Significant elevated CXCL14 and decreased IL-39 levels in patients with tuberculosis.

To explore the serum levels of IL-39, CXCL14, and IL-19 in patients with tuberculosis (TB) along with their clinical significances and their concentration changes in macrophages after Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) or Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) H37Rv stimulation in vitro. The serum levels of IL-39, CXCL14, and IL-19 of 38 TB patients, and 20 healthy staff members were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Moreover, the levels of IL-19, CXCL14, and IL-39 in cultured THP-1 macrophages were detected at 12, 24, and 48 h after stimulation with BCG or M. tb H37Rv strains. It was found the serum level of IL-39 was significantly reduced and CXCL14 was remarkably elevated in TB patients. In vitro, at 48 h after stimulation, IL-39 level of cultured THP-1 macrophages in the H37Rv group was significantly lower than that in the BCG and control groups, and the CXCL14 level of cultured THP-1 macrophages in the H37Rv stimulation group was remarkably higher than that in the control group. Therefore, IL-39 and CXCL14 may be involved the pathogenesis of TB, and serum IL-39 and CXCL14 could potentially serve as a new biomarker of TB.

[Asymmetric response mechanism of auditory event related potentials].

The classical auditory oddball paradigm is a commonly used experimental paradigm for evoking event related potentials (ERPs). The present study was aimed to explore the auditory cognitive processing mechanism of space perception of human brain. We employed an auditory oddball paradigm of binaural unbiased and biased sound intensity to compare and analyze the response characteristics of ERP. By focusing on the spatial lateralization characteristics of P300 and mismatch negativity (MMN) components, we analyzed their lateralization trends according to the laterality index. We found that both P300 and MMN components showed right-hemisphere lateralization phenomenon under the stimulation of asymmetric intensity of auditory acoustic. The results suggested that the right hemisphere of human brain played a key role in spatial information processing. The results also indicated that the hemispherical characteristics of the brain were not related to the actual spatial direction of the auditory stimulus, but were determined by the hemispherical functions of the brain. Furthermore, the results suggested that the MMN components induced by spatial differences were stronger in females than those in males.

The correlation of HCV RNA and HCV core antigen in different genotypes of HCV.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the correlation of HCV RNA and HCV core antigen (HCV cAg) in different genotypes of HCV. METHODS: One hundred and six patients who were diagnosed with HCV infection by HCV RNA test were included in the study. HCV genotypes were detected by PCR fluorescent probe. Detected HCV cAg's expression in serum quantitatively and qualitatively with chemiluminescent micro-particle immuno assay (CMIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively, and compared positive rates. Analyzed the correlation of HCV RNA and HCV cAg in different genotypes. RESULTS: Distribution of HCV genotypes in 106 HCV infected patients were as follows: 1b genotype 46 (43.4%); 2a genotype 7 (6.6%); 3a genotype 18 (17.0%); 3b genotype 3 (2.8%); 6a genotype 9 (8.5%); 1b/3b mixed type 13 (12.3%); and unidentified type 10 (9.4%). Positive rates of HCV cAg detected by CMIA and ELISA were 100% and 56%, respectively, with statistical significance (χ2  = 60.38, P = 0.000). HCV cAg in 1b genotype group was higher than that in 3b and 1b/3b genotype groups, with statistical significance (U = 3.0, P = 0.006, U = 165, P = 0.014). HCV RNA and HCV cAg in genotype 1b demonstrated a positive correlation (r = 0.894, P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Major genetic subtype of HCV genotype was 1b. Compared with ELISA, detection of HCV cAg by CMIA increased the positive rate and facilitated early diagnosis and treatment of HCV-infected patients. With the increase in HCV RNA load and the expression of HCV cAg, HCV cAg could be an early indicator for the diagnosis of HCV infection in 1b genotype.

Induction of detoxification enzymes by quercetin in the silkworm.

Quercetin is one of the most abundant flavonoids and the defense secondary metabolites in plants. In this study, the effect of quercetin on the growth of the silkworm larvae was investigated. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and carboxylesterases (COE) were assayed after exposure to different concentrations of quercetin for 3 d (short-term) and 7 d (long-term), respectively. The results showed that the weight gain of the silkworm larvae significantly decreased after the larvae were treated by different concentrations of quercetin except for the treatment with 0.5% quercetin. Activities of P450, GST, and COE were induced by 0.5 or 1% concentration of quercetin. In the midgut, the induction activity of P450s was reached to the highest level (2.3-fold) by 1% quercetin for 7 d, the highest induction activities of GSTs toward CHP and CDNB were 4.1-fold and 2.6-fold of controls by 1% quercetin after 7 d exposure, respectively. For COEs, the highest activity (2.3-fold) was induced by 0.5% quercetin for 7 d. However, P450s in whole body were higher inducible activities in short-term treatment than those in long-term treatment. The responses of eight cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes belonged to CYP6 and CYP9 families and seven GST genes were detected with real-time polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the genes induced by quercetin significantly were confirmed by qRT-PCR. CYP6AB5, CYP6B29, and GSTe8 were identified as inducible genes, of which the highest induction levels were 10.9-fold (0.5% quercetin for 7 d), 6.2-fold (1% quercetin for 7 d), and 7.1-fold (1% quercetin for 7 d), respectively.