo- prostaglandin E1 after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation].

To study the effects of low-molecular-weight heparin and lipid microspheres containing prostaglandin E(1) (lipo PGE) in preventing hepatic veno-occlusive disease after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, we observed 21 cases of allogeneic stem cell transplantation, in which the combined treatments were administered from day -7 to day +30. As a result, only 2 of these cases developed hepatic veno-occlusive disease, without obvious treatment-related adverse effects, suggesting the safety and effectiveness of the combined treatment using low-molecular-weight heparin and lipo PGE1 in the prevention of hepatic veno-occlusive disease after allogenetic stem cell transplantation.

[Preparation and identification of monoclonal antibodies against human pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A].

OBJECTIVE: To prepare monoclonal antibody (mAb) against human pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) and evaluate its specificities. METHODS: The hybridoma cell line secreting SP-A mAb was established to induce the production of SP-A ascites fluid in BALB/c mice immunized with SP-A. The ascites fluid was then collected and purified through (NH4)2SO4 salting-out procedure, and the titer and specificity of the purified monoclonal anti-SP-A antibodies were determined by Western blotting and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. RESULTS: Three hybridoma cell lines capable of specific antibody secretion were established, among which 2B6 produced the antibody of the highest titer, with the hybridoma cell chromosome exceeding 100. The antibody titers in the ascitic fluid and cell supernatant fluid were 1: 50,000 and 1: 10,000 respectively, and Western blotting displayed a reaction band representing a relative molecular mass of 31,000, which was produced by the monoclonal antibody in reaction to purified SP-A. CONCLUSION: The antibodies of high purity and specificity against human SP-A have been successfully prepared.