Analysis of the Incidence and Clinical Significance of Long and Short Corrected QT Interval in Electrocardiogram in Healthy Population of Changsha in China

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyse the incidence of long and short corrected QT (QTc) in a healthy sample of the population of Changsha in China. Methods: Standard 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) were performed on 4025 subjects in Changsha of China, whose age ranged from 6 minutes after birth to 83 years, between January 1993 and December 2012. Heart rate and QT interval were measured and recorded. Corrected QT was calculated with Bazett´s formula (QTc = QT/RR0.5). All recruited individuals had taken healthy examination, ruling out general health issue, in The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS 16.0 software (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA). Results: The incidence of short QTc was 7.13% (287/4025 cases). The peak values of the incidence were in the 30-40 years group (15.71%). The low values were in the 1-3 months group and 3-6 months group (0%, 0.76%), respectively. The incidence of long QTc was 3.16% (127/4025 cases). The values diminished significantly after adulthood. The low values were in the age groups of 18-30 years (0.86%) and 30-40 years (0.71%), respectively. After the age of 50 years, the incidence of long QTc increased with age 50-60 years and 60-70 years and 70-83 years (7.89%, 9.06%, 14.06%), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the genders (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The peak incidences of long and short QTc existed in two separate age groups in the healthy sample. The peak incidence of short QTc was in the age group of 18-40 years, and the peak incidence of long QTc was in the age group beyond the 50 years. For these two age groups, it was recommended to pay close attention to the changes in their QTc in order to prevent cardiovascular events.

Clone, expression and plasminogen binding property of three fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolases from Clonorchis sinensis

@# Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FbA), a well characterized glycometabolism enzyme, has been found to participate in other important processes besides the classic catalysis. To understand the important functions of three fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolases from Clonorchis sinensis (CsFbAs, CsFbA-1/2/3) in host-parasite interplay, the open reading frames of CsFbAs were cloned into pET30a (+) vector and the resulting recombinant plasmids were transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) for expression of the proteins. Purified recombinant CsFbAs proteins (rCsFbAs) were approximately 45.0 kDa on 12% SDS-PAGE and could be probed with each rat anti-rCsFbAs sera by western blotting analysis. ELISA and ligand blot overlay indicated that rCsFbAs of 45.0 kDa as well as native CsFbAs of 39.5 kDa from total worm extracts and excretory-secretory products of Clonorchis sinensis (CsESPs) could bind to human plasminogen, and the binding could be efficiently inhibited by lysine analog ε-aminocaproic acid. Our results suggested that as both the components of CsESPs and the plasminogen binding proteins, three CsFbAs might be involved in preventing the formation of the blood clot so that Clonorchis sinensis could acquire enough nutrients from host tissue for their successful survival and colonization in the host. Our work will provide us with new information about the biological function of three CsFbAs and their roles in hostparasite interplay

Isotypic antibody responses of a population in an endemic area of schistosomiasis japonica and their epidemiologic significance.

The present study was designed to explore if there exists a correlation between predominant isotype-defined antibody levels and reinfection in low age groups of the population in an endemic area of schistosomiasis japonica in China. One hundred and thirty-eight individuals aged 3-25 years old were selected for serological investigations including the levels of IgG, IgG4, IgM and IgE, detected by ELISA with soluble egg antigen and soluble adult worm antigen. Results show that age is a determinant for SEA-specific IgG, IgG4, and IgE, and SWA-specific IgG and IgG4 antibody levels, which increased with age, and that SEA- and SWA- specific IgG4 antibody levels are risk factors of reinfection, ie, the risk of reinfection occurrence of the population with high level of SEA or SWA-specific IgG4 is 2.83 or 2.40 times, respectively, that with low level of SEA or SWA-specific IgG4, suggesting that in the endemic area of schistosomiasis japonica, there exists a possibility that in the population aged 3-25 years, SEA and SWA-specific IgG4 antibodies mediate a blocking immunity response.