Evaluation of the feasibility of short-term electrodialysis for separating naturally occurring fluoride from instant brick tea infusion.

BACKGROUND: Removing excessive naturally occurring fluoride from tea and/or infusions is difficult because the process has low efficiency and causes secondary pollution. In this study, a novel electrodialysis (ED) technology was developed. We examined the effect of crucial parameters (electrolyte concentration, operation voltage, ED duration and initial concentration of the tea infusion) on defluoridation performance using a highly efficient ion-exchange membrane with five-compartment cells. RESULTS: The most effective ED system results were obtained at an electrolyte concentration of 10 g kg-1 and operating voltage of 20 V. Moreover, the fluoride removal capacity (10.70-66.93%) was highly dependent on the ED duration (1-15 min) and initial concentration of the tea infusion (0.5-10 g kg-1 ). The longer the ED duration and the lower the initial concentration, the higher was the defluoridation performance. During ED, limited loss of the main inclusions (total polyphenols, catechins, caffeine and selected ions) was observed. Furthermore, the D201 anion resin-filled ED stack (0.5-5 g) and improvement of concentrate compartment electrolyte (≥5 times the dilute compartment electrolyte) in the ED system enhanced the defluoridation rate significantly. CONCLUSION: ED is a potentially effective method that can be used for defluoridation in the deep processing of tea products. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Assessment of the use of immunosuppressants combined with cord blood for severe aplastic anemia.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was two-fold: 1) to investigate the changes of cytokines concentration in relation to severe aplastic anemia (SAA) when treated with immunosuppressants combined with cord blood (IS + CBI). and 2) to assess the curative effect of umbilical cord blood chimerism engraftment. METHODS: We selected 43 patients with SAA all treated with IS + CBI (newly diagnosed group). Among them, a total of 33 patients were treated effectively (effective group) while 10 cases were treated invalidly (invalid group). An additional 20 healthy individuals were selected as control (control group). The expression levels of IL-17, IL-22 and other cytokines in each group were detected by ELISA. The engraftment of cord blood stem cells was detected by using short tandem repeat-polymerase chain reaction (STR-PCR). RESULTS: 1. IL-17, IL-22 and other cytokines expressions in the newly diagnosed group were significantly higher than in the control group. 2. After six months, the levels in the effective group were significantly lower than pre-therapy levels (P < 0.05). The levels in the invalid group did not differ to those observed prior treatment. 3. After one and three months of treatment, a small amount of engraftment was found in the effective group. However, after six months, transplant rejection was observed in all patients. No effective engraftment was observed in the invalid group. CONCLUSION: 1) Th17 and Th22 producing cells in SAA patients significantly increased indicating a positive correlation between these biomarkers and the progression of SAA. 2) During the IS + CBI treatment the maintenance of a normal hematopoietic function depended on immunesup-pressants. Early umbilical cord blood chimerism engraftment may promote hematopoietic recovery.

Mechanism of immunosuppressants combined with cord blood for severe aplastic anemia.

This study aims to explore the mechanism of immunosuppressants combined with cord blood (IS + CBI) for severe aplastic anemia. Selecting 30 patients with SAA and all treated with IS + CBI (newly diagnosed group). 23 patients who were treated effectively (effective group) while 7 cases were treated invalidly (invalid group). Another 20 healthy individuals were selected as control group. To detect the expression levels of IL-17, IL-22 and other cytokines by ELISA method in each group. To detect the engraftment of cord blood stem cells by using short tandem repeat-polymerase chain reaction (STR-PCR) method. 1. IL-17, IL-22 and other cytokines expressions in newly diagnosed group were significantly higher than in the control group. 2. After 6 months, the level in effective group was significantly lower than pretherapy (P < 0.05).The level in invalid group had no obvious difference than pretherapy. 3. After 1 month and 3 months of treatment, a small amount of engraftment was found in effective group. After 6 months, implant rejection was showed. No effective engraftment was observed in invalid group. 1. IL-17, IL-22 cells in SAA patients increased which might positively correlated with the progression of SAA. 2. During the treatment of IS + CBI, there is a bridging mechanism between the early stage of engraftment and the advanced stage of immunosuppressant adjustment. The first 3 months after treatment, it relies on the engraftment of cord blood stem cells to promote hematopoietic recovery and 3 months later, it relies on immunosuppressants to maintain normal hematopoietic function.

Increased immunosuppressive treatment combined with unrelated umbilical cord blood infusion in children with severe aplastic anemia.

A combination treatment of unrelated umbilical cord blood (UCB) and increased immunosuppressive treatment (IST) were investigated to reveal the potentially curative therapy for the severe aplastic anemia (SAA). A total of 36 children (2-17 ages) with SAA who received UCB infusion after an IST were analyzed. The treatment consisted of 100mg/kg cyclophosphamide, 12.5-15 mg/kg antithymocyte globulin and 3mg/kg cyclosporine. After 3 months, the hematologic complete response (CR) rate was 22.2% and partial response (PR) rate was 38.9%. After 6 months, the CR rate and PR rate was 50.4% and 26.3%, respectively. The probability of 3-year survival was 83.3%. There was no difference in the survival rate either between the horse-ATG and rabbit-ATG or between the SAA and VSAA. The results indicated that the increased IST combined with unrelated UCB infusion has an effective therapeutic potential for children with SAA who lack of compatible donor for transplantation.

Serum microRNA155 is increased in patients with acute graft-versus-host disease.

To explore the clinical relevance of three lymphocyte-related serum microRNAs (miR-155, miR-214, and miR-326) to the pathogenesis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), 64 subjects who received allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (allo-PBSCT) were recruited in this study, of whom 19 subjects did not develop GVHD, 25 subjects were diagnosed with acute GVHD (aGVHD), and 20 subjects were diagnosed with chronic GVHD (cGVHD). Serum miRNAs were determined by real-time RT-PCR. Expression level of miRNAs and the expression signatures of miRNAs as a panel were analyzed among the three groups. The expression level of miR-214 and miR-326 showed no significant difference between GVHD and non-GVHD groups. However, miR-155 was significantly up-regulated in GVHD patients. There was a correlation between the level of miR-155 and the severity of aGVHD. Moreover, serum IFN-gamma, IL-17, and IL-9 levels were higher in aGVHD patients with high miR-155. In conclusion, the expression level of lymphocyte-related miR-155 in serum was significantly increased in aGVHD patients. The miR-155 may be considered as a potential targeted therapy for aGVHD patients.

[Inhibitory effect of chondroitinase ABC on ephrin A4 expression after spinal cord injury in rats].

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) on ephrin A4 (EphA4) expression after spinal cord impairment (SCI) in rats. Adult female SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: ChABC group, normal saline (NS) group and sham group. In the ChABC and NS group, the SCI model was produced by the spinal cord hemisection. The rats in sham group received sham operation without the spinal hemisection. ChABC and NS groups were intrathecally injected with ChABC and normal saline, respectively. At different time points after SCI, injured region of spinal cord was taken out as sample. The levels of EphA4 expression were measured by immunofluorescence technique and Western blot. And the expressions of growth associated protein 43 (GAP-43) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were detected using double immunofluorescent staining. Immunofluorescent results showed that, compared with that in sham group, the EphA4 expression was significantly down-regulated on 1, 3 and 7 d after SCI, then up-regulated on 14 and 21 d after SCI in NS group. In ChABC group, the level of EphA4 expression was significantly less than that in the NS group during the whole time after SCI. Western blot showed an identical result to that of immunofluorescent staining. The double labeling results showed that on 3 d after SCI, the number of GFAP, glial cells marker, positive cells in NS group was lower than that in sham group, but higher than that in ChABC group. Moreover, GAP-43 was not detected in all three groups. These results suggest that ChABC can decrease the expression level of EphA4 and reduce the number of astrocytes after SCI, thus improving microenvironment of the injured region and promoting axonal growth and extension.