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Background: Little is known about the changes in allergen sensitization in China secondary to the environmental variations over the past decade. We aimed at investigating the variations in sensitization among asthma and/or rhinitis patients in China between 2008 and 2018., Methods: This study analyzed cross-sectional data from national surveys conducted in China in 2008 and 2018. After finishing the questionnaire, participants underwent serum specific IgE measurements. A total of 2322 and 2798 patients were enrolled in 2008 and 2018, respectively. The significance of differences in sensitization rates among four regions of China were assessed. Correlation analysis was used to identify the associations of sensitization with climate change and planting of Artemisia desertorum between the two surveys., Results: Compared with 2008, the general sensitization rate to mites significantly increased in 2018, which ranked highest among all tested allergens. Sensitization to pollens, especially Artemisia vulgaris , showed the greatest increase in the north. The annual mean temperature, rainfall and relative humidity in all four regions, and the Artemisia desertorum coverage in the northeastern area, increased significantly in 2018 as compared with 2008. From 2008 to 2018, an increase in Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus sensitization was significantly associated with an increase in relative humidity ( r  = 0.54, p  = 0.037). The increase in A. vulgaris sensitization was significantly associated with the increase in the A. desertorum planting area ( r  = 0.67, p  = 0.006) and with a decrease in rainfall ( r  = -0.59, p  = 0.021)., Conclusions: House dust mites remain the most important allergen in Chinese individuals with asthma and/or rhinitis. Pollen sensitization dramatically increased in northern China. Increases in sensitization to dust mites and Artemisia were related to the increases in humidity and planting area of A. desertorum ., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (© 2022 The Authors. Clinical and Translational Allergy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.)

Objective: To further determine the role of FOLR1 in taxol resistance of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and whether inhibition of FOLR1 expression reverses the taxol-resistant phenotype., Study Design: Correlation study between gene expression and cancer cell survival., Setting: University hospital., Subjects and Methods: Three taxol-resistant sub-cell lines with a different resistant index were established from the parental CNE-1 NPC cell line. The correlation between FOLR1 expression and taxol sensitivity was statistically analyzed. Inhibition of FOLR1 expression was carried out by RNA interference and by a FOLR1-specific monoclonal antibody, and taxol sensitivity was examined by colony formation assays. FOLR1 expression was also examined in 72 NPC patient specimens by immunohistochemistry., Results: The levels of FOLR1 expression were positively and significantly correlated with a taxol resistance phenotype (P < .05). Inhibition of FOLR1 expression resulted in a significantly increased sensitivity of taxol to taxol-resistant NPC cells (P < .05). An increase of FOLR1 expression by gene transfection caused a taxol-resistant phenotype in parental NPC cells. The level of FOLR1 expression was found to be related to clinical stage in NPC tissue samples., Conclusion: These results suggest that FOLR1 plays an important role in taxol resistance of NPC cells.