Single-cell RNA-sequencing reveals profound changes in circulating immune cells in patients with heart failure.

Aims: Identification of signatures of immune cells at single-cell level may provide novel insights into changes of immune-related disorders. Therefore, we used single-cell RNA-sequencing to determine the impact of heart failure on circulating immune cells.

Methods And Results: We demonstrate a significant change in monocyte to T-cell ratio in patients with heart failure, compared to healthy subjects, which were validated by flow cytometry analysis.

[Detection of disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow of breast cancer patients with a new molecular method].

Objectives: Numerous studies have shown that the presence of clinically occult disseminated tumor cells (DTC) in the bone marrow (BM) of breast cancer patients is associated with an unfavourable clinical outcome. Immunocytochemistry (ICC) remains the gold standard for their detection. Assays based on RT-PCR are available; however so far they have not been used for routine detection of DTC.

ERalpha-status of disseminated tumour cells in bone marrow of primary breast cancer patients.

Introduction: Isolated disseminated tumour cells (DTC) are regarded as surrogate markers for minimal residual disease in breast cancer. Characterisation of these cells could help understand the known limitations of adjuvant therapy. Of particular interest is their oestrogen-receptor (ER) status because endocrine adjuvant therapy remains a cornerstone of breast cancer treatment.

Evaluation of a RT-PCR based routine screening tool for the detection of disseminated epithelial cells in the bone marrow of breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Numerous studies have shown that the presence of clinically occult disseminated tumor cells (DTC's) in the bone marrow (BM) of breast cancer patients is associated with an unfavourable clinical outcome. Immunocytochemistry (ICC) remains the gold standard for their detection. While assays based on RT-PCR are available, they have not been used for routine detection of DTC's.

Primary systemic therapy does not eradicate disseminated tumor cells in breast cancer patients.

Introduction: The presence of disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow of breast cancer patients has proven to be an independent prognostic factor. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of tumor cell dissemination after primary systemic therapy in relation to therapy response.

Methods: Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from 120 patients after completion of primary systemic therapy.

Presence of apoptotic and nonapoptotic disseminated tumor cells reflects the response to neoadjuvant systemic therapy in breast cancer.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) is an established strategy to reduce tumor size in breast cancer patients prior to breast-conserving therapy. The effect of NST on tumor cell dissemination in these patients is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of disseminated tumor cells (DTC), including apoptotic DTC, in breast cancer patients after NST, and to investigate the correlation of DTC status with therapy response.

Detection of cytokeratin-positive cells in the bone marrow of breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant therapy.

The presence of cytokeratin-positive cells in the bone marrow of breast cancer patients has been proven to be an independent prognostic factor. Their fate in primary breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant therapy is of particular interest. We investigated the bone marrow status of 112 patients undergoing postoperative adjuvant treatment before and after therapy.

Her2 expression on disseminated tumor cells from bone marrow of breast cancer patients.

Background: The presence of cytokeratin (CK)-positive cells in the bone marrow (BM) of breast cancer patients is an independent prognostic marker for long-term survival. While the exact nature of these cells remains under investigation, their persistence after chemotherapy is linked to decreased survival, making them a potential therapeutic target. Targeted therapy using the her2 antibody has been shown to improve survival in breast cancer patients.

Image analysis systems for the detection of disseminated breast cancer cells on bone-marrow cytospins.

We assessed the accuracy of automated cell imaging systems when compared to manual evaluation of cytospin slides in determining the presence of cytokeratin-positive, disseminated breast cancer cells in bone marrow aspirates. A total of 298 cytospin slides of bone marrow aspirates were first evaluated by individual screening by one expert immunocytologist. Subsequently, all 298 slides were evaluated by the Automated Cell Imaging System (ACIS) by ChromaVisiontrade mark.

Survival of Ugandan infants with subtype A and D HIV-1 infection (HIVNET 012).

Virologic factors may influence survival of HIV-1-infected infants. We compared survival of Ugandan infants with subtype A and subtype D HIV-1 infection. This study was performed in the context of the Ugandan clinical trial HIVNET 012, which compared the efficacy of single-dose nevirapine (NVP) and short-course zidovudine (AZT) for prevention of HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission.

Analysis of length variation in the V1-V2 region of env in nonsubtype B HIV type 1 from Uganda.

We optimized an assay for analysis of length variation in the V1-V2 region of HIV-1 env in plasma samples from Uganda. V1-V2 env length variation was analyzed in 31 plasma samples containing subtype A, C, D, or A/D recombinant HIV-1. DNA corresponding to the V1-V2 region was amplified by nested PCR.

Identification of Ugandan HIV type 1 variants with unique patterns of recombination in pol involving subtypes A and D.

Most HIV-1 infections in Uganda are caused by subtypes A and D. The prevalence of recombination and the sites of specific breakpoints between these subtypes have not been reported. HIV-1 pol sequences encoding protease (amino acids 1-99) and reverse transcriptase (amino acids 1-324) from 102 pregnant Ugandan women were analyzed by the Recombinant Identification Program, SimPlot, and examination of phylogenetically informative sites to identify sites of recombination between sequence segments belonging to different subtypes.

Performance of Applied Biosystems ViroSeq HIV-1 Genotyping System for sequence-based analysis of non-subtype B human immunodeficiency virus type 1 from Uganda.

The Applied Biosystems ViroSeq HIV-1 Genotyping System is a commercially available, integrated system for sequence-based analysis of drug resistance mutations in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease and reverse transcriptase (RT). We evaluated the performance of this system for analysis of non-subtype B HIV-1 by analyzing plasma samples from Ugandan women and infants. Plasma samples were obtained from 105 women and 25 infants enrolled in a Ugandan clinical trial.

Impact of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) subtype on women receiving single-dose nevirapine prophylaxis to prevent hiv-1 vertical transmission (hiv network for prevention trials 012 study).

In Uganda, the HIV Network for Prevention Trials (HIVNET) 012 study recently demonstrated that single-dose nevirapine (Nvp) prophylaxis is effective for preventing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). This exploratory study examines the relationship between HIV-1 subtype, MTCT, and the development of Nvp resistance (Nvp(R)) in women enrolled in HIVNET 012. For 102 women (32 whose infants were HIV-1 infected by age 6-8 weeks and 70 whose infants were uninfected), HIV-1 subtypes included 50 (49%) subtype A, 35 (34%) subtype D, 4 (4%) subtype C, 12 (12%) recombinant subtype, and 1 unclassified.

Identification of the K103N resistance mutation in Ugandan women receiving nevirapine to prevent HIV-1 vertical transmission.

Objective: A recent trial in Uganda demonstrated that a simple, inexpensive regimen of nevirapine (NVP) prophylaxis can dramatically reduce HIV-1 vertical transmission risk. In this regimen, women receive a single dose of NVP at the onset of labor and infants receive a single dose of NVP within 72 h of birth. The objective of this study was to determine whether HIV-1 variants with NVP resistance mutations were selected in Ugandan women who received this regimen in the Phase I/II trial HIVNET 006.

Identification of diverse HIV type 1 subtypes and dual HIV type 1 infection in pregnant Ugandan women.

Vertical (mother-to-child) transmission accounts for the majority of pediatric HIV-1 infections. Many factors are involved in vertical transmission, however it is not clear which factors are most important for determining whether a mother will transmit HIV-1 to her infant. It has been suggested that HIV-1 subtype may influence vertical transmission and that subtype D viruses may be less likely to be transmitted in this setting.

Analysis of HIV type 1 protease and reverse transcriptase in antiretroviral drug-naive Ugandan adults.

We analyzed plasma HIV-1 from 27 antiretroviral drug-naive Ugandan adults. Previous subtype analysis of env and gag sequences from these samples identified subtypes A, C, D, and recombinant HIV-1. Sequences of HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase (RT) were obtained with a commercial HIV-1 genotyping system.

Improved detection of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 variants by analysis of replicate amplification reactions: relevance to studies of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 vertical transmission.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals typically harbor mixtures of HIV-1 variants. For HIV-1 transmission studies, methods used for genotypic analysis should reliably detect variant mixtures. Such studies typically analyze complementary DNAs (cDNAs) from a single polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification.