A rapid and sensitive H7 and N9 subtype-specific reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay was developed respectively for visual detection of human-infected influenza A (H7N9) virus. The reaction was performed in one step in a single tube at 63°C for 60 min with the addition of hydroxynaphthol blue dye before amplification. The detection limits of both subtype-specific assays were comparable to those of validated H7 and N9 real-time PCR assays respectively and no cross-detection was observed with influenza A pandemic H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, H9N2 or influenza B virus. The assays were evaluated further with H7N9 virus-infected clinical specimens.

ABSTRACT. ) is a mediator of inflammation and plays an important role in regulating immune responses. To date, several studies have tested the association between IL-8 gene polymorphisms and development of coronary artery disease (CAD), but their results have proved to be inconsistent. We conducted an investigation to assess the relationship between the IL-8 -251A/T (rs4073) sequence variant and CAD in a Chinese population. Between April 2013 and January 2015, 217 patients with coronary angiography-confirmed CAD were enrolled in our study, along with 245 control subjects. IL-8 -251A/T genotyping was performed using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. A chi-square test revealed that IL-8 -251A/ T genotype distributions significantly differed between CAD patients and control subjects (chi-square = 8.29, P < 0.02). Moreover, multiplelogistic regression analysis showed that individuals carrying TA [odds ratio (OR) = 1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-2.57] and AA (OR = 2.06, 95%CI = 1.21-3.52) genotypes were at increased risk of CAD compared to those with the TT genotype. Under dominant (OR = 1.75, 95%CI = 1.13-2.73) and recessive (OR = 1.54, 95%CI = 1.02-2.37) genetic models, the IL-8 -251A/T polymorphism also significantly correlated with CAD. In conclusion, our results suggest that this variant is an independent risk factor for CAD development under codominant, dominant, and recessive models.