ANTIBODY DETECTION OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE VIRUS IN SOME SPECIES OF POULTRY IN MAIDUGURI NIGERIA.

This study was conducted to determine the presence of Newcastle disease (ND) virus in Poultry in Maiduguri. A total of 100 blood sample were collected for laboratory examination. The HAand HI tests following the procedures described in the OIE reference manual. ND viral antibody was detected in sera. The prevalence of 66 (66.0%) ND among different avian species was recorded, this research further revealed that 43 (60.5%) Local chicken, 3 (100%) Broilers and 20 (76.9%) Pigeons were sero-positive for ND virus antigen. The prevalence of ND among species based on age was reported with an overall prevalence of 66 (66.0%), This research also revealed that 22 (81.4%) Young and 44 (60.0%) Female were seropositive for ND virus antigen. This result further revealed 9 (9%) Male and 57 (57%) Female were sero-positive for ND virus antigen, based on Gender distribution. Furthermore the geometric mean of Haemagglutination titre value of 76.5068 was recorded.

A follow-up study of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus

ObjectivesTo explore the possible mechanisms of glycol-metabolism and islet function in patients with fulminant type 1 diabetes (FT1DM).MethodsA follow-up study was conducted on 13 patients with FT1DM from September 2000 to March 2018. Patient general clinical data were collected and analyzed. The gene sequences of Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1, HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).ResultsCompared with baseline, the waist-hip ratio was significantly increased at follow-up (P<0.05). Compared with baseline, HbA1c significantly increased; C-P0 and C-P120 significantly decreased, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Compared with baseline, White blood cell count (WBC), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), serum potassium (K), creatinine (Cr), glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), creatine kinase (CK), alkalinity phospholipase (AKP) decreased significantly (P<0.05), while cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) increased significantly (P<0.05). Viral antibody was detected in 13 cases of FT1DM: Coxsackie viral antibody was positive in 2 cases and herpes simplex viral antibody was positive in 3 cases. Gene detection: The higher frequency of HLA-DRB1 allele was DRB1*0301 (88.9%), DRB1*07 (44.4%), and the higher frequency of HLA-DQA1 allele was DQA1*0104 (55.6%), DQA1*0103 (44.4%), and the higher frequencies of HLA-DQB1 allele were DQB1*0201 (50.0%), DQB1*0502 (33.3%), and DQB1*0301 (25.0%).ConclusionsAlthough the β-cell function of FT1DM was progressively irreversibly destroyed with the progression of the disease, metabolic disorders and stress responses were relieved at the later stage. Viral infections (herpes simplex virus, Coxsackie virus), HLA-DQ, DR genes, GAD-Ab and other related antibodies may be involved in the occurrence of FT1DM.

The landscape of host genetic factors involved in immune response to common viral infections

Background Humans and viruses have co-evolved for millennia resulting in a complex host genetic architecture. Understanding the genetic mechanisms of immune response to viral infection provides insight into disease etiology and therapeutic opportunities. Methods We conducted a comprehensive study including genome-wide and transcriptome-wide association analyses to identify genetic loci associated with immunoglobulin G antibody response to 28 antigens for 16 viruses using serological data from 7924 European ancestry participants in the UK Biobank cohort. Results Signals in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II region dominated the landscape of viral antibody response, with 40 independent loci and 14 independent classical alleles, 7 of which exhibited pleiotropic effects across viral families. We identified specific amino acid (AA) residues that are associated with seroreactivity, the strongest associations presented in a range of AA positions within DRβ1 at positions 11, 13, 71, and 74 for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Varicella zoster virus (VZV), human herpesvirus 7, (HHV7), and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV). Genome-wide association analyses discovered 7 novel genetic loci outside the HLA associated with viral antibody response (P < 5.0 × 10−8), including FUT2 (19q13.33) for human polyomavirus BK (BKV), STING1 (5q31.2) for MCV, and CXCR5 (11q23.3) and TBKBP1 (17q21.32) for HHV7. Transcriptome-wide association analyses identified 114 genes associated with response to viral infection, 12 outside of the HLA region, including ECSCR: P = 5.0 × 10−15 (MCV), NTN5: P = 1.1 × 10−9 (BKV), and P2RY13: P = 1.1 × 10−8 EBV nuclear antigen. We also demonstrated pleiotropy between viral response genes and complex diseases, from autoimmune disorders to cancer to neurodegenerative and psychiatric conditions. Conclusions Our study confirms the importance of the HLA region in host response to viral infection and elucidates novel genetic determinants beyond the HLA that contribute to host-virus interaction.

ANNAVP, using neural networks to predict neutralization efficiency of antibodies against viral strains and to cluster strains by protein sequence

Studying viral antibody neutralization data is a complex task and knowledge relating to the effectiveness of a particular antibody to particular strains of viruses cannot easily be extrapolated to other new, related strains. We have developed ANNAVP, a software that uses neural networks to model viral protein data. ANNAVP uses supervised or unsupervised learning and viral protein sequence data to form correlations between different strains and to predict the effectiveness of neutralizing agents against them.

Negeviruses reduce replication of alphaviruses during co-infection

Negeviruses are a group of insect-specific virus (ISV) that have been found in many arthropods. Their presence in important vector species led us to examine their interactions with arboviruses during co-infections. Wild-type negeviruses reduced the replication of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) during co-infections in mosquito cells. Negev virus (NEGV) isolates were also used to express GFP and anti-CHIKV antibody fragments during co-infections with CHIKV. NEGV expressing anti-CHIKV antibody fragments was able to further reduce replication of CHIKV during co-infections, while reductions of CHIKV with NEGV expressing GFP were similar to titers with wild-type NEGV alone. These results are the first to show that negeviruses induce superinfection exclusion of arboviruses, and to demonstrate a novel approach to deliver anti-viral antibody fragments with paratransgenic ISVs. The ability to inhibit arbovirus replication and express exogenous proteins in mosquito cells make negeviruses a promising platform for control of arthropod-borne pathogens.

The King’s College London Coronavirus Health and Experiences of Colleagues at King’s Study (KCL CHECK) protocol paper: a platform for study of the effects of coronavirus pandemic on staff and postgraduate students

IntroductionWe will use an occupational sample to study the impact of COVID-19 on current staff and postgraduate research students at a large UK university. The cohort study will address some of the key questions about COVID-19 for the international community, while also providing feedback to the employer and educator.Methods and analysisParticipants were recruited via email to their University email address. Administrative records were available to compare the composition of volunteer participants to underlying staff and postgraduate student populations of the University. The study comprises a baseline survey, longitudinal follow-up surveys and a viral antibody study. Baseline information was collected in April 2020 including demographics, working situation, current stresses and worries, mental health and neurological symptoms. Personal experiences of COVID-19, indirect experiences and attitudes towards the pandemic were queried, as well as satisfaction with communication and support at work. Longitudinal surveys will assess changes in COVID-19 exposure and mental health. A viral antibody detection component is being planned and will also be longitudinal in nature.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been gained from KCL’s Psychiatry, Nursing and Midwifery Research Ethics Committee (HR-19/20-18247). Participants were provided with information and agreed to a series of consent statements before enrolment. Data are kept on secure servers with access to personally identifiable information limited. Researchers may apply to have access to pseudonymised data.Findings will be disseminated internally to the University and participants, and externally through scientific publications.

Sero-surveillance of peste des petits ruminant viral antibody in goats at different areas of Bangladesh

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a devastating and killer disease of domesticated small ruminants particularly goats. The present study was conducted on the serosurveillance of PPR in goats in different areas of Bangladesh. Blood samples were collected apparently from different years of age of goats in different areas of Bangladesh. All sera were subjected to serological test by competitive ELISA. For sero-surveillance of PPR virus total 200 serum samples were collected at different areas of Bangladesh such as Bogra18/60 (30%), Sirajganj 26/30 (86.67%), Mymensingh 5/50 (10%) and Rangpur 7/60 (11.67%). Among those 56 were seropositive and 144 were seronegative. The mean positive antibody titer ±SD of goat serum samples was 26.03 and the mean negative antibody titer was 77.76 The highest antibodies was detected in Sirajganj that was vaccinated flock whereas the lowest antibodies was found Mymensingh that was non vaccinated goat. It may be concluded that, in absence of vaccination, the presence of PPRV antibodies indicated that PPR viruses were circulating among the goats population but the vaccinated goat’s have protective level of antibodies against PPRV. So that preventive measures should be taken in goats against PPR virus by vaccination with proper maintain of cool chain.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. September 2017, 3(3): 347-351