Changes in peripheral blood natural killer T cells in hepatitis B e antigen-positive chronic hepatitis B patients and efficacy prediction after pegylated interferon therapy.

We examined the expression of peripheral blood natural killer T (NKT) cells in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and predicted its efficacy after pegylated interferon α-2a (Peg-INFα-2a) therapy. Sixty-three cases of HbeAg-positive CHB inpatients and outpatients, treated in the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January to December 2010, were administrated Peg-INFα-2a 18 myriad international unit intramuscularly once per week for 48 weeks. The number of peripheral NKT cells, 5 quantitative indicators of hepatitis B, and hepatitis B virus DNA capacity were detected at each time point. Forty-eight weeks after Peg-INFα-2a treatment, 26 HBeAg-positive CHB patients exhibited significant effects, 21 cases exhibited effects, and 16 cases showed no effects. The ratio of peripheral blood NKT cells in T lymphocytes before and 4, 8, and 12 weeks after treatment in the significant effect group was significantly increased compared to the effect group and no effect group (P < 0.01); at the 48th week of treatment and 24 weeks after the drug was withdrawn, NKT cell expression in the significant effect group was significantly higher than that in the effect group (t = 32.0, P < 0.01; t = 27.6, P < 0.01, respectively). A total of 27 patients showed HBeAg seroconversion until the 24th week after drug withdrawal. During treatment with Peg-INFα-2a in HBeAg-positive CHB patients, expression of peripheral blood NKT cells could be used to predict efficacy.

Cloning and expression analysis of heat-shock transcription factor gene CaHsfA2 from pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

The heat-shock transcription factor (Hsf) gene CaHsfA2 (GenBank accession No. JX402923) was cloned from the Capsicum annuum thermotolerant line R9 by combining the techniques electron cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The gene, which is 1436 bp in length, had an open reading frame of 1089 bp that encoded 362 amino acids. There was an 831-bp intron between positions 321 and 322 of the cDNA. The deduced amino acid sequence of CaHsfA2 contained the conserved domains of Hsf, including DNA binding domain, adjacent domain with heptad hydrophobic repeats (A/B), activator motifs, nuclear localization signal, and nuclear export signal, and it had the highest E value of hypothesized annotation of HsfA2. CaHsfA2 had the nearest phylogenetic relationship with HsfA2 from Lycopersicon peruvianum and Mimulus guttatus, which was consistent with its botanical classification. After heat-shock treatment at 40°C for 2 h, the expression of CaHsfA2 was observed in different tissues of thermotolerant cultivar R9 and thermosensitive line B6; however, the expression levels of the CaHsfA2 gene were significantly different as follows: expression in B6 leaf > stem > flower > root, and expression in R9 flower > leaf > stem ≈ root.