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BackgroundDiagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae in adults and adolescents is hampered by a lack of rapid and standardized tests for detection.MethodsCAP patients from 12 teaching hospitals were prospectively and consecutively recruited. Basic and clinical information, throat swabs and paired sera were collected. Mycoplasma pneumoniae was detected by IgG and IgM antibody tests, fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) and culture. A comparative study of the diagnostic values of three methods, including sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and positive likelihood ratio (PLR) was conducted. A fourfold or greater increase of IgG antibody titers of paired sera was set as the diagnostic “gold standard”.ResultsOne hundred and twenty-five CAP patients (52.8% males, median age 47 years, range 14–85) were enrolled. Twenty-seven (21.6%) patients were diagnosed with acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections by the “gold standard”. Specificity values of all three methods were around 90%. An increasing trend of sensitivity, positive predictive value and PLR was found, with the lowest in IgM testing (7.4%, 28.6% and 1.45), intermediate in FQ-PCR (40.7%, 50% and 3.63), and highest in culture (55.6%, 75% and 10.9).ConclusionsIn the defined group of patients, there was a good agreement between positive rate of MP cultivation of throat swabs and acute M. pneumoniae infection (PLR of 10.9). Since the sensitivity is low in all of the evaluated methods, the logical approach would be to incorporate PCR, culture and serological tests for optimum diagnosis of acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in adults and adolescents.

Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch) Bge (Huang-Qi) is a well-known herbal medicine with tonic property and has been widely used to treat cancer and other immune disorders in China and Southeast Asia for thousands of years. Accumulating evidence suggests that Huang-Qi possesses both immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory/immune-regulatory effects clinically, leaving the mechanism elusive. Recently, we discovered that Astragaloside (ASI), a major active component of Huang-Qi, is able to increase CD45 phosphatase activity. In this paper, we reviewed the recent progress of ASIs in immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory activities, including the induction of T-cell activation, regulation of effector/regulatory T-cell balance, enhancement of CD45 phosphatase activity, inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine and, NF-[Formula: see text]B pathway. Finally, we hypothesized that inducing interferon-[Formula: see text] (IFN-[Formula: see text]) activity by activating CD45 protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) may be involved in the protective role of ASI in two contrary immune-associated diseases. These pharmacological properties highlight the traditional uses of Astragalus and provide a new direction for subsequent research and the clinical application of this traditional herbal.

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Purpose: To investigate inhibitory effect of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) on osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats by regulating FoxO3a/Wnt2 signaling pathway. Methods: Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) animal model was developed by excising the bilateral ovaries of rats. The model rats were administered with APS (200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg, 800 mg/kg) by intragastric administration once daily for 12 weeks. Bone density, bone metabolism index and oxidative stress index were measured in all groups. Furthermore, the regulation of APS of FoxO3a / Wnt2 signaling pathway was observed. Results: APS has an estrogen-like effect, which can increase bone mass, lower serum ALP and BGP values, increase blood calcium content, and increase bone density of the femur and vertebrae in rats. At the same time, APS can increase the bone mineral content of the femur, increase the maximum stress, maximum load and elastic modulus of the ovariectomized rats, improve oxidative stress in rats by increasing the gene expression of β-catenin and Wnt2 mRNA and inhibiting the gene expression of FoxO3a mRNA. Conclusion: Astragalus polysaccharide can effectively alleviate oxidative stress-mediated osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats, which may be related to its regulation of FoxO3a/Wnt2/β-catenin pathway.