Seroprevalence of Human Cytomegalovirus and Rubella Virus Antibodies among Anti-retroviral Naive HIV Patients in Lagos.

Background/Aims: Opportunistic infections such as Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Rubella virus that pose no threat to healthy individuals can be life threatening in those with impaired immune systems. The aim of this study was to determine the sero-prevalence of human Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Rubella Immunoglobulin M and G (IgM and IgG) antibodies among anti-retroviral naive patients in Lagos. Study Design: This is a cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) clinic in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) between April 2011 and May 2012. Methodology: The study was carried out among 80 (28 males and 52 females) HIV infected adults attending the AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) clinic in Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the patients were aged between 18 and 60 years. IgG and IgM assay were performed using ELISA reagents (produced by Biotec laboratories, United Kingdom). Also, CD4+ cell counts were evaluated. Pearson’s Chi-squared test was used for the analytic assessment. Results: From our findings, twenty (25%) patients were positive for CMV IgM and sixty (75%) patients were positive for CMV IgG. Also, 59 (73.75%) patients were positive for Rubella IgG and only one (1.25%) patient was positive for rubella IgM. There was no significant statistical difference in seroprevalences of CMV-IgM, CMV- IgG, and rubella IgG with respect to sex, age, and CD4+ cell counts. Conclusion: This study showed that the sero-prevalence of CMV and Rubella virus is high among anti-retroviral naive HIV patients in Lagos, Nigeria.

A study of APin-protein interactions using protein microarray / 대한치과보존학회지

Protein microarray or protein chips is potentially powerful tools for analysis of protein-protein interactions. APin cDNA was previously identified and cloned from a rat odontoblast cDNA library. The purpose of this study was to investigate the APin-protein interactions during ameloblast differentiation. Protein microarray was carried with recombinant APin protein and MEF2, Aurora kinase A, BMPR-IB and EF-hand calcium binding protein were selected among 74 interacting proteins. Immortalized ameloblast cells (ALCs) were transfected with pCMV-APin construct and U6-APin siRNA construct. After transfection, the expression of the mRNAs for four proteins selected by protein micoarrays were assessed by RT-PCR. The results were as follows: 1. APin expression was increased and decreased markedly after its over-expression and inactivation, respectively. 2. Over-expression of the APin in the ALCs markedly down-regulated the expression of MEF2 and Aurora kinase A, whereas their expression remained unchanged by its inactivation. 3. Expression of BMPR-IB and EF-hand calcium binding protein were markedly increased by the overexpression of the APin in the ALCs, whereas expression of BMPR-IB remained unchanged and expression of EF-hand calcium binding protein was markedly decreased by its inactivation. These results suggest that APin plays an important role in ameloblast differentiation and mineralization by regulating the expression of MEF2, Aurora kinase A, BMPR-IB and EF-hand calcium binding protein.

Expression and function of OD314, Apin protein during ameloblast differentiation and amelogenesis / 대한치과보존학회지

This study was aimed to elucidate the biological function of OD314 (Apin protein), which is related toameloblast differentiation and amelogenesis. Apin protein, calcifying epithelial odontogenic (pindborg) tumors (CEOTs)-associated amyloid, were isolated from CEOTs, and has similar nucleotide sequences to OD314. We examined expression of the OD314 mRNA using in-situ hybridization during tooth development in mice. Expression of OD314 and several enamel matrix proteins were examined in the cultured ameloblast cell line up to 28 days by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification. After inactivation and over-expression of the OD314 gene in ameloblast cell lines using U6 vector-driven RNA interference and CMV-OD314 construct, RT-PCR were performed to evaluate the effect of the OD314 during amelogenesis. The results were as follows: 1. In in-situ hybridization, OD314 mRNAs were more strongly expressed in ameloblast than odontoblast. 2. When ameloblast cells were cultured in the differentiation and mineralization medium for 28 days, the tuftelin mRNA expression was maintained from the beginning to day 14, and then gradually decreased to day 28. The expressions of amelogenin and enamelin were gradually decreased according to the ameloblast differentiation. 3. Inactivation of OD314 by U6-OD314 siRNA construct down-regulated the expression of OD314, MMP-20, and tuftelin, whereas over-expression of OD314 by CMV-OD314 construct up-regulated the expression of OD314 and MMP-20 without change in tuftelin. These results suggest that OD314 is considered as an ameloblast-enriched gene and may play the important roles in ameloblast differentiation and mineralization.