VIROLOGICAL AND SEROLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF RABIES IN BATS FROM AN URBAN AREA IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

The outbreaks of rabies in humans transmitted by Desmodus rotundus in 2004 and 2005, in the northeast of the Brazilian State of Para, eastern Amazon basin, made this a priority area for studies on this zoonosis. Given this, the present study provides data on this phenomenon in an urban context, in order to assess the possible circulation of the classic rabies virus (RABV) among bat species in Capanema, a town in the Amazon basin. Bats were collected, in 2011, with mist nets during the wet and dry seasons. Samples of brain tissue and blood were collected for virological and serological survey, respectively. None of the 153 brain tissue samples analyzed tested positive for RABV infection, but 50.34% (95% CI: 45.67-55.01%) of the serum samples analyzed were seropositive. Artibeus planirostris was the most common species, with a high percentage of seropositive individuals (52.46%, 95% CI: 52.31 52.60%). Statistically, equal proportions of seropositive results were obtained in the rainy and dry seasons (c² = 0.057, d.f. = 1, p = 0.88). Significantly higher proportions of males (55.96%, 95% CI: 48.96-62.96%) and adults (52.37%, 95% CI: 47.35-57.39%) were seropositive. While none of the brain tissue samples tested positive for infection, the high proportion of seropositive specimens indicates that RABV may be widespread in this urban area.     

血清前列腺特异性抗原增高的病理基础

对血请前列腺特异性抗原（ＰＳＡ）高于４μｇ／Ｌ，且有病理检查资料的６７例前列腺疾病患者，进行了分析。其中前列腺癌２４例，非癌前列腺病变４３例。结果显示前列腺癌组血清ＰＳＡ明显高于非癌组（Ｐ＜０．０１）。以血清ＰＳＡ１０μｇ／Ｌ为低限值，诊断癌的灵敏性为８３．３％。特异性为７４．４％，认为血请ＰＳＡ４～１０μｇ／Ｌ应视为癌的危险范围。上皮血屏障的破坏和上皮细胞增生是血清ＰＳＡ升高的基础     

Zika virus diagnosis: challenges and solutions

Background

Since its sudden appearance and link to microcephaly in 2015, the number of PubMed references for Zika virus (ZIKV) has risen from 181 to 5163, at time of writing, with a vast proportion focused on the consequences of ZIKV infection during pregnancy. This level of attention underlies increased demand for sensitive and specific diagnostic tools able to assess risk to an unborn child, as well as to understand the dynamics and consequences of viral persistence.

Testing human sera for antibodies against avian influenza viruses: Horse RBC hemagglutination inhibition vs. microneutralization assays

BACKGROUND: The hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay is a frequently used method to screen human sera for antibodies against influenza A viruses. Because HI has relatively poor sensitivity in detecting antibodies against avian influenza A strains, a more complicated microneutralization (MN) assay is often preferred. Recent research suggests that the sensitivity of the HI assay can be improved by switching from the traditionally used turkey, guinea pig, human, or chicken RBCs to horse RBCs. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the horse RBC HI when screening for human antibodies against avian influenza types H3, H4, H5, H6, H7, H9, H11, and H12. STUDY DESIGN: We evaluated the reproducibility of horse RBC HI and its agreement with MN results using sera from people exposed or not exposed to wild and domestic birds. RESULTS: The horse RBC HI assay had high reliability (90%-100%) and good agreement with MN assay results (52%-100%). CONCLUSION: The horse RBC HI assay is reliable, less expensive, less complex, and faster than the MN assay. While MN will likely remain the gold standard serologic assay for avian viruses, the horse RBC HI assay may be very useful as a screening assay in large-scale epidemiologic studies.     

Reactivity of human sera in a sensitive, high-throughput pseudovirus-based papillomavirus neutralization assay for HPV16 and HPV18

Sensitive high-throughput neutralization assays, based upon pseudoviruses carrying a secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) reporter gene, were developed and validated for human papillomavirus (HPV)16, HPV18, and bovine papillomavirus 1 (BPV1). SEAP pseudoviruses were produced by transient transfection of codon-modified papillomavirus structural genes into an SV40 T antigen expressing line derived from 293 cells, yielding sufficient pseudovirus from one flask for thousands of titrations. In a 96-well plate format, in this initial characterization, the assay was reproducible and appears to be as sensitive as, but more specific than, a standard papillomavirus-like particle (VLP)-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The neutralization assay detected type-specific HPV16 or HPV18 neutralizing antibodies (titers of 160-10240) in sera of the majority of a group of women infected with the corresponding HPV type, but not in virgin women. Sera from HPV16 VLP vaccinees had high anti-HPV16 neutralizing titers (mean: 45000; range: 5120-163840), but no anti-HPV18 neutralizing activity. The SEAP pseudovirus-based neutralization assay should be a practical method for quantifying potentially protective antibody responses in HPV natural history and prophylactic vaccine studies.     

Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in serum specimens from patients with mycoplasma pneumonia by PCR

There are few data on detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae from blood, serum or plasma, and systematic studies on this diagnostic approach in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are scarce. Compared to testing respiratory specimens, this approach has the advantages that it is less dependent on proper specimen collection, serum is easily stored and handled, and the pathogen is detected in a primary sterile site, where colonization can be ruled out. In this study, acute-phase serum specimens from 29 patients of Vienna University Hospital (treated between 11/1994 and 6/2004; female: 14, male: 15; median age: 31 years, range: 15-66 years) with CAP and serologically verified M. pneumoniae infection, who had not received anti-mycoplasma therapy prior to serum collection, were tested for M. pneumoniae by conventional PCR and real-time PCR. Conventional PCR yielded negative results for all specimens, but real-time PCR detected M. pneumoniae in 15/29 patient sera (52%). These findings indicate that M. pneumoniae is present in the bloodstream of a substantial proportion of patients with mycoplasma pneumonia. Despite the possible adherence of M. pneumoniae to human erythrocytes, the pathogen can be detected from serum, if a method with enhanced sensitivity is applied. However, the negative predictive value of PCR from serum with regard to etiological diagnosis is low. With regard to the potential clinical benefit of blood-based PCR diagnosis of mycoplasma pneumonia the diagnostic accuracy of this approach using either serum or whole-blood specimens should be addressed by large-scale studies.     

Helicobacter pylori Risk Associated with Sibship Size and Family History of Gastric Diseases in Japanese Adults

Helicobacter pylori is thought to be a cause of gastric cancer. Risk factors of H. pylori positivity were investigated among 4,361 public service workers in Japan. Sera and information on family history and lifestyle were collected, and H. pylori antibody was measured using the sera. Sex- and age-adjusted odds ratios of factors expected to influence H. pylori seropositivity were calculated. The factors with a significant influence were included in a logistic regression model and the final model was obtained by backward elimination. Sibship size (4 and more vs. 1), smoking habit (current vs. never), and paternal and siblings' histories of gastric diseases showed significant relationships to H. pylori seropositivity, with odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 1.5 (1.0–2.1), 0.8 (0.7–0.9), 1.5 (1.3–1.8) and 1.7 (1.1–2.6) respectively. However, spouse's history was not related. In the final model, sibship size and paternal history remained as positive factors, and smoking as a negative one. Contradictory results on the relationship between H. pylori status and smoking among recent studies indicate the existence of hidden confounding factors. It is suggested that infection from family members in childhood considerably affects the H. pylori status of Japanese adults, whereas infection between adults is rare.     

HLA-B常用分型方法的应用分析

目的探讨血清学、序列特异性引物-聚合酶链反应(PCR-SSP)方法和多聚酶链反应寡聚核苷酸探针杂交(PCR-SSOP)技术3种方法在HLA-B位点分型的应用价值。方法研究样本30份,为等待肾移植供、受者外周血。血清学方法采用单克隆抗体一步法、PCR-SSP采用微量SSP法,PCR-SSOP为反向杂交。结果所有样本用3种方法进行HLA-B分型均获得成功,分型结果血清学方法与PCR-SSP不相合率为13%,PCR-SSOP与PCR-SSP不相合率为3%。结论血清学分型方法误差率较高、分辨率低,但成本不高,最为快速简便。PCR-SSP和PCR-SSOP分型方法特异性好,准确率高。SSP适用于少量标本,而SSOP虽耗时长,却可同时检测大批量的样本。     

重组结核分枝杆菌特异性分泌抗原融合蛋白的活性鉴定及初步应用

目的：融合表达结核分枝杆菌分泌蛋白CFP10-ESAT-6或ESAT-6-CFP10，研究其免疫学特性，为结核病的血清学诊断提供物质基础。方法：将一个柔性的氨基酸“接头”插入原核表达载体pET32c（＋）中，构建pET32c（＋）-linker。PCR法扩增CFP10、ESAT-6基因。将CFP10克隆入改建的载体pET32e（＋）的linker前，ESAT-6克隆入linker后，构建CFP10-ESAT-6融合基因；或将ESAT-6克隆入改建的载体pET32c（＋）的linker前，CFP10克隆入linker后，构建ESAT-6-CFP10融合基因，分别转化大肠杆菌XL1-blue，抽提质粒，酶切鉴定；在大肠杆菌B121中表达，通过Western blot分析其抗原性。结果：两个目的基因分别被按顺序成功克隆入载体pET32c（＋）的linker前或后。重组质粒pET32c（＋）-CFP10-ESAT-6或pET32c（＋）-ESAT-6-CFP10靶基因的测序结果与预计序列完全一致。融合蛋白在B121菌中高效表达。Western blot分析表明，融合蛋白与活动性肺结核患者血清能发生特异性免疫反应。结论：成功地构建了多抗原基因DNA质粒；pET32e（＋）-CFP10-ESAT-6或pET32c（＋）-ESAT-6-CFP10质粒在B121菌中能高效表达rCFP10-ESAT-6或rESAT-6-CFP10融合蛋白，该蛋白兼具CFP10和ESAT-6两种蛋白的抗原性。本研究为rCFP10-ESAT-6或rESAT-6-CFP10融合蛋白在结核病血清学诊断中应用奠定了基础。