Hand foot and mouth disease is a global infectious disease caused by human enterovirus. Since late 1990s, outbreaks of EV71-asscoiated hand foot and mouth disease have been reported frequently throughout Asia and severe neurological central nerves system involvement and neurogenic pulmonary edema lead to long-term sequela and fatality. Annual national outbreak of hand foot and mouth disease has occurred since 2008 and EV71 is the major causative agent for the outbreak and associated death. Currently, hand foot and mouth disease is a national priority disease and becomes a growing public health concern in China. Hand foot and mouth is usually a benign self-limited disease, however, 0.05% of sick children succumb to severe complications such as brain stem encephalitis and cardiopulmonary collapse based on national data. To date, no effective antiviral drugs and vaccine are available for treatment and prevention of disease. Early diagnosis and recognition of severe complications, timely clinical intervention for severe cases at an earlier stage and implementation of public health measures are the current mainstay of reducing the impact of outbreaks and its associated mortalities. EV71 vaccine under development in China is a promising strategy to prevent EV71 epidemics and severe diseases and reduce its socioeconomic impact.

The current standard therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection consists of a combination of interferon α(IFN-α) and ribavirin. In this study, the effects of IFN-α and ribavirin on HCV replication as well as antiviral genes were examined. The results showed that 100 u/ml IFN-α significantly reduced HCV RNA levels. Ribavirin inhibited HCV replication in a dose-dependent manner and ribavirin in combination with IFN-α exhibited synergetic inhibitory effect on HCV replication, and NS3 and E2 protein expression. IFN-α increased the levels of IFN regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) and IFN-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) in a dose-dependent manner. However, 1 and 5 μg/ml ribavirin had no such effects on the IRF9 and ISG15 induction.

The present paper aims to investigate the herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in neonates. From November 2010 to June 2011, fresh neonatal cord blood was collected from 51 neonates in a Maternity and Children Hospital and transported immediately to our laboratory. After DNA extraction from the samples, nested-polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were performed by using HSV-1 gD gene- and HSV-2 gG gene-specific primers to detect congenital HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections respectively. The PCR products were sequenced toconfirm the HSV infections.. The results indicated that the infection rate of HSV-1 and HSV-2 were 23.53% and 25.49% respectively. The HSV-1/HSV-2 co-infection rate was 7.84%. This study suggests that early diagnosis and treatment of neonatal HSV infection is critical for the prevention of diseases caused by HSV infection.

The paper aims to determine the minimum functional unit of twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system by analyzing the Tat system gene cluster composition, which was deduced by homology comparison between Tat gene cluster of Escherichia coli (E. coli) K12 and Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) N16961. Tat mutant strains were constructed by deleting tat genes of the N16961 reference strain either individually or double genes combined together. Tat transport system minimum functional unit were then analyzed by comparing the phenotypes among Tat mutant strain, complement strain and wild strain. The data showed that the Tat system gene cluster of V. cholerae N16961 consisted of tatA, tatB, tatC and tatA₂ , among which, tatA, tatB and tatC located in the chromosomeⅠand tatA₂ gene located in the chromosome Ⅱ. The tatB and tatC genes were indispensable for Tat system functions, while tatA₂ might play a role similar to tatE in E. coli. The tatB and tatC combined together constitutes the minimum functional unit of V. cholera Tat system. TatA and TatA₂ have similar functions and may share the same functional role in the Tat system.

Transwell is a device widely used for simulating mucosal and physiologic barrier systems, such as human reproductive tract mucosa, rectal mucosa, blood-brain barrier and blood-retina barrier in vitro. This device has been used to study he process of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) entering into the body and to help us to illustrate , the mechanism of HIV infection. The system is also being used to facilitate the discovery of new vaccines and drugs for HIV. This review covers the current progresses of transwell applications in HIV-related studies.

Enteroviruses and gastroenteritis virusesin water, may lead to disease outbreaks around the contaminated area. The infections can result in severe clinical symptoms and complications in an immuno-compromised population as well as in children, whose immunity is not fully developed. Therefore, effective detection and monitoring of enteroviruses and gastroenteritis viruses from water sources is critical in the prevention and control of associated diseases caused by their infection. The current progress on virus enrichment methods and molecular/cellular based virus detection methods for water samples, including molecular and cell based assays, are reviewed in this paper. A better understanding of these methods will help us to build the standards for industry and laboratory standards.

Typhoid is a global concern. About 21 million people are infected by Salmonella typhi every year, and nearly 5% of them become chronic carriers. Current studies indicate that chronic S. typhi infection is associated with gallstone and gallbladder cancer, a relatively rare neoplasm with increasing incidence rates in certain populations. The incidence rates of gallbladder cancer and gallstone are two-fold in women than in men. The chronic carrier state is a risk factor not only for gallbladder cancer but also for other cancers in some extent. The research on relationships among typhoid carrier state, biofilm and gallstone formation, and gallbladder cancer are reviewed in this paper.

The interaction between fungal pathogens and host frequently results in morphological changes, such as hyphae formation. It is important for fungus to adapt and survive the harsh environment of host. Cryptococcus is an encapsulated yeast species that can cause cryptococcosis. Natural infection begins with inhalation of cryptococcal spores. The enlargement of capsule and formation of giant cells may be the defence strategy that allows Cryptococcus to resist and evade host immune response. Understanding the association between morphological changes and pathogenicity can help us to improve clinical diagnosis and therapy of this disease.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are known as the most powerful professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs). DCs could efficiently uptake, process and present antigens to T cells. During this process, DCs upregulate major histocompatibility complex (MHC) typeⅠand type Ⅱ molecules, costimulatory molecules and adhesion molecules, providing costimulatory signal to T cell activation, in order to trigger the adaptive immune response. In recent years, studies of the DC surface markers revealed a more detailed classification of DC subsets, which also contributed to research progress of the biological function of different DC subsets of DCs. DCs have dual role in the initiation of immune response. On the one hand, DCs can promote the activation of adaptive immune response to clear pathogens; on the other hand, DCs can induce immune tolerance through induction of regulatory T cells. In addition, DCs may also facilitate the virus infection by capturing some virus particles and transporting to their target cells. The functional complexity makes DCs become a research hotspot of immune response. In this paper, recent research progression related to the above fields is reviewed.