The clinical impact of serum soluble CD25 levels in children with Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

OBJECTIVE: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare myeloid neoplasm with inflammatory characteristics. This study aims to investigate the correlation between sCD25 levels and clinical characteristics, as well as prognosis, in pediatric LCH. METHODS: Serum sCD25 levels were measured in 370 LCH patients under 18 years old using ELISA assays. The patients were divided into two cohorts based on different treatment regimens. We further assessed the predictive value for the prognosis impact of sCD25 in a test cohort, which was validated in the independent validation cohort. RESULTS: The median serum sCD25 level at diagnosis was 3908 pg/ml (range: 231-44 000pg/ml). sCD25 level was significantly higher in multi-system and risk organ positive (MS RO+) LCH patients compared to single-system(SS) LCH patients (p < 0.001). Patients with elevated sCD25 were more likely to have involvement of risk organs, skin, lung, lymph nodes, or pituitary (all p < 0.05). sCD25 level could predict LCH progression and relapse, with an area under the ROC curve of 60.6 %. The optimal cutoff value was determined at 2921 pg/ml. Patients in the high-sCD25 group had significantly worse progression-free survival compared to those in the low-sCD25 group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Elevated serum sCD25 level at initial diagnosis was associated with high-risk clinical features and worse prognosis. sCD25 level can predict the progression/recurrence of LCH following first-line chemotherapy.

Tumor-treating fields in cancer therapy: advances of cellular and molecular mechanisms.

Tumor-Treating Fields (TTFields) use intermediate-frequency and low-intensity electric fields to inhibit tumor cells. However, their mechanisms are still not well understood. This article reviews their key antitumor mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels, including inhibition of proliferation, induction of death, disturbance of migration, and activation of the immune system. The multifaceted biological effects in combination with other cancer treatments are also summarized. The deep insight into their mechanism will help develop more potential antitumor treatments.

Nocardiopsis deserti sp. nov., isolated from a high altitude Atacama Desert soil.

The taxonomic status of a Nocardiopsis strain, designated H13T, isolated from a high altitude Atacama Desert soil, was established by using a polyphasic approach. The strain was found to have chemotaxonomic, cultural and morphological characteristics consistent with its classification within the genus Nocardiopsis and formed a well-supported clade in the Nocardiopsis phylogenomic tree together with the type strains of Nocardiopsis alborubida, Nocardiopsis dassonvillei and Nocardiopsis synnematoformans. Strain H13T was distinguished from its closest relatives by low average nucleotide identity (93.2-94.9 %) and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (52.5-62.4 %) values calculated from draft genome assemblies and by a range of phenotypic properties. On the basis of these results, it is proposed that the isolate be assigned to the genus Nocardiopsis as Nocardiopsis deserti sp. nov. with isolate H13T (=CGMCC 4.7585T=KCTC 49249T) as the type strain.

Impact of co-blocking the costimulatory signals on immune-related genes after high-risk rabbit corneal allograft using 2nd-generation DNA sequencing technology.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact and mechanism of co-blocking of costimulatory signals CD28-B7-CD40-CD40L during immune allograft rejection. Forty-eight recipient rabbits were prepared as a high-risk corneal allograft model. After surgery, the animals were randomly divided into: control group, MR1 group, anti-B7 group, and co-blocking group (n=12, each group). Subconjunctival injection was first performed on the allograft surgery day until post-surgery day five. Four weeks later, or when immune rejection occurred, the cornea was sampled to detect and analyze the gene spectrum. The survival time in the co-blocking group was significantly longer than that in the other three groups (p < 0.05). Gene expression analysis revealed that the expression of genes associated with immune rejection, interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1ß, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1, and IL-2 was down-regulated in the co-blocking group, while IL-10 was up-regulated, but the changes in nuclear factor-κB and interferon-γ were not significant. In conclusion, the co-blocking of costimulatory signals can significantly reduce genes that promote corneal allograft rejection. The inhibition of corneal allograft rejection gene expression was significantly enhanced. These gene expression results can explain the conclusion of previous work at the genetic level.