Zhonghua Minguo wei sheng wu ji mian yi xue za zhi = Chinese journal of microbiology and immunology最新文献

At National Taiwan University Hospital, from 1986 to 1996, autopsies were performed on 16 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. There were 15 men and 1 woman. Fourteen of these male patients had contracted the disease as a result of sexual practice, among which 9 were homosexual, 1 was bisexual and 4 were heterosexual. One of the patients had become infected by sharing a syringe during intravenous drug use. The female was a sex worker. Among these patients, only 2 had been tested for HIV before developing AIDS. On autopsy, lymphoid depletion and thymus atrophy were found in all patients. Testicular atrophy was noted in all the male patients. Three patients died of malignant lymphoma. Twelve patients died of opportunistic infections and 1 committed suicide. The initial opportunistic infection was usually oral candidiasis. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) was the most common opportunistic infection developed in the early stage while cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection was the most common one found in the late stage. Mycobacterium infection had developed in 8 patients. Six patients had disseminated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and 4 of them were homosexual. In 4 patients, biopsy specimens were proved to have KS associated viral (HHV-8) genome. Malignant lymphoma was found in 4 cases, all were of high grade B cell type. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) encoding small RNA (EBER1) was demonstrated in all the lymphomas. In conclusion, (1) the prevalence of tuberculosis (38%) in patients with AIDS in Taiwan is high; (2) the most common opportunistic infections in this series are candidiasis, PCP and CMV infections; (3) the incidence of AIDS related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Taiwan has increased since 1995.

A retroviral vector carrying the E6 and E7 genes of HPV type 18 was transfected into a packaging cell line, Ampho psi 2. Thirteen recombinant viruses carrying the E6 and E7 genes were obtained. The titers of these recombinant viruses were estimated by infecting BALB/c3T3 cells and then counting the number of G418r colonies. Presence of HPV E6/E7 genes was confirmed by the PCR method and sequence-specific primers. The expression of E7 gene was examined by RT-PCR method. Results showed that the titers were ranged between 0.2 and 1.2 x 10(3) CFU/ml and the E7 transcripts were detected in all 13 cell clones. These E6 and E7-containing cell clones were able to grow in soft agar, indicating the E6/E7 delivered by the recombinant retroviruses retained their transformation function. These recombinant viruses were then used to infect human NPC cell lines, NPC-TW076 and -TW039 and cell clones resistant to G418 were obtained. Using Western blot analysis and HPV type 18 E6-specific monoclonal antibody, HPV-CIP5, these cells were shown to contain a protein with a molecular mass of 18 kDa. Our data indicated that the HPV E6/E7-containing recombinant retroviruses were capable of infecting human cell lines. The potential of using these recombinant retroviruses to immortalize human primary epithelial cells was discussed.

The Western blot (WB) has long been used to confirm positive ELISAs for diagnosing HIV-1 infections. However, some WB patterns may result in "indeterminate" or controversial reports thus impeding early diagnoses or accurate diagnoses. The interpretation of HIV-1 WB has no "gold standard" criterion. Incomplete antibody profiles on WB strips can be interpreted as positive or indeterminate according to different criteria. The possibility of HIV-2 infection was further checked in these serum samples. However, no reactivity to synthetic peptide of HIV-2 gp36 had been found. Serial WB analyses are important for attaining early diagnoses of HIV-1 infections as well as for evaluating clinical stages. Temporal changes on WB patterns of serial serum samples provide the evidence of seroconversion in individuals with risk behaviours and indeterminate WB. In late stage of HIV-1 infection, the reactivity to gag, pol and env antigen groups may decrease and result in indeterminate WB. We propose to diagnose HIV-1 infection and to differentiate the infection of HIV-1 from HIV-2 in these cases by using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to demonstrate the presence of HIV-1 specific vpu gene.

N-Acetyltransferase (NAT) activities were determined by incubation of Staphylococcus aureus cytosols with p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) or 2-aminofluorene (2-AF) followed by high pressure liquid chromatography assays. The NAT activities from S. aureus were found to be 0.67 +/- 0.04 nmol/min/mg protein for the acetylation of 2-AF and 0.46 +/- 0.02 nmol/min/mg protein for the acetylation of PABA. The apparent K(m) and Vmax values obtained were 2.85 +/- 0.65 mM and 7.51 +/- 0.86 nmol/min/mg protein for 2-AF, and 2.35 +/- 0.39 mM and 9.43 +/- 0.78 nmol/min/mg protein for PABA, respectively. The optimal pH value for the enzyme activity was 7.0 for both substrates tested. The optimal temperature for enzyme activity was 37 degrees C for both substrates. The NAT activity was inhibited by iodoacetamide at 0.25 mM, and activity was reduced 50%. At 1.0 mM iodoacetamide activity was inhibited more than 90%. Among a series of divalent cations and salts, Zn2+, Ca2+, and Fe2+ were demonstrated to be the most potent inhibitors. The molecular weight of NAT from S. aureus was found to be 44.9 kDa. This report is the first demonstration of acetyl CoA: arylamine NAT activity in S. aureus.

Pertussis toxin (PT) is the major protective antigen of acellular pertussis vaccine (aP). We have established an optimal culture condition for the growth of B. pertussis and the production of PT in a laboratory scale fermentor. It was found that when the dissolved oxygen in medium was supplied with pure oxygen instead of air, the yield of PT was dramatically increased (i.e. from 2-3 mg/l using air to 8-10 mg/l using pure oxygen). PT was purified by affinity chromatography using hydroxyapatite and fetuin-sepharose columns. SDS-PAGE analysis and CHO cell clustering test showed that the purified PT was comparable to the reference PT in purity and biological activity. The purified PT could be detoxified by formaldehyde (d-PT). The results of CHO cell clustering neutralization assay and ELISA showed that the antibody induced by d-PT in mice was comparable to that induced by PT contained in a commercial DTaP. These results indicated that the immunogenicity of our d-PT was retained after the purification and detoxification procedures.

Helicobacter pylori is a risk factor for development of peptic ulcers and adenocarcinoma of distal stomach. There are several highly specialized virulence factors, such as the production of sialic acid-specific hemagglutinins, cytotoxins and enzymes. This study was designed to study the in vivo prevalence of H. pylori in patients with gastroduodenal diseases, the in vivo correlation between H. pylori infection and blood group O, and the heterogeneity of H. pylori isolates in central Taiwan. We enrolled 776 symptomatic patients residing in the central Taiwan area. The age-specific in vivo prevalence of H. pylori in patients with gastroduodenal diseases increased from 11.1% in those between the ages of 1 to 20, 73.1% in those between the ages of 21 and 30, and to 79.8% in those between the ages of 51 and 60. In conclusion, H. pylori was present in 70% of biopsied specimens of symptomatic patients with gastroduodenal diseases and had the highest incidence (86%) in patients with peptic ulcers. The prevalence of H. pylori cag A expression positive strains in central Taiwan was 92.5%. This study has also demonstrated the high correlation between H. pylori and the blood group O-positive patients with gastroduodenal diseases. The prevalence of H. pylori infection in blood O-positive patients in central Taiwan was 86.4%.

To describe the spectrum of epidemiological and major clinical manifestations of patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in a municipal hospital, a retrospective review was done of 53 HIV-1-infected patients who had been admitted to Taipei Municipal Jen-Ai Hospital between January 1990, and July 1996. The majority (94.3%) of the patients in the cohort were male. Peak incidence was found in the fourth decade (28.3%). Forty-four (83%) patients presented in the first hospital stay with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The mean duration between establishment of diagnosis of HIV-1 infection and that of AIDS was 11.2 (0-84) months. Heterosexual transmission accounted for 54.7% of the infections in the study group, and bi-/homosexual men made up another 32%. Psychosis of new onset was noted in two patients. In all AIDS indicator conditions, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) was the leading opportunistic infection among AIDS patients. PCP was also on the top of initial manifestations of HIV-1 infection. One patient with Penicillium marneffei infection was diagnosed to have AIDS. The mean CD4 count at admission of AIDS patients was much lower than that of non-AIDS patients (32 vs. 297/microliter, p < 0.0005). During the follow-up period 24 of 53 patients died. Mean survival time of 23 expired patients after establishment of diagnosis of AIDS was 6.4 (0-29) months. The results indicated that males outnumbered females greatly in the number of cases. Sexual activity remained the most important route of infection. Psychosis of new onset may be an early manifestation of HIV-associated encephalopathy and requires more attention. In addition, the outcome was poor as most patients in this area did not become aware of risk of HIV-1 infection until they were seriously illed with full-blown AIDS that they would seek medical help. PCP was the most common incentive for medical consultation. Penicillium marneffei infection is endemic in southeast Asia, and should be classified as an AIDS indicator condition in Taiwan.

Polymerase chain reaction and nucleotide sequence analysis were performed to amplify and determine the V3 loop sequences of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) from ten seropositive patients at National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan. The nucleotide sequences and the deduced amino acid (a. a.) sequences of these V3 regions were compared with those of known HIV-1 prototypes. The V3 loop a. a. sequences detected in eight individuals belong to subtype B which predominates in North America and Europe, whereas two individuals were infected with HIV-1 subtype E which is mainly found in the heterosexual populations of Thailand. Sequence analysis of these variant HIV-1 strains revealed a number of interesting features and a phylogenetic tree was also constructed according to the V3 loop nucleotide sequences of these variant strains and HIV-1 isolates from other parts of the world. Furthermore, our results suggest that the north vs south geographical separation in terms of HIV-1 epidemiology in Taiwan is insignificant.

The positive rate of rickettsial antibodies of 107 rats in the Kinmen area by indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) technique was 0% (0/107) in typhus fever, 38.3% (41/107) in scrub typhus and 66.4% (71/107) in spotted fever group; the positive rate (42.9%) of spotted fever group of 21 rats in Taiwan island also higher than scrub typhus (19.0). It suggests that spotted fever group patients may be present in our country but have not been discovered.

A study was undertaken to evaluate the safety and immunongenicity of a conjugate Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine (HibTITER) when administered concurrently with DTP (diphteria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine in separate syringes. A total of 90 healthy children (45 per group) were randomized to receive either TETRAMUNE, a vaccine combining HibTITER with whole-cell DTP (group A), or DTP and HibTITER administered concurrently (group B) in separate syringes at approximately 2, 4 and 6 months of age in Taiwan. All children in group B achieved anti-Hib PRP (polyribosylribitol phosphate) antibody titers above 0.15 microgram/ml and 91% developed antibody titers above 1.0 microgram/ml following the third immunization. Incidences of adverse reactions were comparable between groups A and B. Besides, the incidences of adverse reactions were not significantly more frequent compared with DTP vaccination alone. We concluded that HibTITER was highly immunogenic and safe when administered concurrently with DTP vaccine to Taiwanese children. TETRAMUNE was also safe and the number of injections may be reduced in the future.