The Treponema pallidum outer membrane protein Tp92 activates endothelial cells via the chemerin/CMKLR1 pathway

Endothelium damage caused by Treponema pallidum is the key step in the systemic dissemination and pathophysiology of syphilis, particularly cardiovascular syphilis and neurosyphilis. However, the molecular mechanisms supporting endothelium damage of syphilis are undefined. The outer membrane proteins were thought to be involved. Tp92 was first identified as an outer membrane protein of T. pallidum. Homologous proteins to Tp92 play important roles in cell attachment, inflammation, and tissue destruction in other bacterial species. In this study, we investigated the effect of Tp92 on endothelial cells activation. The data showed that Tp92 induced chemerin production in activated endothelial cells. Endothelial cell-derived chemerin upregulated the expression of TNF-α and ICAM-1 in endothelial cells via CMKLR1. In addition, endothelial cell-derived chemerin promoted THP-1-derived macrophage migration towards endothelial cells. These findings suggest that Tp92 may play an important role in mediating endothelial cell activation by inducing the secretion of chemerin.     

一种狂犬病实验室诊断用单克隆抗体制备新路线的探索

目的 探索采用合成肽作为免疫原制备狂犬病实验室诊断用单克隆抗体的可行性.方法 以狂犬病病毒CVS-11核蛋白355-369位B细胞线性抗原表位合成肽与钥孔戚血蓝蛋白（Keyhole Limpe hemocyanin,KLH）大分子耦联后免疫BALB/c小鼠,利用经典杂交瘤细胞技术制备单克隆抗体.采用间接酶联免疫吸附试验（enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,ELISA）和间接荧光试验（indirect fluorescent assay,IFA）筛选和鉴定杂交瘤细胞株.结果 经过对杂交瘤细胞株上清的间接ELISA和IFA筛选获得阳性杂交瘤细胞株2B1D11,该杂交瘤细胞株产生的抗体经纯化后在IFA中可以有效检出感染犬脑组织和BHK-21细胞的狂犬病病毒.结论 采用合成肽作为免疫原制备狂犬病实验室诊断用抗体在技术上是可行的.     

Risk factors associated with the dramatic increase in the prevalence of diabetes in the adult Chinese population in Qingdao,China

Objective To investigate the major risk factors and their association with the dramatic increase in the prevalence of diabetes from 2001–2002 to 2006 in Qingdao, China. Methods Population‐based cross‐sectional studies on diabetes were performed in 4598 men and 7026 women aged 35–74 years. The 2006 World Health Organization diagnostic criteria for diabetes were used. Results The crude prevalence of diabetes was 11.3% in both men and women in urban areas and 5.3% and 8.9% in rural areas in 2001–2002. This increased to 19.2% and 16.1% in urban areas and 14.2% and 13.8% in rural areas in 2006 for men and women, respectively. The increase in diabetes prevalence from 2001–2002 to 2006 was paralleled by an increased body mass index in rural areas but not in urban areas. The major risk factors associated with diabetes were age, family history of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and high triglycerides. The multivariate adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for diabetes corresponding to a one standard deviation increase in waist circumference was 1.81 (1.47, 2.23) in urban men, 1.64 (1.26, 2.13) in rural men, 1.98 (1.66, 2.37) in urban women and 2.02 (1.63, 2.51) in rural women. Low socio‐economic classes had a higher risk for diabetes in urban areas but a lower risk in rural areas, both associated with increased waist circumference. Conclusion Established risk factors are of great importance for the prevalence of diabetes in the urban and rural Chinese populations and changes in these factors could explain the recent dramatic increase in diabetes prevalence, particularly in rural areas. Considering the high prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity, intervention is urgently required in China.     

Relationship between selenium concentration in child hair and the distribution of Kashin-Beck Disease in Tibet,China

The focus of this study is to determine the relationship between selenium (Se) concentrations in child hair and the distribution of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) in Tibet. The hair of children in typical KBD-affected areas and non-disease areas was collected, and its Se concentrations were measured by atomic fluorescent spectrometry. The Se concentrations in child hair were (0.13±0.04) and (0.18±0.07) μg/g respectively in KBD areas and non-disease areas respectively, which are significantly different. In areas supplemented with Se in Tibet, the Se concentration of hair in KBD-affected areas was higher than that in non-diseased areas, being (0.28±0.03) and (0.18±0.04) μg/g respectively. There is a close relationship between the Se concentrations in hair and KBD distribution. Se supplement increase the Se concentrations in the human body. Appropriate Se supplementation is important to prevent KBD in Tibet. Translated from Chinese Journal of Endemiology, 2006, 25(1): 70–72 [译自: 中国地方病学杂志]     

Studies of Coltivirus in China

Objective The purpose of this article is to review the developments of studies of Cohivirns in China.Data sources The data used in this review was obtained mainly from the studies of Cohivirns reported from 1990 to 2003 in China.Study selection Relevant articles on studies of Coltivirns in domestic and foreign literature were selected.Data extraction Data were maily extracted from the articles which are listed in the reference section of this review.Results Many Cohiviruses have been isolated not only from blood samples of patients with unknown fever or from cerebrospinal fluid of patients with encephalitis in Xishuangbanna area in Yunnan province, but also from mosquitoes collected in many areas in China. In some patients diagnosed as Japanese encephalitis or unknown fever, an increase of Cohivirns IgG antibody of fourfold, or more, has been detected using ELISA. Similarly,Cohivirns IgM antibody was positive in some patients with Japanese encephalitis or viral encephalitis. From most Chinese patients, except the northeastern, the isolates of Cohivirnses belong to subgroup B2, according to RT-PCR amplification of the ninth and twelfth segments of the isolates and sequence analysis of their amplicons.Some biological properties of Chinese Cohivirnses isolates are different from that of North American Cohivirnses.Conclusions The isolates of Cohiviruses from Chinese patients are one of the common agents causing viral encephalitis and unknown fever in summer-autumn season. It might be an important public health problem due to its high isolation rate and wide distribution in China. Mosquito is the main transmission vector of the virus.     

强化钙与维生素D牛奶对10～12岁女童体格发育的影响

目的 探讨补充强化钙与维生素D牛奶对我国10－12岁女童体格发育的影响。方法 1999年3月至2001年3月,我们进行了为期2年、设有对照的双盲干预实验。将北京市9所小学757名平均年龄10.1岁的女童分为对照组（259人,保持日常饮食）、A组（238人,除日常饮食外,饮用钙强化牛奶144ml/d)和B组（260人,除日常饮食外,饮用钙和维生素D强化牛奶144ml/d)。调查其食物摄入和体力活动情况。干预前、中、后测定研究对象的体重、身高、坐高及膝高。结果 干预2年后,A组和B组的身高增长率（9.52%和9.26%)显著高于对照组的8.59%;A组和B组的体重增长率（34.53%和35.38%)显著高于对照组的30.91%;A组的坐高增长率为9.21%,显著高于B组的8.58%,又高于对照组的7.87%;A组膝高的增长率为9.00%,显著高于B组（8.37%)和对照组（8.44%)。结论 长期补充强化钙与维生素D的牛奶可能会促进我国10－12岁女童的体格发育。     

Evolutionary selection associated with the multi-function of overlapping genes in the hepatitis B virus

It is a challenge to understand the discrete roles of each point mutation in viral evolution, but overlapping genes provide an excellent entrance for the investigation of this complicated process. We obtained 132 sequences from the largest overlapping region in the HBV genome. Based on the genetic divergence between genotypes B and C, we distinguished a set of related footprint mutations that are believed to be responsible for historical selection events. Examining the mutations in the functional domains, we found that the virus has adopted a coherent strategy in its evolutionary process that can be summarized as follows: (1) the distribution of mutations was non-random throughout the overlapping region, and more mutations were preserved in the sequence when one of the genes was under relaxed selection; (2) the viral domains were subject to different selective pressures; for instance, the PreS1 domain underwent a strict selection, whereas the overlapped Spacer domain was relatively relaxed with obvious tolerance of non-synonymous mutations with a high dN/dS ratio; (3) different selective pressures on two codon sites ultimately determined that every mutation persevered at a proper position. Taken together, the functional constraints of protein domains are believed to be primarily responsible for the different selection patterns exhibited by the distribution of mutations and amino acid changes in the region where overlapping genes reside.     

Epidemiological investigations of human rabies in China

Background  

The epidemic of rabies showed a rising trend in China in recent years. To identify the potential factors involved in the emergence, we investigated and analyzed the status and characteristics of human rabies between 1996 and 2008. Moreover, the status of rabies infection and vaccination in dogs, and prophylaxis of humans after rabies exposure were analyzed.