Study on enhancement of hypofractionated radiotherapy sensitivity in non-small cell lung cancer by tumor suppressor gene DKK2 / 中华内分泌外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the expression, methylation and prognosis of DKK2 in non-small cell lung cancer, and also its effect and correlation with the sensitivity of hypofractionated radiotherapy sensitivity in non-small cell lung cancer.Methods:qPCR, online database and Kaplan-Meier survival curve were used to detect the expression, methylation and prognosis of DKK2 in NSCLC samples. A549 cells was set as the research objects, and cloning formation experiment and Western blot were used to evaluated the effects of DKK2 on hypofractionated radiotherapy in NSCLC.Results:Compared with the normal tissues, the expression of DKK2 mRNA in NSCLC samples was down-regulaged [ (0.00042±0.0001) vs (0.00065±0.0002), P<0.001]. Data taken from an online methylation database showed that compared with normal tissue, DKK2 hypermethylated in NSCLC, and its methylation was significantly negatively correlated with the mRNA expression. Downregulated DKK2 expression was inversely correlated with its methylation status ( P=0.034). The hypofractionated radiotherapy sensitivity of NSCLC patients was 53.3%. Compared with radiosensitivity group, DKK2 mRNA expression was significantly down-regulated in radioresistance group[ (0.00064±0.0002) vs (0.00043±0.0002), P<0.001]. The progression free survival of radiotherapy sensitive group was better than that of radiotherapy resistant group (median PFS: 21.4 months vs 4.6 months). Ectopic expression of DKK2 in A549 lines inhibited colony formation after irradiation with 4 Gy X-ray radiotherapy. Western blot further showed that restoration of DKK2 expression resulted in upregulation of DNA damage markers γ-H2AX[ (1.00±0.24) vs (3.22±0.41), P<0.001], and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion:DKK2 expression is downregulated in NSCLC due to methylation, which may be acted as an important target to predict the hypofractionated radiotherapy sensitivity of NSCLC.

Clinical and genetic study of ataxia with vitamin E deficiency: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Ataxia with vitamin E deficiency (AVED) is a type of autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia. Clinical manifestations include progressive cerebellar ataxia and movement disorders. TTPA gene mutations cause the disease. CASE SUMMARY: We report the case of a 32-year-old woman who presented with progressive cerebellar ataxia, dysarthria, dystonic tremors and a remarkably decreased serum vitamin E concentration. Brain magnetic resonance images showed that her brainstem and cerebellum were within normal limits. Acquired causes of ataxia were excluded. Whole exome sequencing subsequently identified a novel homozygous variant (c.473T>C, p.F158S) of the TPPA gene. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that F185S is harmful to protein function. After supplementing the patient with vitamin E 400 mg three times per day for 2 years, her symptoms remained stable. CONCLUSION: We identified an AVED patient caused by novel mutation in TTPA gene. Our findings widen the known TTPA gene mutation spectrum.

The functional connectivity of basal forebrain is associated with superior memory performance in older adults: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Aging is related with memory deterioration. However, some older adults demonstrate superior performance compared to age- and education-matched adults, who are referred to as superagers. To explore the neural mechanisms that mediate their unusually successful memory is important not only for the ameliorate the effects of aging in brain, but also for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. This case-control study is aimed to investigate the effects of volume and function of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons on the cognition of superagers. METHODS: The morphometric and resting-state functional MRI analysis, including 34 superagers and 48 typical older adults, were conducted. We compared the basal forebrain gray matter density and related resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in the two groups. To investigate the relationship of FC with cognition, we measure the correlation of significant altered FC and individual cognitive domain. RESULTS: No significant differences of gray matter density was observed between superagers and typical older adults. The superagers had stronger cortical FC of Ch1-3 with left putamen and insular cortex. The strength of FC positively correlated with global cognition, memory and executive function. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrated that the stronger FC of basal forebrain correlated with specific cognitive difference in global cognition and domains of memory and executive function in superagers.

N6-methyladenine-modified DNA was decreased in Alzheimer's disease patients.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has increased, which places a great burden on society and families and creates considerable challenges for medical services. N6-methyladenine (m6A) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) adenine methylation is a novel biomarker and is abundant in the brain, but less common in AD. We support to analyze the relationship between DNA m6A and cognition in patients with AD and normal controls (NCs) in China. AIM: To analyze the relationship between the novel m6A DNA and cognition in patients with AD and NCs in China. METHODS: A total of 179 AD patients (mean age 71.60 ± 9.89 years; males: 91; females: 88) and 147 NCs (mean age 69.59 ± 11.22 years; males: 77; females: 70) who were age- and sex-matched were included in our study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological scale assessment and magnetic resonance imaging examination. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes were measured through agarose gel electrophoresis. Global m6A levels were evaluated by a MethylFlash m6A DNA Methylation ELISA Kit (colorimetric). Global m6A levels in total DNA from ten AD patients with 18F-AV-45 (florbetapir) positron emission tomography (PET) positivity and ten NCs with PET negativity were analyzed by dot blotting to determine the results. RESULTS: Our ELISA results showed that the global m6A DNA levels in peripheral blood were different between patients with AD and NCs (P = 0.002; < 0.05). And ten AD patients who were PET positive and ten NCs who were PET negative also showed the same results through dot blotting. There were significant differences between the two groups, which indicated that the leukocyte m6A DNA levels were different (P = 0.005; < 0.05). The m6A level was approximately 8.33% lower in AD patients than in NCs (mean 0.011 ± 0.006 vs 0.012 ± 0.005). A significant correlation was found between the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score and the peripheral blood m6A level in the tested population (r = 0.143, P = 0.01; < 0.05). However, no relationship was found with APOE ε4 (P = 0.633, > 0.05). Further studies should be performed to validate these findings. CONCLUSION: Our results show that reduced global m6A DNA methylation levels are significantly lower in AD patients than in NCs by approximately 8.33% in China.

[Expert consensus on clinical application of Compound Congrong Yizhi Capsules in treatment of vascular dementia].

Compound Congrong Yizhi Capsules is widely used in clinic for the long-term treatment and synergistic treatment of vascular cognitive impairment. After years of clinical observation, it has an obvious curative effect on the treatement of vascular cognitive impairment and has been recommended by multiple guidelines, consensuses, and series. This consensus was formulated for the treatment of vascular dementia. On the basis of summarizing the application experience of clinicians, and combined with the existing evidence-based evidence, 11 recommendations/consensus recommendations were finally reached through the nominal group method. The indications, usage and dosage, course of treatment, medication time, concomitant medication, and precautions of Congrong Yizhi Capsules in the treatment of vascular dementia were proposed, and the safety of the clinical application was described. This consensus is applicable to the use of Compound Congrong Yizhi Capsules in the treatment of patients with vascular dementia, and can be used by clinicians from the departments of encephalopathy(neurology), geriatrics, and traditional Chinese medicine in general hospitals. This consensus has been approved by China Association of Chinese Medicine, with the number of GS/CACM 298-2022.

Corrigendum: Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Cerebellum in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: A Case-Control Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.596221.].

Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Cerebellum in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: A Case-Control Study.

This case-control study is aimed to investigate the correlation of altered functional connectivity (FC) in cerebellum with cognitive impairment in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The morphometric and resting-state FC MRI analysis including 46 participants with AD, 32 with aMCI and 42 age-matched normal controls (NCs) were conducted. We compared the cerebellar gray matter volume and cerebellar FC with cerebral cortical regions among three groups. To investigate the relationship of cerebellar FC with cognition, we measure the correlation of significant altered FC and individual cognitive domain. No significant morphometric differences of cerebellum was observed across three groups. The patients with AD had weaker cerebral cortical FCs in bilateral Crus I and left VIIb compared to NCs, and in bilateral Crus I compared to patients with aMCI. For patients with aMCI, the weaker FC were found between right Crus I, left VIIb and cerebral cortical regions compared to NCs. The strength of left cerebellar FC positively correlated with specific cognitive subdomains, including memory, executive function, visuospatial function, and global cognition in AD and aMCI. These findings demonstrated the alteration of cerebellar FC with cerebral cortical regions, and the correlation of cerebellar FC and cognitive impairment in AD and aMCI.

A study on the influence of situational simulation training combined with Miller pyramid teaching on emergency response ability and nursing skills of operating room nurses / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective:To explore the effect of situational simulation training combined with Miller pyramid teaching on emergency response ability and nursing skills of specialized nurses in operating room.Methods:A total of 56 disaster nursing trainees who received specialized nurse training in the operating room of Mianyang Central Hospital from June 2019 to June 2020 were selected in the study, and they were divided into control group and research group in average according to the order of training time. The control group adopted clinical one-to-one teaching, while the research group adopted situational simulation training combined with Miller pyramid teaching. After the training, the teaching effect of specialized nurse training was evaluated by their professional theoretical knowledge and nursing skill operation results, and self-designed assessment scale was used to evaluate the emergency response ability and satisfaction with the training effect of the nurses. SPSS 22.0 was used for t test and chi-square test. Results:The results of theoretical knowledge and nursing skills operation of specialize nurses in operating room in the research group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.001). The scores of emergency capability assessment in the research group were significantly higher than those in the control group, with statistical significance ( P<0.001). The study group was better than the control group in 7 aspects of satisfaction, such as the improvement of the operation level of emergency ability, team cooperation ability, analysis and problem solving ability, clinical nursing decision-making ability, independent thinking ability and nurse-patient communication ability, with significant differences ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Situational simulation training combined with Miller pyramid teaching can significantly improve the emergency response ability, nursing skill operation and training satisfaction of operating room nurses, which is better than the traditional clinical teaching method, and is worthy of application and promotion in clinical nursing teaching.

Clinical Significance of NLR, PLR and MPV for Predicting Colorectal Adenomatous Polyp and Colorectal Cancer / 胃肠病学

Background: Many inflammatory markers have certain values in evaluating the prognosis of cancer patients, but studies on their diagnostic values for cancer and precancerous lesions are few. Aims: To explore the diagnostic significance of NLR, PLR and MPV for adenomatous polyp and colorectal cancer. Methods: Clinicopathological data of 198 patients with colorectal cancer (group A), 254 patients with adenomatous polyp (group B), 88 patients with non-adenomatous polyp (group C) diagnosed by endoscopic examination from September 2017 to July 2019 at Huludao Central Hospital were retrospectively analyzed, and 202 healthy subjects were served as controls (group D). WBC, NEU, LYM, PLT, MPV, NLR, PLR, CEA were compared among the four groups. ROC curve was used to evaluate the value of different parameters for diagnosing colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyp. Results: NLR, PLR, MPV had no relation with gender and age (P>0.05). WBC, NEU, PLT, NLR, PLR, CEA in group A were significantly increased when compared with group B, group C, group D (P<0.05), and LYM, MPV were significantly decreased (P<0.05). LYM, PLT in group B were significantly decreased when compared with group C (P<0.05), and NLR was significantly increased (P<0.05). WBC, NEU, NLR, CEA in group B were significantly increased when compared with group D (P<0.05), and PLT was significantly decreased (P<0.05). When the cut-off value was 1.93, 153.86, 10.55 fl, respectively, the AUC of NLR, PLR, MPV for diagnosing colorectal cancer were 0.877, 0.734, 0.704, respectively. The AUC of NLR combined with CEA for diagnosing colorectal cancer was 0.929, and the AUC of the combined NLR, PLR, MPV and CEA was 0.932. When the cut-off value was 1.62, the sensitivity of NLR for diagnosing adenomatous polyp was 68.1%, the specificity was 67.1%, AUC was 0.659, however, PLR and MPV had no significant value for diagnosing adenomatous polyp. Conclusions: NLR, PLR, MPV may have predicting value for detection of colorectal cancer, and combined with CEA can improve the efficacy. NLR may provide a new hematological screening method for detecting adenomatous polyp.

Correlation analysis between HCY,LP-PLA2,RDW,and UA in ischemic stroke patients with H-type hypertension / 中风与神经疾病杂志

@#Objective　To explore the changes of HCY and LP-PLA2,RDW,and UA in patients with H-type hypertension with acute cerebral infarction.Methods　A total of 408 patients with acute cerebral infarction treated in the Department of Neurology,First Hospital of Lanzhou University from January 2017 to June 2019 were selected and divided into H type hypertension group (248 cases),HCY alone group (107 cases).The non-H hypertension group (31 cases),the simple acute cerebral infarction group (22 cases),and the healthy physical examination patients in the same period were selected as the control group (63 cases).Results　(1)The levels of male,LP-PLA2,HCY,and RDW were significantly higher in the H-type hypertension group than in the simple acute cerebral infarction group and the normal control group(P<0.05);(2)HCY levels were significantly higher in men with H-type hypertension than women(P<0.05);(3)HCY was positively correlated with RDW and UA in the H-type hypertension group (r=0.389,P<0.001;r=0.171,P<0.001);(4)In the H-type hypertension group,HCY,LP-PLA2,RDW,and UA all have certain diagnostic efficacy (AUC=0.724,0.916,0.731),respectively,0.677 were less than the joint detection AUC=0.947.Conclusion　HCY,LP-PLA2,RDW,and UA can prompt the inflammation status of H-type hypertension with acute cerebral infarction;H-type hypertension and LP-PLA2 levels have certain synergistic effect in acute cerebral infarction.

Clinical features of long segmental myelopathy caused by nitrous oxide / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the clinical and imaging characteristics of the neurological damage caused by nitrous oxide (N2O).@*METHODS@#In the study, 10 patients in the Department of Neurology of China-Japan Friendship Hospital from October 2015 to February 2018 were retrospectively analyzed for the demographic data, the history of inhaled N2O, clinical features, blood examination, electrophysiological examination, spinal magnetic resonance imaging and therapeutic efficacy profiles.@*RESULTS@#The male-to-female ratio was 4:6 and it presented with an age-of-onset 17-26 years [the average age: (20.80±3.12) years]. The time from inhaled N2O to onset was 1 month to 1 year [the average time: (6.95±4.19) months]. Paralysis in all the patients and numbness in 9 patients were the main clinical features, while positive Lhermitte's sign in 3 patients, urinary and defecation disturbance in 4 patients were also found. Blood examination indicated anemia in 2 patients, giant cell anemia in 1 case and small cell hypochromic anemia in 1 case. 3 cases had been treated with vitamin B12 in an external hospital, and the other 7 cases had abnormal increase in homocysteine levels. Electrophysiological examinations showed sensory and motor nerve involvement in 9 patients, and motor nerve involvement in 1 patient. The severity of lower extremity lesion was significantly heavier than that of upper extremity. Spinal magnetic resonance imagings showed that long segmental lesions were present in the cervical spinal cord of all the patients, 3 cases with long segmental lesions of the thoracic cord and 2 cases with spinal cord swelling. In 6 cases, the horizontal axis had an "inverted V-type" T2 high signal, 1 case was classified as "crescent", and 3 cases were "eight-shaped". The symptoms in these 10 cases were alleviated in varying degrees after stopping the inhalation of nitrous oxide, actively supplementing high doses of vitamin B12 and doing early rehabilitation exercises.@*CONCLUSION@#Myelopathy with nitrous oxide presents as paralysis and numbness in limb extremities. In imaging, cervical spinal cord damage is common, accompanied by thoracic spinal cord damage. The horizontal axis is more common in the "inverted V-type". Treatment with high doses of vitamin B12 is effective.

The brain mechanism underlying the understanding of action intention and mentalizing / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Mentalizing is the vital cognitive basis of understanding of action intention.However,there are few studies on the complex relationship of them.The present study,firstly,discusses the concepts and the brain mechanisms of empathy and understanding of action intention,indicating the temporal dynamic features of mentalizing as well as understanding of action intention.Secondly,based on Intention Processing Network,the process of mentalizing in understanding of action intention is in hierarchy and division.During which,ventral medial prefrontal lobe plays a vital role on integrating and transforming the cognitive and affective information.Empathy and mentalizing transform into each other through ventral medial prefrontal lobe.So empathy probably mediates the relationship of mentalizing and understanding of action intention.Empathy,mentalizing and understanding of action intention can be integrated under the framework of hybrid models.Future studies should examine the relationship between empathy and understanding of action intention by empirical researches.

Dosimetric effects of multileaf collimator leaf width on inverse intensity-modulated radiotherapy in intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To compare the dosimetric effects of micro-multileaf collimator (MLC)(2 mm leaf width) and conventional MLC (10 mm leaf width) on inverse intensity-modulated radiotherapy(IMRT) in intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery(SRS). Methods In view of the fact that the micro-MLC has a small open field,30 patients with intracranial tumor with a<10 cm diameter were enrolled in this study. Their inverse dynamic IMRT plans were established using conventional MLC (conventional group) and micro-MLC (micro group) with the same other conditions. The radiation doses to the target volume and the organs at risk (OAR) were compared between the two groups with t test. Results Compared with the conventional group, the micro group had a significantly better dose distribution in the target volume (P=0.019). However, there were no significant differences in D98,D95,D50,and D3between the two groups (P=0.774,0.650,0.170,0.080). The micro group had a 58.7% lower mean homogeneity index and a 20.1% higher mean conformity index than the conventional group (P=0.000). The micro group had significantly lower radiation doses to OAR than the conventional group (P=0.044). The mean Dmeanand Dmaxof the brain stem in the micro group were 10.0% and 8.2%,respectively,lower than those in the conventional group (P=0.768,0.753). The mean Dmeanand Dmax of the right eye and left eye in the micro group were 16.5%,19.3%,21.4%,and 13.4%,respectively,lower than those in the conventional group (P=0.572,0.775 and 0.734,0.630). The mean Dmaxof the left lens, right lens, left optic nerve, right optic nerve, and optic chiasm in the micro group were 50.4%, 24.1%, 38.5%, 27.8%, and 5.7%, respectively, lower than those in the conventional group (P=0.172,0.467, 0.521,0.740,0.899). The PRV100,PRV50,and PRV25of the normal tissue in the micro group were no more than those in the conventional group(P=0.839,0.832,0.972). Conclusions In inverse IMRT in intracranial SRS,micro-MLC is better than conventional MLC because it can improve CI of the target volume and reduce the radiation doses to OAR.

Directed forgetting effect to disease/death-related words in elder people / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To explore the directed forgetting ability of elder people to disease/death-related words under the conditions of the neutral and negative emotion.Methods:Thirty-six elder people and thirty-seven young people were included in this study.The directed forgetting effects to disease/death-related words were compared by using item-method directed forgetting paradigm under the neutral and negative emotional conditions.Results:Under the neutral and negative emotion conditions,higher recognition of to-be-remembered (TBR) than to-be-forgotten (TBF) words in elder group and younger group (Ps ＜ 0.05).The elder group showed the weaker effect of directed forgetting than younger group[neutral emotion:(0.4 ± 0.1) vs.(0.6 ± 0.1);negative emotion:(0.3 ± 0.1) vs.(0.7 ± 0.04),Ps ＜ 0.05].Under the negative emotion condition,elder people showed stronger effect of directed forgetting for sensitive words compared with control words[(0.4 ± 0.1) vs.(0.1 ± 0.1),P ＜ 0.001].Conclusion:The results suggest that the directed forgetting ability of elderly is weaker than that of young individuals,the ability of non-sensitive words than that with sensitive words,and the directed forgetting effect of elder people tonon-sensitive words in negative emotion is weaker than that in neutral emotion.

Change of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis in patients with liver cancer treated by sorafenib

OBJECTIVE@#To study the change of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis in patients with liver cancer after treated by sorafenib.@*METHODS@#Patients with advanced liver cancer admitted in our hospital were enrolled and treated with sorafenib. After two months of the treatment, their peripheral blood was collected. The immune cell subset and cytokines level were determined by flow cytometry and luminex technology. According to the reaction expressed by patients towards sorafenib, patients were divided into the response group and the no response group. The changes of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis of patients in the two groups were compared.@*RESULTS@#Before and after treatment of sorafenib, there was no significant difference in the ratios of T cells, NK cells and their subtypes in peripheral blood of patients between the two groups; while after treatment the ratio of B cells and regulatory B cells (Breg) of patients in the response group was significant higher than that of the no response group (P < 0.05), and the prognosis conditions of patients with decreased ratio of Breg cells were better than other patients after undergoing chemotherapy. The levels of plasma cytokines IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL17, FIL-3L, IFN-γ, TNF-α, MCP-1 and VEGF showed no significant differences.@*CONCLUSIONS@#After treatment of sorafenib, the prognosis conditions of patients of advanced liver cancer with a reduced Breg ratio are better than patients with an unaltered or increased Breg ratio. The ratio of Breg in peripheral blood may be considered as early biological indicator for the prediction of the curative effects of sorafenib.

Effect of co-transfection of miR-520c-3p and miR-132 on proliferation and apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of co-transfection of miR-520c-3p and miR-132 on proliferation and apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7.@*METHODS@#Hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7 was cultured in vitro and lipidosome was used to transfect miR-520c-3p and miR-132, respectively or together. The effects of transfection of miR-520c-3p and miR-132 on proliferation and apoptosis of Huh7 were detected by CCK8 and Annexin V staining and flow cytometry, and the expression level of the targeted gene of over-expressed miR-520c-3p and miR-132 was determined by Western blot and realtime PCR.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group, the proliferation ability of Huh7 of the single transfected and co-transfected miR-520c-3p and miR-132 decreased significantly, and the apoptosis ratio increased distinctly (P < 0.05). Besides, the effect of the co-transfection group was better than that of the single transfection group. The protein levels of GPC3 (Glypican-3) and YAP (Yes-associated protein), the target genes transfected only by miR-520c-3p and miR-132, respectively, reduced obviously (P < 0.05), which was similar with the co-infected cells, but cells transfected by miR-132 only showed a decrease of YAP.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The co-transfection of miR-520c-3p and miR-132 can target-regulate the expression of GPC3 and YAP, enhance the exhibition effect on proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7 and induce cell apoptosis synergistically.

Effect of co-transfection of miR-520c-3p and miR-132 on proliferation and apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7

Objective To investigate the effects of co-transfection of miR-520c-3p and miR-132 on proliferation and apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7. Methods Hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7 was cultured in vitro and lipidosome was used to transfect miR-520c-3p and miR-132, respectively or together. The effects of transfection of miR-520c-3p and miR-132 on proliferation and apoptosis of Huh7 were detected by CCK8 and Annexin V staining and flow cytometry, and the expression level of the targeted gene of over-expressed miR-520c-3p and miR-132 was determined by Western blot and realtime PCR. Results Compared with the control group, the proliferation ability of Huh7 of the single transfected and co-transfected miR-520c-3p and miR-132 decreased significantly, and the apoptosis ratio increased distinctly (P < 0.05). Besides, the effect of the co-transfection group was better than that of the single transfection group. The protein levels of GPC3 (Glypican-3) and YAP (Yes-associated protein), the target genes transfected only by miR-520c-3p and miR-132, respectively, reduced obviously (P < 0.05), which was similar with the co-infected cells, but cells transfected by miR-132 only showed a decrease of YAP. Conclusions The co-transfection of miR-520c-3p and miR-132 can target-regulate the expression of GPC3 and YAP, enhance the exhibition effect on proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7 and induce cell apoptosis synergistically.

Change of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis in patients with liver cancer treated by sorafenib

Objective To study the change of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis in patients with liver cancer after treated by sorafenib. Methods Patients with advanced liver cancer admitted in our hospital were enrolled and treated with sorafenib. After two months of the treatment, their peripheral blood was collected. The immune cell subset and cytokines level were determined by flow cytometry and luminex technology. According to the reaction expressed by patients towards sorafenib, patients were divided into the response group and the no response group. The changes of the peripheral blood immune pattern and its correlation with prognosis of patients in the two groups were compared. Results Before and after treatment of sorafenib, there was no significant difference in the ratios of T cells, NK cells and their subtypes in peripheral blood of patients between the two groups; while after treatment the ratio of B cells and regulatory B cells (Breg) of patients in the response group was significant higher than that of the no response group (P < 0.05), and the prognosis conditions of patients with decreased ratio of Breg cells were better than other patients after undergoing chemotherapy. The levels of plasma cytokines IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL17, FIL-3L, IFN-γ, TNF-α, MCP-1 and VEGF showed no significant differences. Conclusions After treatment of sorafenib, the prognosis conditions of patients of advanced liver cancer with a reduced Breg ratio are better than patients with an unaltered or increased Breg ratio. The ratio of Breg in peripheral blood may be considered as early biological indicator for the prediction of the curative effects of sorafenib.