ABSTRACT
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is one of the most important causes of acute infectious hepatitis. The aim of this study was to determine the genotypes of HAV that have been circulating in Koreans. A total of 76 sera referred to our institute for HAV genotyping from 11 Korean provinces were used for this study. Those samples were diagnosed by positive of IgM anti-HAV. HAV RNA was extracted from 150 microliter of serum, and reverse transcription PCR-sequencing was used to detect and characterize HAV RNA. Primer pairs from the VP1/2A region of the HAV were used for amplification and sequencing. HAV RNA was found in 64.5% (n = 49) of the 76 patient sera with acute hepatitis A. Forty-seven strains were genotype IIIA in a total of 49 isolated strains (95.9%, 47/49); only two strains belonged to genotype IA (4.1%, 2/49). Thirty eight genotype IIIA isolates were 100% identical to consensus amino acid sequences of the reference strain AJ299467. The amino acid change of L772F was found in two IIIA strains; other IIIA isolates showed one amino acid change. Amino acid of genotype IA was compared to reference strain L20541. K801R was found in 1 strain and Q810S in both strains. The amino acid change of K801R was the first report in Koreans. Until recently HAV genotype IA has been reported as a major circulating HAV genotype in Koreans. In the present study, the predominant HAV strain in Koreans seemed to be HAV genotype IIIA.
Subject(s)
Humans , Amino Acid Sequence , Consensus , Genotype , Hepatitis , Hepatitis A , Hepatitis A Antibodies , Hepatitis A virus , Immunoglobulin M , Korea , Reverse Transcription , RNA , Sprains and StrainsABSTRACT
The infections by human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are clearly associated with the subsequent development of cervical cancer. In this study, HPV genotype distribution and prevalence were detected in Korean women from January to December 2008 using PCR-DNA sequencing. A total of 2,562 cervical samples from Korean women having routine Pap smear cytology screening were used. HPV DNA was extracted from cervical swab samples and amplified by PCR in L1 region of HPV. HPV DNA was detected in 23.2% and 65.5% from the groups of normal and abnormal Pap cytology, respectively. The prevalence of high-risk types of HPV had the highest frequency in the <30 year-olds' group (50.6%). The prevalence of HPV in normal, ASCUS, LSIL and HSIL groups was 23.2%, 58.1%, 96.3% and 97.0%, respectively. Moreover, the frequencies of the high-risk types of HPV were 16.2% in the normal Pap cytology, 44.7% in the ASCUS, 76.1% in the LSIL and 94.1% in the HSIL groups. The prevalence of the high-risk types of HPV increased in proportion to the severity of the cytological classification. In the HSIL group, HPV type 16 was the most frequently found at 32.4%, followed by types 58, 53 and 33 at 17.6%, 14.7% and 11.8%, respectively. HPV type 82 was found in 5.6% of the HSIL group and was not detected in the normal Pap cytology group. The frequency of high-risk type of HPV 82 is firstly reported in Korean women. This finding could be an informative basis for the development of future HPV vaccination strategies in Korean women.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , DNA , Genotype , Mass Screening , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Prevalence , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms , VaccinationABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A peripheral blood smear has been the gold standard method for the diagnosis of malaria infection. Recently, many other methods have been introduced, although having inferior sensitivity and specificity to peripheral blood smears. We evaluated Neodin malaria PCR kit and its applicability in clinical settings. METHODS: Samples from seventy patients who visited Korea University hospital were used for evaluation. DNA from EDTA blood was tested in nested multiplex PCR and 470 bp for Plasmodium vivax or 340 bp for Plasmodium falciparum was confirmed after electrophoresis. The detection limit was determined by dilution of malaria positive blood with normal blood. RESULTS: Thirty-five cases of P. vivax and 10 cases of P. falciparum were noted. Except for a case of falciparum malaria, all positive cases were consistent with the peripheral blood smear results. Detection limit was 3.6 parasite/microL. CONCLUSIONS: Neodin malaria nested multiplex PCR has high sensitivity and the ability for species discrimination and may be available in the diagnosis of malaria infection.
Subject(s)
Humans , Diagnosis , Discrimination, Psychological , DNA , Edetic Acid , Electrophoresis , Korea , Limit of Detection , Malaria , Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction , Plasmodium falciparum , Plasmodium vivax , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor is known to be effective in the prevention of left ventricular remodeling following myocardial infarction. However, little data is available concerning the clinical effects of angiotensin (AT) receptor blocker in ischemic cardiomyopathy. This study evaluated the clinical effects of the concomitant use of losartan with low doses of hydrochlorthiazide in cases of ischemic cardiomyopathy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A combined agent of 50 mg of losartan potassium with 12.5 mg of hydrochlorthiazide (HCTZ) was administrated once daily over a 12-week period to 29 patients (M:F=26:3, 61.4+/-8.7 years) who were diagnosed with ischemic heart failure (ejection fraction lower than 50% by echocardiography) at Chonnam National University Hospital. RESULTS: Clinical symptoms of dyspnea in the 29 patients improved from 2.08+/-0.49 to 1.15+/-0.38 as measured by New York Heart Association class. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not change significantly following treatment (116.5+/-18.0/77.0+/-11.9 mmHg vs. 118.7+/-15.1/78.1+/-11.1 mmHg). The ejection fraction following administration of Losartan/HCTZ increased from 40.3+/-8.1% to 46.7+/-10.8% (p=0.001). Losartan/HCTZ was well tolerated in all patients without significant adverse effects or laboratory changes. CONCLUSION: A fixed combination of losartan and low dose hydrochlorthiazide is effective in patients with ischemic heart failure.
Subject(s)
Humans , Angiotensins , Blood Pressure , Cardiomyopathies , Diuretics , Dyspnea , Heart Failure , Heart , Losartan , Myocardial Infarction , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A , Ventricular RemodelingABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In Korean traditional medicine, human beings are classified into 4 groups accordance with the characteristics of physical constitution, named; Taeum, Taeyang, Soum, and Soyang. Most of Korean traditional doctors believe that the back ground of pathophysiology is differ among each group in many diseases. HLA is the most polymorphic gene and related with human immune response. It has been used for determination of individual identification, genetic diversity and a study of disease association in different ethnic group. It has well known that the most human inflammatory disease which thought to have some autoimmune basis are in some way promoted by genes of the HLA region. The purpose of this study is to observe the distribution of HLA-DR genotypes in 4 types of physical constitution in Korean traditional medicine. METHODS: Three hundred and ten Korean subjects(Soyang : 58cases, Soum :142cases, Taeum : 92cases, Taeyang : 18cases) were enrolled for this study. Genomic DNAs extracted by phenol/chroloform were amplified with allele specific primers and determined by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis with ethidium bromide staining for analysis of HLA-DR polymorphism. RESULTS: The genotype frequency of HLA-DR in a total or 310 Koreans was DR1 ; 7.2%, DR 2; 10.5%, DR 3;1.7%, DR 4; 19.9%, DR 5; 11.9%, DR 6;19.9%, DR 7; 7.0%, DR 8; 10.6%, DR 9; 8.7%, DR10;1.9%. There was no significant diffrence of HLA-DR genotype distribution among four physical constitution groups classified by Korean traditional medicine. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the classification of physical constitution in Korean traditional medicine is not related to HLA-DR genotypes.
Subject(s)
Humans , Alleles , Classification , Constitution and Bylaws , DNA , Electrophoresis, Agar Gel , Ethidium , Ethnicity , Genetic Variation , Genotype , HLA-DR Antigens , Medicine, Korean TraditionalABSTRACT
Recently the alanine/valine (A/V) polymorphism of the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, one of the key enzymes catalyzing remethylation of homocysteine, has been reported to its association with coronary artery disease. lhe homozygous of C677T mutation (VV genotype) correlates with increased plasma homocysteine levels as a result of the reduced activity and increased thermolability of MTHFR. We investigated whether this rnutation and homocysteine influence risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) in normal control subjects and CAD patients and two risk groups, A (>2 risk factors) and B (<1 risk factor). The MTHFR genotype and plasma homocysteine were determined by PCR followed by HinA digestion and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system, respectively. From this study, statistical significance of V mutation of MTHFR between four groups was not found. Homocysteine level was the highest in CAD patients and the lowest in risk group B. Plasma homocysteine level in VV genotype of CAD patients was significantly higher than in other two genotypes and normal control subjects. We concluded that homozygisty for the C677T mutation of MTHFR was not an independent risk factor of CAD but associated with a prediposition to increased plasma homocysteine levels in CAD patients.
Subject(s)
Humans , Chromatography, Liquid , Coronary Artery Disease , Coronary Vessels , Digestion , Genotype , Homocysteine , Oxidoreductases , Plasma , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Risk Factors , Statistics as TopicABSTRACT
No abstract available.
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No abstract available.
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to establish the genotyping methods of new HLA gene, TAP1 and TAP2, and determine the genetic polymorphisms for database study in Koreans before using in clinical laboratory. Polymerase chain reaction- Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and PCR-Sequence Specific Primers (PCR-SSP) techniques were used for TAP1 and TAP2 genotying, respectively. Restriction enzymes, Bcll and Accl, and 4 oligonucleotide primers were used for the PCR-RFLP analysis of TAP1. Whereas for PCR-SSP assay of TAP2, 12 oligonucleotide primers were synthesized. The results of control cells were correlated well with the types which were analyzed at Xlth histocompatibility international workshop. Arnong three and six different alleles of TAP1 and TAP2 found in 200 unrelated Korean individuals, TAP1A (84%) was the most frequent allele. TAP1B and TAP1C were 15.5% and 0.5% respectively. TAP2A represented more than a half (55.1%). TAP2B and TAP2C were 32.2% and 9.2% respectively. TAP1D, TAP2F and TAP2G were not found in Koreans.
Subject(s)
Alleles , DNA Primers , Education , Histocompatibility , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Polymorphism, Genetic , Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment LengthABSTRACT
Recently new tumor marker, MG7-Ag has been introduced for screening of gastric cancer. In this study MG7-Ag and CEA in sera of 50 normal healthy Koreans and 48 patients with gastric cancer group were determined to elucidate the clinical usefulness for gastric cancer screening. Commercial Enzyme Immuno Assay kits were used for analysis of above two markers. Sensitivity of MG7-Ag and CEA in patient group were found to be 43.8% and 41.7%, respectively. When the two markers were used combind, sensitivity increased to 62.5%. The concentration of MG7-Ag in patients (9.2+11.7 U/mL) was five times higher than normal control group (1.81+1.63 U/mL). CEA was 31.2+46.5 ng/mL in patients and 2.24+0.98 ng/mL (MeanSD) in normal control group. From this results, combination assay of MG7-Ag and CEA is more useful in clinical laboratories for screening gastric cancer than using one marker.
Subject(s)
Humans , Mass Screening , Stomach NeoplasmsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in many parts of the world, however the molecular mechanisms underlying liver cell transformation remain obscure. The instability of microsatellite sequences dispersed in the genome has been linked to a deficiency in cellular mismatch repair. This phenotype has been frequently observed in various human neoplasms and is regarded as a major factor in tumorigenesis. To investigate cumulative genetic changes related with apoptosis during development and progression of HCC, we examined DNAs isolated from 12 Korean HCCs and their adjacent non-tumorous parts to look for evidence of microsatellite instability (MSI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve microsatellite loci (D6S271, D6S426, D13S153, D13S263, D17S849, D17S938, D17S945, D18S474, D18S64, D19S420, D.19S418 and D19S210) were amplified by PCR from 12 Korean HCCs, and analyzed using an automated DNA analyzer. RESULTS: The high percentages of the MSI were found for the loci of D6S426 (33.3%) and D17S945 (25.0%). The related genes with high frequency of MSI were noted in the wafl (41.7%) and p53 (25.0%). From this study, fifty eight percent of HCCs (7/12) showed MSI with at least one marker. CONCLUSION: This results suggest that the analysis of MSI in HCC might be useful for identifying genes whose loss of function contributes to the development of liver cancer. Furthennore, this method may give a more rapid and accurate sizing of the PCR products of microsatellite; making the routine assessment of MSI possible in many clinical fields.
Subject(s)
Humans , Apoptosis , Carcinogenesis , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular , DNA , DNA Mismatch Repair , Genome , Liver , Liver Neoplasms , Microsatellite Instability , Microsatellite Repeats , Phenotype , Polymerase Chain ReactionABSTRACT
No abstract available.
ABSTRACT
Apolipoprotein E (ape E) has three common alleles (ape epsilon 2, epsilon 3 and epsilon 4) that code for three major isoforms E2, E3 and E4. The isoforms differ from each other by a single amino acid substitutions at two positions and also differ in their binding affinity for the apo E receptors. Moreover, recently a strong association between the apo epsilon 4 allele and late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) was demonstrated. In this study, were analyzed the apo E genotypes using the Hhal digestion of PCR amplified samples, and the apo epsilon 4 allele frequency from 70 AD patients and 106 normal population in Korea. The results suggested that the frequency of epsilon 4 allele among the AD patients (35.7%) was 3 times higher than that among the control population (13.7%). The data, which are in agreement with recent reports, suggests that the apo epsilon 4 allele is associated with AD in Korea.
Subject(s)
Humans , Alleles , Alzheimer Disease , Amino Acid Substitution , Apolipoproteins E , Apolipoproteins , Digestion , Gene Frequency , Genotype , Korea , Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-1 , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Protein IsoformsABSTRACT
To investigate the incidence of the H-ras gene activation in bladder tumor and the feasibility of using urinary washout samples for screening, a series of 33 human bladder tumors and their preoperatively collected urinary washout samples were screened using a mutant specific PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain-restriction fragment length polymorphism) to detect a point mutation of the H-ras gene. Five tumors were found to harbor H-ras mutations where two tumors had a glycine to valine (G-->T) change in codon 12 and three tumors had a glutamine to lysine (C-->A) change in codon 61, respectively. Moreover, we could also detect the same point mutations of the H-ras gene in corresponding urine washout samples. The incidence of H-ras mutation in Korean bladder cancer was estimated at approximately 15.2%. In conclusion, a mutant specific PCR-RFLP method for the detection of H-ras gene mutation is useful for screening or postoperative follow-up of bladder tumor due to its simplicity and high specificity even in urinary samples.
Subject(s)
Humans , Base Sequence , Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/genetics , Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/genetics , Codon , Gene Expression Regulation , Genes, ras , Molecular Sequence Data , Point Mutation , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment LengthABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to characterize the alterations of 9p21 and TP53 in Korean transitional bladder cancer and to assess the relationship between the histopathologic parameter and the alteration of these genes. Allele loss in 29 surgically resected transitional cell carcinoma was examined by using the multiplex PCR with 7 and 1 microsatellite markers for 9p21 and TP53, respectively. Twenty-one (72%) demonstrated allele loss at 9p21 and/or TP53. Deletion at the 9p21 region was detected in 17(61%) of 28 informative cases at one or more loci, and LOH at TP53 was found in 12(55%) of 22 informative cases. Of 7 microsatellite markers for 9p21, allele loss occurred the most frequently at locus D9S162(69%) and D9S104(69%). Additionally, hemizygous deletion was slightly more common than homozygous deletion. Deletion at 9p21 and TP53 was not related with increased grade. These results suggest that the alteration of 9p21 may be an early event in the development of Korean bladder cancer, while p53 gene may be involved in early event of some bladder cancers as well as in their late events.
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/genetics , Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/genetics , Chromosome Deletion , Chromosomes, Human, Pair 9 , Genes, p53 , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Hypervariable tandem repetitive regions in human DNA are proving to be increasingly useful for genetic analysis in humans. We chose four single locus probes (SLP; MS1, MS43, MS8 and g3) for a validation test among Koreans. The specimens were from 216 unrelated individuals and 33 paternity inclusion families. Extracted DNA from EDTA blood was restricted by Hinfl and electrophoresed in 0.7% agarose gel, transferred and hybridized with chemiluminescent probes. Heterozygosity was over 90% by all of the probes. Total numbers of unassignable mutant bands from 33 paternity inclusion cases were 5, and the highest mutation rate was determined in probe MS1(0.045). The probability of having the same DNA band between two unrelated individuals was 5.7 x 10(-10) when four SLPs were used at the same time. The data presented here on allele frequencies and mutation rates provide preliminary data supporting the validity of these probes in paternity analysis and forensic investigators in the Korean population.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Alleles , Chromosome Mapping , DNA, Satellite/genetics , Heterozygote , Mutation , Myoglobin/genetics , PaternityABSTRACT
No abstract available.