Application and prognostic relevance of CD34 detection in immunophenotyping of pediatric acute B lymphoblastic leukemia.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the application of CD34 detection in immunophenotypic discrimination and its prognostic relevance in children with acute B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical follow-up data of 105 children with newly diagnosed B-ALL treated at our hospital from January 2022 to December 2023. Based on the expression of CD34 in the bone marrow, patients were divided into a CD34 positive group (positive cells ≥10%) and a CD34 negative group (positive cells <10%). The study compared the positive rates of common leukemia cell antigens, clinical characteristics, initial treatment responses, and long-term follow-up outcomes between the two groups. RESULTS: Among all 105 B-ALL cases, 87 children (82.9%) had bone marrow CD34 positive cells ≥10%, classified into the CD34 positive group, while the remaining 18 children (17.1%) had bone marrow CD34 positive cells <10%, classified into the CD34 negative group. The CD34 positive group exhibited significantly higher positive rates of CD13 expression, standard-risk B-ALL, and risk stratification than the CD34 negative group. In contrast, the proportions of early pre-B-ALL, E2A-PBX1 fusion gene, and MLL-AF4 fusion gene were significantly lower in the CD34 negative group, with statistically significant differences (p<0.05). No significant differences were found in the positive rates of leukemia cell antigens such as CD10, CD19, CD20, CD22, CD79a, CD13, CD33, and CD38 between the two groups (p>0.05). The occurrence rates of minimal residual disease (MRD) and relapse after induction chemotherapy in the CD34 positive group were significantly lower than those in the CD34 negative group (p<0.05). However, the sensitivity to the first prednisone treatment and bone marrow treatment efficacy on the 19th and 33rd days after chemotherapy showed no significant differences between the groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A higher positive rate of bone marrow CD34 expression in children with B-ALL is associated with a favorable prognosis. Children with negative CD34 expression are relatively more prone to MRD and tumor relapse after chemotherapy.

The association between serum prolactin levels and interleukin-6 and systemic lupus erythematosus activity.

Based on the recent evidence of association between hyperprolactinemia and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity (SLEDAI), a study was conducted to analyze the association of hyperprolactinemia with lupus nephritis disease activity. In this cross-sectional study, the analysis was conducted on SLE patients who visited the University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) Nephrology Clinic from August 2015 till February 2016. The disease activity was measured using the SLEDAI score, with more than 4 indicating active lupus nephritis. Basal resting prolactin level was analyzed in 43 patients with lupus nephritis, in 27.9% of them had raised serum prolactin. The median of serum prolactin level at 0 minutes was 19.91 ng/mL (IQR: 15.95-22.65 ng/ mL) for active lupus nephritis, which was significantly higher compared to the median of serum prolactin level of 14.34 ng/mL (IQR: 11.09-18.70 ng/mL) for patients in remission (p=0.014). The serum prolactin level positively correlated with SLEDAI (rhos: 0.449, p=0.003) and the UPCI level in lupus nephritis patients (rhos: 0.241, p=0.032). The results were reproduced when the serum prolactin was repeated after 30 minutes. However, the serum prolactin levels at 0 minutes were higher than those taken after 30 minutes (p=0.001). An assessment of serum IL-6 levels found that the active lupus nephritis patients had a higher median level of 65.91 pg/ mL (IQR: 21.96-146.14 pg/mL) compared to the in-remission level of 15.84 pg/mL (IQR: 8.38-92.84 pg/mL), (p=0.039). Further correlation analysis revealed that there was no statistical correlation between the interleukin (IL)-6 levels with serum prolactin, SLEDAI and other lupus nephritis parameters. An ROC curve analysis of serum prolactin at 0 minutes and serum prolactin after 30 minutes and IL-6 levels for prediction of SLE disease activity provided the cutoff value of serum prolactin at 0 minutes, which was 14.63 ng/mL with a sensitivity of 91.7% and specificity of 58.1% and AUC of 0.74 (p=0.015). This study concurred with the previous findings that stated that hyperprolactinemia is prevalent in SLE patients and correlated with clinical disease activity and UPCI level. The baseline of the fasting serum prolactin level was found to be a sensitive biomarker for the evaluation of lupus nephritis disease activity.

[The role of prophylactic use of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor(PEG-rhG-CSF) in breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy].

Objectives: To investigate the efficacy and safety of prophylactic use of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor(PEG-rhG-CSF) in breast cancer receiving docetaxel as adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: A total of 58 patients with breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel were included between January 2014 to October 2017. Prophylactic use of PEG-rhG-CSF was administered.Patients were further divided into two groups according to the frequency of PEG-rhG-CSF use: frequent use group (≥3 cycles) and non-frequent use group (<3 cycles). Results: There were significant differences in the incidence rates of grade 3/4 neutropenia between the prophylactic group and non-prophylactic group in cycle 1-3(P<0.05). Less febrile neutropenia (FN) was also noted in the prophylactic group compared with the non-prophylactic group in cycle 1 and cycle 3 (P<0.05). Grade 3/4 neutropenia and FN were less in the frequent use of group compared with the non-frequent use group(P<0.001). The most common side effects of PEG-rhG-CSF included fatigue (10.2%), bone joint pain(50.8%), and 2 patients (3.4%) refused further treatment because of bone joint pain. Conclusions: PEG-rhG-CSF should be prophylactically used for preventing neutropenia and febrile neutropenia in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel regimen.

Fabrication and electrochemical properties of hemisphere structured 3D Li(Li0.2Mn0.54Co0.13Ni0.13)O2 cathode thin film for all-solid-state lithium battery.

The Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2 cathode thin films were deposited on planar, hemisphere, linked hemisphere, and isolated hemisphere structured Pt current collector thin films to investigate the effect of 3-dimensional (3-D) structure for the electrochemical properties of active cathode thin films. The films of linked hemisphere structure shows the highest initial discharge capacity of 140 microA h/cm2-microm which is better than those of planar (62 microA h/cm2-microm), hemisphere (94.6 microA h/cm2-microm), and isolated hemisphere (135 microA h/cm2-microm) films due to increase of surface area for cathode thin films. Linked hemisphere shows the biggest capacity and the best retention rate because 6 nanobridges of each hemisphere bring strong connection.

[The changes of right ventricular function in the course of COPD induced cor pulmonale].

A study on pulmonary hemodynamics, radionuclide right ventricular ejection fraction and blood gas analysis in 62 cases of COPD induced cor pulmonale at different stages showed the following results: 1. In early stage of cor pulmonale, stroke volume could not increase after exercise, it proved that cardiac reserve has been reduced; 2. With the progression of the disease, cardiac stroke volume reduced but cardiac output increased gradually, it could be considered as the evolutionary characteristic of cardiac function in chronic cor pulmonale; 3. The right ventricular stroke work was normal and could increase with the rise of after-load, reflecting the relatively effective functional compensation; 4. In acute exacerbation of cor pulmonale, the cardiac failure should be attributed to hyperdynamic type with hypervolemia; 5. Correlation analyses suggested that cardiac output decreased along with the increase of right ventricular afterload only in acute exacerbation of late cor pulmonale; PaO2 and PaCO2 have only slight influence on right ventricular function.

Appearance of exogenous epidermal growth factor in liver, bile, and intestinal lumen of suckling rats.

This study was performed to investigate the distribution and the degradation of IV administered [125I]rat epidermal growth factor (rEGF) in the liver and gastrointestinal tract of suckling rats. The bile duct of anesthetized rats was cannulated, and [125I]rEGF was injected (with or without 2500-fold excess unlabeled rEGF) into the femoral vein. After 5, 30, 60, and 120 minutes, the radioactivity in the liver, stomach, small intestine, blood, kidney, bile, and luminal contents of the stomach and small intestine was measured. The extracted radioactivity was then analyzed by immunoaffinity chromatography and binding to EGF-specific receptors. High levels of radioactivity were found in the liver (57% of total administered) and small intestine (10%) at 5 minutes, which gradually decreased. On the contrary, radioactivity secreted in the bile and luminal contents of the small intestine increased with time. The radioactivity in the bile represented 2.4% and 4.5% of the total administered at 60 and 120 minutes, respectively. During the first 60 minutes, more than 90% of the radioactivity in the liver, small intestine, bile, and intestinal contents was immunoreactive. Thirty-four to seventy percent of the radio-activity in the bile and liver and 20%-41% of radioactivity in the small intestinal wall and contents were capable of binding to EGF-specific receptors. Radioactivity detected in the liver, bile, small intestine, and intestinal contents was profoundly reduced by the coinjection excess of unlabeled EGF. These studies show that IV administered [125I]rEGF is rapidly taken up by the liver and the gastrointestinal tract and secreted into the bile and intestinal luminal contents of suckling rats in form(s) capable of binding to anti-EGF antibody and EGF-specific receptors. The uptake and secretion by the liver and the small intestine appear to be receptor mediated.

Trenbolone alters the responsiveness of skeletal muscle satellite cells to fibroblast growth factor and insulin-like growth factor I.

The potential role of satellite cells in mediating the effect of trenbolone [17 beta-hydroxyestra-4,9-11-trien-3-one (TBOH)] on skeletal muscle hypertrophy was examined. Young female Sprague-Dawley rats received TBOH injections daily for 2 weeks; growth, body composition, and the composition of selected muscles were assessed. Treated rats grew more rapidly and deposited less body lipid and more protein. The semimembranosus muscle from treated rats was larger and had approximately 60% more DNA per muscle than muscles from control rats. The addition of trenbolone directly to the medium of cultured satellite cells did not stimulate cell proliferation, nor did it augment the stimulatory response of these cells to fibroblast growth factor (FGF) or insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). In contrast, satellite cells cultured from TBOH-treated rats exhibited greater proliferative responses to FGF and IGF-I than satellite cells from control rats. In addition, serum from TBOH-treated rats stimulated greater cell proliferation in satellite cell cultures than serum from control rats. These experiments suggest that one possible mechanism responsible for the ability of TBOH to stimulate skeletal muscle hypertrophy may be through enhanced proliferation and differentiation of satellite cells as a result of the increased sensitivity of these cells to IGF-I and FGF.