胰十二指肠切除术后肠黏膜屏障损伤与肠道细菌移位的临床研究（英文）

目的：探讨胰十二指肠切除手术后肠道细菌移位（BT）与术后全身炎症反应综合征（SIRS）关系。方法：40例择期行胰十二指肠切除手术患者,于术前和术后1、3、5天采集外周血,进行血浆D-乳酸,全血细菌DNA检测.全血DNA提取后进行PCR扩增,采用靶基因为大肠杆菌特异性β半乳糖苷酶基因和16SrRNA基因。观察患者术后10天以监测SIRS情况。结果：术前PCR检测全血细菌DNA均为阴性,术后共有13例阳性。术后出现全身炎症反应综合征（SIRS）的患者PCR阳性率为85.7%（12/14）,无SIRS组为3.8%（1/26（）P〈0.01）。PCR阳性组SIRS发生率为93.2%（12/13）,阴性组为7.4%（2/27）（P〈0.01）.PCR阳性的患者外周血血浆D-乳酸浓度较PCR阴性者明显升高（P〈0.01）,有SIRS的患者外周血血浆D-乳酸浓度较无SIRS患者明显升高（P〈0.01）。结论：胰十二指肠切除术后肠黏膜屏障损伤与BT关系密切,术后SIRS和与BT密切相关。PCR技术对术后SIRS有较好的早期预警价值。     

肝癌患者单个核细胞线粒体DNA拷贝数与抗氧化能力的变化

目的:探讨肝癌患者单个核细胞(PBMC)线粒体DNA(mt DNA)拷贝数的变化及其与机体抗氧化能力的关系。方法:用Ficoll Hypaque离心法分离外周血单个核细胞(PBMC),采用实时荧光定量PCR反应,检测线粒体NADH脱氢酶亚基1(ND1)基因的拷贝数,并以核基因组的β-actin作为内参基因,比较25例肝癌患者与30例健康人外周血单个核细胞中mt DNA拷贝数的差异。流式细胞术检测单个核细胞活性氧(ROS)含量的变化。生化检测法检测血浆中总抗氧化能力(T-AOC)的变化。结果:肝癌组外周血单个核细胞ND1基因拷贝数是健康对照组的73%,表明肝癌患者外周血单个核细胞mt DNA拷贝数明显下降。肝癌组单个核细胞活性氧含量的平均荧光强度为(417.82±110.62),健康对照组为(301.82±75.54),肝癌组单个核细胞活性氧含量显著高于健康对照组(P0.01)。肝癌组血浆总抗氧化能力(单位/毫升血浆)吸光度为(1.30±0.85),健康对照组为(3.20±1.62),肝癌组血浆总抗氧化能力显著低于健康对照组(P0.01)。结论:肝癌患者的外周血单个核细胞线粒体DNA拷贝数减少可能与机体抗氧化水平下降有关。     

基于锁核酸及等位位点特异性扩增技术的KRAS基因突变检测荧光定量PCR方法研究

基于等位位点特异性扩增的原理,设计锁核酸修饰KRAS基因突变特异性扩增引物,结合封阻探针技术,建立检测KRAS基因突变的荧光定量PCR方法。结果发现,锁核酸修饰的引物及探针可显著提高等位位点特异性扩增技术用于复杂样本中的微量基因突变检测的敏感度,该技术检测KRAS基因突变的敏感性可达0.01%~0.1%。进一步用建立的荧光定量PCR方法检测52例结直肠癌患者血浆标本,并用DNA测序法作为对照,同时用健康人血浆标本建立阴性检测结果判读标准,以初步评价该方法应用于循环DNA中KRAS基因突变检测的可行性。结果发现结直肠癌患者KRAS基因突变主要是G12C、G12A和G12R,而且q PCR法的阳性检出率为46.15%,高于DNA测序法(13.46%),阴性结果与DNA测序法的符合率为100%。此外,结直肠癌患者外周血KRAS基因的突变检出率与文献报道组织标本中的突变检出率及常见突变类型基本相符。上述结果说明该方法检测循环肿瘤DNA(circulating tumor DNA,ct DNA)具有较高的可靠性,可以用于肿瘤患者循环血液中KRAS基因突变的检测。     

检测巨细胞病毒(CMV)DNA及其即刻早期抗原、pp65和pp67在肾移植受者术后巨细胞病毒感染早期诊断中的价值

目的探讨检测巨细胞病毒(CMV)DNA及其即刻早期抗原(IE)、巨细胞病毒pp65和pp67抗体对肾移植受者术后巨细胞病毒感染早期诊断的临床应用价值。方法按肾移植术受者术后3个月外周血是否出现CMV抗原,将71例患者分为CMV感染组(56例)和CMV未感染组(15例),肾移植术受者手术前和术后第1个月每周检查1次,第2、3个月每2周检查1次外周血巨细胞病毒pp65和巨细胞病毒pp67、即刻早期抗原(immediate early antigen,IE),巨细胞病毒DNA和IgM、IgG,共8次;以监测与分析评价肾移植术受者手术前后各项指标变化。结果肾移植术前71例肾移植受者PP65、PP67、IE、CMV DNA均为阴性;肾移植术后CMV感染组的pp65、pp67、IE、CMV DNA阳性率分别为67.8%(38/56)、66.1%(37/56)、64.2%(36/56)和48.2%(27/56),CMV未感染组4项指标值分别为0%、0%、13.3%(2/15)、和0%,两组差异均有统计学意义(P均0.01)。肾移植术后CMV感染组(56例)和CMV未感染组(15例)CMV IgG均为阳性,而IgM阳性率在CMV感染组仅为3.5%(2/56),在CMV未感染组为0%,IgM表达率在CMV感染组和未感染组无统计学差异(P0.05)。观察期内感染组与未感染组相比,术后CMV pp65,pp67,CMV DNA和IE指标出现阳性的例数及阳性出现的具体时间均有显著性差别(P均0.01),而IgM和IgG则均无显著性差别(P均0.05)。结论肾移植术后患者外周血CMV DNA,IE,pp65和pp67抗原检测阳性与其术后巨细胞病毒感染相关。检测CMV DNA、IE、pp65和pp67抗原可能更早更准确反映器官移植术后CMV活动性感染。而CMV IgG和IgM不能作为肾移植后患者CMV感染的诊断指标。     

PCR技术在猴免疫缺陷病毒(SIV)感染模型中的应用

目的(1)建立RT PCR方法,定性测定SIV感染猴血浆中病毒RNA,比较其与传统血浆病毒分离方法的敏感性;(2)建立DNA PCR方法,检测SIV感染猴外周血淋巴细胞(PBMCs)中的前病毒DNA。(3)检验DNA PCR和RNA PCR方法在猴SAIDS模型应用中的实用性和可操作性。方法用SIVmac251静脉感染恒河猴,定期采血,从血浆中提取病毒RNA,以RNA为模板通过RT PCR法扩增,凝胶电泳定性;从感染猴PBMC中提取带有整合的SIV前病毒DNA的细胞基因组DNA,巢式PCR扩增,凝胶电泳定性。结果DNA PCR和RNA PCR经两轮扩增后均得到一长度为477bp的特异条带,测序鉴定确为目的片段。9只实验猴感染SIV后7d,RNA PCR结果为79阳性,DNA PCR结果为100%阳性,而血浆病毒分离只有59阳性;此后一直到感染后的42d,RNA PCR和DNA PCR的结果一直为100%阳性,而血浆病毒分离阳性率在感染后35d下降到49,到42d时下降为零。结论PCR方法比病毒分离方法的敏感性高。尤其是DNA PCR,既可检测具有活跃病毒复制的受感染细胞,又可检测那些携带病毒处于转录休眠期的细胞,所以在感染的早期和中后期———血浆病毒水平较低的情况下或病毒处于潜伏感染的阶段,它作为猴艾滋病(SAIDS)模型病毒学指标之一有其必要性和重要性。这个指标的检测方法应该是较血浆病毒RNA检测更为敏感。     

结直肠癌患者血浆甲基化Sept9基因的表达及临床意义

目的:探讨甲基化Sept9基因在结直肠癌患者血浆中的表达及临床意义。方法:选择2015年1月~2017年3月经陕西省人民医院病理证实的结直肠癌患者87例(结直肠癌组)、结直肠息肉患者79例(结直肠息肉组)、健康体检者93例(健康对照组)作为研究对象,采用实时荧光定量聚合酶链式反应(PCR)技术检测其外周血血浆Sept9基因甲基化情况,比较三组甲基化Sept9基因阳性表达率,分析甲基化Sept9基因阳性表达与结直肠癌病理特征的关系。结果:血浆甲基化Sept9基因在结直肠癌组、结直肠息肉组、健康对照组的阳性表达率分别为71.26%(62/87)、5.06%(4/79)、3.23%(3/93),差异有统计学意义(P0.05);血浆甲基化Sept9基因阳性表达与结直肠癌患者的性别、年龄、肿瘤部位、病理分型、血管侵犯、神经侵犯无关(P0.05),与肿瘤最大径、浸润深度、分化程度、淋巴结转移、TNM分期有关(P0.05);结直肠癌患者血浆甲基化Sept9基因阳性表达率为71.26%(62/87),高于血清CEA的54.02%(47/87)、CA199的35.63%(31/87)、CA724的33.33%(29/87)、CA125的21.84%(19/87),差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:结直肠癌患者外周血血浆甲基化Sept9基因呈高表达状态,早期检测甲基化Sept9基因表达水平在结直肠癌的诊断及病情评估中有重要意义。     

乙肝病毒载量与血清标志物及ALT相关性研究

探讨了乙型肝炎病毒核酸(HBV-DNA)水平与乙型肝炎免疫标志物(HBVM)和丙氨酸氨基转移酶(ALT)的关系。分别采用实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应(FQ-PCR),酶联免疫法和连续监测法检测了345例血清标本HBV-DNA含量,HBVM(HBsAg、HBsAb、HBeAg、HBeAb、抗HBcIgM)表达及ALT水平。HBsAg、HBeAg(和抗HBcIgM)阳性患者HBV DNA阳性率要明显高于HBsAg、HBeAb(和抗HBcIgM)阳性患者、仅HBsAg阳性患者及HBsAb、HBeAb阳性患者(P<0.01)。血清HBeAg阳性标本HBV-DNA阳性率为98.7%,明显高于HBeAg阴性标本的61.6%(P<0.01),并且血清HBeAg阳性标本HBV-DNA含量(log值,7.42±1.43)也明显高于HBeAg阴性标本(4.36±1.73)(P<0.01);在HBV-DNA含量小于107copy/mL的标本中,ALT与HBV-DNA含量呈正相关(P<0.01)。血清中HBV DNA含量与乙型肝炎免疫标志物以及肝细胞损伤三者之间存在密切的关系,在临床工作中应对血清HBVM、ALT和HBV-DNA含量联合检测,这样才能更准确地判断患者病情、预后及指导抗病毒药物的应用。     

13039例乙型肝炎患者血清HBV DNA水平流行病学分析

目的了解本地区近四年乙型肝炎患者HBV DNA阳性率与病毒载量分布特点。方法采用荧光定量聚合酶链反应(PCR)检测2012年至2015年间13 039例HBsAg阳性患者HBV DNA载量,并进一步分析24例HBeAg阳性、31例HBeAg阴性初诊乙肝患者4年间接受正规治疗后HBV DNA变化趋势。结果本地区近4年间血清HBV DNA阳性率依次为48.6%、46.18%、38.69%、37.66%,呈逐年下降趋势,差异具有统计学意义(P0.01);各年度病毒载量均值的对数值分别为(5.48±1.56),(5.27±1.72),(5.29±1.68),(5.35±1.85)拷贝/mL。2013年、2014年、2015年分别与2012年相比,差异均有统计学意义(P0.01、P0.01、P0.05),而低病毒载量(即病毒拷贝数的对数值小于5拷贝/mL)患者比例2012年明显大于其他年份,2012年分别与2013年、2014年、2015年相比,差异具有统计学意义(P0.01,P0.01,P0.05);HBeAg阳性/阴性乙肝患者接受正规治疗后,其HBV DNA载量均呈逐年下降趋势,其中第一年下降显著(P0.01)。结论近4年本地区血清HBV DNA阳性率呈逐年下降趋势,且低病毒载量比例明显增加。     

腹腔感染大鼠肠粘膜通透性改变与I-FABP表达关系

目的:观察腹腔感染大鼠肠屏障损伤后肠道通透性的改变与I-FABP表达的关系.方法:清洁级健康的成年雄性Wistar大鼠40只,随机分为空白对照组(仅行简单的剖腹手术)和腹腔感染(采用CLP盲肠结扎穿孔法制作腹腔感染模型)术后12h、24 h、36h、48 h组,每组8只,相应时间点处死大鼠后,测定血浆D-乳酸和I-FABP含量.结果:腹腔感染后12h,大鼠血浆D-乳酸含量开始增加(P＜0.05),血浆I-FABP含量也开始增加(P＜0.01);血浆D-乳酸含量在24 h达到最高值(P＜0.01),血浆I-FABP含量在36h达到最高值(P＜0.01).大鼠血浆D-乳酸水平与I-FABP具有显著相关性(r=0.626,P＜0.01).结论:腹腔感染状态下,肠屏障严重受损,肠粘膜通透性的改变与血浆I-FABP水平具有显著的相关性.     

我国常见乙型肝炎病毒基因型与基本核心启动子及前C区突变关系的初步研究

收集81份HBV DNA阳性血清标本,经PCR扩增和序列测定确定其中有50份属于基因型C,31份属于基因型B;C基因型的基本核心启动子BCP T1762/A1764的突变率(38%)明显高于B基因型(12.9%,P<0.05);前C区A1896的突变在B、C两基因型间无显著性差异,B基因型为9.7%,C基因型为12%,P>0.05;HBeAg的表达与否与BCP双突变或前C区A1896突变均无明显相关性。经定量PCR检测证明,HBeAg阳性组中的HBV DNA含量明显高于抗-HBe阳性组,P<0.05。组内BCP双突变株和野生株及前C1896突变株和野生株的HBV DNA含量无显著性差异。     

Identification of Predictive Early Biomarkers for Sterile-SIRS after Cardiovascular Surgery

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is a common complication after cardiovascular surgery that in severe cases can lead to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and even death. We therefore set out to identify reliable early biomarkers for SIRS in a prospective small patient study for timely intervention. 21 Patients scheduled for planned cardiovascular surgery were recruited in the study, monitored for signs of SIRS and blood samples were taken to investigate biomarkers at pre-assigned time points: day of admission, start of surgery, end of surgery, days 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 post surgery. Stored plasma and cryopreserved blood samples were analyzed for cytokine expression (IL1β, IL2, IL6, IL8, IL10, TNFα, IFNγ), other pro-inflammatory markers (sCD163, sTREM-1, ESM-1) and response to endotoxin. Acute phase proteins CRP, PCT and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL6 and IL8 were significantly increased (p<0.001) at the end of surgery in all patients but could not distinguish between groups. Normalization of samples revealed significant increases in IL1β changes (p<0.05) and decreased responses to endotoxin (p<0.01) in the SIRS group at the end of surgery. Soluble TREM-1 plasma concentrations were significantly increased in patients with SIRS (p<0.01). This small scale patient study could show that common sepsis markers PCT, CRP, IL6 and TNFα had low predictive value for early diagnosis of SIRS after cardiovascular surgery. A combination of normalized IL1β plasma levels, responses to endotoxin and soluble TREM-1 plasma concentrations at the end of surgery are predictive markers of SIRS development in this small scale study and could act as an indicator for starting early therapeutic interventions.     

No influence of surgical stress on postoperative leptin gene expression in different adipose tissues and soluble leptin receptor plasma levels

As part of the postsurgical stress response, plasma leptin levels increase in-between 12 h postoperatively. OBJECTIVE: To study the kinetics of leptin gene expression in different adipose tissues before and after severe surgical trauma in children and adults. METHODS: In 22 adults and 23 children with cardiac and 19 adult patients with abdominal surgery, we measured plasma leptin concentrations preoperatively, 4 and 10-17 h postoperatively and quantified leptin mRNA expression by TaqMan real-time PCR in adipose tissue taken at the beginning and the end of surgery from subcutaneous, intrathoracic, omental and mesenteric fat. Plasma-soluble leptin receptor levels were measured in 23 children after cardiosurgery. RESULTS: Plasma leptin levels doubled between 4 and 10-17 h postoperatively in adults (p < 0.001) as well as in children (p = 0.0002) with cardiac surgery. After abdominal surgery, 10-17 h postoperatively, plasma leptin concentrations increased significantly (p < 0.05). During the operation, leptin gene expression did not change in neither of the patient groups. Plasma-soluble leptin receptor levels decreased immediately after the onset of surgery and remained unchanged thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: Leptin gene expression is not up-regulated during surgery. The measured increase in plasma leptin after surgery does not result from elevated levels of soluble leptin receptor but may follow an up-regulation of leptin gene expression later after the operation due to postsurgical metabolic changes.     

Familial breast/ovarian cancer and BRCA1/2 genetic screening: the role of immunohistochemistry as an additional method in the selection of patients.

Only 20-25% of families screened for BRCA1/2 mutations are found positive. Because only a positive result is informative, we studied the role of BRCA1/2 immunohistochemistry as an additional method for patient selection. From 53 high-risk-affected probands, 18 (34%) had available paraffin blocks of their tumors and were selected for this study. Mutation screening was done by conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. For immunohistochemistry, 21 neoplastic specimens (15 breast carcinomas, 5 ovary neoplasms, and 1 rectal adenocarcinoma) were analyzed with BRCA1 (monoclonal antibody, Ab-1, oncogene) and BRCA2 (polyclonal antibody, Ab-2, oncogene) antibodies. Absence of the BRCA1 protein was confirmed in negative tumors by Western blotting. Seven patients were positive for BRCA1/2 mutations: 5 for BRCA1 and 2 for BRCA2. Four out of five positive patients had tumors negative for BRCA1 immunostaining, and the remaining 13 BRCA1-negative patients had positive BRCA1 immunostaining in all tumor samples. Sensitivity to predict for BRCA1 mutation carriers was 80%, and specificity was 100%, with a positive predictive value of 100% and a negative predictive value of 93%. This correlation was statistically significant (p=0.001). No correlation was observed for BRCA2. If larger studies confirm these results, high-risk patients with BRCA1-negative tumors should be screened first for this gene.     

Plasma 249Ser p53 mutation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma residing in a high risk area

Objective : To investigate plasma p53 mutation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients from Qidong and to define its significance. Methods: Blood samples from 25 hepatocellular carcinoma patients, 20 cirrhotic patients and 30 healthy controls in Qidong area. DNA was extracted and purified from 200μl of plasma from each sample. The 249^Ser p53 mutation was detected by restriction digestion analysis and by direct sequencing of exon-7 PCR products. Results: G→T transversion at the third base of 249 codon resulting in 249^Arg→249^Ser mutation in exon 7 of p53 gene were found in 11/25(44%) hepatocellular carcinoma cases, 4/20 (20%) cirrhotics, and 2/30 (7%) healthy controls (p<0.01). Conclusions: These data show that the 249^Ser p53 mutation in plasma is strongly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma patients in Qidong area and the mutation should be screened as a new early diagnostic marker for HCC.     

The Plasma Mitochondrial DNA Is an Independent Predictor for Post-Traumatic Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome

Background and Purpose

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a newly identified damage-associated molecular pattern, has been observed in trauma patients, however, little is known concerning the relationship between plasma mtDNA levels and concrete post-traumatic complications, particularly systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). The aim of this study is to determine whether plasma mtDNA levels are associated with injury severity and cloud predict post-traumatic SIRS in patients with acute traumatic injury.

Patients and Methods

Eighty-six consecutive patients with acute traumatic injury were prospectively enrolled in this study. The plasma mtDNA concentration was measured by a real-time, quantitative PCR assay for the human ND2 gene. The study population’s clinical and laboratory data were analyzed.

Results

The median plasma mtDNA was higher in trauma patients than in healthy controls (865.196 (251.042-2565.40)pg/ml vs 64.2147 (43.9049-80.6371)pg/ml, P<0.001) and was independently correlated with the ISS score (r=0.287, P<0.001). The plasma mtDNA concentration was also significantly higher in patients who developed post-traumatic SIRS than in patients who did not (1774.03 (564.870-10901.3)pg/ml vs 500.496 (145.415-1285.60)pg/ml, P<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the plasma mtDNA was an independent predictors for post-traumatic SIRS (OR, 1.183 (95%CI, 1.015-1.379), P=0.032). Further ROC analysis demonstrated that a high plasma mtDNA level predicted post-traumatic SIRS with a sensitivity of 67% and a specificity of 76%, with a cut-off value of 1.3185 µg/ml being established, and the area under the ROC curves (AUC) was 0.725 (95% CI 0.613-0.837).

Conclusions

Plasma mtDNA was an independent indictor with moderate discriminative power to predict the risk of post-traumatic SIRS.     

Evaluation of the Septifast MGrade Test on Standard Care Wards—A Cohort Study

Background

The immediate need for appropriate antimicrobial therapy in septic patients requires the detection of the causative pathogen in a timely and reliable manner. In this study, the real-time PCR Septifast M^Grade test was evaluated in adult patients meeting the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria that were treated at standard care wards.

Methods

Patients with clinical suspected infection, drawn blood cultures (BC), the Septifast M^Grade test (SF) and sepsis biomarkers were prospectively screened for fulfillment of SIRS criteria and evaluated using the criteria of the European Centre of Disease Control (ECDC) for infection point prevalence studies.

Results

In total, 220 patients with SIRS were prospectively enrolled, including 56 patients with detection of bacteria in the blood (incidence: 25.5%). BC analysis resulted in 75.0% sensitivity (95% confidence interval, CI: 61.6%– 85.6%) with 97.6% specificity (CI: 93.9%– 99.3%) for detecting bacteria in the blood. In comparison to BC, SF presented with 80.4% sensitivity (CI: 67.6%– 89.8%) and with 97.6% specificity (CI: 93.9%– 99.3%). BC and SF analysis yielded comparable ROC-AUCs (0.86, 0.89), which did not differ significantly (p = 0.558). A trend of a shorter time-to-positivity of BC analysis was not seen in bacteremic patients with a positive SF test than those with a negative test result. Sepsis biomarkers, including PCT, IL-6 or CRP, did not help to explain discordant test results for BC and SF.

Conclusion

Since negative results do not exclude bacteremia, the Septifast M^Grade test is not suited to replacing BC, but it is a valuable tool with which to complement BC for faster detection of pathogens.     

Highly sensitive determination of the methylated p16 gene in cancer patients by microchip electrophoresis

The p16 tumor suppressor gene is inactivated by promoter region hypermethylation in many types of tumor. Recent studies showed that aberrant methylation of the p16 gene is an early event in many tumors, especially in lung cancer, and may constitute a new biomarker for early detection and monitoring of prevention trials. We detected tumor-associated aberrant hypermethylation of the p16 gene in plasma and tissue DNA from 153 specimens using a modified semi-nested methylation-specific PCR (MSP) combining plastic microchip electrophoresis or slab gel electrophoresis, respectively. Specimens were from 79 lung cancer patients, 15 abdominal tumor patients, 30 positive controls and 30 negative controls. The results showed that the positive rate obtained by microchip electrophoresis was more than 26.6% higher and the same specificity was kept when compared with slab gel electrophoresis. The microchip electrophoresis can rapidly and accurately analyze the PCR products of methylated DNA and obviously improve the positive rate of diagnosis of cancer patients when compared with gel electrophoresis. This method with the high assay sensitivity might be used for detection of methylation of p16 gene and even to facilitate early diagnosis of cancer patients.     

Detection of Helicobacter pylori DNA by a simple stool PCR method in adult dyspeptic patients

INTRODUCTION: Helicobacter pylori is the major agent causing peptic ulcer, gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) gastric lymphoma. A simple stool polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was performed and compared with the gold standards for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 54 adult patients (mean age, 46.41 +/- 13.12 years) with dyspeptic symptoms from Gastroenterology at Dokuz Eylül University Hospital between May and November 2003 were included. Two antrum and corpus biopsies were taken from each patient. Infection by H. pylori was defined as positivity and negativity of the gold standards. DNA extraction of stool specimens was done using QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (QIAGEN) and PCR conditions included amplification and reamplification steps using the H. pylori ureA gene specific primers (HPU1, HPU2) and were visualized on 1% agarose gel stained with ethidium bromide. RESULTS: Forty-six of 54 patients (85.2%) were diagnosed positive and eight (14.8%) were negative for H. pylori infection by the gold standard methods. Thirty-two patients were positive (59.3%) and 22 of them (40.7%) were detected negative by stool PCR method. The stool PCR method and gold standard methods showed a statistical difference for the detection of H. pylori infection (p < .0001). Sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, and positive and negative predictive values were 65.22%, 75%, 2.61%, 93.75%, and 27.7%, respectively. DISCUSSION: The PCR on the stool specimens resulted as being a very specific test. We suggest that a simple stool PCR method that we developed can be used to detect H. pylori, virulence genes, and in drug resistance studies either first line diagnostic methods in the laboratory or in the clinical management of dyspeptic patients.     

Microsatellite instability and mutations of p53 and TGF-‚ RII genes in gastric cancer

To investigate the molecular mechanism of gastric carcinogenesis, we analyzed genetic instability and p53 gene mutations in 40 primary gastric carcinomas. Tumor samples were from untreated patients with no family history suggestive of genetic predisposition to cancer. We screened six microsatellite loci by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, and exons 5–8 of the p53 gene by the PCR-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and sequencing techniques. Microsatellite instability was detected in 32.5% (13/40), and gene mutations in 40% (16/40), of the tumors analyzed. No statistically significant associations were found between genetic alterations and clinico-pathological variables (with the exception of diffusion of lymph node metastases, which was inversely associated with the presence of microsatellite alterations; P < 0.01). Interestingly, a negative association was found between genetic instability and p53 gene mutations: 11 out of 13 tumors showing instability proved to carry a nonmutated p53 gene versus 2/13 carrying a mutated gene (P = 0.03). These observations suggest that genetic instability and p53 gene mutations play a crucial role in the gastric carcinogenic process, but likely act through distinct pathways during cancer development. However, genetic instability is not in and of itself neoplastic. Therefore, we investigated whether insertion/deletion mutations of the polyadenine tract within the transforming growth factor-β type II receptor gene (TGF-βRII) were frequently present in gastric tumors with an RER+ (replication error) phenotype. We found RII mutations in 8/40 (20%) samples: mutations were present in 7/13 (54%) RER+ tumors versus 1/27 (4%) RER– cases (P < 0.001). Received: 14 May 1996 / Revised: 13 June 1996