中国的炭疽杆菌DNA分型及其地理分布

炭疽广泛分布于中国各地,特别是西部地区,并经常造成人畜疾病,在一项合作研究中,用多位点VNTR分析（MLVA）对从1952-1998年自中国主要地理流行区域分离的病人,病畜和土壤等来源的炭疽杆菌进行了基因分型,MLVA分析结果揭示了21种新的基因型,其等位基因组合在以前世界范围分离物的研究中未曾发现,此外,分离物的分群显示,A3b组是地理上最广泛分布的基因组,说明该组可能是中国的“地方流行株”。而来自古丝绸之路重要贸易中心新疆的大量分离株其基因型特别分散。     

Infection patterns of Myxobolus heterospora in two tilapia species (Teleostei: Cichlidae) and its potential effects

A Myxobolus heterospora (Baker, 1963) infection was found in 2 euryhaline tilapia species, Sarotherodon melanotheron melanotheron (Rüppel, 1853) and Tilapia zillii (Gervais, 1852), from a brackish water lake, Lake Nokoué (Benin, West Africa). The histology and ultrastructure of different levels of infection in intestinal connective tissues and wall tissues is described. A total of 391 S. melanotheron melanotheron and 222 T. zillii were examined from October 1987 to October 1989. M. heterospora was found throughout the study period, with a total prevalence of 42.19 and 26.57% for S. melanotheron melanotheron and T. zillii respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in occurrence as a function of season in S. melanotheron melanotheron but not in T. zilli, and there was a significant difference for size and sex in the former and for sex in the latter. M. heterospora induces total destruction of the intestine structure and probably leads to osmoregulatory disturbance. Further investigations of this myxosporean infection are necessary to determine its real effect on the host, since host survival and osmoregulatory rate have not yet been assessed.     

MicroRNAs in systemic rheumatic diseases

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, non-coding, single-stranded RNAs about 21 nucleotides in length. miRNAs have been shown to regulate gene expression and thus influence a wide range of physiological and pathological processes. Moreover, they are detected in a variety of sources, including tissues, serum, and other body fluids, such as saliva. The role of miRNAs is evident in various malignant and nonmalignant diseases, and there is accumulating evidence also for an important role of miRNAs in systemic rheumatic diseases. Abnormal expression of miRNAs has been reported in autoimmune diseases, mainly in systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. miRNAs can be aberrantly expressed even in the different stages of disease progression, allowing miRNAs to be important biomarkers, to help understand the pathogenesis of the disease, and to monitor disease activity and effects of treatment. Different groups have demonstrated a link between miRNA expression and disease activity, as in the case of renal flares in lupus patients. Moreover, miRNAs are emerging as potential targets for new therapeutic strategies of autoimmune disorders. Taken together, recent data demonstrate that miRNAs can influence mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis, relapse, and specific organ involvement of autoimmune diseases. The ultimate goal is the identification of a miRNA target or targets that could be manipulated through specific therapies, aiming at activation or inhibition of specific miRNAs responsible for the development of disease.     

Frequent coexistence of anti-topoisomerase I and anti-U1RNP autoantibodies in African American patients associated with mild skin involvement: a retrospective clinical study

Introduction  

The presence of anti-topoisomerase I (topo I) antibodies is a classic scleroderma (SSc) marker presumably associated with a unique clinical subset. Here the clinical association of anti-topo I was reevaluated in unselected patients seen in a rheumatology clinic setting.     

Species loss of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in the Czech Republic during the 20th century

1. Rapid expansion and intensification of anthropogenic activities in the 20th century has caused profound changes in freshwater assemblages. Unfortunately, knowledge of the extent and causes of species loss (SL) is limited due to the lack of reliable historical data. An unusual data set allows us to compare changes in the most sensitive of aquatic insect orders, the Plecoptera, at some 170 locations in the Czech Republic between two time periods, 1955–1960 and 2006–2010. Historical data (1890–1911) on assemblages of six lowland rivers allow us to infer even earlier changes. 2. Regional stonefly diversity decreased in the first half of the 20th century. Streams at lower altitudes lost a substantial number of species, which were never recovered. In the second half of the century, large‐scale anthropogenic pressure caused SL in all habitats, leading to a dissimilarity of contemporary and previous assemblages. The greatest changes were found at sites affected by organic pollution and a mixture of organic pollution and channelisation or impoundment. Colonisation of new habitats was observed in only three of the 80 species evaluated. 3. Species of moderate habitat specialisation and tolerance to organic pollution were most likely to be lost. Those with narrow specialisations in protected habitats were present in both historical and contemporary collections. 4. Contemporary assemblages are the consequence of more than a 100 years of anthropogenic impacts. In particular, streams at lower altitude and draining intensively exploited landscapes host a mere fragment of the original species complement. Most stonefly species are less frequently present than before, although their assemblages remain almost intact in near‐natural mountain streams. Our analyses demonstrate dramatic restriction of species ranges and, in some cases, apparent changes in altitudinal preference throughout the area.     

Systems analysis of primary Sjögren's syndrome pathogenesis in salivary glands identifies shared pathways in human and a mouse model

Bone tissue has an exceptional quality to regenerate to native tissue in response to injury. However, the fracture repair process requires mechanical stability or a viable biological microenvironment or both to ensure successful healing to native tissue. An improved understanding of the molecular and cellular events that occur during bone repair and remodeling has led to the development of biologic agents that can augment the biological microenvironment and enhance bone repair. Orthobiologics, including stem cells, osteoinductive growth factors, osteoconductive matrices, and anabolic agents, are available clinically for accelerating fracture repair and treatment of compromised bone repair situations like delayed unions and nonunions. Preclinical and clinical studies using biologic agents like recombinant bone morphogenetic proteins have demonstrated an efficacy similar or better than that of autologous bone graft in acute fracture healing. A lack of standardized outcome measures for comparison of biologic agents in clinical fracture repair trials, frequent off-label use, and a limited understanding of the biological activity of these agents at the bone repair site have limited their efficacy in clinical applications.     

Comparison of serum HBsAg quantitation by four immunoassays, and relationships of HBsAg level with HBV replication and HBV genotypes

Background

The decline in hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) may be an early predictor of the viral efficacy of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapy. The HBsAg levels obtained by different immunoassays now need comparing and the relationships between levels of HBsAg and HBV DNA alongside HBsAg and genotype must be evaluated.

Methodology/Principal Findings

HBsAg levels were compared among 80 patients using the Abbott Architect assay, a commercial immunoassay approved for HBsAg detection and quantitation, and three other assays derived from immunoassays approved for HBsAg detection (manufactured by Diasorin, Bio-Rad and Roche). Good correlation was found between the Abbot vs. Diasorin, Bio-Rad and Roche assays with narrow 95% limits of agreement and small mean differences: −0.06 to 0.11, −0.09 log₁₀ IU/mL; −0.57 to 0.64, −0.04 log₁₀ IU/mL; −0.09 to 0.45, −0.27 log₁₀ IU/mL, respectively. These agreements were not affected by genotypes A or D. HBsAg was weakly correlated with HBV DNA, whatever the HBsAg assay used: Abbott, ρ = 0.36 p = 0.001, Diasorin ρ = 0.34, p = 0.002; Bio-Rad ρ = 0.37, p<0.001; or Roche ρ = 0.41, p<0.001. This relationship between levels of HBsAg and HBV DNA seemed to depend on genotypes. Whereas HBsAg (Abbott assay) tended to correlate with HBV DNA for genotype A (ρ = 0.44, p = 0.02), no such correlation was significant for genotypes D (ρ = 0.29, p = 0.15).

Conclusion/Significance

The quantitation of HBsAg in routine clinical samples is comparable between the reference assay and the adapted assays with acceptable accuracy limits, low levels of variability and minimum discrepancy. While HBsAg quantitation is not affected by HBV genotype, the observed association between levels of HBsAg and HBV DNA seems genotype dependent.     

Untreated human infections by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense are not 100% fatal

The final outcome of infection by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, the main agent of sleeping sickness, has always been considered as invariably fatal. While scarce and old reports have mentioned cases of self-cure in untreated patients, these studies suffered from the lack of accurate diagnostic tools available at that time. Here, using the most specific and sensitive tools available to date, we report on a long-term follow-up (15 years) of a cohort of 50 human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) patients from the Ivory Coast among whom 11 refused treatment after their initial diagnosis. In 10 out of 11 subjects who continued to refuse treatment despite repeated visits, parasite clearance was observed using both microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Most of these subjects (7/10) also displayed decreasing serological responses, becoming progressively negative to trypanosome variable antigens (LiTat 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6). Hence, in addition to the "classic" lethal outcome of HAT, we show that alternative natural progressions of HAT may occur: progression to an apparently aparasitaemic and asymptomatic infection associated with strong long-lasting serological responses and progression to an apparently spontaneous resolution of infection (with negative results in parasitological tests and PCR) associated with a progressive drop in antibody titres as observed in treated cases. While this study does not precisely estimate the frequency of the alternative courses for this infection, it is noteworthy that in the field national control programs encounter a significant proportion of subjects displaying positive serologic test results but negative results in parasitological testing. These findings demonstrate that a number of these subjects display such infection courses. From our point of view, recognising that trypanotolerance exists in humans, as is now widely accepted for animals, is a major step forward for future research in the field of HAT.