Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2017 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 7 Articles
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common infectious agents, infecting the general population at an early age without\ncausing morbidity most of the time. However, on particular occasions, it may represent a serious risk, as active infection is\nassociated with rejection and disease after solid organ transplantation or fetal transmission during pregnancy. Several methods\nfor CMV diagnosis are available on the market, but because infection is so common, careful selection is needed to discriminate\nprimary infection from reactivation.This review focuses on methods based on CMV-specific T cell reactivity to help monitor the\nconsequences of CMV infection/reactivation in specific categories of patients. This review makes an attempt at discussing the pros\nand cons of the methods available....
Background: Bladder cancer, cystitis and bladder polyp are the most common urinary system diseases all over the\nworld. Our former research results show that IL-17A and IL-17 F contribute to the pathogenesis of benign prostatic\nhyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (Pca) while IL-17E interacting with IL-17RB might have an anti-tumor effect.\nResults: Using imunohistochemistry, we systemically compared immunoreactivity of ligands (IL-17A, E and F) and\nreceptors (IL-17RA, IL-17RB and IL-17RC) of IL-17 family, infiltration of inflammatory cells and changes of structural cells\n(fibroblast cells, smooth muscle and vascular endothelial cells) in sections of bladder tissues from subjects with bladder\ncancer, cystitis and bladder polyp. Compared with subjects with cystitis, immunoreactivity for IL-17A, IL-17 F and IL-17RC\nwas significantly elevated in the group of bladder cancer (p < 0.01), while immunoreactivity of IL-17E, IL-17RA and IL-17RB,\nand the infiltrating neutrophils were decreased (p < 0.05). The numbers of infiltrating lymphocytes and phagocytes and\nCD31+ blood vessels and immunoreactivity of CD90+ fibroblasts were also elevated in patients with bladder cancer\ncompared with those of cystitis. The patterns of IL-17 ligands and receptors, and inflammatory cells and structural cells\nvaried in cystitis, bladder polyp and bladder cancer. In bladder cancer, immunoreactivity of IL-17E and IL-17 F was\npositively correlated with smooth muscles and lymphocytes, respectively. In addition, immunoreactivity of IL-17A and\nIL-17E was positively correlated with their receptors IL-17RA and IL-17RB respectively.\nConclusions: The data suggest that changed patterns of expression of the IL-17 cytokine family ligands and receptors\nmight be associated with infiltration of inflammatory cells and structural cells (CD90+ fibroblasts and CD31+ blood\nvessels), which might also contribute to occurrence and development in bladder cancer....
Background: Inosine pranobex (IsoprinosineÃ?®) is an immunomodulatory drug approved in several countries for\nthe treatment of viral infections. This study compared the efficacy and safety of inosine pranobex versus placebo\nin subjects with clinically diagnosed influenza-like illness, including subjects with laboratory-confirmed acute\nrespiratory viral infections. Subgroup analyses evaluated the efficacy of inosine pranobex compared to placebo\nin otherwise healthy (without related ongoing disease) subjects that were less than 50 years of age and healthy\nsubjects that were at least 50 years of age. The effect of body mass index (BMI) was evaluated in subjects less\nthan 50 years of age.\nMethods: A total of 463 subjects were randomly assigned to receive inosine pranobex (n = 231) or placebo\n(n = 232) in this Phase 4, randomised, double-blind, multicentre study. The primary efficacy endpoint was time to\nresolution of all influenza-like symptoms present at baseline to none. Safety was evaluated through analysis of\nadverse events, vital signs, and physical examinations.\nResults: The difference in time to resolution of all influenza-like symptoms between treatment groups was not\nstatistically significant but showed a faster improvement in subjects in the inosine pranobex group versus those\nin the placebo group - Hazard Ratio = 1.175; (95 % CI: 0.806ââ?¬â??1.714). P-value = 0.324. In the subgroup analysis for\nsubjects less than 50 years of age, statistically significant differences in time to resolution of influenza-like symptoms\nthat favoured the inosine pranobex group over the placebo group were observed in those without related ongoing\ndisease and those who were non-obese (BMI <30 kg/m2). The differences between the inosine pranobex and\nplacebo groups in subjects at least 50 years of age without related ongoing disease and in subjects less than\n50 years of age who were obese (BMI ââ?°Â¥30 kg/m2) were not statistically significant. Inosine pranobex was generally\nwell tolerated, and no deaths were reported.\nConclusions: The study results indicate the safety of inosine pranobex for the treatment of subjects with confirmed\nacute respiratory viral infections and confirm the efficacy of inosine pranobex versus placebo in healthy non-obese\nsubjects less than 50 years of age with clinically diagnosed influenza-like illnesses....
Immune protection against infectious diseases is most effective if located at the portal of entry of the pathogen. Hence, there is\nan increasing demand for vaccine formulations that can induce strong protective immunity following oral, respiratory, or genital\ntract administration. At present, only few mucosal vaccines are found on the market, but recent technological advancements and\na better understanding of the principles that govern priming of mucosal immune responses have contributed to a more optimistic\nview on the future of mucosal vaccines. Compared to live attenuated vaccines, subcomponent vaccines, most often protein-based,\nare considered safer, more stable, and less complicated to manufacture, but they require the addition of nontoxic and clinically safe\nadjuvants to be effective. In addition, another limiting factor is the large antigen dose that usually is required for mucosal vaccines.\nTherefore, the combination ofmucosal adjuvantswith the recent progress in nanoparticle technology provides an attractive solution\nto these problems. In particular, the liposome technology is ideal for combining protein antigen and adjuvant into an effective\nmucosal vaccine. Here, we describe and discuss recent progress in nanoparticle formulations using various types of liposomes that\nconvey strong promise for the successful development of the next generation of mucosal vaccines....
The interaction between natural killer (NK) cell and dendritic cell (DC), two important cellular components of innate immunity,\nstarted to be elucidated in the last years. The crosstalk between NK cells and DC, which leads to NK cell activation, DC maturation,\nor apoptosis, involves cell-cell contacts and soluble factors. This interaction either in the periphery or in the secondary lymphoid\norgans acts as a key player linking innate and adaptive immune responses to microbial stimuli. This review focuses on the\nmechanisms of NK-DC interaction and their relevance in antimicrobial responses.We specifically aim to emphasize the ability of\nvarious microbial infections to differently influence NK-DC crosstalk thereby contributing to distinct adaptive immune response....
Background. T2 inflammation of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) may be influenced by epithelial cytokines\nrelease (TSLP, IL-25, and IL-33). We investigated the release of TSLP, IL-25, and IL-33 by epithelial CRSwNP cells compared to\nepithelial sinusmucosa cells of patients with chronic rhinosinusitiswithout nasal polyps (CRSsNP).Methods. IL-25, IL-33, andTSLP\nwere measured by ELISA in the supernatant of cell cultures derived by CRSwNP (9 patients, 6 atopic) and CRSsNP (7 patients, 2\natopic) in baseline condition and following stimulation with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (DP), Aspergillus fumigatus (AF), and\npoly(I:C). Results. CRSwNP epithelial cells released increased levels of IL-25 (from 0.12 �± 0.06 pg/ml to 0.27 �± 0.1 pg/ml, ...
Background: Published information regarding the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and outcomes of\npatients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) blood stream infection (BSI) is limited. We aimed in this study\nto evaluate the clinical characteristics, laboratory evaluation, and outcomes of patients with MTB BSI.\nMethods: All patients diagnosed with MTB BSI at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2008\nand May 2014 were identified by examining the electronic database listing results of all blood cultures. Data on\ndemographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory manifestations, management, and outcomes were abstracted\nfrom medical records.\nResults: Six thousand nine hundred seventy-four patients had mycobacterial blood cultures during the study\nperiod. Of 48 patients (0.7%) with MTB BSI, 26 patients (54%) were considered to be immunocompromised (refers\nto a person who has a significantly impaired immune system). This was due to human immunodeficiency virus\n(HIV) infection (n = 2 of 48 tested), receiving steroids (n = 17, including 16 with rheumatic diseases and one with\nmyasthenia gravis), malignancy (n = 3), diabetes mellitus (n = 3), and renal transplantation (n = 1). The main clinical\nmanifestations were fever (100%, with a median of 40 �°C), weight loss (48%) and cough with sputum production\n(46%). Most patients had one or more organs involved (81%). The median time from onset of fever to diagnosis\nwas 8 weeks (IQR 5 ~ 14). Six patients died within 1 week after diagnosis. Of the 17 patients completing treatment,\n14 patients (82%) recovered without major complications and they had a shorter time interval between onsets of\nsymptoms to treatment compared to those died of TB.\nConclusions: In this group of patients with MTB BSI, fever and multiple organs involvement were common, the\noutcome was poor and timely diagnosis and treatment might favor outcome....
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