Clinical value of lymphocyte count in autoimmune diabetic nephropathy. / æ·‹å·´ç»†èƒžè®¡æ•°åœ¨è‡ªèº«å ç–«æ€§ç³–å°¿ç— è‚¾ç— ä¸­çš„ä¸´åºŠä»·å€¼ï¼ˆè‹±æ–‡ï¼‰.

OBJECTIVES: In recent years, the prevalence of diabetic nephropathy (DN) has increased significantly. An increasing number of studies have shown that lymphocyte-associated inflammatory responses play a role in DN. This study aims to investigate the relationship between lymphocytes and DN in patients with autoimmune diabetes. METHODS: The clinical data of 226 patients with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and 79 patients with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) were retrospectively studied and stratified according to the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR). Risk factors associated with DN were analyzed using correlation analysis and logistic regression. RESULTS: In T1D and LADA patients, systolic blood pressure (SBP), uric acid duration, and diabetes duration in patients with normoalbuminuria were lower or shorter than those in patients with macroalbuminuria (P<0.05). The lymphocyte count of T1D patients was significantly higher than that in LADA patients (P<0.05), while the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of T1D patients was significantly lower than that in LADA patients (P<0.05). The lymphocyte count in the T1D patients with normoalbuminuria was lower than that those with macroalbuminuria (P<0.05). The NLR was lower in the T1D patients with macroalbuminuria than those with microalbuminuria and normoproteinuria (all P<0.01). Based on logistic regression analysis, lymphocytes were independently associated with DN in T1D after adjusting for various known risk factors such as course of disease, age, gender, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and smoking status. Analysis of the receiver operating characteristic curve of subjects predicting lymphocytes in normoalbuminuria showed that the area under the curve was 0.601 (95% CI 0.510 to 0.693, P=0.039), and when the cutoff value of lymphocytes was 2.332, the sensitivity was 37.0%, and the specificity was 82.5%. CONCLUSIONS: Lymphocyte counts in autoimmune diabetic patients are closely associated with DN, suggesting that lymphocyte-mediated inflammation may be involved in the pathogenesis of DN in autoimmune diabetic patients. This study provides a possible perspective for using lymphocytes as a potential biomarker for the early identification of individuals at risk for DN and potential therapeutic targets for DN.

Ångstrom-scale silver particle-embedded carbomer gel promotes wound healing by inhibiting bacterial colonization and inflammation.

Poor wound healing after diabetes or extensive burn remains a challenging problem. Recently, we presented a physical approach to fabricate ultrasmall silver particles from Ångstrom scale to nanoscale and determined the antitumor efficacy of Ångstrom-scale silver particles (AgÅPs) in the smallest size range. Here we used the medium-sized AgÅPs (65.9 ± 31.6 Å) to prepare carbomer gel incorporated with these larger AgÅPs (L-AgÅPs-gel) and demonstrated the potent broad-spectrum antibacterial activity of L-AgÅPs-gel without obvious toxicity on wound healing-related cells. Induction of reactive oxygen species contributed to L-AgÅPs-gel-induced bacterial death. Topical application of L-AgÅPs-gel to mouse skin triggered much stronger effects than the commercial silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-gel to prevent bacterial colonization, reduce inflammation, and accelerate diabetic and burn wound healing. L-AgÅPs were distributed locally in skin without inducing systemic toxicities. This study suggests that L-AgÅPs-gel represents an effective and safe antibacterial and anti-inflammatory material for wound therapy.

Methylation of PRDM2, PRDM5 and PRDM16 genes in lung cancer cells.

AIMS: To investigate the changes of expression and methylation status of PRDM2, PRDM5, PRDM16 in lung cancer cells after treatment with demethylation agent. METHODS: A549 (lung adenocarcinoma cell line), HTB-182 (lung squamous cell carcinoma cell line) and HBE (normal bronchial cell line) were treated with 5-aza-2dC. The methylation state of PRDM2, PRDM5, PRDM16 was detected by MSP. The expression of PRDM2, PRDM5, PRDM16 was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Cell growth was detected by MTT assay. RESULTS: 5-aza-2-dC reduced the methylation of PRDM2, PRDM5, PRDM16 gene in A549 and HTB-182 cells but not in HBE cells. Consistently, 5-aza-2dC increased mRNA and protein expression of PRDM2, PRDM5, PRDM16 in A549 and HTB-182 cells but not in HBE cells. Furthermore, 5-aza-2dC inhibited the growth of A549 and HTB-182 cells but not HBE cells. CONCLUSIONS: PRDM2, PRDM5, PRDM16 promoters are methylated and their expression is suppressed in lung cancer cells. Demethylation drug 5-aza-2dC could upregulate the expression of PRDM2, PRDM5, PRDM16 and suppress lung cancer cell growth. 5-aza-2dC has potential to be used for lung cancer therapy by epigenetic mechanism.

Promoter methylation-mediated downregulation of PRDM5 contributes to the development of lung squamous cell carcinoma.

PRDM5 has been proposed as a tumor suppressor frequently downregualted in tumor. In this study, lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues and adjacent nontumorous normal tissues were collected from 30 patients. PRDM5 expression was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis, DNA methylation of PRDM5 promoter was analyzed by methylation-specific PCR. SK-MES-1 cells or xenografts in nude mice were treated with 5-aza-2'-deoxycitydine, and cell proliferation and tumor growth in nude mice were examined. We found that PRDM5 promoter was methylated and PRDM5 expression at both mRNA and protein levels was reduced in lung squamous cell carcinoma tissues. Furthermore, PRDM5 promoter methylation was significantly correlated with tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis of lung squamous cell carcinoma, but not with age, gender, smoking, or tumor grade. 5-aza-2'-deoxycitydine inhibited the proliferation of SK-MES-1 cells and the growth of xenografts in nude mice, accompanied by reduced methylation of PRDM5 promoter and increased expression of PRDM5. Taken together, our data suggest that PRDM5 is a tumor suppressor in lung cancer and is a promising target for the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of lung squamous cell carcinoma.

[Cytomegalovirus infection and immunosuppressant treatment in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between peripheral blood cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA level and cyclosporine A (CsA) plasma concentration among allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) recipients who received immunosuppressant treatment, and to evaluate the potential clinical value. METHODS: A total of 32 allo-HSCT patients were enrolled and their data were analyzed retrospectively. Ganciclovir was used to prevent CMV infection before the transplantation. Routine fluorescence PCR was admitted to test the blood CMV DNA level. The patients were divided into 2 groups: a CMV DNA positive group and a CMV DNA negative group. Enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique was adopted regularly to monitor the blood CsA concentration. The correlation between CMV DNA level and CsA concentration was analyzed. RESULTS: The CMV infection rate in patients who received allo-HSCT was 53.13%. The blood CsA concentration in the CMV DNA positive group was significantly higher than that in the CMV DNA negative group (P<0.05). Through the ROC curve, the area under the curve on Day 1, 7, and 14 had statistical significance compared with 0.5, and the corresponding blood CsA concentration was 203.15, 215.55, and 302.65 ng/mL, respectively. CONCLUSION: Immunosuppressive drug concentration can affect the dynamic changes of CMV DNA. High blood CsA concentration may be one of the reasons for CMV infection. Monitoring the blood CsA concentration may provide guidance for clinical treatment.