Exosomal circRNAs: biogenesis, effect and application in human diseases.

Exosomes have emerged as critical mediators of intercellular communication, both locally and systemically, by regulating a diverse range of biological processes between cells. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a novel member of endogenous noncoding RNAs with widespread distribution and diverse cellular functions. Recently, circular RNAs have been identified for their enrichment and stability in exosomes. In this review, we outline the origin, biogenesis and function of exosomal circRNAs as well as their roles in various diseases. Although their precise roles and mechanisms of gene regulation remain largely elusive, exosomal circRNAs have potential applications as disease biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets.

The reference intervals for CA125, CA15-3, CA19-9, CA72-4, AFP, CEA, NSE and CYFRA21-1.

Tumor markers are noninvasive diagnostic tools for cancer. Their abnormal expression often occurs earlier than clinical symptoms or other detection signals. Appropriate reference intervals (RIs) of tumor markers are important for health evaluation, cancer diagnosis, therapy monitoring and prognosis assessment. In this study, we aimed to establish the RIs of cancer antigen 125 (CA125), CA15-3, CA19-9, CA72-4, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1 (CYFRA21-1) in apparently healthy Henan population. A total of 1705 apparently healthy participants (21-89 years) were recruited from five representative geographical regions in Henan province. Nonparametric 95th percentile intervals were used to define the RIs of CA125, CA15-3, CA19-9, CA72-4, AFP, CEA, NSE and CYFRA21-1. The test results of CA125, CA15-3, CA19-9, CA72-4, AFP, CEA, NSE and CYFRA21-1 can traceable to reference measurement procedures. The age- and gender-specific RIs of the tumor markers were established. We established age- and gender-specific RIs for CA125, CA15-3, CA19-9, CA72-4, AFP, CEA, NSE and CYFRA21-1. The newly established RIs should be more suitable for Henan population. It will be valuable for clinicians to make a medical diagnosis, therapeutic management decision and other physiological assessment.

Combination of Circulating miRNA-320a/b and D-Dimer Improves Diagnostic Accuracy in Deep Vein Thrombosis Patients.

BACKGROUND D-dimer tests have been widely used to rule-out deep venous thrombosis (DVT), but with low specificity. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are novel promising biomarkers in diverse diseases. The purpose of our study was to identify the diagnostic abilities of circulating miRNA-320a/b and to assess their correlation with plasma D-dimer in DVT and post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS Plasma samples were taken from 30 DVT patients, 30 PTS patients, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay and turbidimetric immunoassay were conducted to assess the concentrations of miRNA-320a/b and D-dimer in plasma. RESULTS Circulating miRNA-320a and miRNA-320b were significantly upregulated in DVT patients with fold changes of 1.58 and 1.79, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.70 (95% CI: 0.56-0.83) for miRNA-320a and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.67-0.90) for miRNA-320b. Moreover, plasma levels of miRNA-320b were associated with D-dimer values (r=0.52, 95% CI: 0.19-0.74) in DVT. However, no significant changes in plasma miRNA-320a/b and D-dimer were detected in PTS patients. CONCLUSIONS Compared with controls, circulating miRNA-320a/b was differentially expressed in DVT. Simultaneous detection of miRNA-320a/b with D-dimer may improve diagnostic accuracy of DVT.

Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and platelet indices in patients with acute deep vein thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation is associated with an increased risk of thrombotic events and complete blood count (CBC) is an easily measured test. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of CBC relative parameters including mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio (MPVLR), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for patients with acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 115 patients with unprovoked DVT of the lower extremities and 105 controls were recruited in this study. Blood samples were drawn from all participants to obtain the concentrations of CBCs and D-dimers. RESULTS: MPVs (P = 0.044), PLRs (P = 0.005), MPVLRs (P = 0.001), and NLRs (P < 0.0001) were significantly higher in acute DVT patients compared to controls. The MPV was inversely correlated with platelet count (P < 0.0001) and the NLR was positively associated with D-dimers (P = 0.002) and the PLR (P < 0.0001). Notably, on multivariate logistic regression analysis, NLRs and D-dimers were independent risk factors of acute DVT (OR: 1.889, P = 0.024; OR: 1.009, P < 0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: MPV, PLR, MPVLR, and NLR have potential diagnostic values for patients with unprovoked DVT. NLR is an independent risk factor related to DVT.

Intermolecular Interactions and the Viscosity of Highly Concentrated Monoclonal Antibody Solutions.

PURPOSE: The large increase in viscosity of highly concentrated monoclonal antibody solutions can be challenging for downstream processing, drug formulation, and delivery steps. The objective of this work was to examine the viscosity of highly concentrated solutions of a high purity IgG1 monoclonal antibody over a wide range of protein concentrations, solution pH, ionic strength, and in the presence / absence of different excipients. METHODS: Experiments were performed with an IgG1 monoclonal antibody provided by Amgen. The steady-state viscosity was evaluated using a Rheometrics strain-controlled rotational rheometer with a concentric cylinder geometry. RESULTS: The viscosity data were well-described by the Mooney equation. The data were analyzed in terms of the antibody virial coefficients obtained from osmotic pressure data evaluated under the same conditions. The viscosity coefficient in the absence of excipients was well correlated with the third osmotic virial coefficient, which has a negative value (corresponding to short range attractive interactions) at the pH and ionic strength examined in this work. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide important insights into the effects of intermolecular protein-protein interactions on the behavior of highly concentrated antibody solutions.

Depth filtration for clarification of intensified lentiviral vector suspension cell culture.

Depth filtration significantly impacts efficiency of lentiviral (LV) vector purification process. However, it is often deprioritized in the overall scope of viral vector manufacturing process optimization. The demand for LV vectors has increased with the rise in disease indications, making it crucial to improve current manufacturing processes. Upstream bioreactor process intensification has enabled cell densities of over 107 viable cells/mL, creating challenges for harvest unit operations. The larger size of LV vectors and their physiochemical similarity to host cell-DNA (HC-DNA) and poor clarification performance causes significant challenges for the subsequent chromatography-based purifications. As a result, a robust and scalable harvest of LV process is needed, especially for LV in vivo therapeutic quality needs. In this study, we systematically evaluated the overlooked yet important issue of depth filtration systems to improve enveloped LV functional vector recovery. We found that an established depth filtration system in process A that provided 94% (n = 6) LV functional recovery could not be translated to intensified Process B cell culture. Hence, the depth filtration process became a bottleneck for the purification performance in an intensified process. We demonstrated an improvement in LV functional vector recovery from 34% to 82% via filter train optimization for an intensified suspension cell culture system (>107 cells/mL with higher titer), while still maintaining a loading throughput of ≥82 L/m2 and turbidity ≤20 NTU. It was demonstrated that the two or three-stage depth filtration scheme is scalable and more suitable for high cell density culture for large scale for LV manufacturing process.

Proceedings of the 2019 Viral Clearance Symposium, Session 5: Viral Inactivation.

Viral inactivation has been demonstrated to be an effective viral clearance step in the biologics purification processes. In the 2019 Viral Clearance Symposium, the topics were focused on alternative eco-friendly and cost-effective detergents, validation of on-column viral inactivation, and further understanding of low pH and solvent/detergent viral inactivation. Sugar-based surfactants and a synthetized replacement of Triton X-100 were evaluated to be effective and robust in inactivating enveloped viruses. For low pH viral inactivation, consistent pH measurement, through alignment of pH meters and probes across different labs and manufacturing facilities, was confirmed to be critical to ensure both product quality and safety. For the well-established solvent/detergent inactivation, an approach of adding premixed solvent/detergent stock significantly improved operation. Different viral clearance approaches were discussed for on-column viral inactivation using a detergent-containing wash buffer.

VEGF-A-induced immature DCs not mature DCs differentiation into endothelial-like cells through ERK1/2-dependent pathway.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells that play an important role in anti-tumour immunity. Endothelial-like differentiation of DCs is an interesting phenomenon. The specific role of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) on the differentiation of immature DCs (iDCs) and mature DCs (mDCs) is worth further research. Here, we show that VEGF-A can induce iDCs to differentiate into endothelial-like cells (ELCs). But it has no obvious influence on mDCs. In the process of endothelial-like differentiation of iDCs, a sustained activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) was detected. VEGF-A induced the activation of ERK1/2, and led to the nuclear translocation of phosphorylation ERK1/2. Incubation of iDCs with the ERK1/2 upstream kinase MEK1/2 inhibitor PD98059, blocked the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and CREB as well as the endothelial-like differentiation of iDCs. These data suggest that VEGF-A induces endothelial-like differentiation of iDCs not mDCs through ERK1/2 signalling pathway.

MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling mediates endothelial-like differentiation of immature DCs in the microenvironment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Endothelial-like differentiation of dendritic cells (DCs) is a new phenomenon, and the mechanism is still elusive. Here, we show that the tumor microenvironment derived from the human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell line EC9706 can induce immature DCs (iDCs) differentiate toward endothelial cells, and become endothelial-like cells, but it has no obvious influence on mature DCs. During the course of endothelial-like differentiation of iDCs, a sustained activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracelluar signal-regulated kinase1/2 (MAPK/ERK1/2) and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) was detected. Incubation of iDCs with MEK phosphorylation inhibitor PD98059 blocked the MAPK/ERK1/2 and CREB phosphorylation as well as the endothelial-like differentiation of iDCs. Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) in the microenvironment with its antibody blocked the endothelial-like differentiation and the phosphorylation of MAPK/ERK1/2 and CREB. These data suggest that MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway activated by VEGF-A could mediate endothelial-like differentiation of iDCs in the ESCC microenvironment.

The Role of PGC-1α in Digestive System Malignant Tumours.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is increasingly becoming the leading cause of death in many countries, and malignant tumours of the digestive system account for majority of cancer incidence and mortality cases. Metabolism has been identified as a core hallmark of cancer. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α) is a pivotal regulator of mitochondrial energy metabolism. Accumulating evidence reveals that PGC-1α is essential in cancer development. OBJECTIVE: We summarize the latest research progress of PGC-1α in common digestive system malignant tumours. Some related modulators and pathways are analyzed as well. METHODS: We conducted a literature review on the development of PGC-1α in common digestive system malignant tumours. RESULTS: In colorectal cancer, PGC-1α appears to provide growth advantages by different pathways, although it has also been reported to have opposite effects. The previous studies of PGC-1α on liver cancer also demonstrated different effects by sundry pathways. Concerning gastric cancer, PGC-1α promotes cell proliferation, apoptosis in vitro and tumour growth in vivo. AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α is related to the inhibition of apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. Pancreatic cancer stem cells are strongly dependent on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. PGC-1α is required to maintain the stemness property of pancreatic cancer stem cells. CONCLUSION: We explore diverse mechanisms that explain the dichotomous functions of PGC-1α on tumorigenesis, and discuss the latest research concerning digestive system malignant tumours. This review would provide better comprehension of the field and a basis for further studies associated with PGC-1α in digestive system cancers.

Differential Expression and Diagnostic Significance of Pre-Albumin, Fibrinogen Combined with D-Dimer in AFP-Negative Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most malignant cancers with high morbidity and mortality. Nowadays, AFP-negative hepatocellular carcinoma (AFP-NHCC) has been found in many HCC patients and AFP analysis can't be used to screen HCC in these cases. In this study, we have examined the expression patterns of pre-albumin (PA), fibrinogen, D-Dimer and their clinical significance in AFP-NHCC. We recruited 214 AFP-NHCC patients and 210 controls in the study. PA, fibrinogen and D-Dimer levels were detected by turbidimetry, clauss and immunoturbidimetry methods, respectively. Serum PA levels were significantly lower in AFP-NHCC (84.5 ± 24.7 mg/L) than that in the controls (240.6 ± 59.4 mg/L, P < 0.05). For plasma fibrinogen levels, there was no difference between the controls (2.9 ± 0.7 g/L) and AFP-NHCC (2.5 ± 0.7 g/L). Compared with AFP-NHCC (0.8 ± 0.2 mg/L), plasma D-Dimer levels were significantly lower in controls (0.1 ± 0.0 mg/L, P < 0.05). The levels of PA, fibrinogen and D-Dimer were significantly correlated with differentiation (P < 0.01), and the PA and D-Dimer values were correlated with TNM stage (P < 0.05). Moreover, PA levels were correlated with tumor size (P = 0.034). Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses elaborated that combination of PA, fibrinogen and D-Dimer possessed a higher sensitivity (93.4%) for differentiating AFP-NHCC from the controls, but the diagnostic specificity was reduced due to the combination of fibrinogen. After adjusting for all significant outcome predictors of the univariate logistic regression analysis, low levels of PA and high levels of D-Dimer were remained independent unfavorable outcome predictors (P < 0.05). Our data suggested that the expression levels of PA, fibrinogen and D-Dimer played critical roles in AFP-NHCC tumorigenesis. Moreover, PA and D-Dimer might be considered as potential diagnostic indicators in AFP-NHCC.

Dihydroartemisinin Inhibits the Proliferation of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Partially by Targeting AKT1 and p70S6K.

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a sesquiterpene lactone with endoperoxide bridge, is one of the derivatives of artemisinin. In addition to having good antimalarial properties, DHA exhibits anticancer effects including against malignant solid tumors. However, the mechanism by which DHA inhibits the progression of esophageal cancer, especially esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), is unclear. In this study, DHA was found to inhibit the proliferation of ESCC, and the underlying molecular mechanisms were explored. DHA inhibited ESCC cells proliferation and anchorage-independent growth. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that DHA significantly blocked cell cycle in the G1 phase. The results of human phospho-kinase array revealed that DHA downregulated the levels of p70S6KT389 and p70S6KT421/S424. Furthermore, the levels of mTORS2448, p70S6KT389, p70S6KT421/S424 and RPS6S235/S236 were decreased after DHA treatment in KYSE30 and KYSE150 cells. We then explored the proteins targeted by DHA to inhibit the mTOR-p70S6K-RPS6 pathway. Results of the in vitro kinase assay revealed that DHA significantly inhibited phosphorylation of mTORS2448 by binding to AKT1 and p70S6K kinases. In vivo, DHA inhibited the tumor growth of ESCC patient-derived xenografts and weakened p-mTOR, p-p70S6K, and p-RPS6 expression in tumor tissues. Altogether, our results indicate that DHA has antiproliferative effects in ESCC cells and can downregulate mTOR cascade pathway partially by binding to AKT1 and p70S6K. Thus, DHA has considerable potential for the prevention or treatment of ESCC.

The Establishment of Esophageal Precancerous Lesion Model by Using p53 Conditional Knockout Mouse in Esophageal Epithelium.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of precancerous lesion of esophageal cancer is beneficial for early diagnosis and early treatment. The deletion of p53 gene is common in esophageal cancer, but its pathogenesis is still unclear. An animal model is urgently needed to study the mechanisms of esophageal cancer and p53 deficiency. KO mice (p53flox/flox.ED-L2-Cre+/-) and the corresponding control Loxp mice (p53flox/flox.ED-L2-Cre-/-) were obtained by crossing between the p53flox/flox mice and ED-L2-Cre+/- mice. Methylbenzylnitrosamine (NMBA) was injected subcutaneously to induce esophageal precancerous lesion of these two groups of mice. Hematoxylin and eosin staining analysis was performed to evaluate the number and extent of esophageal precancerous lesions in KO mice and Loxp mice at the 16th and 48th weeks. Immunohistochemistry analysis was used to detect the change of Ki67, P21, Bcl-2, and Bax proteins. The number and extent of esophageal precancerous lesions in KO mice were significantly increased compared with the control at the 16th and 48th weeks under the induction of NMBA. The Ki67, P21, Bcl-2, and Bax proteins also had cancer-related pathological characteristics. These results suggest that the esophageal precancerous lesion model was established under the combined effect of p53 gene deletion in esophageal epithelium and NMBA, which could provide a new esophageal precancerous lesion model to explore the mechanism of precancerous lesions.

[Acute cytotoxicity of alternariol on NIH/3T3 cells].

OBJECTIVE: To study the cytotoxicity of altemariol (AOH) on NIH/3T3 cells. METHODS: Logarithmic growth phase NIH/3T3 cells were treated at the dose of 10 micromol/L and 50 micromol/L AOH as treatment groups and treated with DMSO (0.25%). The effects of AOH on cell proliferations were assessed by morphologic observasion. Inhibition rates of AOH were determined by MTT assay. Comet assay was used to examine DNA damage induced by AOH. Cell cycle distributions were detected by flow cytometric assay (FCM). RESULTS: The cells treated with AOH occured morlogic changes. The inhibition rates of 10 micromol/L and 50 micromol/L AOH were 19.88% and 32.47% respectively. In the comet assay two treatment groups percentages of tailed cells were 35.87% and 71.83% respectively. The DNA contents of the tail were (36.18 +/- 18.6) and (51.3 +/- 21.6) respectively. These datas were more higher than those of the solvent control (P < 0.05). In comparison with the control group, the percents of G2/M and S phase cells were increased after treatment of 50.0 micromol/L AOH for 24h (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: AOH could have acute cytotoxic effects on NIH/3T3 cells and inhibite cell proliferation and cause DNA damage. High dose of AOH could induce cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase.

Leukocyte telomere length, mitochondrial DNA copy number, and coronary artery disease risk and severity: A two-stage case-control study of 3064 Chinese subjects.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Leukocyte telomere length (TL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN), as hallmarks of cellular aging, may be involved in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) by modulating oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the effects of leukocyte TL and mtDNA-CN alone or in combination on CAD risk and severity in the Chinese population. METHODS: In this two-stage case-control study with 1511 CAD patients and 1553 controls, leukocyte TL and mtDNA-CN were determined by a quantitative PCR assay. Three oxidative parameters, including leukocyte 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), plasma malondialdehyde, and plasma reactive oxygen species (ROS), were quantified by ELISA or colorimetric kits in a subset of 129 cases and 129 controls. RESULTS: In the combined cohort, each 1-SD decrease in TL and mtDNA-CN was significantly associated with a 1.17-fold and 1.14-fold increased risk of CAD (p < 0.001 for all), respectively, after adjusting for confounders. The aggregated score, which reflected the cumulative dosage of the tertiles of TL and mtDNA-CN, showed inverse dose-response correlations with CAD risk (ptrend < 0.001), and severity, as determined by the severity of clinical presentations (ptrend = 0.037), the presence of multi-vessel CAD (ptrend = 0.004), and modified Gensini scores (ptrend = 0.009). Similar dose-response relations of the aggregated score to leukocyte 8-OHdG and plasma ROS were also identified. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggested reductions in both TL and mtDNA-CN as independent risk factors for CAD. The combination of TL and mtDNA-CN might jointly contribute to CAD risk, CAD severity, and oxidative stress.

Trimester-specific reference intervals for kaolin-activated thromboelastography (TEG®) in healthy Chinese pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: There has been little published work about the reference intervals of thromboelastography (TEG®) tests in pregnancy. Our aim was to establish the trimester-specific reference intervals of TEG tests for healthy pregnant women. METHODS: After excluding outliers, a total of 753 apparently healthy pregnant women aged from 19 to 44 years including 252 first trimester women, 340 second trimester women and 161 third trimester women were enrolled in our study. Non-fasting venous blood samples were collected. TEG tests were done on kaolin activated samples and processed on TEG 5000 Hemostasis Analyzer. Nonparametric 2.5th-97.5th percentile intervals were used to define the reference intervals. RESULTS: There were significant differences for TEG tests in pregnant women compared with non-pregnant women. The reference intervals for R, K, Angle, MA, Ly30 and CI were 4.1-10.4 min, 0.9-3.1 min, 53.6-75.9°, 46.1-69.8 mm, 0-10.7% and -5.5-2.5 respectively at first trimester; 3.9-9.7 min, 0.8-2.4 min, 56.7-78.0°, 49.8-72.1 mm, 0-9.7% and -3.7-2.9 at second trimester; 3.8-9.0 min, 0.8-2.5 min, 57.6-79.3°, 49.4-75.9 mm, 0-8.8% and -3.0-2.6 at third trimester. CONCLUSIONS: We established trimester-specific reference intervals of TEG® tests for healthy pregnant women. It's critical to accurate assessment of global haemostatic status during pregnancy and in pregnancy complications.

Proceedings of the 2017 Viral Clearance Symposium, Session 3: Resin Lifetime.

In many downstream processes, chromatographic purification steps contribute significantly to the overall virus reduction capacity. The International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use guideline Q5A(R1) outlines that "Over time and after repeated use, the ability of chromatography columns and other devices used in the purification scheme to clear virus may vary. Some estimate of the stability of the viral clearance after several uses may provide support for repeated use of such columns." Virus reduction studies with used resin normally require a high amount of in-process material and time. The experience with used resin has been accumulated continuously, stimulating the discussion on whether it would be necessary to investigate virus reduction on used resins for each product. In this session, additional experience from studies with used resins was provided.LAY ABSTRACT: In many downstream processes, chromatographic purification steps contribute significantly to the overall virus reduction capacity. An estimate of the stability of the viral clearance after several uses may provide support for repeated use of such columns. Virus reduction studies with used resin normally require a high amount of in-process material and time. The experience with used resin has been accumulated continuously, stimulating the discussion on whether it would be necessary to investigate virus reduction on used resins for each product. In this session, additional experience from studies with used resins was provided.

Proceedings of the 2017 Viral Clearance Symposium Session 5: Facility Risk Mitigation.

The discussion on facility risk mitigation was included for the first time at the 2017 Viral Clearance Symposium. A few topics were discussed in this session, including sanitization/cleaning against viruses, viral segregation, as well as the definition of a "functionally closed" system.Virus inactivation by disinfectants is critical for the biotechnology industry. The efficacy can differ, depending on whether applied to surfaces, in solutions, or in gas phases, as well as the respective disinfectants (i.e., peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide-based, hypochlorite-based, or glutaraldehyde-based).Most equipment used in the biotech industry can be cleaned or sanitized by alkaline solutions. Many of these methods were studied regarding their virus reduction potential and were defined considering alkaline concentration, time, and temperature.Virus clearance may be compromised if cross contamination or carryover happens from an early step with potentially a higher level of virus to a later step in the purification process (i.e., after virus removal or inactivation). Critical potential carryover (Vcpc) is defined as the volume of carryover that will significantly affect the overall virus clearance of a purification process. Based on the evaluation of critical potential carryover, mitigation actions can be introduced to avoid such carryover.Appropriate segregation within manufacturing facilities is required by regulators and utilized by manufacturers to ensure that the final product has appropriate safety margins. However, consensus around basic definitions and approaches related to facility segregation is lacking. To address this gap, the member companies of the Consortium on Adventitious Agent Contamination in Biomanufacturing have begun a project with the goal of developing a definition for a "functionally closed" manufacturing system.LAY ABSTRACT: The discussion on facility risk mitigation was included for the first time at the 2017 Viral Clearance Symposium. The topics discussed in this session included sanitization/cleaning against viruses, viral segregation, as well as the definition of a "functionally closed" system.Virus inactivation by disinfectants is critical for the biotechnology industry. The efficacy can differ, depending on whether applied to surfaces, in solutions, or in gas phases, as well as the respective disinfectants.Most equipment used in the biotech industry can be cleaned or sanitized by alkaline solutions. Many of these methods were studied regarding their virus reduction potential and were defined considering alkaline concentration, time, and temperature.Virus clearance may be compromised if cross contamination or carryover happens from an early step with potentially a higher level of virus to a later step in the purification process (i.e., after virus removal or inactivation).Regarding segregation within manufacturing facilities, the member companies of the Consortium on Adventitious Agent Contamination in Biomanufacturing have begun a project with the goal of developing a definition for a "functionally closed" manufacturing system. During this session, the current definition was discussed.

Prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in acute pulmonary embolism: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been reported to predict prognosis of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). However, the prognostic value of NLR and PLR remained inconsistent between studies. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the prognostic role of NLR and PLR in acute PE. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We systematically searched Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science and CNKI for relative literature up to March 2017. The pooled statistics for all outcomes were expressed as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.3.5 analysis software and Stata software. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Totally 7 eligible studies consisting of 2323 patients were enrolled in our meta-analysis. Elevated NLR was significantly associated with overall (short-term and long-term) mortality (OR 10.13, 95% CI 6.57-15.64, P<0.001) and short-term (in-hospital and 30 days) mortality (OR 8.43, 95% CI 5.23-13.61, P<0.001). And elevated PLR was significantly associated with overall mortality (OR 6.32, 95% CI 4.52-8.84, P<0.001), short-term mortality (OR 6.69, 95% CI 2.86-15.66, P<0.001) and long-term mortality (OR 6.11, 95% CI 3.90-9.55, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis revealed that NLR and PLR are promising biomarkers in predicting prognosis in acute PE patients. We suggest NLR and PLR be used routinely in the PE prognostic assessment.

Diagnostic value of circulating microRNA-27a/b in patients with acute pulmonary embolism.

BACKGROUND: Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been increasingly suggested as biomarkers for numerous diseases. The aims of this study were to evaluate the expression of plasma miR-27a/b in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) and determine the possibility of miR-27a/b as diagnostic biomarkers for APE. METHODS: Seventy-eight APE patients diagnosed by computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and 70 age and gender matched normal volunteers were included in this study. The levels of miR-27a and miR-27b were measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and the concentrations of plasma D-dimer were measured using immunoturbidimetric assay. RESULTS: The levels of plasma miR-27a and miR-27b were significantly higher in APE patients (P<0.001) compared with normal controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses showed that plasma miR-27a was superior to miR-27b for the diagnosis of APE (AUC=0.784, AUC=0.707, respectively). Combining miR-27a or miR-27b with D-dimer significantly increased the diagnostic capacity of APE. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that circulating miR-27a and miR-27b might be potential novel diagnostic biomarkers in APE patients.