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OBJECTIVES@#Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-systemic disease with the unknown pathogenic mechanism. DNA demethylation is involved in SLE pathogenesis. Growth arrest and DNA damage inducible 45 alpha (Gadd45a) takes part in the process of DNA demethylation. Gadd45a is a DNA repair-related protein. This study aims to investigate the expressions of some proteins [including activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), and methyl-CpG-binding domain protein 4 (MBD4)] involving in base excision repair (BER) process in CD4+ T cells in patients with SLE, and to analyze the correlations between the above BER proteins and lupus disease.@*METHODS@#From January 2019 to September 2020, 12 SLE patients and 12 healthy controls were recruited from Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation and then CD4+ T cells were isolated via positive selection using Miltenyi beads. We measured the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expressions of AID, TDG, and MBD4 by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting, respectively.@*RESULTS@#In contrast to controls, in SLE CD4+ T cells, the mRNA and protein expressions of AID were elevated (P=0.003, P=0.022, respectively); TDG protein expression was increased (P=0.017); and MBD4 protein level was reduced (P<0.001). No visible distinctions was found in the mRNA expressions of either TDG or MBD4 between the 2 groups (both P>0.05). The mRNA and protein expressions of AID and the protein levels of TDG were positively correlated with SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI). And the mRNA and protein expressions of MBD4 were negatively correlated with SLEDAI.@*CONCLUSIONS@#In SLE CD4+ T cells, the increased expressions of AID and TDG and the decreased MBD4 expression may participate in SLE pathogenic mechanism.
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Humans , Leukocytes, Mononuclear , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/metabolism , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism , DNA Repair , RNA, Messenger/metabolismABSTRACT
Objective@#To analyze molecular feature of rabies virus (RABV) epidemic strains in Sichuan province during 2011 to 2017, and explore differences at nucleotide, amino acid and protein modification between these street strains and vaccine strains.@*Methods@#Nucleoprotein(N) and glycoprotein(G) genes were amplified by RT-PCR using specific primers for 23 antigen-positive canine brain specimens collected from 2011 to 2017. The evolutionary relationship and immune antigenicity of N and G genes was analyzed. Bioinformatics software was used to analyze and organize data.@*Results@#We obtained the N and G genes sequences of 23 RABV strains by sequencing. Genetic evolution relationship analysis showed that all the 23 RABV strains belonged to rabies virus species and could be divided into three branches, which had apparent geographically specific characteristics but some Sichuan strains co-circulated with the epidemic strains in the eastern and northern regions of China.The N genes of Sichuan strains had nucleotide and amino acid homology of 97.4% to 100% and 99.6%-100%. The nucleotide and amino acid homology between Sichuan strains and reference strains were 72.1%-99.8% and 81.6%-100%, respectively. There were some differences in antigenic sites, cell epitopes and signal peptide sequences between vaccine strain and Sichuan strains but no significant change was found in antigenicity, organizational preference and virulence.@*Conclusions@#The 23 strains of RABV of Sichuan belonged to rabies virus species and had no obvious differences. There were few differences between Sichuan strain and vaccine strain in amino acid sequences of G, but the virulence did not change.
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OBJECTIVE@#To explore the causes of oocyte vitrification and its application in assisted reproduction.@*METHODS@#We retrospectively analyzed the data of 26 patients with 27 cycles of oocyte vitrification cryopreservation undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and embryo transfer between January, 2008 and October, 2018. The causes of oocyte vitrification and the outcomes of ICSI and clinical pregnancy were analyzed.@*RESULTS@#The causes of oocytes vitrification included mainly azoospermia or severe spermatogenesis disorder of the husband, failure to obtain sperms from the husband, failure of the husband to be present on the day of oocyte retrieval and acute diseases of the husband to not allow sperm collection. A total of 274 oocytes were frozen in 27 oocyte retrieval cycles, and 217 eggs were thawed in 19 cycles with a survival rate of 81.11% (176/217). The normal fertilization rate, cleavage rate and high-quality embryo rate was 74.81% (98/131), 89.80% (88/98) and 36.73% (36/98), respectively. Fifteen patients underwent embryo transfer, and the clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate was 53.33% (8/15) and 33.33% (5/15), respectively. Compared with patients below 35 years of age, the patients aged above 35 years had significantly lower oocyte survival rate after thawing (82.76% 74.42%, =0.211), clinical pregnancy rate (77.78% 16.67%, =0.041) and live birth rate (55.56% 0, =0.044).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Oocytes vitrification can be used as a remedy for infertile couples who fail to provide sperms due to male factors on the day of oocyte retrieval. Vitrification of the oocytes does not significantly affect the fertilization rate or the clinical pregnancy rate. The survival rate of the thawed oocytes is related to the age of the wife, and an age younger than 35 years can be optimal for achieving favorable clinical pregnancy outcomes after oocyte vitrification.
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Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Pregnancy , Cryopreservation , Embryo Transfer , Oocytes , Pregnancy Rate , Retrospective Studies , VitrificationABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To compare the effects of cetrorelix and ganirelix in gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist (GnRH-ant) cycles for preventing premature luteinizing hormone (LH) surges and on clinical outcomes of IVF-ET cycles.@*METHODS@#We retrospectively analyzed 2572 GnRH-ant cycles of fertilization and embryo transfer from January, 2013 to December, 2016, including 1368 cycles with cetrorelix treatment and 1204 cycles with ganirelix treatment. The baseline characteristics of the patients and the clinical outcomes of the two groups were compared.@*RESULTS@#Compared with those receiving ganirelix treatment, the patients with cetrorelix treatment had a significantly younger age (33.10 33.89 years, 0.05). The two groups also had comparable percentages of patients with LH > 10 U/L on the day of hCG triggering (3.7% 3.2%) and similar spontaneous ovulation rate (0.6% 0.5%), clinical pregnancy rate (47.7% 45.9%) and live birth rate (37.5% 33.6%) following fresh embryo transfer ( > 0.05). The incidence of moderate to severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, however, was significantly higher in ganirelix group than in cetrorelix group (0.7% 0.1%, =0.006).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Cetrorelix and ganirelix can achieve comparable effects for preventing premature LH surges and can achieve similar clinical outcomes of GnRH-ant cycles, but ganirelix is associated with a significantly higher incidence of moderate to severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
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To assess the value of immunohistochemical analysis for expressions of C3d, C4d, IgG, IgG4, and CD123 in the diagnosis of autoimmune skin diseases. Methods: We investigated the expressions of C3d, C4d, IgG, IgG4, and CD123 in paraffin-embedded, formalin-fixed tissues from 27 lupus erythematosus cases, including 8 discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) cases, 4 subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) cases, and 15 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cases. Tissues from 15 dermatomyositis (DM) cases, 15 bullous pemphigoid (BP) cases, and 15 pemphigus cases were examined by immunohistochemical analysis. The differences in expression rates of C3d, C4d, IgG, IgG4, and CD123 between immunohistochemical staining and direct immunofluorescence were compared in the diagnosis of these diseases. Results: In the lupus erythematosus group, the positive rates of C3d and C4d deposited along the dermoepidermal junction were 85.2% and 51.9%, respectively. In the dermatomyositis group, the positive rates of C3d and C4d deposited along the dermoepidermal junction were 40% and 0, respectively. The expressions of C3d and C4d in lupus erythematosus tissues were significantly higher than those in DM tissues (P<0.05). The expression of CD123 protein in skin lesions of the lupus group was significantly higher than that in the DM group (P<0.05). In the BP group, the positive rates of C3d and C4d deposited along the dermoepidermal junction were 100% and 86.7%, respectively. In the pemphigus group, the positive rates of C3d and C4d deposited in the intercellular space of keratinocytes were 100% and 60%, respectively. The expressions of IgG and IgG4 in pemphigus tissues were higher than those in BP tissues (P<0.05). And the ratios of IgG4 to IgG in the pemphigus group was significantly higher than that in the BP group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The assays of C3d and C4d define an important diagnostic adjunct in evaluation of lupus erythematosus, BP and pemphigus. In some cases, it may even replace the direct immunofluorescence as a diagnostic adjunct. The expression of CD123 possesses certain clinical significance for the differential diagnosis of lupus erythematosus, and IgG4 and IgG expressions have adjunctive diagnostic significance for pemphigus.
Subject(s)
Humans , Autoimmune Diseases , Complement C3d , Complement System Proteins , Immunoglobulin G , Interleukin-3 Receptor alpha Subunit , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic , PemphigusABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the distribution patterns of mosquitoes,midges and related arboviruses in Sichuan province.Methods Blood-sucking insects were collected from houses and pens,using the ultraviolet lights.Mosquito samples were classified according to morphologic characteristics and then stored at liquid nitrogen.All samples were incubated with BHK-21 and C6/36 cells for virus isolation and then detected for their viral genes.Sequences of the virus were identified and analyzed by molecular biological software,such as BioEdit 7.0.5.3,MEGA 6.0.Results In total,17 019 mosquitoes from 3 genera and 4 species and 12 700 midges were collected from the southeast regions of Sichuan province in 2016 and 2017.Among them,79.4％ (13 519/17 019) belonged to Culex tritaeniorhynchus with 11.1％ (1 897/17 019) as Armigeres subalbatus,5.5％ (930/17 019) were Anopheles sinensis and 4.0％ (673/17 019) were Anopheles sinensis 3 virus strains that isolated from Culex tritaeniorhynchus were identified as type Ⅰ Japanese encephalitis virus.Seven pools of mosquitoes isolated from Hejiang county were identified Japanese encephalitis virus gene positive through PCR amplification.With 4 pool midges were detected positive for Akabane virus through PCR gene amplification while midges samples didn't have virus isolates.Conclusions Culex tritaeniorhynchus appeared the predominant species in the southeast regions of Sichuan.Japanese encephalitis virus transmitted by mosquitoes and Akabane virus by midges were prevalent in southeast Sichuan province.
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Objective To investigate the distribution patterns of mosquitoes,midges and related arboviruses in Sichuan province.Methods Blood-sucking insects were collected from houses and pens,using the ultraviolet lights.Mosquito samples were classified according to morphologic characteristics and then stored at liquid nitrogen.All samples were incubated with BHK-21 and C6/36 cells for virus isolation and then detected for their viral genes.Sequences of the virus were identified and analyzed by molecular biological software,such as BioEdit 7.0.5.3,MEGA 6.0.Results In total,17 019 mosquitoes from 3 genera and 4 species and 12 700 midges were collected from the southeast regions of Sichuan province in 2016 and 2017.Among them,79.4％ (13 519/17 019) belonged to Culex tritaeniorhynchus with 11.1％ (1 897/17 019) as Armigeres subalbatus,5.5％ (930/17 019) were Anopheles sinensis and 4.0％ (673/17 019) were Anopheles sinensis 3 virus strains that isolated from Culex tritaeniorhynchus were identified as type Ⅰ Japanese encephalitis virus.Seven pools of mosquitoes isolated from Hejiang county were identified Japanese encephalitis virus gene positive through PCR amplification.With 4 pool midges were detected positive for Akabane virus through PCR gene amplification while midges samples didn't have virus isolates.Conclusions Culex tritaeniorhynchus appeared the predominant species in the southeast regions of Sichuan.Japanese encephalitis virus transmitted by mosquitoes and Akabane virus by midges were prevalent in southeast Sichuan province.
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Objective@#To study the genome molecular characteristics of Getah virus (SC1210) which isolated in Sichuan province in 2012.@*Methods@#Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to identify the isolate and the genome was sequenced by the second Ion Torrent PGM. Computer softwares, including Mega Align and Mega 6, were used to analyze the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence, and draw phylogenetic trees.@*Results@#SC1210 was identified as Getah virus. The full genome sequence was 11 690nt, the nucleotide and amino acid homology of the full sequence with other strains were 99.2%-99.7% and 96.5%-99.4%.The capsid protein of SC1210 consisting of 804 nucleotides, encoding 268 amino acids and the full-length of E2 protein, had 1 266 nucleotides, encoding 422 amino acids. The nucleotide homology of the capsid protein and the E2 protein with other strains were 94.9%-99.2% and 94.6%-99.6%, and the amino acid were 97%-99.6% and 97.1%-99.5%. The 3′ UTR of the virus included 402 nucleotides and there were three repeat sequence elements and 19 nucleotides conservation sequence.@*Conclusions@#The first GETV isolate SC1210 in Sichuan province has a closer relationship with Yunnan strain YN040 and a far genetic relationship with MM2021.