Detection of H pylori antibody profile in serum by protein array

AIM： To detect multiple H pylori antibodies in serum samples of individuals who carryHpylori by protein array. METHODS： Recombinant H pylori antigens, urease B subunit （UreB）, vacuolating toxin A （VacA） and cytotoxin associated gene A protein （CagA）, were prepared and immobilized in matrixes on nitrocellulose membrane by robotics to bind the specific immunoglobulin G （IgG） antibodies in serum. Staphylococcus protein A （SPA） labeled by colloid gold was used to integrate the immuno-complex and gave red color signal. The scanner based on charge-coupled device （CCD） could collect the image signal and convert it into digital signal. RESULTS： When human IgG was printed on the membrane in increasing concentrations and incubated with immunogold, a linear dose response curve was obtained and the detection limit for IgG was about 0.025 ng. The cutoff values, which were defined as the mean grey level plus 3 times of standard deviation, were 27.183, 28.546 and 27.402, for anti-UreB IgG, anti- CagA IgG and anti-VacA IgG, respectively, as 400 human serum samples with negative H pylori antibodies were detected by the protein array. When 180 serum samples from patients in hospital were employed for detection of IgG against UreB, CagA and VacA, the sensitivity of the protein array was 93.4%, 95.4%, 96.0%, and the specificity was 94.8%, 94.4% and 97.5%, respectively, as compared with the results obtained by ELISA. The assay also showed high reproducibility, uniformity and stability, and the results were available within 30 min. CONCLUSION： The protein array is a very practical method for rapid detection of multiple antibodies in serum samples. It is especially useful for large scale epidemiological investigation of the infection of Hpylori.

Combination of stromal vascular fraction and Ad-COMP-Angl gene therapy improves long-term therapeutic efficacy for diabetes-induced erectile dysfunction

Men with diabetic erectile dysfunction （ED） respond poorly to the currently available oral phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. Therefore, functional therapies for diabetic ED are needed. Stromal vascular fraction （SVF） and the adenovirus-mediated cartilage oligomeric matrix angiopoietin-1 （Ad-COMP-Angl） gene are known to play critical roles in penile erection. We previously reported that SVF and Ad-COMP-Ang1 have only a short-term effect in restoring erectile function. Further improvements to ED therapy are needed for long-lasting effects. In the present study, we aimed to test if the combination of SVF and Ad-COMP-Ang1 could extend the erection effect in diabetic ED. We found that the combination therapy showed a long-term effect in restoring erectile function through enhanced penile endothelial and neural cell regeneration. Combination therapy with SVF and Ad-COMP-Angl notably restored cavernous endothelial cell numbers, pericyte numbers, endothelial cell-cell junctions, decreased cavernous endothelial cell permeability, and promoted neural regeneration for at least 4 weeks in diabetic mice, In summary, this is an initial description of the long-term effect of combination therapy with SVF and Ad-COMP-Ang1 in restoring erectile function through a dual effect on endothelial and neural cell regeneration. Such combination therapy may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of diabetic ED.