Search results for "Virology"

CD8 T-Cell Immunotherapy of Cytomegalovirus Disease in the Murine Model

2010

Publisher Summary Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) are conditional pathogens that are strictly species specific and are usually well controlled in their respective mammalian hosts by the effector mechanisms of both innate and adaptive immunity. Human CMV (hCMV) is mostly acquired perinatally as well as in early childhood and is transmitted, for instance, through breast milk and saliva. Whilst the immune response in an immunocompetent host prevents an overt CMV disease and rapidly terminates the productive acute infection, viral genome is maintained in most tissues for the life span of the infected host in a state known as viral latency. Latency implies that infectious virions are no longer produced…

Genetic variability in hepatitis C virus and its role in antiviral treatment response

2007

Summary.  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major health problem worldwide, infecting an estimated 170 million people. The high genetic variability of HCV contributes to the chronicity of hepatitis C. Here, we report results from a large-scale sequence analysis of 67 patients infected with HCV genotype 1, 23 with subtype 1a and 44 with subtype 1b. Two regions of the HCV genome were analysed in samples prior to combined therapy with alpha interferon plus ribavirin, one compressing the hypervariable regions (HVR1, HVR2 and HVR3) of the E2 glycoprotein and another one including the interferon-sensitive determining region (ISDR) and the V3 domain of the NS5A protein. Genetic diversity measures showe…

Liver diseases and hepatitis B virus antigens and antibodies in chronic HBsAg carriers in childhood

1980

Liver biopsies were obtained from 109 children who had been chronic carriers of HBsAg for more than 6 months. The specimens were examined for the presen Ice of intracellular HBsAg, HBcAg and HBeAg by direct immunofluorescence. Sera were tested for HBeAg, virus B specific DNA polymerase, anti-HBs, anti-HBe and anti-HBc. On the basis of accepted histological criteria we found chronic active hepatitis (CAH) in 56 and chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) in 19 children. 15 cases had minimal changes (minimal hepatitis, MH) and 19 normal liver tissue (healthy HBsAg carriers, HC). Children with CAH and CPH had HBeAg, DNA polymerase and anti-HBc in their serum. HBcAg and HBeAg were found in 5-50% of …

Clinical evaluation of a single reaction, diagnostic polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of hepatitis C virus RNA

1996

Abstract Backgrounds/Aims :In the past few years the detection of HCV-RNA by polymerase chain reaction has become a well-established diagnostic tool for patients with chronic hepatitis C. However, the lack of reproducible results between laboratories and the relatively high proportion of false-positive results, has indicated the need for a standardized and reliable polymerase chain reaction assay. In the present study we have analyzed the performance of a commercial, HCV-RNA polymerase chain reaction assay based on a single, combined reverse transcription and amplification reaction and on the use of Uracil-N-glycosilase to prevent carry-over contamination (Amplicor HCV, Roche Molecular Syst…

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and cholestatic hepatitis induced by acute Epstein-Barr virus infection

2011

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…

Viral Hepatitis — An Update

1983

In 1973, Feinstone and co-workers [52] were the first to report the visualization of virus-like particles by immune electron microscopy in acute phase stool specimens of human volunteers who developed hepatitis following inoculation with MS-1 strain of hepatitis A virus [18]. Soon thereafter morphologically identical particles were recovered from the stool of individuals acquiring hepatitis during natural outbreaks of the disease [39, 64].

Hepatitis Due to Non-A-E Viruses

2011

Autoimmune Hepatitis and Hepatitis C Virus Infection

1998

Characterization of Anti Liver Kidney Microsomal Antibody Associated with Chronic HDV Infection by Immunoblotting

1989

Cytoplasmic antibodies directed against antigen(s) present in the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum have been reported in a proportion of patients with chronic HBV-HDV infection (Crivelli et al.,1981). While the immunofluorescence (IFL) pattern associated with LKMδ antibody is quite similar to that of the liver kidney microsomal antibody (LKM) described by Rizzetto et al. (1973) and associated with an autoimmune type of chronic active hepatitis (Thomas, 1980), the target antigen(s) was supposed to be different on the basis of blocking experiments. The target antigen of LKM antibody has been recently partially identified as a 50kD protein located in the membranes of the smooth endoplasm…