Analysis of a Combined HBHA and ESAT-6-Interferon-γ-Release Assay for the Diagnosis of Tuberculous Lymphadenopathies.

Background And Objectives: The incidence of tuberculosis lymphadenopathy (TBLA) is increasing, and diagnostic procedures lack sensitivity and are often highly invasive. TBLA may be asymptomatic, and differential diagnosis with other adenopathies (ADPs) is difficult. We evaluated a blood-cell interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) with two different stage-specific mycobacterial antigens for the differential diagnosis of ADP suspected of mycobacterial origin.

A semi high-throughput whole blood-based flow cytometry assay to detect and monitor -specific Th1, Th2 and Th17 responses.

Introduction: The characterization of (Bp) antigen-specific CD4 T cell cytokine responses should be included in the evaluation of immunogenicity of pertussis vaccines but is often hindered by the lack of standardized robust assays.

Methods: To overcome this limitation, we developed a two-step assay comprising a short-term stimulation of fresh whole blood with Bp antigens and cryopreservation of the stimulated cells, followed later on by batch-wise intracellular cytokine analysis by flow cytometry. Blood samples collected from recently acellular (aP) vaccine boosted subjects with a whole-cell- or aP-primed background was incubated for 24 hrs with Pertussis toxin, Filamentous hemagglutinin or a Bp lysate (400µl per stimulation).

Distinct Expression Patterns of Interleukin-22 Receptor 1 on Blood Hematopoietic Cells in SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

The new pandemic virus SARS-CoV-2 is characterized by uncontrolled hyper-inflammation in severe cases. As the IL-22/IL-22R1 axis was reported to be involved in inflammation during viral infections, we characterized the expression of IL-22 receptor1, IL-22 and IL-22 binding protein in COVID-19 patients. Blood samples were collected from 19 non-severe and 14 severe patients on the day they presented (D0), at D14, and six months later, and from 6 non-infected controls.

SP-D and CC-16 Pneumoproteins' Kinetics and Their Predictive Role During SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Background: Surfactant protein D (SP-D) and pulmonary club cell protein 16 (CC-16) are called "pneumoproteins" and are involved in host defense against oxidative stress, inflammation, and viral outbreak. This study aimed to determine the predictive value of these pneumoproteins on the incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or death in patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: This retrospective study included 87 patients admitted to an emergency department.

Differential expression of maturation and activation markers on NK cells in patients with active and latent tuberculosis.

NK cells were recently suggested to be important for the initial control of M. tuberculosis infection. The phenotypes of the 3 main NK blood subsets, CD56 , CD56 , and CD56 cells, were characterized by flow cytometry in a cohort of 81 prospectively enrolled subjects (21 untreated patients with active tuberculosis -aTB-, 35 latently TB infected -LTBI- subjects, and 25 non-infected controls), using 9 different mAbs added to whole blood.