Objective To identify clinical prevalence of untypical adefovir-resistant mutations of hepatitis B virus (HBV),and to analyze their phenotypic characteristics.Methods 1741 patients with chronic HBV infection were evolved.Untypical adefovir-resistant mutations were analyzed by direct sequencing.Longitudinal analysis was performed by clonal sequencing.Wild-type and mutant HBV genomic amplicons were constructed into pTriEx-HBV 1.1 vector and transfected into HepG2 cells.The replication capacity and the 50％ effective concentration of drugs (EC50) were calculated.Results Patients treated with adefovir alone were more likely to develop rtN238T mutation than those treated with other nucleos(t) ide drugs (x2 =17.10,P ＜ 0.01).The patient received adefovir for 47 months,and then viral rebound and biochemical breakthrough occurred with detection of rtN238T + A181V and rtN238T mutation.Switching-to entecavir therapy suppressed HBV DNA and ALT to an undetectable level and converted all viruses into wild type ones.The reulsts of viral replication capacity showed that rtN238T + A181V strain was higher than rtA181V strain (t =9.54,P ＜ 0.01).Compared to the wild type virus,rtN238T + A181V variant was relatively less susceptible to adefovir.Conclusions rtN238T mutation conferred no resistance to ADV but enhanced natural replication capacity,hence it might represent a novel compensatory drug-resistant mutation for adefovir.

Stroke is one of the major diseases leading to human death and disability,and prevention and treatment of stroke have become difficult medical problems.A large number of studies have shown that estrogen has significant neuroprotective effect against stroke,but its clinical application has encountered many obstacles.Long-term use of estrogen,especially the activation of estrogen receptor α (ERα) will increase the risk of reproductive system tumors.Recent studies abroad and our previous research have found that activation of estrogen receptor β (ERβ) can significantly alleviate cerebral ischemic injury.In addition,activation of ERβ can also improve the learning and memory abilities of ovariectomized rats.At the same time,ERβ selective agonists lack the ability to stimulate the proliferation of breast or endometrial tissue as compared with estrogen or ERa agonists,so activation of ERβ is expected to be a more safe and effective method for the prevention and treatment of stroke in menopause women.In this paper,we briefly reviewed the neuroprotective effects associated with ERβ signaling pathway in order to provide new ideas and molecular targets for the clinical transformation of estrogen in prevention and treatment against stroke.

OBJECTIVETo determine the mutational profile and clinical implications of the viral reverse-transcriptase (rt)A 181T mutation in hepatitis B virus (HBV) through population-based analysis of clinical samples.

METHODSSerum samples from 3, 013 patients who visited The 302 Hospital (Beijing, China) were investigated.HBV DNA was extracted and HBV mutations and genotypes were determined by direct sequencing.Recombinant plasmids harboring the rtA181T/sW172* mutant or wild type sequence were constructed and transfected into the HepG2 cell line. The levels of HBsAg in culture supernatants were compared and statistically analyzed.

RESULTSThe incidence of rtA181T across the study population was 4.1% (165/3, 013), and most of the rtAl 81T-positive patients had received adefovir and/or lamivudine.Forty percent (66/165) of the rtA 181T cases were single mutants and treatment responsive, 46.1% (76/165) included the adefovir-resistant mutation rtA 181 V/N236T, 12.1% (20/165) included the lamivudine-resistant mutation rtM204V/rtM2041, and 1.8% (3/165) included multidrug-resistant mutations.Interestingly, 73.9% (122/165) of the rtA181T-positive samples were detected with co-existing wild-type nucleotides at the site. The rates of HBV/C to HBV/B were 92.1% to 7.9% in the rtA181T-positive patients, but 82.1% to 17.9% in the rtA181T-negative paticnts (P less than 0.01).Almost all (98.2%; 129/165) of the rtA181T led to sW172*, while only 1.8% of the rtA181T (3/165) led to sW172L or sW172S.HBsAg secretion in vitro was reduced from the rtA181T/ sW172* strain, but there was no significant difference observed in the average serum HBsAg and HBV DNA levels of patients who carried or did not carry the mutant.

CONCLUSIONThe HBV rtA181T mutation is closely associated with adefovir and lamivudine exposure.rtA181T may led to sW172*, culminating in suppression of HBsAg secretion.However, co-existence of the mutant with wild-type sequences was common among our patient population, suggesting that the mutation had little impact on serum HBsAg and HBV DNA levels across the clinical study population.

Adenine ; analogs & derivatives ; Antiviral Agents ; China ; Genotype ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Lamivudine ; Mutation ; Organophosphonates

Objective To observe the value of ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of hypertonic glucose(HG)for treating knee osteoarthritis in plateau area.Methods Ninety-one patients with knee osteoarthritis in plateau area(124 affected knee joints)were enrolled.The knee joints were divided into 20％HG group(n=67),25％HG group(n=42)or sodium hyaluronate group(n=15)based on the medication.Clinical and ultrasound scores were compared before and after treatment,and the efficacy of injection of HG was evaluated.Results At the 12th and 48th weeks after treatment,visual analog scale(VAS)scores decreased in all 3 groups(all P＜0.05),and Lysholm scores of 20％HG group and 25％HG group increased compared to those before treatment(all P＜0.05).The difference of Lysholm score before and in the 12th week after treatment,and of VAS score before and in the 48th week after treatment of 25％HG group were higher than those of 20％HG group(both P＜0.05).The joint exudation score of 20％HG group decreased in the 48th week after treatment compared to that before treatment(P＜0.05),and the synovial blood flow score decreased in the 12th and 48th weeks after treatment compared to those before treatment(both P＜0.05).The joint exudation score of 25％HG group decreased in the 48th week after treatment compared to that before treatment(P＜0.05),and the synovial hyperplasia and synovial blood flow score decreased in the 12th and 48th weeks after treatment compared to before treatment(all P＜0.05).The joint exudation score of sodium hyaluronate group decreased in the 48th week after treatment compared to that before treatment(P＜0.05),and the synovial hyperplasia score decreased in the 12th and 48th weeks after treatment compared to that before treatment(both P＜0.05).Conclusion Ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of HG,esp.25％HG,had certain value for treating knee osteoarthritis in plateau area.