Binding Patterns of Rotavirus Genotypes P[4], P[6], and P[8] in China with Histo-Blood Group Antigens.

Rotaviruses (RVs) are an important cause of severe gastroenteritis in children. It has been found that RV may recognize the histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) as ligands or receptors and bind HBGAs in a type-dependent manner. In this study, we investigated the binding specificity of VP8* proteins from human rotaviruses (RV) that are prevalent in China including genotypes P[4], P[6], and P[8]. Through the saliva- and oligosaccharide-based binding assays, we found that the VP8* proteins of P[4] and P[8] RV showed similar reactivity with the Leb and H type 1 antigens, while P[6] RV weakly bound the Leb antigen. These findings may facilitate further research into RV host specificity and vaccine development.

[Etiological study of human bocavirus 1-4 in children with acute diarrhea in Lanzhou, China].

This study aimed to study the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of human bocavirus 1-4 (HBoV1-4) in children with acute diarrhea in Lanzhou and to investigate the association between HBoV and acute gastroenteritis. A total of 331 stool samples were collected from children aged under 5 years with acute diarrhea at the Department of Pediatrics, the First Hospital, Lanzhou University, between July 2012 and June 2013. Nested PCR was used to screen for HBoV and a general PCR was employed to screen other common diarrhea viruses. We found human bocavirus 1, 2, 3 and 4 in 26, 15, 7 and 1 cases, respectively. There was no specific seasonal distribution of HBoV, with infections occurring throughout the year. HBoV was mostly found in children aged between 7 and 12 months, with a mean age of 11.04 months (+/- 6.92 months), and 93.88% of affected children were aged under 2 years. Overall, 71.3% of mixed infections were mixed and the majority of other infections were caused by rotavirus. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of fever and vomiting associated with HBoV infection. A rare virus strain, HBoV4 (LZFB086), was identified, which showed highest levels of nucleotide sequence identity (99.0%) with a single Thai HBoV strain (JQ267789). No case of HBoV2B was found. In conclusion, HBoV1 was a major etiological pathogen of HBoV in pediatric cases in Lanzhou. HBoV4 was detected in feces for the first time in China. The rate of mixed infections was high and rotavirus was dominant. The data presented suggests that HBoV is not a major causative agent of gastroenteritis.

[Evolutionary relationships of G3 GARV isolated from pigs and humans in Lulong County, Hebei Province, China].

This study aimed to amplify major genome segments (VP7, VP4, VP6, VP2 and NSP2-5) of porcine G3 group A rotavirus (GARV) LLZ212 isolated in our laboratory, determine their genotypes, and explore the evolutionary relationships between G3 GARV strains isolated from humans and pigs in Lulong County, Hebei Province, China. Major genome segments of seven GARV strains were amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the segments were sequenced. The genome segments of seven GARV strains were determined by the online RotaC genotyping tool (RotaC v2.0). The reference sequences of each GARV genome segment were downloaded from GenBank. Homology and phylogenetic evolutionary analyses were conducted using the MEGA 5.0 and DNAStar software packages. LLZ212 isolated from pigs in Lulong had the following genotype: G3-P[8]-I5-C1-N1-T1-E1-H1. All human GARV strains had the following genotype: G3-P[8]-I1-C1-N1-T1-E1-H1. The VP7, VP4, NSP4 and NSP5 genes of the LLZ212 strain had the highest nucleotide identities with the human GARV E885, CMH014/07, Wa and RMC321 strains, respectively, and these clustered together in a sublineage. The VP6, NSP4 and NSP5 genes of the LLZ212 strain shared the highest nucleotide identities with the porcine GARV PRG921 strain, while VP2 associated most closely with porcine GARV OSU strain, and these also clustered in a sublineage. A rare porcine G3-P[8]-I5-C1-N1-T1-E1-H1 GARV strain was identified, which may represent a reassortment between porcine and human viruses. In conclusion, the VP7, VP4, NSP4 and NSP5 genes of LLZ212 share high levels of sequence identity with human GARV, while VP2, VP6, NSP2 and NSP3 cluster with porcine GARV.

[Whole genome analysis of human group A rotavirus G9p[8] strains in Hebei lulong region, 2009-2011].

Abstract:This study aims to investigate the genetic characteristics of group A rotavirus (GARV) G9P[8] strains from infantile diarrhea samples in Hebei Lulong region from 2009 to 2011. We randomly selected five GARV G9P[8] strains in Hebei Lulong region from 2009 to 2011, amplified the 11 gene fragments of GARVs by RT-PCR, and analyz their full-genome sequences by homology and phylogenetic analysis with DNAStar and MEGA. The nucleotide homology between strains LL11131077 and LL11131083 in 2011 was significantly higher than hat etween them and the other three strains in 2009 and 2010. The G9P[8] GARVs circulating in Hebei Lulong region from 2009 to 2011 elenged to the same genotype as the prevalent G9P[8] GARVs in other parts of the world. However,the two strains in 2011, compared with those in 2009 and 2010, were located in a different sub-branch of the phylogenetic tree and had amino acid mutations at many sites.