Clinical prognostic value of different NPM1 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia patients.

BACKGROUND: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with various nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) mutations are controversial in the prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the prognosis of patients according to types of NPM1 mutations (NPM1mut). METHODS: Bone marrow samples of 528 patients newly diagnosed with AML, were collected for morphology, immunology, cytogenetics, and molecular biology examinations. Gene mutations were detected by next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. RESULTS: About 25.2% of cases exhibited NPM1mut. 83.5% of cases were type A, while type B and D were respectively account for 2.3% and 3.0%. Furthermore, 15 cases of rare types were identified, of which 2 cases have not been reported. Clinical characteristics were similar between patients with A-type NPM1 mutations (NPM1A - type mut) and non-A-type NPM1 mutations (NPM1non - A-type mut). Event-free survival (EFS) was significantly different between patients with low NPM1non - A-type mut variant allele frequency (VAF) and low NPM1A - type mut VAF (median EFS = 3.9 vs. 8.5 months, P = 0.020). The median overall survival (OS) of the NPM1non - A-type mutFLT3-ITDmut group, the NPM1A - type mutFLT3-ITDmut group, the NPM1non - A-type mutFLT3-ITDwt group, and the NPM1A - type mutFLT3-ITDwt group were 3.9, 10.7, 17.3 and 18.8 months, while the median EFS of the corresponding groups was 1.4, 5.0, 7.6 and 9.2 months (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference was observed in OS and EFS between patients with NPM1A - type mut and NPM1non - A-type mut. However, types of NPM1 mutations and the status of FLT3-ITD mutations may jointly have an impact on the prognosis of AML patients.

Performance of a novel eight-color flow cytometry panel for measurable residual disease assessment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Measurable residual disease (MRD) is an important prognostic indicator of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Different flow cytometric panels have been developed for the MRD assessment of CLL in Western countries; however, the application of these panels in China remains largely unexplored. METHODS: Owing to the requirements for high accuracy, reproducibility, and comparability of MRD assessment in China, we investigated the performance of a flow cytometric approach (CD45-ROR1 panel) to assess MRD in patients with CLL. The European Research Initiative on CLL (ERIC) eight-color panel was used as the "gold standard." RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and concordance rate of the CD45-ROR1 panel in the MRD assessment of CLL were 100% (87/87), 88.5% (23/26), and 97.3% (110/113), respectively. Two of the three inconsistent samples were further verified using next-generation sequencing. In addition, the MRD results obtained from the CD45-ROR1 panel were positively associated with the ERIC eight-color panel results for MRD assessment (R = 0.98, p < 0.0001). MRD detection at low levels (≤1.0%) demonstrated a smaller difference between the two methods (bias, -0.11; 95% CI, -0.90 to 0.68) than that at high levels (>1%). In the reproducibility assessment, the bias was smaller at three data points (within 24, 48, and 72 h) in the CD45-ROR1 panel than in the ERIC eight-color panel. Moreover, MRD levels detected using the CD45-ROR1 panel for the same samples from different laboratories showed a strong statistical correlation (R = 0.99, p < 0.0001) with trivial interlaboratory variation (bias, 0.135; 95% CI, -0.439 to 0.709). In addition, the positivity rate of MRD in the bone marrow samples was higher than that in the peripheral blood samples. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, this study demonstrated that the CD45-ROR1 panel is a reliable method for MRD assessment of CLL with high sensitivity, reproducibility, and reliability.

Application of Biotechniques for In Vitro Virus and Viroid Elimination in Pome Fruit Crops.

Sustainable production of pome fruit crops is dependent upon having virus-free planting materials. The production and distribution of plants derived from virus- and viroid-negative sources is necessary not only to control pome fruit viral diseases but also for sustainable breeding activities, as well as the safe movement of plant materials across borders. With variable success rates, different in vitro-based techniques, including shoot tip culture, micrografting, thermotherapy, chemotherapy, and shoot tip cryotherapy, have been employed to eliminate viruses from pome fruits. Higher pathogen eradication efficiencies have been achieved by combining two or more of these techniques. An accurate diagnosis that confirms complete viral elimination is crucial for developing effective management strategies. In recent years, considerable efforts have resulted in new reliable and efficient virus detection methods. This comprehensive review documents the development and recent advances in biotechnological methods that produce healthy pome fruit plants. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

[Comprehensive Diagnosis of Mantle Cell Lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the value of multiple detection methods based on histopathology and supplemented by bone marrow or peripheral blood sample detections in the comprehensive diagnosis of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). METHODS: The clinical, immunophenotypic, pathologic, cytogenetic and molecular features of 153 newly diagnosed MCL patients admitted to the hematology department of our hospital from May 2009 to September 2022 were analyzed. RESULTS: 144 (96.6%) of the 149 MCL patients who underwent marrow or peripheral blood IGH/CCND1 FISH detection at initial diagnosis were positive, of which 36 cases (24.2%) had a low proportion positive. The immunophenotypes in 115 patients were analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM), 89 cases (77.4%) conformed to MCL while 23 cases (20.0%) were initially diagnosed as B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders (B-LPD). Of the 75 cases who performed bone marrow biopsy, 50 cases (66.7%) had morphological and immunophenotypic characteristics consistent with MCL, 15 cases (20.0%) were classified as B-LPD, and 10 cases with no obvious abnormality. 77 patients underwent histopathology examination, of which 73 cases (94.8%) had typical clinicopathological features of MCL, including 2 CCND1 negative MCL, 2 pleomorphic variants, 5 pleomorphic variants and 4 cases diagnosed as other leukemia or lymphoma. Among 153 cases of MCL, 128 cases were classic MCL(cMCL), and another 25 cases (16.3%) were diagnosed as leukemic non-lymph node MCL (lnnMCL). The incidence of IGHV mutation, TP53 mutation and CD23 expression positive were significantly different between cMCL and lnnMCL. CONCLUSION: Histopathology is still the main standard for the diagnosis of cMCL, and detection based on bone marrow or peripheral blood samples is an important means for the diagnosis of lnnMCL. Single marker or examination can cause a certain proportion of misdiagnosis. The accurate diagnosis of MCL depends on a combination of multiple detection methods.

Ultrasound-Microwave Combined Extraction of Novel Polysaccharide Fractions from Lycium barbarum Leaves and Their In Vitro Hypoglycemic and Antioxidant Activities.

Ultrasound-microwave combined extraction (UMCE), gradient ethanol precipitation, chemical characterization, and antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of Lycium barbarum leaf polysaccharides (LLP) were systematically studied. The optimal conditions for UMCE of LLP achieved by response surface method (RSM) were as follows: microwave time of 16 min, ultrasonic time of 20 min, particle size of 100 mesh, and ratio of liquid to solid of 55:1. Three novel polysaccharide fractions (LLP30, LLP50, LLP70) with different molecular weights were obtained by gradient ethanol precipitation. Polysaccharide samples exhibited scavenging capacities against ABTS and DPPH radicals and inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase and α-amylase. Among the three fractions, LLP30 possessed relatively high antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities in vitro, which showed a potential for becoming a nutraceutical or a phytopharmaceutical for prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia or diabetes.

Enhancing morphological analysis of peripheral blood cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia with an artificial intelligence-based tool.

BACKGROUND: Real-time monitoring is essential for the management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. Utilizing peripheral blood is advantageous due to its affordability and convenience. Existing methods of assessing peripheral blood films have limitations that include lack of automation, dependence on personal experience, and low repeatability and reproducibility. To overcome these challenges, we have designed an artificial intelligence-driven system that provides a clinical perspective to objectively evaluate morphologic features in CLL patients' blood cells. METHODS: Based on our center's CLL dataset, we developed an automated algorithm using a deep convolutional neural network to precisely identify regions of interest on blood films and used the well-established Visual Geometry Group-16 as the encoder to segment cells and extract morphological features. This tool enabled us to extract morphological features of all lymphocytes for subsequent analysis. RESULTS: Our study's lymphocyte identification had a recall of 0.96 and an F1 score of 0.97. Cluster analysis identified three clear, morphological groups of lymphocytes that reflect distinct stages of disease development to some extent. To investigate the longitudinal evolution of lymphocyte, we extracted cellular morphology parameters at various time points from the same patient. The results showed some similar trends to those observed in the aforementioned cluster analysis. Correlation analysis further supports the prognostic potential of cell morphology-based parameters. CONCLUSION: Our study provides valuable insights and potential avenues for further exploration of lymphocyte dynamics in CLL. Investigating morphological changes may help in determining the optimal timing for intervening with CLL patients, but further research is needed.

[Hippocampal Development Deviation and Its Relationship With Cognition in Major Psychiatric Disorders].

Objective: To investigate hippocampal development deviation and its association with cognition in patients with major psychiatric disorders (MPDs), including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. Methods: The T1-weighted MRI data of 174 first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia (FES) atients, 169 bipolar disorder (BD) patients, 184 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, and 321 healthy controls were collected and their hippocampal volume was extracted after preprocessing with Freesurfer 5.3. A normative neurodevelopment model was applied to calculate the hippocampal deviation scores. Data on cognitive functions, including visual memory, attention, spatial working memory, were collected. Comparison by different sexes was made to identify difference between the hippocampal development deviation scores of the control group and those of the disease groups. We also investigated the moderating effect of age on the deviation score and explored the association between the deviation score and cognitive function. Results: The hippocampal development deviation scores of patients with MPDs were significantly lower than those of the healthy controls (false discovery rate [FDR]-P<0.05). Analysis of the moderating effect of age revealed lower deviation scores in young patients (<[25.83-28.56] yr.) and higher deviation scores in old patients (>[35.87-54.35] yr.) in comparison with those of the healthy controls. The right hippocampal deviation scores in male FES patients were positively correlated with the number of errors for tasks concerning spatial working memory ( r=0.32, FDR-P=0.04). Conclusion: Our findings suggest abnormal hippocampal development in MPDs patients and its different distribution in MPDs patients of different age groups. The hippocampal development deviation score may provide a new perspective for further understanding of etiology in MPDs.

[Frequency-Specific Alterations of Spontaneous Brain Activity in First-Episode Drug-Naïve Schizophrenia].

Objective: To investigate frequency-specific alterations of spontaneous brain activity in first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia (SZ) patients and the associations with clinical symptoms. Methods: We collected the resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data from 84 first-episode drug-naïve SZ patients and 94 healthy controls (HCs) and calculated the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) of four frequency bands, including slow-2, slow-3, slow-4, and slow-5. Two-sample t-tests were used to evaluate the intergroup differences in ALFF and ReHo, while partial correlation analyses were conducted to explore the associations between abnormal ALFF and ReHo and the severity of clinical symptoms in the SZ group. Results: Compared with HCs, the SZ group showed reduced ALFF in superior cerebellum and cerebellar vermis across slow-2, slow-3, and slow-4 bands, while increased ALFF was found in left superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and superior temporal pole at slow-4 band. Moreover, reduced ReHo was observed in the right precentral and postcentral gyri at slow-3 band in the SZ group. Additionally, the ALFF of left superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and superior temporal pole in slow-4 band showed a trend of positive correlation with the excited factor score of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) in the SZ group. Conclusion: Our results suggest that local alterations of spontaneous brain activity were frequency-specific in first-episode drug-naïve SZ patients.

Clinical Significance of Methyltransferase-like 16 Expression in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To detect methyltransferase-like (METTL) 16 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and its relationship with clinicohistopathological parameters and prognosis. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Gynaecology and Pathology, The First Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College), from February to June 2022. METHODOLOGY: METTL16 expression in 115 EOC patients was evaluated by IHC. According to the immunoreactive score (IRS), scores <6 represented low expressions and ≥6 high expressions. Clinicopathologic data and follow-up information were collected for statistical evaluation. RESULTS: METTL16 expression decreased in EOC (p = 0.001) and affected the poor prognosis of EOC patients. Low METTL16 patients expression had significantly higher frequencies of advanced FIGO stage, low grade, more lymph node metastasis, high CA125 levels, bilateral disease, distant metastasis, and high frequency of neural/vascular invasion compared to high METTL16 patients (p ≤0.001, <0.001, <0.001, 0.017, 0.027, <0.001, and 0.010, respectively). The survival analysis showed that the overall survival (p <0.0001) as well as the disease-free survival (p <0.0001) were remarkably shorter in low METTL16 patients compared to high METTL16 patients, suggesting worse survival. CONCLUSION: There was a clear association between the expression of METTL16, poor prognostic factors, and lower survival of EOC patients, suggesting that it might exert a vital effect on the malignant progression / prognosis of EOC. KEY WORDS: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), METTL16, Immunohistochemistry, Prognosis.

Identification of clinical implications and potential prognostic models of chromatin regulator mutations in multiple myeloma.

BACKGROUND: With the rapid development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, researchers are making efforts to reveal the genomic landscape of multiple myeloma (MM). However, the clinical significance of many mutations remains poorly defined due to the genetic heterogeneity of MM. To systematically explore the clinical implications of gene mutations and build practical prognostic models, we performed DNA sequencing in newly diagnosed MM patients. METHODS: MM cells were purified from bone marrow aspirates using CD138 microbeads and subjected to sequencing with a 387-gene Panel. Nomogram was developed using Cox's proportional hazards model, and candidate variables were screened by stepwise regression. Internal validation was carried out by the bootstrap method. RESULTS: Between July 2016 and December 2020, a total of 147 patients were included in our study. We found patients with a higher mutational load had a significantly shorter progress-free survival (PFS) (19.0 vs. 32.0 months, P = 0.0098) and overall survival (OS) (3-year OS rates were 66.1% and 80.0%, P = 0.0290). Mutations in chromatin regulators (CRs) including KMT2C (14.3%), KMT2D (14.3%), EP300 (11.6%) and ARID gene family (31.3%) were highly frequent in newly diagnosed MM patients. Interestingly, proteins encoded by these genes could form a complex called KMT2C/D COMPASS (KCDCOMs). Patients with mutations of ARID gene family had a significantly shorter PFS (15.5 vs. 34.0 months, P = 0.0003) and OS (3-year OS rates were 64.9% and 81.0%, P = 0.0351) than patients without ARID gene mutations. Incorporating ARID gene mutations into the current staging system could successfully improve their prognostic performance. The PFS and OS nomogram models (including 1q21 copies, ARID gene mutations, extramedullary disease, mutational load and TP53 mutations) showed good predicting performance in both training and validation sets. CONCLUSION: Our findings emphasized the importance of CRs mutations in newly diagnosed MM patients and indicated the mutations affecting KCDCOMs might promote the development of MM. High mutational load and harboring mutations in the ARID gene family were novel predictors of adverse prognosis in MM. Prognostic models based on gene mutations were commendably prognostic evaluation methods that could provide a reference for clinical practices.

Single-cell profiling-guided combination therapy of c-Fos and histone deacetylase inhibitors in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) have been widely applied in multiple tumours, but the expected efficacy was not observed in DLBCL. Therefore, this study is aimed to explore superior HDACis and optimise a relative combinational therapeutic strategy. METHODS: The antitumour effects of the drug were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and apoptosis analysis. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) was used to analyse the intratumoural heterogeneity of DLBCL cells. Whole-exome sequencing and RNA sequencing were performed to analyse the genetic and transcriptional features. Western blotting, qRT-PCR, protein array, immunohistochemistry, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were applied to explore the involved pathways. The antitumour effects of the compounds were assessed using subcutaneous xenograft tumour models. RESULTS: LAQ824 was screened and confirmed to kill DLBCL cells effectively. Using scRNA-Seq, we characterised the heterogeneity of DLBCL cells under different drug pressures, and c-Fos was identified as a critical factor in the survival of residual tumour cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that combinatorial treatment with LAQ824 and a c-Fos inhibitor more potently inhibited tumour cells both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION: Altogether, we found an HDACi, LAQ824, with high efficacy in DLBCL and provided a promising HDACi-based combination therapy strategy.

Micrografting: An Old Dog Plays New Tricks in Obligate Plant Pathogens.

Micrografting, which was developed almost 50 years ago, has long been used for virus eradication, micropropagation, regeneration, rejuvenation, and graft compatibility. Recently, micrografting has been used for studies of long-distance trafficking and signaling of molecules between scions and rootstocks. The graft transmissiveness of obligate plant pathogens, such as viruses, viroids, and phytoplasmas, facilitated the use of micrografting to study biological indexing and pathogen transmission, pathogen-induced graft incompatibility, and screening for the pathogen resistance during the past 20 years. The present study provides comprehensive information on the latter subjects. Finally, prospects are proposed to direct further studies.

Functional Evaluation of KEL as an Oncogenic Gene in the Progression of Acute Erythroleukemia.

Acute erythroleukemia (AEL) is an infrequent subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with worse prognosis. Though the last decade has seen major advances in the novel features and genomic landscape in AEL, there is still a lack of specific therapeutic targets and effective treatment approaches for this disease. Here, we found a novel oncogene KEL that specifically and aberrantly expressed in patients with AEL. In this study, we demonstrated that KEL promoted cell proliferation and the downregulation of KEL reversed drug resistance in AEL cells to JQ1. Our findings suggested that KEL contributed to gain of H3K27 acetylation and promoted erythroid differentiation induced by GATA1. Additionally, GATA1 and TAL1 as cotranscription factors (TFs) modulated the expression of KEL. Maintaining cell viability and differentiation, KEL also played parts in the immune evasion of tumor cells. Our work expands the current knowledge regarding molecular mechanisms involved in cancer onset and progression, offering promising therapeutic target to broaden the treatment options.

Long-Term Preservation of Plant Viruses in Cryopreserved Shoot Tips.

Availability of the methods for long-term virus preservation facilitates easy acquirement of viruses, which are needed in many basic and applied virological studies. Cryopreservation is currently considered an ideal means for long-term preservation of plant germplasm. Recent studies have shown that cryopreservation provided an efficient and reliable method for long-term preservation of plant viruses. Here, we describe the detailed procedures of droplet vitrification for long-term preservation of apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), which represents a type of viruses that can invade meristematic cells of the shoot tips, and potato leafroll virus (PLRV), which is a phloem-limited virus that does not infect the apical meristem. Shoot tip cryopreservation provides an advantageous strategy for the long-term preservation of plant viruses.

[A Retrospective Analysis of TKI Discontinuation in Patients with CML].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical characteristics of the patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) discontinued tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) therapy and the outcome of the patients. METHODS: 35 cases of CML patients experienced initiative discontinuation of TKI therapy in our hospital from June 1st 2015 to December 31th 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The TFR of the patients and the factors affecting it were analyzed. RESULTS: The median duration of TKI administration was 72 (range 35-173) months in the 35 patients. Among these patients, 8 had experienced TKI dose reduction or suspension. All the enrolled patients have achieved at least MMR. The median time for these patients achieving MMR was 15 (range 3-75) months after administration of TKI, and for MMR maintenance before TKI suspension was 55 (range 13-164) months. After TKI withdrawal the median follow up time was 20.3 (range 3-57.9) months, 22 out of 35 patients kept TFR, among them, 2 （5.71%） patients restarted TKI after 12 month suspension, and maintained MMR during suspension. 13 （37.1%）patients lost MMR, among them, 9 patients restarted TKI treatment, and 5 of them achieved MR4.0 after the median duration of 3(2-5) month. No patients were found to have disease progression. The estimated TFR rate was 57.8% and 51.8% at 12 and 24 months after discontinuation, respectively. Other clinical characteristic related to relapse were also analyzed, including the cumulative TKI administration duration, cumulative MMR duration, time to achieve MMR, median age at diagnosis, risk stratification by Sokal score, TKI dose reduction and discontinuation history, and second-generation TKI administration before stopping TKI, however, no statistical difference was found. CONCLUSION: TKI discontinuation is practical for CML patients in our center.

ROS-induced oxidative stress in plant cryopreservation: occurrence and alleviation.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative stress results in low success or even total failure of cryopreservation. Better understanding of how the plant establishes resistance/tolerance to ROS-induced oxidative stress facilitates developments of robust cryopreservation procedures. Cryopreservation provides a safe and efficient strategy for long-term preservation of plant genetic resources. ROS-induced oxidative stress caused damage to cells and reduced the ability of the plant to survive following cryopreservation, eventually resulting in low success or even total failure. This paper provides updated and comprehensive information obtained in the past decade, including the following: (1) ROS generations and adaptive responses of antioxidant systems during cryopreservation; (2) expressions of oxidative stress-associated genes and proteins during cryopreservation; (3) ROS-triggered programmed cell death (PCD) during cryopreservation; and (4) exogenous applications of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in improving success of cryopreservation. Prospects for further studies are proposed. The goal of the present study was to facilitate better understanding of the mechanisms by which the plant establishes resistance/tolerance to oxidative stress during cryopreservation and promote further studies toward the developments of robust cryopreservation procedures and wider application of plant cryobiotechnology.

Grapevine Shoot Tip Cryopreservation and Cryotherapy: Secure Storage of Disease-Free Plants.

Grapevine (Vitis spp.) is one of the most economically important temperate fruit crops. Grapevine breeding programs require access to high-quality Vitis cultivars and wild species, which may be maintained within genebanks. Shoot tip cryopreservation is a valuable technique for the safe, long-term conservation of Vitis genetic resources that complements traditional field and in vitro germplasm collections. Vitis is highly susceptible to virus infections. Virus-free plants are required as propagation material for clonally propagated germplasm, and also for the global exchange of grapevine genetic resources. Shoot tip cryotherapy, a method based on cryopreservation, has proven to be effective in eradicating viruses from infected plants, including grapevine. This comprehensive review outlines/documents the advances in Vitis shoot tip cryopreservation and cryotherapy that have resulted in healthy plants with high regrowth levels across diverse Vitis species.

Epigenetic and Genetic Integrity, Metabolic Stability, and Field Performance of Cryopreserved Plants.

Cryopreservation is considered an ideal strategy for the long-term preservation of plant genetic resources. Significant progress was achieved over the past several decades, resulting in the successful cryopreservation of the genetic resources of diverse plant species. Cryopreservation procedures often employ in vitro culture techniques and require the precise control of several steps, such as the excision of explants, preculture, osmo- and cryoprotection, dehydration, freeze-thaw cycle, unloading, and post-culture for the recovery of plants. These processes create a stressful environment and cause reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative stress, which is detrimental to the growth and regeneration of tissues and plants from cryopreserved tissues. ROS-induced oxidative stresses were documented to induce (epi)genetic and somatic variations. Therefore, the development of true-to-type regenerants of the source germplasm is of primary concern in the application of plant cryopreservation technology. The present article provides a comprehensive assessment of epigenetic and genetic integrity, metabolic stability, and field performance of cryopreserved plants developed in the past decade. Potential areas and the directions of future research in plant cryopreservation are also proposed.

Low prevalence and independent prognostic role of del(11q) in Chinese patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The 11q deletion (del(11q)) is a conventional cytogenetic aberration observed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. However, the prevalence and the prognostic value of del(11q) are still controversial. In this research, we retrospectively explored the prevalence, association, and prognostic significance of del(11q) in 352 untreated and 99 relapsed/refractory Chinese CLL patients. Totally 11.4% of untreated and 19.2% of relapsed/refractory patients harbored del(11q). Del(11q) was more common in patients with ß2-microglobulin > 3.5 mg/L, positive CD38, positive zeta-chain associated protein kinase 70, unmutated immunoglobulin heavy variable-region gene and ataxia telangiectasia mutated mutation. Kaplan-Meier method and univariate Cox regression indicated that del(11q) was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (OS). Based on the results of univariate Cox regression analysis, two nomograms that included del(11q) were established to predict survival. Desirable area under curve of receiver operating characteristic curves was obtained in the training and validation cohorts. In addition, the calibration curves for the probability of survival showed good agreement between the prediction by nomogram and actual observation. In summary, the prevalence of del(11q) is relatively low in our cohort and del(11q) is an unfavorable prognostic factor for untreated CLL patients. Besides, these two nomograms could be used to accurately predict the prognosis of untreated CLL patients.