Identification of and solution for false D-dimer results.

Background: Clinically, D-dimer (DD) levels are mainly used to exclude diseases such as deep venous thrombosis (DVT). In clinical testing, DD assays can be subjected to interference that may cause false results, which directly affect the clinical diagnosis. Our hypothesis was that the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the fibrin degradation product (FDP)/DD and fibrinogen (Fib)/DD ratios were used to identify these false results and corrected via multiple dilutions.

What makes D-dimer assays suspicious-heterophilic antibodies?

Background: Heterophilic antibodies are still an important source of interference in immunoassays, but reports of interference with D-dimers are rare. Are D-dimer level abnormalities, found in the clinic, caused by heterophilic antibodies as well, or are other mechanisms involved? We will elaborate on this issue through two different examples in this article.

Methods: Serum from two patients with significantly elevated levels of D-dimers were measured and compared by different methods, diluted, and dealt with heterophilic antibody blockers.

miR-590 promotes the proliferation of HUMSCs and induces ECM synthesis by targeting Smad7.

MicroRNA (miR)-590 has been established to be a promoter of cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and an inhibitor of apoptosis in numerous cancer cell lines. However, its effects on non-cancer cells remain to be elucidated. miR-590 was transfected into human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs), and the cell proliferation rate was determined using a Cell-Light 5-ethynyl-20-deoxyuridine Apollo 567 kit and the presence of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins were detected using western blot analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy.

Inhibition of the PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway in T lymphocytes in patients with active tuberculosis.

Objectives: To investigate PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway changes and the proliferation of FoxP3T cells in patients with active tuberculosis.

Methods: We isolated PBMCs and CD4CD25FoxP3T cells from peripheral blood collected from patients with active tuberculosis and healthy controls. We compared the proportion and MFI of PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway components and PTEN by flow cytometry using specific cell-surface and intracellular markers.