No abstract

Pancreatic duct size and texture of the remnant pancreas are risk factors influencing pancreatic leakage after PD. Duct-to-mucosa pancreaticojejunostomy, as a safe and useful anastomotic technique, can reduce pancreatic leakage rate after PD.

No abstract

Regulatory T cells (Treg) mediate amelioration of disease and immune homeostasis by inhibiting immune activation and maintaining peripheral immune tolerance. The suppressive mechanisms and clinical significance of Treg have not been completely elucidated in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here, we demonstrated that CD127 in combination with CD4 and CD25 can identify FoxP3+ Treg in peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) using multicolor flow cytometry. We showed that the CD4+CD25+CD127lo Treg frequencies were significantly increased and their phenotypes were different in PB from newly diagnosed AML patients compared to those from healthy volunteers (HVs). Moreover, the Treg frequencies were significantly higher in BM than those from PB in the same patients. The Treg frequencies were reduced when patients achieved complete remission (CR) and were increased when patients relapsed. The Treg frequencies at diagnosis in PB and BM of patients who had achieved CR were lower than those of patients who had persistent leukemia or died, respectively. CD4+CD25+ Treg were isolated by magnetic‐activated cell sorting and tested for suppressive functions in coculture with allogeneic carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidylester‐labeled CD4+CD25− responder cells. Suppression mediated by Treg was higher in AML patients compared to HVs. No significant differences were observed in the cytokines production of Treg, including interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ), interleukin (IL)‐4,IL‐2 and IL‐10, between patients with AML and HVs. Our study suggests that Treg may play a role in the pathogenesis of AML, and sequential measurements of Treg frequency may have clinical value in the evaluation of therapeutic effects and clinical outcome.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematological malignancy characterized by a rapid increase in the number of immature myeloid cells in bone marrow. Despite recent advances in the treatment, AML remains an incurable disease. Matrine, a major component extracted from Sophora flavescens Ait, has been demonstrated to exert anticancer effects on various cancer cell lines. However, the effects of matrine on AML remain largely unknown. Here we investigated its anticancer effects and underlying mechanisms on human AML cells in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that matrine inhibited cell viability and induced cell apoptosis in AML cell lines as well as primary AML cells from patients with AML in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Matrine induced apoptosis by collapsing the mitochondrial membrane potential, inducing cytochrome c release from mitochondria, reducing the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, increasing activation of caspase-3, and decreasing the levels of p-Akt and p-ERK1/2. The apoptotic effects of matrine on AML cells were partially blocked by a caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK and a PI3K/Akt activator IGF-1, respectively. Matrine potently inhibited in vivo tumor growth following subcutaneous inoculation of HL-60 cells in SCID mice. These findings indicate that matrine can inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis of AML cells and may be a novel effective candidate as chemotherapeutic agent against AML.