Mutations in the ATP2C1 gene in Chinese patients with Hailey-Hailey disease

Hailey-Hailey disease (HHD; MIM 16960) is a rare autosomal dominant hereditary disorder characterized by recurrent eruption of vesicles and bullae, predominantly involving the body folds. It is caused by heterozygous mutations in the ATP2C1 gene, encoding the human secretory pathway Ca2+/Mn2+-ATPase protein 1 (hSPCA1). When we studied Chinese patients with HHD, we found two different heterozygous mutations, Q506X and G353V, the former previously reported in a Hungarian patient, and the latter being a novel mutation. In a 38-year-old patient from a four-generation pedigree with a 3-year history of severe recurrent blisters, we identified a C-->T transition at nucleotide 1696, c(1696C-->T), in exon 17 of ATP2C1, resulting in a nonsenes mutation, Gln506X, which resulted in a premature termination codon. In the second patient, who represented a occurrence of sporadic Hailey-Hailey disease, a G-->T transversion of nucleotide, c(G1238T), in exon 13 of ATP2C1 was detected, which resulted in a Gly353-->Val amino acid substitution (G353V). Our molecular findings further demonstrate that the mutational events in the human ATP2C1 gene encoding the hSPCA1 pump play an important role in the pathogenesis of HHD.

Antibody response to four secretory proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and their complex antigen in TB patients

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate antibody responses to a panel of four protein antigens secreted from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, CFP-21, ESAT-6, MPT-63 and MPT-64, and their complex antigen.

DESIGN

Seventy-eight samples of serum and cerebral spinal fluid were tested by ELISA.

RESULTS

Serum IgM antibody positive rates of protein antigens CFP-21, ESAT-6, MPT-63 and MPT-64 and their multi-antigen complex were respectively 34.6%, 60.3%, 52.6%, 78.2% and 96.2%; IgG antibody positive rates were respectively 46.2%, 64.1%, 93.6%, 57.7% and 84.6%. The specificity of the antibodies to the four proteins secreted from M. tuberculosis and its mixture antigen was 100%; sensitivity to the multi-antigen complex was higher than for the four single antigens. Among the IgM positive rates, the differences between the multi-antigen complex and CFP-21, ESAT-6, MPT-63 and MPT-64 were significant (P < 0.01); among the IgG positive rates, the differences between the multi-antigen complex and CFP-21, ESAT-6 and MPT-64 were significant (P < 0.01). Although the IgG positive rate for MPT-63 was higher than for the multi-antigen complex, the difference was not significantly different (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that the multi-antigen complex composed of CFP-21, ESAT-6, MPT-63 and MPT-64 may be useful in the diagnosis of TB.

Protective immunity and gene expression related to pneumococcal glycoconjugate

The immunogenicity of most polysaccharides (PSs) contained in the pneumococcal vaccine is low in children less than 2 years of age. Enhancement of immune response in early life can be induced by immunization of pneumococcal glycoconjugate as well as plasma DNA coding for cell-surface protein antigen. Pneumococcal type 19F PS conjugated with inactivated pneumolysin (Ply) induced in mice remarkable antibody responses to both type 19F PS and the protein carrier. In addition, the conjugate was administered to pregnant mice during gestation and/or lactation, and to their offspring during early infancy. When the young mice were challenged with type 19F pneumococci, the bacteria were cleared more rapidly from the blood of immunized mice than from that of the control group. The mortality rate of young mice from immunized mothers was also significantly lower than the control group. These results indicate that the effective protective immunity against pneumococcal infection can be induced in young mice by the maternal immunization with the glycoconjugate during gestation and at early infancy. Studies have been conducted to express type 19A pneumolysin gene (ply) in mammalian cells. Ply DNA was inserted into the cloning site of a vector containing CMV promoter. The recombinant plasmid DNA containing ply was transfected in human rhabdomyosarcoma cells and the gene expression was confirmed by immunoblot. Injection of mice three times 50-100 ug per dose ply DNA produced high serum levels of Ply IgG and IgM antibodies and showed rapid bacterial clearance from the blood.

Rapid detection of rpoB gene mutations in rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in shanghai by using the amplification refractory mutation system

Rapid detection of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is essential for efficient treatment and control of this pathogen. The amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) was used to detect mutations in the rifampin resistance-determining region of the rpoB gene. A total of 39 rifampin-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates in Shanghai were analyzed by this assay, resulting in 92.3% sensitivity (36 of 39) and 87.2% concordance (34 of 39) relative to DNA sequencing, by which 41 mutations of 11 different types, including 9 point mutations and 2 deletions, were identified in the rpoB gene. The most frequent mutations were those associated with codon 531 (21 of 39 [53.8%]) and codon 526 (9 of 39 [23.1%]). The results suggest that the ARMS assay is rapid and simple to implement and could be performed for detection of rifampin resistance in M. tuberculosis to complement conventional culture-based methods.