Search results for "Viral Load"

Possible role of human interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor in hepatitis B virus infection

2001

Human interleukin-6 has been shown to promote hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, it is not clear whether this influence is the result of a direct interaction between interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the HBV envelope proteins or of a rather indirect mechanism. A direct interaction of IL-6 and the preS region of the large envelope protein (L-protein) of HBV has been reported. In this study we assessed the binding of IL-6 and of the IL-6 receptor subunits to the preS region of the L-protein of HBV. Binding of IL-6 and IL-6 receptor subunits sIL-6R and gp130 to preS was assessed by immunoprecipitation with recombinant preS proteins. In patient sera IL-6 and sIL-6R concentrations were analysed …

All-trans retinoic acid for treatment of chronic hepatitis C

2008

Background/Aims: In vitro studies in the subgenomic hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicon system have identified all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) as a potential therapeutic against hepatitis C. Thus, the antiviral potential of this drug should be assessed in vivo. Methods: Twenty highly treatment experienced serotype 1 patients with non-response to conventional or pegylated interferon-α (Peg-/IFN-α) and ribavirin were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of monotherapy with ATRA (group A) or a combination of ATRA and PegIFN-α2a (group B). HCV RNA was assessed by bDNA assay and if negative by highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction. Results: During treatment, five of 10 patients in group A had a drop o…

2019

Contamination of fresh water bodies by human enteric viruses from wastewater discharge is a well-established phenomenon. Here we propose a model of viral contamination of rivers based on acute gastroenteritis epidemiology and assess how well it can simulate in situ experimental monitoring. Noroviruses, rotaviruses, enteroviruses, adenoviruses and hepatitis A viruses were quantified by molecular methods after water concentration. Water flows were obtained from the Hydro databank and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) data. Acute gastroenteritis cases based on medical prescriptions were recorded by the French public health agency. We estimated the total number of daily viral acute gastroenteri…

Reactivación de hepatitis B en paciente con hepatitis crónica C tratado con antivirales de acción directa

2018

Diagnosing HIV infection using flow cytometry: From antigenic analyses to a specifically dedicated bead-based assay to measure viral load.

2009

SINCE the discovery of HIV in 1984 (1,2), millions have been infected and have died of AIDS. In 2006, the World Health Organization identified 40 million HIV-infected subjects, noting that antiretroviral therapy was required throughout the world (Fig. 1; http://www.who.int/hiv/data/en/index.html). Today, the situation is very similar and the HIV pandemic remains a major world health problem (3). The treatment of AIDS with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) involves regular monitoring of different blood parameters, requiring the development of convenient and accurate methods that can evaluate HIV infection even in resource-poor countries (4,5). In addition to CD4 cell count, which …

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-specific CD4+ T lymphocyte response in AIDS patients with no past or current HCMV disease following HAART.

2003

Abstract Background: The incidence of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) end-organ disease has dramatically decreased since the implementation of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAARTs), but the precise immune mechanism whereby HCMV is controlled remains to be elucidated. Objectives: To investigate the effect of (HAART) on CD4 + T-cell immunity to HCMV in AIDS patients with no past or current HCMV disease. Study design: Seventeen patients were prospectively examined for CD4 + (CD45RO + and CD45 RA + ) T-cell counts (flow cytometry), HIV RNA load (Amplicor HIV test), HCMV leukoDNAemia and HCMV DNA in urine (nested PCR), lymphoproliferative response (LPR) to HCMV, phytohemagglutinin (PHA) a…

Virological and immunological features of active cytomegalovirus infection in nonimmunosuppressed patients in a surgical and trauma intensive care un…

2010

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation occurs frequently in critically ill patients. The natural course of CMV infection and the interaction between CMV and the adaptive immune system in this setting remain poorly defined. Fifty-three CMV-seropositive patients in a surgical and trauma intensive care unit were included in this study. The CMV DNA load in tracheal aspirates (TA) and plasma (PL) was monitored by qPCR. CMV-specific T-cell immunity was assessed by intracellular cytokine staining. Plasma TNF-alpha levels were determined by ELISA. CMV reactivation occurred in 39.7% of patients (23% had CMV DNA detected only in TA). The analysis of TA allowed an earlier diagnosis in 28% of patients. Cle…

An evaluation of the role of NKG2C+natural killer cells in protection from cytomegalovirus DNAemia early following allogeneic stem cell transplantati…

2013

The role of natural killer (NK) cells in affording protection against human cytomegalovirus (CMV) in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients is largely unknown. The current study was aimed at determining whether NKG2C+ NK cells confer protection from CMV DNAemia early following transplantation in patients lacking mono and polyfunctional CMV pp65 and IE-1-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses, as measured by flow cytometry for intracellular cytokine staining. Fourteen out of the 36 patients included in this study developed CMV DNAemia between days +30 and +60 after transplant. Three patients did so after day +60. Peripheral blood levels of CD56(bright) CD16(-/low) and CD56(dim) CD16+ NK…

Evaluating Human T-Cell Therapy of Cytomegalovirus Organ Disease in HLA-Transgenic Mice

2015

Reactivation of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can cause severe disease in recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Although preclinical research in murine models as well as clinical trials have provided 'proof of concept' for infection control by pre-emptive CD8 T-cell immunotherapy, there exists no predictive model to experimentally evaluate parameters that determine antiviral efficacy of human T cells in terms of virus control in functional organs, prevention of organ disease, and host survival benefit. We here introduce a novel mouse model for testing HCMV epitope-specific human T cells. The HCMV UL83/pp65-derived NLV-peptide was presented by transgenic HLA-A2.1 in the conte…

Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus Type-1 by fresh-frozen plasma treated with methylene blue and light

2015

BACKGROUND The risk of transfusion-transmitted infection (TTI) has been minimized by introduction of nucleic acid testing (NAT) and pathogen inactivation (PI). This case report describes transmission of human immunodeficiency virus Type 1 (HIV-1) to two recipients despite these measures. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS In March 2009 a possible TTI of HIV-1 was identified in a patient that had received pooled buffy coat platelet concentrate (BC-PLT) in November 2005. The subsequent lookback study found two more patients who had received methylene blue (MB)-treated fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) and red blood cells (RBCs) from the same donation. In November 2005 the donor had tested negative for both HIV…