Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep from northern China

@#Toxoplasma gondii is an important zoonotic parasite causing significant health problems to humans and animals. In recent years, a number of investigations about the seroprevalence of T. gondii in China have been reported, but little is known on the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in sheep in northern China. In the present study, a total of 288 sheep serum samples were collected from Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Hebei provinces of northern China for T. gondii antibody survey using a latex agglutination test (LAT). Of these, 87 (30.2%) serum samples were positive for antibodies to T. gondii, and the antibody titres ranged from 1:64 to 1:1,024. Seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in sheep was 17.1% in Inner Mongolia, 33.8% in Heilongjiang, 24.6% in Jilin and 46.3% in Hebei. Age and rearing system significantly affected seropositivity. The present survey indicates antibodies to T. gondii are widely prevalent in sheep in northern China, which may cause public health problems in these provinces.

Molecular Detection of Theileria species in Cattle from Jilin Province, China

Bovine theileriosis is a tick-borne disease that is hampering the development of the domestic cattle industry in northern China. This study involved a molecular survey of bovine Theileria species in 137 blood samples from cattle in the Jilin province of China. The DNA samples were screened by species-specific 18S rRNA PCR. Results revealed that 19.7% (27/137), 17.5% (24/137) and 10.9% (15/137) were found to be infected with Theileria sinensis, Theileria orientalis, respectively. Mixed infection was found in 8.8% (12/137). The overall detection rates of Baishan, Yanji, Jilin and Liaoyuan districts was 60.0%, 17.5%, 5.3% and 0%, respectively. There is little information on the detection and distribution of bovine Theileria species in northern China. Therefore, this study provides important data for understanding the epidemiology of Theileria species and designing appropriate approaches for the diagnosis and control of bovine theileriosis in northern China.

BMP-2 and titanium particles synergistically activate osteoclast formation

A previous study showed that BMP-2 (bone morphogenetic protein-2) and wear debris can separately support osteoclast formation induced by the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). However, the effect of BMP-2 on wear debris-induced osteoclast formation is unclear. In this study, we show that neither titanium particles nor BMP-2 can induce osteoclast formation in RAW 264.7 mouse leukemic monocyte macrophage cells but that BMP-2 synergizes with titanium particles to enhance osteoclast formation in the presence of RANKL, and that at a low concentration, BMP-2 has an optimal effect to stimulate the size and number of multinuclear osteoclasts, expression of osteoclast genes, and resorption area. Our data also clarify that the effects caused by the increase in BMP-2 on phosphorylated SMAD levels such as c-Fos expression increased throughout the early stages of osteoclastogenesis. BMP-2 and titanium particles stimulate the expression of p-JNK, p-P38, p-IkB, and P50 compared with the titanium group. These data suggested that BMP-2 may be a crucial factor in titanium particle-mediated osteoclast formation.

A meta‑analysis of bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: Angiogenesis plays an important role in the biology of ovarian cancer. The clinical efficacy and side effects of bevacizumab, the vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor, on survival and toxicity in women with this ovarian cancer, was not conclusive. We performed this systematic review and meta‑analysis in order to clarify the efficacy of bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched the electronic database of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and CNKI for clinical controlled trials of comparing bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy and chemotherapy alone in the treatment of ovarian cancer. The primary outcomes of eligible studies included median progression‑free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicities such as enterobrosis, hypertension, albuminuria, congestive heart failure (CHF), neutrophils, thrombosis, and bleeding. The Hazard ratio (HR) and relative risk were used for the meta‑analysis and were expressed with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). All the statistical analyses were carried out by Stata 11.0 software (http://www.stata.com; Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). RESULTS: We included 5 studies with 1798 cases in the bevacizumab combined with the chemotherapy group and 1810 subjects in the chemotherapy alone group. The pooled results showed that bevacizumab + chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone can significant prolong the median PFS (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.46–0.82; P < 0.05) but not the OS (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.59–10.9; P > 0.05); the toxicity analysis showed that the enterobrosis, hypertension, albuminuria, neutrophils, thrombosis, and bleeding were significantly increased in the bevacizumab + chemotherapy group compared with chemotherapy alone (Pall < 0.05). But the CHF risk between the two groups was not statistical different (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy prolonged the median PFS in patients with ovarian cancer but also increase the risk of developing enterobrosis, hypertension, albuminuria, neutrophils, thrombosis, and bleeding.

Adenovirus-mediated siRNA targeting TNF-α and overexpression of bone morphogenetic protein-2 promotes early osteoblast differentiation on a cell model of Ti particle-induced inflammatory response in vitro

Wear particles are phagocytosed by macrophages and other inflammatory cells, resulting in cellular activation and release of proinflammatory factors, which cause periprosthetic osteolysis and subsequent aseptic loosening, the most common causes of total joint arthroplasty failure. During this pathological process, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) plays an important role in wear-particle-induced osteolysis. In this study, recombination adenovirus (Ad) vectors carrying both target genes [TNF-α small interfering RNA (TNF-α-siRNA) and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2)] were synthesized and transfected into RAW264.7 macrophages and pro-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells, respectively. The target gene BMP-2, expressed on pro-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells and silenced by the TNF-α gene on cells, was treated with titanium (Ti) particles that were assessed by real-time PCR and Western blot. We showed that recombinant adenovirus (Ad-siTNFα-BMP-2) can induce osteoblast differentiation when treated with conditioned medium (CM) containing RAW264.7 macrophages challenged with a combination of Ti particles and Ad-siTNFα-BMP-2 (Ti-ad CM) assessed by alkaline phosphatase activity. The receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand was downregulated in pro-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells treated with Ti-ad CM in comparison with conditioned medium of RAW264.7 macrophages challenged with Ti particles (Ti CM). We suggest that Ad-siTNFα-BMP-2 induced osteoblast differentiation and inhibited osteoclastogenesis on a cell model of a Ti particle-induced inflammatory response, which may provide a novel approach for the treatment of periprosthetic osteolysis.

A study on the culture medium antigens of Cystcercus cellulosae for detecting antibodies of cysticercosis by means of ABC-ELISA.

Two antigens of Cysticercus cellulosae, cystic fluid antigen (CFA) and the culture medium antigen (CMA), were used in Avidin-Biotin Peroxdase Complex-ELISA (ABC-ELISA) to detect IgG antibodies in 45 cases of cysticercosis treated with praziquantel. The results revealed the total positive rates as 51.11% with CMA and 82.22% with CFA. The positive rates in the cases treated within 2 courses of treatment were 79.17% for CMA and 87.50% for CFA, and only 19.05% for CMA and 71.43% for CFA in the cases treated for more then 3 courses. The fact that the positive rates decreased as the courses of treatment increased showed that the sensitivity of CMA might be related to the vital conditions of the worms in the body, whether alive or dead. It is, therefore, recommended that CMA has the potential to be employed in ABC-ELISA both as an indicator for diagnosing cysticercosis and as a reference for the evaluation of the treatment.

Observations on the effects of cysticercosis immune sera on cysticercosis by scanning electronmicroscopy.

Two antigens of Taenia solium cysticercus, cystic fluid antigen (CFA) and the culture medium antigen (CMA), were used respectively to immunize rabbits in order to obtain immunosera. The CMA immunoserum added to culture medium with cysticerci limited the activities of the bladder worms. By using the scanning electronmicroscope, we could observe particulate deposits on the surface of the scolices, suckers and necks of the worms. The CFA immunoserum group showed similar changes but the deposit was less than that on the worms in the former group and appeared mainly on the cystic wall. After adding complement to the two groups mentioned above, we found that the microcilia on the surface of the worms were swollen and were seriously damaged. The worms treated with praziquantel were damaged over large area of their surfaces and were affected deep into their tissues. The damaged parts of the worms were quite different between the two groups. CMA is secreted by the living worms and therefore the serum antibodies are more effective than CFA in anti-parasite activity.

Tapeworm infection resulting from pork eaten at a wedding banquet.

Forty-five people who had attended a wedding banquet were examined by means of both Avidin-Biotin Peroxidase Complex-ELISA (ABC-ELISA) and Kato stool thick smear technic. The results revealed that the positive rates with ABC-ELISA were 15.56% (7/45) and Kato Katz 0.62% (1/161). There was a significant difference between the two positive rates (p < 0.005). Six people at the wedding had taeniasis and 4 of them also had cysticercosis. Local people have no habit of eating uncooked pork, but at this banquet the meat from an infected cysticerci pig was used for preparing dishes for the wedding feast and the cold dishes were contaminated by the bladder worms as the result of using the same chopping block.

Amplification of dengue 2 virus ribonucleic acid sequence using the polymerase chain reaction.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been adapted to the amplification of dengue type 2 virus (DEN2) nucleic acid sequences. A pair of 20-mer oligonucleotides were designed and synthesized based on conserved sequence blocks of DEN2 strains isolated from different geographical areas. RNA samples were prepared from two DEN2 strains, prototype New Guinea C (NGC) and local isolate Hainan 98 (HN98). The reverse transcription step was performed for cDNA synthesis before the standard PCR procedures. The amplified products were fragments about 476 bp in length, corresponding to the upper one third of DEN2 envelope gene (E1 to E476 nt). Specificity of the amplification products was confirmed by "nested" PCR using the internal primers and by Southern and dot blot hybridization to cloned DEN2 cDNA probes following agarose gel electrophoresis. Further improvement and the potential application of the methods in study of dengue virus RNA are discussed.