Search results for "Infectious"
showing 10 items of 2953 documents
G2 rotavirus infections in an infantile population of the South of Italy: variability of viral strains over time.
2005
Rotavirus positive samples collected in Palermo, Italy, during 2002–2004 did not react with the G2 type-specific RV5:3 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and could be identified as G2 only by RT-PCR genotyping. The genetic variation of VP7 and VP4 antigenic proteins was studied in 14 G2 samples including a selection of both those successfully characterized by serotyping and those failing to be serotyped. The phylogenetic analysis performed on partial VP7 sequences showed a temporal clustering of these strains, with those isolated in Palermo in 2003 belonging to the same lineage of G2 MAbs-unreactive strains identified in UK in 1996–1997 and in Bari, Italy, in 2003–2004. A single amino acid substi…
Host-Nonspecific Iron Acquisition Systems and Virulence in the Zoonotic Serovar of Vibrio vulnificus
2014
ABSTRACT The zoonotic serovar of Vibrio vulnificus (known as biotype 2 serovar E) is the etiological agent of human and fish vibriosis. The aim of the present work was to discover the role of the vulnibactin- and hemin-dependent iron acquisition systems in the pathogenicity of this zoonotic serovar under the hypothesis that both are host-nonspecific virulence factors. To this end, we selected three genes for three outer membrane receptors ( vuuA , a receptor for ferric vulnibactin, and hupA and hutR , two hemin receptors), obtained single and multiple mutants as well as complemented strains, and tested them in a series of in vitro and in vivo assays, using eels and mice as animal models. Th…
Serotyping and genotyping of encapsulated Escherichia coli K1 sepsis isolates with a monoclonal IgG anti K1 antibody and K1 gene probes
1987
Among infectious diseases caused by E. coli the capsular type K1 plays a predominant role. E. coli K1 isolates account for 80% of cases of E. coli neonatal meningitis and 30% of E. coli sepsis strains. Serotyping of K1 strains has conventionally relied upon the use of K1-specific bacteriophages or serum agar methods with polyvalent anti K1 serum. In the study present here, 187 E. coli sepsis isolates have been analysed for production of the K1 antigen using K1 phages, K1 serum agar plates and Latex agglutination and ELISA using an IgG2a anti K1 monoclonal antibody. In total, 33 sepsis isolates (about 18%) were identified as K1 positive, with three of these strains proving negative in all te…
Experimental Sorting of Municipal-Like Waste in the Hospital “Civico”, Palermo (IT)
2013
An experiment of source sorting - based management of Health Care Waste (HCW) was carried out in 2011 in 4 Departments of the Public Hospital “Civico” (Palermo, IT), where the basic mandatory separation between hazardous and non-hazardous waste was already going on since year 2000.The experiment consisted in weighing every day for 15 days 4 predefined fractions collected in the Infirmaries (namely paper, plastics, glass and unsorted fraction), and the bags with unsorted waste from the patient’s stay room. Furthermore, in 1 of the 4 Departments also the boxes of Infectious Waste (IW) were weighed for a week.As a result a weighted average value of 0.56 kg of Municipal-like Waste (MLW) per bed…
Butyrophilin 3A1 presents phosphoantigens to human γδ T cells: the fourth model of antigen presentation in the immune system.
2013
Butyrophilin 3A1 presents phosphoantigens to human γδ T cells: the fourth model of antigen presentation in the immune system
Phenotypic and Immunometabolic Aspects on Stem Cell Memory and Resident Memory CD8+ T Cells
2022
The immune system, smartly and surprisingly, saves the exposure of a particular pathogen in its memory and reacts to the pathogen very rapidly, preventing serious diseases.Immunologists have long been fascinated by understanding the ability to recall and respond faster and more vigorously to a pathogen, known as “memory”.T-cell populations can be better described by using more sophisticated techniques to define phenotype, transcriptional and epigenetic signatures and metabolic pathways (single-cell resolution), which uncovered the heterogeneity of the memory T-compartment. Phenotype, effector functions, maintenance, and metabolic pathways help identify these different subsets. Here, we exam…
Impact of Human Leukocyte Antigen Polymorphisms in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Progression in a Paediatric Cohort Infected with a Mono-phyletic Huma…
2014
Objective: HLA polymorphisms within the peptide binding pocket have been associated with rapid and slowprogression to AIDS, suggesting that the capability to present efficiently HIV-1 epitopes is crucial for the infection control. To minimize the effects of genetic background due to population coming from different geographic area and viral strain variability in the cohort, an analysis of all the polymorphisms associated with the HLA-A, -B and -DR alleles has been performed in a cohort of children with a monophyletic HIV-1 infection (CRF02_AG) during an outbreak in Libya. Methods: High-resolution HLA-typing has been performed in 58 children infected with a monophyletic strain of HIV-1: 26 L…
Phosphatidylserine liposomes reduce inflammatory response, mycobacterial viability and HIV replication in coinfected human macrophages
2021
AbstractChronic immune activation is the key pathogenetic event of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection. We assessed the therapeutic value of phosphatidylserine-liposome (PS-L) in an in vitro model of M. tuberculosis-HIV coinfection. PS-L reduced nuclear factor-κB activation and the downstream production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and IL-6 in bacille Calmette-Guérin-infected macrophages and of TNF-α and IL-1β in M. tuberculosis-infected and M. tuberculosis-HIV–coinfected macrophages. Importantly, a significant reduction of intracellular M. tuberculosis viability and HIV replication were also observed. These results suppor…
Anidulafungin in combination with amphotericin B against Aspergillus fumigatus.
2009
ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of anidulafungin alone and in combination with amphotericin B against Aspergillus fumigatus . Indifference was the only type of interaction observed in vitro. Anidulafungin at 1 and 5 mg/kg of body weight/day, amphotericin B at 1 mg/kg/day, and combination therapy prolonged the survival of mice with invasive aspergillosis. Anidulafungin at 5 mg/kg/day, alone and in combination with amphotericin B, reduced the kidney fungal burden. Overall, the combination was not superior to the most active single drug.
International Bordetella pertussis assay standardization and harmonization meeting report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georg…
2009
An international meeting on Bordetella pertussis assay standardization and harmonization was held at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, 19-20 July 2007. The goal of the meeting was to harmonize the immunoassays used for pertussis diagnostics and vaccine evaluation, as agreed upon by academic and government researchers, regulatory authorities, vaccine manufacturers, and the World Health Organization (WHO). The primary objectives were (1) to provide epidemiologic, laboratory, and statistical background for support of global harmonization; (2) to overview the current status of global epidemiology, pathogenesis and immunology of pertussis; (3) to develop a consen…