Publications by authors named "Ru Nan Zhu"
Article Synopsis
- Previous studies couldn't definitively distinguish between antibodies for human bocavirus (HBoV) types 1 and 2 due to cross-reactivity.
- Researchers identified specific divergent regions (DRs) on the VP3 protein of HBoV1 and HBoV2, developing antibodies against these regions for further testing.
- Results indicated that the anti-DR2 antibody was genotype-specific, effectively distinguishing HBoV1 from HBoV2 in clinical samples, while other regions showed cross-reactivity.
Article Synopsis
- Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were implemented in Beijing starting January 24, 2020, to control COVID-19, impacting the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) dynamics in the region.
- Analysis of respiratory samples from children revealed a significant decline in RSV positive rates following the NPIs, dropping from 31.93% in January 2020 to as low as 1% by March.
- The study noted a shift in RSV subtypes, with RSV-A becoming dominant, and a reduced incidence of severe pneumonia cases among children after the NPIs were introduced.
Article Synopsis
- Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1), identified in 2005, was found in both symptomatic and healthy children, complicating the understanding of its role in respiratory infections.
- A study analyzed respiratory samples from children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) between 2017 and 2021 using various testing methods to assess the presence and impact of HBoV1.
- Results indicated that HBoV1 is a true pathogen for ARTI in children, with significant findings from nucleic acid, antigen, and serology tests confirming its pathogenic role.
Background: A series of public health preventive measures has been widely implemented in Beijing to control the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic since January 2020. An evaluation of the effects of these preventive measures on the spread of other respiratory viruses is necessary.
Methods: Respiratory specimens collected from children with acute respiratory infections were tested by NxTAG™ respiratory pathogen panel assays during January 2017 and December 2020.
Background: Coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16) is one of the major etiological agents of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). This study aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology and evolutionary characteristics of CVA16.
Methods: Throat swabs were collected from children with HFMD and suspected HFMD during 2010-2019.
Enterovirus 71, as one of the dominant pathogens associated with severe hand, foot, and mouth disease, has been well reported to trigger severe neurological symptoms among young children over the last decade, particularly among children in the Asia-Pacific region. To date, no effective antiviral agent has been developed for the treatment of severe enterovirus 71 infection. PNU-282987, a selective alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) agonist, has been reported to have a neuroprotective effect by participating in inflammatory regulation in previous studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are divided into three genetic species: HRV-A, HRV-B, and HRV-C. The association of different HRV species with asthma in children in China has not yet been evaluated. This preliminary study aimed to assess the associations between different HRV species, particularly HRV-C, and asthma in young children in China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRoutine surveillance revealed that the prevalence of P[4] rotaviruses circulating in children with acute diarrhea in Guangxi Province, China, increased in 2014. However, VP7 genotyping for these P[4] rotaviruses was unsuccessful. Exhaustive database searching and sequence analysis indicated that the G genotype of these P[4] rotaviruses was G2, and the VP7 genes clustered with recently emerging G2 strains in several countries within an emergent evolutionary lineage that was distinct from the previously designated lineages I-IV as well as lineage V including porcine rotaviruses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) has been determined as an important viral cause of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in infants and young children, data on long-term investigation are still lacking to disclose the infection pattern of HPIV in China.
Methods: Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from 25,773 hospitalized pediatric patients with ARIs from January 2004 through December 2012 for respiratory virus screen by direct immuno-fluorescence assay.
Results: Out of these specimens, 1675 (6.
Article Synopsis
- Human parechovirus type 3 (HPeV3) is a significant cause of severe sepsis, particularly in children, and is a non-enveloped RNA virus.
- The complete genome of a specific HPeV3 strain (BJ-C3174) was analyzed from a child's serum, revealing it to be 7329 nucleotides long with a main open reading frame encoding a large polyprotein.
- Phylogenetic analysis showed that BJ-C3174 was closely related to the HPeV3 strain BONN-2 from Germany with over 99% similarity in both nucleotides and predicted amino acids, and no recombination with other HPeV types was found.
Article Synopsis
- Norovirus is a leading cause of diarrhea worldwide, and this study focused on its genetic characteristics in infants and children from Beijing over a three-year period (2010-2012).
- Out of 1128 stool samples, 16.1% tested positive for norovirus, with the most common genotype being GII.4, followed by GII.3; a new variant, GII.4 Sydney_2012, also emerged during the study.
- The research found significant genetic diversity, including mismatched genotypes between polymerase and capsid genes in about half of the positive samples, indicating frequent evolutionary changes and the emergence of novel recombinants like GII.P22/GII.5.
Background: Some research groups have hypothesized that human rhinoviruses (HRVs) delayed the circulation of the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus (A(H1N1)pdm09) at the beginning of Autumn 2009 in France. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between HRV and A(H1N1)pdm09 in pediatric patients with influenza-like illness in Beijing, China.
Methods: A systematic analysis to detect A(H1N1)pdm09 and seasonal influenza A virus (FLU A) was performed on 4 349 clinical samples from pediatric patients with influenza-like illness during the period June 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010, while a one-step real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) assay was used to detect HRV in 1 146 clinical specimens selected from those 4 349 specimens.
Article Synopsis
- Adenovirus (ADV) is a significant cause of acute respiratory infections in infants and children, with a study conducted in Beijing analyzing its prevalence and types over a 10-year period.
- A total of 39,214 clinical specimens were collected, revealing an overall ADV positive rate of 2.25%, with higher rates in outpatients (3.04%) compared to hospitalized patients (2.08%).
- ADV type 3 (AD3) was the most common strain identified, accounting for 53.18% of cases, followed by type 7 (AD7) at 36.79%, with variations in dominance noted in certain years, particularly in 2012 when AD7 was most prevalent.
Objective: To understand the clinical characteristics of different groups human rhinovirus (HRV)-A, B and C infection in children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) in Beijing.
Method: Respiratory tract specimens (n = 1412) collected from children with ARI during Jan. 2011 to Dec.
P[6] group A rotavirus (RVA) strains identified in four stool specimens collected from children with acute diarrhea in Guangxi Province, southern China in 2010, with unknown G type were further analyzed by full genomic analysis. It was revealed by whole genome sequencing that 11 genomic cognate gene segments of these P[6] RVA strains shared almost 100% nucleotide identities and all exhibited an identical G4-P[6]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A8-N1-T1-E1-H1 genotype constellation. Phylogenetic analyses of VP7, VP1-VP4, NSP1, NSP2, NSP4 and NSP5 genes revealed that these Guangxi G4P[6] RVA strains were closely related to porcine and porcine-like human RVAs, while VP6 and NSP3 were closely related to those of common human RVAs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To establish a rapid, sensitive and specific reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for detecting human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in respiratory samples collected from children with acute respiratory infections.
Method: According to the conserved matrix gene sequences of respiratory syncytial virus subtypes A and B downloaded from GenBank, primers were designed and RT-LAMP assay was developed to detect RNA of RSV sensitivity of the RT-LAMP method was evaluated by using ten-fold serially diluted in vitro-transcribed matrix RNA fragments from RSV A and RSV B, respectively. Specificity of the RT-LAMP method was tested through cross-reaction with other RNA and DNA viruses.
Article Synopsis
- Out of 703 respiratory specimens, 54 (7.7%) were HRV positive, with the majority being HRV-C (38.9%) and affecting mainly children under 5 years old, particularly those under 1 year old.
- The sequence analysis showed a high nucleotide identity within the same genotype (70.0% to 100.0%) and lesser identity between different genotypes (55.5% to 65.8%), confirming HRV-C as a significant pathogen for children with ARI
Objective: To establish a rapid and reliable loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for detecting adenoviruses (ADV)in respiratory samples collected from children with acute respiratory infections.
Method: According to the sequences of hexon genes of common adenovirus serotypes (Ad3, Ad7, and Ad14) downloaded from GenBank, primers were designed and LAMP method for detecting adenovirus DNA was developed. Sensitivity of the LAMP method was evaluated by using constructed recombinant plasmid DNA with gene fragment from hexon of ADV3, and specificity was tested through cross-reaction with other viruses.
Background: WU polyomavirus (WU virus) was identified as a novel polyomavirus in 2007 from specimens of pediatric patients with acute respiratory infection (ARI). A lack of permissive cell lines has limited investigations into WU virus pathogenesis and prevalence.
Methods: The encoding region of the capsid protein VP2 gene was amplified from a WU virus DNA-positive clinical specimen and expressed as a recombinant Histagged protein in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3).
[Clinical analysis of 47 children with types 3 and 7 adenovirus pneumonia].
Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi
December 2012
Objective: To explore the clinical features of types 3 and 7 adenovirus pneumonia in children and compare the difference between two types.
Methods: A total of 47 patients with adenovirus pneumonia at our hospital from January 2009 to June 2011 were reviewed. According to the serological types, they were divided into two groups: type 3 (n = 19) and type 7 (n = 28).
Objective: To investigate the viral etiology and clinical features of hospitalized children with acute respiratory tract infections in Tibet.
Method: Nasopharyngeal aspirate samples were collected from children with acute respiratory tract infection hospitalized at the department of Pediatrics, Tibet Autonomous Region People's Hospital from April to July, 2011. The specimens of nasopharyngeal aspirate were screened for antigens of 7 common respiratory viruses by direct immunofluorescence (DIF) [respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (ADV), parainfluenza viruses type I-III, influenza virus A and B] and human metapneumovirus.
Objective: The present study was designed to explore the practical application of the rapid etiological diagnosis by detecting specific IgM antibody against common respiratory viruses in children with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI).
Method: Clinical specimens including nasopharyngeal aspirates and serum of acute phase from hospitalized children were collected from 207 infants and children with acute lower respiratory infections from March 2009 to September 2010. Seven common respiratory virus antigens were identified from the collected nasopharyngeal aspirates by direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA).
To understand the role of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children with acute respiratory infections (ARI) in Tibet Autonomous Region and the contribution of two major groups of RSV, nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) were collected from hospitalized children with ARI in Department of Pediatrics, Tibet People's Hospital in Lasa, Tibet from April to July in 2011 and tested for seven common respiratory viruses and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) by direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA). Total RNAs were extracted from RSV positive samples by DFA and reverse transcripted to cDNA. Nested-PCR was employed to determine the genogroups of RSV, which were confirmed by real time-PCR and sequence analysis for G protein encoding gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- A new sub-genotype, P[8]b, of the VP4 gene in group A human rotaviruses was studied to develop a method for identifying various sub-genotypes in children with diarrhea.* -
- The research involved analyzing nucleotide sequences and designing specific probes and primers to reliably detect different P genotypes through a dot-blot hybridization assay and PCR techniques.* -
- Results showed that while P[8]a was the dominant sub-genotype among both outpatient (96.6%) and hospitalized (62.0%) children, P[8]b was more prevalent in hospitalized kids with a rate of 27.9%, compared to only 2.3% in outpatients.*
Article Synopsis
- Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is linked to respiratory infections in people of all ages, but there's a lack of genetic data specific to Beijing.
- A study analyzed structural protein genes (M, SH, and G) of hMPV from pediatric patients in Beijing, identifying three sub-genotypes (A2, B1, and B).
- Key findings include high conservation in the M gene, significant amino acid identity variations among SH and G proteins, and the emergence of a new G gene cluster in sub-genotype B2 from 2008 to 2010, indicating diverse antigenic properties across sub-genotypes.