Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic pathogen of which several species of animal were reported as reservoirs. Antibodies to HEV and HEV RNA have been detected in some Chinese population and swine groups but few other domestic animals. In this study, to investigate the HEV prevalence, we tested sera from 788 pigs, 100 cows, 50 goats, 49 horses, 101 pet dogs, 105 chickens, 47 duck and 45 pigeons in eastern China for anti-HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG). We also tested 50% of the swine sera, all of sera from the other domestic animals and 13 Shanghai human sera which were positive for anti-HEV immunoglobulin M (IgM) for HEV RNA using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Our results indicated that 82.5% (222/269) of the sows, 53.9% (104/193) of the 4- to 6-month-old swine, 63.4% (168/265) of the 1- to 3-month-old swine, 55.7% (34/61) of the slaughterhouse swine, 24% (12/50) of the goats, 16.3% (8/49) of the horses, 17.8% (21/101) of the pet dogs, 6% (6/100) of the cows, 12.8% (6/47) of the ducks, 4.4% (2/45) of the pigeons and 1.9% (2/105) of the chickens exhibited positive for anti-HEV IgG. Inhibition assay confirmed the infection with HEV or HEV-like viruses in these domestic animals except pigeons and chickens. From the sera, we isolated 18 swine HEV strains, one horse HEV strain and two human HEV strains. Sequence analysis showed that the horse HEV isolate and one swine isolate belonged to genotype 3. The other isolates belonged to genotype 4. The two human isolates were phylogenetically closely related to eight of the swine isolates. In short, the presence of anti-HEV antibody had been confirmed in several species of domestic animals in eastern China and HEV RNA has been identified in swine, human and horse. This suggested that the authorities should pay more attention to the prevalence of HEV in eastern China.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic pathogen of which several species of animals are considered to be reservoirs. Thirty-eight faecal samples, obtained from 22 species of animals including birds in a wildlife first-aid centre in Eastern China, were tested for HEV RNA. Our survey revealed that in total 28.9% (95% confidence interval 14.5-43.4) of the faecal samples from various mammals and birds were HEV RNA positive. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the 11 isolates demonstrated that all sequences clustered in genotype 4 with 96-100% identity to each other. In addition, serum samples from seven animal handlers have shown that five (71.4%) were seropositive. The findings imply that cross-species infection of HEV had probably occurred in this zoo-like location, and moreover, birds can be infected naturally with mammalian HEV.

Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is the causative agent of porcine transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE), characterized by high mortality and severely retarded growth in piglets that dramatically affects the porcine industry. Previously, we have identified two shRNA-expressing plasmids pEGFP-U6/P1 and pEGFP-U6/P2 that target RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) gene of TGEV with more than 95% of virus inhibition in vitro. In this study, inhibition of the TGEV replication by pEGFP-U6/P1 and pEGFP-U6/P2 was tested in mini-pigs. SPF mini-pigs at 25 days old were injected with the shRNA-expressing plasmids and then infected with TGEV. The results from the analyses of clinical signs, histopathology, indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and RT-PCR show that the two shRNA-expressing plasmids could significantly decrease the quantity of TGEV in different organs and protect mini-pigs from TGEV infection. These findings illustrate the prospect for TGEV-specific shRNAs to be new anti-TGEV agents.

Genotype 4 hepatitis E virus (HEV) was reportedly transmitted freely between humans and swine in eastern China. The full-length genomic sequence of Shanghai swine isolate (SH-SW-zs1) recovered from feces sample of a pig which was infected with HEV RNA positive swine serum was determined using RT-PCR and RACE (Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends) methods. The full genome of the SH-SW-zs1 isolate was 7265 nucleotides in length and phylogenetic analysis indicated that this isolate belonged to genotype 4. Comparison of the 3' UTR sequence with the corresponding regions of other 38 HEV strains from different region revealed that the Shanghai swine isolate is 21-49 bp longer than the other stains.

Background：Coffin-Siris syndrome（CSS,MIM 135900），is a multiple congenital anomaly syndrome characterized by developmental disability，coarse facial features，microcephaly and hypoplastic nails of the fifth fingers or toes. CSS is caused by mutations in several genes of the BRG1-associated factor（BAF） pathway including SMARCA4. Individuals with SMARCA4 variants have been previously reported and appear to display a variable phenotype. Pathogenic variants in SMARCA4 genes have been associated with an increasing risk of Coffin-Siris syndrome 4（MIM 614609）and Rhabdoid Tumor Predisposition Syndrome2（RTPS2）. Methods：Whole-exome sequencing（WES） was performed on an infant who presented with developmental delay，feeding difficulties，and laryngomalacia. He was also found to have testicular yolk sac tumor that has not been previously reported in CSS. Results: Germline testing identified a pathogenic variant in SMARCA4 c.2932C＞G. Conclusions: To our knowledge，this is the first report of testicular yolk sac tumor in an infant with a diagnosis of CSS with a potential predisposition to RTPS2.