Preliminary immunological evaluation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis multicomponent protein vaccine candidates EPDPA015f and EPDPA015m / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To preliminarily evaluate the immunogenicity and efficacy of two novel tuberculosis vaccine candidates (a fusion multicomponent protein EPDPA015f and a mixed multicomponent protein EPDPA015m) and to provide a new antigen combination for the development of tuberculosis vaccines.Methods:Recombinant plasmids for the expression of EPDPA015f and EPDPA015m proteins were constructed. Six-week-old BALB/c mice were immunized with EPDPA015f or EPDPA015m in combination with aluminium adjuvant (50 μg/mouse) for three times with an interval of 10 d. The mice were sacrificed 10 d after the last immunization to collect blood and spleen samples. Serum antibody titers and cytokine levels were measured by ELISA, Luminex technique and enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT). Mycobacterial growth inhibition assay (MGIA) was used to detect the ability of mouse splenocytes to inhibit the growth of Mtb in vitro. One-way analysis of variance and t-test were used for statistical analysis. Results:Both EPDPA015f and EPDPA015m could induce the production of various cytokines and IgG antibodies at a high level. The levels of cytokines related to Th1 (IL-2, TNF-α, IFN-γ), Th2 (IL-4, IL-6, IL-10) and Th17 (IL-17) as well as other proinflammatory cytokines (GM-CSF, IL-12) were higher in the EPDPA015f group than in the adjuvant group ( P<0.05). The titer of IgG antibody induced by EPDPA015f was as high as 1∶4×10 6. The results of MGIA showed that the numbers of Mtb (lgCFU) in the PBS, adjuvant, EPDPA015f and EPDPA015m groups were 3.46±0.11, 3.51±0.06, 2.98±0.09 and 3.19±0.08, respectively. The number of colonies in the EPDPA015f group was the least as compared with that in the other three groups ( P<0.001, P<0.001, P<0.01). Conclusions:The vaccine candidate EPDPA015f could elicit more comprehensive and high-level cellular and humoral immune responses, and exhibited superior in vitro inhibitory activity against the growth of Mtb. EPDPA015f had the potential to be used as a preventive vaccine or a booster vaccine

Study on genes for cross-resistance to isoniazid and ethionamidein Mycobacterium tuberculosis / 预防医学

Objective@#To examine the association between the cross-resistance to ethionamide (Eto) and isoniazid (INH) and mutations of drug resistant genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), so as to provide the evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment for multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis.@*Methods@#Totally 126 MTB clinical isolates were selected, including 88 MDR-MTB clinical isolates and 38 INH- and rifampicin (RFP)-sensitive isolates. The resistance to INH and Eto was tested in MTB clinical isolates using the drug susceptibility test, and the mutations in the spacer region of INH and Eto resistance-related katG, inhA, ethA, mshA, ndh, spacer region of oxyR-ahpC and inhA promoter were detected using PCR assay. The phenotypic resistance served as a gold standard, and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of gene mutation tests were calculated for detection of MTB clinical isolates cross-resistant to INH and Eto.@*Results@#Of the 126 MTB clinical isolates, there were 37 isolates cross-resistant to INH and Eto (29.37%), 51 isolates with resistance to INH and susceptibility to Eto (40.48%), 4 isolates with susceptibility to INH and resistance to Eto (3.17%) and 34 isolates with susceptibility to INH and Eto (26.98%). Among the 41 Eto-resistant MTB clinical isolates, there were 37 isolates with resistance to INH (90.24%). There were 64 MTB clinical isolates detected with katG mutations (50.79%), 4 isolates with mutation in the spacer region of oxyR-ahpC (3.17%), 2 isolates with inhA mutations (1.59%), and these isolates were all resistant to INH. There were 11 MTB clinical isolates detected with mutation in the inhA promoter (8.73%) and one isolate with ndh mutation, and all these isolates were cross-resistant to INH and Eto. There were 23 MTB clinical isolates detected with ethA mutations (18.25%) and 40 isolates with mshA mutations (31.75%), in which Eto-susceptible and -resistant isolates were detected. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of inhA promoter tests for detection of cross-resistance to INH and Eto were 29.73% (95%CI: 16.44%-47.17%), 100.00% (95%CI: 87.36%-100.00%) and 63.38% (95%CI: 51.76%-73.63%) in MTB clinical isolates.@*Conclusions@#The prevalence of INH resistance is high in Eto-resistant MTB clinical isolates. Mutation in the inhA promoter region correlates with the cross-resistance to INH and Eto in MTB clinical isolates, and detection of mutation in the inhA promoter may be feasible to detect the cross-resistance to INH and Eto in MTB clinical isolates.

Cross-reactive immune responses to Mycobacterium vaccae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the cross-reactive immune responses to Mycobacterium vac-cae (M. vaccae), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis, H37Rv) and Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guerin ( BCG) for providing reference for the development of new vaccines with M. vaccae. Meth-ods M. vaccae (ATCC95051), M. tuberculosis (H37Rv) and BCG (China strain) were cultured on L-J solid media and harvested. Total bacterial protein antigens prepared by ultrasonic disruption were used to im-munize BALB/c mice. IgG antibodies in serum samples were detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA) to evaluate humoral immune responses. Cellular immunity was assessed by detecting various cytokines with cytokine release assay ( CRA) . Results The mice that were respectively immunized with the three mycobacterial antigens could produce high titers of antibodies ( IgG) and high levels of IFN-γand IL-2, but low levels of IL-4 and IL-10. Results of the cross reactivity tests showed that ATCC95051, H37Rv and BCG were able to cross-react with the immunized mice, and all of them induced high levels of IFN-γ, IL-2 and IgG antibodies. Conclusions The three Mycobacteria mainly elicited Th1 immune responses. There were cross-reactive immune responses to M. vaccae, M. tuberculosis and BCG, which might provide ref-erence for using M. vaccae in the development of new anti-tuberculous vaccines.

Establishment of a multiplex PCR for rapid identification of Mycobacterium species / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective@#To establish and evaluate a multiplex PCR method for rapid identification of Mycobacterium species in order to provide an approach for rapid diagnosis of pathogens causing tuberculosis.@*Methods@#Four genes including 16S rRNA, Rv0577, RD9 and mtbk_20680 were selected to establish the multiplex PCR method. Specific primers were designed and the reaction system and conditions were optimized. The sensitivity and specificity of the multiplex PCR method were evaluated through identifying Mycobacterium africanum (M.africanum), Mycobacterium bovis (M.bovis), M. bovis BCG, seven common non-tuberculosis Mycobacterium (NTM), seven reference species of common respiratory bacteria and 93 clinical strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolated from patients with tuberculosis in Gansu Province of China.@*Results@#The fragments of 16S rRNA, Rv0577, RD9 and mtbk_20680 genes were 543 bp, 786 bp, 369 bp and 231 bp in length, respectively. MTB strains of the Beijing genotype were positive for all of the four genes, while the non-Beijing genotype strains were negative for mtbk_20680. M. africanum, M. bovis and M. bovis BCG strains were negative for 16S rRNA and Rv0577. NTM strains only carried 16S rRNA and none of four genes were detected in the seven species of respiratory bacteria. Among the 93 clinical MTB strains, 80 (86.02%) belonged to the Beijing genotype and the other 13 (13.98%) were non-Beijing genotype strains. The specificity of the multiplex PCR method was 100%.@*Conclusions@#The established multiplex PCR method could accurately distinguish Mycobacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), NTM, MTB, and Beijing and non-Beijing genotype MTB with high sensitivity and specificity.

Establishment of a multiplex PCR for rapid identification of Mycobacterium species / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To establish and evaluate a multiplex PCR method for rapid identification of Mycobacterium species in order to provide an approach for rapid diagnosis of pathogens causing tuberculo-sis. Methods Four genes including 16S rRNA, Rv0577, RD9 and mtbk_20680 were selected to establish the multiplex PCR method. Specific primers were designed and the reaction system and conditions were opti-mized. The sensitivity and specificity of the multiplex PCR method were evaluated through identifying Myco-bacterium africanum (M. africanum), Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis), M. bovis BCG, seven common non-tuberculosis Mycobacterium (NTM), seven reference species of common respiratory bacteria and 93 clinical strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolated from patients with tuberculosis in Gansu Province of China. Results The fragments of 16S rRNA, Rv0577, RD9 and mtbk_20680 genes were 543 bp, 786 bp, 369 bp and 231 bp in length, respectively. MTB strains of the Beijing genotype were positive for all of the four genes, while the non-Beijing genotype strains were negative for mtbk_20680. M. africanum, M. bovis and M. bovis BCG strains were negative for 16S rRNA and Rv0577. NTM strains only carried 16S rRNA and none of four genes were detected in the seven species of respiratory bacteria. Among the 93 clinical MTB strains, 80 (86. 02％ ) belonged to the Beijing genotype and the other 13 (13. 98％ ) were non-Beijing gen-otype strains. The specificity of the multiplex PCR method was 100％ . Conclusions The established multi-plex PCR method could accurately distinguish Mycobacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), NTM, MTB, and Beijing and non-Beijing genotype MTB with high sensitivity and specificity.

Identification and drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and Mycobacterium elephantis isolated from a cow with mastitis / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To understand the etiological characteristics and drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and Mycobacterium elephantis isolated from a cow with mastitis and provide evidence for the prevention and control of infectious mastitis in cows.Methods The milk sample was collected from a cow with mastitis,which was pretreated with 4％ NaOH and inoculated with L-J medium for Mycobacterium isolation.The positive cultures were initially identified by acid-fast staining and multi-loci PCR,then Mycobacterium species was identified by the multiple loci sequence analysis (MLSA) with 16S rRNA,hsp65,ITS and SodA genes.The drug sensitivity of the isolates to 27 antibiotics was tested by alamar blue assay.Results Two anti-acid stain positive strains were isolated from the milk of a cow with mastitis,which were identified as non-tuberculosis mycobacterium by multi-loci PCR,and multi-loci nucleic acid sequence analysis indicated that one strain was Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and another one was Mycobacterium elephantis.The results of the drug susceptibility test showed that the two strains were resistant to most antibiotics,including rifampicin and isoniazid,but they were sensitive to amikacin,moxifloxacin,levofloxacin,ethambutol,streptomycin,tobramycin,ciprofloxacin and linezolid.Conclusions Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and Mycobacterium elephantis were isolated in a cow with mastitis and the drug susceptibility spectrum of the pathogens were unique.The results of the study can be used as reference for the prevention and control the infection in cows.

Identification and drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and Mycobacterium elephantis isolated from a cow with mastitis / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To understand the etiological characteristics and drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and Mycobacterium elephantis isolated from a cow with mastitis and provide evidence for the prevention and control of infectious mastitis in cows.Methods The milk sample was collected from a cow with mastitis,which was pretreated with 4％ NaOH and inoculated with L-J medium for Mycobacterium isolation.The positive cultures were initially identified by acid-fast staining and multi-loci PCR,then Mycobacterium species was identified by the multiple loci sequence analysis (MLSA) with 16S rRNA,hsp65,ITS and SodA genes.The drug sensitivity of the isolates to 27 antibiotics was tested by alamar blue assay.Results Two anti-acid stain positive strains were isolated from the milk of a cow with mastitis,which were identified as non-tuberculosis mycobacterium by multi-loci PCR,and multi-loci nucleic acid sequence analysis indicated that one strain was Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and another one was Mycobacterium elephantis.The results of the drug susceptibility test showed that the two strains were resistant to most antibiotics,including rifampicin and isoniazid,but they were sensitive to amikacin,moxifloxacin,levofloxacin,ethambutol,streptomycin,tobramycin,ciprofloxacin and linezolid.Conclusions Mycobacterium thermoresistibile and Mycobacterium elephantis were isolated in a cow with mastitis and the drug susceptibility spectrum of the pathogens were unique.The results of the study can be used as reference for the prevention and control the infection in cows.

Associations between Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype and drug resistance to four first-line drugs: a survey in China / 医学前沿

Investigations on the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in China have shown that Beijing genotype strains play a dominant role. To study the association between the M. tuberculosis Beijing genotype and the drug-resistance phenotype, 1286 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates together with epidemiological and clinical information of patients were collected from the center for tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control or TB hospitals in Beijing municipality and nine provinces or autonomous regions in China. Drug resistance testing was conducted on all the isolates to the four first-line anti-TB drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin, and ethambutol). A total of 585 strains were found to be resistant to at least one of the four anti-TB drugs. The Beijing family strains consisted of 499 (53.20%) drug-sensitive strains and 439 (46.80%) drug-resistant strains, whereas the non-Beijing family strains comprised 202 (58.05%) drug-sensitive strains and 146 (41.95%) drug-resistant strains. No significant difference was observed in prevalence (χ= 2.41, P > 0.05) between the drug-resistant and drugsensitive strains among the Beijing family strains. Analysis of monoresistance, multidrug-resistant TB, and geographic distribution of drug resistance did not find any relationships between the M. tuberculosis Beijing genotype and drug-resistance phenotype in China. Results confirmed that the Beijing genotype, the predominant M. tuberculosis genotype in China, was not associated with drug resistance.

Polymorphisms of toxin-antitoxin-chaperone system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To investigate the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of toxinantitoxin-chaperone (TAC) system of Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis with different genotypes and its biological significance.Methods A total of 183 clinical M.tuberculosis isolates were collected for spoligotyping.The sequences of higA,higB and Rv1957 were obtained by using PCR and DNA sequencing.The sequences were compared for possible mutations.Functional consequences of nonsynonymous SNPs were predicted by using I-Mutant 2.0 servers.Results Among the 183 M.tuberculosis isolates,138(75.41％) belonged to the Beijing family,while 45(24.59％) belonged to the non-Beijing family.A total of 149(81.42％) isolates showed polymorphisms in the TAC system.We discovered 6 nonsynonymous SNPs and 2 synonymous SNPs.All the synonymous mutations occurred in higA gene,while nonsynonymous SNPs were found in the higA,higB and Rv1957 genes either.All the synonymous mutations and 4 nonsynonymous SNPs were restricted to the Beijing family strains and only 2 nonsynonymous SNPs were observed in the non-Beijing family strains.Of the 6 nonsynonymous SNPs studied,4 were predicted to have ability to affect the stability of respective protein.Conclusion The SNPs in the coding sequences of TAC system in clinical isolates can be relatively high and the Beijing family strains are with higher polymorphism,which might benefit to adapt to different host environment.

Analysis on human T cell epitopes polymorphisms of five specific antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 13 areas of China / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the polymorphisms of the coding gene and the human T cell epitopes of antigen GlnA1, Mpt70, LppX, GroES and LpqH on Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains in thirteen provinces of China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 173 clinical MTBC isolates from thirteen provinces were selected to test the gene sequences of the five antigens, using PCR and DNA sequencing methods. Sequences were compared and sliced by BioEdit, and the variations of the human and nonhuman T cell epitopes were analyzed. The rates on synonymous mutation (dS), non-synonymous mutation (dN) and dN/dS values were calculated by Mega 6.0 software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the 173 strains, there were two non-synonymous mutations in the non-epitope region of glnA1, one non-synonymous mutations in epitope domain of mpt70, one non-synonymous mutation and one synonymous mutation in the epitope domain of lpqH; while groES showed no mutation. lppX had five non-synonymous mutations and one synonymous mutation in the epitope domain. Nine strains presented higher polymorphism at the same gene locus of position 152 in lppX. And seven of the fifteen epitopes contained in lppX were altered and the dN/dS value of this gene was 0.19.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Data from the human T cell epitope domains of MTBC antigens Mpt70, LppX and LpqH contained epitope diversity, indicated that these antigens may have involved in diversifying the selection to evade the host immunity. GlnA1 had the polymorphism in epitope domain, which might have little influence on the immuno-response. While GroES seemed relatively conservative, it could play an important role on identification, diagnosis and the development of potential Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccine.</p>

Effect of Butylphthalide Injection on Neural Protection in Focal Cerebral Ischemia-reperfusion Rats / 中国康复理论与实践

Objective To observe the neural protection of 3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) injection in focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats. Methods 160 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group (n=10), ischemia-reperfusion group (IR group, n=50), high-dose NBP treatment group (high-dose group, n=50), middle-dose NBP treatment group (middle-dose group, n=25) and low-dose NBP treatment group (low-dose group, n=25). The later 4 groups were occluded the middle cerebral artery for 2 hours and reperfused. The sham group was sacrificed 24 hours after operation, and the other groups at 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after reperfusion, in which 5 of them were stained with TdT mediated dUTP Nick End Labeling (TUNEL) to observe the neuronal apoptosis, and immunohistochemistry to observe the expression of silent information regulation 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγcoactivator-1α(PGC-1α);the other 5 of sham group, IR group and high-dose group were observed with quantitative real-time PCR of SIRT1 and PGC-1α. Results Compared with the IR group, the number of apoptotic cells decreased and the SIRT1 and PGC-1αpositive cells increased in all NBP groups at each time (F>160.60, P4.13, P<0.01). Conclusion NBP can protect brain from apoptosis in focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats, which may relate to more ex-pression of SIRT1 and PGC-1α.

Study on VNTR diversity of clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Qinghai / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) genetic polymorphisms, genotyping and distribution pattern of clinical Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis isolates from Qinghai province.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical M. tuberculosis strains isolated from the patients with tuberculosis and related background data were collected from Qinghai Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2012. Genotyping was conducted by using multiple locus VNTR analysis (MLVA). Genomic DNA was extracted and 15 VNTR loci were amplified with PCR and the PCR products were detected with gel electrophoresis. The VNTR diversity and clusters of genotyping were analyzed with BioNumerics (Version 5.0).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 251 clinical M. tuberculosis isolates were analyzed with 15 VNTR loci showing that there were great genetic diversity in these isolates. Six of the 15 VNTR loci, showed that the Hunter-Gaston index (HGI) were higher than 0.6, in which the highest resolution was MIRU26. The clusters of genotyping showed that these isolates could be categorized into four gene clusters and 238 genotypes. The four gene clusters accounted for 4.9%, 91.9%, 1.6% and 1.6% of the clinical isolates, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results showed that there is great variety of VNTR genetic polymorphisms in clinical M. tuberculosis isolates in Qinghai province.</p>

Survey on oral health status of inpatients with schizophrenia / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective To investigate and analyze oral health status of inpatients with schizophrenia.Method We selected 105 patients from Beijing Anding hospital included hospitalization length 1-5 years group (39 cases) and hospitalization length over 5 years (55 cases) were investigated with Self-made questionnaire and assessment guide for psychiatric care (OAG-PC).Results Tooth loss and oral health status of schizophrenia inpatients were both poor.There was significant difference in the number of people with tooth loss (x2 =7.68,P ＜ 0.05) and mean number of tooth loss (F =9.20,P ＜ 0.05) between two groups.The OAG-PC total score (F=11.1,P＜ 0.05),odour from the mouth (F=4.34,P＜ 0.05),saliva (F=3.93,P＜ 0.05),mucous membranes (F=5.64,P＜ 0.05),teeth or dentures (F=5.34,P＜ 0.05),calculus on teeth (F=15.34,P ＜ 0.05),looseness of teeth (F =14.14,P ＜ 0.05),and No.of teeth in the lower jaw (F =7.70,P ＜ 0.05) in the schizophrenia inpatients with hospitalization length 1-5 years group was better than those with hospitalization length over 5 years,there were significant difference between two groups.There were no significant difference in lips (F =0.69,P ＞ 0.05),tongue (F =0.65,P ＞ 0.05),gums (F =1.87,P ＞ 0.05),appearance of teeth (F=1.52,P＞ 0.05),and No.of teeth in the upper jaw (F=3.58,P ＞ 0.05) between two groups.Conclusions Patients with schizophrenia are special vulnerable people.The more course of the disease was longer,the more the oral health status was worse.Tooth loss,calculus,and looseness of teeth are much more serious and will influence chew function seriously.Society,medical institutions,and families should pay more attention to the oral health status of patients with schizophrenia.And taking the preventative measures against poor oral health can improve quality of life of patients with schizophrenia.

The cognitive changes in patients with lacunar infarction after antery-intervention therapy / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics of the cognitive changes in patients with lacunar infarction(LI) after carotid artery stenting(CAS).MethodsNeuropsychological tests were conducted in 43 patients with LI and carotid stenosis before and 1 month,6 months,12 months after CAS and the scores were compared with those of 41 healthy cases.ResultsCompared with control group,MMSE scores ( 26.33 ± 1.94),memory and executive function in therapy group lowered obviously.There was statistical difference (P＜ 0.05 or P＜ 0.01 ).Compared with before CAS,MMSE scores of 1 month (27.17±2.15),6 months (27.17 ±2.15),12 months (28.15±1.98) after CAS,memory and executive function in therapy group were all better obviously.There was statistical difference (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).ConclusionIn acute stage of patients with LI (with in 1 week),most cognitive impairment was severe. Most cognition disorders was improved to normal level 12 months after CAS.The mechanism may be associated with the improvement of chronic cerebral insufficiency.

Rapid identification and differentiation of the species of the Mycobacterium chelonae /abscessus complex by hsp65 and rpoB PCR-RFLP / 中国人兽共患病学报

The Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus (M.chelonae/abscessus) complex belongs to the rapidly growing genus Mycobacterium (RGM).It is one of the most important pathogenic members of Mycobacterium leading to nosocomial infections and outbreaks.It includes members of M.chelonae,M.immnunogenum,M.abscessus,M.massiliense,and M.bolletii.In order to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of the M.chelonae/abscessus complex in China and to conduct the molecular methods for species identification of M.chelonae/abscessus,we collected clinical M.chelonae/abscessus complex strains identified by phenotypic tests.Members were verified by sequencing of 16S rRNA,Species and subspecies were identified by hsp65 and rpoB PCR RFLP methods.In total,27 clinical specimens were identified as Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus complex by phenotypic tests.16s rRNA gene sequence analysis of all 27 clinical samples shared over 99.7％ similarity with M.chelonae and M.abscessus.Species identification with hsp65 PCR-RFLP and rpoB PCR-RFLP revealed that 18 specimens were M.abscessus and 4 were M.absecces.The remaining 5 samples displayed a pattern that failed to match any previously reported pattern.Thus,this might represent a novel species that is part of the Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus complex.We identified that a majority of the chronic lung infection in China is caused by the M.chelonae/abscessus complex.Specifically,the M.abscessus species might be the most infectious,while other species in the complex can still cause infection.Interestingly,there may be a novel or previously unidentified species that is a part of the complex.Finally,we show that species identification can be carried out more accurately by combined use of hsp65 and rpoB PCR-RFLP.

Value of 3.0 T susceptibility weighted imaging in diagnosis of hemorrhagic diffuse axonal injury / 中华创伤杂志

Objective To investigate the value of susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) in the diagnosis of hemorrhagic diffuse axonal injury (DAI). Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 20 patients with DAI who received MRI examination at day 3 post-injury.MRI sequences included T1WI,T2WI,fluid attenuated inversion recovery ( FLAIR),diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and SWI.There were 15 patients with the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score≤8,three with GCS score of 9-12 and two with GCS of 13-15.The location and quantity of hemorrhage focus were counted.The area of hemorrhage focus was measured on each MR sequence.Differences of detection rate of hemorrhage focus on each sequence were compared by using X2 test.The correlation between DAI related bleeding area and GCS score was analyzed. Results DAI related hemorrhage focus showed a larger number in superficial cerebrum than that in posterior cranial fossa and in deep cerebrum.The detection rate of hemorrhage focus on SWI was the highest,as compared with other sequences ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Bleeding area and GCS score showed a negative correlation (r =-0.921,P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusion SWI is very sensitive in detection of the intracerebral hemorrhage focus in the acute period of traumatic DAI.

Preliminary study on the identification of Mycobacterium abscessus group with PCR-RFLP / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective To investigate and evaluate the PCR-RFLP method for identification of Mycobacterium abscessus (M.abscessus) group.Methods 46 clinical acid-fast bacilli (AFB) isolates from Pulmonary Hospital of Fujian Province,Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Zhaoyang District in Beijing and Beijing People Liberation Army General Hospital were collected in 2009 -2010 and identified by traditional bacteriological characteristics according to clinical laboratory handbook of mycobacteria (2004).The PCR-RFLP method was used for species identification of M.abscessus group using hsp65 (441 bp) or rpoB (380 bp) gene fragment as specific target,while the direct DNA sequencing was performed as a control method.Results Of 46 AFB isolates,30 strains were identified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis by its traditional bacteriological characteristics and 16 strains were identified as non-tuberculosis mycobacterium (NTM).10 strains of the NTM strains had identical bacteriological characteristics with the reference strain M.abscessus ATCC 19977.Identified by hsp65 PCR-RFLP,9 of these 10 strains got the same pattern of 235bp and 200 bp(BstE Ⅱ )/145 bp,70 bp,60 bp,55 bp,50 bp and 40 bp(Hae Ⅲ ),and 1 got pattern of 235 bp and 200 bp(BstE Ⅱ )/200 bp,70 bp,60 bp and 50 bp(Hae Ⅲ ).While identified by rpoB PCRRFLP,all 10 strains got the same pattern of 105 bp,95 bp and 80 bp( Msp Ⅰ )/130 bp,100 bp and 90 bp (Hae Ⅲ ).By analysis of the DNA sequence,hsp65 and rpoB sequence of these 9 strains showed 100％similarity with those of M.abscessus,while the hsp65 and rpoB sequence of the other one strain showed 100％similarity with those of M.massiliense.Conclusion PCR-RFLP is a rapid and effective method for species identification of M.abscessus group,and hsp65 PCR-RFLP is more effective than rpoB PCR-PFLP in the species identification of M.abscessus group.

Identification of two clinical isolates of Mycobacterium intracellulare / 中国人兽共患病学报

To identify the species of Mycobacterium clinical isolates by molecular biology techniques,six clinical isolates which were preliminarily recognized as Mycobacterium tuberculosis by the TCH and PNB culture methods were selected in this study.PCR was applied to amplify the oxyR-ahpC interval resistant-zone(intergenic region) and the length of PCR product in four strains was the same as that of H37Rv,while the length in the other two strains was different from that of H37Rv but same as Mycobacterium intracellulare 95002.With sequencing and on-line homology comparison with H37Rv,U18263 and U71061,the DNA sequence of oxyR-ahpC intergenic region displayed a 99% homology with Mycobacterium intracellulare U71061 and an 84% homology with Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.In addition,the results of hsp65 PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and multi-locus PCR amplification in the two strains were identical with those of Mycobacterium intracellulare 95002.These two clinical isolates which were preliminarily recognized as Mycobacterium tuberculosis by PNB and TCH culture methods were finally identified as Mycobacterium intracellulare.Results predicted that the application associated with various techniques of molecular biology would provide a faster,easier and more correct way for the species identification of Mycobacterium.

Malondialdehyde and inflammatory factors testing for patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases / 中华全科医师杂志

One hundred and seventeen patients with newly diagnosed autoimmune thyroid diseases(AITDs)and 30 normal controls(NCs)were selected.All the patients were divided into 5 groups:hyperthyroidism group(n=33),subclinical hyperthyroidism group(n=21),hypothyroidism group(n=25),subclinical hypothyroidism group(n=23)and euthyroidism group(n=15).Plasma malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide(SOD)and inflammatory factors levels were measured.Our results showed that plasma MDA level in dysthyroidism groups was significantly higher than that in NCs group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).SOD/MDA ratio in AITD groups Was significantly lower than that in NCs group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).In a multiple step-wise regression analysis,serum hishly sensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)were independent factors of MDA.This study might suggest that plasma MDA level in AITD patients receiving no treatment may increase.MDA may be correlated with hs-CRP or TNF-α levels.

A new method for the identification of the "Beijing family" strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To examine the foasibility of a new method for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis)"Beijing family"strain identifjcation——RD105 deletion test. Methods Two methods,Spoligotyping and RD105 deletion test,were used for M. tuberculosis"Beijing family"strain identification,respectively. The difference of the two identification methods was compared. Results Three hundred and forty-two clinical isolates from four areas(Beijing,Fujian,Xinjiang and Jilin)were assayed in this study.Among the total samples,261 isolates belonged to"Beijing family"accounting for 76.32%,while the other 81 isolates belonged to"non-Beijing family"accounting for 23.68%. The coincidence rate for these two methods was 100%. Conclusion The simple and rapid new method——RD105 deletion test can be used to identify"Beijing family"instead of the traditional method——Spoligotyping.