BackgroundRecently, chronic hepatitis E has been increasingly reported in organ transplant recipients in European countries. In Japan, the prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection after transplantation remains unclear, so we conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study to clarify the prevalence of chronic HEV infection in Japanese liver transplant recipients.MethodsA total of 1893 liver transplant recipients in 17 university hospitals in Japan were examined for the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM and IgA classes of anti-HEV antibodies, and HEV RNA in serum.FindingsThe prevalence of anti-HEV IgG, IgM and IgA class antibodies was 2.9% (54/1893), 0.05% (1/1893) and 0% (0/1893), respectively. Of 1651 patients tested for HEV RNA, two patients (0.12%) were found to be positive and developed chronic infection after liver transplantation. In both cases, HEV RNA was also detected in one of the blood products transfused at the perioperative period. Analysis of the HEV genomes revealed that the HEV isolates obtained from the recipients and the transfused blood products were identical in both cases, indicating transfusion-transmitted HEV infection.InterpretationThe prevalence of HEV antibodies in liver transplant recipients was 2.9%, which is low compared with the healthy population in Japan and with organ transplant recipients in European countries; however, the present study found, for the first time, two Japanese patients with chronic HEV infection that was acquired via blood transfusion during or after liver transplantation.
SiO2-ZrO2 membranes were successfully prepared by coating SiO2-ZrO2 (molar ratio 5/5) sols on cylindrical -alumina porous supports with average pore sizes of 2.1, 2.9 and 3.6 m followed by firing at 550 C. The pore sizes of the SiO2-ZrO2 membranes, which were evaluated by nanopermporometry using hexane, were 1.20 and 0.65 nm after coating with SiO2-ZrO2 sols of 35 and 19 nm in diameter, respectively. The membrane pore sizes were not affected by the pores of the supports, but, instead, were controlled by the colloidal sizes of the SiO2-ZrO2 sols that made up the top layer. SiO2-ZrO2 membranes, which were fired at 200, 300, 400 and 550 C, increased slightly from 0.60 to 0.70 nm with an increase in the firing temperature, while water permeability (Lp) tended to decrease with increases in the firing temperature that ranged from (3.3-0.8)10-12 m 3 /(m 2 s Pa). The decreased water permeability was ascribed to chemical and physical changes by firing temperature such as hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, porosity, etc. The water permeabilities of SiO2-ZrO2 membranes showed stable flux due to the addition of zirconia into the silica sol, showing improved stability in water. Nanofiltration performance was evaluated using aqueous solutions and showed molecular weight cutoffs ranging from 200 to 350.
To investigate the genetic background of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) and II (HTLV-II) carriers among South American native Indians, we analyzed HLA DRB1*-DQB1* haplotypes of the virus carriers from Andes highlands and Orinoco lowlands by the PCR-RFLP genotyping method. It was revealed that the HTLV-I-carrying Andes natives had one of the 5 HLA haplotypes: DRB1*-DQB1* 0403-0302, 0802-0402, 0901-0303, 1406-0302 and 0407-0302, and that the Orinoco HTLV-II carriers had one of the 3 HLA haplotypes: DRB1*-DQB1* 1402-0301, 1602-0301 and 0404-0302. The HLA haplotypes of Andes HTLV-I carriers and Orinoco HTLV-II carriers were mutually exclusive. The haplotypes associated with HTLV-I carriers were commonly found among the Andes Indians and Japanese, which is the known HTLV-I endemic population, while the haplotypes associated with HTLV-II carriers were specifically found among the Orinoco Indians and North American Indians, among whom HTLV-II is endemic. These results suggested that HLA haplotypes might be ethnically segregated among South American natives and might be involved in the susceptibility to HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections.
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