Objective:To improve the sensitivity and the linear range of electrochemical immunosensor to detect Schistosoma japonicum (S.japonicum) antibody.Methods:Carbon inks and silver/silver chloride inks were printed on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) board to make a two-electrode test strip,where carbon was the working electrode and S.japonicum soluble egg antigen (SEA) was fixed at one end of working electrode by different methods; silver/silver chloride electrode was used as control.We tested the valency of the antibody by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) in an electrochemistry workstation,and conducted comparison with the results of ELISA.Two new immunosensing electrodes have been developed,based on glutaraldehyde cross-linked (GA) or chitosan-glutaraldehyde cross-linked (Chit-GA) transducer fixing S.japonicum antigen.We tested the titer of the antibody by means of CV and DPV.Results:Our experimental S.japonicum antigen (50 μg/L) is the optimal test concentration for the GA sensor,and 10 μg/L for Chit-GA sensors.The immune reaction time of both electrodes is all essentially complete in 1 minute.The linear range for S.japonicura antibody in human positive serum sample detection by the glutaraldehyde cross-linked immunosensor is 1∶1000 to 1∶400,and by the chitosan-glutaraldehyde cross-linked immunosensor is 1∶1000 to 1∶500.As the concentration of dilution ratio of S.japonicum antibody in human positive serum sample increased,the test value of DPV increased proportionally.Conclusion:GA sensor and Chit-GA cross-linked S.japonicum sensors have high sensitivity and broad linear range response,and both exhibited a good linear relationship between the DPV signal and the test antibody titer.

OBJECTIVETo investigate Lanzhou area cases of hepatitis C virus (H-CV) infection with a 5'-non coding region (NCR) 2i genotype and core (C), envelope protein (E) and non-structural protein (NS5) 2a genotype and the relationship with therapeutic response to interferon-alpha (IFNa).

METHODSNine patients who received IFNa-based treatment for HCV between 2007 and 2009 at the Second People's Hospital of Gansu Province were selected for analysis.Restriction enzyme analysis was carried out for the 5'-NCR and sequencing was carried out for the other gene areas.The relationship between genetic variants and IFNaresponse was examined.

RESULTSOf the total nine HCV cases treated with IFNa-based therapies, five of the patients achieved sustained virological response (SVR), which included two cases with type 2 genotype and three cases with no MboI restriction enzyme point of tangency (i.e.type 1b). The remaining four patients that did not achieve SVR included one case of type 2a, with a 1b and 2a mixed state, and one case with 5'-NCR 2i genotype and C area, NS5 area 2a genotype; the other two cases had 5'-NCR and C area type 1b. Of the five cases with 5'-NCR 2i genotype, all had C 2a genotype and two had C/E 2a and NS5 2a genotypes.The seven patients that showed no response to ordinary IFNa were converted to long-term IFNa plus ribavirin combination antiviral treatment; five (71.4%) of the cases showed response in HCV RNA level and the patients treated with the pegylated form showed greater response.

CONCLUSIONHCV genotyping can only provide information on the particular region of gene sequence examined, and it is important to sequence all gene regions where mutations related to antiviral drug response are located. Peg-IFNa-2a combined with ribavirin may achieve better therapeutic effect in patients infected with 2i/2a recombinant forms of HCV.

Angiogenesis Inhibitors ; Antiviral Agents ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus ; genetics ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; Open Reading Frames ; Polyethylene Glycols ; Recombinant Proteins ; Recombination, Genetic ; Ribavirin ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics and genetic etiology of a child with Spondyloocular syndrome (SOS) in order to enhance the awareness and understanding of this disease.Methods:A 3.5-year-old boy with SOS who had presented at the Department of Medical Genetics of Hunan Children′s Hospital on August 10, 2023 due to the repeated fractures for over 2 years and after binocular cataract surgery was selected as the study subject. Clinical data of his pedigree were collected, and peripheral venous blood samples were collected for the extraction of genomic DNA and subjected to trio-whole exome sequencing. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing and analyzed with bioinformatic software. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Hunan Children′s Hospital (No. KYSQ2022-263).Results:The child had manifested repeated fractures, bilateral bowed femur, osteoporosis, cataract, atrial septal defect, and developmental delay. Ultrasonography has revealed fetal edema, peritoneal effusion, pleural effusion and polyhydramnios. Trio-whole exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing revealed that he has harbored compound heterozygous variants of the XYLT2 gene, namely c. 1103_1104delAG (p.Gln368Argfs*8) and c. 1238_1253delinsA (p.Val413_Pro418delinsGlu), which were inherited from his phenotypically normal father and mother, respectively. Neither variant was reported previously. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and recommendations from the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen), the c. 1103_1104delAG was predicted as a pathogenic variant (PVS1+ PM2_Supporting+ PP4), whilst the c.1238_1253delinsA was predicted as a likely pathogenic variant (PM4+ PM3+ PM2_Supporting+ PP4). Conclusion:The c. 1103_1104delAG and c. 1238_1253delinsA compound heterozygous variants of the XYLT2 gene probably underlay the pathogenesis in this child. Above finding has enriched the phenotypic and mutational spectrum of SOS, and provided a basis for the clinical diagnosis, treatment, prognosis assessment and genetic counseling for this pedigree.