The application of serum endotoxin detection in the diagnosis of artificial prosthetic joint loosening / 医学研究生学报

Objective The dynamic detection of endotoxin is of great significance for the early diagnosis and treatment of prosthesis loosening after joint replacement. This study aimed to explore and analyze the clinical significance and efficacy of endotoxin detection in prosthetic joint loosening after joint replacement.Methods Fifty-eight patients who underwent arthroplasty in the department of orthopedics in Nanjing General Hospital from January 2015 to June 2016 were selected for prospective study. The patients were divided into the infection loosening group (patients with infectious loosening after arthroplasty, n=15), the aseptic loosening group (patients with aseptic loosening of after arthroplasty, n=23) and the control group (patients were normal after arthroplasty, n=20) according to the postoperative complications. Endotoxin was detected with MB-80 microbial dynamic rapid detection system. We compared the endotoxin level and the ROC curve was made to acquire the sensitivity and specificity under the different cut-off values. Eventually find the best diagnostic threshold.Results The levels of endotoxin in the infection loosening group and the aseptic loosening group \[(0.56±0.11, 0.49±0.08) ng/mL\] were significantly higher than that in the control group \[(0.24±0.06) ng/mL\]. The difference was statistically significant (P0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that when the serum endotoxin concentration was 0.36 ng/mL, the Youden index was the highest, which could be the best cut-off value for diagnosis. It had the best accuracy to judge the prosthesis loosening with a sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 88.2%.Conclusion The endotoxin can be a good indicator for early diagnosis of prosthesis looseness. It is helpful to the diagnosis of the prosthesis loosening after arthroplasty.

Immunogenicity of recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum NC8 expressing goose parvovirus VP2 gene in BALB/c mice

Goose parvovirus (GPV) continues to be a threat to goose farms and has significant economic effects on the production of geese. Current commercially available vaccines only rarely prevent GPV infection. In our study, Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum NC8 was selected as a vector to express the VP2 gene of GPV, and recombinant L. plantarum pSIP409-VP2/NC8 was successfully constructed. The molecular weight of the expressed recombinant protein was approximately 70 kDa. Mice were immunized with a 2 × 109 colony-forming unit/200 µL dose of the recombinant L. plantarum strain, and the ratios and numbers of CD11c⁺, CD3⁺CD4⁺, CD3⁺CD8⁺, and interferon gamma- and tumor necrosis factor alpha-expressing spleen lymphocytes in the pSIP409-VP2/NC8 group were higher than those in the control groups. In addition, we assessed the capacity of L. plantarum SIP409-VP2/NC8 to induce secretory IgA production. We conclude that administered pSIP409-VP2/NC8 leads to relatively extensive cellular responses. This study provides information on GPV infection and offers a clear framework of options available for GPV control strategies.

Molecular Characterization of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Domestic Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in Northeastern China

A study of 426 rabbits from 3 cities in Jilin province (Changchun City and Jilin City) and Liaoning province (Shenyang City) was conducted between May and June 2015. The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi in rabbits was 0.94% (4/426), with 0% (0/116), 1.72% (3/174), and 0.74% (1/136) in Jilin, Changchun, and Shenyang City, respectively. Only 3 farms (farm 1 and farm 3 in Changchun City, farm 8 in Shenyang City) were PCR-positive for E. bieneusi. Moreover, rabbits of more than 6 months (1.72%) had the highest E. bieneusi prevalence, followed by rabbits of 4-6 months (1.26%), 2-3 months (0.58%), and less than 1 month (0%). Analysis of ITS gene of E. bieneusi suggested that all 4 E. bieneusi isolates were genotype D, and were classified as group 1a. The present results first demonstrated the existence of zoonotic E. bieneusi in domestic rabbits in China. Effective control measures should be implemented to prevent E. bieneusi infection in domestic rabbits, other animals, and humans.

The relationship between TGFbeta1 and TIMP-1 and its effects on the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect the expressions of serum transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta1) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in different phases of their liver fibrosis and to investigate the effects of TGFbeta1 and TIMP-1 on the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis and the relationship between them.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Serum TGFbeta1 and TIMP-1 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and serum HA, LN, PIIINP were detected by radioimmunoassay in 40 CHB patients and 12 healthy persons. Liver biopsies were performed on the 40 patients. The relationships between the TGFbeta1 and TIMP-1 and hepatic fibrosis stages, hepatitis grades and the relevance of the five serum makers of the patients were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Serum TGFbeta1, TIMP-1 rose in the early stage of liver fibrosis and their sensitivities were higher than that of HA, LN and PIIINP. Serum levels of TGFbeta1 and TIMP-1 increased significantly with the development of fibrosis and had positive correlations with other fibrotic makers such as HA, LN and PIIINP.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TGFbeta1 and TIMP-1 are involved in the course of developing hepatic fibrosis and TIMP-1 may be regulated by TGFbeta1. Both of them can be used as diagnostic markers of early hepatic fibrosis.</p>