Hypertonic saline resuscitation maintains a more balanced profile of T-lymphocyte subpopulations in a rat model of hemorrhagic shock

Objective: To investigate the potential and early effect of hypertonic saline resuscitation on T-lymphocyte sub- populations in rats with hemorrhagic shock. Methods: A model of rat with severe hemorrhagic shock was established in 18 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The rats were randomly divided into Sham group, HTS group (hypertonic saline resuscitation group) and NS group (normal saline resuscitation group). Each group contained 6 rats. The CD4+ and CD8+ subpopulations of T-lymphocytes in peripheral blood were detected respectively before shock and after resuscitation by double antibody labelling and flow cytometry. Results: In the early stage after hemorrhagic shock, fluid resuscitation and emergency treatment, the CD4+ lymphocytes of peripheral blood in HTS and NS groups markedly increased. Small volume resuscitation with HTS also induced peripheral CD8+ lymphocytes to a certain extent, whereas NS resuscitation showed no effect in this respect. Consequently, compared with Sham and HTS groups, CD4+/CD8+ ratio of peripheral blood in NS group was obviously increased, and showed statistically differences. Conclusion: In this model of rat with severe hemorrhagic shock, small volume resuscitation with HTS is more effective than NS in reducing immunologic disorders and promoting a more balanced profile of T-lymphocyte subpopula- tions regulating network.

Hepatitis B virus DNA is more powerful than HBeAg in predicting peripheral T-lymphocyte subpopulations in chronic HBV-infected individuals with normal liver function tests

AIM:To investigate the peripheral T-lymphocyte subpopulation profile,and its correlations with hepatitis B virus(HBV) replication level in chronic HBV-infected(CHI) individuals with normal liver function tests(LFTs) . METHODS:Frequencies of T-lymphocyte subpopu-lations in peripheral blood were measured by flow cytometry in 216 CHI individuals. HBV markers were detected with ELISA. Serum HBV DNA load was assessed with quantitative real-time PCR. Information of age at HBV infection,and maternal HBV infection status was collected. ANOVA linear trend test and linear regression were used in statistical analysis. RESULTS:CHI individuals had significantly decreased relative frequencies of CD3+,CD4+ subpopulationsand CD4+/CD8+ ratio,and increased CD8+ subset percentage compared with uninfected individuals(all P < 0.001) . There was a significant linear relationship between the load of HBV DNA and the parameters of T-lymphocyte subpopulations(ANOVA linear trend test P < 0.01) . The parameters were also significantly worse among individuals whose mothers were known to be HBV carriers,and those having gained infection before the age of 8 years. In multiple regressions,after adjustment for age at HBV infection and status of maternal HBV infection,log copies of HBV DNA maintained its highly significant predictive coefficient on T-lymphocyte subpopulations,whereas the effect of HBeAg was not significant. CONCLUSION:HBV DNA correlates with modification in the relative T-lymphocyte subpopulation frequencies. High viral load is more powerful than HBeAg in predicting the impaired balance of T-cell subsets.

Peripheral T-lymphocyte subpopulations in different clinical stages of chronic HBV infection correlate with HBV load

AIM： To characterize the peripheral T-cell subpopulation profiles and their correlation with hepatitis B virus （HBV） replication in different dinical stages of chronic HBV infection. METHODS： A total of 422 patients with chronic HBV infection were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into three stages： immune-tolerant stage, immune active stage, and immune-inactive carrier stage. Composition of peripheral T-cell subpopulations was determined by flow cytometry. HBV markers were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum HBV DNA load was assessed by quantitative real-time poiymerase chain reaction.RESULTS： CD8^＋ T-cells were significantly higher in patients at the immune-tolerant stage than in patients at the immune-active and -inactive carrier stages （36.87 ± 7.58 vs 34.37 ± 9.07, 36.87 ± 7.58 vs 28.09 ± 5.64, P 〈 0.001）. The peripheral blood in patients at the immune-tolerant and immune active stages contained more CD8^＋ T-cells than CD4^＋ T-cells （36.87 ± 7.58 vs 30.23 ± 6.35, 34.37 ± 9.07 vs 30.92 ± 7.40, P 〈 0.01）, whereas the peripheral blood in patients at the immune- inactive carrier stage and in normal controls contained less CD8^＋ T-cells than CD4^＋ T-cells （28.09 ± 5.64 vs 36.85 ±6.06, 24.02 ± 4.35 vs 38.94 ± 3.39, P 〈 0.01）. ANOVA linear trend test showed that CD8^＋ T-cells were significantly increased in patients with a high viral load （39.41 ± 7.36, 33.83 ± 7.50, 31.81 ± 5.95 and 26.89 ± 5.71, P 〈 0.001）, while CD4^＋ T-cells were significantly increased in patients with a low HBV DNA load （37.45 ± 6.24, 33.33 ± 5.61, 31.58 ± 6.99 and 27.56 ± 5.49, P 〈 0.001）. Nultiple regression analysis displayed that log copies of HBV DNA still maintained its highly significant coefficients for T-cell subpopulations, and was the strongest predictors for variations in CD3^＋, CD4^＋ and CD8^＋ cells and CD4^＋/CD8^＋ ratio after adjustment for age at HBV-infection, maternal HBV-infection status, presence of hepatitis B e antigen and HBV mutation.CONCLUSION： Differences in peripheral T-cell subpopulation profiles can be found in different clinical stages of chronic HBV infection. T-cell impairment is significantly associated with HBV load.

Analysis of Peripheral T-Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Patients with Early Syphilis by Flow Cytometry

Objective: To study the cellular immunity function of patientswith early syphilis and the effects on immune modifiersEsberitox N or IFN. Methods: T-lymphocyte subpopulations of the peripheralblood in 44 patients with syphilis and 40 healthy controls wereexamined by flow cytometry. Results: The number of CD_4+ cells and the CD_4+/CD_8+ ratioin patients with syphilis were found to be significantly lowerthan those in the control (P<0.0l), while the number of CD_8+cells was higher than that in the control (P<0.01). TheCD_4+/CD_8+ ratio in those with active disease was lower thanthat in those who had been cured (P<0.05). The CD_4+ countand the CD_4+/CD_8+ ratio in those treated with antibiotics alone(Penicillin G or Cephalosporins) were lower than those treatedwith both antibiotics and immunomodulators (P<0.05). Conclusions: Cellular immunity in the patients with earlysyphilis was prominently suppressed, and treatment withimmunomodulators may be helpful for the recovery of cellularimmunity of these patients.

Flow cytometric characterizations of leukocyte subpopulations in the peripheral blood of northern pig-tailed macaques （Macaca leonina）

Pig-tailed macaques(Macaca nemistrina group) have been extensively used as non-human primate animal models for various human diseases in recent years, notably for AIDS research due to their sensitivity to HIV-1. Northern pig-tailed macaques(M. leonina) are distributed in China and other surrounding Southeast Asia countries. Although northern pig-tailed macaques have been bred on a large scale as experimental animals since 2012, the reference value of normal levels of leukocytes is not available. To obtain such information, 62 blood samples from male and female healthy northern pig-tailed macaques at different ages were collected. The normal range of major leukocyte subpopulations, such as T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, natural killer(NK) cells, monocytes, and the expression levels of activation or differentiation related molecules(CD38, HLA-DR, CCR5, CD21, IgD, CD80 and CD86) on lymphocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry. The counts of B cells decreased with age, but those of CD8+ T cells and NK cells and the frequency of CD38+HLA-DR+CD4+ T cells were positively correlated with age. The counts of leukocyte subpopulations were higher in males than those in females except for CD4+ T cells. Males also showed higher expression levels of Ig D and CD21 within B cells. This study provides basic data about the leukocyte subpopulations of northern pig-tailed macaques and compares this species with commonly used Chinese rhesus macaques(M. mulatta), which is meaningful for the biomedical application of northern pig-tailed macaques.

Combining single-cell RNA sequencing and population-based studies reveals hand osteoarthritis-associated chondrocyte subpopulations and pathways

Hand osteoarthritis is a common heterogeneous joint disorder with unclear molecular mechanisms and no disease-modifying drugs.In this study,we performed single-cell RNA sequencing analysis to compare the cellular composition and subpopulationspecific gene expression between cartilage with macroscopically confirmed osteoarthritis(n=5)and cartilage without osteoarthritis(n=5)from the interphalangeal joints of five donors.Of 105142 cells,we identified 13 subpopulations,including a novel subpopulation with inflammation-modulating potential annotated as inflammatory chondrocytes.Fibrocartilage chondrocytes exhibited extensive alteration of gene expression patterns in osteoarthritic cartilage compared with nonosteoarthritic cartilage.Both inflammatory chondrocytes and fibrocartilage chondrocytes showed a trend toward increased numbers in osteoarthritic cartilage.In these two subpopulations from osteoarthritic cartilage,the ferroptosis pathway was enriched,and expression of iron overload-related genes,e.g.,FTH1,was elevated.To verify these findings,we conducted a Mendelian randomization study using UK Biobank and a population-based cross-sectional study using data collected from Xiangya Osteoarthritis Study.Genetic predisposition toward higher expression of FTH1 mRNA significantly increased the risk of hand osteoarthritis(odds ratio=1.07,95%confidence interval:1.02–1.11)among participants(n=332668)in UK Biobank.High levels of serum ferritin(encoded by FTH1),a biomarker of body iron overload,were significantly associated with a high prevalence of hand osteoarthritis among participants(n=1241)of Xiangya Osteoarthritis Study(P-for-trend=0.037).In conclusion,our findings indicate that inflammatory and fibrocartilage chondrocytes are key subpopulations and that ferroptosis may be a key pathway in hand osteoarthritis,providing new insights into the pathophysiology and potential therapeutic targets of hand osteoarthritis.

Effects of Radiofrequency Ablation on Lymphocyte Subsets and Type 1/Type 2 T Cell Subpopulations in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective： To evaluate whether radiofrequency ablation （RFA） might have an influence on immune status in hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） patients. Methods： We measured the T lymphocytes, B lymphocyte and NK cells, and determined the population of Thl, Th2, Tcl and Tc2 of peripheral blood samples taken from 26 HCC patients before and after RFA. Results： The proportion of Typel cells （Thl and Tcl） and NK cells were significantly increased after RFA, especially in patients of the following subgroups： male, age〉55 years, pathological grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ tumor, clinical stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ or Child-Pugh A and B. Conclusion： TypeⅠ cells and NK cells in HCC patients were increased in a short period after RFA.

Early Changes of Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Patients with Occupational 2,4-dinitrophenol Poisoning

2,4-dinitrophenol （DNP）, an organic compound which frequently used in industry, is considered to have high toxicity. This study aimed to investigate the early changes of lymphocyte subpopulations in patients with occupational 2,4-DNP poisoning. Totally 9 patients with acute occupational 2,4-DNP poisoning and 30 healthy volunteers as control were enrolled. The patients received immediately comprehensive supportive treatments, including large-dose glucocorticoid and repeated hemoperfusion （HP）. The ratio of CD4＋/CD8＋ T cells were significantly higher in patients upon admission compared to healthy controls （P 〈 0.01）; however, counts of total lymphocytes, CD3＋, CD3＋CD4＋, CD3＋CD8＋, B （CD19＋）, and natural killer （NK） cells （CD16＋CD56＋） were significantly reduced （all P 〈 0.001）. The NK cell count was negatively correlated with initial plasma 2,4-DNP concentration （r = -0.750, P = 0.026）. Thus, acute occupational 2,4-DNP poisoning was accompanied by immediate complex immune cell reactions, especially NK cells might play important role in severe 2,4-DNP poisoning.

Olfactory ensheathing cells for spinal cord repair: crucial differences between subpopulations of the glia

OECs for spinal cord repair： Is repairing the iniured spinal cord by olfactory ensheathing cell （OEC） transplantation pos- sible？ A recent human trial in which a paralysed man regained some function after transplantation of partially purified OECs suggests that this therapy may be a successful approach （Ta- bakow et al., 2014）. In another human trial in which olfactory mucosa lamina propria was transplanted, patients recovered some motor and sensory function （Wang et al., 2015）. While these results show promise, it is clear that improvements are needed to provide patients with increased functional output. Strategies to improve the therapeutic use of OECs may include improving the purification of the OECs used for transplantation, using them in combination with growth factors to combat the inhibitory environment and improve anon growth, the use of nerve bridges, advanced physiotherapy and the use of exo- skeleton robotics to reinforce functional connections. Of all these approaches, it is probably is primarily addressed to ensure crucial that the purity of OECs consistency in outcomes.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase activity helps identify a subpopulation of murine adipose-derived stem cells with enhanced adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potential

AIMTo identify and characterize functionally distinct subpopulation of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). METHODSADSCs cultured from mouse subcutaneous adipose tissue were sorted fluorescence-activated cell sorter based on aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity, a widely used stem cell marker. Differentiation potentials were analyzed by utilizing immunocytofluorescece and its quantitative analysis. RESULTSApproximately 15% of bulk ADSCs showed high ALDH activity in flow cytometric analysis. Although significant difference was not seen in proliferation capacity, the adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation capacity was higher in ALDHHi subpopulations than in ALDHLo. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that ribosome-related gene sets were enriched in the ALDHHi subpopulation. CONCLUSIONHigh ALDH activity is a useful marker for identifying functionally different subpopulations in murine ADSCs. Additionally, we suggested the importance of ribosome for differentiation of ADSCs by gene set enrichment analysis.

Analysis of Genetic Diversity of Four Subpopulations of Chimonobambusa rivularis Yi in Sichuan

A study of the genetic diversity within four subpopulations of Chimonobambusa rivularis Yi and adaptations to altitude, habitat and related factors in Qionglai City of Sichuan province in China, analyzed by random amplified polymorphic DNA technique. 22 random primers were selected in the amplification and 375 repetitive loci with 350 polymorphic loci were produced. The total average percentage of amplification loci was 93.3%. The genetic diversity of every subpopulation was medium on （the percentage of amplification loci was 49.33%-66.67%）. The genetic diversity of high altitude samples of Zhengtiantai was lower than that of low altitude Wutonggang＇s. There was no obvious differentiation between two subpopulations of Zhengtiantais. The correlation is very low between altitude and the amplification loci and the genetic distance, Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.431 and 0.488 （P 〈 0.01）. Through investigation, the primary cause of heredity multiplicity drops was that the habitat had been destroyed by tourism development and other human disturbance.

MINIMUM ATTRIBUTE CO-REDUCTION ALGORITHM BASED ON MULTILEVEL EVOLUTIONARY TREE WITH SELF-ADAPTIVE SUBPOPULATIONS

Attribute reduction is an important process in rough set theory.Finding minimum attribute reduction has been proven to help the user-oriented make better knowledge discovery in some cases.In this paper,an efficient minimum attribute reduction algorithm is proposed based on the multilevel evolutionary tree with self-adaptive subpopulations.A model of multilevel evolutionary tree with self-adaptive subpopulations is constructed,and interacting attribute sets are better decomposed into subsets by the self-adaptive mechanism of elitist populations.Moreover it can self-adapt the subpopulation sizes according to the historical performance record so that interacting attribute decision variables are captured into the same grouped subpopulation,which will be extended to better performance in both quality of solution and competitive computation complexity for minimum attribute reduction.The conducted experiments show the proposed algorithm is better on both efficiency and accuracy of minimum attribute reduction than some representative algorithms.Finally the proposed algorithm is applied to magnetic resonance image(MRI)segmentation,and its stronger applicability is further demonstrated by the effective and robust segmentation results.

Changes of T lymphocyte subpopulation and its relationship with Modified Bobath score in index stroke

Objective To analyze the correlation of changes of T lymphocyte subpopulation and Modified Bobath index in acute stroke.Method Peripheral blood CD3+,CD4+,CD8+,CD16+56+ and ratio of CD4+/CD8+ were measured using bicolor fluorescent monclonal antibody and flow cytometry and compared with those of 23 healthy controls. Simultaneously,relationship between modified Bobath index and changes of T lymphocytes subpopulation was analyzed.Result Compared with healthy controls, peripheral blood percent of CD3+,CD4+ of subjects with acute stroke was marked lower,which was positively correlated with modified Bobath index.Conclusion Immune response is involved in development of acute cerebrovascular diseases.Improving immune function is important for prevention and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases.

Correlation of Quantitative Changes in Bone Marrow Lymphocyte Subpopulations with Some Rhabdomyosarcoma Prognosis Factors in Children

Rationale: The known prognosis factors for rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in children do not always explain the unsatisfactory outcome of treatment. Changes in the subpopulation composition of Bone Marrow (BM) effector cells during the development of RMS may indicate new directions for the search for prognostic factors and points for the impact of targeted therapy. Purpose: To identify correlations between quantitative changes in the levels of subpopulations of T, B and NK-lymphocytes of BM and known risk factors for RMS in children. Objects: The study included 31 patients. The main group included 16 patients with RMS, average age—6.8 ± 1.0 years, while children 1 - 10 years old—13 (81.3%), over 10 years old—3 (18.8%) people, girls and boys were 8 people each. The embryonic variant of RMS was established in 10 (62.5%) cases, the alveolar variant—in 4 (25%) cases, in two patients (12.5%), the histological variant was not established. In 12 (75%) patients, an unfavorable localization of the RMS (parameningeal, extremities, prostate, bladder) was revealed, in 4 patients (25%), the localization of the tumor was regarded as favorable. Patients with T2b—13 (81.2%) and T2a—2 (12.5%) stages prevailed. Regional and distant metastases were detected in 10 (52.6%) patients. The comparison group included 15 children in whom the presence of malignant neoplasia was excluded, the average age was 8.4 ± 1.5 years, 11 boys (73.7%) and 4 girls (26.3%). Methods: All patients underwent morphological (myelogram counting) and immunological (quantitative analysis of lymphocytic subpopulations) bone marrow studies. Immunophenotyping in all patients was carried out by direct immunofluorescence using a triple fluorescent label. Results: Significant differences in the levels of subpopulations of BM T-lymphocytes were found when comparing the values of the main group, distributed by localization and histological variant, with the data obtained in the control group of patients. For example, the percentage of CD3+ T cells with the co-stimulatory molecule CD28+ was significantly higher in patients with parameningeal RMS (p = 0.010). Conclusion: Each clinical group of patients has its own individual immunological characteristics. The results obtained by us can be considered indicative and regarded as starting points for further study of the peculiarities of the subpopulation composition of BM in patients with RMS.

T Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Normal Pregnancies and Those Complicated by Eclampsia in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: Eclampsia, the occurrence of generalized convulsion(s) in association with signs of preeclampsia [PE] (hypertension and proteinuria) in pregnancy has remained a significant public threat in Nigeria, contributing to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. This study was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted in some selected hospitals in Kaduna State, between April 2014 and November 2015. Subjects and Methods: Blood (3 mls) was collected into an ethylenediaminetetraaccetic acid (EDTA) vacutainer tube from third trimester women diagnosed with eclampsia (EC;n = 38) and healthy pregnant controls (PC;n = 38)—age and parity matched and healthy non-pregnant controls (NPC;n = 38)—age matched. T Cell subpopulations and Complete Blood Count levels were measured by Sysmex, Auto blood analyzer and flow cytometry respectively. Participants with smear positive malaria, seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), any other clinical infection or refused consent were excluded from this study. Data obtained were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Post Hoc test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. Result: Overall, results showed a depressed (mean ± Standard deviation (SD): CD3+ T cell (65.6 ± 15.5%;1225.5 ± 401.5 cell/μL), CD4+ T cell (36.1 ± 8.7%;657.1 ± 189.9 cell/μL), and a low CD4/CD8 value in women with EC (1.4 ± 0.5) and PC (1.5 ± 0.3) compared to NPC (1.9 ± 0.6) control (p < 05), while the total white blood cell count, and differential percentage neutrophils count were noted to be elevated among the eclamptic women (9.8 ± 4.9 × 109/L;70.3 ± 12.0%) compared to PC (6.9 ± 3.6 × 109/L;64.6 ± 8.1%) and NPC (5.6 ± 2.0 × 109/L;48.5 ± 10.7%), p < 0.05. Conclusion: Eclampsia was associated with significantly depressed CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocyte, and increased percentage differential neutrophil counts.

Identification of Sperm Subpopulations in Water Buffalo Ejaculates： Changes in Cryopreservation Stages and Bull Variation

This study aimed to identify and characterize the sperm subpopulations existing in water buffalo semen using a computer assisted sperm analyzer （CASA）, as well as assess the effects of cryopreservation on the sperm subpopulation structure and evaluate bull variability. The semen of eight Bulgarian Murrah bulls was collected by four times in an interval of one week each. The semen was cryopreserved following a standard protocol and sperm kinematics was assessed. Clustering methods were applied to individual sperms, forming two significantly different （P 〈 0.05） subpopulations （P1 and P2）. Subpopulation P1 represents those spermatozoa that moved most rapidly and progressively （46.29%）, and subpopulation P2 includes spermatozoa with relatively low velocity or poorly motile but with high progressiveness （53.41%）. There was a decline on the population of P1 sperms from fresh （52.52%）, pre-freeze （45.73%） to post-thaw （35.17%） stages and significant difference on the sperm kinematics between P1 and P2. A significant decline in the values of distance, velocity and amplitude of lateral head （ALH） parameters were observed at post-thaw stage, while an increase was observed on trajectory and beat cross frequency （BCF） kinematics. Values of sperm kinematics were also significantly different （P 〈 0.05） among all bulls. The frequency distribution of spermatozoa on both subpopulations P1 and P2 was quite similar for all bulls in pre-freeze and post-thaw stages, but with significant （P 〈 0.05） variability on fresh stage. Bulls with the highest maintained frequency of P1 sperms are denoted as good freezer bulls. In sum, kinematic characterization of water buffalo sperm and clustering into subpopulation enable to identify bulls that are more resistant to cryopreservation and production of quality semen for genetic propagation.

Effect of viral load on T-lymphocyte failure in patients with chronic hepatitis B

AIM: To investigate peripheral T-lymphocyte sub-population profile and its correlation with hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).METHODS: Distribution of T-lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood was measured by flow cytometry in 206 CHB patients. HBV markers were detected with ELISA. Serum HBV DNA load was assessed with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The relationship between HBV replication and variation in peripheral T-cell subsets was analyzed.RESULTS: CHB patients had significantly decreased CD3+ and CD4+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio, and increased CD8+ cells compared with uninfected controls (55.44 ± 12.39 vs 71.07 ± 4.76, 30.92 ± 7.48 vs 38.94 ± 3.39, 1.01 ± 0.49 vs 1.67 ± 0.33, and 34.39 ± 9.22 vs 24.02 ± 4.35; P < 0.001, respectively). Univariate analysis showed a similar pattern of these parameters was significantly associated with high viral load, presence of serum hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) expression, liver disease severity, history of maternal HBV infection, and young age at HBV infection, all with P < 0.01. There was a significant linear relationship between viral load and these parameters of T-lymphocyte subpopulations (linear trend test P < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the levels of CD3+ and CD4+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio and serum level of viral load in CHB patients (r = -0.68, -0.65 and -0.75, all P < 0.0001), and a positive correlation between CD8+ cells and viral load (r = 0.70, P < 0.0001). There was a significant decreasing trend in CD3+ and CD4+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio with increasing severity of hepatocyte damage and decreasing age at HBV infection (linear trend test P < 0.01). In multiple regression (after adjustment for age at HBV infection, maternal HBV infection status and hepatocyte damage severity) log copies of HBV DNA maintained a highly significant predictive coefficient on T-lymphocyte subpopulations, and was the strongest predictor of variation in CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio. However, the effect of HBeAg was not significant.CONCLUSION: T-lymphocyte failure was signifi-cantly associated with viral replication level. The substantial linear dose-response relationship and strong independent predictive effect of viral load on T-lymphocyte subpopulations suggests the possibility of a causal relationship between them, and indicates the importance of viral load in the pathogenesis of T cell hyporesponsiveness in these patients.

A Comparative Study on the Effect of BCG-PSN and Thymopeptides on T-lymphocyte Subsets of Normal and Immunosuppressed Mice

To compare the effects of polysaccharide nucleic acid fraction of bacillus calmette guerin (BCG PSN) and thymopeptides on T lymphocytes of normal and immunosuppressed mice, CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocyte subsets of single nucleic cell in thymus, spleen and peripheral blood were detected successively by flow cytometry after application of BCG PSN and thymopeptides. Meanwhile, CD4 +/CD8 + ratio was also calculated. The results showed that both BCG PSN and thymopeptides could decrease the proportion of CD4 + CD8 + T lymphocyte subsets in the thymus, at the same time increase CD4 + T lymphocyte, CD8 +T lymphocyte proportion in the three tissues. The fluctuation in amplitude was greater in thymopeptides group than that in BCG PSN group. It is concluded that acting location of thymopeptides is in thymus, its stimulating action is stronger than that of BCG PSN, while BCG PSN not only accelerates the differentiation in thymus, but also has some direct stimulation to peripheral CD4 +T lymphocytes, and can maintain CD4 +/CD8 + ratio within normal range. So, BCG PSN is safer.

Analysis of the T-Lymphocytes and Their Subpopu-lations of the Peripheral Blood in Patients with Urticaria

Objective: To study the function of cellular immunity of patients with urticaria. Methods:T-lymphocytes subpopulations of the peripheral Mood ire 60 patients with urticaria and 40 healthy controls were examined by flaw cytometry. Results: The number of CD3+ and CD4+ cells in the urticaria, group were significantly lower than tliose in the control group (P<0. 01) , especially in patients with acute urticaria. Conclusion: There was immunologic dysfunction of T lymphocyte in the patients with urticaria, and not only humoral immunity takes part but also cellular immunity plays a certain role in the pathogenesis of urticaria.