Circulating mucosal-like IgA responses increase with severity of Puumala orthohantavirus-caused hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

Old World Orthohantaviruses cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) characterized by increased vascular permeability and acute kidney injury (AKI). Despite the systemic nature of the disease, the virus enters humans through inhalation and therefore initially encounters the immunoglobulin class A (IgA) dominated mucosal immune system. Herein, we characterized systemic IgA responses and their potential relationship to the mucosal immune activation by examining blood samples obtained from patients hospitalized due to acute Puumala orthohantavirus infection.

Hantavirus Research in Finland.

The articles in this Special Issue, "Hantavirus Research in Finland", were published between 2021 and 2022 [...

Fibrinolysis associated proteins and lipopolysaccharide bioactivity in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid in multiple sclerosis.

The coagulation cascade and fibrinolysis have links with neuroinflammation and increased activation of the coagulation system has been reported in MS patients. We quantified levels of D-dimer, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and the bioactivity of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma from newly diagnosed untreated MS patients and controls. These molecules showed multiple correlations with each other as well as with age, HLA-DRB1*15:01, body-mass-index and CSF IgG.

Innate lymphoid cells are activated in HFRS, and their function can be modulated by hantavirus-induced type I interferons.

Hantaviruses cause the acute zoonotic diseases hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Infected patients show strong systemic inflammation and immune cell activation. NK cells are highly activated in HFRS, suggesting that also other innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) might be responding to infection.

Maturing neutrophils of lower density associate with thrombocytopenia in Puumala orthohantavirus-caused hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

Puumala orthohantavirus-caused hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (PUUV-HFRS) is characterized by strong neutrophil activation. Neutrophils are the most abundant immune cell type in the circulation and are specially equipped to rapidly respond to infections. They are more heterogenous than previously appreciated, with specific neutrophil subsets recently implicated in inflammation and immunosuppression.

Epstein-Barr Virus in the Cerebrospinal Fluid and Blood Compartments of Patients With Multiple Sclerosis and Controls.

Background And Objectives: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is a major risk factor of multiple sclerosis (MS). We examined the presence of EBV DNA in the CSF and blood of patients with MS and controls. We analyzed whether EBV DNA is more common in the CSF of patients with MS than in controls and estimated the proportions of EBV-positive B cells in the CSF and blood.

Multivariate analyses of immune markers reveal increases in plasma EN-RAGE in first-episode psychosis patients.

Immune cells and cytokines are largely recognized as significant factors in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. The possible role of other blood cells such as leukocytes in events of acute psychosis is in contrast only emerging. To study blood-born markers in acute psychosis we here evaluated plasma proteins in drug-naive first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients and healthy controls using a multiplex proximity extension assay technique.

Hantavirus Infections among Military Forces.

Introduction: Hantaviruses cause two kinds of clinical syndromes. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome is caused by Hantaan virus in Asia, Puumala virus (PUUV) and Dobrava virus in Europe, and Seoul virus worldwide. Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome is caused by Sin Nombre virus in North America and Andes virus and related viruses in Latin America.

Puumala Hantavirus Infections Show Extensive Variation in Clinical Outcome.

The clinical outcome of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) infection shows extensive variation, ranging from inapparent subclinical infection (70-80%) to severe hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), with about 0.1% of cases being fatal. Most hospitalized patients experience acute kidney injury (AKI), histologically known as acute hemorrhagic tubulointerstitial nephritis.

Differential patterns of cross-reactive antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein detected for chronically ill and healthy COVID-19 naïve individuals.

Immunity to previously encountered viruses can alter response to unrelated pathogens. We reasoned that similar mechanism may also involve SARS-CoV-2 and thereby affect the specificity and the quality of the immune response against the virus. Here, we employed high-throughput next generation phage display method to explore the link between antibody immune response to previously encountered antigens and spike (S) glycoprotein.

[Infection outbreak among German and Finish troups in Eastern Lapland during World War II - First description of hantavirus disease in the German language area].

Eight decades ago, a report on "a swamp fever-like disease in German troups in Lapland" was published in this journal. The disease outbreak had occurred in 1942 and affected more than 1000 soldiers at the Finish front. The published, precise analysis of the clinical picture was obviously the first description of hantavirus disease in the German language area.

Neutralizing Antibody Titers in Hospitalized Patients with Acute Puumala Orthohantavirus Infection Do Not Associate with Disease Severity.

Nephropathia epidemica (NE), a mild form of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), is an acute febrile illness caused by Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV). NE manifests typically with acute kidney injury (AKI), with a case fatality rate of about 0.1%.

Long-Term Consequences of Puumala Hantavirus Infection.

Several viral infections are associated with acute and long-term complications. During the past two years, there have been many reports on post-infectious symptoms of the patients suffering from COVID-19 disease. Serious complications occasionally occur during the acute phase of Puumala orthohantavirus caused nephropathia epidemica.

Increased Heparanase Levels in Urine during Acute Puumala Orthohantavirus Infection Are Associated with Disease Severity.

Old-world orthohantaviruses cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), characterized by acute kidney injury (AKI) with transient proteinuria. It seems plausible that proteinuria during acute HFRS is mediated by the disruption of the glomerular filtration barrier (GFB) due to vascular leakage, a hallmark of orthohantavirus-caused diseases. However, direct infection of endothelial cells by orthohantaviruses does not result in increased endothelial permeability, and alternative explanations for vascular leakage and diminished GFB function are necessary.

Immune response to a conserved enteroviral epitope of the major capsid VP1 protein is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Background: Major cardiac events including myocardial infarction (MI) are associated with viral infections. However, how specific infections contribute to the cardiovascular insults has remained largely unclear.

Methods: We employed next generation phage display mimotope-variation analysis (MVA) to explore the link between antibody-based immune response and severe cardiovascular conditions.

Severity Biomarkers in Puumala Hantavirus Infection.

Annually, over 10,000 cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) are diagnosed in Europe. Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes most of the European HFRS cases. PUUV causes usually a relatively mild disease, which is rarely fatal.

ABO and Rhesus Blood Groups in Acute Puumala Hantavirus Infection.

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. We aimed to evaluate whether ABO and rhesus blood groups associate with the susceptibility or the severity of PUUV infection. We analyzed blood groups in 289 adult patients treated in Tampere University hospital due to PUUV infection during the years 1982-2017.

Coagulopathy in Acute Puumala Hantavirus Infection.

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes a hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), also called nephropathia epidemica (NE), which is mainly endemic in Europe and Russia. The clinical features include a low platelet count, altered coagulation, endothelial activation, and acute kidney injury (AKI). Multiple connections between coagulation pathways and inflammatory mediators, as well as complement and kallikrein-kinin systems, have been reported.

Hantavirus Research in Finland: Highlights and Perspectives.

Finland has the highest incidence of hantavirus infections globally, with a significant impact on public health. The large coverage of boreal forests and the cyclic dynamics of the dominant forest rodent species, the bank vole explain most of this. We review the relationships between Puumala hantavirus (PUUV), its host rodent, and the hantavirus disease, nephropathia epidemica (NE), in Finland.

Correction: Monocyte subset redistribution from blood to kidneys in patients with Puumala virus caused hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.

Urokinase plasminogen activator mediates changes in human astrocytes modeling fragile X syndrome.

The function of astrocytes intertwines with the extracellular matrix, whose neuron and glial cell-derived components shape neuronal plasticity. Astrocyte abnormalities have been reported in the brain of the mouse model for fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability, and a monogenic cause of autism spectrum disorder. We compared human FXS and control astrocytes generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells and we found increased expression of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), which modulates degradation of extracellular matrix.

Hantavirus infection-induced B cell activation elevates free light chains levels in circulation.

In humans, orthohantaviruses can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) or hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). An earlier study reported that acute Andes virus HPS caused a massive and transient elevation in the number of circulating plasmablasts with specificity towards both viral and host antigens suggestive of polyclonal B cell activation. Immunoglobulins (Igs), produced by different B cell populations, comprise heavy and light chains; however, a certain amount of free light chains (FLCs) is constantly present in serum.

The Clinical Presentation of Puumala Hantavirus Induced Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome Is Related to Plasma Glucose Concentration.

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes a hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome characterized by thrombocytopenia, increased capillary leakage, and acute kidney injury (AKI). As glucosuria at hospital admission predicts the severity of PUUV infection, we explored how plasma glucose concentration associates with disease severity. Plasma glucose values were measured during hospital care in 185 patients with PUUV infection.