Reversible Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Transformations between Nanoscale 2D Nanosheets and 3D Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) transformations provide more possibilities for phase transitions, which have attracted great attention in crystal engineering. In this paper, we report a series of reversible SCSC transformations between nanoscale two-dimensional layered double hydroxide (LDH) crystals and three-dimensional metal-organic framework crystals. They can proceed not only in solution systems but also on the surface of solid-state polyacrylonitrile films and fibers. Specifically, reversible SCSC transformations can be carried out between nanoscale ZIF-67 and Co-LDH. The Co-LDH nanomaterials displayed excellent oxygen evolution reaction performance. This work has good universality and scalability, which provides a novel avenue for the synthesis of crystal materials and is of great significance for the recycling of resources.

In Situ Simultaneous Cavitation-Doping Approach for Constructing Bimetallic Metal-Organic Framework Hollow Nanospheres with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

This Communication demonstrates a novel and in situ simultaneous cavitation-doping (SCD) approach to construct bimetallic metal-doped cobalt metal-organic framework hollow nanospheres (CoM-MOF HNSs, with M = Ru or Fe). The key point of the SCD approach is the careful balance between the kinetics of Co-MOF being etched and the coordinative growth of a more stable CoM-MOF shell induced by Lewis acid (MCl3, with M = Ru or Fe). Our work provides a new method to synthesize bimetallic hollow MOFs and benefits the development of electrocatalysts.

[A study on health information literacy among urban and suburban residents in six provinces in China].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the status and its influencing factors of health information literacy among urban and suburban residents in China, and to explore the method for improving the health information literacy. METHODS: From March to May in 2013, residents aged 18-60 years in six provinces in China were investigated with Questionnaire of Health Literacy of Diabetes Mellitus of the Public in China about self-reported health information literacy. The results of the survey were standardized by the 6th national census data. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore influencing factors of health information literacy. RESULTS: A total of 4 416 residents were surveyed, and 4 282 (97.0%) valid questionnaires were collected. After weight adjustments, 30.1% of the residents aged 18-60 years had adequate health information literacy in China, and the 95%CI of the rate was 28.5% - 31.6%. Totally, 70.8% of the residents ever actively searched for health information, 43.7% of the residents could easily retrieve the health information, 49.1% of the residents could easily understand the health information, 41.8% of the residents could confidently differentiate the quality of the health information and 51.1% of the residents ever searched health information on the internet. The results of multi-logistic regression showed that the rural residents, the males, those with lower levels of education, those with poor health had a lower health information literacy. The most trusted health information source was from doctors, and the trust rate reached 97.0%, followed by family members, friends or colleagues. The residents trusted the interpersonal communication more than the mass media and the new media. CONCLUSION: The level of health information literacy of the residents was generally low in China. To improve the health information literacy, high-quality health information services should be delivered to the residents, and the health education on the internet provided by the medical professionals should also be explored.

[A study on risk factors and perceptions of diabetes among urban and suburban residents from six provinces in China].

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiological status of diabetes' risk factors among urban and suburban residents and their perceptions of their own health status and risk of diabetes. METHODS: Stratified multi-stage sampling method was used to conduct the survey among 18-60 years old residents from Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanxi, Henan, Yunnan, and Qinghai provinces in China from March to May in 2013. The Questionnaire of Health Literacy of Diabetes Mellitus of the Public in China was used to conduct the survey, and then the data were analyzed. The main contents of the questionnaire included diabetes mellitus knowledge, diabetes mellitus risk factors and diabetes mellitus risk self-assessment. The results of the survey were standardized by the 6(th) national census data. RESULTS: A total of 4 416 respondents were surveyed, and 4 282 valid questionnaires were successfully collected during the survey and the response rate was 97.0%. After weighted adjustment, the overweight and obesity rate of the residents in 6 provinces was 35.3%, abdominal obesity rate was 54.7%. 77.8% of the residents without diabetes had more than one risk factor, but only 8.5% thought they might got diabetes. The residents with high risk behavior possessing rates of diabetes were in eastern areas (79.7%), urban areas (80.7%), men (84.1%), aged from 45 to 60(100.0%), below primary school education level (83.4%) and enterprise personnel (79.7%). The residents with high risk consciousness of getting diabetes were in eastern areas (11.0%), urban areas (9.7%), men (9.7%), aged from 45 to 60 (12.3%), over college education level (12.7%) and the offices (14.7%). The results of logistic regression showed that residents in the middle areas (OR = 2.148, 95% CI: 1.633-2.920), urban residents (OR = 2.100, 95% CI: 1.611-2.738), male (OR = 2.488, 95% CI: 1.962-3.154), the older (OR = 1.102, 95% CI: 1.090-1.115) had a higher risk behavior rate of diabetes mellitus. Urban residents (OR = 2.784, 95% CI: 1.497-5.175), male (OR = 1.522, 95% CI: 1.152-2.011), the older (OR = 1.022, 95% CI: 1.009-1.035), college educational level (OR = 1.685, 95% CI: 1.033-2.749), with a higher score of health awareness(OR = 1.090, 95% CI: 1.061-1.120)had a higher risk consciousness to being diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: The urban and suburban residents in China had a high risk behavior possessing rates of diabetes, and a low risk consciousness of being diabetes.

[An analysis of health literacy about diabetes prevention and control and its influencing factors among the residents in six provinces in China].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the health literacy about diabetes prevention and control and its influencing factors among the public in China. METHODS: A multistage stratified random sampling method was applied to investigate urban and rural residents aged 18-60 years among six provinces in China during March and May, 2013. The Questionnaire of Health Literacy of Diabetes Mellitus of the Public in China was used to conduct the survey. The influencing factors of health literacy about diabetes prevention and control were analyzed by logistic regression. The results of the survey were standardized by the 6(th) national census data. RESULTS: A total of 4 416 persons were interviewed. A total of 4 282 valid questionnaires including 1 986 males (46.4%) and 2 296 females (53.6%) were obtained. The efficiency rate was 97.0%. The level of health literacy about diabetes prevention and control among the public in China was 32.7% (1 036/2 399). And this rate was 40.5%, 36.5% and 15.4% in east, middle and west of China, respectively. Take the west region as reference, the health literacy about diabetes prevention and control in east China was high (OR = 2.510, 95% CI: 1.931-3.263), central China was in the second place (OR = 2.083, 95% CI: 1.579-2.749). The health literacy about diabetes prevention and control among males was lower than that in females (OR = 0.488, 95% CI: 0.402-0.593). The higher education level the respondents had, the higher the health lireracy level about diabetes prevention and control. Taking the primary school and below education level as reference, the health lireracy level about diabetes prevention and control of respondents with a secondary education was higher (OR = 1.103, 95% CI: 0.812-1.499), and that of college or above degree was the highest (OR = 2.029, 95% CI: 0.460-0.870). The health literacy about diabetes prevention and control among civil servants and institution staff was high, the enterprise personnel was in the second place (OR = 0.632, 95% CI: 0.460-0.870), the literacy level among the rural residents was very low (OR = 0.339, 95% CI: 0.234-0.491). The health literacy about diabetes prevention and control among people who have a family history of diabetes was relatively higher (OR = 1.570, 95% CI: 1.222-2.018 ). The health literacy about diabetes prevention and control among people who considered that they have diabetes risk was higher than that among people who considered they didn't (OR = 1.821, 95% CI: 1.317-2.517). CONCLUSION: The east region, females, a high educational level, civil servants and public officers, having a family history of diabetes, self-assessed risk of getting diabetes were protective factors of health literacy about diabetes prevention and control.

[The study of diabetes-related behavior status and affecting factors among urban and suburban residents in six provinces in China].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the status of diabetes-related behaviors and affecting factors among urban and suburban residents in China. METHODS: A sample of 18-60 years old residents from Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanxi, Henan, Yunnan and Qinghai provinces was investigated by using stratified cluster random sampling method from March to May in 2013, and 4 282 residents were recruited. The Questionnaire of Health Literacy of Diabetes Mellitus of the Public in China was used to conduct the survey. χ(2) test was used to compare the different risk behavior characteristics of diabetes. The results of the survey were standardized by the 6th national census data. Multiple regression analysis was used to understand the affecting factors to related behaviors. RESULTS: After data standardization, 14.3% sat more than 6 hours every day, 57.6% exercised less than 3 times every week, 21.3% had no regularly daily diet, 58.7% paid no attention to diet control, 15.7% and 7.8% residents preferred salty and oily diet, 51.4% had physical examination less than 1 time every year, 29.7% were smokers, and 9.2% often drank. Urban residents spent much more time on sitting (18.2%) than rural residents (8.4%) (P < 0.05), and the rates of lack of physical exercise(52.7%), irregular diet (17.2%), paying no attention to diet control (51.9%), smokers (23.6%) among urban residents were lower than rural residents (60.1%, 21.4%, 62.5% and 32.1% respectively) (P < 0.05). The rates of irregular diet (24.6%), paying no attention to diet control (63.5%), high-salt and high-fat diet (30.1%), smokers (57.7%), drinking (18.7%) among men were higher than those in females (15.5%, 52.1%, 23.2%, 2.2%, and 0.8% respectively) (P < 0.05); regions, genders, educational levels, occupations were related to relative behaviors of diabetes, residents in rural areas (t = 7.829, P < 0.01), males (t = -21.760, P < 0.01), lower education level (t = 0.771, P < 0.01), as well as institution personnel (t = -4.240, P < 0.01) had lower behavior scores, which meant they had more risk behaviors related to diabetes. CONCLUSION: There were diabetes-related risk behaviors among both urban and suburban residents in China, such as insufficient physical exercise, no diet control and regular medical examinations. These risk behaviors happened more in rural areas than in urban areas, men than women, older age group than lower age group.

[The status of diabetes prevention awareness among Chinese residents in six provinces].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the status of diabetes prevention awareness among Chinese residents in order to provide the scientific basis for making intervention strategy. METHODS: A sample of 18-60 years old residents in six provinces was investigated from March to April in 2013. RESULTS: Totally, 17.8% of respondents answered all questions correctly about the awareness of diabetes. As for "Diabetes is a common chronic disease" got highest recognition rate (86.2%), and "Diabetes can be cured" got the lowest rate, 48.3%. 50.6% of respondents answered all questions correctly about the diabetes symptoms; and "thirsty, drink more water" got the highest recognition rate (75.3%). 17.8% of respondents answered all questions correctly about the complications of diabetes; and "causes of diabetes ketoacidosis" got the lowest rate of 31.6%. 12.3% of respondents answered all questions correctly about the diabetes high-risk group; the correct recognition rate for "family history" was the highest (75.1%); and the "macrosomia" got the lowest rate of 20.4%. 74.2% of respondents answered all questions correctly about the diabetes preventive measure;the correct cognition rate of a reasonable diet was the highest (92.0%), and the weight control was the lowest (81.5%). In addition, there are significant differences of knowledge score between different areas and genders. City residents' knowledge score about diabetes related views (6.2 ± 1.8), typical symptoms (2.9 ± 1.4), complication (4.1 ± 2.3), high-risk groups (3.4 ± 1.7), prevention measures (3.7 ± 0.9) were higher than rural residents (respectively 5.2 ± 2.2, 2.7 ± 1.5, 3.2 ± 2.3, 2.9 ± 1.8, 3.3 ± 1.2) (P < 0.05). Female residents' knowledge score about diabetes related views (5.7 ± 2), typical symptoms (2.9 ± 1.4), complication (3.8 ± 2.3), high-risk groups (3.1 ± 1.8), prevention measures (3.5 ± 1) were higher than male residents (respectively 5.5 ± 2.1, 2.7 ± 1.5, 3.5 ± 2.4, 3.1 ± 1.8, 3.4 ± 1.2, 18.1 ± 6.8) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The public is lack of diabetes prevention awareness, and city residents' knowledge score is higher than rural residents', females are higher than males.

Injectable Double Crosslinked Hydrogel-Polypropylene Composite Mesh for Repairing Full-Thickness Abdominal Wall Defects.

Abdominal wall defects are common clinical diseases, and mesh repair is the standard treatment method. The most commonly used polypropylene (PP) mesh in clinical practice has the advantages of good mechanical properties, stable performance, and effective tissue integration effect. However, direct contact between abdominal viscera and PP mesh can lead to severe abdominal adhesions. To prevent this, the development of a hydrogel-PP composite mesh with anti-adhesive properties may be an effective measure. Herein, biofunctional hydrogel loaded with rosmarinic acid is developed by modifying chitosan and Pluronic F127, which possesses suitable physical and chemical properties and commendable in vitro biocompatibility. In the repair of full-thickness abdominal wall defects in rats, hydrogels are injected onto the surface of PP mesh and applied to intraperitoneal repair. The results indicate that the use of hydrogel-PP composite mesh can alleviate abdominal adhesions resulting from traditional PP mesh implantation by decreasing local inflammatory response, reducing oxidative stress, and regulating the fibrinolytic system. Combined with the tissue integration ability of PP mesh, hydrogel-PP composite mesh has great potential for repairing full-thickness abdominal wall defects.

General synthesis of CoCeMOx trimetallic oxides via a cation exchange reaction for the oxygen evolution reaction.

Cobalt-based spinel oxides are considered potential candidates for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) due to their abundant valence changes and promising electrochemical activity, but their low intrinsic activity hinders their practical applications. Herein, we synthesize a series of CoCeMOx (M = Zn, Ni, Ru, Er, Mg, Mn, Sn) derived from CoCeM coordination-driven self-assembled aggregates (CDSAAs) using a general ion exchange and subsequent calcination method. Interestingly, CoCeMOx exhibit different morphologies from porous nanospheres, particle-stacked nanospheres, to hollow nanospheres as the third metal element is altered. Markedly, CoCeZnOx porous nanospheres (PNs) exhibit the best OER performance. The XPS results reveal that the existence of CeO2 and Zn2+ ions significantly increased the Co2+/Co3+ ratio and the content of oxygen vacancies in Co3O4. Furthermore, Co2+ can be used as highly reactive sites to form CoOOH and the high content of oxygen vacancies can optimize the oxygen-containing intermediate adsorption energy, both of which can effectively improve the OER performance. Therefore, well-designed CoCeZnOx PNs demonstrate high OER activity with a lower overpotential (η = 333 mV) than that of commercial RuO2 (344 mV) in 10 mA cm-2, a Tafel slope of 98 mV dec-1, and a long-term durability of 45 h. This work may provide some inspiration for the design of trimetallic oxide nanomaterials.

CoSe2 nanoparticles anchored on dual 1D carbon nanotubes/N-doped carbon nanofibers as high-performance anodes for sodium-ion storage.

Transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) have been widely explored and utilized in sodium-ion battery (SIB) anodes owing to their unique advantages, such as high theoretical specific capacity and low cost. However, their inherent defects, such as low electronic conductivity and severe volume expansion, seriously limit the further development of TMC-based anodes. Here, a novel composite material of CoSe2 nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulated in a dual one-dimensional (1D) carbon composite structure (CoSe2@CNTs/N-CNFs) was designed deliberately. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown in situ on the surface of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with eco-friendly ethanol as the carbon source, while electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers were pyrolyzed to form nitrogen-doped nanofibers. It is noted that the wrapping with the composite carbon structure greatly improved the stability of CoSe2 NPs and solved its inherent defects as an anode material. When assembled into a half-cell, the CoSe2@CNTs/N-CNFs electrode exhibited outstanding sodium storage performance with a reversible specific capacity of 442 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g-1, as well as excellent rate performance, and the discharge specific capacity still reached 265 mA h g-1 even after 2000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g-1. This study shows a new way to build a novel carbon substrate and TMC composite sodium storage material with low cost.

[Status of knowledge and behaviors about chronic diseases prevention for Chinese residents in 2008].

OBJECTIVE: To learn the status of knowledge and behaviors about chronic diseases prevention for Chinese residents, and to provide basis for developing health education strategy. METHODS: Using multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling, 79 542 residents aged 15-69 years old from 31 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Mainland China were investigated with the questionnaire of chronic diseases prevention. RESULTS: There were 78 429 valid questionnaires recovered. The effective questionnaire return rate reached 98.60%. For some questions such as how to face second hand smoking, diseases types caused by second hand smoking, milk daily intake, drink daily intake for adult and the correct cognition to weight control, the correct rates were all below 30%. There were only 3.87% respondents possessed knowledge and behaviors about chronic diseases prevention. The proportion possessed knowledge and behavior about chronic diseases prevention of the urban population was higher than that of the rural population. The proportion of respondents aged from 35 to 45 was higher than that of other respondents. The higher were educational levels, the higher was the proportion. These differences had all statistical significance (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The proportion possessed knowledge and behavior about chronic diseases prevention of respondents was low, especially to some specific prevention measurement such as how to control salt daily intake. In future, different health education strategies about chronic diseases prevention should be developed for different population.

Immunogenicity comparison between codon optimized HIV-1 CRF BC_07 gp140 and gp145 vaccines.

To develop an effective vaccine against the most prevalent HIV strain "B'/C recombinant" in China, we compared the immunogenicity of B'/C-derived gp140 and gp145. The codon optimized gp140 and gp145 env gene derived from CN54, an ancestor-like B'/C recombinant strain, were synthesized and cloned into a plasmid as DNA vaccines, designated as pDRVISV140 and pDRVISV145, respectively. BALB/c mice were inoculated three times at week 0, 2, and 4 and sacrificed at week 7. Both T cell immunity and humoral immunity were determined. The mock vector pDRVISV1.0 carrying no HIV immunogen was included as control. Our data showed that B'/C recombinant-derived gp145 mounted stronger T cell and broader linear antibody but less binding antibody immune responses than gp140 did. Though both gp145 and gp140 raised neutralization antibodies against laboratory-adapted strain SF33, both failed to neutralize B' or B'/C clade primary strains. Overall, this is the first time the immunogenicity of B'/C recombinant-derived gp140 and gp145 was examined and compared; our data prefer B'/C-derived gp145 to gp140 as an HIV vaccine immunogen. The failure to induce neutralization antibodies against primary isolates indicates that it is insufficient to enhance the immunogenicity of conserved epitopes by simply employing gp145 or gp140; strategies to enhance antibody responses against conserved epitopes should be explored further.

Sequential priming and boosting with heterologous HIV immunogens predominantly stimulated T cell immunity against conserved epitopes.

BACKGROUND: The effort to develop an effective preventive vaccine against HIV-1 infection is challenged by the wide genetic diversity of HIV-1 among different isolates. OBJECTIVES: To explore a new vaccination strategy by using heterologous HIV immunogens derived from different clades for sequential priming and boosting. METHODS: HIV Env and Gag immunogens derived from Thailand B (B'), C/B' recombinant and A/E recombinant were selected as these three clades account for 29%, 45% and 15% of HIV-1 prevalence in China, respectively. Three humanized fusion genes of env and gag derived from those three clades were synthesized and inserted into DNA and recombinant Tiantan vaccinia vectors as model vaccines. C57BL/6 and Balb/c mice were used as animal model. Peptides spanning the entire Env and Gag were used as stimuli and Elispot assay was used to assess the T cell immunity. RESULTS: Sequential priming and boosting was observed with heterologous HIV immunogens predominantly stimulated T cell immunity against conserved epitopes, whereas a single vaccine derived from one clade or the mixture of multiple vaccines from different clades primarily raised T cells against less conservative or non-conservative epitopes. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first demonstration of a practical strategy to raise immune responses against conserved epitopes. This strategy has important implications for vaccine development against HIV and other pathogens that have high genetic diversity, such as influenza.

HIV-specific T cell immunity across the entire HIV genome in Chinese men who have sex with men.

BACKGROUND: Man who has sex with man (MSM) is one of the high risk groups for spreading HIV/AIDS. It was reported that the most prevalent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strain among MSM is subtype B; however, T cell immunity remains unknown across the HIV-1 B genome in this population. METHODS: Using Elispot assay with synthetic peptides spanning the sequence of HIV-1 consensus B, HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T-cell lymphocyte responses were quantified among 3 treated and 19 untreated HIV-1 infected MSM from Beijing, China. Cross-sectional association between viral loads and cellular immune responses were analyzed. RESULTS: Peptide pools corresponding to each HIV-1 protein were used for Env, Gag, Pol, Nef, Tat/Rev, Vpr/Vpu and Vif. The results showed that the magnitude of T cell responses in the 3 treated HIV(+) MSM group [median, 770 spot forming cells (SFCs) per 10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)] might be significantly lower than that in the 19 untreated HIV(+) MSM group (median, 6175 SFCs per 10(6) PBMCs). Nef, Gag and Pol are the most frequently targeted HIV-1 antigens; and 16 subjects (73%) were identified with vigorous T cell immunity against each of these three proteins. The overall magnitude of T cell immunity closely related to its breadth (r = 0.72, P < 0.05) and was inversely but weakly associated with viral loads (r = -0.15). Further analysis showed that both Gag (r = -0.24) and Pol specific T cells (r = -0.12) contributed to this inverse association whereas Nef specific T cells showed no association with viral loads. CONCLUSIONS: The magnitude of HIV-1 specific T cells is inversely but weakly associated with viral loads among MSM; HIV-specific T cell responses against conservative sequences (Gag and Pol) are the main contributors to this association among Chinese HIV(+) MSM. These findings have important implications for vaccine design.

[Intranasal priming with HIV DNA vaccine and systemic boosting with recombinant vaccinia induce vigorous immune responses: experiment with mice].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the strategy to raise both mucosal and systemic anti-HIV-1 immunity. METHODS: Eighteen BALB/c rats were randomly divided into 2 groups, experimental group and control group. The experimental group were further subdivided into 4 subgroups of 3 mice: 3-dose HIV DNA vaccine group, 3-dose DNA vaccine + cholera toxin (CT) adjuvant subgroup, 1-dose recombinant Tiantan strain vaccinia-based vaccine subgroup, and 3-dose DNA vaccine + CT adjuvant + Tiantan strain vaccinia-based vaccine subgroup. The control group was subdivided into 2 subgroups of 3 mice: 3-dose DNA blank vector subgroup, and 3-dose DNA blank vector + Tiantan strain vaccinia-based vaccine subgroup. Intranasal administration of DNA vaccine-based vaccine (10 microg) was done on the days 0, 14, and 28 as the mucosal priming, and recombinant Tiantan vaccinia (1 x 10(7) PFU) was injected intramuscularly as systemic boosting on the day 42. On the day 56 the mice were killed and specimens of serum, nasopharynx wash, lung wash, and spleen were collected and splenocytes were isolated. Splenocytes were added into the phosphate-buffered saline with anti-mouse interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) envelop antibody to count the number of spot-forming cells (SFCs). Indirect ELISA was used to detect the HIV-1 specific antibody in the nasopharynx wash and lung wash. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the intracellular staining of IFN-gamma in the splenocytes. RESULTS: The number of spot forming cells in the HIV-1 DNA vaccine + CT adjuvant group was (14 +/- 11) SFCs/10(6) splenocytes, significantly more than that of the HIV-1 DNA vaccine group [(2 +/- 1) SFCs/10(6) spleen cells (P < 0.01). The number of SFCs of the 1-dose DNA-vaccine subgroup was [(30 +/- 18) SFCs/10(6) spleen cells], significantly higher than that of the only DNS vaccine group (P < 0.01). The number of SFCs of DNA vaccine + CT adjuvant + recombinant Tiantan vaccinia-based vaccine was (61 +/- 35) SFCs/10(6) splenocytes, significantly higher than those of the other groups (all P < 0.01). Flow cytometry showed that the rate of HIV-1 Gag specific CD8(+) T cell was 1.8% +/- 1.4%. The value of specific IgG of the DNA vaccine + adjuvant + Tiantan vaccinia-based vaccine was 1.50 +/- 0.30, significantly higher than those of the blank vector, single-dose Tiantan vaccinia-based vaccine, and single-dose DNA vaccine + CT adjuvant subgroups (0.42 +/- 0.02, 0.74 +/- 0.13, and 0.75 +/- 0.02 respectively, all P < 0.05). In different subgroups the levels of specific IgA in the lung wash were all higher than those in the nasopharynx wash. The levels of specific IgA in the lung and nasopharynx wash of the DNA vaccine + CT adjuvant subgroup were higher than those of the other subgroups whether or not with boosting of Tiantan. The specific IgA levels of the groups enhanced by Tiantan vaccinia-based vaccine were all significantly higher than those of the corresponding subgroups without enhancement (all P < 0.01). The IgA level of lung wash of the DNA vaccine + CT adjuvant subgroup was 1.82 +/- 0.76, significantly higher than that of the one-dose Tiantan vaccinia-based vaccine group (0.52 +/- 0.19, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The vaccination modality of mucosal priming and systemic boosting induces both mucosal and systemic immune responses.

Deglycosylation or partial removal of HIV-1 CN54 gp140 V1/V2 domain enhances env-specific T cells.

It remains a great challenge to develop an effective HIV vaccine against the most prevalent HIV-1 clade, B'/C recombinant, in China. Our objective was to test the influence of a new modification of the V1/V2 loops of HIV-1(CN54) gp140 on the immunogenicity of Env. HIV-1(CN54) gp140 was deglycosylated by replacing all six N residues in V1/V2 loops with six Q residues (gp140dG) or partially deleted on V1/V2 loops (gp140dV). gp140, gp140dG, and gp140dV were transferred into plasmid vector and recombinant Tiantan vaccinia (rTTV) vector to generate three DNA vaccines and three rTTV vaccines for vaccination of female BALB/c mice in a prime-boost regimen. An Elispot assay was used to read out the T cell immunity and ELISA and a poly-l-leucine (PLL) ELISA was employed to assess humoral immune responses. Surprisingly, gp140dV (1570 +/- 1569 SFCs/10(6) splenocytes) and gp140dG (731 +/- 471 SFCs/10(6) splenocytes) could elicit significantly higher Env-specific T cells than gp140 (224 +/- 140 SFCs/10(6) splenocytes). Three T cell epitopes were newly identified in BALB/c mice at the N terminus of C1, C terminus of C4, and N terminus of HR, respectively. Env-specific binding antibodies and linear antibodies elicited by gp140 tended to be higher than that stimulated by gp140dG and gp140dV but did not reach statistical difference. Our data demonstrated that the deglycosylation and partial deletion of V1/V2 loops of B'/C recombinant gp140 could lead to improvement of specific T cell immune responses.

Pathogenicity and immunogenicity of recombinant Tiantan Vaccinia Virus with deleted C12L and A53R genes.

Interest is increasing regarding replicating poxvirus as HIV vaccine vector. In China, the Tiantan Vaccinia Virus (TV) has been used most extensively in the battle of eradicating smallpox. Recently, TV was developing as vaccine vector to fight against infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, replicating vaccinia virus sometimes may pose serious post-vaccination complications, especially in immunosuppressed individuals. To develop a safer and more effective TV-based vector, we constructed C12L (vIL-18 binding protein) and A53R (vTNF receptor homolog) gene-deleted mutants which are based on parental TV and VTKgpe (TV expressing HIV gagpol and env gene), respectively. The pathogenicity and immunogenicity were also evaluated. Deleting these two immunomodulatory genes lessened the virulence of the parental virus in both mice and rabbit models. Notably, C12L deletion mutant attenuated the skin virulence of parental virus by as high as approximate 2 logs. Furthermore, VTKgpe with A53R and C12L gene deletion retains the high immunogenicity of the parental virus to elicit strong humoral and cellular responses to the HIV target genes despite the remarkable attenuation. These data suggest that deletion of the cytokine viroceptor gene is feasible to obtain a safer and replication-competent TV vector for vaccination and immunotherapy.

[Effect of GBV-C/HIV coinfection on HIV/AIDS disease progression and HIV replication].

Several research groups have recently reported that persistent GB virus C (GBV-C) co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leads to slower AIDSs disease progression than HIV-1 infection alone. However, these findings were not confirmed by several other studies. To investigate the association between GBV-C replication and plasma HIV loads and CD4+ T cell counts, 203 HIV-1 positive former blood/plasma donors(FBDs) were enrolled from Fuyang city of Anhui Province in China. Plasma specimens were collected from them and were tested for GBV-C using RT-PCR and ELISA. Out of 203 specimens, 52 (25.6%) cases were positive for GBV-C, including 35 male (67.3%) and 17 female (32.7%) cases. No significant association was identified between GBV-C infection and CD4+ T-cell counts or between GBV-C infection and HIV viral loads. Since all the subjects studied were naive to ART, the influence of therapy on AIDS disease progression was ruled out in this study. Overall, our data indicated that HIV-1 positive male FBDs were prone to be infected, GBV-C coinfection with HIV-1 does not significantly influence HIV/AIDS disease progression during the late stage of chronic HIV-1 infection.

Mucosal priming with replicative Tiantan vaccinia and systemic boosting with DNA vaccine raised strong mucosal and systemic HIV-specific immune responses.

An effective vaccine strategy for HIV-1 will probably require the induction and maintenance of both humoral and cellular immunity at mucosal and systemic sites. We tested a new prime-boost approach of intranasal priming with 3 x 10(6) PFU of replicative recombinant Tiantan vaccinia virus (rTTV) and intramuscular boosting with 100 microg DNA plasmid expressing HIV-1 Gag in BALB/c mice along with other strategies. Our data demonstrated that intranasal priming with replicative recombinant Tiantan vaccinia and intramuscular boosting with DNA vaccine raised the highest vaginal IgA and systemic T-cell responses, and modest lung IgA and sera IgG responses among all vaccination regimens; each vaccination regimen generated its own imprint of the most preferential T-cell receptor usage of Vbeta. These results demonstrate that the combination of intranasal priming with replicative recombinant Tiantan vaccinia and intramuscular boosting with DNA vaccine is a preferable regimen for induction of both T-cell and humoral immune responses at mucosal and systemic sites.

Mucosal priming with PEI/DNA complex and systemic boosting with recombinant TianTan vaccinia stimulate vigorous mucosal and systemic immune responses.

An effective vaccine strategy for HIV-1 will probably requires the induction and maintenance of both humoral and cellular immunity. We tested a new prime-boost approach of intranasal priming with 10 microg DNA plasmid in the PEI/DNA complexes and boosting with 10(7)PFU of replicative recombinant TianTan vaccinia virus (rTTV) expressing HIV-1 Gag in BALB/c mice. Intranasal priming with PEI/DNA complexes elicited strikingly stronger HIV-specific T-cell (p=0.0358) and IgA immune responses at mucosal sites of lung (p=0.0445) and vaginal tract (p=0.0469) than intranasal priming with naked DNA, though both are followed by the same rTTV boosting. Furthermore, an intramuscular boosting with rTTV could profoundly enhance both T-cell and antibody immune responses raised by intranasal priming. These results demonstrate that the combination of intranasal priming with PEI/DNA complexes and systemic boosting with rTTV is a preferable regimen for induction of both T-cell and humoral immune responses.