The genus bocavirus includes bovine parvovirus (BPV), minute virus of canines (MVC), and a group of human bocaviruses (HBoV1-4). Using sequence-independent single primer amplification (SISPA), a novel bocavirus group was discovered with high prevalence (12.59%) in piglet stool samples. Two nearly full-length genome sequences were obtained, which were approximately 5,100 nucleotides in length. Multiple alignments revealed that they share 28.7–56.8% DNA sequence identity with other members of Parvovirinae. Phylogenetic analyses indicated their closest neighbors were members of the genus bocavirus. The new viruses had a putative non-structural NP1 protein, which was unique to bocaviruses. They were provisionally named porcine bocavirus 1 and 2 (PBoV1, PBoV2). PBoV1 and PBoV2 shared 94.2% nucleotide identity in NS1 gene sequence, suggesting that they represented two different bocavirus species. Two additional samples (6V, 7V) were amplified for 2,407 bp and 2,434 bp products, respectively, including a partial NP1 gene and the complete VP1 gene; Phylogenetic analysis indicated that 6Vand 7V grouped with PBoV1 and PBoV2 in the genus of bocavirus, but were in the separate clusters. Like other parvoviruses, PBoV1, PBoV2, 6Vand 7V also contained a putative secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) motif in the VP1 unique region, with a conserved HDXXY motif in the catalytic center. The conserved motif YXGXF of the Ca2+-binding loop of sPLA2 identified in human bocavirus was also found in porcine bocavirus, which differs from the YXGXG motif carried by most other parvoviruses. The observation of PBoV and potentially other new bocavirus genus members may aid in molecular and functional characterization of the genus bocavirus.

Recently, a functional insertion/deletion polymorphism (-94 insertion/deletion ATTG) in the promoter of NFKB1 gene, which encodes the p50 subunit of nuclear factor-kappaB protein complex, was identified. The aim of this study was to explore the association between this polymorphism and bladder cancer in a Chinese population. The NFKB1 polymorphism was assessed in 207 patients with superficial transitional cell carcinomas in bladder and in 228 age-, sex-, and smoking-matched healthy volunteers. The polymerase chain reaction assay was used to determine the NFKB1 genotypes. Genomic DNA used for the assay was extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes. This study found that the frequency of ATTG(2) allele in bladder cancer patients was significantly higher than that in control subjects (65.2% vs. 56.1%, p = 0.006, odds ratio = 1.465), suggesting that the functional NFKB1 promoter polymorphism is associated with increased risk for superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.