Anti-Rhinosporidial Antibody Levels in Patients with Rhinosporidiosis and in Asymptomatic Persons,in Sri Lanka

The only report hitherto, from India in 1982, on anti-rhinosporidial antibody levels in patients with rhinosporidiosis recorded that antibody was not detected in Indian patients. The present report describes the use of the dot-ELISA assay of serum anti-rhinosporidial IgG, IgM and IgA and salivary sIgA in patients with diverse clinical presentations, in rural asymptomatic persons who had bathed in ground waters that probably harboured the causative pathogen, Rhinosporidium seeberi, and in laboratory persons who were exposed to R. seeberi. Ultrasonic extracts of purified endospores and sporangia of R. seeberi were used as antigen. The geometric mean (reciprocal) titres of serum antibody detected in patients were IgM 142.1, IgG 178.5, IgA 84.6, with ranges of 0-640, 30-960 and 0-160 respectively, salivary sIgA titres ranged from 0 to 18 with a mean of 4.6. The levels of antibody had no correlation with the site, the number of sporangia, duration and recurrence of the disease. Asymptomatic persons from the same endemic area as patients showed mean titres of IgM 89.6, IgG 69.1, IgA 95.5, with salivary sIgA titres of 3.1. Asymptomatic personnel who had been working in a laboratory where rhiniosporidial work was being done, showed mean titres of 169.6 IgM, 62.8 IgG, and 6.5 salivary sIgA. These results indicate that an anti-rhinosporidial antibody response occurs in rhinosporidial patients, as well as in asymptomatic persons who were exposed to R. seeberi in the environment. Anti-R. seeberi antibody does not appear to be protective in rhinosporidiosis since appreciable titres were present in patients with recurrent, single, multiple or disseminated lesions of long duration.     

上海市人群Echo30病毒性脑膜炎隐性感染调查

为了了解上海市不同年龄组人群的Echo30病毒隐性感染情况及IgG抗体阳性率分布。采集上海市412份不同年龄组人群血清,用间接酶联免疫吸附试验(ELISA)检测血清中的Echo30IgG抗体。发现受检普通人群血清中Echo30IgG抗体阳性率为25.8%。其中1岁以下婴幼儿中未见抗体阳性者,15岁以下儿童抗体阳性率较低(10%～16.7%),15岁以上人群抗体阳性率水平明显升高(45.0%～46.7%)。孕妇与普通人群抗体阳性率无显著性差异。研究结果提示上海市人群中存在隐性感染者,人群通过自然感染获得免疫保护,15岁以下儿童为Echo30感染及发病的高危人群,母体传递给婴幼儿的抗体水平较低,不能为婴幼儿提供先天性免疫保护。     

Biofilm formation by asymptomatic and virulent urinary tract infectious Escherichia coli strains

Escherichia coli is the most common organism associated with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) in humans. In contrast to uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) that cause symptomatic urinary tract infection, very little is known about the mechanisms by which these strains colonize the urinary tract. Here, we have investigated the biofilm-forming capacity on abiotic surfaces of groups of ABU strains and UPEC strains in human urine. We found that there is a strong bias; ABU strains were significantly better biofilm formers than UPEC strains. Our data suggest that biofilm formation in urinary tract infectious E. coli seems to be associated with ABU strains and appears to be an important strategy used by these strains for persistence in this high-flow environment.     

Glycoproteomics Landscape of Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Human Alzheimer’s Disease Brain

Molecular changes in the brain of individuals afflicted with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are an intense area of study. Little is known about the role of protein abundance and posttranslational modifications in AD progression and treatment, in particular large-scale intact N-linked glycoproteomics analysis. To elucidate the N-glycoproteome landscape, we developed an approach based on multi-lectin affinity enrichment, hydrophilic interaction chromatography, and LC-MS–based glycoproteomics. We analyzed brain tissue from 10 persons with no cognitive impairment or AD, 10 with asymptomatic AD, and 10 with symptomatic AD, detecting over 300 glycoproteins and 1900 glycoforms across the samples. The majority of glycoproteins have N-glycans that are high-mannosidic or complex chains that are fucosylated and bisected. The Man5 N-glycan was found to occur most frequently at >20% of the total glycoforms. Unlike the glycoproteomes of other tissues, sialylation is a minor feature of the brain N-glycoproteome, occurring at <9% among the glycoforms. We observed AD-associated differences in the number of antennae, frequency of fucosylation, bisection, and other monosaccharides at individual glycosylation sites among samples from our three groups. Further analysis revealed glycosylation differences in subcellular compartments across disease stage, including glycoproteins in the lysosome frequently modified with paucimannosidic glycans. These results illustrate the N-glycoproteomics landscape across the spectrum of AD clinical and pathologic severity and will facilitate a deeper understanding of progression and treatment development.     

Tracking viral movement in plants by means of chlorophyll fluorescence imaging

Many techniques have been applied to understand viral cell-to-cell movement in host plants, but little progress has been made in understanding viral vascular transport mechanisms. We propose the use of chlorophyll fluorescence imaging techniques, not only to diagnose the viral infection, but also to follow the movement of the virus through the vascular system and its subsequent spread into the leaves. In Nicotiana benthamiana plants, imaging of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters such as Ф_PSII and NPQ proved useful to follow infections with Pepper mild mottle virus. The results demonstrate a correlation between changes in the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and the viral distribution analyzed by tissue printing.     

阴道毛滴虫症状株和带虫株黏附蛋白33基因的克隆和序列比较

目的分析和比较阴道毛滴虫症状株和带虫株黏附蛋白33基因序列。方法提取阴道毛滴虫各分离株基因组DNA,PCR扩增目的基因,构建重组质粒,克隆,鉴定和序列比较。结果黏附蛋白33基因长度约为930bp,成功构建pMD-18T-ap33重组质粒。同GenBank上的黏附蛋白33基因序列比较,症状株黏附蛋白33基因序列与已知序列有2个碱基不同,而带虫株黏附蛋白33基因序列与已知序列有1个碱基存在差别。结论阴道毛滴虫症状株和带虫株黏附蛋白33基因序列存在差异。