L1 Recombinant Proteins of HPV Tested for Antibody Forming Using Sera of HPV Quadrivalent Vaccine

Virus-like particles (VLPs) derived from human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 capsid proteins were used for HPV quadrivalent recombinant vaccine. The HPV quadrivalent vaccine is administrated in a 3-dose regimen of initial injection followed by subsequent doses at 2 and 6 months to prevent cervical cancer, vulvar, and vaginal cancers. The type 6, 11, 16, or 18 of HPV infection is associated with precancerous lesions and genital warts in adolescents and young women. The HPV vaccine is composed of viral L1 capsid proteins are produced in eukaryotic expression systems and purified in the form of VLPs. Four different the L1 protein of 3 different subtypes of HPV: HPV11, HPV16, and HPV18 were expressed in Escherichia coli divided into 2 fragments as N- and C-terminal of each protein in order to examine the efficacy of HPV vaccine. Vaccinated sera failed to recognize N-terminal L1 HPV type 16 and type 18 by western blot while they detected N-terminal L1 protein of HPV type 11. Moreover, the recombinant C-terminal L1 proteins of type 16 was non-specifically recognized by the secondary antibody conjugated with horseradish peroxidase. This expression and purification system may provide simple method to obtain robust recombinant L1 protein of HPV subtypes to improve biochemical analysis of antigens with immunized sera.

IL-32-induced Inflammatory Cytokines Are Selectively Suppressed by α1-antitrypsin in Mouse Bone Marrow Cells

The induction of interleukin (IL)-32 in bone marrow (BM) inflammation is crucial in graft versus host disease (GvHD) that is a common side effect of allogeneic BM transplantation. Clinical trials on α-1 antitrypsin (AAT) in patients with GvHD are based on the preliminary human and mouse studies on AAT reducing the severity of GvHD. Proteinase 3 (PR3) is an IL-32-binding protein that was isolated from human urine. IL-32 primarily induces inflammatory cytokines in myeloid cells, probably due to PR3 expression on the membrane of the myeloid lineage cells. The inhibitory activity of AAT on serine proteinases may explain the anti-inflammatory effect of AAT on GvHD. However, the anti-inflammatory activity of AAT on BM cells remains unclear. Mouse BM cells were treated with IL-32γ and different inflammatory stimuli to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of AAT. Recombinant AAT-Fc fusion protein inhibited IL-32γ-induced IL-6 expression in BM cells, but failed to suppress that induced by other stimuli. In addition, the binding of IL-32γ to PR3 was abrogated by AAT-Fc. The data suggest that the specific anti-inflammatory effect of AAT in mouse BM cells is due to the blocking of IL-32 binding to membrane PR3.

Dendritic Cell Dysfunction in Patients with End-stage Renal Disease

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) with immune disorder involves complex interactions between the innate and adaptive immune responses. ESRD is associated with various alterations in immune function such as a reduction in polymorphonuclear leukocyte bactericidal activity, a suppression of lymphocyte proliferative response to stimuli, and a malfunction of cell-mediated immunity at the molecular level. ESRD also increases patients' propensity for infections and malignancies as well as causing a diminished response to vaccination. Several factors influence the immunodeficiency in patients with ESRD, including uremic toxins, malnutrition, chronic inflammation, and the therapeutic dialysis modality. The alteration of T-cell function in ESRD has been considered to be a major factor underlying the impaired adaptive cellular immunity in these patients. However, cumulative evidence has suggested that the immune defect in ESRD can be caused by an Ag-presenting dendritic cell (DC) dysfunction in addition to a T-cell defect. It has been reported that ESRD has a deleterious effect on DCs both in terms of their number and function, although the precise mechanism by which DC function becomes altered in these patients is unclear. In this review, we discuss the effects of ESRD on the number and function of DCs and propose a possible molecular mechanism for DC dysfunction. We also address therapeutic approaches to improve immune function by optimally activating DCs in patients with ESRD.

Gender violence among rural women in Viet Nam

Background: Domestic-related violence against women appears in every country, culture and socioeconomic classes. Yen Phong district of Bac Ninh province is in the economic transformation process from agricultural to industrial and service economic structure. The domestic-related violence trend is increasing, but there are no study on this situation. Objectives: The study was conducted to investigate the situation of domestic violence against women in Yen Phong district, Bac Ninh province. Subjects and method: The study used cross-sectional descriptive design. Participants were married women who were less than 50 years old. The participants were interviewed with structured questionnaires. The group involved the men who have a history of violent activities against women and the women who suffered from violence was thoroughly interviewed and discussed. Results: A total of 452 women had participated in the study. Mean age of participants was 34.6 years old (ranging from 19 to 49 years old). About half of participants have never suffered from domestic violence. The violence in the last 12 months was lower, affected to one out of every 5 women. The mental violence accounted for highest rate, followed by physical and sexual violence (29.2%, 28.3% and 10.4%, respectively). Sharing economy and household responsibility, gambling habit of husbands and talkative habit of wives were main reasons of violence. The consequences of violence were mainly related to mental and social factors. Some women suffered from mental, physical and sexual health consequences (73.2%, 20.5%, and 13.7%, respectively). Conclusion: In order to increase the awareness on domestic violence, it requires improve access to information on gender violence for both men and women.

Some remarks on lymph node dissection and recovering of gastrointestinal circulation after gastrectomy caused by cancer at B15 department of Military Central Hospital N.108

Background: Gastric cancer is a common disease in the world. For treatment, gastrectomy is still considered as the first choice. However, recovering of postoperative gastrointestinal circulation remains a controversial issue. Objectives: To assess the early results of 2 methods as gastroduodenostomy (Billroth I type) and gastrojejunostomy (Billroth type II) in recovering of gastrointestinal circulation. Subjects and method: A descriptive, retrospective study was conducted on 98 patients (61 males, 37 females, mean aged 48.1\xb112.7), were confirmed diagnosed with gastric cancer, treated in Military Central Hospital N.108 from May, 2001 to December, 2005. Results: Tumor positions were seen in 1/3 lower and 1/3 middle of gastric organ (59.2% and 40.8%, respective). There was no significant difference for invasive level of tumor between 2 groups (P>0.05). 62.2% patients with invasive level of tumor in stage of T4 in both 2 groups. Generally, the lesion between 2 forms of ulcer and rough differed significantly. The patients with and without metastatic lymph nodes were 57 and 41 patients, respective. All of patients were conducted with lymph node dissection at the stage of DIII-DIV. The difference between 2 groups for surgical time was no statistic significant. Conclusion: Billroth type I method combined with lymph nodes dissection was a safe and feasible technique in treatment of gastric cancer.