Background: Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a negative costimulatory molecule, and its main function is widely considered to be in the regulation of T cells. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are an important part of the tumor microenvironment, and they also play an important role in immunosuppression. However, the relationship between the expression of PD-L1 and TAMs in cervical carcinoma (CC) remains unclear. We detected the expression of PD-L1 and TAMs in tumor tissue to study the correlation between them. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining of PD-L1, CD68 (pan-macrophage), and CD163 (M2-like macrophage) was performed in 120 cases of cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictors related to positive PD-L1 expression. We also apply the Kaplan–Meier method to study the recurrence-free and overall survival rate of CC patients. Results: The increase in PD-L1 expression in tumor cells (TC) was significantly correlated with the increase in CD163 density (r=0.8550, p< 0.0001), while PD-L1 in the stroma was also significantly associated with the intratumoral density of CD68- or CD163-positive cells (CD68 p< 0.0001; CD163 p=0.0009). The mean infiltration rates of CD68- and CD163-positive cells in PD-L1-positive TC were significantly higher than in PD-L1-negative TC (CD68 p=0.0095; CD163 p< 0.0001). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, only the density of CD163-positive cells was correlated with the expression of PD-L1 in TC cells (OR 1.52; p=0.032). In prognostic analysis, PD-L1 more than 10% was significantly correlated with short RFS (HR=2.66; p=0.028). For CD163⁺ macrophage evaluation, the density above the median was also significantly correlated with RFS (HR=2.48; p=0.021). Conclusion: CD163⁺ M2-like macrophage infiltration is highly associated with PD-L1 expression in CC, suggesting that macrophage infiltration can serve as a potential therapeutic target.

Background: The tumor microenvironment (TME) has received an increasing amount of attention. CXC chemokines can regulate immune cell transport and tumor cell activity to exert anti-tumor immunity. However, studies on the expression and prognosis of CXC chemokines in cervical cancer (CC) are more limited. Methods: The study investigated the role of CXC chemokines in TME of CC by using public databases. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) of CXC chemokines were performed to further verify. Results: The transcriptional levels of CXCL1/3/5/6/8/9/10/11/13/16/17 in CC tissues were significantly elevated while the transcriptional levels of CXCL12/14 were significantly reduced. We reached a consistent conclusion that the expression of CXCL9/10/11/13 was verified by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Moreover, CC patients with low transcriptional levels of CXCL1/2/3/4/5/8 were significantly associated with longer overall survival (OS). The CCL family was related to CXC chemokines neighboring alteration. RELA, NFKB1, LCK and PAK2 were the key transcription factors and kinase targets of CXC chemokines, respectively. We also found there were significant correlations between the expression of CXCL9/10/11 and the infiltration of immune cells (CD8+ T cell, CD4+ T cell, neutrophils and dendritic cells). Conclusions: In brief, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of CXC chemokines via clinical data and some online public databases. Our results may provide a new idea for the selection of immunotherapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers for cervical cancer.

Background. Patients with liver cirrhosis have a high risk of sepsis and a poor prognosis. Recently, a new standard for sepsis (Sepsis-3) has been proposed in the general population. The Coulter Lh 750 hematology analyzer can evaluate mean volume, conductivity, scatter, and distribution width of leukocyte. We tried to use Sepsis-3 criteria to study the diagnostic value of volume, conductivity, and scattering (VCS) parameters in sepsis and infection in patients with liver cirrhosis compared with traditional infection markers (PCT, IL-6, sCDl63). Methods. A blinded, cohort study was conducted in three different ED populations within three affiliated hospitals. A total of 249 patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled in the study. According to the “Sepsis-3” consensus criteria, clinical history, and laboratory examination, the subjects were divided into sepsis (n=54), patients with infections (n=95), and patients without systemic infections (n=100). The blood samples of the patients were collected at the time of ED admission and were evaluated for the detection of sepsis. Results. The differences of MNV, MNS, MMV, MMS, MLV, NDW, and MDW in the three groups were statistically significant. In the diagnosis of sepsis in patients with liver cirrhosis, the sensitivity of combined detection of MMV and MDW was 88.89%; the specificity was 74%. This sensitivity was significantly better than the 83.3% achieved using 0.97 mg/L as the cutoff for sCD163. In the diagnosis of infection in cirrhosis, the sensitivity of combination of MNV and MMS was increased to 86.32%; the specificity was 92%. The sensitivity was the same as that achieved by using 0.31 ng/mL as the cutoff value of PCT, but the specificity increased. Conclusion. The leukocyte VCS parameter could be potential parameters for indicating sepsis and infection in patients with liver cirrhosis. The combined detection of MMV and MDW seemed to be helpful for the diagnosis of sepsis in these patients, and the combination of MNV and MMS could better indicate infection for them.

Purpose To improve the teaching quality of experimental diagnostics for 5-year clinical medicine major, the application of information system in medical education was explored. Method A total of 166 undergraduate students majoring in clinical medicine of grade 2020 were divided into classes, and taught with BOPPPS teaching method based on "rain classroom" information system and traditional LBL teaching method, and the teaching quality was tracked and investigated to analyze the teaching effects. Result The comparison between the two teaching methods reveals that the students' scores of the BOPPPS teaching method based on the "rain classroom" information system were significantly improved, and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion The application of BOPPPS teaching method based on the "rain classroom" information system for the 5-year clinical medicine course "Laboratory Diagnostics" was effective, and conducive to the cultivation of students' clinical ability and the mastery of diagnostic technology.

Background: It is well known that the tumor microenvironment (TME) has been received an increasing number of attention. CXC chemokines could regulate immune cell transport and tumor cell activity, thus exerting anti-tumor immunity. However, studies on the expression and prognosis of CXC chemokines in cervical cancer (CC) are more limited. Methods: The study investigated the role of CXC chemokines in the TME and prognosis of CC using public databases. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) of CXC chemokines were performed to further verify. Results: The transcriptional levels of CXCL1/3/5/6/8/9/10/11/13/14/16/17 in CC tissues were significantly elevated while the transcriptional levels of CXCL2/4/7/12 were significantly reduced. We reached a consistent conclusion that the expression of CXCL9/10/11/13 was verified by Q-PCR and IHC. Moreover, CC patients with low transcriptional levels of CXCL1/2/3/4/5/8 were signifi-cantly associated with longer overall survival (OS). Our data suggest that RELA, NFKB1, and SP1 are key transcription factors for CXC chemokines, and the LCK, LYN and PAK are CXC chemokine kinases targets. We found significant correlations among the expression of CXC chemokines and the infiltration of six types of immune cells. Conclusions: We performed a comprehensive analysis of CXC chemokines via clinical data and some online tumor database. Our results may provide new idea for the selection of immunotherapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers for cervical cancer.

This study examines the associations between various non-HPV genital tract pathogens—including Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uuu), Ureaplasma parvum (Uup1, Uup3, Uup6, Uup14), Mycoplasma hominis (MH), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), and Herpes simplex virus type II (HSV-2)—and HPV positivity and cervical abnormalities. Furthermore, it examines the co-detection patterns of these pathogens and human papillomavirus (HPV) in relation to cervical cytological and histopathological findings. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted involving 154 HPV-positive women and 193 HPV-negative women who underwent cervical cancer screening at our gynecology outpatient clinic during the study period. All participants underwent multiplex genetic testing for cervical pathogens. The six most prevalent HPV subtypes identified were HPV16, 53, 52, 58, 51, and 33. Detection of Uuu, Uup1, Uup6, MH, and CT was significantly associated with HPV positivity. In conclusion, selected non-HPV genital pathogens were associated with HPV positivity and concurrent cervical cytological abnormalities, whereas no significant association was identified with histopathologically confirmed cervical SILs among HPV-positive women.