Sensitive and specific PCR systems for detection of both Chinese and Japanese severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus strains and prediction of patient survival based on viral load.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease with a high case fatality risk and is caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). A retrospective study conducted after the first identification of an SFTS patient in Japan revealed that SFTS is endemic to the region, and the virus exists indigenously in Japan. Since the nucleotide sequence of Japanese SFTSV strains contains considerable differences compared with that of Chinese strains, there is an urgent need to establish a sensitive and specific method capable of detecting the Chinese and Japanese strains of SFTSV.

Rapid and convenient detection of urinary equol by thin-layer chromatography.

Equol, a metabolite of daidzein for some intestinal microflora, is known to retain highly estrogenic activity and is of wide interest in relation to human health. However, not all humans can produce equol. In this study, detection of urinary equol using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was performed to distinguish between equol producers and non-producers.

Establishment of highly specific and quantitative immunoassay systems for staphylococcal enterotoxin A, B, and C using newly-developed monoclonal antibodies.

Staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) activities remain after boiling or treating with proteases. The main symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, are caused by the ingestion of SEs. Among SEs, SEA has been reported to be the major and most toxic protein.

Relationship between intron 4b splicing of the rat geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase gene and the active enzyme expression level.

Geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (GGPS) is a branch point enzyme in the mevalonate pathway that catalyzes the synthesis of geranylgeranyl diphosphate used for the geranylgeranylation of Rho, Rac and Rab proteins. The current study showed the production of multiple forms of GGPS mRNA from a single GGPS gene in rat. The mRNAs resulted from combinations of multiple alternative introns and two poly(A) sites in the 3'-translated and 3'-untranslated regions.

Precise characterization of norovirus (Norwalk-like virus)-specific monoclonal antibodies with broad reactivity.

We have been characterizing monoclonal antibodies against Norovirus (Norwalk-like virus). In the course of our study, two monoclonal antibodies generated against Norovirus genogroup II capsid protein were found to react not only to genogroup II but also to genogroup I recombinant capsid proteins. In addition, we showed that these two monoclonal antibodies reacted to a 40-amino-acid-fragment located close to the N-terminal region of genogroup II Norovirus.

Determination of gene copy number and genotype of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana by competitive PCR.

A simple and rapid method is described for determining the integrated T-DNA copy number and the genotype in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana by two-step competitive PCR. First, the amount of genomic DNA in the extracts, obtained from an individual A. thaliana transformant, was accurately determined by the 1st competitive PCR using a known single copy gene, 4HPPD (4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase), as a target.