Immune Status Of Patients Research Articles

Comments on the systemic corticosteroid strategy for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Systemic corticosteroid is considered effective in treating severe or critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in both Chinese and international consensus and/or guidelines. Dexamethasone (6 mg daily for up to 10 days) is usually recommended. However, based on the outcomes of variable clinical trials and our clinical experience in treating the COVID-19 patients, the starting time, initial dosage and course of corticosteroid might be varied case by case. Individualized administration of corticosteroid is suggested according to the COVID-19 patient's demographic characteristics, underlying disease and immune status, severity and progression rate of COVID-19, inflammatory condition and concomitant use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Immunization status of patients with spinal muscular atrophy receiving nusinersen therapy

BackgroundChildren with chronic neurological diseases, including spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), are particularly susceptible to vaccine-preventable infections. We aimed to evaluate the age-appropriate immunization status and its relationship with nusinersen therapy in pediatric patients with SMA. MethodsChildren with SMA who received nusinersen treatment were included in this cross-sectional prospective study. Data were collected on SMA characteristics, nusinersen therapy, vaccination status according to the National Immunization Program (NIP), administration, and influenza vaccination recommendation. ResultsA total of 32 patients were enrolled. In patients with SMA type 1, the frequency of under-vaccination of hepatitis B, BCG, DTaP-IPV-HiB, OPV, and MMR was statistically higher than in patients with SMA type 2–3 (p<0.001). The influenza vaccine was administered to only 9.3% of patients and was never recommended to 13 (40.6%) parents. The frequency of under-vaccination of hepatitis B, BCG, DTaP-IPV-HiB, OPV, and MMR was statistically higher in patients receiving nusinersen maintenance therapy than in those with loading doses (p<0.001). Physician recommendations for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines were significantly higher in the nusinersen maintenance group (p = 0.029). There was no statistical significance between the groups in terms of administration of influenza and pneumococcal vaccines (p = 0.470). ConclusionChildren with SMA had lower immunization rates and poor compliance with immunization programs. Clinicians should ensure that children with SMA receive the same preventive health measures as healthy children, including vaccinations.

Fun with fungi: a comprehensive review of common fungal organisms encountered in cytology.

The ability to detect and diagnose infection is essential in the practice of cytopathology. The identification of suppurative or granulomatous inflammation should prompt careful evaluation for infection. Many of the most commonly encountered fungal organisms demonstrate characteristic microscopic appearances that allow accurate identification even with routine cytology stains, particularly when considered in the context of clinical factors such as geographic location, social history, patient immune status, and symptoms. Given the vital role cytopathologists play in the accurate diagnosis or presumptive identification of infections, this review explores the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and morphologic features of common fungal pathogens in addition to their differential diagnoses and ancillary testing methods.

The immune system contributes to the effectiveness of vaccine therapy in patients with metastatic melanoma

The aim of the study was to identify differences in the immune system parameters between metastatic melanoma patients who responded and did not respond to dendritic cell vaccination.Material and Methods. The study group included 20 patients with stage III–IV metastatic melanoma, who received vaccine therapy with dendritic cells (DC) in a prophylactic mode. The control groups included 13 patients who had symptoms of disease progression at the time of starting vaccine therapy, and 5 healthy donors. The DC-vaccine was prepared in the form of a suspension of the patient’s autologous dendritic cells loaded with tumor antigens in vitro. A single dose had 2 million dendritic cells in 1 ml of phosphate buffer solution, which was administered intradermally in the nearest site to the regional lymphatic collectors. The immune system status was assessed before starting vaccination. The immune system status was evaluated according to the indices of 25 peripheral blood cell populations using multicolor flow cytometry and integral characteristic in the form of the visual image generated by the visualization method of multidimensional data (NovoSpark, Canada).Results. The immune status in patients with metastatic melanoma at the start of DC-vaccination differed and was associated with the effectiveness of subsequent vaccine therapy. The response to vaccination was observed in patients whose immune system status was similar to that of healthy individuals. Low efficacy of DC-vaccine therapy was shown in patients whose immune system status corresponded to that of patients with disease progression. Alterations of the immune system in patients with metastatic melanoma were registered both at the level of individual immunological parameters and at the level of visualized integral characteristics. The integral characteristics of the immune system associated with the patient’s immunocompromised status can be considered as a criterion for stratification of patients with metastatic melanoma for the effective DC-vaccine therapy.Conclusion. The effectiveness of vaccine therapy with dendritic cells in patients with metastatic melanoma is associated with the immune system state before starting this therapy.

Correlation analysis of parameters of cardiointervalography and immune status in patients with ischemic stroke depending on the affected area (P1-4.007)

<h3>Objective:</h3> To conduct a correlation analysis of cardiointervalography and immunogram parameters in patients with ischemic stroke depending on the location of the ischemia <h3>Background:</h3> The rates of the immunogram and level of autonomic regulation can be used as an additional criterion for autoimmune disorders, assessing the severity of the condition and predicting infectious and inflammatory complications <h3>Design/Methods:</h3> 52 patients with ischemic stroke divided into 3 groups. The I group stroke in the left middle cerebral artery, II–right middle cerebral artery, III-vertebrobasilary basin. Subpopulations of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD16+, CD19+, as well as Interleukin-1β, Interleukin-4, Interleukin-8, Tumor necrosis factor-α were detected in venous blood serum. The functional state of the autonomic nervous system was assessed by R.M. Baevsky’s method of mathematical analysis of heart rate variability. The observation period is 1 and 10 days from the onset of stroke. <h3>Results:</h3> The subpopulation level of lymphocytes depends on the potential of the sympathetic spectrum of vegetal regulation; the indicators of humoral immunity have reciprocal dependencies with neurohumoral activity and parasympathetic regulation. In patients with ischemia in the left hemisphere in the acute period, 21% parameters of cardiointervalography and immunograms show significant correlations; in the acute period, the number of dependencies increased with an increase in sympathetic activity. In patients with stroke in the right hemisphere and in the vertebrobasilar basin in the most acute period, the number of significant correlations was 42%, which is 2 times more than in the first subgroup. In the acute period, with the growth of parasympathetic impact, the relations of the studied parameters reciprocally weaken and decrease. <h3>Conclusions:</h3> An unfavorable prognostic sign in patients with stroke living in low-mountain area is low values of CD3+, CD8+ cells and IL4, high CD16+, CD19+ cells, as well as a low level of neurohumoral and sympathetic regulation <b>Disclosure:</b> Nargiza Chekeeva has nothing to disclose.

PROLONGED FEVER ETIOLOGIES IN HIV/AIDS PATIENTS AND THE RELATION WITH TCD4 COUNT (1/2016 - 6/2019)

Objectives: Prolonged fever is a challenge for clinician in managing patients with HIV/AIDS. Their TCD4 counts can be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment. Our goal was to determinethe most common etiologies of prolonged fever and their distribution in different TCD4 count levels in HIV/AIDS patients. &#x0D; Subjects and method: A cross - sectional descriptive study was conducted on 195 HIV/AIDS patients with fever of unknown origin admitted to our hospital from January 2016 to June 2019. We recorded clinical parameters, immune status and etiologies for each patient. Patient immune status based on TCD4 counts was stratified into three levels: &lt; 50 cells/mm3; 50 - 100 cells/mm3 and &gt; 100 cells/mm3. We determined the prolonged fever etiologies in HIV infected patients and compared the distributionof these etiologies in different TCD4 count levels. &#x0D; Results: Among 195 HIV - infected cases with fever of unknown origin, opportunistic infections accounted for 93.3%, non - infectious etiologies took 3.6% and 3.1% were not identified causes. M. tuberculosis was the most common opportunistic infection (46.7%), followed by Talaromycosis (29.2%) and Pneumocytisjiroveci (20.5%), Bacterial pneumonia (11.3%), sepsis (10.3%), CMV (10.3%), Toxoplasma (5.6%), Cryptococcus (2.6%) and MAC (1.0%). Tuberculosis was predominant in all stratified CD4 levels. Most of cases with Talaromycosis had CD4 counts below 50cells/mm3. Besides, CD4 count below 50cells/mm3 was reported in all cases with either Cryptococcus infection or MAC infection. Infections with CMV and toxoplasma were not seen in patients with CD4 count over 100cells/mm3. -7 out of 195 cases were non - infectious etiologies including 4 cases (2.1%) with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) syndrome and 3 cases (1.5%) with non - Hodgkin lymphoma. -53.8% of cases were infected by one pathogen while 38% of patients were co - infected by two different pathogens. Co - infection of three pathogens was recognized in 8.2% of study patients.There is no difference between the number of concurrent etiologies and TCD4 levels. &#x0D; Conclusion: Opportunistic infections, especially M. tuberculosis is still the leading cause of prolonged fever in HIV/AIDS patients. T. marnefei should be screened in patients with CD4 &lt; 50cells/mm3. It is important to note that there may be many concurrent etiologies of prolonged fevers in HIV/AIDS patients.

The value of cuproptosis-related differential genes in guiding prognosis and immune status in patients with skin cutaneous melanoma.

Background: Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is one of the most common cutaneous malignancies, which incidence is increasing. Cuproptosis is a new type of programming cell death recently reported, which may affect the progression of SKCM. Method: The mRNA expression data of melanoma were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus and the Cancer Genome Atlas databases. We constructed a prognostic model according to the cuproptosis-related differential genes in SKCM. Finally, real-time quantitative PCR was performed to verify the expression of cuproptosis-related differential genes in patients with different stages of cutaneous melanoma. Results: We detected 767 cuproptosis-related differential genes based on 19 cuproptosis-related genes, and screened out 7 differential genes to construct a prognostic model, which including three high-risk differential genes (SNAI2, RAP1GAP, BCHE), and four low-risk differential genes (JSRP1, HAPLN3, HHEX, ERAP2). Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that SKCM patients with low-risk differential genes signals had better prognosis. The Encyclopedia of Genomes results manifested that cuproptosis-related differential genes are not only involved in T cell receptor signaling channel, natural killer cell mediated cytotoxicity, but also chemokine signaling pathway and B cell receptor signaling pathway. In our risk scoring model, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) values of the three-time nodes are 0.669 (1-year), 0.669 (3-year) and 0.685 (5-year), respectively. Moreover, the tumor burden mutational and immunology function, cell stemness characteristics and drug sensitivity have significant differences between low-risk group and high-risk group. The mRNA level of SNAI2, RAP1GAP and BCHE in stage Ⅲ+Ⅳ SKCM patients was significantly higher than that in stage Ⅰ+Ⅱ patients, while the level of JSRP1, HAPLN3, HHEX and ERAP2 in stage Ⅰ+Ⅱ SKCM patients was more remarkable higher than that in stage Ⅲ+Ⅳ SKCM patients. Conclusion: In summary, we suggest that cuproptosis can not only regulate the tumor immune microenvironment but also affect the prognosis of SKCM patients, and may offer a basic theory for SKCM patients survival studies and clinical decision-making with potentially therapeutic drugs.

Utility of Differential Time to Positivity in Diagnosing Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Differential time to positivity (DTP), typically defined as pathogen growth at least two hours earlier from catheter vs paired peripheral blood cultures, is sometimes used to diagnose central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). Previous studies assessing DTP, however, have been small, provided conflicting results, and have not assessed heterogeneity across important subgroups. We conducted a systematic review of the diagnostic characteristics of DTP for CLABSI, using MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, LILACS, AMED and the Cochrane database. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported sensitivities, specificities, predictive values, likelihood ratios, or 2x2 tables of DTP for diagnosing CLABSI. Extracted data were analyzed by creating forest plots, performing bivariate model meta-analysis, and assessing quality using QUADAS-2. Our search identified 274 records of which 23 met criteria for meta-analysis. Among 2,526 suspected CLABSIs, DTP demonstrated a summary sensitivity of 81.3% (95% CI 72.8-87.7%), specificity of 91.8% (95% CI 84.5-95.8%), positive likelihood ratio of 9.89 (95% CI 5.14-19.00), and negative likelihood ratio of 0.20 (95% CI 0.14-0.30). Covariate analysis based on catheter duration, study design, and patient immune status demonstrated no significant differences. However, DTP performed worse for Staphylococcus aureus (low sensitivity but high specificity) and Candida (high sensitivity but low specificity) compared to other organisms. DTP performs well in ruling CLABSIs in or out. Obtaining paired catheter and peripheral blood cultures for DTP when the infectious source is unclear may prevent unnecessary line removal and diagnostic tests, although this needs to be balanced against potentially higher contamination rates from catheter cultures.

Features of hemodynamic and immunological parameters in patients with recurrent uveitis complicated by hypertension, Fuchs heterochromic uveitis and Posner-Schlossman syndrome.

Introduction: Uveitis is a disease that manifests with increased vascular permeability and occlusion, with some ischemia and inflammatory mediators. It is characterized by a wide range of pathological processes, including inflammation, increased vascular permeability and occlusion, local ischemia and cell alteration by inflammatory mediators, and is characterized by the presence of complications. Aim: To study the state of ocular hemodynamics by rheoophthalmography, as well as the immune status in patients with idiopathic recurrent anterior uveitis complicated by intraocular hypertension, Fuchs heterochromic uveitis, Posner-Schlossman syndrome, during the relapse period. Materials and methods: 93 patients with idiopathic recurrent anterior uveitis were included in this study, 8 patients with Fuchs' uveitis, and 6 patients with Posner-Schlossman syndrome. According to clinical signs, relapse and remission were considered. The control group (healthy volunteers of the same age) consisted of 27 people. In this regard, 5 groups of subjects were formed. The mean age of the patients was (M ± SD) 39.2 ± 14.6 years. According to the Median (range), the duration of the disease in patients was 2033 (350-3285) days, intraocular hypertension being recorded at P0 > 20 mm Hg. Statistical analysis was carried out in spreadsheets using STATISTICA 8.0 (StatSoft.Inc) program. Quantitative indicators were evaluated according to the correspondence to the normal distribution and to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov criterion. With a normal distribution, arithmetic means (M) and standard deviations (SD), limits of the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and Student's t-test were calculated. Results: The volumetric blood filling of the eye according to the rheoophthalmographic indicator RQ during the period of remission of uncomplicated and complicated by hypertension anterior uveitis was reduced by 32.4%-40.5%, respectively, compared with the norm. During the period of relapse, RQ was significantly higher by 28% (p<0.05) than in remission, in the group of uncomplicated uveitis, and in the group of uveitis with increased IOP, no significant differences between the periods of remission and relapse were observed, which reflected the ischemic process in the relapse period. Volumetric blood filling in Fuchs and Posner-Schlossman syndromes in the acute period did not differ from the norm. Cellular immunity in the groups of uncomplicated and complicated by intraocular hypertension idiopathic uveitis, as well as with Fuchs and Posner-Schlossman syndromes, had a higher level of CD4 helper lymphocytes and a lower level of CD8 suppressor lymphocytes, which reflected higher values of the immunoregulatory index. The increase in the immunoregulatory index is most pronounced in Fuchs and Posner-Schlossman syndromes. Discussion: In the presented study, the incidence of idiopathic recurrent anterior uveitis complicated by intraocular hypertension was 9,9% among all cases of idiopathic recurrent anterior uveitis in one-time period. According to literature, this complicated form of uveitis occurs in 11,5%-46,1% of cases. Most often (up to 92% of cases), the anterior chamber angle was open. Conclusions: Different activity of the mechanisms regulating the balance of cellular and humoral immunity, sensitivity of T-cells to eye antigens in idiopathic anterior uveitis, Fuchs and Posner-Schlossman syndromes was assumed. Peculiarities of eye hemodynamics in these forms of uveitis were also revealed. Abbreviations: IOP = intraocular pressure, IOHS = inflammatory ocular hypertension syndrome, HSV = herpes simplex virus, CMV = cytomegalovirus, OCT = optical coherence tomography, OD = right eye, OS = left eye.

Variant enterovirus A71 found in immune-suppressed patient binds to heparan sulfate and exhibits neurotropism in B-cell-depleted mice

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) causes hand, foot, and mouth disease outbreaks with neurological complications and deaths. We previously isolated an EV-A71 variant in the stool, cerebrospinal fluid, and blood of an immunocompromised patient who had a leucine-to-arginine substitution on the VP1 capsid protein, resulting in increased heparin sulfate binding. We show here that this mutation increases the virus's pathogenicity in orally infected mice with depleted B cells, which mimics the patient's immune status, and increases susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies. However, a double mutant with even greater heparin sulfate affinity is not pathogenic, suggesting that increased heparin sulfate affinity may trap virions in peripheral tissues and reduce neurovirulence. This research sheds light on the increased pathogenicity of variant with heparin sulfate (HS)-binding ability in individuals with decreased B cell immunity.

The Herculean Task of Tedros

The WHO was created in 1950 with the prime assignment to fight tuberculosis. To this end, it was granted immunity against any prosecution. The French state immediately exploited this advantage to impose the BCG vaccine developed by the Pasteur institute, although this vaccine was known, by both the Pasteur institute and the WHO, to be deficient. It was poorly attenuated and some of its strains favor the spread of TB. The BCG also favors the spread of leprosy. The WHO knew this and nevertheless supported this fraud. It banned serological tests and imposed an expensive antigen- detection test, the Xpert/Rif test, in 2011. This test was rapidly demonstrated to be peppered with severe deficiencies, which were ignored by the treatment action group (TAG) and the WHO. Both insisted on its use while systematically denigrating the serological tests that this antigen-test was supposed to replace. The result of the use of this ill-functioning test was the spread of multi-drug resistant strains of TB. Serological tests monitor the immune status of infected patients: it allows the detection of those patients prone to convert as well as the immune status of patients under therapy. Those who do not respond to current treatment are therewith detected. A shameful demand of financial contribution by those countries that suffered most from the mismanagement of TB by well–endowed nations is currently underway.

Electroencephalogram Features of Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis and Their Value for Clinical Assessment

To analyze the electroencephalogram (EEG) features of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (anti-NMDARE) and to study the clinical assessment value of the degree of EEG background slowing and the presence of δ brush. We enrolled 52 patients with anti-NMDARE and collected their clinical data, including age, sex, form of disease onset, status of tumor comorbidity, auxiliary examination findings (cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] anti-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antibody titers, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] reports, and EEG results), treatment status, and follow-up after discharge. The degree of EEG background abnormality and the presence of δ brush in the EEG of patients with different clinical features were analyzed. Among the 52 patients, 7 (14%) had normal EEG, and 45 (87%), abnormal EEG, including 25 (48%) with mild abnormalities, 11 (21%) with moderate abnormalities, and 9 (17%) with severe abnormalities. δ brush was seen in 6 (12%) patients. At the time of EEG, 32 (62%) patients were in the mild condition group and 20 (38%) patients were in the severe condition group. After 1 year of follow-up, there were 45 (86%) patients in the good prognosis group and 7 (14%) patients in the poor prognosis group. The exacerbation of EEG background abnormalities and the presence of δ brush were indications for an increase in the proportion of patients who were in severe condition, who needed ICU admission, and who had poor prognosis ( P<0.01). The worse the EEG background abnormalities, the higher the proportion of CSF antibody titers>1∶10 ( P=0.035), and the higher the proportion of patients initiating second-line immunotherapy ( P=0.008). The δ brush was seen a higher proportion in patients with comorbid tumors ( P=0.012). The probability of δ brush presence was higher in the first-time diagnosis cases than that in recurrent cases ( P=0.023). The degree of EEG slowing and the presence of δ brush have shown consistent performance in assessing patients' condition and predicting prognosis. The slower the EEG, the more severe the disease, and the worse the prognosis. The presence of δ brush indicates severe disease and poor prognosis. EEG slowing is correlated with the immune status of patients with anti-NMDARE. The slower the EEG, the more severe the immune abnormalities. In clinical practice, patient EEG should be under dynamic monitoring in order to evaluate the effect of immunotherapy. If EEG slowing is not improved, enhanced immunotherapy should be considered as early as possible. The δ brush is seen at a higher proportion in patients with comorbid tumors. Therefore, active efforts should be made to screen for tumors when δ brush is present.

Research progress of potential factors influencing photodynamic therapy for gastrointestinal cancer.

Gastrointestinal cancer is a malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal tract and its associated digestive organs, including esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, carcinoma of the ampulla, pancreas, bile duct, intestines and rectal cancer. They account for about 30% of global cancer-related incidence and about 40% of mortality. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), as a treatment mode, has been applied to the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer due to potential advantages targeting and potentially lower toxic side effects. However, In the course of clinical treatment, we have found that different patients have various responsiveness to PDT, and even the same patients may have different clinical effects after receiving treatment in different time periods. For influencing factors, traditionally, we only focus on adjusting the dose of photosensitizer and the intensity and time of irradiation,while minimizing other potential factors.Therefore, this paper looks for factors that affect PDT from the patient's own conditions, tumor characteristics and tumor microenvironment(including:tumor acidic microenvironment,tumor hypoxic microenvironment, multi-drug resistance, different tumor characteristics and the immune status of patients) and summarizes how to potentially improve the curative effect of PDT.

Etiology and severity features of acute pancreatitis in HIV-positive patients with different immune status.

Acute pancreatitis is common in HIV-infected patients; however, the causes and severity of pancreatitis in HIV-positive patients have a number of significant features that affect both the severity of destruction of the pancreas and the methods of diagnosis and treatment. Anamnestic data, results of diagnosis and treatment of two groups of patients with acute pancreatitis were analyzed. The first group included 79 patients with acute pancreatitis combined with HIV infection who were admitted to the clinic for the period from 2017 to 2021. In people living with HIV, drugs and infectious agents caused acute pancreatitis in 11.4% and 24.1% of the cases, respectively. As our study showed, in patients with normal immune status, the drug etiology of pancreatitis prevailed in the structure of the causes of AP, in patients with immunodeficiency, infectious causes of pancreatitis were dominant. According to the results of data analysis, it is clear that HIV infection is a factor that makes the course of pancreatitis about two times worse regardless of the presence of immunosuppression. The etiological structure of HIV-associated acute pancreatitis directly depends on the patient's immune status and differs in many ways from that of HIV-negative patients or patients receiving ART. The severity of the disease and the risk of death remain high in acute pancreatitis caused by infectious agents against the background of immunosuppression.

The gut microbiota correlate with the disease characteristics and immune status of patients with untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Gut microbiota characteristics in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are reportedly different when compared with the healthy population and it remains unclear if the gut microbiota affects host immunity and clinical disease features. This research investigated the gut microbiota in patients with untreated DLBCL and analyzed its correlation with patient clinical characteristics, humoral, and cell immune status. Thirty-five patients with untreated DLBCL and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited to this study and microbiota differences in stool samples were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Absolute ratios of immune cell subset counts in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry and peripheral blood cytokine levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Relationships between changes in patient microbiomes and clinical characteristics, such as clinical stage, international prognostic index (IPI) risk stratification, cell origin, organ involved and treatment responses were investigated and correlations between differential microbiota and host immune indices were analyzed. The alpha-diversity index of intestinal microecology in DLBCL patients was not significantly different when compared with HCs (P>0.05), nonetheless beta-diversity was significantly decreased (P=0.001). p_Proteobacteria were dominant in DLBCL, while p_Bacteroidetes abundance was significantly decreased when compared with HCs (P<0.05). Gut microbiota characteristics were identified that were associated with clinical features, such as tumor load, risk stratification and cell origin, and correlation analyses were performed between differential flora abundance associated with these clinical features and host immune status. The p_Firmicutes was positively correlated with absolute lymphocyte values, g_Prevotella_2 and s_un_g_Prevotella_2 were negatively correlated with absolute lymphocyte values, T cell counts and CD4 cell counts, while g_Pyramidobacter, s_un_g_Pyramidobacter, and f_Peptostreptococcaceae were negatively correlated with IgA. Dominant gut microbiota, abundance, diversity, and structure in DLBCL were influenced by the disease, correlated with patient immune status and this suggested that the microecology-immune axis may be involved in regulating lymphoma development. In the future, it may be possible to improve immune function in patients with DLBCL by regulating the gut microbiota, improve treatment response rates and increase patient survival rates.

Characterization of protein-based risk signature to predict prognosis and evaluate the tumor immune environment in breast cancer.

Proteomics profiles have enabled a systematic insight into the prognosis of cancer. This study aimed to establish a valuable protein-based risk signature to assess the prognosis and immune status in patients with breast cancer (BC). Protein expression profile, RNA expression data, and clinical information were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The whole cohort was randomly split into two cohorts, one for establishing the risk signature and the other for testing. Univariate Cox analysis and Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression were utilized to construct the protein-based risk signature. All cohorts were divided into high- and low-risk groups, which were applied to investigate the clinical relevance, tumor microenvironment, and therapeutic response. The prognostic proteomics signature was established based on prognostic proteins, thus categorizing patients into low-risk and high-risk groups with different prognoses. A predictive nomogram was also developed to predict 1, 3, and 5-year survival possibility for BC patients, and the calibration curves confirmed the predictive significance of this signature. Afterward, the low-risk group displayed higher immune activities, immune checkpoint expression, and immunotherapeutic response. Moreover, GSEA analysis indicated that immune-associated pathways were rich in the low-risk group. Additionally, this prognostic signature demonstrated potential predict significance for chemotherapeutic agents. This study established an effective prognostic proteomics signature with reliable predictive performance for survival, immune activity, and drug sensitivity. It might provide a novel perspective into the protein function in BC, and guide the individual treatment strategies for BC patients.

Identification of prognostic immune-related lncRNA signature predicting the overall survival for colorectal cancer

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is an important regulator of gene expression and serves a fundamental role in immune regulation. The present study aimed to develop a novel immune-related lncRNA signature to assess the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Transcriptome data and clinical information of patients with CRC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and UCSC Xena platforms. Immune-related mRNAs were extracted from the Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB), and the immune-related lncRNAs were identified based on correlation analysis. Then, univariate, Lasso and multivariate Cox regression were applied to construct an immune-related lncRNA signature, and CRC patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups according to the median risk score. Finally, we evaluated the signature from the perspectives of clinical outcome, clinicopathological parameters, tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), immune status, tumor mutation burden (TMB) and immunotherapy responsiveness. In total, 272 immune-related lncRNAs were identified, five of which were applied to construct an immune-related lncRNA signature. The signature divided patients with CRC into low- and high-risk groups, the prognosis of patients in the high-risk group were significantly poorer than those in low-risk group, and the results were further confirmed in external validation cohort. Furthermore, the high-risk group showed aggressive clinicopathological characteristics, specific TIIC and immune function status, and low sensitivity to immunotherapy. The immune-related lncRNA signature could be exploited as a promising biomarker for predicting the prognosis and immune status of patients with CRC.

Characterization of lipid droplet metabolism patterns identified prognosis and tumor microenvironment infiltration in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is one of the common malignant tumors of the digestive system worldwide, posing a serious threat to human health. A growing number of studies have demonstrated the important role that lipid droplets play in promoting cancer progression. However, few studies have systematically evaluated the role of lipid droplet metabolism-related genes (LDMRGs) in patients with gastric cancer. We identified two distinct molecular subtypes in the TCGA-STAD cohort based on LDMRGs expression. We then constructed risk prediction scoring models in the TCGA-STAD cohort by lasso regression analysis and validated the model with the GSE15459 and GSE66229 cohorts. Moreover, we constructed a nomogram prediction model by cox regression analysis and evaluated the predictive efficacy of the model by various methods in STAD. Finally, we identified the key gene in LDMRGs, ABCA1, and performed a systematic multi-omics analysis in gastric cancer. Two molecular subtypes were identified based on LDMRGs expression with different survival prognosis and immune infiltration levels. lasso regression models were effective in predicting overall survival (OS) of gastric cancer patients at 1, 3 and 5 years and were validated in the GEO database with consistent results. The nomogram prediction model incorporated additional clinical factors and prognostic molecules to improve the prognostic predictive value of the current TNM staging system. ABCA1 was identified as a key gene in LDMRGs and multi-omics analysis showed a strong correlation between ABCA1 and the prognosis and immune status of patients with gastric cancer. This study reveals the characteristics and possible underlying mechanisms of LDMRGs in gastric cancer, contributing to the identification of new prognostic biomarkers and providing a basis for future research.

Developing a pyroptosis-related gene signature to better predict the prognosis and immune status of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Chronic inflammation may promote the incidence and development of neoplasms. As a pro-inflammatory death pathway, pyroptosis could induce normal cells to transform into cancerous cells, but the potential effect of pyroptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. This study developed and evaluated a pyroptosis-related gene signature to predict the prognosis and immune status of patients with HNSCC. The gene expression, mutation information, and clinical characteristics of HNSCC were extracted from TCGA to establish a comprehensive genome database (GEO). Based on LASSO Cox regression model, nine pyroptosis-related genes (TTLL1, TRIML2, DYNC1I1, KLHL35, CAMK2N1, TNFRSF18, GLDC, SPINK5, and DKK1) were used to construct a pyroptosis-related gene signature, which had good ability to predict the prognosis of HNSCC. Furthermore, the expression of nine pyroptosis-related genes in HNSCC and paracancerous tissues was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The potential immunotherapeutic features and drug sensitivity prediction of this signature were also explored. Because pyroptosis regulators play an important role in HNSCC development and prognoses, further exploration might assist in identifying new biomarkers and predictors of prognosis to benefit clinical identification and management.

Plasma Soluble Podoplanin as a Biomarker of Hypercoagulability and Cellular Immunity Status in Patients With Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Podoplanin (PDPN) is known to play a role in thrombosis, metastasis of tumor cells, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and immune response. The present study aim to evaluate the clinical significance of soluble PDPN (sPDPN) in hypercoagulability and cellular immune status in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine plasma sPDPN levels, and T-lymphocyte distribution was determined using flow cytometry. The levels of sPDPN were markedly higher in the NSCLC group than control group, and sPDPN was higher in patients with advanced-stage and with distant metastases. The high-sPDPN group had lower absolute numbers of CD3+, CD4+, and CD4+/CD8+ ratio than low-sPDPN group. Correlation analysis indicated that sPDPN was positively linked to platelet (r = 0.50, P < .001), D-dimer (r = 0.52, P < .001), and fibrinogen (r = 0.37, P < .001); and inversely correlated with CD3+ (r = -0.37, P < .001), CD4+ (r = -0.44, P < .001), and CD4+/CD8+ (r = -0.37, P < .001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that sPDPN (odds ratio [OR] = 2.293; 95% CI, 1.559-3.373) and tumor stage (OR = 15.857; 95% CI, 1.484-169.401) were separate risk indicators for hypercoagulability. The receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) indicated that sPDPN had high diagnostic values for hypercoagulability in NSCLC patients. In conclusion, plasma sPDPN was not only linked to hypercoagulability, but it may also be an indicator of the body's cellular immune status in NSCLC patients.