Tumor necrosis factor­α ­308 G/A genetic polymorphism in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presenting with hyperactive airways.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. COPD is often diagnosed late in the disease leading to a delay in management. Notably, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) polymorphisms may serve an important role in the development of COPD. A single-center, case-control study was conducted to determine the presence of the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism among patients diagnosed with COPD presenting with hyperactive airways, patients without COPD presenting with hyperactive airways, and normal study participants without pulmonary comorbidities. Three genotypes: G/G (94%; 157/167), G/A (5%; 9/167) and A/A (1%; 1/167) were detected by quantitative PCR. The present study showed that the presence of the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism reduced the odds of having hyperactive airways with COPD by 29.3% and hyperactive airways without COPD by 26.3%. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that having the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism did not significantly reduce the odds of having hyperactive airways with COPD and without COPD compared to those with the G/G genotype. In conclusion, the presence of the TNF-α -308 G/A gene polymorphism showed no significant association with patients with COPD with or without hyperactive airways. The presence of the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism instead had a weak association with the reduction in the development of COPD regardless of the presence or absence of airway hyperactivity.

Association of hepatitis B genotypes with clinical profile of patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a common cause of chronic liver disease and is responsible for HBV-related deaths due to cirrhosis and HCC. It is well recognized that viral genotypes play an important role on the outcome of HBV infection. Ten HBV genotypes have been identified and the prevalence varies geographically. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the association of HBV genotypes with the clinical profile of CHB patients. PCR-RFLP was performed to identify HBV genotypes. In this study, majority (70%) of patients were males; with ages between 22 to 67 years with a mean of 42.5 years. The ALT ranged from 23 to 111 U/L (mean 72.5 U/L). HBV DNA levels varied from less than 6 to more than 110,000,000 IU/ml. Forty-seven percent of the patients had chronic active hepatitis at the time of diagnosis. Of these, 36% were HBeAg positive while 64% were HBeAg negative. Inactive HBsAg carrier was found in 53% of cases. No significant association was established between HBV genotypes and fibrosis. PCR-RFLP analysis showed that 57%, 10%, and 13% of the samples belonged to HBV/A, HBV/B, and HBV/C, respectively and the remaining 20% had non-detectable HBV genotype. HBV/D to HBV/J were not observed in this study. Taken together, the patient's clinical profile such as sex, ALT levels, HBeAg status, HBV DNA levels and liver histology were not found to be significantly associated with HBV genotypes. A large-scale longitudinal study examining multiple HBV strains are needed to determine significant correlation of clinical profile.

Evaluation of a rapid diagnostic test for detection of dengue infection using a single-tag hybridization chromatographic-printed array strip format.

A dipstick DNA chromatography assay, a single-tag hybridization-printed array strip (STH-PAS), was evaluated for its efficacy to detect dengue virus (DENV). Reverse-transcribed DNA was amplified by PCR, and the amplified DNA was detected using the STH-PAS system. The method was evaluated using stored RNA samples previously identified to carry all 4 serotypes of dengue, chikungunya, and influenza viruses. Clinical performance was also assessed in a prospective study using plasma from 269 febrile cases from the Emergency Department of St. Luke's Medical Center, Quezon City, Philippines, and 30 afebrile normal healthy volunteers. A Taqman real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assay and a rapid Dengue NS1 test, SD Bioline, were used for comparison. The STH-PAS system was more sensitive in detecting dengue infection compared to Taqman RT-PCR. For DENV serotypes 1, 2, and 3, the detection was 1 to 2 dilutions (10-fold) higher, and for DENV serotype 4, the detection was 2-4 dilutions higher. In clinical studies, the STH-PAS system showed 100% sensitivity with 88.9% and 86.6% specificities compared to Taqman RT-PCR and SD Dengue Duo NS1 test, respectively. The STH-PAS system was found to have a superior sensitivity than the Taqman system. Further evaluation of its performance in the field may provide important data to extend its usefulness for surveillance and epidemiological research in outbreak situations.

Hepatic steatosis in chronic hepatitis B: a study of metabolic and genetic factors.

Hepatic steatosis is a common finding in liver biopsy and may co-exist with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of steatosis in CHB patients among Filipinos; determine the factors related to the presence of steatosis among individuals with and without CHB infection; and to investigate the possible association between steatosis and polymorphism in interleukin 28B (IL28B) gene. The presence of steatosis was correlated with clinical, biochemical and histological parameters. Peripheral blood samples of CHB patients with steatosis, CHB patients without steatosis and normal controls were genotyped for IL28B rs8099917 T>G using the TaqMan assay. Of the 46 CHB patients, 41% (19/46) had steatosis. Body mass index (BMI), fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipid profile and alanine transaminase levels were observed to be significantly different between CHB patients with steatosis and normal controls. The serum FBS of CHB patients with steatosis was significantly higher than patients without steatosis. High density lipoprotein cholesterol of patients without steatosis was significantly higher than patients with steatosis. Although not statistically significant, BMI, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and histology activity index in CHB patients with steatosis were found to be higher than those without steatosis. There was no significant association between the stage of fibrosis and severity of steatosis. In conclusion, the prevalence of hepatic steatosis among Filipino patients with CHB is 41%. Steatosis in CHB patients was associated with metabolic factors such as diabetes and dyslipidemia. IL28B rs8099917 T>G polymorphism is not associated with steatosis.

Untypable genotype restriction patterns and surface gene variants of hepatitis B virus isolates.

Chronic hepatitis B is a global health problem, and is one of the leading causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotyping helps in decision making for clinical management of HBV infection, and is important for epidemiological studies. The objectives of this study were to investigate the distribution of HBV genotypes circulating in the Philippines; molecularly characterize untypable genotype restriction patterns; and analyze the presence of surface gene variants. HBV genotypes were determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and DNA sequencing. Three genotypes, HBV A (76%; 73/96), HBV B (10%; 10/96) and HBV C (14%; 13/96) were detected by RFLP. Out of the 96 isolates, 9% were untypable by RFLP analysis. DNA sequencing followed by phylogenetic analysis revealed that these isolates belonged to HBV genotypes A (67%; 6/9), B (11%; 1/9) and C (22%; 2/9). Out of the 9 isolates, 55% showed single or multiple variations which resulted to amino acid changes. Overall, the identification of untypable genotype can be resolved by sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the S gene and this approach can also be used to detect single or multiple variants. Our findings underscore the importance of accurate genotyping and detection of surface gene variants by DNA sequencing for optimal clinical management.

Draft Whole-Genome Assemblies of Drug-Resistant Clinical Isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae from the Philippines.

Here, we report the draft assemblies of 11 clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae that are resistant to cephalosporins, carbapenems, and/or colistin. The assemblies ranged from 5.37 Mbp to 5.70 Mbp in size. Several plasmid sequences were present, and resistance genes spanning multiple classes of antibiotics were predicted.

Complete genome sequence of chikungunya virus isolated in the Philippines.

Chikungunya virus is an alphavirus of the Togaviridae family, which causes a febrile illness with arthralgia in humans. We report here on the complete genome sequence of chikungunya virus strain CHIKV-13-112A isolated from a patient in the Philippines who was suspected to have dengue virus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the strain is of the Asian genotype.