• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.11.1-11.10
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• 2021

Coronavirus causes an infectious disease in various species and crosses the species barriers leading to the outbreak of zoonotic diseases. Due to the respiratory diseases are mainly caused in humans and viruses are replicated and excreted through the respiratory tract, the nasal fluid and sputum are mainly used for diagnosis. Early diagnosis of coronavirus plays an important role in preventing its spread and is essential for quarantine policies. For rapid decision and prompt triage of infected host, the immunochromatographic assay (ICA) has been widely used for point of care testing. However, when the ICA is applied to an expectorated sputum in which antigens are present, the viscosity of sputum interferes with the migration of the antigens on the test strip. To overcome this limitation, it is necessary to use a mucolytic agent without affecting the antigens. In this study, we combined known mucolytic agents to lower the viscosity of sputum and applied that to alpha and beta coronavirus, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), respectively, spiked in sputum to find optimal pretreatment conditions. The pretreatment method using tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) and BSA was suitable for ICA diagnosis of sputum samples spiked with PEDV and MERS-CoV. This sensitive assay for the detection of coronavirus in sputum provides an useful information for the diagnosis of pathogen in low respiratory tract.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제33권5호
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• pp.559-573
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• 2023

Shiga toxin (Stxs)-producing enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 are major causative agents of severe bloody diarrhea (known as hemorrhagic colitis) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) associated with extraintestinal complications such as acute renal failure and neurologic impairment in infected patients under 9 years of age. Extreme nephrotoxicity of Stxs in HUS patients is associated with severe outcomes, highlighting the need to develop technologies to detect low levels of the toxin in environmental or food samples. Currently, the conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or immunoassay is the most broadly used assay to detect the toxin. However, these assays are laborious, time-consuming, and costly. More recently, numerous studies have described novel, highly sensitive, and portable methods for detecting Stxs from EHEC. To contextualize newly emerging Stxs detection methods, we briefly explain the basic principles of these methods, including lateral flow assays, optical detection, and electrical detection. We subsequently describe existing and newly emerging rapid detection technologies to identify and measure Stxs.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제46권12호
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• pp.746-756
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• 2023

A recent study revealed that the loss of Deup1 expression does not affect either centriole amplification or multicilia formation. Therefore, the deuterosome per se is not a platform for amplification of centrioles. In this study, we examine whether gain-of-function of Deup1 affects the development of multiciliated ependymal cells. Our time-lapse study reveals that deuterosomes with an average diameter of 300 nm have two different fates during ependymal differentiation. In the first instance, deuterosomes are scattered and gradually disappear as cells become multiciliated. In the second instance, deuterosomes self-organize into a larger aggregate, called a deuterosome cluster (DC). Unlike scattered deuterosomes, DCs possess centriole components primarily within their large structure. A characteristic of DC-containing cells is that they tend to become primary ciliated rather than multiciliated. Our in utero electroporation study shows that DCs in ependymal tissue are mostly observed at early postnatal stages, but are scarce at late postnatal stages, suggesting the presence of DC antagonists within the differentiating cells. Importantly, from our bead flow assay, ectopic expression of Deup1 significantly impairs cerebrospinal fluid flow. Furthermore, we show that expression of mouse Deup1 in Xenopus embryos has an inhibitory effect on differentiation of multiciliated cells in the epidermis. Taken together, we conclude that the DC formation of Deup1 in multiciliated cells inhibits production of multiple centrioles.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제33권8호
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• pp.1091-1100
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• 2023

Human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 are the major causes of cervical lesions and are associated with 71% of cervical cancer cases globally. However, public health infrastructures to support cervical cancer screening may be unavailable to women in low-resource areas. Therefore, sensitive, convenient, and cost-efficient diagnostic methods are required for the detection of HPV16/18. Here, we designed two novel methods, real-time ERA and ERA-LFD, based on enzymatic recombinase amplification (ERA) for quick point-of-care identification of the HPV E6/E7 genes. The entire detection process could be completed within 25 min at a constant low temperature (35-43℃), and the results of the combined methods could be present as the amplification curves or the bands presented on dipsticks and directly interpreted with the naked eye. The ERA assays evaluated using standard plasmids carrying the E6/E7 genes and clinical samples exhibited excellent specificity, as no cross-reaction with other common HPV types was observed. The detection limits of our ERA assays were 10⁰ and 10¹ copies/µl for HPV16 and 18 respectively, which were comparable to those of the real-time PCR assay. Assessment of the clinical performance of the ERA assays using 114 cervical tissue samples demonstrated that they are highly consistent with real-time PCR, the gold standard for HPV detection. This study demonstrated that ERA-based assays possess excellent sensitivity, specificity, and repeatability for HPV16 and HPV18 detection with great potential to become robust diagnostic tools in local hospitals and field studies.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제51권10호
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• pp.1071-1076
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• 2008

목적: RSV 호흡기 바이러스 감염은 해마다 영유아에서 심한 호흡기 질환의 중요한 원인이 되고 있다. 이에 따라 최근 검사 방법이 간편하고 결과를 빨리 알 수 있는 면역 크로마토그래피법이 신속 항원 검사법으로서 소개되어 그 정확성과 임상에서의 유용성이 많이 연구되고 있으나 국내에서는 연구례가 드문 실정이다. 이에 저자들은 이 검사법의 정확성과 유용성을 평가하여 실질적인 검사법으로 정착시키고자 하였다. 방법: 2007년 4월부터 2008년 3월까지 발열, 기침, 천명, 호흡곤란, 빈호흡 등의 증상으로 외래 내원 및 입원치료를 받은 112명의 환아를 대상으로 비인두 가검물을 채취하여 RSV Respi-Strip과 효소 면역 측정법, RT-PCR(ASTEC)을 동시에 시행하였다. RT-PCR을 표준으로 하여 RespiStrip 과 EIA의 결과를 비교 분석하여 정확성과 유용성을 평가하였다. 결 과: RSV RespiStrip, RT-PCR, EIA에 양성을 보인 환아는 각각 42명, 45명, 39명 이었다. RespiStrip는 RT-PCR 검사법에 대하여 민감도 88%, 특이도 94%, 양성 예측도 90%, 음성 예측도는 92% 였으며 위양성률과 위음성률 그리고 일치도가 각각 5.9%, 11%, 83% 로 나왔다. EIA는 RT-PCR 검사법에 대하여 민감도 84%, 특이도 94%, 양성 예측도 90%, 음성 예측도 90%, 일치도 79% 로 나왔다. 결론: 신속 항원 검사가 비교적 민감도가 높으므로 RSV 감염의 선별 검사로서 적합하다고 생각한다. 외래 진료실에서 빠르고 경제적이며 간편하게 검사하여 조기에 적절한 치료를 함으로써 합병증을 예방할 수 있고 아울러 불필요한 항생제의 사용을 줄일 수 있다. 앞으로 이러한 신속검사가 실제 임상에서 많이 적용되리라 기대된다.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제30권12호
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• pp.2999-3005
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• 2009

Among the more than 120 different types of human papillomavirus (HPV), types 16 and 18 have been known to be high risk agents that cause cervical cancer. We examined, in an immuno-chromatographic analysis, the potential of using the early gene product, E7 protein, as a diagnostic marker of cervical cancer caused by HPV. We developed monoclonal antibodies specific to HPV-16 and 18 E7 proteins that were produced from bacterial cells using gene recombinant technology. For each E7 protein, the optimal antibody pair was selected using the immuno-chromatographic sandwichtype binding system based on the lateral flow through membrane pores. Under these conditions, this rapid testing assay had a detection capability as low as 2 ng/mL of E7 protein. Furthermore, since viral analysis required the host cell to be lysed using chemicals such as detergents, it was possible that the E7 protein was structurally damaged during this process, which would result in a decrease in detection sensitivity. Therefore, we examined the detrimental effects caused by different detergents on the E7 protein using HeLa cells as the host. In these experiments, we found that the damage caused by the detergent, nonylphenylpolyethylene glycol (NP-40), was minimal relative to Triton X-100 commonly used for the cell lysis. Temperature also affected the stability of the E7 protein, and we found that the E7 protein was stabilized at 4$^{\circ}C$ for about 2 h, which was 4 times longer than at room temperature. Finally, a HPV-infected cervical cancer cell line, which was used as a real sample model, was treated using the optimized conditions and the presence of E7 proteins were analyzed by immuno-chromatography. The results of this experiment demonstrated that this rapid test could specifically detect HPV-infected samples.