Search results for " Antibodies"
showing 10 items of 383 documents
Assessment of humoral and cell-mediated immunity against Bordetella pertussis in adolescent, adult, and senior subjects in Italy
2008
SUMMARYHumoral and cell-mediated immunity (CMI) againstB. pertussiswas assessed in a sample of adolescent, adult and senior subjects distributed in five different geographical areas in Italy. Most (99·1%) subjects had IgG anti-pertussis toxin (PT) antibodies exceeding the minimum detection level [⩾2 ELISA units (EU)/ml]. There were no significant differences between the genders; 6·2% samples recorded titres ⩾100 EU/ml. CMI was positive [stimulation index (SI) ⩾5] against PT in 39·0% of all samples. This study suggests thatB. pertussiscontinues to circulate in age groups that have been previously considered to be uninvolved in the circulation of this pathogen and that adolescent and adult pe…
Diagnostic efficacy of the ELISA test for the detection of deamidated anti-gliadin peptide antibodies in the diagnosis and monitoring of celiac disea…
2009
Background and Aim: We evaluated the diagnostic performance of an ELISA test for anti-gliadin IgA and IgG antibodies, which uses synthetic deamidated gliadin peptides (anti-gliadin antibodies, AGAs) as coating; the results were compared with a test that uses extracted gliadin (AGAe). Methods: The study was conducted on the sera of 144 patients suffering from celiac disease (CD), including 20 patients with IgA deficiency and 9 who were following a gluten-free diet (GFD), and 129 controls. Results: In the 115 CD patients (without IgA deficiency), the sensitivity of AGAe IgA and IgG was 32.2 and 60.9%, whereas that of AGAs IgA and IgG was 59.1 and 72.2%. The specificity for AGAe IgA and IgG, a…
Obesity and reduction of the response rate to anti-tumor necrosis factor α in rheumatoid arthritis: an approach to a personalized medicine.
2013
Objective Obesity is a mild, long-lasting inflammatory disease and, as such, could increase the inflammatory burden of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study aim was to determine whether obesity represents a risk factor for a poor remission rate in RA patients requiring anti–tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNFα) therapy for progressive and active disease despite treatment with methotrexate or other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Methods Patients were identified from 15 outpatient clinics of university hospitals and hospitals in Italy taking part in the Gruppo Italiano di Studio sulle Early Arthritis network. Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28), body mass index (BMI; categorized …
Response to antiviral therapy and hepatic expression of cyclooxygenases in chronic hepatitis C
2007
OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to investigate the expression of cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-1 and COX-2) in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) by immunohistochemistry, based on the hypothesis that COXs expression could vary according to genotype, viral load, liver steatosis, BMI and response to therapy and to determine whether the addition of selective COX inhibitors could have a rationale in increasing the efficacy of antiviral therapy. METHODS: We used 35 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded liver tissue samples obtained by needle biopsy from patients with CHC (17F/18M) with one of two types of genotype (1b and 3a). The presence of COX-1 and COX-2 in the cytoplasm of hepatocyt…
Human CD8 T lymphocytes recognize Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens presented by HLA-E during active tuberculosis and express type 2 cytokines
2015
CD8 T cells contribute to protective immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In humans, M. tuberculosis reactive CD8 T cells typically recognize peptides associated to classical MHC class Ia molecules, but little information is available on CD8 T cells recognizing M. tuberculosis Ags presented by nonclassical MHC class Ib molecules. We show here that CD8 T cells from tuberculosis (TB) patients recognize HLA-E-binding M. tuberculosis peptides in a CD3/TCR αβ mediated and CD8-dependent manner, and represent an additional type of effector cells playing a role in immune response to M. tuberculosis during active infection. HLA-E-restricted recognition of M. tuberculosis peptides is detectab…
Influence of universal HBV vaccination on chronic HBV infection in Italy: Results of a cross-sectional multicenter study
2017
Background and Aim The universal hepatitis B vaccination for infants and 12-year-old adolescents (the latter limited to the first 12 years of application) was launched in Italy in 1991. Twenty-three years later we evaluated the impact of the vaccination campaign on the burden of HBsAg-positive chronic liver diseases (CLD). Material and Methods 513 HBsAg-positive chronic carriers referring to 16 Italian liver units were investigated and compared with HBsAg carriers enrolled in previous surveys. Results The proportion of inactive carriers decreased from 20.0% in 2001 to 3.3% in 2014, while that of cirrhotic patients increased from 22.6 to 33.2%. Regarding the age class 0–33 (fully covered by …
Dynamics of complement activation in aHUS and how to monitor eculizumab therapy.
2014
Atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome (aHUS) is associated with genetic complement abnormalities/anti–complement factor H antibodies, which paved the way to treatment with eculizumab. We studied 44 aHUS patients and their relatives to (1) test new assays of complement activation, (2) verify whether such abnormality occurs also in unaffected mutation carriers, and (3) search for a tool for eculizumab titration. An abnormal circulating complement profile (low C3, high C5a, or SC5b-9) was found in 47% to 64% of patients, irrespective of disease phase. Acute aHUS serum, but not serum from remission, caused wider C3 and C5b-9 deposits than control serum on unstimulated human microvascular endotheli…
Longterm Retention of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Inhibitor Therapy in a Large Italian Cohort of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis from the GISEA Regist…
2012
Objective.To evaluate 4-year retention rates of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) inhibitors adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab among patients with longstanding rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as derived from an Italian national registry.Methods.The clinical records of 853 adult patients with RA in the GISEA (Gruppo Italiano Studio Early Arthritis) registry were prospectively analyzed to compare drug survival rates and the baseline factors that may predict adherence to therapy.Results.In 2003 and 2004, 324 patients started treatment with adalimumab, 311 with etanercept, and 218 with infliximab. After 4 years, the global retention rate of anti-TNF-α therapy was 42%. Etanercept survival (51.4%) …
Antibody persistence and immune memory elicited by combined hepatitis A and B vaccination in older adults.
2007
Response to hepatitis A and B vaccines has been reported to decline with age. This open, prospective, single-site study examined the long-term response to the combined hepatitis A/B vaccine Twinrix in 98 primary responders aged 45-67 years. Levels of antibody against hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs) were tested 30 months after initial vaccination. At this stage, all participants remained seropositive for anti-HAV and 70% for anti-HBs. A booster vaccination was offered to those who had responded to the first vaccination but then lost protective levels of anti-HBs. An anamnestic response was observed in all cases.
Effects of anti-cardiolipin antibodies and IVIg on annexin A5 binding to endothelial cells: implications for cardiovascular disease
2010
Anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL), including anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL), are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population and in patients with the anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS; Hughes syndrome). APS may be primary but is also common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The anti-coagulant protein annexin A5 (ANXA5) is implicated in CVD by interfering with phospholipids and aPL.ANXA5 binding to human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs) was determined by flow cytometry.When cells were cultured in serum from APS patients with a high aPL titre (aPL-S), binding of ANXA5 to HUVECs was reduced. Monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig)G aPL against…