Search results for "ice"

Between reality and the guidelines: A survey on perception, diagnosis and management of hepatic encephalopathy in 201 Italian specialist centres

2017

Disentangling the effect of host genetics and gut microbiota on resistance to an intestinal parasite

2019

11 pages; International audience; Resistance to infection is a multifactorial trait, and recent work has suggested that the gut microbiota can also contribute to resistance. Here, we performed a fecal microbiota transplant to disentangle the contribution of the gut microbiota and host genetics as drivers of resistance to the intestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus. We transplanted the microbiota of a strain of mice (SJL), resistant to H. polygyrus, into a susceptible strain (CBA) and vice-versa. We predicted that if the microbiota shapes resistance to H. polygyrus, the FMT should reverse the pattern of resistance between the two host strains. The two host strains had different microbi…

The Sea Urchin sns5 Chromatin Insulator Shapes the Chromatin Architecture of a Lentivirus Vector Integrated in the Mammalian Genome.

2016

Lentivirus vectors are presently the favorite vehicles for therapeutic gene transfer in hematopoietic cells. Nonetheless, these vectors integrate randomly throughout the genome, exhibiting variegation of transgene expression due to the spreading of heterochromatin into the vector sequences. Moreover, the cis-regulatory elements harbored by the vector could disturb the proper transcription of resident genes neighboring the integration site. The incorporation of chromatin insulators in flanking position to the transferred unit can alleviate both the above-mentioned dangerous effects, due to the insulator-specific barrier and enhancer-blocking activities. In this study, we report the valuable …

International descriptive and interventional survey for oxycholesterol determination by gas- and liquid-chromatographic methods

2018

International audience; Increasing numbers of laboratories develop new methods based on gas-liquid and high-performance liquid chromatography to determine serum concentrations of oxygenated cholesterol metabolites such as 7alpha-, 24(S)-, and 27-hydroxycholesterol. We initiated a first international descriptive oxycholesterol (OCS) survey in 2013 and a second interventional survey 2014 in order to compare levels of OCS reported by different laboratories and to define possible sources of analytical errors. In 2013 a set of two lyophilized serum pools (A and B) was sent to nine laboratories in different countries for OCS measurement utilizing their own standard stock solutions. In 2014 eleven…

Modulating endothelial adhesion and migration impacts stem cell therapies efficacy

2020

Abstract Background Limited knowledge of stem cell therapies` mechanisms of action hampers their sustainable implementation into the clinic. Specifically, the interactions of transplanted stem cells with the host vasculature and its implications for their therapeutic efficacy are not elucidated. We tested whether adhesion receptors and chemokine receptors on stem cells can be functionally modulated, and consequently if such modulation may substantially affect therapeutically relevant stem cell interactions with the host endothelium. Methods We investigated the effects of cationic molecule polyethylenimine (PEI) treatment with or without nanoparticles on the functions of adhesion receptors a…

TLR3-independent activation of mast cells by cytomegalovirus contributes to control of pulmonary infection.

2017

Interstitial pneumonia is a life-threatening clinical manifestation of human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) infection. In particular, it can be deadly in patients with hematopoietic malignancies who undergo hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in whom a ‘window of risk’, which is defined by transient immunodeficiency, occurs between hematoablative therapeutic treatment and immunological reconstitution. As few clinical studies have addressed the underlying mechanisms for this phenomenon, a mouse model of HCT and murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV) infection has been established and has revealed a key role for antiviral CD8+ T cells in controlling pulmonary infections. Using this mouse model, recent st…

Efficient Delivery of Human Cytomegalovirus T Cell Antigens by Attenuated Sendai Virus Vectors.

2018

ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) represents a major cause of clinical complications during pregnancy as well as immunosuppression, and the licensing of a protective HCMV vaccine remains an unmet global need. Here, we designed and validated novel Sendai virus (SeV) vectors delivering the T cell immunogens IE-1 and pp65. To enhance vector safety, we used a replication-deficient strain (rdSeV) that infects target cells in a nonproductive manner while retaining viral gene expression. In this study, we explored the impact that transduction with rdSeV has on human dendritic cells (DCs) by comparing it to the parental, replication-competent Sendai virus strain (rcSeV) as well as the poxvirus …

Mouse Model of Cytomegalovirus Disease and Immunotherapy in the Immunocompromised Host: Predictions for Medical Translation that Survived the “Test o…

2018

Human Cytomegalovirus (hCMV), which is the prototype member of the β-subfamily of the herpesvirus family, is a pathogen of high clinical relevance in recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). hCMV causes multiple-organ disease and interstitial pneumonia in particular upon infection during the immunocompromised period before hematopoietic reconstitution restores antiviral immunity. Clinical investigation of pathomechanisms and of strategies for an immune intervention aimed at restoring antiviral immunity earlier than by hematopoietic reconstitution are limited in patients to observational studies mainly because of ethical issues including the imperative medical indication …

Tetrahydrocarbazoles decrease elevated SOCE in medium spiny neurons from transgenic YAC128 mice, a model of Huntington's disease

2017

AbstractHuntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disease caused by a polyglutamine expansion within the huntingtin (HTT) gene. One of the cellular functions that is dysregulated in HD is store-operated calcium entry (SOCE), a process in which the depletion of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) induces Ca2+ influx from the extracellular space. We detected an enhanced activity of SOC channels in medium spiny neurons (MSNs) from YAC128 mice, a transgenic model of HD, and investigated whether this could be reverted by tetrahydrocarbazoles. The compound 6-bromo-N-(2-phenylethyl)-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-carbazol-1-amine hydrochloride was indeed able to restore the disturbed…

Examination of the pathogenic potential of Candida albicans filamentous cells in an animal model of haematogenously disseminated candidiasis

2016

The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is an increasingly common threat to human health . Candida albicans grows in several morphologies and mutant strains locked in yeast or filamentous forms have attenuated virulence in the murine model of disseminated candidiasis. Thus, the ability to change shape is important for virulence. The transcriptional repressors Nrg1p and Tup1p are required for normal regulation of C. albicans morphology. Strains lacking either NRG1 or TUP1 are constitutively pseudohyphal under yeast growth conditions, and display attenuated virulence in the disseminated model. To dissect the relative importance of hyphae and pseudohyphae during an infection, we use…