To gain a better understanding of the genetic diversity and evolution of PRRSV in the Ningxia Hui Nationality Autonomous Region (Ningxia) of China, the nsp2 genes from a series of PRRSV strains collected from the region in 2007 were partially sequenced. These sequences were then analyzed along with the classical strain (ch-la) and two other epidemic strains SD (3) and SD2006. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence with ch-la indicated that nsp2 genes of seventeen Ningxia isolates (NX strain) have deletions of 87 nucleotides. Sequence analysis indicated that homology between the Ningxia strain and ch-la was 60.3%-79.9% in the nucleotide sequence, and homology between the NX strains and SD strains was 80.3%-98.8% in the nucleotide sequence. The nsp2 genes of the seventeen isolates had 74.9%-100% nucleotide sequence identities with each other. This study was undertaken to assess the regional variation of prevalent PRRSV and to establish a sequence database for PRRSV molecular epidemiological studies.

VP1, a capsid protein of swine vesicular disease virus, was cloned from the SVDV HK/70 strain and inserted into retroviral vector pBABE puro, and expressed in PK15 cells by an retroviral expression system. The ability of the VP1 protein to induce an immune response was then evaluated in guinea pigs. Western blot and ELISA results indicated that the VP1 protein can be recognized by SVDV positive serum, Furthermore,anti-SVDV specific antibodies and lymphocyte proliferation were elicited and increased by VP1 protein after vaccination. These results encourage further work towards the development of a vaccine against SVDV infection.

Postweaning multisystemie wasting syndrome (PMWS) is an important swine disease that is closely associated with porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). The capsid protein (Cap protein) is a major structural protein that has at least three immunoreactive regions, and it can be a suitable candidate antigen for detecting the specific antibodies of a PCV2 infection. In the present study, an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TcELISA)based on a truncated soluble Cap protein produced in Escherichia coli (E.coli) was established and validated for the diagnostic PCV2 antibodies in swine. The TcELISA was validated by comparison with an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA). The diagnostic sensitivity (DSN), specificity (DSP), and accuracy of the TcELISA were 88.6%, 90.7% and 89.4%, respectively. The agreement rate was 89.38% between results obtained with TcELISA and IIFA on 113 field sera. A cross-reactivity assay showed that the method was PCV2-specific by comparison with other sera of viral disease. Therefore ,the TcELISA will be helpful for the development of a reliable serology diagnostic test for large scale detection of PCV2 antibodies and for the evaluation of vaccine against PCV2 in swine.

Objective To study the relationship of HHV-8 K15 allelotypes in cutaneous and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) tissue with tumorigenesis. MethodsSequence specific primernested PCR was performed to detect HHV-8 K15 gene and to determine its allelotype in paraffin-embedded tissue specimens from 40 patients with cutaneous SCC and 40 patients with esophageal SCC. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. ResultsHHV-8 K15 P allele was detected in 9(22.5％) of the cutaneous SCC specimens and 8(20％) of the esophageal SCC specimens. There was no significant difference in the detection rate of HHV-8 between cutaneous SCC and esophageal SCC specimens (P ＞ 0.05). HHV-8 K15 M allele was undetected in this study. ConclusionsSCC tissues appear to harbor only HHV-8 K15 P allele, and HHV-8 may play a part in the initiation and progression of SCC.

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effect and signaling pathway of ginsenoside Rb1 on myocardial injury in mice with Kawasaki disease.Methods:BALB/C mice aged 5-6 weeks were randomly divided into control group, model group, aspirin group, ginsenoside Rb1 low dose group(50 mg/kg) and high dose group(100 mg/kg), with 12 mice in each group.Except the control group, other groups were treated with intermittent intraperitoneal injection of 10% bovine serum albumin saline solution to induce Kawasaki disease myocardial injury pathological model with a total of 6 days(twice a day); aspirin group, Rb1 low and high-dose group were given corresponding drugs by gavage for 20 days after modeling.The pathological changes of myocardial tissue were observed by hematoxylin eosin staining.The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-6(IL-6) and cardiac troponin I(cTnI) in serum and myocardial tissue were detected by ELISA.The activities of creatine kinase(CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme(CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase(α-HBDH) and aspartate aminotransferase(AST) in serum were detected by enzyme coupling method.The expression levels of janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(JAK2/STAT3) signaling pathway related proteins in myocardial tissue were detected by Western blot.Results:High dose of Rb1 significantly improved myocardial fiber rupture and tear, inflammatory infiltration and necrosis induced by myocardial injury in model group.ELISA results showed that, compared with the model group, high-dose Rb1 could significantly inhibit the high expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, which were restored to the level of the control group, and there was a dose-dependent relationship between the low and high-dose groups( P<0.05). The results of enzyme coupling method showed that creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB, lactate dehydrogenase, α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotrasferase in Rb1 high-dose group were restored to the level in control group, and there was a dose-dependent relationship between low and high-dose group( P<0.05). At the same time, compared with model group, Rb1 high-dose group significantly down regulated the expression level of cardiac troponin I( P<0.05). Western blot results showed that, compared with the model group, Rb1 significantly increased the relative expression levels of p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3 and B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2)/β-actin, and significantly decreased the expression levels of Cleaved caspase-3/β-actin in a dose-dependent manner( P<0.05). Conclusion:Ginsenoside Rb1 can effectively reduce the myocardial injury induced by Kawasaki disease mice.The high-dose group of Rb1 can recover to the level of the control group, and the curative effect is related to the dosage of Rb1.Ginsenoside Rb1 may activate JAK2/STAT3/Bcl-2 signaling pathway, thus down regulate the expression of Cleaved caspase-3, and inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis and inflammation.

Objective:To analyze the clinical adverse events of the first carbon ion therapy system in radiotherapy for cancer patients in China.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical trial monitoring data of the carbon ion therapy system obtained by the Pharmacovigilance Center of Gansu Province. A descriptive study was conducted on the demographic characteristics, radiotherapy techniques, irradiation site and dose parameters, postoperative follow-up, and adverse event information of 46 tumor patients who received carbon ion therapy and participated in the clinical trial in Wuwei Cancer Hospital, Gansu Province from November 2018 to February 2019. Frequency and percentage were used to describe and analyze the occurrence of adverse events after carbon ion therapy for cancer patients in different groups. All subjects who received radiotherapy were grouped according to the treatment dose and fractionation method.Results:The median age of the 46 patients was 47 years old, and the male to female ratio was 30∶16. There were 15, 5, 8, 9, and 9 patients with head and neck, chest, abdomen, pelvic cavity, and limb spinal tumors, respectively. The total duration of radiotherapy was 2-4 weeks for 10-16 times. There were 246 adverse events in 45 cases, with an incidence of 98%. No severe adverse events occurred. The adverse events definitely related to carbon ion devices accounted for 19.1%, and no severe adverse events related to carbon ion devices occurred. According to the evaluation criteria of common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE), the main adverse events were CTCAE grade 2 and below, with only 1 (2%) head and neck tumor patient (nasopharyngeal malignant tumor) experienced CTCAE grade 3 adverse events after treatment. In addition, 43 patients developed acute adverse reactions, with an incidence of 93%, mainly involving the skin, mucosa, eyes, ears, pharynx and esophagus, upper gastrointestinal tract, lower gastrointestinal tract (including pelvic cavity), lung, genitourinary tract, heart, central nervous system and hematology (white blood cells, platelets and neutrophils), etc. Conclusion:The adverse reactions of patients treated with the first carbon ion therapy system are mainly CTCAE grade 2 and below, and the clinical adverse events are mild and controllable.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of the overexpression of autophagy-related gene 3 (ATG3) on autophagy and salinomycin-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells and explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: We used the lentivirus approach to establish a breast cancer cell line with stable overexpression of ATG3. Western blotting, immunofluorescence staining and transmission electron microscopy were used to analyze the effect of ATG3 overexpression on autophagy in breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Using the AKT/mTOR agonists SC79 and MHY1485, we analyzed the effect of AKT/mTOR signal pathway activation on ATG3 overexpression-induced autophagy. Western blotting and flow cytometry were used to analyze the effect of autophagy on apoptosis of the ATG3-overexpressing cells treated with salinomycin and 3-MA (an autophagy inhibitor). RESULTS: In ATG3-overexpressing MCF-7 cells, ATG3 overexpression obviously promoted autophagy, inhibited the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, significantly weakened salinomycin-induced apoptosis ( < 0.01), caused significant reduction of the levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins cleaved-caspase 3 ( < 0.01) and Bax ( < 0.05), and enhanced the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 ( < 0.05). The inhibition of autophagy obviously weakened the inhibitory effect of ATG3 overexpression on salinomycin-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS ATG3 overexpression promotes autophagy possibly by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway to decrease salinomycin-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, suggesting that autophagy induction might be one of the mechanisms of drug resistance in breast cancer cells.
Acetates ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; genetics ; Autophagy ; drug effects ; Autophagy-Related Proteins ; metabolism ; Benzopyrans ; pharmacology ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; MCF-7 Cells ; Morpholines ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Pyrans ; pharmacology ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Triazines ; pharmacology ; Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes ; metabolism