To investigate immune profile consisting of stromal PD‐L1 expression, inhibitory or non‐T‐cell inflamed tumor microenvironment that may predict response to anti‐PD‐L1/PD‐1 immunotherapy in prostate cancer, we validated the specificity of a PD‐L1 monoclonal antibody (E1L3N) and identified PD‐L1 specific expression in prostatic stromal nerve cells. PD‐L1 expression was analyzed in 73 primary prostate cancers and 7 castration‐resistant prostate cancers (CRPC) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and resulting data from primary prostate cancers were correlated with tumor‐associated lymphocytes (TALs), clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome. PD‐L1 was expressed in the tumor cells in only one primary prostate cancer case and none of the CRPC. However, PD‐L1 was frequently observed in the nerve branches in the tumor‐associated stroma (69 of 73 cases, 94.5%), supported by colocalization with axonal marker PGP9.5. FoxP3‐, CD3‐ and CD8‐positive T lymphocytes were observed in 74.6% (47/63), 98.4% (62/63) and 100% (61/61) of the cases, respectively. The density of PD‐L1+ tumor‐associated nerves (TANs) was inversely correlated with that of CD8+ TALs. Higher density of PD‐L1+ TANs was significantly associated with biochemical recurrence (BCR) in Kaplan–Meier survival analysis (p = 0.016). In both univariate and multivariate Cox analysis, the density of PD‐L1+ TANs was independently prognostic of BCR. In conclusion, PD‐L1 expression is rare in prostate tumor cells but prevalent in TANs and negatively correlated with CD8+ TALs. Neuro‐immunological interaction may be a contribution to immune‐suppressive microenvironment. Combinatorial treatment regimen designs to neural PD‐L1 and TALs should be warranted in future clinical application of anti‐PD‐L1/PD‐1 immunotherapy in prostate cancer.

No abstract

BackgroundRight ventricular function is a crucial factor of the prognosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).ObjectivesTo evaluate the right ventricular function in SLE patients with different degrees of pulmonary hypertension (PH) by strain and strain rate imaging.MethodsA total of 102 SLE patients and 30 healthy volunteers were studied between October 2015 and May 2016. Patients were divided into three groups according to pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) estimated by echocardiography: group control (A); PASP ≤ 30 mmHg (group B, n = 37); PASP 30-50 mmHg (mild PH; group C, n = 34); and PASP ≥ 50 mmHg (moderate-to-severe PH; group D, n = 31). Longitudinal peak systolic strain (ε) and strain rate (SR), including systolic strain rate (SRs), early diastolic strain rate (SRe) and late diastolic strain rate (SRa) were measured in the basal, middle and apical segments of the right ventricular free wall in participants by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) from the apical four-chamber view. A p < 0.05 was set for statistical significance.ResultsThe parameters of ε, SRs, SRe, and SRa were significantly decreased in groups C and D compared with groups A and B. The ε of each segments was significantly lower in group D than in group C, while there were no differences in SRs, SRe and SRa between groups C and D.ConclusionsStrain and strain rate imaging could early detect the right ventricular dysfunction in SLE patients with PH, and provide important value for clinical therapy and prognosis of these patients.

Assessment systems for green buildings around the world have been developed over many years, but there is a lack of assessment elements for the disaster prevention and mitigation (DPM) capabilities of green buildings in many indicators. DPM indexes based on the four main aspects of structural safety, DPM design, facility settings, and resource utilization are proposed here with consideration to the complex natural disasters that occur in China (fires, earthquakes, floods, etc.) and relevant codes. Then, an assessment system for the DPM indexes of green buildings is established by the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) in order to evaluate the DPM ability of green buildings and to quantify the impact of different indexes on the DPM ability of green buildings; this system is also used to evaluate and compare DPM capability suggestions, taking two green buildings in South and North China as examples. The results show that the DPM capacities of the two green buildings were evaluated as good, but that the scores for the site planning and water-saving systems of the green building in South China were significantly lower—meaning that measures such as optimizing drainage systems, managing stormwater runoff, permeable paving, rainwater gardens, and installing rainwater harvesting equipment should be implemented. Then, the theory of the utilization rate of DPM conversion is put forward, providing a reference for the future development of green building DPM index systems.