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Background: Amomi fructus as edible and medicinal food can be used as a flavoring in the daily cooking and herbal tea, the consumption of A. fructus is gradually aggregate in recent years. The quality of A. fructus from Yangchun city of Guangdong province in China is familiar as the best and the value is higher than other areas, the flavor and pharmacological activities is mostly affected by its quality. However, geographical origin confusion often occurs in the market, so it is obligatory to develop technology to differentiate the geographical origin of A. fructus. Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the antioxidant activity of A. fructus and discriminate the geographical origin of A. fructus using nontarget metabolomics technology. Materials and Methods: Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used for acquired data in positive ionization modes, principal component analysis, and orthogonal partial least-squares discrimination analysis. The online analysis website Metabo Analyst 4.0 (https://www.metaboanalyst.ca/) was used for the ensuing analysis. A reducing power test, chelating power of ferrous ions test, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate assay, and hydroxyl radicals scavenging ability assays were used to assess the differences in antioxidant activity between the samples from the two geographical locations. Results: Eleven differential metabolites were attained, among which eight were established as marker compounds with the greatest contribution to the discernment between the two production areas. The antioxidant activity happens obvious differences due to dissimilar geographical origin. Conclusion: Untargeted metabolomics combined with multivariate statistical analysis is a commanding strategy to extricate the samples from the same species and to comprehend the quality differences from the viewpoint of overall metabolic profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD4++T cell counts are closely related to the progression of HBV infection. Here, we investigated how the proportions of three CD4++T cell subsets - CD127−CD25−, CD127++CD25low/- and CD127lowCD25high - changed during HBV infection, as is little known. Compared with healthy controls, the proportions of CD127−CD25− in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and HBV carriers significantly increased, while that of CD127++CD25low/- significantly decreased. The proportion of CD127lowCD25high in CHB patients was significantly higher than those in HBV carriers or healthy controls. Compared with HBV-DNA negative group, the proportion of CD127−CD25− in positive group significantly decreased and that of CD127++CD25low/- significantly increased. In the follow-up study for CHB patients treated with interferon-α2b for 12 weeks or 24 weeks, the proportions of CD127−CD25− significantly decreased, while that of CD127low/-CD25high significantly increased. The results suggested that specific changes in the fraction of CD4++T cell subsets expressing CD127 and/or CD25 were associated with hepatitis B progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aims: To explore the efficacy of G-CSF mobilization in the treatment of chronic liver failure (CLF) and the mechanism of its action., Methodology: The proportions of cluster-of-differentiation (CD)-34+ cells and their receptor-CXCR4 were detected by flow cytometry in patients with different types of chronic HBV infection. The levels of chemokines and cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay., Results: The proportion of CD34+ cells in patients with cirrhosis was significantly increased compared with the healthy controls (p<0.05) and was increased obviously after treatment by G-CSF mobilization (p<0.01). The expression levels of SDF-1, SCF and MMP-9 were significantly elevated in patients with chronic hepatitis B and liver cirrhosis (p<0.01). The expression levels of SCF and MMP-9 were significantly elevated after treatment with G-CSF (p<0.05). No significant differences were found in the levels of total bilirubin, albumin and prothrombin time between the treated and control groups; furthermore, no significant differences were observed in the cure and improvement rates between the two groups., Conclusions: The basal levels of stem cell mobilization in patients with liver cirrhosis might be associated with the repair of liver injury. G-CSF could promote hematopoietic stem cell mobilization through regulation of the expression levels of stem-cell-mobilization-related factors in patients with liver cirrhosis. No apparent effects of G-CSF therapy on both liver function and short-term prognosis in patients with liver cirrhosis were confirmed.

CD4(+)T cell counts are closely related to the progression of HBV infection. Here, we investigated how the proportions of three CD4(+)T cell subsets - CD127(-)CD25(-), CD127(+)CD25(low/-) and CD127(low)CD25(high) - changed during HBV infection, as is little known. Compared with healthy controls, the proportions of CD127(-)CD25(-) in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and HBV carriers significantly increased, while that of CD127(+)CD25(low/-) significantly decreased. The proportion of CD127(low)CD25(high) in CHB patients was significantly higher than those in HBV carriers or healthy controls. Compared with HBV-DNA negative group, the proportion of CD127(-)CD25(-) in positive group significantly decreased and that of CD127(+)CD25(low/-) significantly increased. In the follow-up study for CHB patients treated with interferon-α2b for 12 weeks or 24 weeks, the proportions of CD127(-)CD25(-) significantly decreased, while that of CD127(low/-)CD25(high) significantly increased. The results suggested that specific changes in the fraction of CD4(+)T cell subsets expressing CD127 and/or CD25 were associated with hepatitis B progression.

Objective: To investigate the clinical significance and detection of the expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood in patients with hepatitis B., Methods: The expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells were measured by using flow cytometry in 53 patients with chronic hepatitis B, 53 carrier with hepatitis B virus and 26 healthy blood donors, and follow up 20 patients with HBV-DNA positive treated with interferon., Results: (1) Compared with healthy controls, the expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells in patients and carrier with hepatitis B virus were lower (Q = 4.559, P < 0.05; Q = 6.230, P < 0.05). (2) The expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells in patients with HBV-DNA positive (n = 77) was lower than that of negative (n = 29) (t = 2.290, P = 0.024). (3) Compared with the prior treatment,the expression of CD25- CD127- on CD4+ T cells in patients with B hepatitis were lower after interferon treated with 12 weeks (t = 2.469, P = 0.024)., Conclusion: It suggested that the CD25- CD127- expression on CD4+ T cells correlated with viral infections and cleared,exogenous interferon could decrease CD25- CD127- expression on CD4+ T cells.

Objective: To investigate the relevant factors of liver histological changes in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with mildly elevated ALT and to explore the clinical values of these factors on anti-viral treatment., Methods: A total of 152 CHB patients with mildly elevated ALT (less than 2 x ULN) who underwent liver biopsy were included in the study. Correlations between routine laboratory markers, liver histological inflammation grade and fibrosis stage were statistically assessed by Spearman correlation analysis, one-way ANOVA, area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and Logistic regression statistical analysis., Results: All patients in the study showed various hepatic histological damages. Among the 152 patients 50 (32.9%) were found with inflammation grade 1 (G1), 42 (27.6%) with G2, 46 (30.3%) with G3 and 14 (9.2%) with G4. 16 patients (10.5%) were found with fibrosis stage 2 (S2), 25 (16.5%) with S3 and 41 (27.0%) with S4. Routine laboratory markers Alb, BPC and WBC were significantly correlated with hepatic histological inflammation grade and fibrosis stage. Marked liver fibrosis and moderate to severe liver damage were significantly higher in patients aged more than 40 years as compared to those less than 40 years of age (P = 0.002, P = 0.010). The regression equation P = 1/[1+e-(9.36250-1625Alb-0.0234BPC)] was established with sensitivity and specificity of 83.3% and 65.0%, respectively., Conclusion: 67.8% of CHB patients with mildly elevated ALT have significant injury to the liver tissue. CHB patients aged more than 40 years have a significant increase of marked liver fibrosis and moderate to severe liver damage. The regression equation is valuable to predict whether CHB patients need antiviral therapy or not.