RESUMO
Seroprevalence of antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) was surveyed among the Thai population by the particle agglutination test and Western blotting test. None of a total of 727 individuals from seven ethnic groups were positive for the specific antibody to HTLV-1. Among hospital based 3,427 subjects in Southern Thailand, one patient with a brain tumor showed positivity in the Western blotting test, however, HTLV-1 proviral genome was not identified by PCR. The present data suggest that HTLV-1 is not endemic in the Thai population and that HTLV-1 is not a major public health problem in Thailand because HTLV-1 rarely causes its associated diseases.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais/isolamento & purificação , Deltaretrovirus/isolamento & purificação , Deltaretrovirus/genética , Etnicidade , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Estudos Soroepidemiológicos , TailândiaRESUMO
Screening for a 27-bp deletion in the band 3 protein gene that causes Southeast Asian/Melanesian ovalocytosis (SAO) was carried out using the PCR method among 15 Southeast Asian populations of Thailand (Akha, Hmong, Isaan, Red Karen, White Karen, Black Lahu, Lisu, Manni, Shan, and central Thais) and Indonesia (Bugis, Dayak, Javanese, Madurian, and Toraja). Individuals with the 27-bp deletion were identified only in the Bugis of southern Sulawesi, the Dayak of southern Borneo, and Javanese of central Java. The gene frequency of the 27-bp deletion in the general population was rather low: 0.012 and 0.013 in the Dayak and the Bugis, respectively. This restricted ethnic and geographic distribution of the 27-bp deletion suggests (1) local differentiation in the prevalence of this deletion in a given ethnic group and (2) the presence of molecular heterogeneity of SAO.
Assuntos
Proteína 1 de Troca de Ânion do Eritrócito/genética , Povo Asiático/genética , DNA/análise , Eliptocitose Hereditária/genética , Deleção de Sequência/genética , Proteína 1 de Troca de Ânion do Eritrócito/análise , Sudeste Asiático/epidemiologia , Sequência de Bases , Eliptocitose Hereditária/epidemiologia , Feminino , Frequência do Gene , Testes Genéticos , Genética Populacional , Humanos , Linfócitos/química , Masculino , Linhagem , Reação em Cadeia da PolimeraseRESUMO
Plasma concentration of insulin-like growth factor type-I (IGF-I) was studied among the Mannis in Thailand to find a possible cause of their short stature. The Mannis are hunting and gathering indigenous tribal peoples living in Asian tropical rain forests. A total of 50 plasma specimens from three different Manni groups in southern Thailand were used in this study. The concentrations of acid-ethanol extract of plasma IGF-I were measured by radio-immunoassay. We found that (1) plasma concentration of IGF-I in the Mannis was low, (2) there was no adolescent spurt in IGF-I levels, and (3) the post adolescent plasma IGF-I level of the Manni was significantly lower than that of age-matched Japanese. Low IGF-I levels among the Mannis may account for their short stature.
