Role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in D-GalN/LPS-induced acute liver failure / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in acute liver failure (ALF) using a mouse model of D-Galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide (D-GalN/LPS)-induced ALF.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The ALF model was established by administering intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of D-Ga1N (700 mg/kg) and LPS (10 mug/kg) to six C57BL/6 mice. Three of the modeled mice were also administered 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA; 100 mg/kg i.p.) at 6 hours before the onset of ALF and served as the intervention group. Non-modeled mice served as controls. All mice were analyzed by western blotting and qRT-PCR to determine the expression levels of ERS-related proteins in liver tissue. Liver function was assessed by measuring levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum. Extent of injury to the liver tissue was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and histological analysis. qRT-PCR was also used to detect differences in expression of inflammation-related genes, and western blotting was also used to detect differences in expression of the apoptosis related protein Caspase-3.The extent of apoptosis in liver tissue was assessed by TUNEL assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The ERS markers GRP78 and GRP94 showed increased expression at both the gene and protein levels which followed progression of ALF. The ERS effector proteins XBP-1, ATF-6 and IRE 1 a involved in the unfolded protein response were activated in the early stages of ALF, and the ERS-induced apoptosis regulators Caspase-12 and CHOP were activated in the late stage of ALF. Inhibition of ERS by 4-PBA intervention protected against injury to liver tissue and function, as evidenced by significantly lower levels of serum ALT and AST and a remarkably decreased extent of histological alterations. Furthermore, the inhibition of ERS suppressed expression of the proinflammatory cytokines TNFa, IL-6 and IL-1 β, and reduced the extent of hepatocyte apoptosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ERS is activated in the mouse model of D-GalN/LPS-induced ALF. Inhibition of ERS may be protective against liver injury and the mechanism of action may involve reductions in inflammatory and apoptotic factors and/or signaling. Therefore, inhibiting ERS may represent a novel therapeutic approach for treating ALF.</p>

Performance characteristic comparison of two commerical kits for anti-HCV confirmatory test / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective To detect anti-HCV in serum of hepatic disease patients by performing the confirmatory test, and further to confirm HCV infection. Methods Two recombinant immunoblot assays (CWT and CHIRON RIBA HCV 3.0 Strip Immunoblot Assay) were used respectively to detect anti-HCV in 477 human serum samples, which comprised 350 HCV-infected patients' specimens, 7 none-A none-E hepatitis specimens, 30 HBV-infected patients' specimens, 30 hepatitis E virus infected patients'specimens, and 60 specimens drawn from blood donors. The latter three groups served as controls. Results A total of 120 control non-HCV-infected patients' specimens were negative when tested by both assays. Among 350 HCV-infected patients, 341 were positive and 9 were indeterminated by CWT assay; 343 were positive and 7 were indeterminated by CHIRON RIBA HCV 3. 0 SIA. Seven none-A none-E hepatitis specimens tested by both assays turned out to be 2 positive, 4 negative and 1 indeterminate. The consistency rate of these two assays was 99. 16% (Kappa=0.98). Conclusion CWT assay is highly coherent with CHIRON RIBA HCV 3.0 SIA assay in the methodology of anti-HCV antibody detection, which can be applied in the determination of HCV infection among none-A none-E hepatitis patients.

Detection of hepatitis E virus RNA by real-time fluorescent RT-PCR / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of detection of hepatitis E virus (HEV) RNA in sera from patients with acute hepatitis E using real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR to detect hepatitis E virus RNA in sera from patients with acute hepatitis E.Methods A real-time RT-PCR assay, which can amplifies and detect the conserved region on ORF3, was used in this study. 434 outpatients and hospitalized patients with acute HEV infection was enrolled into this study.Simultaneously,the serum samples from 40 patients with HAV infection, 100 patients with HBV infection and 110 healthy blood donors were collected as the control The real-time RT-PCR was performed to detect HEV RNA in all these sera.Results 232 sera (53.5%) were positive for HEV RNA by real-time RT-PCR and all of the control were negative.The results of real-time RT-PCR and anti-HEV IgM (ELISA) were concordant in 67.1% samples.There was significant difference between the two methods ( Kappa = 0.308, P = 0.000 ).The first serum sample from five serum samples of the patients was positive for HEV RNA and negative for anti-HEV IgM.Follow-up studies showed all the five sera samples were positive for anti-HEV IgM.HEV RNA in serum could be detected between 2 and 10 days.Conclusions The real-time fluorescent RT-PCR method has high specificity, and can be applied to the qualitative detection of the serum with genotypes Ⅰ and Ⅳ of hepatitis E virus.Its clinical use can improve the early diagnosis of HEV.

Study on genotype and subgenotype distribution of hepatitis E virus among patients with acute sporadic hepatitis E in Beijing / 中华检验医学杂志

s E in Beijing belong to HEV genotype Ⅳ.

Epidemiology and control of brucellosis in China.

The paper describes the history and evolvement of brucellosis in China. It presents the variation of epidemic situation, epidemiological characteristics, application of vaccines and control in brief. Before 1980s, human and animal brucellosis was quite severe; during 1980s, the incidence of human and animal brucellosis was relatively low, and seemed to decrease during the decade. During 1990s, there were no obvious changes in the incidence of animal brucellosis, but the incidence of human brucellosis increased, especially from 1995 to 2001. There are not only some common characteristics but also some differences in brucellosis epidemiology relative to that reported in the rest of the world. For the entire country, B. melitensis was the predominant strain associated with outbreaks, and the epidemic peak is from February to June. Several Brucella vaccines have been used in China for prevention and control of brucellosis. such as B. abortus 104 M in humans, B. suis S2 in animals. The introduction of comprehensive measures has allowed great progress in the prevention and control of brucellosis in China. Surveillance points were set-up countrywide to estimate the epidemic situation. In addition, we discussed the new characteristics of brucellosis in China, the influence of the El Nino phenomenon on brucellosis epidemic situation, the phenomenon of antigenic interference between Brucella species and some disadvantages of live Brucella vaccines.