Alanine aminotransferase is more sensitive to the decrease in hepatitis B virus-DNA load than other liver markers in chronic hepatitis B patients.

BACKGROUND: A direct correlation between hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV-DNA) and liver markers has not been identified in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. However, the effect of HBV-DNA changes on liver markers remains unclear. We explored the association between decreased HBV-DNA and liver makers in CHB patients. METHODS: Chronic hepatitis B patients who visited Jinhua Central Hospital twice were selected for analysis. Finally, 171 participants with a 1-log reduction in HBV-DNA between the two visits were enrolled as the case group, and 158 participants with no significant changes in HBV-DNA were enrolled as the control group. RESULTS: There was no significant correlation between HBV-DNA and liver markers (P>.05). However, in longitudinal analysis, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were significantly different between the two tests (P<.05) in the case group. Conversely, there was no significant difference in the control group. When HBV-DNA decreased >26 times, ALT was reduced by half or more. A similar trend was observed with a decrease of >63 times for AST and a decrease of >76 times for GGT. CONCLUSIONS: A large change in HBV-DNA can lead to a significant variation in liver markers. In particular, ALT was more sensitive than other liver markers to a reduction in HBV-DNA.

Molecular cloning, sequence analysis and expression of a GHF 43 xylanase from Aspergillus niger in Escherichia coli.

A new xylanase gene (xyn43A) from Aspergillus niger XZ-3S was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIL. The coding region of the gene was separated by only one intron 86 bp in length. It encoded 318 amino acid residues of a protein with a calculated molecular weight (MW) of 33.47 kDa plus a signal peptide of 19 amino acids. The amino acid sequence of the xyn43A gene showed 77.56% amino acid identity to A. nidulans xylanase, and the phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that xyn43A had close relationships with those of family 43 of glycosyl hydrolases reported from other microorganisms. Three-dimensional structure modeling showed that Xyn43A had a typical five-blade ß-propeller fold. The mature peptide encoding cDNA was subcloned into pET-28a (+) expression vector. The resultant recombinant plasmid pET-28a-xyn43A was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIL, and xylanase activity was measured. A maximum activity of 61.43 U/mg was obtained from the cellular extract of E. coli BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIL harboring pET-28a-xyn43A. The recombinant xylanase had optimal activity at pH5.0 and 45°C. Fe(3+), Cu(2+) and EDTA had an obvious active effect on the enzyme.

Association of Rs11615 (C>T) in the excision repair cross-complementing group 1 gene with ovarian but not gynecological cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that the rs11615 (C>T) polymorphism in the ERCC1 gene may be a risk factor for gynecological tumors. However, results have not been consistent. Therefore we performed this meta- analysis. METHODS: Eligible studies were identified by search of PubMed, MEDLINE and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to assess associations between rs11615 (C>T) and gynecological tumor risk. Heterogeneity among studies was tested and sensitivity analysis was applied. RESULTS: A total of 6 studies were identified, with 1,766 cases and 2,073 controls. No significant association was found overall between the rs11615 (C>T) polymorphism and gynecological tumor susceptibility in any genetic model. In further analysis stratified by cancer type, significantly elevated ovarian cancer risk was observed in the homozygote and recessive model comparison (TT vs CC: OR=1.69, 95% CI=1.03-2.77, heterogeneity=0.876; TT vs CT/CC: OR=1.72, 95% CI=1.07-2.77, heterogeneity=0.995). CONCLUSION: The results of the present meta-analysis suggest that there is no significant association between the rs11615 (C>T) polymorphism and gynecological tumor risk, but it had a increased risk in ovarian cancer.