简套式荧光RT-PCR检测患者血清样本中SARS冠状病毒

目的　建立一种快速、特异、灵敏的SARS冠状病毒(SARS CoV)核酸检测方法。方法　根据GenBank中SARS CoV基因序列,自行设计引物、荧光探针,在PE 770 0扩增仪上探讨工作参数,形成试剂盒,并用研制的试剂检测76份临床SARS样本。结果　简套式荧光RT PCR方法对血清样本、漱口液样本、正常人样本检出率分别为33.3% (12 36 )、6 7.5 % (2 7 4 0 )、0 (0 / 16 0 ) ,与经典套式检测结果一致。而传统一步法荧光RT PCR对样本的检出率分别为13 9% (5 36 )、5 2 5 % (2 1 4 0 )、0 (0 / 80 )。结论　简套式荧光RT PCR核酸检测法是SARS临床早期诊断快速、特异、灵敏的方法。     

Epithelium-derived inhibition of [3H]acetylcholine release from the isolated guinea-pig trachea

Summary To investigate presynaptic, regulatory mechanisms on parasympathetic nerve fibres innervating the airways, the release of newly-synthesized [³H]acetylcholine from the isolated trachea was studied. Reverse phase HPLC followed by liquid scintillation spectrometry was used to separate and quantify the radioactive compounds choline, phosphorylcholine and acetylcholine in the incubation medium and the tissue.During the incubation of the tracheae with [³H]choline a significant synthesis of [³H]acetylcholine (35,000 dpm/preparation) and [³H]phosphorylcholine (500,000 dpm/preparation) occurred. In epithelium-deficient tracheae the formation of [³H]phosphorylcholine was enhanced, whereas the content of [³H]acetylcholine remained unchanged. The spontaneous outflow of tritium consisted mainly of [³H]phosphorylcholine (900 dpm/3 min) and [³H]choline (800 dpm/3 min); [³H]acetylcholine was only a minor fraction (50 dpm/3 min). Electrical stimulation of tracheae with intact epithelium caused only a small release of [³H]acetylcholine (460 dpm in the sample obtained during stimulation), but a considerable outflow of [³H]phosphorylcholine (1,900 dpm) without affecting the outflow of [³H]choline. Electrical stimulation of epithelium-deficient tracheae, however, induced a substantial release of [³H]acetylcholine (2,400 dpm), but only a small outflow of [³H]phosphorylcholine. Chemical stimulation (30 mol/1 veratridine) also caused a large release of [³H]acetylcholine (1,700 dpm) without affecting the outflow of [³H]phosphorylcholine or [³H]choline. Indomethacin (3 mol/1) enhanced the electrically-evoked release of [³H]acetylcholine from tracheae with intact epithelium by 89%.The present experiments demonstrate a strong inhibition by the epithelium of the electrically-evoked release of [³H]acetylcholine from the isolated guinea-pig trachea. Cyclooxygenase products of arachidonic acid do not appear as the main mediators of the epithelium-derived inhibition of acetylcholine release. Send offprint requests to I. Wessler at the above address     

Reverse redistribution: fact or fiction?

It has been well documented that it is not uncommon for a thallium-201 perfusion defect to develop or become more evident on delayed exercise thallium scintigraphic imaging, as compared with the initial image immediately following stress. The pathophysiology and clinical significance of the phenomenon are currently unclear. Literature on this subject is reviewed, and it is concluded that reverse redistribution of ²⁰¹Tl in the post-myocardial infarction patient is indeed a fact. In this context it represents a low-risk condition and may imply successful thrombolysis, patent infarct-related coronary artery, improved wall motion at the infarct site and retained myocardial viability in that segment. Correspondence to: A. Labiri     

An assessment of a urinary biomarker for total human environmental exposure to benzo[a]pyrene

Urinary banzo[a]pyrene (BaP) metabolite levels were compared to human environmental exposure to BaP through inhalation and dietary ingestion to assess the predictive validity of the exposure biomarker. These measurements were made for 14 adult volunteers over 14 consecutive days, once during summer/fall, again during winter periods. Based on personal air monitoring, median potential inhalation doses of 11.0 and 2.3 ng/day were estimated for the winter and summer/fall studies, respectively. A median potential ingested dose of 176 ng/day, estimated from duplicate plate sampling, exceeded inhalation by 6-and 122-fold for the winter and summer/fall studies, respectively. Total urinary BaP metabolites were measured using a published reverse metabolism (BaP) method of analysis. Median rates of urinary BaP metabolite elimination for the winter and summer/fall studies were 121 and 129 ng/day, respectively. The changes in inhaled and ingested potential doses were regressed on the change in urinary metabolite elimination from week 1 to week 2 to test the predictive validity of the biomarker measurement. The regression was statistically significant (r = 0.620, p = 0.015, n = 25) when body weight was included and two extreme values were removed. Consistent with the exposure measurements showing diet as the dominant route of exposure, most of the variation in urinary metabolite elimination was explained by the ingested dose. It is concluded that the measurement of urinary BaP by reverse metabolism is qualitative and of marginal predictive validity as an exposure biomarker due to the method's low recoveries and the large unexplained variance.