Altered Plasma Metabolic Profiles in Chinese Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that leads to the demyelination of nerve axons. An increasing number of studies suggest that patients with MS exhibit altered metabolic profiles, which might contribute to the course of MS. However, the alteration of metabolic profiles in Chinese patients with MS and their potential roles in regulating the immune system remain elusive. In this study, we performed a global untargeted metabolomics approach in plasma samples from 22 MS-affected Chinese patients and 21 healthy subjects. A total of 42 differentially abundant metabolites (DAMs) belonging to amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrates were identified in the plasma of MS patients and compared with those in healthy controls. We observed an evident reduction in the levels of amino acids, such as L-tyrosine, L-isoleucine, and L-tryptophan, whereas there was a great increase in the levels of L-glutamic acid and L-valine in MS-affected patients. The levels of lipid and carbohydrate metabolites, such as sphingosine 1-phosphate and myo-inositol, were also reduced in patients with MS. In addition, the concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-17 and TNF-α, were significantly increased, whereas those of several anti-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as IL-1ra, IL-7, and MIP-1α, were distinctly reduced in the plasma of MS patients compared with those in healthy subjects. Interestingly, some DAMs, such as L-tryptophan and sphingosine 1-phosphate, showed an evident negative correlation with changes in the level of TNF-α and IL-17, while tightly positively correlating with altered concentrations of anti-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as MIP-1α and RANTES. Our results revealed that altered metabolomic profiles might contribute to the pathogenesis and course of MS disease by modulating immuno-inflammatory responses in the peripheral system, which is essential for eliciting autoimmune responses in the central nervous system, thus resulting in the progression of MS. This study provides potential clues for developing therapeutic strategies for MS in the near future.

[Comparison of two kinds of enzyme-linked immunosorbnent assay for detection of anti-hepatitis C].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the difference of sensitivity and specificity on the results of the same samples determined by indirect ELISA and sandwich ELISA. METHODS: A 51 anti-HCV positive serum samples obtained from donors were screened by two indirect ELISA kits initially, and then were detected using one sandwich ELISA kit, and were confirmed by recombinent immunoblot assay (RIBA) and HCV-RNA. RESULTS: To compared with HCV-RNA, false positive rate of two kinds of indirect ELISA and one sandwich ELISA was 40.9%, 59.1% and 2.2% respectively. The positive rates of them were 100%, but the analytical sensitivity of sandwich ELISA was more than indirect ELISA 2 to 6 times. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity and specificity of sandwich ELISA was significantly better than those of indirect ELISA.

[Investigation and analysis of occult hepatitis B virus infection among voluntary blood donors in Lishui area].

OBJECTIVE: Occult hepatitis B infection of voluntary blood donors has been plagued in the serum screening. Determined the OBI through the highly sensitive detection methods Nest-PCR among the blood donors, and then learned occult HBV infection and analysed the genotypes of this area. METHODS: 10 080 serums of donors were determined respectively by the imported Abbott HBsAg kit and Beijing Wantai anti-HBc and anti-HBs reagents, obtained the gene and detected DNA sequences by the high sensitive Nest-PCR method. RESULTS: Among 10 080 cases of unpaid blood donors, 108 cases were detected HBsAg positively by Abbott sensitivity kit (positive rate of 1.07%), 767 cases were anti-HBc single - positive (positive rate of 7.67%). 25 patients screened blood donors who tested negative for serum HBsAg and positive for HBV DNA in the 10 080 cases. Occult HBV infection incidence rate was 0.25%. 12 cases were HBV genotype C (48%), 13 cases were genotype B (52%), and no other genotypes. Genotype B has no statistically significant difference to genotype C (P > 0.05). Sequence analysis showed that 5 patients in the HBsAg epitope "a" (aa124 - aa147) have mutation (20%). CONCLUSION: The high proportion of occult hepatitis B infected among voluntary blood donors in our country. Also genotype and mutation was differences in different regions.