Oral immunization with a Lactobacillus casei-based anti-porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) vaccine expressing microfold cell-targeting peptide Co1 fused with the COE antigen of PEDV

AIMS

The aims of this study were to develop an effective M cell-targeting oral vaccine, involving Lactobacillus casei to deliver the porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) core neutralizing epitope (COE) antigen conjugated with M cell-targeting peptide Co1 as an adjuvant, against PEDV infection.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Genetically engineered L. casei 393 (L393) strains expressing PEDV COE antigen only (pPG-COE/L393) or fused-expressing COE and M cell-targeting peptide Co1 (pPG-COE-Co1/L393) were constructed, and the immunogenicity upon administration as an oral vaccine was evaluated. The results showed that higher anti-PEDV serum IgG and mucosal SIgA antibody responses were induced in mice orally immunized with strain pPG-COE-Co1/L393 as compared to the mice immunized with strain L393 expressing COE alone or carrying the empty plasmid. In addition, the use of the Co1 ligand elicited a splenocyte proliferative response more effectively in comparison with the COE antigen alone and supported a skewed T helper 2 type of immune response against PEDV.

CONCLUSIONS

pPG-COE-Co1/L393 can effectively induce mucosal, humoural and Th2-type cellular immune responses against PEDV infection via oral administration. Furthermore, M cell-targeting peptide ligand Co1 is a good mucosal adjuvant.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Lactobacillus casei delivering the COE antigen of PEDV conjugated with a M cell-targeting peptide Co1 as an immune adjuvant is a promising oral vaccine candidate for PEDV.

[Visual impact of sub-tenon's anesthesia during surgery for retinal detachment]

Objective: To investigate the visual impact and influence factors of sub-Tenon's anesthesia in retinal detachment patients during pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) or combined phacoemulsification and PPV surgery. Methods: In this prospective case series study, 104 consecutive patients who underwent PPV or combined phacoemulsification and PPV under sub-Tenon's anesthesia between October 2012 and December 2013 were enrolled. Intraoperatively, the patients were asked whether they could see the light of the operating microscope or not at 5 minutes after sub-Tenon's anesthesia, and at the end of phacoemulsification, core vitreous removal, peripheral vitreous removal and the whole surgery, with their contralateral eyes being covered tightly and no photobleaching. The best corrected visual acuity and visual evoked potentials were examined and compared with each other preoperatively and at 1.5 months and 3 months postoperatively. Chi-square test was used to compare the detection rate of amaurosis between different modus operandi and whether covered contra-lateral eye. Student-t test was used to compare the difference of age and preoperative BCVA between the patients with or without experienced amaurois. Lastly, BCVA between different times were tested by one-way ANOVA analysis. Results: Without covering the contralateral eyes, the incidence of no light perception in various surgical steps was 0%, while it was 72.1%(75/104), 93.8%(75/80), 96.2%(100/104), 96.2%(100/104) and 86.5%(90/104) at the five timepoints, respectively, when the contralateral eyes were covered tightly. The incidence was 51.9%(54/104), 85.0%(68/80), 85. 6%(89/104), 84.6%(69/104) and 66.3%(88/104), respectively, after photobleaching was excluded. Approximately 95.2%(99/104) of patients reported no light perception at least once, 54.5%(54/99) reported no light perception 5 minutes after sub-Tenon's anesthesia, and 30.3%(30/99) recovered light perception when the surgery was finished. All eyes recovered to at least light perception on the first postoperative day. The best corrected visual acuity and visual evoked potentials at 1.5 months and 3 months postoperatively were significantly better than those before surgery. The BCVA was 1.75±0.78 preoperative, 0.96±0.63 1.5 months after operation, and 0.92±0.57 3 months after operation. There was a significant statistical difference between preoperative BCVA and postoperative BCVA (F=50.61, P<0.01) . In patients without waveform detection preoperatively, PVEP waveform could be found in 43.6% and 61.4% of the pactients at 1.5 months and 3 months after operation respectively. In those had certain waveform preoperatively, PVEP amplitudes rise significantly after surgery (t(1.5)=-2.69, t(3)=-2.97, P<0.05) . Conclusions: No light perception was detected in various surgical steps of vitrectomy under sub-Tenon's anesthesia in most patients. The blocking of optic nerve conduction may be caused by sub-Tenon' s anesthesia. Photobleaching can also have some effect. The incidence of no light perception during the surgery was not correlated with preoperative visual acuity, age and gender. Moreover, the effect was transient and harmless to visual function.(Chin J Ophthalmol, 2017, 53: 332-337).

Effect of fathers' age and birth order on occurrence of congenital heart disease

STUDY OBJECTIVE

The aim was to examine if there is an effect of fathers' age and of birth order on the occurrence of congenital heart disease.

DESIGN

This was a hospital based case-referent study including use of birth defects surveillance data.

SUBJECTS

Subjects were 497 cases of congenital heart disease aged between 3 months and 5 years, born in Beijing and Hebei Province, China; 6222 children without congenital heart disease serve as reference baseline.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

With stratified analysis and logistic regression analyses, congenital heart disease was found to be associated with fathers' age less than 25 years (odds ratio 2.63), independent of mothers' age and of birth order. There was also evidence to show a higher birth order effect on the occurrence of congenital heart disease independent of parental ages.

CONCLUSION

Higher birth order and fathers aged less than 25 years were both independently associated with some categories of congenital heart disease and with congenital heart disease overall.