Cell-free fetal DNA and intact fetal cells in maternal blood circulation: implications for first and second trimester non-invasive prenatal diagnosis

Both intact fetal cells as well as cell-free fetal DNA are present in the maternal circulation and can be recovered for non-invasive prenatal genetic diagnosis. Although methods for enrichment and isolation of rare intact fetal cells have been challenging, diagnosis of fetal chromosomal aneuploidy including trisomy 21 in first- and second-trimester pregnancies has been achieved with a 50-75% detection rate. Similarly, cell-free fetal DNA can be reliably recovered from maternal plasma and assessed by quantitative PCR to detect fetal trisomy 21 and paternally derived single gene mutations. Real-time PCR assays are robust in detecting low-level fetal DNA concentrations, with sensitivity of approximately 95-100% and specificity near 100%. Comparing intact fetal cell versus cell-free fetal DNA methods for non-invasive prenatal screening for fetal chromosomal aneuploidy reveals that the latter is at least four times more sensitive. These preliminary results do not support a relationship between frequency of intact fetal cells and concentration of cell-free fetal DNA. The above results imply that the concentration of fetal DNA in maternal plasma may not be dependent on circulating intact fetal cells but rather be a product of growth and cellular turnover during embryonic or fetal development.     

Evaluation of a novel internally controlled real-time PCR assay targeting the 16S rRNA gene for confirmation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections.

A novel HybProbe real-time LightCycler PCR assay was developed for confirmation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in samples positive according to the COBAS AMPLICOR Chlamydia trachomatis/Neisseria gonorrhoeae PCR assay. The new assay amplifies 375 bp of the N. gonorrhoeae 16S rRNA gene and includes an internal amplification control introduced during DNA purification. The assay had 100% specificity because of the high specificity of the HybProbes and primers. Other Neisseria spp. failed to generate positive crossing-point values and melting peaks. The analytical sensitivity for N. gonorrhoeae DNA was 0.5 fg/PCR, corresponding to 0.3 CFU/PCR. Sensitivity was not impaired in the presence of higher DNA concentrations (>or=1000-fold) from Neisseria spp. other than N. gonorrhoeae. The sensitivity was similar to that reported for the COBAS AMPLICOR assay with cervical swab samples. To assess its clinical applicability as a confirmatory test, 38 (2.9%) of 1313 swabs that were positive according to the COBAS AMPLICOR assay were tested using the new in-house assay and the commercially available GenFlow Neisseria test. Twenty-one samples negative according to COBAS AMPLICOR also underwent confirmatory testing. Both confirmatory tests yielded identical results; the 21 negative samples remained negative, and only 11 (28.9%) of the samples positive according to COBAS AMPLICOR were positive after retesting, suggesting a low prevalence (0.84%) of N. gonorrhoeae infection in the study population. These data suggest that the novel real-time PCR assay is an excellent and easy to interpret confirmatory test for the existing COBAS AMPLICOR assay for N. gonorrhoeae.     

High variability in viral load in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with herpes simplex and varicella-zoster infections of the central nervous system

Infections of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by herpes viruses can result in severe diseases, often with a fatal outcome. In this study, the viral load in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with herpes simplex or varicella-zoster infections of the CNS was measured using a quantitative real-time PCR. The results suggest a high variability in viral load, with relatively mild disease associated with a high viral load in CSF and vice versa. Determination of the viral load in CSF does not therefore seem to be useful in assessing the prognosis of disease caused by these viruses.     

双重实时PCR快速同时检测霍乱弧菌和副溶血弧菌

目的建立改良分子信标双重实时PCR同时检测霍乱弧菌和副溶血弧菌的快速方法,应用于霍乱监测、副溶血弧菌食物中毒的快速诊断和海产品检验。方法根据GenBank公布的霍乱弧菌肠毒素基因A亚单位(ctxA)和副溶血弧菌的耐热直接溶血毒素基因(TDH)的保守序列,分别设计引物和改良分子信标探针,以10种细菌作对照,建立双重实时PCR改良分子信标检测体系,应用于副溶血弧菌食物中毒快速诊断和霍乱监测。结果改良分子信标双重实时PCR反应体系DNA灵敏度为102.4～166.6fgμl,菌液灵敏度为32～64CFUml或3～6CFUPCR反应体系,无交叉反应。此反应体系同时检测40株副溶血弧菌和50株霍乱弧菌,均出现特异的荧光信号,两种细菌检测互不干扰。对3起细菌性食物中毒共48份样品和100份海产品进行检测,9份副溶血弧菌实时PCR阳性,其中7份副溶血弧菌细菌培养阳性,其余样品都为阴性。从样品处理到检测结果仅需1天时间。结论改良分子信标双重实时PCR检测体系快速、灵敏度高、特异性强,可用于霍乱和副溶血弧菌食物中毒的快速诊断,为食源性疾病的分子流行病学调查提供新的检测手段。     

癫癎患者脑血流速度改变与癫癎灶定侧的关系

目的 :探讨癫发作间期脑血流变化对癫灶定侧的价值。方法 :4 7例癫病人发作间期行经颅多普勒超声脑血流速度测定 ,并与临床、脑电图定位和MRI/CT病灶对比分析。结果 :根据临床症状确定病灶侧的 19例病人中 ,病灶侧脑血流速度改变 (升高和降低 )的比率显著高于双侧脑血流速度对称者 ;在脑电图确定病灶侧的 2 4例病人中 ,病灶侧脑血流速度升高比率显著高于脑血流速度降低和双侧脑血流速度对称者 ;在MRI确定病灶侧的 13例病人中 ,病灶侧脑血流速度增快 7例 ,减慢 2例 ,双侧血流速度对称 4例。结论 :癫病人一侧脑血流速度增高 ,高度提示癫病灶侧。     

Assessment of CMV load in solid organ transplant recipients by pp65 antigenemia and real-time quantitative DNA PCR assay: correlation with pp67 RNA detection

After bone marrow (BM) or solid-organ (SO) transplantation viremic Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is observed frequently. Quantitative assay of CMV in blood helps the management of this clinical condition. In the present report, 83 samples from 39 solid organ recipients, three CMV assays were compared simultaneously for the first time: the Nuclisens CMV pp67 assay (nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, NASBA), an "in-house" quantitative real-time PCR assay (TaqMan) for CMV DNA, and pp65 antigenemia. The relation between CMV DNA and pp65 antigenemia, the quantitative assays, was evaluated on a larger group including 251 blood samples from 118 solid organ recipients. Real-time PCR provided the best results; > or =130 CMV DNA copies/2 x 10(5) peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) predicted > or =1 pp65 antigen positive (Ag+) cell/2 x 10(5) PBLs. By taking pp65 antigenemia as the "gold standard," the sensitivity of CMV DNA quantitation and of the pp67 RNA assay were 0.95 and 0.20, respectively, while the corresponding specificity values were 0.50 and 0.93. When real-time PCR was considered as the "gold standard," the sensitivity and specificity of the pp65 antigenemia were 0.65 and 0.91, respectively. Among the three tests examined, the sensitivity of the pp67 RNA assay was the lowest. On the other hand, the pp67 RNA assay was highly specific and effective in pinpointing high viremia patients. The present report, by providing predictive values for all three diagnostic profiles, DNA load, antigenemia, and pp67RNA, is a contribution for validation of real-time PCR as a new standard for quantitative assessment of CMV viremia in clinical settings.     

长沙地区无偿献血人群隐匿性乙型肝炎病毒感染情况分析

目的 了解长沙地区无偿献血人群隐匿性乙型肝炎病毒感染(occult hepatitis B virus infection,OBI)流行情况,探讨HBV基因型分布特征和S区氨基酸突变的情况。方法 对长沙地区检测结果为HBsAg-/HBV DNA+的无偿献血血液样本进行HBV血清标志物检测,对其中的OBI样本进行HBV病毒载量检测和S区基因扩增,分析血清学标志物抗HBs与病毒载量检出与否的关系,并对扩增产物进行HBV基因分型和突变位点分析。结果 2019年1月—2020年1月长沙地区173 893份无偿献血标本共确认58例OBI样本,OBI流行率为0.033%;共发现7种血清学模式,抗HBc单独阳性最多,占38.98%,所有样本中抗HBc阳性率为89.83%;16例样本能检测出病毒载量,其中14例样本浓度小于100 IU/ml;抗HBs阳性组和阴性组间的病毒载量检出率无统计学差异;75.0%(12/16)样本扩增出S区序列,基因型均为B型,均发生突变,其中11例的HBsAg抗原决定簇及周边主要亲水区域(major hydrophilic region, MHR)发生氨基酸突变。结论 长沙地区无偿献血者中的OBI感染率在全国属于偏低水平;HBV基因型主要是B型,MHR区的氨基酸突变可能是造成OBI的原因,突变有本地特点。     

探针ASPCR检测肺炎支原体 微量耐药突变A2063G方法的建立

[摘要]　目的　 建立能够特异性检测微量肺炎支原体（Mycoplasma pneumoniae, MP）A2063G耐药突变基因的特异性扩增等位基因的探针法实时定量PCR（probe-based allele-specific real-time PCR, 探针ASPCR）方法。方法?建立特异性检测A2063G耐药突变位点的探针ASPCR方法,并验证其灵敏度、特异度及准确度等性能。结果?特异性扩增2063G和非特异性扩增2063A/G的引物/探针组合分别扩增105拷贝野生基因型（2063A）模板的Ct值的差(△Ct)高达10.93,能够特异性检测A2063G突变。探针ASPCR方法检测2063G基因型占总MP的比例的准确度可低至1％;检测MP的灵敏度低至10拷贝,检测A2063G耐药突变比例的灵敏度低至0.01％。探针ASPCR方法与前期建立的染料ASPCR方法检测临床样本的MP感染结果一致,MP阳性检出率均为94.83%（55/58）,高于传统巣式PCR联合测序方法的检测结果（75.86%,44/58）;探针ASPCR和染料ASPCR 2种方法检测MP耐药率分别为63.64%（35/55）、70.91%（39/55）,高于传统巣式PCR联合测序方法检测结果59.09%（26/44）。结论?新建探针ASPCR方法是一种具有高特异度、准确度和灵敏度的快速检测MP微量A2063G耐药突变的方法;与染料ASPCR方法相比,探针ASPCR方法检测耐药MP的灵敏度略低,但其临床样本检测复查率也低于染料ASPCR方法,且其结果判读简单,更适合在临床中应用推广,能够为临床制定MP及耐药MP感染的治疗方案提供理论依据。     

基于cfb和scpb基因的无乳链球菌PCR检测方法比较及临床应用

目的比较基于cfb和scpb基因检测无乳链球菌(GBS)的两种PCR方法,建立合理的实时荧光PCR检测体系,实现快速检测生殖道无乳链球菌的目的。方法通过对60株临床分离的无乳链球菌和15株非无乳链球菌进行PCR扩增,对比和验证cfb和scpb基因的敏感性和特异性,选择检测性能更好的基因为靶标,建立实时荧光定量PCR(real-time PCR)检测体系。对100份宫颈拭子、精液等常见临床标本进行检测,检测结果与传统的培养法进行比较。阳性率的比较采用卡方检验,P<0.05为差异有统计学意义。结果cfb和scpb基因的特异性均为100%,敏感性分别为98.3%、66.7%,差异有统计学意义(P<0.005)。基于cfb基因的real-time PCR检测100份GBS临床样本的阳性率为35%,高于培养法(30%),差异无统计学意义,但这100份标本中有7份real-time PCR法扩增阳性但未培养出无乳链球菌。结论基于cfb基因的real-time PCR法检测GBS具有直接、快速、简便、高特异性等特点,且敏感性高于常规培养法,可应用于多种临床标本的检测,在临床上具有较大的应用前景。     

经阴道实时三维子宫输卵管超声造影成像技术评估单侧输卵管切除术史患者对侧输卵管通畅性

目的： 探讨经阴道实时三维子宫输卵管超声造影成像技术（real-time three-dimensional hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography,RT-3D-HyCoSy）对评估单侧输卵管切除术史患者对侧输卵管通畅性的应用价值。方法： 选取2018年3月—2021年12月于首都医科大学附属北京友谊医院妇科门诊就诊有单侧输卵管切除术史且有生育需求的育龄期患者66例,运用经阴道RT-3D-HyCoSy检查其对侧输卵管通畅性。根据造影结果输卵管是否通畅,分为通畅组、通而不畅组和阻塞组,比较3组患者疼痛评分。根据造影过程中是否发生造影剂逆流,分为有逆流组和无逆流组,比较2组患者的子宫内膜厚度和输卵管阻塞率。结果： 因1例患者子宫明显后屈,造影管卡在剖宫产术后的子宫前壁瘢痕处,置管未成功,故成功收集65例结果,超声造影显示输卵管35条（53.8%）通畅,15条（23.1%）通而不畅,15条（23.1%）阻塞。造影过程中13例（20%）发生子宫肌层造影剂逆流,52例（80%）未发生。输卵管通畅组、通而不畅组、阻塞组患者疼痛评分比较,差异有统计学意义（F=56.469,P<0.001）,阻塞组大于通而不畅组,通而不畅组大于通畅组（P<0.001）。有逆流组和无逆流组的子宫内膜厚度（t=0.163,P=0.872）和输卵管阻塞率（χ²=3.385,P=0.066）比较,差异均无统计学意义。结论： 经阴道RT-3D-HyCoSy能较好地评估单侧输卵管切除术史患者对侧输卵管的通畅性,患者耐受性较好,能为临床提供可视性强的图片信息,为生殖医学科医生预防此类患者再次发生异位妊娠及选择助孕方式提供了重要依据。