Large-fused-ring-based D-A type electrochromic polymer with magenta/yellowish green/cyan three-color transitions.

Large-fused-ring-based conjugated polymers possess wide application prospects in optoelectronic devices due to their high charge transport and wide optical absorption. In this paper, three low-bandgap donor-acceptor (D-A) type polymers PBIT-X (X = 1, 2, 3) based on alkylated benzodithiophene and tris(thienothiophene) as donors and thiadiazol-quinoxaline as an acceptor were synthesized via Stille coupling polymerization at different (donor/acceptor) D/A molar feed ratios. The band gaps of PBIT-1, PBIT-2, PBIT-3 were 1.10 eV, 1.04 eV and 1.02 eV, respectively. Spectroelectrochemistry studies showed that the three D-A type polymers have dual bands located in visible and near-infrared regions in the neutral state. The three D-A type polymers possess good electrochromic properties, such as an optical contrast of 56% and response time of 0.3 s. In particular, PBIT-3 could achieve three color changes from magenta to yellowish green to cyan during the oxidation process. The results indicate that these D-A type conjugated polymers based on large fused-ring units exhibit multiple color changes, endowing them with huge potential applications in visible and near-infrared electrochromic devices.

Study on Adsorption Behavior of Nickel Ions Using Silica-Based Sandwich Layered Zirconium-Titanium Phosphate Prepared by Layer-by-Layer Grafting Method.

In this study, the composite of silica-based sandwich-layered zirconium-titanium phosphate was prepared by a layer-by-layer grafting method and its adsorption properties in a diluted solution of Ni ions were specifically researched by the bath experiment method. The field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) results presented the smooth surface morphology of the pristine adsorbent and a rough surface morphology of the adsorbed adsorbent and the energy dispersive analysis (EDS) results ensured the presence of the original metal element (Si, O, Ti, P, Zr) and the captured nickel element on the adsorbent. The Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the new band formation of -Si-Ti-O-, -Si-Ti-O-P-, and -Si-Ti-O-P-Zr-O-, which ensured the successful modification of the silica substrate by zirconium-titanium phosphate. The specific surface area and pore size distribution analysis indicated that the pore structure was changed from type-Ⅳ to H2-type and the specific surface area (BET) of the modified composite was 337.881 m2/g. In the bath experiment, the optimal pH for adsorbing Ni ions on the composite was ~8 with the equilibrium time 30 min at room temperature and the maximum sorption amount was 50.1 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics of the sorption process were corresponded to the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation and the isothermal adsorption data were fitted well to the Redlich-Peterson Model. Thermodynamic simulation results revealed the species of Ni ions and provided a reasonable pH scope for better removal of the Ni element in wastewater.

Low CBS expression can identify patients who benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer.

Aim: To explore the clinical significance of Cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) expression in gastric cancer (GC).Research design and methods: CBS expression and clinicopathological/follow-up information of patients with gastric cancer undergoing operation were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The association of CBS expression with patients' overall survival (OS) was determined in the entire cohort and different subgroups. Validation was performed in two external cohorts from NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The estimated drug response of the tumors with different CBS expressions was characterized. The potential CBS-related cellular pathways in chemoresistance were explored.Results: High CBS was associated with poor OS in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) but not those without ACT. And ACT was associated with favorable OS in patients with low CBS expression but not those with high CBS expression. The results were verified in two external cohorts. Drug response prediction suggested that patients with low CBS expression showed high sensitivity to 5-Fluorouracil. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) suggested that CBS might contribute to GC chemoresistance via modulating many cellular pathways, including down-regulating apoptosis and P53 pathways while up-regulating DNA repair pathway.Conclusion: Low CBS expression can predict the benefit from ACT in GC.

LncRNA NEAT1 Regulates the Development of Parkinson's Disease by Targeting AXIN1 Via Sponging miR-212-3p.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) nuclear-enriched assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) has been reported to be highly expressed in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the mechanism of NEAT1 in PD progression has not been fully elucidated. 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine injection (MPTP) was used to construct PD mouse models in vivo, and 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridine (MPP+) was used to build PD cell models in vitro. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to test the expression of NEAT1, microRNA (miR)-212-3p and axis inhibition protein 1 (AXIN1). The viability, apoptosis and inflammation of cells were determined using cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) assay, flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Then, the protein levels of apoptosis-related markers and AXIN1 were measured by western blot (WB) analysis. Furthermore, dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay were performed to verify the interaction between miR-212-3p and NEAT1 or AXIN1. NEAT1 was upregulated in PD mouse models and cell models. Function experiments confirmed that NEAT1 knockdown could promote the viability, suppress the apoptosis and inflammation of MPP+-stimulated SK-N-SH cells to restrain PD progression. MiR-212-3p was downregulated in PD, and its inhibitor could reverse the suppression effect of NEAT1 knockdown on PD progression. Additionally, AXIN1 was a target of miR-212-3p, and its overexpression could invert the inhibition effect of miR-212-3p mimic on PD progression. Furthermore, AXIN1 expression was inhibited by NEAT1 silencing and promoted by NEAT1 overexpression, while these effect could be recovered by miR-212-3p inhibitor and mimic, respectively. Our results demonstrated that NEAT1 knockdown suppressed PD progression through regulating the miR-212-3p/AXIN1 pathway, indicating that NEAT1 might be a therapeutic target for neuroprotection in PD.

Effects of miR-492 on migration, invasion, EMT and prognosis in ovarian cancer by targeting SOX7.

PURPOSE: Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common malignancies in females with high mortality rate. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) serve as oncogenes or tumor suppressors in various human cancer types, including OC. The aim of this study was to explore the roles of miR-492 in OC. METHODS: Two human ovarian cancer cell lines, SKOV3 and CAOV3, and a normal ovarian cell line IOSE80 were used in this study. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was conducted to measure the mRNA levels of miRNAs and genes. The protein levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) associated genes were calculated using Western blot. Transwell assay was utilized to evaluate the migratory and invasive capacities. RESULTS: MiR-492 was overexpressed while SRY-box 7 (SOX7) was lowly expressed in OC tissues and cells. Upregulation of miR-492 or downregulation of SOX7 predicted poor prognosis of OC patients. MiR-492 regulated the expression of SOX7 via directly binding to the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of SOX7 mRNA in SKOV3 OC cells. The expression of miR-492 had a negative relationship with SOX7 in OC tissues. MiR-492 promoted the migration, invasion and EMT through SOX7 in SKOV3 cells. SOX7 could partially reverse the role of miR-492 on the migratory, invasive and EMT abilities in SKOV3 cells. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-492 promoted the migratory, invasive and EMT abilities through SOX7 in OC. This suggested that miR-492/SOX7 axis may be an effective candidate therapeutic target for the treatment of OC.

Supramolecular Iron Complex Formed Between Nitrogen Riched Phenanthroline Derivative and Iron With Improved Oxygen Reduction Activity in Alkaline Electrolyte.

In this work, the synthesis and evaluation of a new type non-noble metal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst is reported. The catalyst is a complex containing iron ions and multiple N active sites, which displayed excellent oxygen reduction activity in alkaline medium. 2-(2-(4-(1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthrolin-2-yl)pyridin-2-yl)pyridin-4-yl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline (PIPhen) was synthesized and used as a ligand to form a rich nitrogen iron coordination complex (Fe-PIPhen), and the complex was then loaded onto the carbon powder to form the target catalyst of Fe-PIPhen/C. The physical characterization of the catalyst was conducted by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis etc. Electrochemical characterizations were realized by taking cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE). The results show that Fe-PIPhen/C possesses the good performance; it exhibits a high electrocatalytic activity, which is mainly via a four electron ORR pathway, with a low hydrogen peroxide yield of 2.58%. And, the average electron transfer number of 3.93 was obtained in alkaline electrolyte. In summary, Fe-PIPhen/C will likely become a promising alternative to Pt catalyst in fuel cell.

Multiple biological processes may be associated with tumorigenesis under NUP88-overexpressed condition.

Overexpression of the nucleoporin NUP88 has been observed in a large number of tumors and has been experimentally proven to promote tumorigenesis. However, the mechanism underlying the tumor-promoting activity of overexpressed NUP88 is not clear. To investigate the potential pathways that drive tumorigenesis under NUP88 overexpressed condition, we applied a proteomic approach to identify NUP88-associated proteins at a subcellular compartment level. Gene ontology analysis revealed significant associations between NUP88 interactome and biological processes that are related to nuclear transport, RNA processing, cell cycle progression, metabolic regulation, and viral infection. Moreover, we found that NUP88 interacts with MISP, a mitotic interactor and substrate of PLK1. Interestingly, NUP88 overexpression blocks MISP phosphorylation, which is known to be critical for normal spindle formation and accurate chromosome segregation during mitosis. In conclusion, our data for the first time provide a global view of biological processes that may drive tumorigenesis under NUP88 overexpressed condition, revealing a biological effect of NUP88-MISP interaction. Furthermore, identification of NUP88-associated proteins provides a valuable database for future studies. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Androgen deprivation therapy is associated with diabetes: Evidence from meta-analysis.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: There is still no obvious evidence proving that androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) would increase the risk of diabetes. To determine if ADT is associated with diabetes in men with prostate cancer, we carried out the present study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically searched Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library Central Register through 2014. Studies comparing ADT vs control aimed at treating prostate cancer reporting diabetes as outcome were included. Data were extracted independently by two reviewers. This meta-analysis was reported based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. Observational studies were evaluated through the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology checklist. RESULTS: Eight studies were identified with 65,695 ADT users and 91,893 non-ADT users. The pooled incidence of diabetes was 39% higher in ADT groups. A significant association was observed in the overall analysis (risk ratio [RR] 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27-1.53; P < 0.001). In subgroup analyses, diabetes was found to be significantly associated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) alone (RR 1.45, 95% CI 1.36-1.54; P < 0.001), GnRH plus oral antiandrogen (RR 1.40, 95% CI 1.01-1.93; P = 0.04) and orchiectomy (RR 1.34, 95% CI 1.20-1.50; P < 0.001), but not with antiandrogen alone (RR 1.33, 95% CI 0.75-2.36; P = 0.33). Diabetes was strongly related to long duration of ADT (RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.22-1.68; P < 0.001), and was slightly associated with short duration of ADT (RR 1.29, 95% CI 1.12-1.49; P = 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: ADT, especially long duration (>6 months) of this treatment, GnRH alone, GnRH plus antiandrogen and orchiectomy can increase the incidence of diabetes.

Stroke related to androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Whether androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) leads to stroke morbidity is still unclear because of inconsistent evidence. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate if ADT used in men with prostate cancer (PCa) is associated with stroke. METHODS AND RESULTS: Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases up to September 30th 2014 were systematically searched with no date or language restriction, and reports from potentially relevant journals were complementally searched. Both randomized controlled trials and observational studies were included. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. Six observational studies finally met inclusion criteria, with 74,538 ADT users and 85,947 non-ADT users reporting stroke as an endpoint. Although no significant association was observed in pooled estimates, the incidence of stroke in ADT users was 12 % higher than control groups, (HR = 1.12, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.95 to 1.32; P = 0.16). In subgroup-analyses of different ADT types, stroke was found to be significantly associated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) alone (HR = 1.20, 95 % CI: 1.12 to 1.28; P < 0.001), GnRH plus oral antiandrogen (AA) (HR = 1.23, 95 % CI: 1.13 to 1.34; P < 0.001) and orchiectomy (HR = 1.37, 95 % CI: 1.33 to 1. 46; P = 0.001), but not with AA alone (HR = 1.06, 95 % CI: 0.71 to 1.57; P = 0.78). CONCLUSIONS: GnRH alone, GnRH plus AA and orchiectomy is significantly associated with stroke in patients with PCa.

Elf5 inhibits TGF-ß-driven epithelial-mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer by repressing SMAD3 activation.

BACKGROUND: The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been associated with the acquisition of migration, invasiveness, and metastasis traits. During tumor progression, EMT can be induced by transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signal that epithelial cells receive from their microenvironment. However, the master regulatory controls on TGF-ß-EMT axis are not understood. METHODS: The protein expression in human specimens was measured by immunohistochemical staining. E74-like factor 5 (Elf5) was silenced by short interfering RNAs in LNCaP cells and stably overexpressed by HA-tagged Elf5 cDNAs in 22Rv1 cells. These cells were used to study migration and anchorage-independent growth. RESULTS: Our data reveal that Elf5 results in the failure of mesenchymal morphogenesis, upregulation of EMT markers, spheres formation, and migration in the presence of TGF-ß. Furthermore, Elf5 blocks TGF-ß signaling, through decreasing drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic protein (SMAD3) activation by binding to it, one of the major effector of TGF-ß-induced EMT. Moreover, Elf5 can serve as a prognostic marker of metastasis-free survival in patients with TGF-ß-positive prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Elf5 expression is inversely correlated with EMT. Elf5 inhibits TGF-ß-driven EMT via repressing SMAD3 phosphorylation in prostate cancer cells. In addition, Elf5 can be used as a biomarker of metastasis-free survival in patients with TGF-ß-positive prostate cancer.

Androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality: a meta-analysis of population-based observational studies.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus regarding whether androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cardiovascular mortality (CVM). The objective of this study was to determine the role of ADT for prostate cancer (PCa) in development of cardiovascular events (CVD and CVM). METHODS AND FINDINGS: We performed a meta-analysis from population-based observational studies comparing ADT vs control aimed at treating PCa in patients with PCa, reporting either CVD or CVM as outcome. Publications were searched using Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library Central Register of observational studies database up to May 31th 2014, and supplementary searches in publications from potentially relevant journals. 6 studies were identified with a total of 129,802 ADT users and 165,605 controls investigating the relationship between ADT and CVD. The incidence of CVD was 10% higher in ADT groups, although no significant association was observed (HR = 1.10, 95%CIs: 1.00-1.21; P = 0.06). For different types of ADT, CVD was related with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) (HR = 1.19, 95%CIs: 1.04-1.36; P<0.001) and GnRH plus oral antiandrogen (AA) (HR = 1.46, 95%CIs: 1.03-2.08; P = 0.04), but not with AA alone or orchiectomy. For CVM, 119,625 ADT users and 150,974 controls from 6 eligible studies were included, pooled results suggested that ADT was associated with CVM (HR = 1.17, 95%CIs: 1.04-1.32; P = 0.01). Significantly increased CVM was also detected in GnRH and GnRH plus AA groups. When patients received other treatments (e.g. prostatectomy and radiotherapy) were ruled out of consideration, more increased CVD (HR = 1.19, 95%CIs: 1.08-1.30; P<0.001) and CVM (HR = 1.30, 95%CIs: 1.13-1.50; P<0.001) were found in men treated with ADT monotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: ADT is associated with both CVD and CVM. Particularly, GnRH alone and GnRH plus AA can significantly increase the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with PCa.

Pu-erh tea powder preventive effects on cisplatin-induced liver oxidative damage in Wistar rats.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy is one of the major means for control of malignancies, with cisplatin (CDDP) as one of the main agents, widely used for the treatment of various malignant solid tumors. However, prevention of hepatotoxicity from cisplatin is one of the urgent issues in cancer chemotherapy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of pu-erh tea on hepatotoxicity through body weight and tissue antioxidant parameters like, liver coefficient, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), malondialdehyde(MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, and light microscopic evaluation by histological findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The rats were randomly divided into five groups: Control (n=10), cisplatin (3 mg/kg p.i., n=10), cisplatin+pu-erh (0.32 g/kg/day i.g., n=10), cisplatin+pu-erh (0.8 g/kg/day i.g., n=10) and cisplatin+pu-erh (1.6 g/kg/day i.g., n=10). Pu-erh tea powder was administrated for 31 consecutive days. The rats were sacrificed at the end on the second day after a single dose of cisplatin treatment for measuring indices. RESULTS: Pu-erh tea powder exhibited a protective effect by decreasing MDA and GSH and increasing the SOD and GSH-PX levels and GSH-PX/MDA ratio in comparison with the control group. Besides, pu-erh tea was also able to alleviate the pathological damage to some extent. CONCLUSION: Pu-erh tea powder is protective against cisplatin-induced liver oxidative damages, especially at the medium dosage (0.8 g/kg/d).

Nonylphenol disrupts the cardio-protective effects of 17ß-estradiol on ischemia/reperfusion injury in isolated hearts of guinea pig.

Nonylphenol (NP), a widely distributed, toxic, endocrine-disrupting chemical, has estrogenic properties. However, its cardiac effects remain unclear. In this study, the effects of NP on isolated guinea pig hearts were studied in three separate experiments. First, hearts were perfused with 10⁻7 M NP or 10⁻5 M NP to determine whether NP was toxic to isolated healthy hearts. Next, hearts were subjected to 50 min of ischemia and 60 min of reperfusion (I50R60) with 10⁻7 M NP or 10⁻5 M NP to determine whether NP could aggravate ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Finally, the interaction of the cardio-protective agent 17ß-estradiol (E2) with NP was studied using 10⁻7 M E2, 10⁻7 M E2 plus 10⁻7 M NP, and 10⁻7 M E2 plus 10⁻5 M NP. Heart rate (HR) and coronary flow (CF) were significantly decreased and the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in effluent was increased in the 10⁻5 M NP group. However, there were no obvious changes in HR, CF, the leakage of LDH or creatine kinase (CK), or the activity of superoxide dismutase in either of the NP treatments in the I50R60 model. Treatment with 10⁻7 M E2 attenuated I/R injury by increasing HR, decreasing the leakage of LDH and CK, and decreasing infarct size. However, these effects were reversed by both concentrations of NP. These data demonstrate that NP had direct toxic effects on normal hearts and NP might disrupt the cardio-protective effects of E2 on I/R injury.

Preparation of sulfonic-functionalized graphene oxide as ion-exchange material and its application into electrochemiluminescence analysis.

Graphene oxide (GO) obtained from chemical oxidation of flake graphite was derivatized with sulfonic groups to form sulfonic-functionalized GO (GO-SO(3)(-)) through four sulfonation routes: through amide formation between the carboxylic group of GO and amine of sulfanilic acid (AA-GO-SO(3)(-)), aryl diazonium reaction of sulfanilic acid (AD-GO-SO(3)(-)), amide formation between the carboxylic group of GO and amine of cysteamine and oxidation by H(2)O(2) (CA-GO-SO(3)(-)), and alkyl diazonium reaction of cysteamine and oxidation by H(2)O(2) (CD-GO-SO(3)(-)). Results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectrospectrocopy showed that -SO(3)(-) groups were attached onto GO. Thermo gravimetric analysis showed that derivatization with sulfonic groups improved thermo stability of GO. X-ray diffraction results indicated that GO-SO(3)(-) had more ordered π-π stacking structure than the original GO. GO-SO(3)(-) and cationic polyelectrote, poly (diallyldimethylammoniumchloride) (PDDA) were adsorbed at indium tin oxide (ITO) glass surface through layer-by-layer assembling to form (GO-SO(3)(-)/PDDA)(n)/ITO multilayers. After tris-(2,2'-bipyridyl) ruthenium (II) dichloride (Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)) was incorporated into the multilayers, the obtained Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)/(GO-SO(3)(-)/PDDA)(n)/ITO electrodes can be used as electrochemiluminescence sensors for detection of organic amine with high sensitivity (limit of detection of 1 nM) and stability.

Controlled synthesis of Pt nanoparticles array through electroreduction of cisplatin bound at nucleobases terminated surface and application into H2O2 sensing.

Fabrication of sub-monolayer array of Pt nanoparticles (PtNPs) assembled at nucleobases terminated layers and their application into H(2)O(2) and glucose sensing were reported. To prepare such a PtNPs assembly, 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), Zr(4+), nucleotide-5'-monophosphate (NTMP including guanosine, adenosine, cytidine, uridine-5'-monophosphate, and abbreviations were GMP, AMP, CMP, UMP, respectively) were adsorbed onto Au substrate sequentially to form nucleobases terminated surface and Zr(4+) acted as binder to link carboxylic and phosphoric groups (NTMP/Zr(4+)/MPA/Au). Complexation of cisplatin, cis-Pt(NH(3))(2)Cl(2), with terminated nucleobases and following electrochemical reduction of surface-bound cisplatin gave PtNPs attached surface. Different PtNPs coverage or particle density was obtained depending on the NTMP used and decreased in the order: PtNPs/GMP/Zr(4+)/MPA/Au>PtNPs/AMP/Zr(4+)/MPA/Au>PtNPs/CMP/Zr(4+)/MPA/Au>PtNPs/UMP/Zr(4+)/MPA/Au. The surface loading of Pt was between 160 and 16 ng/cm(2). The as prepared PtNPs can be used as electrocatalysts for H(2)O(2) sensing (detection limit of H(2)O(2)<100 nM) and the sensitivity increased with decreasing PtNPs density. After adsorption of glucose oxidase, the modified electrode can be used as enzymatic electrode for glucose sensing and a detection limit of 38.5 µM was achieved. This study provided an example of fabricating PtNP arrays utilising surface complexation of cisplatin with nucleobases. The advantage of this method is that the NP density can be controlled through changing nucleobases or Pt complexes used to obtain suitable kinetics of the complexation reactions. Additionally, the PtNPs sub-monolayer as prepared has high sensitivity for H(2)O(2) sensing even at a very low loading of Pt.

[Methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide pulse therapy of severe systemic lupus erythematosus in children].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of methylprednisolone (MP) and cyclophosphamide (CPA) intermittent intravenous pulse therapy and the clinical prognosis in children with severe juvenile onset systemic lupus erythematosus (JOSLE). METHODS: Thirty patients with JOSLE, diagnosed by clinical, laboratory or renal histological examinations, were enrolled in this study. Of the 30 patients, 27 were females and 3 were males, the mean age was (12 +/- 3) years, and 20 of the 22 patients who had undergone initial therapy had LN, and the clinical courses before being involved in the study were 3 to 12 months in nine patients. Twenty-three of the 30 patients had clinical manifestations of renal damages, of whom 4 patients were proven by initial renal biopsy to have WHO type IV, 2 had type II,1 had type V and 1 had type III, and 7 patients had one or more manifestations of central nervous system, including chorea, seizures, cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and organic brain syndrome (OBS), simultaneously, 9 patients had nervous system symptoms without the clinical manifestations of renal damages, 3 patients had lupus crisis, 7 patients did not have any manifestations of renal or neurological damages. According to the protocol of the therapy, the patients were divided into 3 groups: group A (n = 18) patients were treated with MP plus CPA intermittent intravenous pulse for children with lupus nephritis, and with or without neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus (NPLE), group B (n = 7) with pulsed doses of MP, followed by prednisone and tripterygium wilfordii hook f(T(whf)) for patients without renal or central nerves system damage, and group C (n = 5) with prednisone alone for patients with LN determined by clinical and laboratory features. The effects of those regimes and the clinical prognosis were observed. RESULTS: On short-term follow-up, the SLEDAI-2K (by weight of the renal damage) showed significant difference between group A and group B, but there was no significant difference at the 9th months of the therapy. The long-term follow-up lasted in average for (37.2 +/- 24.8) months. Nineteen patients were followed up for more than 18 months. At the end of follow-up, the mean age was 14 to 19 years. There was no difference on the effect of both group A and group B, and no frequent infections were seen, ANAs were negative and SLEDAI-2K = 0-point in two patients of each group 12 months after discontinuation of the therapy. Four patients in group C died within 18 months. CONCLUSION: The immunosuppressive regimen MP + CPA in patients with severe JOSLE and MP + prednisone + T(whf) in patients without major organs damage were superior to the regimen of prednisone alone.