Selection of housekeeping genes for gene expression studies in human reticulocytes using real-time PCR

Background  

Control genes, which are often referred to as housekeeping genes, are frequently used to normalise mRNA levels between different samples. However, the expression level of these genes may vary among tissues or cells and may change under certain circumstances. Thus, the selection of housekeeping genes is critical for gene expression studies. To address this issue, 7 candidate housekeeping genes including several commonly used ones were investigated in isolated human reticulocytes. For this, a simple ΔCt approach was employed by comparing relative expression of 'pairs of genes' within each sample. On this basis, stability of the candidate housekeeping genes was ranked according to repeatability of the gene expression differences among 31 samples.     

New Japanese Rubella Vaccine: Comparative Trials

A total of 142 seronegative volunteers were given one of the following rubella vaccines: Cendehill, HPV77. DE-5, RA27/3, or a new Japanese vaccine, To-336. To-336 vaccine produced a slightly higher geometric mean antibody titre (G.M.T.) (65·7) than did the HPV77. DE-5 (63·1) or RA27/3 vaccine (61·9) but the G.M.T. induced by Cendehill vaccine was much lower (39·3).Reactions, particularly joint symptoms, occurred least commonly after vaccination with To-336 vaccine. Joint symptoms occurred within seven days of menstruation in 30 out of 37 (81%) vaccines (P <0·01); their incidence was not related to oral contraception.Though there is evidence to suggest that Japanese virus strains may be non-teratogenic further data on the incidence of congenitally acquired infection in Japan must be collected before this conclusion can be supported on epidemiological grounds.