Isolation and genetic characterization of Japanese encephalitis virus from equines in India

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an important vector-borne viral disease of humans and horses in Asia. JE outbreaks occur regularly amongst humans in certain parts of India and sporadic cases occur among horses. In this study, JE seroprevalence and evidence of JE virus (JEV) infection among horses in Haryana (India) is described. Antibodies against JEV were detected in 67 out of 637 (10.5%) horses screened between 2006 and 2010. Two foals exhibiting neurological signs were positive for JEV RNA by RT-PCR; JEV was isolated from the serum of one of the foals collected on the second day of illness. This is the first report of JEV isolation from a horse in India. Furthermore, a pool of mosquitoes collected from the premises housing these foals was positive for JEV RNA by RT-PCR. Three structural genes, capsid (C), premembrane (prM), and envelope (E) of the isolated virus (JE/eq/India/H225/2009) spanning 2,500 nucleotides (from 134 to 2,633) were cloned and sequenced. BLAST results showed that these genes had a greater than 97% nucleotide sequence identity with different human JEV isolates from India. Phylogenetic analysis based on E- and C/prM genes indicated that the equine JEV isolate belonged to genotype III and was closely related to the Vellore group of JEV isolates from India.

Serosurveillance for Japanese encephalitis virus infection among equines in India

The seroprevalence of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) among equines was evaluated from January 2006 to December 2009 in 13 different states of India by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and virus neutralization test (VNT). Antibodies against JEV were detected in 327 out of 3,286 (10%) equines with a maximum prevalence reported in the state of Manipur (91.7%) followed by Gujarat (18.5%), Madhya Pradesh (14.4%), and Uttar Pradesh (11.6%). Evidence of JEV infection was observed in equines in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) where a 4-fold or higher rise in antibody titer was observed in 21 out of 34 horses in November 2007 to October 2006. In March 2008, seven of these horses had a subsequent 4-fold rise in JEV antibody titers while this titer decreased in nine animals. JEV-positive horse sera had a JEV/WNV (West Nile virus) ratio over 2.0 according to the HI and/or VNT. These results indicated that JEV is endemic among equines in India.

Studies on biomarkers for oxidative stress in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia [CML] is a myeloproliferative disorder with a unique genetic rearrrangement, the Philadelphia chromosome. High reactive oxygen species [ROS] levels favor oxidative stress, which could play a vital role in normal processes and various pathophysiologies including neoplasm. Biomarkers of oxidative stress are measured as products of oxidized proteins and lipids. Plasma levels of protein carbonyl [PC], thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS] and total lipid hydroperoxide [LOOH] were used as biommarkers of oxidative stress in the past. The aim of this study was to evaluate the products of protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation in plasma as biomarkers of oxidative stress in CML patients. The study included 40 CML patients and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy voluntteers. Of 40 CML patients, 28 were in chronic phase [CML-CP] and 12 in accelerated phase [CML-AP]. Plasma levels of PC, TBARS and LOOH as biomarkers of oxidative stress were evaluated by spectrophotometric methods. There were significant differences [P<.05] in plasma levels of PC, TBARS and LOOH in CML, CML-CP and CML-AP patients as compared to controls. PC, TBARS and LOOH might reflect oxidative stress in CML patients and might be used as biomarkers in such patients

S-phase fraction as a useful marker for prognosis and therapeutic response in patients with aplastic anemia

The functional definition of aplastic anemia [AA] is the failure of hematopoietic stem cells to proliferate. The aim of the present study was to analyze the S-phase fraction [SPF] [proliferative activity] in patients with AA at diagnosis to explore its relationship with disease characteristics and its value in discriminating among patients with different prognoses. We also investigated whether the SPF value influenced the response to immunosuppressive therapy in AA patients. The analysis of SPF at the time of diagnosis was carried out by flow cytometry on peripheral blood samples from 53 consecutive patients with AA and 30 age- and sex-matched controls. All patients were given cyclosporine and followed up periodically to determine response to therapy. Based on the median SPF, AA patients were divided into two groups: patients with SPF <0.59% [n=27] and patients with SPF >0.59% [n=26]. An SPF >0.59% was associated with advanced age [P=.02] and elevated serum LDH level [P=.01]. Patients with an SPF >0.59% also had a higher incidence of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and cytogenetic abnormalities. During a median follow-up of 18 months, 3.7% of patients with SPF <0.59 and 11.5% of patients with SPF >0.59% developed dysplasia and one patient with SPF >0.59% converted into AMI. A significantly higher [P=.018] overall response rate of 53.9% was found in patients with SPF >0.59% versus 22.2% of patients with SPF <0.59% at 6 months. Independently of the peripheral blood count, the SPF at diagnosis may provide information on the expected response to immunosuppressive therapy and the propensity for disease to evolve into MDS/AML. Hence, SPF may serve as an early indicator for the evolution of MDS/AML in patients with AA and thus contribute to therapeutic decisions