Evaluation of a lateral-flow nanoparticle fluorescence assay for TB infection diagnosis

BACKGROUND:

Programmatic management of TB infection is a critical component of the WHO End TB Strategy. Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) overcome some limitations of the tuberculin skin test, but implementation of IGRA testing in low-resource settings is challenging.

METHODS:

In this feasibility study, we evaluated performance of a novel digital lateral-flow assay, the QIAreach® QuantiFERON® TB (QIAreach-QFT) test, against the QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) assay. A population with a mix of risk factors for TB infection (111 donors) were sampled over multiple days. A total of 207 individual blood samples were tested according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

RESULTS:

The overall percentage agreement was 95.6% (two-sided 95% CI 91.8–98), with a positive percentage agreement (i.e., sensitivity) of 100% (95% CI 94.7–100) and a negative percentage agreement (i.e., specificity) of 95.6% (95% CI 90.6–98.4). All QFT-Plus positive specimens with TB1-Nil and TB2-Nil values less than 1 IU/ml tested positive on QIAreach-QFT.

CONCLUSIONS:

QIAreach QFT is a deployable, accurate testing solution for decentralised testing. It has the potential to overcome key hurdles for TB infection screening in high-burden settings thus helping to achieve the WHO End TB programme goals.

Functional expression of thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor on nano-sized bacterial magnetic particles in Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1

The measurement of autoantibodies to thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) is important for the diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid disease such as Graves' disease (GD). Although TSHR from porcine thyroid membrane is commonly used for the measurement of TSHR autoantibodies (TRAb), recombinant human TSHR (hTSHR) remains ideal in terms of stable supply and species identity. Here we set out to express recombinant hTSHR on the lipid-bilayer surface of magnetic nanoparticles from a magnetotactic bacterium, Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1. Using a tetracycline-inducible expression system, we successfully overexpressed functional hTSHR on bacterial magnetic particles (BacMPs) in AMB-1 via an anchor protein specific for BacMPs. The overexpressed hTSHR was membrane integrated and possessed both ligand and autoantibody binding activity. Our data suggest that hTSHR-displayed BacMPs have potential as novel tools for ligand-receptor interaction analysis or for TRAb immunoassay in GD patients.

[Mitral valve plasty for a 91-year-old woman with mitral valve prolapse]

We reported a successful mitral valve plasty for a 91-year-old woman with mitral valve prolapse. She has lived healthfully and independently without a big problem. She was admitted to another hospital for acute heart failure. Echo cardiography revealed prolapse of posterior mitral valve leaflet and severe mitral regurgitation. Drug therapy was not enough to control her complaint In spite of her age, the patient was able to support herself, and she and her family desired to have a surgical treatment. Therefore she referred to our hospital and underwent mitral valve plasty. Post operative course was almost uneventful. She discharged the hospital 3 months after the operation. If a selective criteria for individual patients is applied, the nonagenarian can safety undergo cardiac surgery.

Development of a novel polycationic adsorbent for cryogel removal

Cryogel, prevalent in the plasma of rheumatism patients, is a plasma fibronectin (pFN)-extra domain A containing FN (EDA(+)FN)-fibrinogen (Fbg) complex formed by adding heparin (HP) at a low temperature (4 degrees C). Although EDA(+)FN does not usually exist in normal plasma, its prevalence in rheumatic patients causes cryogelation in plasma. Removal of cryogel is thus a promising and novel approach to treating rheumatism. As HP-EDA(+)FN aggregate, which is induced by the main component of cryogel, is considered to be an anion, cationic materials capable of eliminating this anionic conjugate were innovated in this study. We found that an amino group density of 100-130 micromol/g (dry weight) of adsorbents prompted selective adsorption of the EDA(+)FN-HP complex. Elimination of EDA(+)FN as high as 80% accompanied by removal of the components of total FN (pFN) (10%) and Fbg (10%) in the model patient plasma was established.

Benzylic Intermolecular Carbon−Carbon Bond Formation by Selective Anodic Oxidation of Dithioacetals

[reaction: see text]. Novel anodic intermolecular carbon-carbon bond formation has been accomplished by the oxidative carbon-sulfur bond fission of benzylic dithioacetals to give a wide variety of aromatic compounds. The substitution reaction successfully took place by the selective anodic oxidation of a sulfur atom of a dithioacetal. Stepwise double-substitution reactions were also achieved by the regulation of oxidation potential.

Preoperative diagnosis of ovarian malignancies with intravenous digital subtraction angiography

Intravenous digital subtraction angiography was performed on 59 patients with ovarian tumors. Dilatation of the uterine artery and its ovarian branch was relatively frequent in both benign and malignant tumor groups, while dilation of the ovarian artery, and hypervascularity from the uterine artery or the ovarian artery were fairly specific to the malignant tumor group. These five abnormal vascular patterns were evaluated by a scoring system and approximately 75% of malignant and 87% of benign ovarian tumors were correctly diagnosed preoperatively by digital subtraction angiography alone. Intravenous digital subtraction angiography can be applied as an easy, safe, and valuable diagnostic method for ovarian malignancies and can replace conventional pelvic angiography.