Immunology of Infectious Disease News Volume 1.29 | Oct 2 2013

Risk Factors for Epstein Barr Virus Related Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Epstein-Barr virus associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease can be a life-threatening complication for transplanted patients due to suppressed T-cell mediated immunity. Researchers analyzed possible risk factors associated with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease in a cohort of over thousand patients. [Haematol-Hematol J] Abstract | Full Article

Inflammatory Mediators from Monocytes Down-Regulate Cellular Proliferation and Enhance Cytokines Production in Patients with Polar Clinical Forms of Chagas Disease
To clarify the involvement of monocytes as an important source of inflammatory mediators in Chagas disease patients, scientists evaluated PBMC before and after depletion of adherent cells (monocytes) from patients with indeterminate and cardiac clinical forms and from non-infected individuals. They demonstrated that after the partial depletion of adherent cells, production of PGE2 was slightly decreased in patients with Chagas disease. [Hum Immunol] Abstract

Lack of Variant Specific CD8+ T-Cell Response against Mutant and Pre-Existing Variants Leads to Outgrowth of Particular Clones in Acute Hepatitis C
Investigators sequenced multiple clones of NS3 1406 epitope in four HLA-A*02 patients with acute hepatitis C genotype 1b infection. Pentamers specific for the variants were used to monitor the corresponding CD8+ T cell response. They observed outgrowth of mutations, which induced only a weak and thus potentially insufficient CD8+ T cell response. [Virol J] Full Article

HIV

p21-Mediated RNR2 Repression Restricts HIV-1 Replication in Macrophages by Inhibiting dNTP Biosynthesis Pathway
In an attempt to understand p21-mediated restriction mechanisms, the authors found that p21 impairs HIV-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus mac reverse transcription in macrophages by reducing the intracellular deoxyribonucleotide pool to levels below those required for viral cDNA synthesis by a SAM domain and HD domain-containing protein 1-independent pathway. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract

Evaluation of Hepatitis C Virus as a Risk Factor for HIV-Associated Neuroretinal Disorder
Researchers investigated associations between hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-NRD and between HCV and single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the IL-10 receptor 1 gene. [Clin Infect Dis] Abstract

Increased E. coli-Induced IL-23 Production by CD16⁺ Monocytes Correlates with Systemic Immune Activation in Untreated HIV-1 Infected Individuals
Researchers investigated the cytokine response of peripheral blood myeloid dendritic cells and monocytes to in vitro stimulation with commensal enteric Escherichia coli in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from untreated, HIV-1 infected subjects and from uninfected controls. [J Virol] Abstract

The Effects of HIV Tat DNA on Regulating the Immune Response of HIV DNA Vaccine in Mice
Few studies have focused on exploring the effects of trans-activator protein expression plasmid (pTat) on regulating the immune responses induced by HIV DNA vaccines. The authors investigated the immunoregulation mediated by pTat in mice. [Virol J] Abstract | Full Article

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Better, Faster Lab Reports Help States’ Outbreak Response
Once labs detect dangerous infections, it’s crucial for the correct information to get to health departments quickly and in a format that allows them to recognize disease outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s efforts to speed this process and ensure that the best and most complete information about disease cases is reported is paying off, according to new data released in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] Press Release

Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute, Inc. Launched by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell Medical College, and Partnership Formed with Takeda
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell Medical College announced that they have formed the pioneering Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute, Inc. and have partnered with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd.. [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]
Press Release

NIH Awards Emory Multi-Million Dollar Contract to Study Infectious Diseases
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded Emory a contract to test new vaccines and therapies for infectious, immunologic and allergic diseases in adults and children. [Emory University] Press Release

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