Objective To compare the detection of flu A by nucleic acid amplification assav and rapid antigen assay in nasopharynx swabs and oropharynx swabs of flu-like patients.Methods A total of 170 flu-like patients were recruited in out-patient of Youan Hospital from September to October in 2009.Both nasopharynx swabs and oropharynx swabs were collected.Flu A virus was detected by both real-time reverse transcriptation polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid antigen assay.The data were analyzed by chi square test.Results For nasopharynx swabs,the positive rate of nucleic acid amplification assay was 74.1%(126/170),while that of rapid antigen assay was 65.9%(112/170)(X2=2.75,P>0.05).However,for oropharynx swabs,the positive rate of nucleic acid amplification assay was much higher than that of rapid antigen assay(62.9% vs 38.8%)(X2=19.78,P<0.01).Moreover,for nucleic acid amplification assay,the positive rate of nasopharynx swabs were higher than that of oropharynx swabs (X2=4. 90, P<0. 05). For rapid antigen assay, the positive rate of nasopharynx swabs was also higher than that of oropharynx swabs (X2=24.95, P<0.01). Based on the outcome of flu A detected with nasopharynx swabs by the nucleic acid amplification assay,the sensitivities of oropharynx swabs by nucleic acid amplification assay,oropharynx swabs by rapid antigen assay, nasopharynx swabs by rapid antigen assay were 81.7%,50.0% and 94.8%, respectively; the specifieities were 90.9%, 93.2% and 95.5%, respectively;the positive predictive values were 96. 3%, 95. 5% and 98.2%, respectively; the negative predictive values were 63.5 %, 39.4 % and 72.40%, respectively; Kappa coefficients were 0.64, 0.30 and 0.75,respectively; the total coincidences were 84.1%, 61.20% and 89.4%, respectively. Conclusions The detection of flu A with nasopharynx swabs is more sensitive than oropharynx swabs, and nucleic acid amplification assay is more sensitive than rapid antigen assay.

Objective To investigate whether Bw4 motif expressed on HLA-B affects Gag-specific T cell responses in patients with acute HIV-1 infection.Methods Sequence specific primer polymerase chain reaction ( SSP-PCR) was performed for human leukocyte antigen ( HLA) typing.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PBMCs) from 36 patients with six months of acute HIV-1 infection were stimulated with HIV-1 CRF01_A/E Gag peptides to detect the HIV-1 specific T cell responses by using ELISPOT assay. Results (1) The set point viral load of 18 patients carrying no Bw4 motif on HLA-B was 4.49±0.56 which was higher than that in other 18 patients carrying 1-2 Bw4 motif(s) on HLA-B (3.78±0.75) (P=0.005). (2) T cells from 26 out of 36 patients with acute HIV-1 infection responded to P24 peptides pool including 15 patients carrying no Bw4 motif on HLA-B and 11 patients carrying 1-2 Bw4 motif( s) on HLA-B, but no significant difference was observed between them (P>0.05).The magnitude of P24-specific T cell responses induced in patients carrying no Bw4 motif on HLA-B was (1317.8 ±1238.0) SFC/106 PBMCs which was greater than that induced in patients carrying 1-2 Bw4 motif(s) on HLA-B [(549.9±778.5) SFC/106 PBMCs] ( P=0.032) .The breadth of T cell responses to P24 peptides was 2(0-5) in patients carrying no Bw4 motif on HLA-B which was broader than that of patients carrying 1-2 Bw4 motif(s) on HLA-B [1(0-4)] (P=0.080).(3) The viral loads of HIV-1 infected patients carrying no Bw4 motif on HLA-B were negatively correlated with the magnitude of P24-specific T cell responses (rs=-0.482, P=0.043) and the breadth of responses to P24 peptides (rs=-0.496, P=0.036).No correlations were observed between viral loads and the magnitude or breadth of P24-specific T cell responses in HIV-1 infected patients carrying 1-2 Bw4 motif(s) on HLA-B.Conclusion Compared with HIV-1 infected patients carrying no Bw4 motif on HLA-B, the patients carrying 1-2 Bw4 motif( s) on HLA-B showed lower levels of set point viral load, weak-ened magnitude of P24-specific T cell responses and narrowed breadth of responses to P24 peptides.

OBJECTIVETo explore the differential characteristics of the AMA-M2 autoantibody in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and non-PBC patients.

METHODSPatients with abnormal liver function at the Capital Medical University affiliated to Beijing You-an Hospital were enrolled in this study between January 2011 and December 2013. Serum levels of ANA, AMA and AMA-M2 were detected by indirect fluorescence assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The patients' clinical data was obtained for retrospective analysis. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS 16.0 software. Enumeration data have been presented as numbers and percentages, and were analyzed using the chi-square test and one-way ANOVA test.

RESULTSOf the 5315 patients with abnormal liver function, 15.3% (811/5315) were AMA-M2 positive patients; among those 811 patients, 78.4% (636) had PBC, 4.4% (36) had PBC overlapping with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), 4.4% (36) had drug-induced liver injury, 6.5% (53) had hepatitis B, 3.3% (27) had hepatitis C, 0.6% (5) had hepatitis E, 0.9% (7) had alcoholic liver disease, 0.5% (4) had non-alcoholic fatty liver, 0.8% (6) had primary hepatic carcinoma, and 0.1% (1) had infectious mononucleosis. Serum AMA-M2 level was significantly higher in the PBC patients (vs. other groups, P less than 0.001) with the exception of the patients with PBC/AIH overlap syndrome. Among the 811 patients with AMA-M2 positivity, 88.5% (718) showed AMA positivity and 91.1% (739) showed ANA positivity. Serum alanine transferase (ALT) and aspartate transferase (AST) levels were significantly higher in the drag-induced liver injury patients (527.74+/-684.65 U/L, 490.60+/-716.89 U/L) and the hepatitis E patients (1015.94 ± 165.55 U/L, 665.4 ± 297.14 U/L) than in the PBC patients (96.02 ± 115.56 U/L, 94.82 ± 83.32 U/L) (ALT: F =8.041, P < 0.001, P < 0.001; AST: F =8.066, P < 0.001, P < 0.001). Serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP; 265.16 ± 179.08 U/L) and glutamyl transferase (GGT; 332.02 ± 279.29 U/L) were significantly higher in the PBC patients than in the hepatitis B patients (135.35 ± 123.17 U/L, 140.27 ± 229.24 U/L) and the hepatitis C patients (85.65 ± 27.77 U/L, 92.70 ± 125.72 U/L) (ALP: F=3.911, P =0.01, P=0.001; GGT: F=4.081, P <0.001, P < 0.001). The serum IgM level was significantly higher in the PBC patients (4.60 ± 2.67 g/L) than in the patients with drug-induced liver injury (1.76 ± 1.15 g/L), hepatitis B (2.02 ± 1.41 g/L), hepatitis C (1.48 ± 0.92 g/L), hepatitis E (1.40 ± 0.68 g/L), alcoholic liver disease (1.57 ± 1.07 g/L), non-alcoholic fatty liver (1.05 ± 0.72 g/L), and primary hepatic carcinoma (2.64 ± 2.26 g/L) (F=16.83, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, Probability value < 0.001, Probability value < 0.05, Probability value < 0.01, Probability value < 0.05 respectively).

CONCLUSIONAlthough detection of serum AMA-M2 is an important feature of PBC diagnostic testing,there is a high ratio of serum AMA-M2 detected in patients with drug-induced liver injury, hepatitis B, C and E, alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver,and primary hepatic carcinoma. The AMA-M2 positive non-PBC patients still require close observation to watch for future development of PBC.

Autoantibodies ; Beijing ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis C ; Hepatitis, Autoimmune ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; Liver Function Tests ; Liver Neoplasms ; Retrospective Studies

Objective: To understand the characteristics and clinical significance of anti-soluble liver antigen antibody (anti-SLA) in patients with liver diseases. Methods: Serum samples from seventy-seven patients with anti-SLA were collected from Beijing You'An Hospital during the period between January 2010 and December 2018. Anti-SLA, anti-liver cytosol type 1 antibody (anti-LC1), anti-glycoprotein 210 antibody(anti-gp210) and anti-nuclear body protein sp100 antibody(anti-sp100) were detected by immunoblotting; indirect immunofluorescence assay used for detecting anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), anti-mitochondrial antibody (AMA), anti-smooth muscle antibody (SMA), and anti-liver kidney microsome antibody (anti-LKM). One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the ages of different anti-SLA groups. The non-parametric rank sum test was used to compare the liver function indexes and immunoglobulins in different intensity groups of anti-SLA. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Further comparisons were made between the two groups, the correction level α′=0.008 3, P<0.008 3 was considered statistically significant. Results: The average age of 77 anti-SLA positive patients was (52.50±1.25) years old, 70 females (90.9%) and 7 males (9.1%). 80.5% of anti-SLA-positive patients (62/77 cases) were strongly positive at the time of initial diagnosis (+++ to ++++).The Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level in the SLA++ group was higher than that in the SLA++++ group (232.7 U/L vs 65.6 U/L,χ²=7.751,P=0.005) and the immunoglobulin M(IgM) level in the SLA+++ group was lower than that in the SLA++++ group (1 270 mg/L vs 2 270 mg/L,χ²=8.337,P=0.004).There was no significant difference in age, other liver function and immunological indicators among the different groups.Seventy cases (90.9%) were both anti-SLA and ANA positive, 13 cases (16.9%) were positive with SMA, and none positive with anti-LKM and anti-LC1. Among anti-SLA positive patients, 58 cases were diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), 12 were AIH/primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) overlap syndrome (OS), 2 were drug-induced liver injury, 2 were chronic hepatitis B, and 3 were hepatitis A, hepatitis E and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with liver injury, respectively.Cases of AIH and AIH/PBC OS accounted for 90.9% (70/77 cases) of anti-SLA-positive patients, and 5 of 7 patients diagnosed with non-AIH (and OS) had elevated IgG, showing AIH feature.92.3% (12/13 cases) of anti-SLA with high titers of AMA were diagnosed as AIH/PBC overlap syndrome. Of the 77 anti-SLA-positive patients, 28 (36.4%) had advanced or end-stage liver disease, including decompensated cirrhosis (22 cases), chronic acute liver failure (4 cases), and liver transplantation (1 case) and death from liver failure (1 case). Conclusions Anti-SLA has high diagnostic specificity for AIH;anti-SLA positive in patients with PBC should be an important biomarker for the diagnosis of AIH/PBC overlap syndrome.