Schistosomiasis, also called bilharziasis, is a neglected tropical disease induced by Schistosoma spp. that causes hundreds of millions of infections. Although Schistosoma ova-induced granulomas commonly cause inflammation, hyperplasia, ulceration, micro abscess formation, and polyposis, the role of the egg granuloma on the gut microbiome remains unclear. To explore the role, gut microbial communities in mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum were surveyed. Female C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were exposed to cercariae of S. japonicum for 45 and 65 days and then sacrificed. Intestinal contents and feces were collected, DNA was extracted, and high-throughput 16S rRNA gene-based pyrosequencing was used to provide a comparative analysis of gut microbial diversity. The intestinal mucosal tissues were also examined. Histopathologic analysis demonstrated that the basic structure of the colonic mucosa was damaged by ova-induced granuloma. Regarding the gut microbiome, 2,578,303 good-quality sequences were studied and assigned to 25,278 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) at a threshold of 97% similarity. The average number of OTUs for C57BL/6 and BALB/c were 545 and 530, respectively. At the phylum level, intestinal microbial communities were dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. Infection with S. japonicum modified bacterial richness in the fecal associated microbiota. Exposure significantly modified bacterial community composition among different groups. At the phylogenetic levels, LEfSe analysis revealed that several bacterial taxa were significantly associated with the S. japonicum-infected mice. The present results suggest that egg granulomas in the intestine influence differentiation of the gut microbial community under pathophysiological conditions. This result suggests that intestinal microbiome-based strategies should be considered for early diagnosis, clinical treatment, and prognosis evaluation of schistosomiasis.

Mastitis, one of the most costly diseases in dairy ruminants, is an inflammation of the mammary gland caused by pathogenic infection. The mechanisms of adaptive immunity against pathogens in mastitis have not been fully elucidated. To investigate T helper cell-mediated adaptive immune responses, we established a mastitis model by challenge with an inoculum of 4 × 106 colony-forming units of Staphylococcus aureus in the mammary gland of lactating mice, followed by quantification of bacterial burden and histological analysis. The development of mastitis was accompanied by a significant increase in both Th17 and Th1 cells in the mammary gland. Moreover, the relative expression of genes encoding cytokines and transcription factors involved in the differentiation and function of these T helper cells, including Il17, Rorc, Tgfb, Il1b, Il23, Ifng, Tbx21, and Il12, was greatly elevated in the infected mammary gland. IL-17 is essential for neutrophil recruitment to infected mammary gland via CXC chemokines, whereas the excessive IL-17 production contributes to tissue damage in mastitis. In addition, a shift in T helper cell polarization toward Th2 and Treg cells was observed 5 days post-infection, and the mRNA expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine Il10 was markedly increased at day 7 post-infection. These results indicate that immune clearance of Staphylococcus aureus in mastitis is facilitated by the enrichment of Th17, Th1 and Th2 cells in the mammary gland mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokine production, which is tightly regulated by Treg cells and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10.

Subclinical mastitis, a costly disease for the dairy industry, is usually caused by intramammary bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and pathogens involved in subclinical mastitis in dairy goats in China. A total of 683 dairy goats in the main breeding areas of China were selected, and milk samples were collected. Out of these, 313 (45.82 %) goats were detected distinct or strong positive for subclinical mastitis by using California mastitis test. Among these positive goats, 209 milk samples were used to identify the causing agents by a multiplex PCR assay, and results were listed as follows: coagulase-negative staphylococci (59.52 %), Staphylococcus aureus (15.24 %), Escherichia coli (11.43 %), and Streptococcus spp. (10.95 %). In conclusion, subclinical mastitis is a highly prevalent disease in dairy goats in China, and coagulase-negative staphylococci are the predominant pathogens.

BackgroundOrdinary screening of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors is essential for blood transfusion. Although there is several TTIs studies focus on human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B and C viruses, and Treponema pallidum infections in China, it is no data to illustrate any firm conclusion from Shiyan City, Central China. It aims to verify the seroprevalence of TTIs among blood donors at Shiyan.MethodsA retrospective analysis of blood donors’ information was conducted for the presence of HIV, HBV, HCV and T. pallidum. Logistic regression analysis was used to demonstrate risk factors including age, gender and occupation associated with them. The variation tendency in seroprevalence of these TTIs over the study period was evaluated by Cochran-Armitage trend test.ResultsOf 211 639 blood donors, 2 858 (1.35 %) had serological evidence of TTIs. The seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and T. pallidum were 0.08 %, 0.51 %, 0.20 % and 0.57 %, respectively. However, the co-infection prevalence of TTIs has not been detected. The HIV seropositivity significantly increased among female donors (OR = 1.63, P < 0.001) and farmers (OR = 2.02, P = 0.020). Significantly increased HBV seropositivity was only observed framers (OR = 1.87, P <0.001) compared to workers. Analogously, significantly increased HCV seropositivity was observed among farmers (OR = 2.59, P < 0.001), students (OR = 2.43, P < 0.001), merchants (OR = 1.70, P = 0.014) and others (OR = 1.78, P =0.001). The T. pallidum seroprevalence was notably increased among female (OR = 1.54, P < 0.001), and farmers (OR = 1.70, P <0.001). Moreover, significantly increasing trends of HIV (Z = −6.88, P < 0.01), HBV (Z = −4.52, P < 0.01), HCV (Z = −4.16, P < 0.01) and T. pallidum (Z = −1.36, P < 0.01) seropositivity were observed over the study period.ConclusionsIt originally offers a substantial prevalence of TTIs among blood donors at Shiyan, Central China. Severe blood donor selection and all-inclusive screening of blood are highly recommended. It might be helpful for developing and updating guidance for blood safety.Trial registrationRetrospectively registered.

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BackgroundIntrahepatic hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is the original template for HBV replication. The persistence of cccDNA is responsible for the recurrence of HBV infection. The detection of cccDNA can help the development of new antiviral drugs against HBV replication links, and reduce the resistance and recurrence as well as to discover extrahepatic HBV infection. In situ polymerase chain reaction (IS-PCR) can be used to determine the distribution and localization of cccDNA in liver tissues, but it is hampered by its low sensitivity and specificity. We developed a novel method to detect HBV cccDNA using rolling circle amplification (RCA) combined with IS-PCR.MethodsBiopsy liver tissues were obtained from 26 patients with HBV infection, including 10 chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 6 liver cirrhosis (LC) and 10 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Four pairs of primers were designed to mediating RCA for the first round amplification of HBV cccDNA specifically. The liver tissue sections from patients were treated by plasmid-safe ATP-dependent DNase (PSAD) prior to RCA. After RCA, HBV cccDNA was further amplified by a pair of selective primers labeled digoxigenin that target the gap region between the two direct repeat regions (DR1 and DR2) of the virus via IS-PCR.ResultsHBVcccDNA was expressed and located in hepatocyte nucleus in 19 patients (73.07%). Compared with the IS-PCR, the introduction of RCA increase the limit of detection. RCA combined with IS-PCR yielded strong positive signals in HCC liver tissue in spite of low copy number cccDNA (2 copies of target sequence per cell), meanwhile, no positive signal was detected via negative control.ConclusionsRCA combined with IS-PCR is an effective and practicable method which could detect the presence of low copy number of cccDNA sensitively and specifically, and reflect the relationship between cccDNA expression level and liver tissue pathological characteristics.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0608-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective This study aims to explore the trend and knowledge mapping of acupuncture for migraine through bibliometrics. Methods It retrieved the literature on acupuncture for migraine in the Web of Science database from 2000 to 2019, and then resorted to CiteSpace to conduct bibliometric analysis to attain the knowledge mapping. Results The total number of publications each year has increased year by year, and the average annual growth rate from 2000 to 2009 was 15.57%, while from 2010 to 2019 was 6.35%, with a faster growth rate from 2000 to 2009. According to the cluster analysis of institutions, authors, cited references, and keywords, 10, 7, 12, and 10 categories were gained from 2000 to 2019. The most productive countries, institutions, and authors are the USA and China, Technical University of Munich and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Linde K and Liang FR from 2000 to 2019, whose frequency is 119/103, 28/24, and 28/24, respectively. However, the most important of them are Canada, Sichuan University, and Witt CM. Owing to their highest centrality, they are 0.86, 0.54, and 0.27 separately. Moreover, cited references that contributed to the most co-citations are Linde K (2005), yet, the most vital cited reference is Karst M (2001). Keywords such as migraine, acupuncture, headache, pain, and randomized controlled trial are the most frequently used. However, needle acupuncture is the crucial keyword. In the cluster analysis of institutions, authors, cited references, and keywords from 2000 to 2019, the largest cluster categories are #0 migraine prophylaxis, #1 randomized controlled trial, #0 episodic migraine, and #0 topiramate treatment. Then, randomized controlled trials of acupuncture prevention and treatment of migraine are the most important research content in this field. Conclusion Through the bibliometric analysis of the research on acupuncture for migraine in the Web of Science database in the past 20 years, the trends and the Knowledge Graph of the country, institution, author, cited reference, and the keyword are acquired, which have an important guiding significance for quickly and accurately positioning the key information in the field.

Trichinellosis caused by Trichinella spiralis is a worldwide food-borne parasitic zoonosis. Several approaches have been performed to control T. spiralis infection, including veterinary vaccines, which contribute to improving animal health and increasing public health by preventing the transmission of trichinellosis from animals to humans. In the past several decades, many vaccine studies have been performed in effort to control T. spiralis infection by reducing the muscle larvae and adult worms burden. Various candidate antigens, selected from excretory-secretory (ES) products and different functional proteins involved in the process of establishing infection have been investigated in rodent or swine models to explore their protective effect against T. spiralis infection. Moreover, different types of vaccines have been developed to improve the protective effect against T. spiralis infection in rodent or swine models, such as live attenuated vaccines, natural antigen vaccines, recombinant protein vaccines, DNA vaccines, and synthesized epitope vaccines. However, few studies of T. spiralis vaccines have been performed in pigs, and future research should focus on exploring the protective effect of different types of vaccines in swine models. Here, we present an overview of the strategies for the development of effective T. spiralis vaccines and summarize the factors of influencing the effectiveness of vaccines. We also discuss several propositions in improving the effectiveness of vaccines and may provide a route map for future T. spiralis vaccines development.