Seroprevalence of porcine bocavirus in pigs in north-central China using a recombinant-NP1-protein-based indirect ELISA.

Porcine bocavirus (PBoV), which belongs the genus Bocaparvovirus, has been identified throughout the world. However, serological methods for detecting anti-PBoV antibodies are presently limited. In the present study, an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PBoV-rNP1 ELISA) based on a recombinant form of nucleoprotein 1 (NP1) of PBoV was established for investigating the seroprevalence of PBoV in 2025 serum specimens collected in north-central China from 2016 to 2018, and 42.3% of the samples tested positive for anti-PBoV IgG antibodies, indicating that the seroprevalence of PBoV is high in pig populations in China.

Short hairpin RNAs targeting M and N genes reduce replication of porcine deltacoronavirus in ST cells.

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a recently identified coronavirus that causes intestinal diseases in neonatal piglets with diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and post-infection mortality of 50-100%. Currently, there are no effective treatments or vaccines available to control PDCoV. To study the potential of RNA interference (RNAi) as a strategy against PDCoV infection, two short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-expressing plasmids (pGenesil-M and pGenesil-N) that targeted the M and N genes of PDCoV were constructed and transfected separately into swine testicular (ST) cells, which were then infected with PDCoV strain HB-BD. The potential of the plasmids to inhibit PDCoV replication was evaluated by cytopathic effect, virus titers, and real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay. The cytopathogenicity assays demonstrated that pGenesil-M and pGenesil-N protected ST cells against pathological changes with high specificity and efficacy. The 50% tissue culture infective dose showed that the PDCoV titers in ST cells treated with pGenesil-M and pGenesil-N were reduced 13.2- and 32.4-fold, respectively. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR also confirmed that the amount of viral RNA in cell cultures pre-transfected with pGenesil-M and pGenesil-N was reduced by 45.8 and 56.1%, respectively. This is believed to be the first report to show that shRNAs targeting the M and N genes of PDCoV exert antiviral effects in vitro, which suggests that RNAi is a promising new strategy against PDCoV infection.

Effectiveness comparisons of acupuncture for diabetic nephropathy proteinuria: A systematic review and meta-analysis: study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the microvascular complications of diabetes (DM). Proteinuria is the most important clinical feature of DN and an independent risk factor for the progression of DN. Therefore, reducing urinary protein is the primary goal of DN treatment. Acupuncture has long been widely used in the treatment of DN. Therefore, this paper conducted a meta-analysis of the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of DN proteinuria, in order to comprehensively analyze the role of acupuncture in the treatment of DN. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search for PubMed, Cochrane Library, AMED, EMbase, WorldSciNet; Nature, Science online and China Journal Full-text Database (CNKI), China Biomedical Literature CD-ROM Database (CBM), and related randomized controlled trials included in the China Resources Database. The time is limited from the construction of the library to September 2019.We will use the criteria provided by Cochrane 5.1.0 for quality assessment and risk assessment of the included studies, and use the Revman 5.3 and Stata13.0 software for meta-analysis of the effectiveness, recurrence rate, and symptom scores of DN proteinuria. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review will evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for DN proteinuria. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis has been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process Trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42019139705.

Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the monitoring and surveillance of antibodies to porcine epidemic diarrhea virus based on a recombinant membrane protein.

The recent dramatic increase in reported cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in pig farms is a potential threat to the global swine industry. Therefore, the accurate diagnosis, serological monitoring, and surveillance of specific antibodies in pigs resulting from porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) infection or vaccination would be essential in helping to control the spread of PED. We developed and validated an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the recombinant membrane (M) protein of PEDV. To detect PEDV antibodies in eight herds, 382 serum samples were collected from sows that had been immunized with a PED vaccine, and screened using the developed ELISA in parallel with a serum neutralization (SN) assay. Of the tested samples, 276 were positive for the presence of PEDV antibodies according to both assays, while 98 were negative. An excellent agreement between the ELISA and the SN assay was observed (kappa=0.947; 95% confidence interval=0.910-0.984; McNemar's test, P=0.727). No cross-reaction was detected for the developed ELISA with other coronaviruses or other common pig pathogens. The developed ELISA could be used for serological evaluation and indirect diagnosis of PED infection.