Nanopore sequencing for smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis-a multicentre prospective study in China.

Purpose: In this prospective study, the diagnosis accuracy of nanopore sequencing-based Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) detection was determined through examining bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples from pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) -suspected patients. Compared the diagnostic performance of nanopore sequencing, mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) culture and Xpert MTB/rifampin resistance (MTB/RIF) assays.

Methods: Specimens collected from suspected PTB cases across China from September 2021 to April 2022 were tested then assay diagnostic accuracy rates were compared.

The application of targeted nanopore sequencing for the identification of pathogens and resistance genes in lower respiratory tract infections.

Objectives: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are one of the causes of mortality among infectious diseases. Microbial cultures commonly used in clinical practice are time-consuming, have poor sensitivity to unculturable and polymicrobial patterns, and are inadequate to guide timely and accurate antibiotic therapy. We investigated the feasibility of targeted nanopore sequencing (TNPseq) for the identification of pathogen and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes across suspected patients with LRTIs.

Single-center study of Lynch syndrome screening in colorectal polyps.

Background: Lynch syndrome is the most common hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome, and adenoma is one of the important premalignant lesions to colorectal cancer in Lynch syndrome. The first objective of this study was to calculate the detection rate of Lynch syndrome in colorectal polyps by using mismatch repair immunohistochemistry as the initial screening strategy. The second objective of this study was to optimize screening strategies for adenoma associated with Lynch syndrome by integrating polyp and/or patient characteristics such as polyp size, location, dysplasia, age of onset and/or family history of cancer.

[A single center study of colorectal cancer screening for Lynch syndrome].

Objective: To determine the ratio of deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) proteins and Lynch syndrome among patients undergoing colorectal cancer resection.

Methods: From June 2014 to May 2016, immunohistochemistry for mismatch repair proteins including mutL homolog 1 (MLH1), mutS homolog 2 (MSH2), mutS homolog 6 (MSH6) and PMS1 homolog 2 (PMS2) were carried out on 207 surgically resected specimens. Samples with lost expression of MMR proteins underwent genetic testing.

Application of next-generation sequencing to characterize novel mutations in clarithromycin-susceptible Helicobacter pylori strains with A2143G of 23S rRNA gene.

Background: Clarithromycin (CLR) resistance has become a predominant factor for treatment failure of Helicobacter pylori eradication. Although the molecular mechanism of CLR resistance has been clearly understood in H. pylori, it is lack of evidence of other genes involved in drug resistance.

Analysis of microbial community composition and diversity in postoperative intracranial infection using high‑throughput sequencing.

Intracranial infection is one of the most serious complications following neurosurgery. It is well acknowledged that bacteria and fungi are the main pathogens responsible for postoperative intracranial infection. However, the microbial community structure, including composition, abundance and diversity, in postoperative intracranial infection is not fully understood, which greatly compromises our understanding of the necessity and effectiveness of postoperative antibiotic treatment.

Integrating nested PCR with high-throughput sequencing to characterize mutations of HBV genome in low viral load samples.

Due to the low viral load of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in plasma samples, conventional techniques have limitations to the detection of antiviral resistance mutations. To solve the problem, we developed a fast, highly sensitive, and accurate method to sequence the HBV whole-genome sequencing in plasma samples which had various viral loads from very low to high.Twenty-one plasma samples were collected from patients who were carriers of HBV from the Hangzhou First People's Hospital.

Partners of patients with ulcerative colitis exhibit a biologically relevant dysbiosis in fecal microbial metacommunities.

Aim: To investigate alterations in the fecal microbiome using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing in couples in the same cohabitation environment.

Methods: Fecal samples were collected from eight ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and their healthy partners at Lishui People's Hospital, Zhejiang Province, China. DNA was extracted and the variable regions V3 and V4 of the 16S rRNA genes were PCR amplified using a two-step protocol.

Intra-host dynamics of Ebola virus during 2014.

Since 2013, West Africa has encountered the largest Ebola virus (EBOV) disease outbreak on record, and Sierra Leone is the worst-affected country, with nearly half of the infections. By means of next-generation sequencing and phylogeographic analysis, the epidemiology and transmission of EBOV have been well elucidated. However, the intra-host dynamics that mainly reflect viral-host interactions still need to be studied.

Direct next-generation sequencing of virus-human mixed samples without pretreatment is favorable to recover virus genome.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) enables the recovery of pathogen genomes from clinical samples without the need for culturing. Depletion of host/microbiota components (e.g.

Metagenomic sequencing of bile from gallstone patients to identify different microbial community patterns and novel biliary bacteria.

Despite the high worldwide prevalence of gallstone disease, the role of the biliary microbiota in gallstone pathogenesis remains obscure. Next-generation sequencing offers advantages for systematically understanding the human microbiota; however, there have been few such investigations of the biliary microbiome. Here, we performed whole-metagenome shotgun (WMS) sequencing and 16S rRNA sequencing on bile samples from 15 Chinese patients with gallstone disease.

Genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of Ebola virus in Sierra Leone.

A novel Ebola virus (EBOV) first identified in March 2014 has infected more than 25,000 people in West Africa, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths. Preliminary analyses of genome sequences of 81 EBOV collected from March to June 2014 from Guinea and Sierra Leone suggest that the 2014 EBOV originated from an independent transmission event from its natural reservoir followed by sustained human-to-human infections. It has been reported that the EBOV genome variation might have an effect on the efficacy of sequence-based virus detection and candidate therapeutics.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of recombinant Lac15 from a marine microbial metagenome.

Laccases are members of the blue multi-copper oxidase family that can oxidize a wide range of aromatic compounds. A new bacterial laccase (Lac15) has recently been obtained from a marine microbial metagenome from the South China Sea and characterized. In this work, recombinant Lac15 was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method.