Cytomegalovirus genotype distribution among postnatally infected infants: association of glycoprotein B, glycoprotein N and glycoprotein H types with CMV-associated thrombocytopenia

The aim of the present study was to identify the virulence of glycoprotein B (gB), glycoprotein N (gN), and glycoprotein H (gH) genotypes of cytomegalovirus(CMV) and assess possible relationships between genotypes and CMV-associated thrombocytopenia. CMV gB, gN, and gH strains were determined by nested PCR and restriction length polymorphism from 30 CMV-associated thrombocytopenia infants infected postnatally and 40 non-thrombocytopenic infants. The gN2 (p = 0.043) and gH2 (p = 0.038) genotypes were associated with an elevated risk of developing thrombocytopenia. gB1 genotype was detected in 80.0% (16/20) of infants with moderately to severely symptomatic CMV disease and was associated with severe manifestations in CMV-associated thrombocytopenia infants (p = 0.022). Conversely, the gN1 genotype was detected in 5.0% (1/20) of infants with moderately to severely symptomatic CMV disease and represent less pathogenic CMV strains (p = 0.044). There may be potential associations between the gN2 and gH2 genotypes of CMV and infantile thrombocytopenia, and that the detection of the gB1and gN1 genotypes may help define the severity of CMV disease in infants.

The influence of glutathion S-transferase P-1 polymorphism A313G rs1695 on the susceptibility to cyclophosphamide hematologic toxicity in Indonesian patients

Background: Chemotherapy often causes side effects such as hematologic toxicity. The degree of toxicity is often associated with genetic polymorphism. This study aims to determine the influence of GSTP1 A313G polymorphism, an enzyme responsible for detoxifying cyclophosphamid, on incidence and severity of cyclophosphamid hematologic toxicity.Methods: 91 Indonesian females diagnosed with breast cancer at Haji Adam Malik Central General Hospital, Medan, receiving cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin/epirubicin and 5-FU were included in this retrospective cohort study. DNA was extracted from peripheral leukocytes and GSTP1 A313G genotyping was analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction length fragment polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Genotype deviation and allele frequencies were also determined by Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. The degrees of hematologic toxicity (leucopenia and neutropenia data after chemotherapy cycles 1 and 3) were collected from the patient medical records. The data were analyzed using chi-square test.Results: 60.4% of the patients had the wildtype (A/A), while 29.7% were heterozygous (A/G), and 9.9% were homozygous mutant (G/G). There was no significant deviation of allele and genotype frequency from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. The G allele (A/G & G/G) contributes to more severe degree of leukopenia compared to patients with wild type allele (A/A) (p<0.05) after the 3rd chemotherapy cycles.Conclusion: There was association between GSTP1 polymorphism with the degree of hematologic toxicity in breast cancer patients receiving cyclophosphamide chemotherapy regimen.

Genetic characterization ofToxoplasma gondiiisolates from Portugal, Austria and Israel reveals higher genetic variability within the type II lineage

SUMMARYThis study compared genetic diversity ofToxoplasma gondiiisolates from Portugal, Austria and Israel. For this, we genotyped 90T. gondiiisolates (16 from Portugal, 67 from Austria and 7 from Israel) using 10 nested PCR-restriction length polymorphism (RFLP) genetic markers and 15 microsatellite (MS) markers. By PCR-RFLP typing, 7 isolates from Portugal chickens were identified as type II (ToxoDB #1 or #3), 4 were type III (ToxoDB #2) and the remaining 4 isolates have unique genotype pattern were designated as ToxoDB #254. One mouse virulent isolate from a bovine fetus (Bos taurus) in Portugal was type I (ToxoDB #10) at all loci and designated as TgCowPr1. All 67 isolates from Austria and 7 from Israel were type II (ToxoDB #1 or #3). By MS typing, many additional genetic variations were revealed among the type II and type III isolates. Phylogenetic analysis showed that isolates from the same geographical locations tend to cluster together, and there is little overlapping of genotypes among different locations. This study demonstrated that the MS markers can provide higher discriminatory power to reveal association of genotypes with geographical locations. Future studies of the type II strains in Europe by these MS markers will be useful to reveal transmission patterns of the parasite.

Distribution of Angiotensin-1 Converting Enzyme Insertion/Deletion and α-Actinin-3 Codon 577 Polymorphisms in Turkish Male Soccer Players

Angiotensin-1 converting enzyme (ACE) gene and α-actinin-3 (ACTN3) gene polymorphisms are considered to be the most important candidate genes for genetic predisposition to human athletic performance. In the present study, we aimed to analyze the distribution of ACE and ACTN3 polymorphisms for the first time in male Turkish soccer players. In this prospective study, our cohort consisted of 25 professional players, all with Turkish ancestry. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction length polymorphism was used for the characterization of the genotype of ACTN3 and single PCR for ACE. For ACE genotype, 16%, 44%, and 40% of the players had insertion/insertion (II), insertion/deletion (ID), and deletion/deletion (DD) genotypes, respectively, whereas 20% had XX, 36% had RX, and 44% had RR genotypes for ACTN3. When we examined the allelic percentages, for ACE, D allele was recorded as 62 and I as 38, and for ACTN3, R allele was 62 and X was 38. Our results were in agreement with the previous reports, indicating the presence of ACTN3 D and ACE X allele in soccer players. We suggest that ACE and ACTN3 genotypes are important biomarkers for genetic counseling for the individuals who are prone to be successful soccer players.

Molecular methods for the detection and characterization of foodborne pathogens

The surveillance of foodborne pathogens in food industries has shown the urgent need for rapid and dependable methods to detect and characterize the organisms in food and environments of clinical and epidemiologic importance. Recent studies on rapid methods in microbiology have been focused on biochemical characterization, immunoassays, and molecular methods. Many molecular methods have been developed and applied to the detection and characterization of foodborne pathogens in laboratories and food industries. They can be mainly divided into DNA banding pattern-based tests and DNA sequence-based tests. The former includes nucleic acid hybridization, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), amplified restriction length polymorphism, and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, etc. Most of these methods in commercial applications are based on PCR or hybridization techniques. The principle, characteristics, and application of molecular methods for the detection and characterization of foodborne pathogens were reviewed in this article.