In December 2019, a viral pneumonia outbreak caused by a novel betacoronavirus, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), began in Wuhan, China. We report the epidemiological and clinical features of the first patient with 2019-nCoV pneumonia imported into Korea from Wuhan. This report suggests that in the early phase of 2019-nCoV pneumonia, chest radiography would miss patients with pneumonia and highlights taking travel history is of paramount importance for early detection and isolation of 2019-nCoV cases.

Recent advances in cancer therapeutics stress the need for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving tumor formation. This can be accomplished by obtaining a more complete description of the genes that contribute to cancer. We previously described an approach using the Sleeping Beauty transposon system to model hematopoietic malignancies in mice. Here we describe modifications of the SB system that provide additional flexibility in generating mouse models of cancer. First, we describe a Cre-inducible SBase allele, RosaSBaseLsL, that allows restriction of transposon mutagenesis to a specific tissue of interest. This allele was used to generate a model of germinal center B-cell lymphoma by activating SBase expression with a Aid-Cre allele. In a second approach, a novel transposon was generated, T2/Onc3, in which the CMV enhancer/β-actin (CAG) promoter drives oncogene expression. When combined with ubiquitous SBase expression, the T2/Onc3 transposon produced nearly 200 independent tumors of over 20 different types in a cohort of 62 mice. Analysis of transposon insertion sites identified novel candidate genes, including Zmiz1 and Rian, involved in squamous cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, respectively. These novel alleles provide additional tools for the SB system and provide some insight into how this mutagenesis system can be manipulated to model cancer in mice.

BackgroundThe placenta is a key component in understanding the physiological processes involved in pregnancy. Characterizing genes critical for placental function can serve as a basis for identifying mechanisms underlying both normal and pathologic pregnancies. Detailing the placental tissue transcriptome could provide a valuable resource for genomic studies related to placental disease.ResultsWe have conducted a deep RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) study on three tissue components (amnion, chorion, and decidua) of 5 human placentas from normal term pregnancies. We compared the placental RNA-Seq data to that of 16 other human tissues and observed a wide spectrum of transcriptome differences both between placenta and other human tissues and between distinct compartments of the placenta. Exon-level analysis of the RNA-Seq data revealed a large number of exons with differential splicing activities between placenta and other tissues, and 79% (27 out of 34) of the events selected for RT-PCR test were validated. The master splicing regulator ESRP1 is expressed at a proportionately higher level in amnion compared to all other analyzed human tissues, and there is a significant enrichment of ESRP1-regulated exons with tissue-specific splicing activities in amnion. This suggests an important role of alternative splicing in regulating gene function and activity in specific placental compartments. Importantly, genes with differential expression or splicing in the placenta are significantly enriched for genes implicated in placental abnormalities and preterm birth. In addition, we identified 604-1007 novel transcripts and 494-585 novel exons expressed in each of the three placental compartments.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate unique aspects of gene expression and splicing in placental tissues that provide a basis for disease investigation related to disruption of these mechanisms. These data are publicly available providing the community with a rich resource for placental physiology and disease-related studies.

A rapid outbreak of monkeypox is ongoing in non-endemic countries since May 2022. We report the first case of monkeypox in the Republic of Korea. This occurred in a 34-year-old male patient who traveled to Europe in June 2022. On the day of his return to the Republic of Korea (June 21, 2022), the patient presented with a genital lesion. The results of the monkeypox real-time polymerase chain reaction tests were positive in the penile ulcer, oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal specimens. The patient subsequently developed fever and skin rash after hospital admission. Careful history taking along physical examination should be conducted in the patients who have epidemiologic risk factors for monkeypox. Moreover, appropriate specimens should be obtained from lesions and tested for the monkeypox virus.

BackgroundPreterm birth (PTB) is a complex disorder associated with significant neonatal mortality and morbidity and long-term adverse health consequences. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that genetic factors play an important role in its etiology. This study was designed to identify genetic variation associated with PTB in oxytocin pathway genes whose role in parturition is well known.MethodsTo identify common genetic variants predisposing to PTB, we genotyped 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the oxytocin (OXT), oxytocin receptor (OXTR), and leucyl/cystinyl aminopeptidase (LNPEP) genes in 651 case infants from the U.S. and one or both of their parents. In addition, we examined the role of rare genetic variation in susceptibility to PTB by conducting direct sequence analysis of OXTR in 1394 cases and 1112 controls from the U.S., Argentina, Denmark, and Finland. This study was further extended to maternal triads (maternal grandparents-mother of a case infant, N=309). We also performed in vitro analysis of selected rare OXTR missense variants to evaluate their functional importance.ResultsMaternal genetic effect analysis of the SNP genotype data revealed four SNPs in LNPEP that show significant association with prematurity. In our case–control sequence analysis, we detected fourteen coding variants in exon 3 of OXTR, all but four of which were found in cases only. Of the fourteen variants, three were previously unreported novel rare variants. When the sequence data from the maternal triads were analyzed using the transmission disequilibrium test, two common missense SNPs (rs4686302 and rs237902) in OXTR showed suggestive association for three gestational age subgroups. In vitro functional assays showed a significant difference in ligand binding between wild-type and two mutant receptors.ConclusionsOur study suggests an association between maternal common polymorphisms in LNPEP and susceptibility to PTB. Maternal OXTR missense SNPs rs4686302 and rs237902 may have gestational age-dependent effects on prematurity. Most of the OXTR rare variants identified do not appear to significantly contribute to the risk of PTB, but those shown to affect receptor function in our in vitro study warrant further investigation. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm the findings of this study.