Complete Sequence Analysis and Antiviral Screening of Medicinal Plants for Human Coxsackievirus A16 Isolated in Korea

Objectives

Coxsackievirus A group 16 strain (CVA16) is one of the predominant causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD).

Methods

Using a specimen from a male patient with HFMD, we isolated and performed sequencing of the Korean CVA16 strain and compared it with a G10 reference strain. Also, we were investigated the effects of medicinal plant extract on the cytopathic effects (CPE) by CPE reduction assay against Korean CVA16.

Results

Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Korean CVA16 isolate belonged to cluster B-1 and was closely related to the strain PM-15765-00 isolated in Malaysia in 2000. The Korean CVA16 isolate showed 73.2% nucleotide identity to the G10 prototype strain and 98.7% nucleotide identity to PM-15765-00. Next, we assessed whether the Korean CVA16 isolate could be used for in vitro screening of antiviral agents to treat HFMD infection. Vero cells infected with the Korean CVA16 isolate showed a cytopathic effect 2 days after the infection, and the treatment of cells with Cornus officinalis, Acer triflorum, Pulsatilla koreana, and Clematis heracleifolia var. davidiana Hemsl extracts exhibited strong antiviral activity against CVA16.

Conclusion

Collectively, our work provides potential candidates for the development of vaccine and novel drugs to treat the CVA16 strain isolated from a Korean patient.     

Relationship between white blood cell count and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Background

Higher levels of white blood cell (WBC) count are known to be associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is also considered a hepatic manifestation of insulin resistance.

Aims

The present study aimed to determine the relation between WBC count and the presence of NAFLD based on abdominal sonographic findings.

Methods

A cross-sectional study with 3681 healthy subjects (2066 men, 1615 women) undergoing medical check-up was conducted. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for NAFLD were calculated using multivariate logistic regression analyses across WBC quartiles.

Results

A graded independent relationship between higher levels of WBC count and the prevalence risk of NAFLD was observed. After adjusting for age, smoking status, regular exercise, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, and HDL-cholesterol, the ORs (95% CIs) for NAFLD according to WBC quartiles were 1.00, 1.48 (1.10–1.98), 1.59 (1.18–2.14), and 1.84 (1.35–2.51) for men and 1.00, 1.15 (0.67–1.96), 1.88 (1.13–3.11), and 2.74 (1.68–4.46) for women.

Conclusions

WBC count was found to be independently associated with the presence of NAFLD regardless of classical cardiovascular risk factors and other components of metabolic syndrome.     

Efficacy of Fractional Flow Reserve Measurements at Side Branch Vessels Treated With the Crush Stenting Technique in True Coronary Bifurcation Lesions

Background

Measurement of fractional flow reserve (FFR) has been frequently used to optimize the results of coronary stenting in patients with significant narrowing of coronary arteries.

Hypothesis

There has been a consensus that an FFR value > 0.90 after stenting is a useful surrogate for favorable long‐term clinical outcome. We evaluated the efficacy of FFR measurement at side branch vessels of true coronary bifurcation lesions that were treated with the crush stenting technique.

Methods

This study included 12 patients with significant narrowing in both a main coronary vessel and side branch vessel who underwent the crush stenting procedure.

Results

After crush stenting, FFR measurement was performed at the side branch vessel prior to and after kissing balloon angioplasty (KBA). FFR values increased significantly, from 0.94 ± 0.04 pre‐KBA to 0.97 ± 0.03 post‐KBA (P = 0.011). FFR values after crush stenting but prior to KBA already measured > 0.90 in 9 of the 12 patients (75%). FFR values for the remaining 3 patients were 0.88, 0.88, and 0.90, respectively.

Conclusions

FFR measurement at side branch vessels of coronary bifurcation lesions treated with crush stenting may not contribute to adequate decision‐making for improvement of long‐term clinical outcomes. KBA should be strongly considered for patients with bifurcation lesions treated with crush stenting. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This study was partly supported by a grant from the Korea Healthcare Technology R&D Project, Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, Republic of Korea (Nos. A085012 and A000385); a grant from the Korea Health 21 R&D Project, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (No. A085136); and the Cardiovascular Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea. The authors have no other funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose. Byoung Kwon Lee, MD and Hyun Hee Choi, MD contributed equally to this article.     

Dose effect of cigarette smoking on frequency and spectrum of epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations in Korean patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Purpose  

This study aimed to determine the dose effect of smoking on the mutational frequency and spectrum of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in Korean non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).     

Adenocarcinoma of the small bowel at a single Korean institute: management and prognosticators

Purpose  

Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a rare malignancy with a poor outcome. We evaluated the natural history of SBA at a single Korean institute.     

Noninvasive Treatment Strategy for Swallowing Problems Related to Prolonged Nonoral Feeding in Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type II

A 25-year-old patient with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type II was referred due to swallowing problems related to prolonged nonoral feeding. Restriction of jaw movement, neck stiffness, absence of oral food intake, and weakness of the oropharyngeal and laryngeal muscles were considered to be the main factors contributing to the deterioration of his swallowing function. Treatment comprised exercises to improve flexibility of the neck and temporomandibular joint, tactile oral stimulation, passive and active oropharyngolaryngeal exercises, and supraglottic swallowing maneuvers. Treatment was performed for 30 min per day, three times a week, for 7 months. On initial videofluoroscopic examination, the patient was unable to safely tolerate any per-oral nutrition. After 7 months of treatment, the patient’s swallowing function had improved to the extent that he was able to resume oral intake of food under supervision, and aspiration was no longer evident. These findings suggest that noninvasive treatment is a possible strategy for enhancing the swallowing function of a patient with SMA type II presenting with swallowing difficulties related to prolonged nonoral feeding.     

Arsenic tolerance in Arabidopsis is mediated by two ABCC-type phytochelatin transporters

Arsenic is an extremely toxic metalloid causing serious health problems. In Southeast Asia, aquifers providing drinking and agricultural water for tens of millions of people are contaminated with arsenic. To reduce nutritional arsenic intake through the consumption of contaminated plants, identification of the mechanisms for arsenic accumulation and detoxification in plants is a prerequisite. Phytochelatins (PCs) are glutathione-derived peptides that chelate heavy metals and metalloids such as arsenic, thereby functioning as the first step in their detoxification. Plant vacuoles act as final detoxification stores for heavy metals and arsenic. The essential PC-metal(loid) transporters that sequester toxic metal(loid)s in plant vacuoles have long been sought but remain unidentified in plants. Here we show that in the absence of two ABCC-type transporters, AtABCC1 and AtABCC2, Arabidopsis thaliana is extremely sensitive to arsenic and arsenic-based herbicides. Heterologous expression of these ABCC transporters in phytochelatin-producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae enhanced arsenic tolerance and accumulation. Furthermore, membrane vesicles isolated from these yeasts exhibited a pronounced arsenite [As(III)]-PC(2) transport activity. Vacuoles isolated from atabcc1 atabcc2 double knockout plants exhibited a very low residual As(III)-PC(2) transport activity, and interestingly, less PC was produced in mutant plants when exposed to arsenic. Overexpression of AtPCS1 and AtABCC1 resulted in plants exhibiting increased arsenic tolerance. Our findings demonstrate that AtABCC1 and AtABCC2 are the long-sought and major vacuolar PC transporters. Modulation of vacuolar PC transporters in other plants may allow engineering of plants suited either for phytoremediation or reduced accumulation of arsenic in edible organs.     

Detection of sexually transmitted infection and human papillomavirus in negative cytology by multiplex-PCR

Background  

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) and 15 species that cause sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in negative cytology. In addition, we compared the diagnostic performance of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with widely available techniques used to detect HPV.