Optimizing JC and BK polyomavirus IgG testing for seroepidemiology and patient counseling.

Background: Polyomavirus JC (JCPyV) and BK (BKPyV) can cause significant diseases in immunocompromised patients including nephropathy, hemorrhagic cystitis, and leukoencephalopathy. Recently, JCPyV and BKPyV IgG have been explored as risk predictors in multiple sclerosis and transplant patients, but sensitivity, specificity and quantification issues limit current performance.

Objective: To improve JCPyV and BKPyV-specific antibody testing.

Clearance of persistent hepatitis C virus infection in humanized mice using a claudin-1-targeting monoclonal antibody.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer. Cell entry of HCV and other pathogens is mediated by tight junction (TJ) proteins, but successful therapeutic targeting of TJ proteins has not been reported yet. Using a human liver-chimeric mouse model, we show that a monoclonal antibody specific for the TJ protein claudin-1 (ref.

Treatment of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy with interleukin 7.

Importance: No reliable treatment options are known for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy with underlying immunodeficiency. We describe successful compassionate use of recombinant human interleukin 7 in a patient with idiopathic CD4+ T-cell lymphocytopenia.

Observations: After the diagnoses of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and idiopathic CD4+ T-cell lymphocytopenia were established, a 61-year-old man was treated with recombinant human interleukin 7 on November 1, 2012.

The human JC polyomavirus (JCPyV): virological background and clinical implications.

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) was the first of now 12 PyVs detected in humans, when in 1964, PyV particles were revealed by electron microscopy in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) tissues. JCPyV infection is common in 35-70% of the general population, and the virus thereafter persists in the renourinary tract. One third of healthy adults asymptomatically shed JCPyV at approximately 50,000 copies/mL urine.

Synthetic anti-lipopolysaccharide peptides and hepatitis C virus infection.

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although antiviral therapy has been markedly improved by the licensing of direct-acting antivirals, safety, resistance, high costs and difficult-to-treat patients remain important challenges.

Areas Covered: This article focuses and comments on the recent development of synthetic anti-lipopolysaccharide peptides (SALPs) which bind to highly sulfated glycosaminoglycan/heparan sulfate (HS) on cell surface.

Boceprevir and personalized medicine in hepatitis C virus infection.

Boceprevir was the first agent, along with telaprevir, of a novel class of direct-acting antivirals that entered clinical practice for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Boceprevir is an antiprotease that directly blocks hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication. Two studies in patients with HCV genotype 1 infection have shown that addition of boceprevir to the standard of care, ie, pegylated interferon-alfa (PEG-IFN-α) and ribavirin, markedly increased the rate of sustained virological response.

Comparison between NaCl tolerance response and acclimation to cold temperature in Shewanella putrefaciens.

Two strains of the spoiling bacterium S. putrefaciens showed an adaptation capacity to hyperosmotic shock when they were pretreated with a sublethal concentration of NaCl. The maximal tolerance factor for the CIP 69.