BackgroundWith the continuous decline in prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma japonicum infection in China, more accurate and sensitive methods suitable for field detection become much needed for schistosomiasis control. Here, a novel rapid and visual detection method based on the combination of recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and lateral flow dipstick (LFD) was developed to detect S. japonicum DNA in fecal samples.ResultsThe LFD-RPA assay targeting SjR2 could detect 5 fg S. japonicum DNA, which was identical to qPCR and real-time RPA assay, and showed no cross-reaction with other parasites. The detection could be finished within 15–20 min at a wide temperature range (25–45 °C), and the results could be visualized by naked eye. The diagnostic validity of LFD-RPA assay was further assessed with 14 fecal samples of infected patients diagnosed by Kato-Katz method and 31 fecal samples of healthy persons, and compared with that of Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELSIA) and Indirect Hemagglutination Assay (IHA). The LFD-RPA assay showed 92.68 % sensitivity, 100 % specificity and excellent diagnostic agreement with the gold standard Kato-Katz test (k = 0.947, Z = 6.36, P < 0.001), whereas ELISA showed 85.71 % sensitivity, 93.55 % specificity, and substantial diagnostic agreement (k = 0.793, Z = 5.31, P < 0.001), and IHA showed 78.57 % sensitivity, 83.87 % specificity, and moderate diagnostic agreement (k = 0.600, Z = 4.05, P < 0.001), indicating that the LFD-RPA was much better than the traditional methods.ConclusionsThe LFD-RPA assay established by us is a sensitive, specific, rapid and convenient method for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis, and shows a great potency in field application.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1745-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The protective effects of interleukin-22 (IL-22) on acute alcohol-induced liver injury were investigated. Mice were gavaged with 7 doses of alcohol (56% wt/vol, 15.2 mL/kg of body weight for each dose) over the 24 h, and IL-22 (0.5 mg/kg BW) was given to the mice by injection into the tail vein 1 h after alcohol administration. The results indicated that acute alcohol administration caused prominent hepatic microvesicular steatosis and an elevation of serum transaminase activities, induced a significant decrease in hepatic glutathione in conjunction with enhanced lipid peroxidation, and increased hepatocyte apoptosis as well as hepatic TNF-alpha production. IL-22 treatment attenuated these adverse changes induced by acute alcohol administration. The protective effects of IL-22 on alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity were due mainly to its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-apoptotic features.

BackgroundCurrent diagnostic methods for Schistosoma japonicum infection are insensitive for low-density infections. Therefore, a new diagnostic assay based on recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) technology was established and assessed for field applification.MethodsThe S.japonicum RPA assay was developed to target highly repetitive retrotransposon SjR2 gene of S japonicum, and its sensitivity and specificity were assessed by serial dilution of S. japonicum genomic DNA and other related worm genomic DNA respectively. The RPA diagnostic validity was first evaluated in 60 fecal samples from healthy people and patients, and then compared with other diagnostic tests in 200 high-risk individuals living in endemic areas.ResultsThe real time RPA assay could detect 0.9 fg S. japonicum DNA within 15 min and distinguish S. japonicum from other worms. The validity analysis of RPA for the detection of S. japonicum in stool samples from 30 S. japonicum-infected patients and 30 healthy persons indicated 100% sensitivity and specificity. When testing 200 fecal or serum samples from a high-risk population, the percentage sensitivity of RPA was 100%, whereas that of indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were 80.3% and 85.2% respectively. In addition, the RPA presented better consistency with the stool-based tests than IHA and ELISA. Overall, the RPA was superior to other detection methods with respect to detection time, sensitivity, and convenience.ConclusionsThis is the first time we applied the RPA technology to the field evaluation of S. japonicum infection. And the results suggest that RPA-based assays can be used as a promising point-of-care test for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis.

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