Rip3 knockdown rescues photoreceptor cell death in blind pde6c zebrafish

Achromatopsia is a progressive autosomal recessive retinal disease characterized by early loss of cone photoreceptors and later rod photoreceptor loss. In most cases, mutations have been identified in CNGA3, CNGB3, GNAT2, PDE6C or PDE6H genes. Owing to this genetic heterogeneity, mutation-independent therapeutic schemes aimed at preventing cone cell death are very attractive treatment strategies. In pde6c(w59) mutant zebrafish, cone photoreceptors expressed high levels of receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIP1) and receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIP3) kinases, key regulators of necroptotic cell death. In contrast, rod photoreceptor cells were alternatively immunopositive for caspase-3 indicating activation of caspase-dependent apoptosis in these cells. Morpholino gene knockdown of rip3 in pde6c(w59) embryos rescued the dying cone photoreceptors by inhibiting the formation of reactive oxygen species and by inhibiting second-order neuron remodelling in the inner retina. In rip3 morphant larvae, visual function was restored in the cones by upregulation of the rod phosphodiesterase genes (pde6a and pde6b), compensating for the lack of cone pde6c suggesting that cones are able to adapt to their local environment. Furthermore, we demonstrated through pharmacological inhibition of RIP1 and RIP3 activity that cone cell death was also delayed. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the underlying mechanism of cone cell death in the pde6c(w59) mutant retina is through necroptosis, whereas rod photoreceptor bystander death occurs through a caspase-dependent mechanism. This suggests that targeting the RIP kinase signalling pathway could be an effective therapeutic intervention in retinal degeneration patients. As bystander cell death is an important feature of many retinal diseases, combinatorial approaches targeting different cell death pathways may evolve as an important general principle in treatment.

A novel allele, HLA-A*03:01:09, identified by sequence-based typing in a Chinese individual

We describe the identification of a novel allele HLA-A*03:01:09 in a Chinese individual.

Identification of the novel HLA-B allele, HLA-B*39:42, in a Chinese individual

The HLA-B*39:42 allele differs from the closest matching allele B*39:01:01:01 by two nucleotide substitutions in exon 3.

HLA-B*27:44, a novel allele identified by sequence-based typing, is a well-documented allele in China

The sequence of HLA-B*27:44 differs in exon 2 from the sequence of B*27:08 by one amino acid change at codon 74.

A novel HLA-B allele, B*40:01:06, identified by sequence-based typing in a Chinese individual

The sequence of HLA-B*40:01:06 differs in exon 3 from the sequence of B*40:01:01 by one nucleotide 435 (codon121) G to A.

A novel HLA-B allele, B*07:55, identified by sequence-based typing

The novel allele differs from HLA-B*07:02:01 by a single nucleotide substitution at position 538 in exon 3.

Identification of a novel HLA-A allele, A*24:128 in a Chinese individual

The novel HLA-A*24:128 shows one nucleotide change from HLA-A*24:02:01:01 in exon 2 at position 155 from A to G.

A novel HLA-A allele, A*24:02:17, identified by sequence-based typing

The A*24:02:17 allele differs from the most close matching allele A*24:02:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution in exon 2, at position 264.

A novel HLA-B allele, B*13:18, identified by sequence-based typing

The B*13:18 allele differs from the most closely matching allele B*13:02:01 by one nucleotide substitution in exon 3, at position 539.

Rapid identification of Chikungunya and Dengue virus by a real-time reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification method

Both Chikungunya and Dengue virus belong to the acute arthropod-borne viruses. Because of the lack of specific symptoms, it is difficult to distinguish the two infections based on clinical manifestations. To identify and quantitatively detect Chikungunya and Dengue viruses, a real-time accelerated reverse-transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) platform was developed, and 26-confirmed RNA samples, 42 suspects, and 18 healthy serum samples were evaluated by the method. The RT-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cDNA sequencing were used as references. The results showed that it could identify the Chikungunya and Dengue virus RNA correctly in all antibody-positive samples within 1 hour, without any cross-reactions. The virus load of the positive samples was quantitatively detected with a turbidimeter. The sensitivity was 100% and specificity was 95.25%. The findings indicate that the RT-LAMP is an effective method for rapid quantity detection of Chikungunya virus and Dengue virus in serum samples with convenient operation, high specificity, and high sensitivity.