Laboratory tests for disorders of complement and complement regulatory proteins

The complement pathway is a cascade of proteases that is involved in immune surveillance and innate immunity, as well as adaptive immunity. Dysfunction of the complement cascade may be mediated by aberrations in the pathways of activation, complement regulatory proteins, or complement deficiencies, and has been linked to a number of hematologic disorders, including paroxysmal noctural hemoglobinuria (PNH), hereditary angioedema (HAE), and atypical hemolytic‐uremic syndrome (aHUS). Here, current laboratory tests for disorders of the complement pathway are reviewed, and their utility and limitations in hematologic disorders and systemic diseases are discussed. Current therapeutic advances targeting the complement pathway in treatment of complement‐mediated hematologic disorders are also reviewed. Am. J. Hematol. 90:1180–1186, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Emergence of a virulent porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in Taiwan in 2018

In March 2018, an abortion storm caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus was confirmed in a farrow‐to‐finish pig herd in Taiwan. Open reading frame 5 and non‐structural protein 2 of the virus confirmed that the virus is closely related to the virulent strains circulating in the United States.