Adenoviruses C in non-hospitalized Mexican children older than five years of age with acute respiratory infection

Adenoviruses (AdV) are commonly involved in acute respiratory infections (ARI), which cause high morbidity and mortality in children. AdV are grouped in six species (A-F), which are associated with a wide range of diseases. The aim of this study was to identify the AdV species infecting non-hospitalized Mexican children with ARI symptoms, attending to the same school. For that, a PCR/RFLP assay was designed for a region of the hexon gene, which was chosen, based on the bioinformatical analysis of AdV genomes obtained from GenBank. A total of 100 children's nasopharyngeal samples were collected from January to June, 2005, and used for viral isolation in A549 cells and PCR/RFLP analysis. Only 15 samples produced cytopathic effect, and in all of them AdV C was identified. AdV C was also identified in eight additional nasopharyngeal samples which were negative for viral isolation. In summary, this outpatient population showed a rate of AdV infection of 23 percent, and only AdV C was detected.

Predominant human rotavirus genotype G1P[8] infection in infants and children in Bangkok, Thailand.

Human rotavirus is the major etiologic agent of infantile diarrhea on a worldwide scale. In this study, rotaviruses were detected by reverse-transcription PCR in 42 of 83 stool specimens from children below the age of 3 years with acute diarrhea in Bangkok, Thailand, between November 1998 and August 1999. G and P types of all samples were characterized by restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) and multiplex PCR typing assay, respectively. Strain G1P[8] (76.1%) was the predominant type, followed by G1P[6] (2.4%). Strain G1 combined with mixed P[8]/P[6] was identified in 2 specimens (4.8%) and 7 untypeable G strains (16.7%) were observed. This information on the circulating G and P combinations should be useful for understanding the epidemiology of human rotavirus in Bangkok, Thailand.

Hsp65 PCR-restriction enzyme analysis (PRA) for identification of mycobacteria in the clinical laboratory

More than 70 species of mycobacteria have been defined, and some can cause disease in humans, especially in immunocompromised patients. Species identification in most clinical laboratories is based on phenotypic characteristics and biochemical tests and final results are obtained only after two to four weeks. Quick identification methods, by reducing time for diagnosis, could expedite institution of specific treatment, increasing chances of success. PCR restriction-enzyme analysis (PRA) of the hsp65 gene was used as a rapid method for identification of 103 clinical isolates. Band patterns were interpreted by comparison with published tables and patterns available at an Internet site (http://www.hospvd.ch:8005). Concordant results of PRA and biochemical identification were obtained in 76 out of 83 isolates (91.5 percent). Results from 20 isolates could not be compared due to inconclusive PRA or biochemical identification. The results of this work showed that PRA could improve identification of mycobacteria in a routine setting because it is accurate, fast, and cheaper than conventional phenotypic identification

Isolation and characterization of c-fos recombinant baculovirus

The use of the baculovirus system to produce recombinant proteins is based on the high level of protein production and the possibility to obtain, in Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells, recombinant proteins with the post-translational modifications found in the native proteins. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of a recombinant baculovirus containing the mouse c-fosgene. The c-fos cDNA was subcloned into the pVL1392 baculovirus transfer vector. The recombinant plasmid (pVL1392.fos) was introduced into Sf9 insect cells by co-transfection with viral wild-type DNA. Upon selection and characterization of a viral recombinant clone, SF9 cells were infected with this virus stock and the cFos protein expression was detected by immunological methods using an anti-cFos polyclonal antiserum

Comparaçäo de seis amostras brasileiras do vírus da doença de Aujeszky (VDA) através da análise de seu genoma com enzimas de restriçäo / Differentiation between Brazilian Aujeszky disease virus strains by restriction endonuclease analysis of DNA

Seis amostras do vírus da doença de Aujeszky (VDA), isoladas nas regiöes Sul e Sudeste do Brasil foram analisadas e comparadas entre si entre as amostras avirulentas Bartha e NIA-4. Quando se consideraram o número e, principalmente, o tamanho e o padräo de migraçäo dos fragmentos obtidos com as endonucleases de restriçäo Bam HI, Sall, Pvull, KpnI e PstI, as amostras brasileiras puderam ser arranjadas em grupos genômicos e diferenciadas das amostras vacinais. Os achados mostraram que amostras de uma mesma regiäo apresentam perfis genômicos semelhantes. A fragmentaçäo genômica poderá ser de grande importância em análises epidemiológicas do VDA no Brasil

Deletion type alpha-thelassemia among brazilian patients with sickle cell anemia

A frequência de alfa-talassemia determinada entre 41 pacientes com anemia falciforme, empregando análise de DNA com enzimas de restriçäo, demonstrou 9 (22%) heterozigotos alfa+ - talassêmicos (genótipo alfa-/alfa alfa), o que indica uma frequência gênica de 0,126. A comparaçäo dos dois grupos de pacientes com anemia falciforme, com três ou com quatro genes de globina alfa, mostrou VCM menor no primeiro grupo, ao passo que näo foram detectadas diferencas nos valores de HbF, HbA2 e hemoglobina total. Estes dados indicam uma elevada prevalência de alfa-talassemia na populaçäo negróide brasileira