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A patient with fever, chills, and pancytopenia as major clinical manifestations was presented. To investigate the cause, the patient’s peripheral blood was collected for pathogen screening using metagenomic next - generation sequencing (mNGS). The DNA sequence of Leishmania donovani was detected, and Leishmania amastigotes were found in bone marrow smears using microscopy. The case was therefore definitively diagnosed as visceral leishmaniasis, and was cured and discharged from hospital following treatment with liposomal amphotericin B for 14 days. This is the first imported case of visceral leishmaniasis since the founding of Shenzhen City in 1979.
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Objective To identify the species of Biomphalaria snails collected in Shenzhen reservoir,based on the mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences.Methods The 16S rDNA fragments were amplified by PCR from the genome DNA of Biomphalaria snails,and inserted in plasmid pMD-18T for sequencing.The sequence of 16S rDNA fragment and its phylogenetic relationships with those of other species of Biomphalaria snails were analyzed with BLAST and MEGA4 software.Results The amplified 16S rDNA fragment of the Biomphalaria snails was about 466 bp in length.As aligned with the corresponding sequences of the related Biomphalaria species,the identity of nucleotides was 99％ with 1 isolate of Biomphaltria straminea (B.straminea),98％ with 3 isolates of B.kuhniana,95％ with 1 isolate of B.intermedia,and 94％ with 1 isolate of B.edisoni.Based on the 16S rDNA sequence,the results of phylogenetic analysis with neighbor-joining (NJ) and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) indicated that the snails had close genetic relationships with the B.straminea isolate (Genbank accession NO.AY030213.1) Conclusion The Biomphalaria snails collected in Shenzhen reservoir could be classified as B.straminea based on the characteristics of 16S rDNA sequence.
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Objective To identify the species classification of an ornamental Planorbidae from a flower market in Shanghai and analyze its potential distribution in China. Methods In August 2013,six freshwater snail specimens were collected from the Wanshang flower market. The species was identified by morphology and molecular biology. An ecological niche model was constructed based on the native geographic presence occurrence data,and projected onto the whole of China to predict the poten?tial distribution. Results Their shell external morphology suggested that the specimens belonged to Planorbella trivolvis(Say 1817)of Planorbidae,which is native in North America. The sequence data of a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxi?dase subunit I(COI)confirmed its identification. A total of 2 294 georeferenced occurrence points in North America were car?ried out from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility databases and 614 records with coordinates were used to produce a North American native niche model by a maximum entropy method(Maxent). The projection on China results suggested high probabilities of occurrence mostly in Henan Province and its borderland with nearby provinces. Conclusions P. trivolvis is sim?ilarly with Biomphalaria species from shell morphology. It is the first records of the species in China,and the field dispersal is not clear.
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Objective To detect infection of Angiostrongylus cantonensis and examine effection of treatment to prepare monoclonal antibodies(McAbs). Methods Six-week-old BALB/c mice were imrnunized by the intraperitoneal injection of e/s antigens of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. Fusion of splecn cells from immunized mice with prepared SP2/0-Ag14 myeloma cells was performed in RPMI 1640. Fused cells were suspended in RPMI 1640 containing 1% HAT and 20% fetal calf serum and dispensed into 96-well cell culture plates. The supernatants of clones were screened by ELISA with sera of patients of angiostrongyliasis.Distribution of cohere antigen of 12D5 and 21B7 monoclonal antibodies was analyzed with immunohistochemistry. Two McAbs ( 12D5 and 21B7) were applied to detect the circulating antigen (CAg) in the sera of rats infected with A. cantonensis and angiostrongyliasis patients respectively by double antibody sandwich ELISA.Results 12D5 McAb was identified as IgG1 and 21 B7 McAb was IgM. Western blot result showed two McAbs could used to identified 55 × 103 protein of adult worms of A. cantonensis. Cohere antigen of 12D5 and 21B7 monoclonal antibodies were distributed on intestine surface of A. cantonensis. The detection rates of CAg in the sera of infected rats 100% (48/48), the detection rates of CAg in the sera of angiostrongyliasis patients was 100% (32/32). No cross-reaction to sera of patients with other infection of parasites, such as clonochiasis, fasiolopsiasis, ancylostomiasis, trichinosis, anisakiasis as well as schsitosomiasis, and health srea did not reacted with 12D5 and 21B7 McAbs,and detaction rate of antibody of angiostrongyliasis patients only reached 75% (24/32) with antigen of A. cantonensis. Conclusion Cohere antigen of 12D5 and 21B7monoclonal antibodies were antigens of enteric epithelium. Sandwich ELISA with 12D5 and 21B7 McAbs showed high specificity act as detecting CAg of A. cantonensis in sera of infection animal and patients. It is apparent that Sandwich ELISA with 12D5 and 21 B7 is not only rapid and simple without requirement of special instrument, but also rather sensitive and specific for the detection of current infection with A. cantonensis.
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To identify the gene differentially expressed in female Anopheles anthropophagus and to analyze its gene sequence, this gene amplified by PCR was identified by real-time PCR and its cDNA was then amplified with rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technology. It was found that the expression ratio of the female differentially expressed gene in female and male mosquitoes was 267.49 according to the formula F=2~(-⊿⊿CT).The size of mRNA of the gene was 364 bp, and the amino acid sequence deduced from the open reading frame (ORF) was found to be similar to the sequence of tectin protein of Culex quinquefasciatus and proteins of other species. The mRNA sequence of this gene was submitted to NCBI with a accession number of FJ907236. This gene may provide a foundation for further studies on the biological functions of mosquitoes.
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Objective Rab11 GTPases play an essential role in regulating membrane trafficking pathways in eukaryotic cells. Nonetheless, there has been little work done on characterizing the transport machinery of Trichomonas. The aim of this study is to clone and characterize a Rab11 gene of Trichomonas vaginalis.Methods A cDNA expression library was constructed with T. vaginalis total RNA. A cDNA clone, which showed a high degree of homology with Rab proteins of different species, was isolated and sequenced. Sequence analysis was performed using BLASTP, RPS-BLAST and ClustalW programs. The genomic DNA corresponding to the cDNA sequence was amplified using PCR techniques and following by sequencing. Results cDNA with a length of 710 base pairs and an open reading frame of 636 bp was obtained. The deduced amino acid sequence from the open reading frame was found to possess 211 residuals. Sequence analysis demonstrated that this cDNA clone was homologous to the Rab11 subfamily of different species (60% identity and 79% similarity with Arabidopsis thaliana Rab11c, 58% identity and 78% similarity with human Rab11b), and that the amino acid sequence contains all the well known conserved sequence elements of Rab family. Specific Rab motifs were also detected in the deduced amino acid sequence. Phylogenetic analysis showed that its closest homologues are Rab11 proteins from other species. Sequencing of the PCR product of genomic DNA revealed that the genomic DNA sequence encompassing the putative 5'-ATG and 3'-stop codon is identical to the cDNA sequence.Conclusion A cDNA clone corresponding to the T. vaginalis Rab11 gene was obtained.The function of this gene in regulating membrane trafficking pathways of the parasitic protist is still under investigation.
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To construct a recombinant plasmid Pet23a-M, the gene encoding severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus membrane protein was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into the expression plasmid Pet23a. Results of restriction endonuclease analysis, PCR detection and DNA sequencing analysis revealed that the cloned DNA sequence was the same as that reported. The recombinants were transformed into Escherichia coli (E. Coli) BL21 (DE3) and induced by Isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The expression of 27 kD (1 kD=0.992 1 ku) protein was detected by SDS-PAGE and pured by metal chelated chromatography. Results of Western-blot showed that this expressed protein could react with antibodies in sera of SARS patients during convalescence. This provided the basis for the further study on SARS virus vaccine and diagnostic agents.
Subject(s)
Humans , Cloning, Molecular , Escherichia coli , Genetics , Metabolism , Membrane Proteins , Genetics , Plasmids , Genetics , Recombinant Proteins , Genetics , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus , Chemistry , Genetics , Viral VaccinesABSTRACT
To construct a recombinant plasmid Pet23a-M, the gene encoding severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus membrane protein was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into the expression plasmid Pet23a. Results of restriction endonuclease analysis, PCR detection and DNA sequencing analysis revealed that the cloned DNA sequence was the same as that reported. The recombinants were transformed into Escherichia coli (E. Coli) BL21 (DE3) and induced by Isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The expression of 27 kD (1 kD=0.992 1 ku) protein was detected by SDS-PAGE and pured by metal chelated chromatography. Results of Western-blot showed that this expressed protein could react with antibodies in sera of SARS patients during convalescence. This provided the basis for the further study on SARS virus vaccine and diagnostic agents.
Subject(s)
Cloning, Molecular , Escherichia coli/genetics , Escherichia coli/metabolism , Membrane Proteins/biosynthesis , Membrane Proteins/genetics , Membrane Proteins/isolation & purification , Plasmids/biosynthesis , Plasmids/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis , Recombinant Proteins/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/isolation & purification , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/chemistry , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus/genetics , Viral Vaccines/biosynthesisABSTRACT
Objective To explore the efficacy and protective mechanism of calpain, a calcium activated neutral proteinase as a vaccine candidate molecule. Methods Anti calpain sera were prepared by immunized BALB/c mice with recombinant calpain. Anti calpain sera, schistosomula of Schistosoma japonicum , and mouse eosinophils were incubated at 37 ?C , 5% CO 2 for 48 hours, and the adherence of eosinophils to schistosomula and its schistosomulacidal efficacy were observed. Results Mice immunized with recombinant calpain produced a high level IgG antibodies specific to the antigen immunized. Immunoblotting analysis showed murine anti recombinant calpain sera bound specifically to recombinant calpain. Ninety six percent of schistosomula were surrounded by cells when incubated with mouse eosinophils, and a significant number of dead schistosomula was observed at 48 hours when incubated with mouse serum and eosinophils as compared with control serum and eosinophils ( P
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Objective To construct a prokaryotic expression system containing the dense granule protein 4(GRA4) of Toxoplasma gondii,purify the expressed protein and detect its immunogenicity.Methods The specific fragment of GRA4 gene was amplified by PCR.After subcloning the prokaryotic expression recombinant pET,GRA4,the expressed product was purified with His?BindTM affinity chromatography and analyzed by Western blot.BALB/c mice were immunized with the GRA4 recombinant protein,and the antibody IgG titer was detected by ELISA.Results The pET,GRA4 prokaryotic expression system was obtained.The MW of the expressed protein was Mr 40 000 and formed in inclusion body.After purification,the recombinant protein could be specifically recognized by the T.gondii infected rabbit serum.Mice immunized with the purified recombinant protein elicited high titer of IgG antibody.Conclusion The pET,GRA4 recombinant protein was successfully expressed and purified,which shows the immunogenicity.