The latest medical research on Clinical Immunology
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Request AccessActivation of cGAS-STING pathway - A possible cause of myofiber atrophy/necrosis in dermatomyositis and immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy.
Clinical LaboratoryThe objective was to investigate the expression of the cGAS-STING pathway-associated protein in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) and to investigate whether it is related to myofiber atrophy/necrosis in patients with dermatomyositis and immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy.
Muscle specimens obtained by open biopsy from 26 IIM patients (14 with dermatomyositis (DM), 8 with immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), and 4 with other types of IIM), 4 dystrophinopathy, and 9 control patients were assessed for expression of cGAS-STING pathway members via Western blot, quantitative real-time PCR analysis (qRT-PCR), and immunochemistry. Meanwhile, analysis its location distribution througn immunochemistry.
Compared to the control group, the expression of cGAS, STING, and related molecules was obviously increased in muscle samples of IIM patients. Upregulated cGAS and STING were mainly located in the vascular structure, inflammatory infiltrates, and atrophic and necrotic fibers. While comparing to the Dys patients, the mRNA level of cGAS, STING, and TNF-a was upregulated, meanwhile, the protein of the TBK1, P-TBK1, and P-IRF3 associated with interferon upregulation was overexpressed through Western blot in IMNM and DM. Considering that cGAS and STING are located in necrotic and Mx1-positive atrophic fibers, it is really possible that the cGAS-STING pathway may lead to fibers atrophy/necrosis by producing IFNs.
The cGAS-STING pathway was activated in the muscle samples of IIM patients and its activation may be the reason of myofiber atrophy and necrosis in DM and IMNM patients.
Is pre-heat necessary for the measurement of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine in urine samples.
Clinical LaboratoryIt is currently unclear for the necessary of pre-heating urine samples for the accurate determination of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine (8-oxoG) and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG). Thus, we conducted this study to evaluate the effect of pre-heat (i.e., to 37°C) on the accurate measurement of 8-oxoG and 8-oxodG in frozen urine samples.
Random urine samples from six healthy volunteers, six patients with renal dysfunction, and six patients with systematic diseases such as diabetes were collected, split, and stored at -80°C for up to 1 month. The frozen samples were thawed at room temperature (RT) or 37°C for different time, 10-fold diluted with ddH2O containing 1% formic acid, and determined by self-established LC-MS/MS method coupled with an ACQUITY™ Primer HSS T3 column.
Thawing the samples at RT for 30 or 120 min, or at 37°C for 15 or 90 min did not affect the determination of 8-oxoG and 8-oxodG in urine samples. Moreover, no significant difference between thawing the urine samples at RT and 37°C was found after storing at -80°C for 1-3 months.
It is not always necessary to pre-heat the frozen urine samples to release 8-oxoG and 8-oxodG from precipitates, which is associated with different pre-treatment and determination methods.
Involvement of microRNAs and their potential diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic role in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Clinical LaboratoryHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 85%-90% of primary liver cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by targeting the 3'UTR of mRNA. Abnormal expression and regulation of miRNAs are involved in the occurrence and progression of HCC, and miRNAs can also play a role in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC as oncogenes or tumor suppressors.
In the past decades, a large number of studies have shown that miRNAs play an essential regulatory role in HCC and have potential as biomarkers for HCC. We reviewed the literature to summarize these studies.
By reviewing the literature, we retrospected the roles of miRNAs in the development, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of HCC, and put forward prospects for the further research on miRNAs in the precision treatment of HCC.
MicroRNAs are important regulators and biomarkers in the occurrence, progression, outcome, and treatment of HCC, and can provide new targets and strategies for improving the therapeutic effect of HCC.
Decreased serum interleukin-41/Metrnl levels in patients with Graves' disease.
Clinical LaboratoryInterleukin (IL)-41, also known as Metrnl, is a novel immunomodulatory cytokine, which is involved in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory and metabolic diseases, but its role in thyroid autoimmune diseases is not clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum IL-41 levels in patients with Graves' disease (GD) and its relationship with GD.
This study included a total of 49 GD patients and 47 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals. All baseline data were obtained by physical examination. Free triiodothyronine 3 (FT3), free triiodothyronine 4 (FT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb), and thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb) levels in plasma of GD patients were measured by chemiluminescence. The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell count (WBC) were detected using automated biochemical analyzer. Serum IL-41 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Serum IL-41 levels in patients with GD were significantly lower than those in healthy controls (201.0 vs. 260.8 pg/mL, p < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between IL-41 level and CRP (r = 0.2947, p = 0.0385) and WBC (r = 0.4104, p = 0.0034) in GD patients. CRP was positively correlated with TRAb (r = 0.2874, p = 0.0452) and TSH (r = 0.3651, p = 0.0099) levels in GD patients.
This study demonstrates that GD patients have decreased serum IL-41 levels, and IL-41 plays a potential role in abnormal immune response of GD patients.
ICAT promotes colorectal cancer metastasis via binding to JUP and activating the NF-κB signaling pathway.
Clinical LaboratoryThe inhibitor of β-catenin and T-cell factor (ICAT) is a direct negative regulator of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which is an attractive therapeutic target for colorectal cancer (CRC). Accumulating evidence suggests that ICAT interacts with other proteins to exert additional functions, which are not yet fully elucidated.
The overexpression of ICAT of CRC cells was conducted by lentivirus infection and plasmids transfection and verified by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) and Western blotting. The effect of ICAT on the mobility of CRC cells was assessed by wound healing assay and transwell assay in vitro and lung metastasis in vivo. New candidate ICAT-interacting proteins were explored and verified using the STRING database, silver staining, co-immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry analysis (Co-IP/MS), and immunofluorescence (IF) staining analysis.
Inhibitor of β-catenin and T-cell factor overexpression promoted in vitro cell migration and invasion and tumor metastasis in vivo. Co-IP/MS analysis and STRING database analyses revealed that junction plakoglobin (JUP), a homolog of β-catenin, was involved in a novel protein interaction with ICAT. Furthermore, JUP downregulation impaired ICAT-induced migration and invasion of CRC cells. In addition, ICAT overexpression activated the NF-κB signaling pathway, which led to enhanced CRC cell migration and invasion.
Inhibitor of β-catenin and T-cell factor promoted CRC cell migration and invasion by interacting with JUP and the NF-κB signaling pathway. Thus, ICAT could be considered a protein diagnostic biomarker for predicting the metastatic ability of CRC.
The diagnostic importance of multiple cytokines in adult hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.
Clinical LaboratoryHemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a category of immunological illnesses that cause out-of-control T cells and macrophages to release life-threatening cytokines. The HLH-2004 diagnostic criteria are the gold standard for HLH diagnosis, but there is a need to investigate the usefulness of various cytokines for HLH diagnosis.
Patients admitted to Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University from January 2016 to December 2020 were included in this retrospective study, with 166 patients with confirmed HLH and 142 febrile patients requiring differential diagnosis completing the sum. Multiplex cytokine assays using multifactor liquid phase microarray technology-based multifactor liquid phase microarray technology were used to detect 33 cytokines. Twenty-eight cytokines detected using the Luminex analytical platform technology were ultimately included in the analysis.
Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1 RA), IL-18, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and interferon-induced protein 10 (IP-10) regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), eotaxin, growth-related oncogene α (GRO-α), and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 α (MIP-1α) were higher in the HLH group than in the non-HLH group, and the differences were statistically significant. Among them, the area under the curve (AUC) for IL-18 for HLH diagnosis was reported for the first time as 82.69%, with a sensitivity of 76.32% and a specificity of 79.61%; the AUC of IL-1 RA was 72.34%, with a sensitivity of 62.71% and a specificity of 75.97%; and the AUC of IP-10 was 71.73%, with a sensitivity of 60.14% and a specificity of 75.15%. Moreover, the AUC of the combined diagnostic tests for IL-1 RA, IL-18, IFN-γ, IP-10, and RANTES was 99.6%, with a sensitivity of 95.8% and a specificity of 98.6%.
Our study concluded that multiple cytokines are valid biological markers for the diagnosis of HLH. The findings of this study remain to be validated in an external dataset.
Coinfections with multiple sexually transmitted pathogens in Republic of Korea, 2018-2020.
Clinical LaboratorySexually transmitted infections (STIs) can have serious consequences, and the global STI incidence remains high. However, there is little information on the frequency of STIs with multiple pathogens according to age. Accordingly, we conducted a study to determine the trends of coinfection with sexually transmitted pathogens according to age in the Republic of Korea from 2018 to 2020.
From January 2018 to December 2020, 65,191 samples of swab, urine, and other types submitted for STI screening were obtained from U2Bio Co. Ltd. (Seoul, Republic of Korea). Multiplex polymerase chain reaction, a sensitive and rapid method for simultaneous detection of STIs caused by multiple different pathogens, was performed using an AccuPower STI4C-Plex Real-Time PCR kit, AccuPower STI8A-Plex Real-Time PCR kit, and AccuPower STI8B-Plex Real-Time PCR kit with an Exicycler 96 Real-Time Quantitative Thermal Block.
Of the 65,191 samples tested, 35,366 (54.3%) tested positive for one or more sexually transmitted pathogens. The prevalence of coinfections with two or more sexually transmitted pathogens was inversely proportional to age. Furthermore, the rates of coinfection with sexually transmitted pathogens and age distribution differed according to sex and the sexually transmitted pathogen type.
This study confirmed that a significant proportion of patients with STIs are coinfected with multiple pathogens. Public health managers could use these results to recognize and prevent STIs according to age.
Strategies to shorten turnaround time in outpatient laboratory.
Clinical LaboratoryTurnaround time (TAT) is one of the most important indicators of laboratory quality. For the outpatient routine chemistry tests whose results are checked by clinicians on the same day, we set a quality goal that >90% of these samples should be reported within 60 min. As more than 20% of the samples failed to achieve this goal in 2020, we introduced an additional autoanalyzer and a real-time monitoring system to improve this rate.
As the TAT of the pre-analytical phase is the greatest contributor to TAT, we divided it into sampling, sample transport, and sample preparation times. An additional autoanalyzer was introduced, and its effect on TAT improvement was evaluated with the TAT data of June and July 2020. A real-time monitoring system was introduced to sort delayed samples, and its effect was assessed with the TAT data of June and July 2021. TAT data from December 2019 to January 2020 were set as baseline controls.
The preparation time comprised the largest proportion of TAT. Although there was a slight decrease in overall TAT after the introduction of the above two strategies, the target TAT achievement rate increased significantly from 78.5% to 88.7% (p < 0.001).
We checked the cause of TAT prolongation and introduced new strategies to improve it. The addition of an autoanalyzer per se was not so effective but was better when combined with the real-time monitoring system. Such strategies would increase the quality of the laboratory services.
MALT1 reflects inflammatory cytokines, disease activity, and its chronological change could estimate treatment response to infliximab in Crohn's disease patients.
Clinical LaboratoryMucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1) mediates the immunity and inflammatory response in multiple ways to be intimately involved in the progression of autoimmune diseases. This study intended to explore the linkage of MALT1 with inflammation, disease activity, and its change with infliximab treatment response in Crohn's disease (CD) patients.
MALT1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples from 72 active CD patients (at baseline, 2 weeks [W2], W6, and W12 after infliximab treatment), 20 remissive CD patients (after enrollment), and 20 healthy controls (after enrollment) were detected by RT-qPCR.
MALT1 was highest in active CD patients, followed by remissive CD patients, and lowest in healthy controls (p < 0.001). MALT1 was positively linked with C-reactive protein (p = 0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.014), clinical disease activity index (p = 0.003), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (p = 0.006), interleukin (IL)-1β (p = 0.049), and IL-17A (p = 0.004), but not other clinical characteristics (all p > 0.05) in active CD patients. After infliximab treatment, MALT1 was decreased from baseline to W12 in active CD patients (p < 0.001), especially in responders (p < 0.001), but not in nonresponders (p = 0.053). The reduction of MALT1 at W6 (p = 0.049) and W12 (p = 0.004) was associated with a good treatment response to infliximab in active CD patients. Moreover, the response rate or MALT1 at any time point was not different between active CD patients with and without TNFi history (all p > 0.05).
MALT1 reflects aggravated inflammation and disease activity. Meanwhile, the decrement of MALT1 from baseline to W12 could reflect infliximab treatment response in CD patients.
Efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin in the treatment of recurrent spontaneous abortion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
American Journal ofwe aimed to evalute the efficacy of IVIG in the treatment with patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA).
Pubmed, Embase, Web of science, Cochrane library we searched for randomized controlled (RCTs) about effect of IVIG on RSA from inception to August 20, 2021. Values of standardized mean differences (SMD) were determined for continuous outcomes.
A total of fifteen articles involving 902 patients were included in meta-analysis. Compared with the control group, IVIG can increase the live birth rate of recurrent spontaneous abortion patients[OR = 3.06, 95%CI(1.23, 7.64, P = 0.02]. However, recurrent abortion was divided into primary and secondary abortion for subgroup analysis, and there was no statistical difference. Besides, IVIG can also increase the expression in peripheral blood CD3+[OR = 0.4, 95%CI(-2.47, 3.15, P = 0.81],CD4+[OR = 1.16, 95%CI(-4.60, 6.93, P = 0.69], and decrease the expression of CD8+[OR = -1.78, 95%CI(-5.30, 1.75, P = 0.32], but there is no statistical significance.
IVIG can significantly increase the live birth rate of recurrent spontaneous abortion. However, the evidence needs further verification and the curative effect is uncertain. It is necessary to further explore the pathogenesis of recurrent abortion and the mechanism of IVIG in the treatment of recurrent spontaneous abortion. Besides, more high-quality randomized controlled trials suitable for population, race, dosage and timing of IVIG in the treatment of recurrent abortion are needed to confirm its effectiveness, and effective systematic evaluation is also needed to evaluate its use benefit. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Natural killer cell profiles in recurrent pregnancy loss: increased expression and positive associations with tactile and lilrb1.
American Journal ofNK cells are important for healthy pregnancy and aberrant phenotypes or effector functions have been associated with RPL. We compared expression of a broad panel of NK cell receptors, including immune checkpoint receptors, and investigated their clinical association with RPL as this might improve patient stratification and prediction of RPL.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from fifty-two women with RPL and from twenty-two women with an uncomplicated pregnancy for flowcytometric analysis and plasma was used to determine anti-CMV IgG antibodies.
Between RPL and controls, we observed no difference in frequencies of T-, NKT or NK cells, in CD56dimCD16+ or CD56brightCD16- NK cell subsets or in the expression of KIRs, NKG2A, NKG2C, NKG2D, NKp30, NKp44, NKp46 or DNAM1. NK cells from women with RPL had a higher expression of LILRB1 and TACTILE and this was associated with the number of losses. The immune checkpoint receptors PD1, TIM3 and LAG3 were not expressed on peripheral blood NK cells. In RPL patients, there was a large variation in NKG2C expression and higher levels could be explained by CMV seropositivity.
Our study identified LILRB1 and TACTILE as NK cell receptors associated with RPL. Moreover, we provide first support for the potential role of CMV in RPL via its impact on the NK cell compartment. Thereby our study could guide future studies to confirm the clinical association of LILRB1, TACTILE and NKG2C with RPL in a larger cohort and to explore their functional relevance in reproductive success. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Perinatal outcome and long-term infectious hospitalizations of offspring born to women with known drug allergy.
American Journal ofWe aimed to evaluate perinatal outcomes and long-term infectious hospitalization in the offspring of women with documented drug allergy.
The study was conducted at the Soroka University Medical Center, a tertiary medical center. For perinatal outcomes, generalized estimation equation (GEE) models were used controlling for maternal age, maternal diabetes mellitus, smoking, and hypertensive disorders. The study groups were followed until 18 years of age for infectious-related hospitalizations. A Kaplan-Meier survival-curve was used to compare cumulative incidence of long-term infectious hospitalizations. A Cox proportional hazards model was conducted to control for confounders.
During the study period, 243,682 deliveries met the inclusion criteria, of which 9,756 (4.0%) occurred in women with documented drug allergy. Using GEE, maternal drug allergy was found to be a significant independent risk factor for hypertensive disorders, diabetes mellitus, intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preterm delivery. Offspring also had significantly higher rates of long-term infectious hospitalizations. Kaplan-Meier survival-curves demonstrated significantly higher cumulative incidence rates of infectious hospitalization (log rank p<0. 001). In a Cox proportional hazards model, being born to a mother with documented a drug allergy was independently associated with infectious hospitalization of the offspring in the long-term.
Maternal documented drug allergy is independently associated with adverse perinatal outcome such as IUGR and preterm delivery and increased risk of long- term infectious hospitalization of the offspring. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.