Genomic characterization of Nocardia seriolae strains isolated from diseased fish

Members of the genus Nocardia are widespread in diverse environments; a wide range of Nocardia species are known to cause nocardiosis in several animals, including cat, dog, fish, and humans. Of the pathogenic Nocardia species, N. seriolae is known to cause disease in cultured fish, resulting in major economic loss. We isolated two N. seriolae strains, CK‐14008 and EM15050, from diseased fish and sequenced their genomes using the PacBio sequencing platform. To identify their genomic features, we compared their genomes with those of other Nocardia species. Phylogenetic analysis showed that N. seriolae shares a common ancestor with a putative human pathogenic Nocardia species. Moreover, N. seriolae strains were phylogenetically divided into four clusters according to host fish families. Through genome comparison, we observed that the putative pathogenic Nocardia strains had additional genes for iron acquisition. Dozens of antibiotic resistance genes were detected in the genomes of N. seriolae strains; most of the antibiotics were involved in the inhibition of the biosynthesis of proteins or cell walls. Our results demonstrated the virulence features and antibiotic resistance of fish pathogenic N. seriolae strains at the genomic level. These results may be useful to develop strategies for the prevention of fish nocardiosis.

Angiographic analysis of the lateral intercostal artery perforator of the posterior intercostal artery: anatomic variation and clinical significance

PURPOSEKnowledge of the anatomic variations of the posterior intercostal artery (PICA) and its major branches is important during transthoracic procedures and surgery. We aimed to identify the anatomic features and variations of the lateral intercostal artery perforator (LICAP) of the PICA with selective PICA arteriography.METHODSWe retrospectively evaluated 353 PICAs in 75 patients with selective PICA arteriography for the following characteristics: incidence, length (as number of traversed intercostal spaces), distribution at the hemithorax (medial half vs. lateral half), and size as compared to the collateral intercostal artery of the PICA.RESULTSThe incidence of LICAPs was 35.9% (127/353). LICAPs were most commonly observed in the right 8th–11th intercostal spaces (33%, 42/127) and in the medial half of the hemithorax (85%, 108/127). Most LICAPs were as long as two (35.4%, 45/127) or three intercostal spaces (60.6%, 77/127). Compared to the collateral intercostal artery, 42.5% of LICAPs were larger (54/127), with most of these observed in the right 4th–7th intercostal spaces (48.8%, 22/54).CONCLUSIONWe propose the clinical significance of the LICAP as a potential risk factor for iatrogenic injury during posterior transthoracic intervention and thoracic surgery. For example, skin incisions must be as superficial as possible and directed vertically at the right 4th–7th intercostal spaces and the medial half of the thorax. Awareness of the anatomical variations of the LICAPs of the PICA will allow surgeons and interventional radiologists to avoid iatrogenic arterial injuries during posterior transthoracic procedures and surgery

Comparison of Rapid Diagnostic Tests for the Detection of Plasmodium vivax Malaria in South Korea

South Korea is one of many countries with endemic Plasmodium vivax malaria. Here we report the evaluation of four rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for diagnosis of this disease. A total of 253 subjects were enrolled in the study. The sensitivities, specificities and agreement frequencies were estimated by comparing the four RDTs against the standard of nested-PCR and microscopic examination. The CareStartTM and SD Bioline had higher test sensitivities (99.4 and 98.8%, respectively) compared with the NanoSign and Asan Easy tests (93.0 and 94.7%, respectively). The CareStartTM and SD Bioline tests could detect P. vivax in samples with parasite densities <150/μl, which was a slightly better performance than the other two RDTs. The quantitative accuracy of the four RDTs was also estimated by comparing results with P. vivax counts from blood samples. Lower test price would result in increased use of these RDTs in the field. The results of this study contribute valuable information that will aid in the selection of a diagnostic method for the detection of malaria

Porcine sapovirus Cowden strain enters LLC-PK cells via clathrin- and cholesterol-dependent endocytosis with the requirement of dynamin II.

Caliciviruses in the genus Sapovirus are a significant cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans and animals. However, the mechanism of their entry into cells is not well characterized. Here, we determined the entry mechanism of porcine sapovirus (PSaV) strain Cowden into permissive LLC-PK cells. The inhibition of clathrin-mediated endocytosis using chlorpromazine, siRNAs, and a dominant negative (DN) mutant blocked entry and infection of PSaV Cowden strain, confirming a role for clathrin-mediated internalization. Entry and infection were also inhibited by the cholesterol-sequestering drug methyl-β-cyclodextrin and was restored by the addition of soluble cholesterol, indicating that cholesterol also contributes to entry and infection of this strain. Furthermore, the inhibition of dynamin GTPase activity by dynasore, siRNA depletion of dynamin II, or overexpression of a DN mutant of dynamin II reduced the entry and infection, suggesting that dynamin mediates the fission and detachment of clathrin- and cholesterol-pits for entry of this strain. In contrast, the inhibition of caveolae-mediated endocytosis using nystatin, siRNAs, or a DN mutant had no inhibitory effect on entry and infection of this strain. It was further determined that cell entry of PSaV Cowden strain required actin rearrangements for vesicle internalization, endosomal trafficking from early to late endosomes through microtubules, and late endosomal acidification for uncoating. We conclude that PSaV strain Cowden is internalized into LLC-PK cells by clathrin- and cholesterol-mediated endocytosis that requires dynamin II and actin rearrangement, and that the uncoating occurs in the acidified late endosomes after trafficking from the early endosomes through microtubules

Effects of Air Pollutants on Childhood Asthma

Epidemiologic studies have suggested the association between environmental exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the increased risk of incurring asthma. Yet there is little data regarding the relationship between personal exposure to air pollution and the incidence of asthma in children. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of exposure to air pollution on children with asthma by using exposure biomarkers. We assessed the exposure level to VOCs by measuring urinary concentrations of hippuric acid and muconic acid, and PAHs by 1-OH pyrene and 2-naphthol in 30 children with asthma and 30 children without asthma (control). The mean level of hippuric acid was 0.158 ± 0.169 µmol/mol creatinine in the asthma group and 0.148 ± 0.249 µmol/mol creatinine in the control group, with no statistical significance noted (p=0.30). The mean concentration of muconic acid was higher in the asthma group than in the control group (7.630 ± 8.915 µmol/mol creatinine vs. 3.390 ± 4.526 µmol/mol creatinine p=0.01). The mean level of urinary 1-OHP was higher in the asthma group (0.430 ± 0.343 µmol/mol creatinine) than the control group (0.239 ± 0.175 µmol/mol creatinine), which was statistically significant (p=0.03). There was no difference in the mean concentration of 2-NAP between the two groups (9.864 ± 10.037 µmol/mol in the asthma group vs. 9.157 ± 9.640 µmol/mol in the control group, p=0.96). In conclusion, this study suggests that VOCs and PAHs have some role in asthma

Prevalence of Otolaryngologic Diseases in South Korea: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008

Objectives. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of otolaryngologic diseases in Korea. Methods. We obtained data from the 2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES), which were cross-sectional surveys of the civilian, non-institutionalized population of South Korea (n=4,930). A field survey team that included an otolaryngologist, nurses, and interviewers moved with a mobile examination unit and performed otolaryngologic interviews and physical examinations. Results. The prevalence of subjective hearing loss, tinnitus, preauricular fistua, tympanic membrane perforation, and cholesteatoma were 11.97%, 20.27%, 2.08%, 1.60%, and 1.18%, respectively. Dizziness and vestibular dysfunction were common among Korean adults, since 23.33% of the participants reported symptoms of dizziness or imbalance, and the prevalence of vestibular dysfunction was 3.86%. The prevalence of nasal diseases was relatively high, as the prevalence of allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, and a deviated nasal septum were 28.01%, 7.12%, and 42.94%, respectively. Subjective dysphonia was found in 6.60% of the participants, and the prevalence of subjective dysphonia increased with age. Conclusion. This is the first nation-wide epidemiologic study to assess the prevalence of otolaryngologic diseases by both the Korean Otolaryngologic Society and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Considering the high prevalence of otolaryngologic diseases in Korea, the results call for additional studies to better prevent and manage otolaryngologic diseases

Pathogenesis of Korean SapelovirusA in piglets and chicks.

Sapelovirus A (SV-A), formerly known as porcine sapelovirus as a member of a new genus Sapelovirus, is known to cause enteritis, pneumonia, polioencephalomyelitis and reproductive disorders in pigs. We have recently identified α2,3-linked sialic acid on GD1a ganglioside as a functional SV-A receptor rich in the cells of pigs and chickens. However, the role of GD1a in viral pathogenesis remains elusive. Here, we demonstrated that a Korean SV-A strain could induce diarrhoea and intestinal pathology in piglets but not in chicks. Moreover, this Korean SV-A strain had mild extra-intestinal tropisms appearing as mild, non-suppurative myelitis, encephalitis and pneumonia in piglets, but not in chicks. By real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR, higher viral RNA levels were detected in faecal samples than in sera or extra-intestinal organs from virus-inoculated piglets. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that high viral antigens were detected in the epithelial cells of intestines from virus-inoculated piglets but not from chicks. This Korean SV-A strain could bind the cultured cell lines originated from various species, but replication occurred only in cells of porcine origin. These data indicated that this Korean SV-A strain could replicate and induce pathology in piglets but not in chicks, suggesting that additional porcine-specific factors are required for virus entry and replication. In addition, this Korean SV-A strain is enteropathogenic, but could spread to the bloodstream from the gut and disseminate to extra-intestinal organs and tissues. These results will contribute to our understanding of SV-A pathogenesis so that efficient anti-sapelovirus drugs and vaccines could be developed in the future.This study was supported by a grant (2014R1A2A2A01004292) of the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Bio-industry Technology Development Program (315021-04) through the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (iPET) funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Korea Basic Science Institute grant (C33730), Republic of Korea. IG is a Wellcome Senior Fellow supported by the Wellcome Trust (097997/Z/11/Z). Chonnam National University provided funding to Mun-Il Kang (2012). The Mab against SV-A capsid protein was received as a generous gift from Dr. M. Dauber (Friedrich-Loeffler Institute, Germany).This is the accepted version of the article. The final version is available from the Microbiology Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.00057

Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation patterns in horse

Background: DNA methylation is an epigenetic regulatory mechanism that plays an essential role in mediating biological processes and determining phenotypic plasticity in organisms. Although the horse reference genome and whole transcriptome data are publically available the global DNA methylation data are yet to be known. Results: We report the first genome-wide DNA methylation characteristics data from skeletal muscle, heart, lung, and cerebrum tissues of thoroughbred (TH) and Jeju (JH) horses, an indigenous Korea breed, respectively by methyl-DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing. The analysis of the DNA methylation patterns indicated that the average methylation density was the lowest in the promoter region, while the density in the coding DNA sequence region was the highest. Among repeat elements, a relatively high density of methylation was observed in long interspersed nuclear elements compared to short interspersed nuclear elements or long terminal repeat elements. We also successfully identified differential methylated regions through a comparative analysis of corresponding tissues from TH and JH, indicating that the gene body regions showed a high methylation density. Conclusions: We provide report the first DNA methylation landscape and differentially methylated genomic regions (DMRs) of thoroughbred and Jeju horses, providing comprehensive DMRs maps of the DNA methylome. These data are invaluable resource to better understanding of epigenetics in the horse providing information for the further biological function analyses.open1