Rhodococcus equi distribution in the soil environment of horses in Inner Mongolia,China——An investigation report / 中国兽医学报

Little is known about the distribution of Rhodococcus equi in the soil environment of native horses in China. One hundred and eight soil samples were collected from native-horse farms in the Hulun Beier grasslands of eastern Mongolia, the Xilin Goler grasslands of southern Mongolia, and Tongliao city in Inner Mongolia of China for investigating the distribution of R. equi in these regions. The isolation rates of R. equi from soil samples from the Hulun Beier and Xilin Goler grasslands ranged from 25.9% to 30.0%. In contrast, isolation rates from soil samples from Tongliao city was as high as 82.3% and the mean number of R. equi in soil samples from Tongliao city was 10 times more than those of samples from the grasslands. The 488 isolates were examined using PCR for the presence of genes that encode virulence-associated 15 000-17 000 antigen protein (VapA) and the 20 000 antigen protein (VapB). All isolates were negative for virulence-associated proteins. Plasmid profiles of these avirulent isolates showed that cryptic plasmids of various sizes were present with an incidence of 13.3% to 21.5%. The results of the present study contrast with those of our recent study, in which we reported that R. equi was absent from Mongolian horses in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is suggested that the difference between the results of these two studies is due to the mobile pasturing system in Mongolia and nonmobile pasturing system in Inner Mongolia.

Association between polymorphisms of CYP3A5,MDR1,COX-2 and chemotherapy outcomes of advanced NSCLC / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Objective To investigate whether genotypes of CYP3A5,MDR1 and cyclooxygenase-2 are associated with the sensitivity of vinorelbine-platinum to NSCLC.Methods The genotypes of CYP3A5(*3),MDR1 (2677G>T at exon 21 and 3435C>T at exon 26 and their haplotypes),cyclooxygenase-2 (-1 195G>A) were determined by RFLP-PCR and chemotherapy responses were analyzed in 69 non-small-celllung cancer (NSCLC) Chinese Han patients.They received a combination chemotherapy of vinorelbine-cispla-tin.Chi-square test was used to investigate the potential association of genotype with chemotherapy response.OR and 95% C1 were calculated.Results The 3435 CC genotype was associated with a significantly betterchemotherapy response compared with the combined 3435 CT and 1Tr genotypes(P=0.033).The 2677 GG genotype was also associated with a significantly better chemotherapy response compared with the combined 2677 GT and IT genotype(P=0.012).Moreover.patients with the 2677 G-3435 C haplotype seemed to have a better response to chemotherapy compared with those with the other haplotypes(P=0.063).CYP3A5*3 was not likely to correlate with sensitivity of vinorelbine-platinum to NSCLC.Cyclooxygenase-2-1195G>A was likely to have better response to vinorelbine but not statistically significant(P=0.067).Conclusion Polymor-Dhisms of MDR1 3435 C>T and MDR1 2677 G>A/T can be used for predicting treatment response to vinorel-bine-cisplatin chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

Protein-chip for autoantibodies profile detection / 生物工程学报

We selected 12 antigens corresponding to commonly used autoantibodies in clinical practice to prepare antigen microarray. We chose NBT/BCIP color reaction as the end detection strategy to develop a new autoantibody protein chip detection system. Using this system, we optimized the best spotting solution, spotting concentration of the 12 antigens and the dilution of serum. We prepared a protein chip that could detect 12 autoantibodies simultaneously using the optimized antigen concentration. We established a new method to determine the cutoff of each autoantibodies by evaluation of 678 positive and 120 negative serum of clinical sample. We also evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of our new detection system. The optimal spotting solution was 0.1% TBST, the dilution of serum was 1:4 and the best spotting concentration of the 12 antigens were ANA 520 microg/mL, Ro-60/SSa 465 microg/mL, La/SSb 530 microg/mL, Jo-1 530 microg/mL, Scl-70 525 microg/mL, Sm 520 microg/mL, Ro-52/SSa 615 microg/mL, RF 340 microg/mL, CCP 465 microg/mL, ulRNP 410 microg/mL, CENP-B 490 microg/mL and dsDNA 580 microg/mL respectively. It had higher coincidence rate compared to current clinical used methods. We have developed a 12 antigens protein chip for the detection of autoantibodies based on the NBT/BCIP color reaction system. This system was fast, convenient, efficient, and cost-effective.

Immunogenicity of a synthetic peptide vaccine from glucosyltransferase / 中华口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To measure the immunogenicity of a synthetic peptide of glucosyltransferase (GTF) for designing synthetic peptide-based vaccine of dental caries.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A fusion 27-mer peptide, containing the conserved regions within catalytic and glucan-binding domains of GTF, was synthesized. Serum antibodies to the synthetic peptide were determined by ELISA method. Inhibitions of both GTF activity and S. mutans adherence were detected for the functions of antisera.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The sequence of fusion peptide vaccine was ANDVDNSNPVVQAEQLYFRANGVQVKG. The spleen weights of immunized mice were heavier than the control ones. Specific antibodies were effectually elicited. The immune sera not only inhibited GTF enzymatic activity but also inhibited the vitro adherence of S. mutans.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The peptide vaccine which involves antibody-mediated inhibition of the catalytic and the glucan-binding activities of GTF may be valuable for controlling the dental caries.</p>