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Although geographical differences in the distribution of human papillomavirus genotypes have been observed worldwide, no studies have reported on national differences in the prevalence of human papillomavirus types in Japan. Here, we report a cross-sectional study to explore regional differences in the prevalence of human papillomavirus types among Japanese women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or invasive cervical cancer. Using human papillomavirus genotyping data from the nationwide prospective study on human papillomavirus vaccine effectiveness, we compared the frequency of detection of 15 high-risk and two low-risk human papillomavirus types in each disease category between the women who visited hospitals located in eastern Japan and those who visited hospitals located in western Japan. The risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia progression was assessed by calculating a prevalence ratio of each human papillomavirus type for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 versus grade 1. Among the human papillomavirus types studied, human papillomavirus 52 was detected significantly more frequently in western hospitals than in eastern hospitals in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 patients, but was less frequent in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3. The prevalence of particular human papillomavirus types was not significantly different between patients in hospitals in eastern Japan and those in hospitals in western Japan for invasive cervical cancer. In both eastern and western hospitals, a higher risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia progression was observed in patients infected with human papillomavirus 16, 31 or 58. In contrast, there was a significantly higher prevalence of human papillomavirus 52 infection in women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 than in those with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 in eastern hospitals (prevalence ratio, 1.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.48-2.58), but not in western hospitals (prevalence ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.83-1.30). Regional differences of human papillomavirus 52 prevalence in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia lesions may exist and emphasize the importance of continuous monitoring of human papillomavirus type prevalence throughout the country in order to accurately assess the efficacy of human papillomavirus vaccines., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: To compare patients with cervical cancer who were primarily treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) using 20 mg m -2 CDDP for 5 days every 3 weeks with weekly regimens of 40 mg m -2 ., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 185 patients with Stage IB-IVA squamous-cell carcinoma of the cervix who were treated with CCRT between 2005 and 2013 at our hospital. The CCRT regimen consisted of cisplatin (CDDP) at 20 mg m -2 for 5 days every 3 weeks or 40 mg m -2 weekly, administered concomitantly with RT., Results: The median age was 50 years (range: 22-70 years) in the triweekly group and was 50.5 years (range: 28-70 years) in the weekly group. The 5-year overall survival rate in the triweekly and weekly groups were 82.0% and 83.3%, respectively (p = 0.851); their disease-free survival rate was 79.6% and 78.1%, respectively (p = 0.672). In the triweekly group, 56 patients (50.9%) had grade 3/4 leukopenia, which was significantly higher than that of 11 patients (15%) in the weekly group (p < 0.0001)., Conclusion: The weekly CDDP regimen for CCRT seems better in patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Stages IB-IVA squamous-cell carcinoma of the cervix. Advances in knowledge: The weekly CDDP regimen for CCRT seems better in patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Stages IB-IVA squamous-cell carcinoma of the cervix.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) has two serological variants: one that expresses the O:5 antigen (1,4,5,12:i:1,2) and one that lacks O:5 antigen (1,4,12:i:1,2). For serotyping, S. Typhimurium is agglutinated by diagnostic O:4 antigen serum. This study was carried out to compare the antigen-antibody affinity of O:4 antigen in S. Typhimurium χ3306 O:5-positive and S. Typhimurium χ3306 O:5-negative strains. The affinity of O:4 antigen with O:4 antigen serum was found to be stronger in the O:5-negative strains compared to O:5-positive strains. Next, we investigated the antigen-antibody affinity of O:4 antigen with O:4 antigen serum in field strains of S. Typhimurium, which showed the same tendency in affinity as seen with S. Typhimurium χ3306 O:5-positive and negative strains. This study suggests that the presence or absence of O:5 antigen causes differences in O:4 agglutination reactions with different field strains of S. Typhimurium., (© FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Serotyping is widely used for typing Salmonella during surveillance, and depends on determining the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen and the flagellar protein (H-antigens) components. As the O-antigen is highly variable, and structurally unique to each serotype, we investigated the binding affinities of LPS from Salmonella serotypes of O4 serogroup with specific anti-antigen serum via immunoblot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Since the serotypes from O4 serogroup also express the O-antigen factor 12, O12 antiserum was also used for the analysis. LPS from the different serotypes showed different binding affinities with the antisera. Therefore, based on the antigen-antibody affinity, a modified agglutination assay was carried out by using O4 and O12 antisera. Although serotypes from O4 serogroup have the common O-antigen factors 4 and 12, the analysis showed that the degree of agglutination reaction is different for each of the serotypes. We suggest that Salmonella serogroup O4 serotypes exhibit different binding affinities with specific antisera despite the presence of common O-antigen factors 4 and 12., (© FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Unlabelled: Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a causative agent of swine erysipelas. We developed a novel and highly specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for sensitive and rapid detection of E. rhusiopathiae. The LAMP assay correctly detected 39 E. rhusiopathiae strains. No LAMP products were detected from 14 non-rhusiopathiae Erysipelothrix and 16 non-Erysipelothrix strains, including E. tonsillarum serovar 10 strains, which are difficult to be discriminated from E. rhusiopathiae strains. These results were consistent with those obtained by a conventional E. rhusiopathiae-specific PCR assay. Starting with DNA extraction from a single colony, the gel-based PCR assay took 4 h to provide a result, but the LAMP assay was faster, requiring only 37-80 min. The conventional culture test required more than 3-4 days to isolate and identify E. rhusiopathiae in the enrichment cultures. In contrast, the LAMP assay required less than 22 h from the beginning of the enrichment culture to final determination. These results suggest that the LAMP assay is useful as an adjunct to facilitate early diagnosis of swine erysipelas., Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first report of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for simple and cost-effective detection of E. rhusiopathiae from swine samples. The LAMP assay provided more rapid detection of the bacterium than conventional PCR and biochemical-based assays, and it may potentially facilitate surveillance and early diagnosis of swine erysipelas in the field., (© 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Streptococcus suis NCTC10234 possesses five srtA homologs: srtA encodes sortase, which anchors surface proteins with an LPXTG motif to the cell wall, while the functions of the other four homologs (the srtBCD cluster and srtE) remain unknown. The genetic organization of the srtA region was found to be conserved in the 59 S. suis strains examined in this study. Although the srtAs in three of these strains showed strong sequence divergence, their functions were verified to be overlapping by genetic complementation, indicating the functional conservation of srtAs during the evolution of these strains. These results indicate the importance of an srtA-mediated cell wall sorting system for displaying proteins on the surface of S. suis.