[Radiological assessment of interstitial lung disease: what can lung ultrasound do?]

The use of lung ultrasound in the screening, diagnosis, and evaluation of interstitial lung disease has been relatively well studied, but has not been widely accepted and applied in clinical practice. There are also some differences in the examination methods applied in these studies. This paper summarized the application, advantages, and disadvantages of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis and follow-up of interstitial lung disease by comprehensively reviewing the examination methods, research results and progress of new technologies of lung ultrasound in interstitial lung disease.

Genetic polymorphism of catechol O-methyltransferase and pharmacokinetics of levodopa in healthy Chinese subjects.

We studied the distribution of catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotypes in the Chinese Fujian Han population and explored the potential effect of COMT genetic polymorphism on the pharmacokinetics of levodopa. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed in the COMT genotype analysis of 166 volunteers. After a single oral dose of levodopa/benserazide, the plasma concentration of levodopa was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection (ECD). In the 166 subjects, the frequencies of G/G, G/A and A/A COMT genotypes were 58.4%, 36.7% and 4.9%, respectively. The frequency of the homozygous A/A genotype was much lower than in caucasians and Southwest Asians. COMT activity of erythrocytes in the G/A genotype group was significantly lower than in the G/G genotype group but significantly higher than in the A/A genotype group. There was no significant difference in pharmacokinetic parameters, including t(1/2alpha), t(1/2beta), AUC(0-infinity), CL/F, C(max), t(max) and V/F. The frequency of COMT genotypes in the Chinese Fujian Han population, which is related to COMT enzyme activity, is significantly different from that in caucasians and Southwest Asians. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of levodopa in healthy Chinese subjects may not be dependent on their COMT genotype status. From the 166 volunteers, 5 G/G, 5 G/A and 4 A/A genotype male subjects were recruited for the study of levodopa pharmacokinetics.

Effective treatment of small murine hepatocellular carcinoma by dendritic cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy with a poor prognosis. This investigation examined whether dendritic cell-based immunotherapy can treat murine HCC effectively. Bone marrow-derived dendritic cells were propagated from C57BL/10J mice in GM-CSF (4 ng/mL) and interleukin (IL)-4 (1,000 micro/mL). The dendritic cells were pulsed with a Hepa1-6 lysate overnight and employed to treat murine HCC. For in vivo study, HCC was created by inoculation of hepa1-6, 5 x 10(5) cells, in the flank of C57BL/10J mice. HCC were categorized into small (3 x 3-mm) and large (5 x 5-mm) tumors. These HCC were treated by dendritic cells intravenously, twice at weekly intervals. The results revealed that lymphocytes could be gathered around small HCC after administration of Hepa1-6 lysate-pulsed dendritic cells. Seven of 12 (58.3%) small HCC could be eradicated completely by dendritic cell-based immunotherapy, and 33.3% of the small tumors responded to immunotherapy partially which were held in a stable condition for 34.0 +/- 7.4 days before the tumors regrew. For large HCC, lymphocytes did not gather around the tumors, and the tumors cannot be eradicated effectively by dendritic cells. However, dendritic cell-based immunotherapy could slow down the growth rate of large tumors (116.2 +/- 91.4 mm(3) vs. 234.0 +/- 149.1 mm(3) of the control on day 7, P =.043; and 280.3 +/- 224.7 mm(3) vs. 870.0 +/- 418.9 mm(3) of the control on day 17, P <.001). Conclusively, dendritic cells pulsed with a Hepa1-6 lysate can be employed to treat small HCC in vivo effectively. However, the efficacy of dendritic cell-based immunotherapy decreases while tumors grow.