Apoptin,a chicken anemia virus-derived protein.selectively induces apoptosis in trans-formed or tumor cells but not in normal cells.The tumor specificity of apoptin is thought to be related to its cel-lular localization.The apoptin-induced apoptosis is p53-independent and can not be blocked by overexpressionof Bcl-2.But activation of Caspase-3 is essential for apoptin-induced apoptosis.These features make apoptin a potential candidate as a novel therapeutic and diagnostic tool in cancer treatment.

Objective: To investigate the molecular typing and drug resistance of Salmonella in market-sold raw livestock meats in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, so as to provide the basis for the prevention and control of drug-resistant Salmonella. Methods: Salmonella isolates were detected and serotyped from raw livestock meat samples collected from supermarkets, agricultural markets and restaurants in Shaoxing City between March and November 2023. Molecular typing was performed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Antibiotic resistance phenotypes and resistance gene analyses were conducted using broth microdilution method and whole genome sequencing. Results: A total of 34 Salmonella isolates were detected from 329 samples and the positive rate was 10.33%. There were 14 serotypes, with S. Rissen (9 isolates, 26.47%) and S. London (8 isolates, 23.53%) being dominant. PFGE typing revealed 31 band patterns and 23 banding pattern clusters of Salmonella, and the similarity ranged from 30.80% to 100.00%, without dominant band patterns. MLST identified 15 sequence typing (ST) types, and S. Rissen were all ST469 and S. London were all ST155. Salmonella strains exhibited high levels of resistance to tetracycline (44.12%) and ampicillin (35.29%). Thirteen resistance patterns were identified, with 8 multidrug resistant patterns (29.41%). There were 8 classes of 14 resistance genes, with aminoglycoside resistance gene aac(6' )-Iaa found in 100.00% of the strains. The highest concordance rate between the resistance phenotype and gene was observed for phenicol antibiotics (97.06%), while there was no concordance between the quinolone resistance phenotype and genes. Conclusions S. Rissen and S. London are the predominant serotypes in market-sold raw livestock meats in Shaoxing City. The PFGE band types of the Salmonella isolates show polymorphism distribution, and MLST are mainly ST469 and ST155. The isolates have high levels of resistance to tetracycline and ampicillin, manifesting multidrug resistance.

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, from 2012 to 2022, so as to provide the evidence for improving the foodborne disease control strategy. Methods: Foodborne disease outbreaks in Shaoxing City from 2012 to 2022 were collected from National Foodborne Disease Outbreak Monitoring System in China, including populations, places of outbreak, pathogenic factors and suspected foods. The temporal distribution, regional distribution, distribution of outbreak places and pathogenic factors of foodborne disease outbreaks were descriptively analyzed. Results: A total of 89 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported in Shaoxing City from 2012 to 2022, covering totally 699 patients, with an average annual attack rate of 6.35%. The outbreak peaked during the period between June and October (73 outbreaks, 82.02%), and family was the predominant place of outbreak (41 outbreaks, 46.07%). There were 83 outbreaks with known pathogenic factors, including 51 outbreaks caused by microbial factors, with Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella and norovirus as predominant pathogens, and 29 outbreaks caused by fungi and their toxins, which were all poisonous mushrooms poisoning, resulting in 2 deaths. In addition, there were 3 outbreaks caused by chemical factors. Conclusions The outbreak of foodborne diseases predominantly occurred in summer and autumn in Shaoxing City from 2012 to 2022. Family was the predominant place of outbreak, and toxic mushroom poisoning was the most lethal pathogenic factor.

Objective: To investigate the molecular transmission network characteristics of HIV-1 among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, so as to provide insights into AIDS prevention and control among MSM. Methods: Newly reported HIV/AIDS cases among MSM in Shaoxing City were selected from January 2021 to September 2023. Plasma samples before the antiviral treatment were collected. The HIV-1 pol gene was amplified using reverse transcription PCR and nested PCR to construct phylogenetic trees for gene subtype analysis. The HIV-TRACE method was used to construct a molecular transmission network with a genetic distance of 1.5% to analyze clustering and the characteristics of cases within molecular clusters. Results: A total of 216 HIV/AIDS cases among MSM were included, and 179 qualified sequences were obtained. The predominant HIV-1 subtypes were CRF07_BC and CRF01_AE, with 95 and 66 cases, respectively. At 1.5% genetic distance, 20 molecular clusters were formed, with 61 nodes and 58 edges. A total of 61 sequences were connected to the transmission network (34.08%). HIV/AIDS cases among MSM from all the counties (cities, districts) in Shaoxing City were included in the network. There was the largest molecular cluster with ≥10 nodes, involving 12 cases from five counties (cities, districts), 3 medium-sized molecular clusters with 4 to 5 nodes, and the 16 small-sized molecular clusters with 2 or 3 nodes. Seven cases with high risk of transmission, each with ≥4 edges, were all CRF07_BC subtypes. Among them, two cases were from the large molecular cluster, and five cases were from the same molecular cluster composed of cases from Shengzhou City and Xinchang County. Conclusions The predominant HIV-1 subtypes among MSM in Shaoxing City were CRF07_BC and CRF01_AE. There was cross-regional HIV transmission, and potential transmission risk might exist in Shengzhou City and Xinchang County.

Objective To predict and identify liner B-cell epitopes in the hemagglutinin ( HA) of human-infected avian-origin H7N9 influenza virus and analyze the specificity of H7 subtype.Methods Three serum samples collected at different times from the same patient who was confirmed to be infected with H7N9 influenza virus were provided by Shaoxing People’s Hospital, and one serum sample from healthy person was collected as the control.The extracellular region of HA protein was predicted by TMHMM Sever v.2.0.The potential B-cell epitopes were predicted by DNAStar Lasergene’ s Protean, BcePred and ABCpred tools, and the immunogenicity of the predicted B cell antigen epitopes was assessed by indirect enzyme-linked immunosordent assay ( ELISA ) .H7 subtype specificity was analyzed by comparing HA protein amino acid sequence with H7N9 and H1-H16 subtype influenza virus from Genbank using Clustal X 2.1 software, and Cn3D 4.3.1 software was used to detect the distribution and 3D structure of predicted epitopes on the HA protein of H7N9.Results The potential B-cell epitopes may be located in 172-183, 363-380, 452-472 and 491-506 of extracellular N-terminus of HA protein.ELISA showed that four predicted eptiopes specifically reacted with positive serums from patient.Multi-sequence alignment demonstrated that peptide 172-183 and 363-380 had higher H7 subtype specificity compared with amino acid sequences of other subtypes.Moreover, the predicted linear B-cell epitopes all located on the surface of HA protein according to the 3D structure analysis.Conclusion Four potential B-cell epitopes were identified, in which peptide 172-183 and 363-380 have higher H7 subtype specificity, and may be used in the design of epitope-based vaccines and diagnostics tests.