Confirmed diagnosis by RT-PCR and phylogenetic analysis of peste des petits ruminants viruses in Tibet,China

This paper reports the confirmed diagnosis by nested RT-PCR of PPR cases in Tibet, China in 2007, and results of phylogenetic analysis. Results showed that the 11 tested samples were PPRV positive by nested RT-PCR, of which 2 samples were genetically close to the X7443 strain (Nigeria 75/1) of lineage I, and 3 samples close to the strain AY560591 (Sungri96) of linage IV with 96.6%、 97.3%、 97.6% and 98% nucleotide sequence homogeneity respectively, based on partial sequencing of the F gene from 5 samples and complete sequencing of the N/M/F/H genes from one sample. This study suggested that there are at least 2 origins of PPRV in China.     

用环介导等温扩增技术快速检测粪便样本中的沙门菌

目的:建立快速检测粪便样本中的沙门菌的环介导等温扩增技术(LAMP),并着重在灵敏度和特异性方面对此方法进行评价。方法:利用LAMP针对沙门菌特定基因invA(靶基因)设计的6条特异引物,通过引物特异性识别特定基因invA上的8个独立区域来快速检测沙门菌;LAMP反应过程中会产生白色沉淀焦磷酸镁,故可以通过监测浊度来判定反应结果。结果:实时浊度仪监测反应结果表明,LAMP反应在60~65℃等温条件下50 min内完成;如果在反应前添加羟基萘酚兰,蓝色阳性结果很明显区别于紫色阴性结果;LAMP的最低检出限为6.97 pg/μL,PCR为69.7pg/μL,LAMP方法的检测灵敏度是PCR的10倍,且具有良好的特异性。结论:LAMP方法用于快速检测沙门菌,具有检测过程简单、实验装置简便、反应结果肉眼可辨、灵敏度高、特异性强的特点,对非沙门菌菌株的结果呈阴性,表明引物设计有很好的特异性。对粪便样本进行检测,发现具有同样的敏感性和特异性。这表明LAMP法是潜在的和有价值的在粪便样本中直接检测沙门菌的方法,具有快速、简便、低成本的特点。LAMP法适用于快速临床诊断。     

Analytical and Clinical Performance of the CDC Real Time RT-PCR Assay for Detection and Typing of Dengue Virus

Dengue is an acute illness caused by the positive-strand RNA dengue virus (DENV). There are four genetically distinct DENVs (DENV-1–4) that cause disease in tropical and subtropical countries. Most patients are viremic when they present with symptoms; therefore, RT-PCR has been increasingly used in dengue diagnosis. The CDC DENV-1–4 RT-PCR Assay has been developed as an in-vitro diagnostic platform and was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for detection of dengue in patients with signs or symptoms of mild or severe dengue. The primers and probes of this test have been designed to detect currently circulating strains of DENV-1–4 from around the world at comparable sensitivity. In a retrospective study with 102 dengue cases confirmed by IgM anti-DENV seroconversion in the convalescent sample, the RT-PCR Assay detected DENV RNA in 98.04% of the paired acute samples. Using sequencing as a positive indicator, the RT-PCR Assay had a 97.92% positive agreement in 86 suspected dengue patients with a single acute serum sample. After extensive validations, the RT-PCR Assay performance was highly reproducible when evaluated across three independent testing sites, did not produce false positive results for etiologic agents of other febrile illnesses, and was not affected by pathological levels of potentially interfering biomolecules. These results indicate that the CDC DENV-1–4 RT-PCR Assay provides a reliable diagnostic platform capable for confirming dengue in suspected cases.     

一种新颖简便的荧光实时 RT-PCR相对定量方法的建立

为建立一种新颖、简便的荧光实时 RT-PCR 相对定量方法,根据实时定量标准曲线,推导出相对定量基因表达的公式 . 公式显示相对表达指数只与 CT 值和标准曲线的斜率相关 . 构建标准曲线的标准品需要通过克隆和体外转录获得,实验过程繁琐 . 当人为成比例增减标准品各个稀释度的具体拷贝数时,标准曲线的斜率并不改变,说明标准曲线斜率与标准品的具体拷贝数无关 . 因此,新的相对定量方法可以用任何一个待测样品的总 RNA ( 或 cDNA) ,经系列稀释后作为标准品,来构建相对定量标准曲线,获得斜率 . 与绝对定量法比较,新方法获得了基本相同的斜率和非常一致的定量结果 ( 差异小于4%) ,而传统的 2 -ΔΔCT法却表现出较大的定量误差 . 这些结果表明,新的相对定量方法是一种简便、准确和高效的定量基因表达的方法 .     

A rapid and sensitive one step-SYBR green based semi quantitative real time RT-PCR for the detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">peste des petits ruminants</Emphasis> virus in the clinical samples

A sensitive and rapid single step real time (rt) RT-PCR was standardized using one-step Brilliant SYBR Green kit® for detection and semi-quantitation of peste des petitis ruminants virus (PPRV) using the virus RNA and matrix (M) protein gene-specific primers and compared with established conventional RT-PCR and TaqMan RT-PCR. The assay amplifies a 124 bp fragment of the PPRV M gene with T_m of 78.28 to 78.50. The assay was linear within a range of 50 ng to 0.5 fg total virus RNA with a detection limit (sensitivity) of 0.5 fg. Based on the serial dilution of the live-attenuated PPR vaccine virus, the detection limit was ～0.0001 cell culture infectious dose 50% units (TCID₅₀). Additionally, swab materials spiked with known titre of vaccine virus were equally well detected in the assay. The standardized rt RT-PCR was easily employed for the detection of PPRV nucleic acid directly in the field and experimental clinical samples. The assay detected the PPRV nucleic acid as early as 3 day post infection (dpi) and up to 20 dpi in swab materials from the experimental samples. The assay was rapid and more sensitive than TaqMan and conventional RT-PCR in the detection of PPRV nucleic acid from the PPR suspected clinical samples of sheep and goats. Therefore, the established, simplified SYBR green rt RT-PCR is an alternative test to the already existing various diagnostic assays and could be useful for rapid clinical diagnosis with advantage in reducing risk of contamination.     

Gold Immunochromatography Assay for the Rapid Detection of Spiramycin in Milk and Beef Samples Based on a Monoclonal Antibody

Spiramycin (SP) residues in food do harm to human health. It is necessary to establish rapid detection method for SP. In this work, a monoclonal antibody (mAb)‐based gold immunochromatography assay (GICA) is developed for the rapid detection of SP. Under optimum conditions, the half‐maximal inhibitory concentration of SP‐mAb is 0.43 ng mL^–1. The subtype of SP‐mAb is IgG2b. This antibody has no cross‐reactivity with other analogues and has high affinity (4.52 × 10¹⁰ L mol^–1). Qualitative results can be visualized with the naked eye, with a visual detection limit of 1.0 ng mL^–1 and cut‐off value of 10 ng mL^–1. A hand‐held strip scanner is used for the quantitative analysis, with LOD 0.43 ng mL^–1 in assay buffer. The recoveries of SP ranged from 72.3% to 112% in milk and 98.5% to 115% in beef, with variable coefficient ranging from 9.4% to 11.7% in milk and 8.14% to 15.4% in beef. Besides, the proposed GICA method for SP is confirmed by LC–MS/MS in SP‐spiked milk and beef samples. Overall, the developed GICA can be a useful tool for SP residues on‐site screening in milk and beef samples.     

A Rapid and Sensitive Fluorimetric Protocol for the Quantification of Green Fluorescent Protein in Soluble Protein Extracts from Transgenic Arabidopsis

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a popular qualitative reporter protein used to study different aspects of plant biology. However, to be used as a reliable quantitative reporter in expression studies using fluorescence based assays, methods to eliminate interfering endogenous molecules must be considered. Therefore, a standard curve based solid phase fluorescent immunoassay that eliminates the effects of interfering endogenous molecules was developed to quantify the GFP levels in soluble green extracts prepared from plants. Microtiter plates coated with anti-GFP were used to capture GFP from soluble plant extracts, interfering endogenous molecules was eliminated by washing without disturbing the anti-GFP binding of GFP, and then the fluorescence intensity of bound GFP was measured using a spectrofluorometer. We report in this study the use of this method to quantify the expression levels of soluble modified GFP in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana.     

基于Avi-tag技术的人胚肾细胞内增强型绿色荧光蛋白的生物素化、纯化和检测方法

目的:建立并优化基于Avi-tag标签技术的人胚肾细胞增强型绿色荧光蛋白(eGFP)的定点生物素化标记、纯化和检测方法。方法:分别构建具有Avi-tag标签的eGFP真核表达载体plenti-Avi-eGFP和BirA酶真核过表达载体pQCXIH-BirA,将plenti-Avi-eGFP和pQCXIH-BirA共转染人胚肾293T细胞,12 h后观察Avi-tag标签对eGFP蛋白在细胞内定位的影响;48 h后裂解细胞,用链霉亲和素珠子纯化生物素标记的eGFP,SDS-PAGE观察eGFP纯化和富集情况,并优化基于Western印迹的生物素化eGFP检测方法。结果:Avi-tag标签对eGFP在细胞内的定位无影响,同时BirA酶在293T细胞内可将带Avi-tag标签的eGFP标记上生物素;生物素化的eGFP可特异性地被链霉亲和素珠子纯化和富集,纯度可达95%;Western印迹检测生物素化蛋白的最终条件为5%的BSA作为封闭液和终浓度为100 ng/mL的链霉亲和素-HRP。结论:建立了基于Avi-tag技术的人胚肾细胞内增强型绿色荧光蛋白的生物素化标记、纯化与检测方法,为该方法的广泛应用奠定了前期技术基础。