Influence of Treg cells and HBV genotype on sustained response and drug resistance in the treatment with nucleoside drugs.

We aimed to investigate the influence of regulatory T cells including CD4+CD25+, CD8+CD28- and hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype on sustained virological response and tolerance of nucleoside drugs. One hundred and thirty-seven patients were enrolled. Lamivudine was administered to 84 patients. Entecavir was administered to the other 53 patients. Before treatment, biochemical tests, HBV DNA load, HBV serum level, HBV genotype, PB CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+CD25+/CD3+, and CD8+CD28-/CD3+ frequencies were measured. Based on HBV DNA loads after 4 weeks of therapy, patients were divided into response group and suboptimal response group. The lamivudine group received treatment continuously, and then patients were categorized into non-resistance group and resistance group. Compared with the suboptimal response and resistance groups for lamivudine, CD4+CD25+/CD3+ levels were higher in the response and non-resistance groups (t=4.372, P=0.046; t=7.262, P=0.017). In the non-resistance group, CD8+CD28-/CD3+ frequency was lower than in the resistance group (t=5.527, P=0.037). Virus load and hepatitis B E antigen (HBeAg)-positive rate were significantly lower than in the response and resistance group (t=2.164, P=0.038; X2=4.239, P=0.040; t=2.015, P=0.044; X2=16.2, P=0.000). Incidence of drug resistance was high in patients with virogene type C. For the virological response to entecavir, CD8+CD28-/CD3+ level was significantly lower than that of the suboptimal response group (t=6.283, P=0.036). Response and suboptimal response groups were compared in CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+CD25+/CD3+ and virus genotype, and differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Baseline regulatory T cells including CD4+CD25+/CD3+ and CD8+CD28-/CD3+ frequencies have a relationship with the incidence of rapid virological response and the resistance to nucleoside drugs. Patients with HBV genotype C receiving lamivudine more often underwent drug resistance. Antiviral efficacy and the resistance to lamivudine were closely correlated with baseline factors; the same cannot be found for entecavir.

Expression and clinical significance of Kelch-like epichlorohydrin-associated protein 1 in breast cancer.

Our objective was to explore the expression and clinical significance of Kelch-like epichlorohydrin-associated protein 1 (Keap1) in breast cancer tissue. Eighty-one breast cancer patients having undergone surgical treatment in our hospital between March 2002 and December 2008 were enrolled in this study. Normal tissue adjacent to tumors was used for the control samples. Diagnoses for all patients were confirmed by postoperative pathological examination. Immunohistochemical assays were used to measure the expression of Keap1 protein in breast cancer tissue and adjacent normal tissue, and its clinical significance was explored. We observed that 24.6% breast cancer tissue samples were positive for Keap1, a significantly lower proportion than that seen with adjacent normal tissue specimens (80.2%; P < 0.05). The presence of Keap1 expression did not correlate with age, tumor size, pathological classification, or degree of differentiation. However, it was found to be significantly associated with tumor-node-metastasis stage and the presence of lymphatic metastasis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a remarkably higher five-year survival rate among patients with positive Keap1 expression than in those lacking detectable levels of the protein (P = 0.032). Keap1 expression is significantly decreased in breast cancer tissue; therefore, the early detection of its expression might have great significance in determining prognosis for breast cancer patients.

Heterozygosities and genetic relationship of tea cultivars revealed by simple sequence repeat markers and implications for breeding and genetic mapping programs.

Genetic maps are essential tools for quantitative trait locus analysis and marker-assisted selection breeding. In order to select parents that are highly heterozygous for genetic mapping, the heterozygosity (HS) of 24 tea cultivars (Camellia sinensis) was analyzed with 72 simple sequence repeat markers. In total, 359 alleles were obtained with an average of 4.99 per marker. The HS varied greatly from 37.5 to 71.0% with an average of 51.3%. On average, tea cultivars from Fujian Province showed a higher level of heterozygosity (59.8%) than those from Zhejiang (48.5%) and Yunnan (44.5%), and the 12 national tea cultivars were generally more heterozygous than the 12 provincial cultivars. Unweighted pair-group analysis using the arithmetic average grouping divided the 24 cultivars into 2 groups that are consistent with the morphological classification. All dual combinations of the 24 cultivars were studied to calculate the percentage of mappable markers when using pseudo-testcross mapping strategy, and results showed that this value also varied greatly from 51.4 to 90.3%. The genetic relationships and HS differences among different cultivars were discussed, and tea cultivars with high HS were recommended as cross parents for genetic mapping programs.