Recombinant Trypanosoma cruzi antigens and Chagas' disease diagnosis: analysis of a workshop

Abstract A workshop organized by the Ibero-American Project of Biotechnology evaluated the diagnostic potential of several cloned Trypanosoma cruzi recombinant antigens for Chagas' disease serodiagnosis. A set of recombinants, Antigen 2, Antigen 13, SAPA, H49, A13, JL5, JL7, JL8, JL9, and RA1 provided by three different South American laboratories were probed with a panel of 236 South American serum samples. Antigens JL7, H49, Antigen 2, and A13 scored as the best diagnostic recombinant reagents. The results suggested that the main advantage of using cloned peptides for chronic Chagas' disease diagnosis resided in their highly specific immunoreactive properties.     

Comparative Study of Microsporidian Spores by Flow Cytometric Analysis

ABSTRACT. Spore suspensions of microsporidian parasites of fish (Microsporidium ovoideum, Glugea stephani, Glugea atherinae and Spraguea lophii ) have been analyzed by flow cytometry. Spore nuclei were dyed either by propidium iodide or bis-benzimide (Hoechst 33342). By observation of forward light scatter and fluorescence the four species could be distinguished and the mono- and diplokaryotic populations of S. lophii identified. Staining of DNA by bis-benzimide was better and easier than propidium iodide. Forward light scatter and fluorescence values were characteristic of each species and remained unchanged throughout the year, so flow cytometry can be used for distinction of spores of some microsporidian parasites once their flow cytometric parameters are known. However, special care has to be taken in tool calibration and material preparation for analysis because of the high precision of the technique.     

Identification of Paenibacillus larvae to the subspecies level: an obstacle for AFB diagnosis

This study was initially aimed at developing a PCR-test to differentiate between the pathogenic agent of American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae subsp. larvae) and powdery-scale disease (P. larvae subsp. pulvifaciens) of the honeybee. The test was based on the "insert of clone 9" (iC9), referring to a cloned 1.9 kB HaeIII fragment that occurs only in the P. larvae subsp. larvae reference strains and possibly correlates with American foulbrood virulence. It was shown that an iC9-based PCR-test discriminates between the BCCM/LMG reference strains of both subspecies. However, the screening of 179 Belgian field strains revealed five isolates that gave no iC9-based amplicon, thus rather resembling to P. larvae subsp. pulvifaciens. In addition, they all produced acid from mannitol, a characteristic previously assigned to the pulvifaciens subspecies. Because the reference strains gave conflicting data, this carbohydrate acidification was not conclusive. Therefore, the exact taxonomic position of the five retained strains was determined by a polyphasic approach using SDS-PAGE, AFLP, and ERIC-based PCR. Four iC9-negative field strains could be identified as P. larvae subsp. larvae; the taxonomic position of the fifth field strain remained ambiguous. The latter was provisionally classified as a subspecies pulvifaciens strain on the basis of SDS-PAGE. The present paper demonstrates the existence of field strains that do not fit well in the subdivision of the species P. larvae into two subspecies. Knowing that only one of both subspecies represents the pathogenic agent of AFB, this is a serious obstacle for the diagnosis of this honeybee disease.     

Non-invasive diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis by the direct boil loop-mediated isothermal amplification method and MinION™ nanopore sequencing

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is gaining attention as a public health problem. We present two cases of CL imported from Syria and Venezuela in Japan. We diagnosed them as CL non-invasively by the direct boil loop-mediated isothermal amplification method and an innovative sequencing method using the MinION? sequencer. This report demonstrates that our procedure could be useful for the diagnosis of CL in both clinical and epidemiological settings.     

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays for detection of Theileria parva infections targeting the PIM and p150 genes

We have developed two loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays for the detection of Theileria parva, the causative agent of East Coast fever (ECF), an economically important cattle disease in eastern, central and southern Africa. These assays target the polymorphic immunodominant molecule (PIM) and p150 LAMP genes. The primer set for each gene target consists of six primers, and each set recognises eight distinct regions on the target gene to give highly specific detection of T. parva. The detection limit of each primer set is 1 fg, which is equivalent to one copy of the PIM and p150 T. parva genes. These PIM and p150 LAMP primer sets amplify DNA of T. parva isolates from cattle and buffalo from different countries including Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, indicating their ability to detect T. parva from different countries. With the advantages of simplicity, rapidity and cost effectiveness, these LAMP assays are good candidates for molecular epidemiology studies and for monitoring control programs in ECF-endemic, resource poor countries.     

肝包虫病的诊断现状及进展

肝包虫病是畜牧地区常见的寄生虫病,是一种人畜共患病,非牧地区偶尔也可以见到,可以通过与狗等动物密切接触直接感染,还可以通过呼吸道吸入虫卵或经消化道误食含有虫卵感染的食物或水源等方式感染使人患病,并且可以寄生于人体内各个部位,但以肝脏最为多见,严重危害人体健康和畜牧业的发展。加强肝包虫病的诊断是防控本疾病的重要措施之一,在不能排除肝包虫病的情况下,应结合病史、化验室检查、B超、CT等影像学检查、免疫学检查进行综合分析,给出明确诊断,以防止误诊、漏诊。近年来随着分子生物学以及病原学等技术的发展,为包虫病的诊断提供更多的方法和信息,本文将从肝包虫病的病史及临床表现、影像学检查、免疫学检查、分子生物学检查及病原学检查等方面对其诊断现状及进展做一综述。     

18例肺曲霉病临床分析

目的提高对肺曲霉病的认识。方法对诊断为肺曲霉病的18例病例的临床资料进行回顾性分析。结果83%的肺曲霉病患者伴有基础疾病;有临床症状者占89%;胸部影像表现为：以右肺为主,多见于上叶,且多分布于外周;大叶性肺炎型占17%,肺曲霉球型占50%,结节或肿块型占33%,支气管肺炎型占6%,双肺弥漫病变型占22%,且有22%合并胸腔积液;组织病理学发现呈约45°分支和有隔膜的曲霉菌丝;50%患者行肺叶切除术,术后应用抗真菌药物,50%患者仅接受抗真菌药物治疗;89%的患者治愈或好转,11%死亡。结论肺曲霉病患者多有基础疾病;部分类型有典型影像学改变;诊断需结合既往病史、临床表现和胸部影像表现及相关实验室检查,确诊有赖于组织病理学检查;治疗主要是药物,部分可手术。     

耐药性结核性脑膜炎研究进展

结核性脑膜炎是由结核杆菌引起的中枢感染性疾病,是肺外结核病中最严重的一种,其多侵袭脑膜,有时可累及脑实质、脊髓,有很高的致死率。结核病在发展中国家中的感染趋势尤为突出。我国为人口大国,抗结核治疗和预防的形势异常严峻。随着抗结核药物的广泛使用,耐药性结核性脑膜炎患者数量增加,严重影响了结核性脑膜炎的预后。在耐药性结核性脑膜炎患者的治疗中,早期诊断、经验性治疗、调整治疗方案对患者的预后尤为重要。本文对耐药性结核性脑膜炎的分布、临床诊断、基因检测、治疗方案及预后进行系统性的总结。     

原发性十二指肠恶性肿瘤的临床分析

目的：探讨原发性十二指肠恶性肿瘤的临床特点、诊断方法和预后影响因素。方法：回顾性分析随访资料完整的45例原发性十二指肠恶性肿瘤患者的临床病理资料。结果：腺癌33例（73.3％）为主要的病理类型。主要临床表现为腹痛、上腹部不适、黄疸、消化道出血等。胃十二指肠镜、内镜逆行胰胆管造影（Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio—Pancreatography,ERCP）、十二指肠低张造影、超声内镜、CT及B超确诊率分别为91．1％（41／45）,93．3％（42/45）,82．2％（37／45）,75．6％（34N5）,68．9％（31／45）及26．7％（12／45）。本组45例均行开腹手术,包括根治性手术,胰十二指肠切除术36例;姑息性手术,胃肠吻合术2例、肿瘤局部切除术5例、短路手术2例。根治术和姑息术后5年生存率分别为46．7％和4．4％,两组生存率差异有统计学意义（P〈O．05）。对全组45例患者的预后因素进行Cox回归分析的结果显示,手术方式、肿瘤浸润深度和淋巴节转移是影响预后的独立危险因素（均P〈0．05）。结论：原发性十二指肠恶性肿瘤缺乏特异性临床表现;胃十二指肠镜、ERCP以及十二指肠低张造影等联合检查可提高诊断率;根治性手术远期疗效较好;淋巴结转移和局部侵犯是肿瘤预后不良的重要影响因素。