The determinants of bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) may be at higher risk of developing asthma. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether reactivity to aeroallergens in skin prick testing (SPT) and serum eosinophil cationic protein levels can be used to predict BHR in allergic rhinitis patients. METHODS: Fifty-nine consecutive patients with allergic rhinitis underwent SPTs using grass, tree, weed, parietaria, Alternaria, Aspergillus, mites, and cat and dog dander extracts. Methacholine challenge tests were performed using spirometry. RESULTS: Methacholine-induced BHR was detected in 23 patients (39%). Of 59 patients, 14 had 1 positive SPT response, 35 had 2 to 4 positive responses, and 10 had more than 4 positive responses. There was a significant inverse correlation between methacholine provocation concentration that caused a decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second of 20% (PC20) and the number of positive SPT responses (r = -0.28; P = .03). The BHR-positive patients had a mean of 4 positive SPT responses, whereas BHR-negative patients had a mean of 2.6 (P = .04). Nine BHR-positive patients (39%) and only 1 BHR-negative patient (3%) had more than 4 positive SPT responses (P < .001). There was no correlation between serum eosinophil cationic protein levels and methacholine PC20 doses. There was a strong association between hyperresponsiveness to methacholine and both cat and dog dander sensitivity (P < .001 and P = .001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Allergic rhinitis patients with SPT responses to a higher number of allergens are more likely to have BHR. Whether the number of positive SPT responses correlates with the risk of developing asthma in allergic rhinitis patients remains to be determined.     

SARS病毒S1蛋白重组C端片段免疫效果的实验研究

为获得纯化的重组SARS病毒S1蛋白C端 ,研究其刺激机体产生针对SARS病毒免疫应答的规律和机制 ,将编码SARS病毒S1蛋白C端 311个氨基酸残基的基因克隆 ,并在原核表达系统中表达 ,纯化获得了的重组蛋白。利用SARS患者恢复期的血清 ,对纯化的重组S1蛋白进行血清学分析。结果表明 ,本研究中克隆表达的重组蛋白序列与公布的SARS病毒S1蛋白C端的序列相同 ,其编码的重组蛋白相对分子质量约为 5 90 0 0Mr。SARS患者恢复期的血清均与重组蛋白反应 ,在5 9 0 0 0Mr处形成特异性的反应条带 ,而来自SARS流行前的正常人对照血清则不能与重组蛋白反应。在本研究中获得的重组蛋白可以为研究SARS病毒识别宿主细胞受体的过程及其机制提供条件。     

Effect of carrageenan-induced acute inflammation on corticosterone levels in mice

Changes in corticosterone levels in plasma and inflammatory exudase were studied in the 6-day-old air pouch of mice. The pouch inflammation in the test group was induced by the injection of carrageenan prepared in physiological saline while the control received only the physiological saline. The results show that exudate and plasma of both groups showed a rapid rise in corticosterone as measured after 30 min and this early rise was probably due to the resulting effect of the ether used during the injection of irritant or vehicle. In contrast, corticosterone levels in the inflammatory exudate of the test group increased with time, reaching a peak at 24 hours after the carrageenan injection. The increased corticosterone levels in the inflammatory exudate appeared to be closely correlated with the increased exudate cell accumulation. This suggests that the increased accumulation of exudate corticosterone in the pouch might play an important role at the inflammatory site by modulating intensity of the inflammatory reactivity caused by the irritant.     

Territorywide Study of Early Coronavirus Disease Outbreak,Hong Kong,China

Initial cases of coronavirus disease in Hong Kong were imported from mainland China. A dramatic increase in case numbers was seen in February 2020. Most case-patients had no recent travel history, suggesting the presence of transmission chains in the local community. We collected demographic, clinical, and epidemiologic data from 50 patients, who accounted for 53.8% of total reported case-patients as of February 28, 2020. We performed whole-genome sequencing to determine phylogenetic relationship and transmission dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections. By using phylogenetic analysis, we attributed the community outbreak to 2 lineages; 1 harbored a common mutation, Orf3a-G251V, and accounted for 88.0% of the cases in our study. The estimated time to the most recent common ancestor of local coronavirus disease outbreak was December 24, 2019, with an evolutionary rate of 3.04 × 10⁻³ substitutions/site/year. The reproduction number was 1.84, indicating ongoing community spread.     

Engineered NS1 for Sensitive,Specific Zika Virus Diagnosis from Patient Serology

Dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) belong to the Flaviviridae family of viruses spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical areas. Accurate diagnostic tests to differentiate the 2 infections are necessary for patient management and disease control. Using characterized ZIKV and DENV patient plasma in a blind manner, we validated an ELISA and a rapid immunochromatographic test for ZIKV detection. We engineered the ZIKV nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) for sensitive serologic detection with low cross reactivity against dengue and developed monoclonal antibodies specific for the ZIKV NS1 antigen. As expected, the serologic assays performed better with convalescent than acute plasma samples; the sensitivity ranged from 71% to 88%, depending on the performance of individual tests (IgM/IgG/NS1). Although serologic tests were generally less sensitive with acute samples, our ZIKV NS1 antibodies were able to complement the serologic tests to achieve greater sensitivity for detecting early infections.     

New Prenylflavonoid Glycosides from Epimedium koreanum

Two new prenylflavonol glycosides epimedokoreanoside I ( 7) and epimedokoreanoside II ( 8) were isolated from EPIMEDIUM KOREANUM Nakai (Berberidaceae) beside five other known prenylflavonol glycosides with hypotensive activity. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods.     

Vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms and risk of primary lung cancer.

Angiogenesis is an essential process in the development, growth, and metastasis of malignant tumors including lung cancer. DNA sequence variations in the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene may lead to altered VEGF production and/or activity, thereby causing interindividual differences in the susceptibility to lung cancer via their actions on the pathways of tumor angiogenesis. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the potential association between three VEGF polymorphisms (-460T > C, +405C > G, and 936C > T)/haplotypes and the risk of lung cancer in a Korean population. VEGF genotypes were determined in 432 lung cancer patients and 432 healthy controls that were frequency matched for age and sex. VEGF haplotypes were predicted using Bayesian algorithm in the phase program. Compared with the combined +405 CC and CG genotype, the +405 GG genotype found associated with a significantly decreased risk of small cell carcinoma [SCC; adjusted odds ratio (OR), 0.36; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.17-0.78]. The 936 CT genotype and the combined 936 CT and TT genotype were also associated with a significantly decreased risk of SCC compared with the 936 CC genotype (adjusted OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.26-0.85 and adjusted OR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.24-0.80, respectively). Haplotype CGT was associated with a significantly decreased risk of SCC (adjusted OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.18-0.87), whereas haplotype TCC conferred a significantly increased risk of SCC (adjusted OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.14-2.33). None of the VEGF polymorphisms studied significantly influenced the susceptibility to lung cancer except SCC. However, haplotypes TCT and TGT were significantly associated with the risk of overall lung cancer, respectively (adjusted OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.25-0.60 and adjusted OR, 3.94; 95% CI, 2.00-7.76, respectively). These effects of haplotypes TCT and TGT on lung cancer risk were observed in three major histologic types of lung cancer. These results suggest that the VEGF gene may be contribute to an inherited predisposition to lung cancer.