Key Clinical Message: We identified a novel heterozygous mutation (c.4177T>G and p.Cys1393Gly) in FBN 2 that cosegregated with congenital contractural arachnodactyly ( CCA ) in a five‐generation Chinese family. This mutation may cause the loss of the disulfide bond between Cys 1393 and Cys 1378 residues of fibrillin‐2. Our study expands the genetic profile of CCA .

Enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) is a frequently occurring inner ear malformation that associates with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), with SLC26A4 being the responsible gene. Based on multiplex PCR enrichment and sequencing of the exonic and flanking regions of the SLC26A4 gene, we developed a panel specifically for EVA and found that up to 95% of EVA patients in our Chinese cohorts carried biallelic SLC26A4 pathogenic variants (M2). In this study, we tried to investigate the genetic etiology of 13 previously undiagnosed EVA patients with monoallelic (M1) or none (M0) SLC26A4 variant using a stepwise approach, including copy number variation (CNV) analysis of multiplex PCR enrichment and next‐generation sequencing data, single‐molecule real‐time (SMRT) sequencing of the whole SLC26A4 gene, whole exome sequencing (WES), and whole genome sequencing (WGS). CNV analysis revealed deletions in Exons 1–3, Exons 5–6, and Exons 9–10 of the SLC26A4 gene in seven patients, and SMRT sequencing identified the same heterozygous deep intronic variant (NM_000441.2:c.304+941C>T) in two patients, resulting in a final diagnosis in 9/13 patients. Notably, the variants of Exons 9–10 deletion and c.304+941C>T have not been reported previously. We further showed that the variant c.304+941C>T led to the exonization of partial AluSz6 element (126 bp) where the variant is located through sequencing of the mRNA extracted from the blood of a heterozygous variant carrier. In conclusion, our stepwise approach improved the diagnosis rate of EVA, expanded the mutational spectrum of the SLC26A4 gene, and highlighted the contribution of exonic deletions and deep intronic variants to EVA.

In recent years, food safety concerns associated with veterinary drug residues have aroused significant public attention, highlighting the critical need for continuous monitoring in both animal-derived foods and the environment to safeguard public health. Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), a major anabolic steroid widely used in animal husbandry, poses potential human health risks according to recent studies. Although conventional analytical techniques based on chromatography and immunological assays are effective, they often suffer from complex operations, the need for skilled personnel, high cost, and time consumption. To overcome these limitations, electrochemical immunosensors modified with advanced nanomaterials offer a promising alternative. Herein, a highly sensitive electrochemical immunosensor was developed for trace MPA detection utilizing core–shell SiO₂-PEI@Ag nanoparticles as the sensing matrix. In this nanocomposite, the structural synergy between the SiO₂ core and outer Ag NPs shell not only provides a high-density platform for specific antibody immobilization, but also drastically expands the electroactive surface area and accelerates electron transfer to maximize signal amplification. Benefiting from these synergistic advantages, the constructed immunosensor exhibited a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.014 ng/mL and a wide linear range of 0.03–100 ng/mL. Furthermore, the recovery rates in pork and milk samples were 91.32–97.29% and 95.14–102.54%, respectively. In addition, negligible cross-reaction was observed toward structurally related steroid hormones related to MPA and common antibiotics. The immunosensor shows good stability, reproducibility, and accuracy, demonstrating great potential as a promising candidate to complement conventional tools for future MPA residue screening.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly pathogenic DNA virus that continues to circulate globally and poses a serious threat to the swine industry. However, the antigenic complexity of ASFV poses formidable challenges for vaccine and diagnostic development. The pE146L protein, which serves as a structural component of the inner envelope, is vitally required for efficient ASFV replication. In this study, the pE146L protein was expressed in E. coli Rosetta (DE3) cells, and five monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were generated by immunizing BALB/c mice with the purified pE146L. Epitope fine mapping using a panel of truncated overlapping fragments identified five B-cell linear epitopes: aa37–45, aa65–80, aa86–94, aa86–101, and aa115–124, recognized by mAbs 8F3, 1B8, 5C10, 10F4, and 4B7, respectively. Furthermore, synthesized peptides SP1–SP5 were designed based on these sequences, wherein SP5 was prepared as an extended peptide spanning aa110–124 to potentially enhance antibody binding or peptide presentation. These synthetic peptides reacted not only with their respective mAbs but also with ASFV-positive pig sera, among which SP3 exhibited the strongest immunoreactivity. Sequence alignment revealed that all five epitopes were highly conserved among ASFV genotypes I, II, and the emerging I/II recombinant strains. Collectively, these findings identify novel antigenic epitopes of pE146L, providing preliminary candidates that may contribute to the future development of ASFV serological diagnostics.

African swine fever (ASF) is an acute, febrile, and lethal pig disease induced by the African swine fever virus (ASFV). In the absence of an effective vaccine, early diagnosis is essential for the prevention and control of ASF disease. The p54 protein is important for ASFV diagnosis and vaccine design. In this study, ASFV p54 protein was constructed, expressed, purified, and used to generate three mAbs, namely 9A3, 5H2, and 2G6. Epitope mapping was performed using alanine mutants; the minimal linear epitope recognized by 9A3 and 5H2 was ⁵⁶KKKAAAI⁶², and the minimal linear epitope recognized by 2G6 was ¹⁰⁸TNRPATN¹¹⁴. Of these, ⁵⁶KKKAAAI⁶² was identified as a new linear epitope for the first time. The epitopes were highly conserved in at least genotypes I and II. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis further revealed that residues 56K, 57K, 60A, 61A, 62L, 108T, 110R, 111P, 113T, and 114N were the core sites involved in antibody recognition. Overall, the mAbs and epitopes of the p54 protein identified in this study provide theoretical support for the development of ASFV vaccines based on the B cell epitope, the development of ASFV therapeutic antibody drugs, and the development of ASFV diagnostic tools.