Cocaine Preferentially Potentiates Fast Releasable Vesicle Pool in Mouse Dopaminergic Striatum In Vivo

BiophysicsSCI(E)CPCI-S(ISTP)0MEETING ABSTRACT2498A-499A10

Molecular Epidemiology of SARS-associated Coronavirus, Beijing

Viral adaptation to the host may be occurring under selective immune pressure

Genetic Diversity and the Spatio-Temporal Analyses of Hantaviruses in Shandong Province, China

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a serious public health problem in Shandong Province, China. We conducted an epizootiologic investigation and phylogeographic and phylodynamic analyses to infer the phylogenetic relationships of hantaviruses in space and time, and gain further insights into their evolutionary dynamics in Shandong Province. Our data indicated that the Seoul virus (SEOV) is distributed throughout Shandong, whereas Hantaan virus (HTNV) co-circulates with SEOV in the eastern and southern areas of Shandong. Their distribution showed strong geographic clustering. In addition, our analyses indicated multiple evolutionary paths, long-distance transmission, and demographic expansion events for SEOV in some areas. Selection pressure analyses revealed that negative selection on hantaviruses acted as the principal evolutionary force, whereas a little evidence of positive selection exists. We found that several positively selected sites were located within major functional regions and indicated the importance of these residues for adaptive evolution of hantaviruses

Anaplasma phagocytophilum from Rodents and Sheep, China

Three strains were isolated and characterized

Emerging tick-borne infections in mainland China: an increasing public health threat

Since the beginning of the 1980s, 33 emerging tick-borne agents have been identified in mainland China, including eight species of spotted fever group rickettsiae, seven species in the family Anaplasmataceae, six genospecies in the complex Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, 11 species of Babesia, and the virus causing severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome. In this Review we have mapped the geographical distributions of human cases of infection. 15 of the 33 emerging tick-borne agents have been reported to cause human disease, and their clinical characteristics have been described. The non-specific clinical manifestations caused by tick-borne pathogens present a major diagnostic challenge and most physicians are unfamiliar with the many tick-borne diseases that present with non-specific symptoms in the early stages of the illness. Advances in and application of modern molecular techniques should help with identification of emerging tick-borne pathogens and improve laboratory diagnosis of human infections. We expect that more novel tick-borne infections in ticks and animals will be identified and additional emerging tick-borne diseases in human beings will be discovered

Long-term SARS Coronavirus Excretion from Patient Cohort, China

This study investigated the long-term excretion of severe acute respiratory syndrome–associated coronavirus in sputum and stool specimens from 56 infected patients. The median (range) duration of virus excretion in sputa and stools was 21 (14–52) and 27 (16–126) days, respectively. Coexisting illness or conditions were associated with longer viral excretion in stools

Tick-borne Agents in Rodents, China, 2004–2006

Many rodent species may be involved in the enzootic maintenance of these agents

Isolation and Genetic Characteristics of Human Genotype 1 Japanese Encephalitis Virus, China, 2009

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that the predominant genotype of Chinese Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is evolving from genotype 3 to genotype 1. However, in recent years, almost all genotype 1 isolates were from mosquitoes, and genotype 1 has been less associated with human disease than genotype 3. This study reports the isolation of human genotype 1 JEV and its genetic characteristics to provide additional insights into human JE pathogens that are currently circulating in China. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 2009, 31 cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected from patients living in Yunnan and Shanxi provinces and were used to inoculate Aedes albopictus C6/36 cells for virus isolation. The JEV strains were identified using immunofluorescent assays and the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Phylogenetic analyses based on the partial capsid/pre-membrane and full envelope (E) sequences were performed using Clustalx 1.8 software. Three JEV isolates were obtained from a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy living in Yunnan and an 82-year-old woman in Shanxi. The boy had been immunized with one dose of JE live attenuated vaccine. New isolates were grouped into genotype 1. Amino acid sequence for the viral E protein indicated 95% to 100% identity with each other and with other JEV strains. When compared with a consensus sequence of E protein, two amino acid substitutions were found: Ser(E-123)-Asn in the two Yunnan isolates and Lys(E-166)-Arg in the Shanxi isolate. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the genotype 1 of JEV is causing human infections in China. Our observation of a previously vaccinated boy developing JE from genotype 1 virus infection also calls for more detailed studies, both in vitro and in vivo neutralization tests as well as active surveillance, to examine the possibility of a lack of complete protection conferred by the live attenuated JE vaccine against genotype 1 virus