Importance of Th22 Cell Disequilibrium in Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

BACKGROUND The disequilibrium of T helper (Th) cells play an important role in the occurrence and development of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Th22 cells, as a newly discovered subset of T lymphocytes, plays an important role in autoimmune disorders and inflammatory diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study explored the role of different lymphocyte subsets in chronic ITP. To explore the value of Th22 cells in the diagnosis of ITP, the numbers of Th1, Th17, and Th22 cells were detected by a 4-color flow cytometric in 32 chronic ITP patients and 30 healthy controls. RESULTS Our data showed that, compared with healthy controls, the numbers of circulating Th1, Th17, and Th22 (p<0.05) cells increased significantly in ITP patients, and Th22 cells were correlated positively with Th1 cells (r=0.4041, p<0.01) and Th17 cells (r=0.4637, p<0.05). Moreover, a positive relationship was found between Th1/Th22 cells and Th1 cells (r=0.7696, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS A disequilibrium expression profile of Th22 cells in peripheral blood was associated with pathogenesis of ITP, possibly through cooperatively working with Th17 and Th1, which may provide a novel approach for diagnosis of ITP.

RING domain of zinc finger protein like 1 is essential for cell proliferation in endometrial cancer cell line RL95-2.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the fourth most common cancer in women and exhibits increasing incidence and mortality. Some reports showed that the 5-year survival rate of EC was closely associated with the diagnosed stage. It is urgent to screen for sensitive and specific targets to improve early detection and EC therapy. In our study, we found that zinc finger protein like 1 (ZFPL1) was highly expressed in EC tissues and the EC cell line RL95-2, as detected via RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. Immunocytochemistry results showed that ZFPL1 was localized in the Golgi complex dependent on the C-terminal transmembrane domain. The MTT and EdU stains were employed to examine the effect of ZFPL1 on cell proliferation. We found that the silencing of ZFPL1 blocked cell proliferation and the expression of p-Akt308 and p-Akt473 but improved the protein level of PTEN. The overexpression of ZFPL1 and ZFPL1ΔTMD (deletion of the transmembrane domain) promoted cell proliferation and induced the expression of p-Akt308 and p-Akt473. However, the overexpression of ZFPL1ΔRING (deletion of the RING domain) caused loss of the function of ZFPL1 in cell proliferation and the PI3K/Akt pathway. In summary, ZFPL1 induced RL95-2 cell proliferation and was involved in PI3K/Akt pathway, suggesting the oncogenic role of ZFPL1 during EC development. Additionally, the RING domain was essential for the function of ZFPL1. These findings provided a new biomarker for EC diagnosis and therapy.

Chemical constituents of Dalbergia odorifera / 中国中药杂志

Fourteen compounds were isolated from Dalbergia odoriferae and purified by repeated column chromatography on silica and sephadex LH-20 gel and structurally identified by spectral analysis. These compounds were identified as 4, 9-dimethoxy-3-hydroxypterocarpan (1), medicarpin (2), 2', 4', 5-trihydroxy-7-methoxyisoflavone (3), 2', 3', 7-trihydroxy-4'-methoxyisoflavan (4), formononetin (5), 3, 8-dihydroxy-9-methoxypterocarpan (6), koparin (7), 3-hydroxy-9-methoxypterocarp-6a-ene (8), 2'-hydroxyformononetin (9), stevenin (10), 2', 7-dihydroxy-4', 5'-dimethoxyisoflavone (11), lyoniresinol (12), 2, 4-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-benzophenone (13) and neokhriol A (14). Compounds 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 14 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Antibacterial activity assay showed that compound 4 had inhibitory effect on Ralstonia solanacearum.

[A prospective assessment of the diagnostic value of MAIPA test in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical significance of MAIPA test in diagnosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and in the differential diagnosis of antoimmune thrombocytopenias from nonimmune thrombocytopenias. METHODS: A total of 321 thrombocytopenic patients (118 males, 203 females) from 14 centers were studied. A modified monoclonal antibody immobilization of platelet antigen (MAIPA) method was used to detect the platelet glycoprotein-specific autoantibodies (anti-GP IIb/IIIa, anti-GPIb/IX) to double-blindly evaluate its sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of ITP and to investigate the impact of the antibodies on platelet count. RESULTS: The results showed that for the diagnosis of ITP, anti-GPIIb/IIIa, anti-GPIb/IX and both of them had the sensitivity of 39.75%, 32.64% and 55.23%; the specificity of 97.56%, 93.94% and 92.68%; the positive predictive value of 97.94%, 93.98% and 95.65%; the negative predictive value of 35.71%, 32.35% and 41.53%; and the total efficiency of 54.51%, 48.29% and 64.80%, respectively. The positivity of the autoantibodies in immune thrombocytopenias was incredibly higher than that in nonimmune thrombocytopenias. The platelet counts in the immune thrombocytopenias with autoantibody positivities were significantly lower than those without the autoantibodies. The platelet counts were negatively correlated with the concentration of the autoantibodies. The levels of anti-GPIIb/IIIa or anti-GPIb/IX or both of them dropped or disappeared in patients being responsive to steroid therapy. CONCLUSION: MAIPA assay is proved to be of great value for the diagnosis of ITP and for differential diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenias from nonimmune thrombocytopenias.

[Expression of interleukin-18 and interleukin-18 receptor alpha chain of the peripheral white blood cells in immune thrombocytopenia].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression of interleukin (IL)-18 of the peripheral blood cells and IL-18 receptor alpha chain (IL-18Ralpha) on the surface of CD(3)(+) cells in patients newly diagnosed as immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) before medication and to explore the roles of IL-18 and IL-18Ralpha in the development of ITP. METHODS: Eighteen out-patients or inpatients with acute ITP accepting treatment in Qilu Hospital were enrolled in this study and 15 matching healthy subjects were taken as control. Plasma IL-18 level was detected with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the expression of IL-18Ralpha on CD(3)(+) lymphocytes and total lymphocytes were measured with flow cytometry;T-bet and GATA-3 mRNA were measured with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: The expression of IL-18 in acute ITP plasma was (468.57 + or - 141.62) ng/L and IL-18Ralpha on the surface of CD(3)(+) cells and lymphocytes were (8.50 + or - 3.16)% and (9.16 + or - 2.98)% respectively. The levels of IL-18 and IL-18Ralpha were increased in active ITP patients as compared with those in the controls (P < 0.05). The levels of IL-18 mRNA (0.12 + or - 0.02) and T-bet mRNA (0.07 + or - 0.02) were significantly increased in patients with active ITP as compared with those in the controls (P < 0.05), while GATA-3 mRNA (0.0039 + or - 0.0014) were significantly decreased in patients with active ITP (P < 0.05). The balance between T-bet and GATA-3 was significantly disturbed in ITP. CONCLUSIONS: Through the variation of the levels of gene and protein, our study showed that IL-18 and IL-18Ralpha might upregulate the expression of Th1-cytokines in ITP patients. It is also suggested that IL-18 has potential association with the development of ITP. Especially, it may provide a new treatment method for ITP by regulating the ratio of T-bet and GATA-3 and resuming the balance of Th1/Th2.