Publications by authors named "Daisy Graca"

The ability of an organism to overcome infectious diseases has traditionally been linked to killing invading pathogens. Accumulating evidence, however, indicates that, apart from restricting pathogen loads, organismal survival is coupled to an additional yet poorly understood mechanism called disease tolerance. Here we report that p16 immune cells play a key role in establishing disease tolerance.

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Introduction: Rituximab is a first-line treatment for membranous nephropathy. Nephrotic syndrome limits rituximab exposure due to urinary drug loss. Rituximab underdosing (serum level <2 μg/ml at month-3) is a risk factor for treatment failure.

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COVID-19 vaccines have significantly decreased the number of severe cases of the disease, but the virus circulation remains important, and questions about the need of new vaccination campaigns remain unanswered. The individual's protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection is most commonly measured by the level and the neutralizing capacity of antibodies produced against SARS-CoV-2. T cell response is a major contributor in viral infection, and several studies have shown that cellular T cell response is crucial in fighting off SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Introduction: COVID-19 vaccines are expected to provide effective protection. However, emerging strains can cause breakthrough infection in vaccinated individuals. The immune response of vaccinated individuals who have experienced breakthrough infection is still poorly understood.

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Introduction: Data on immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients living with HIV (PLWH) over a period longer than 3 months are currently limited. We measured the immune response after BNT162b2 vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in this population.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled PLWH on successful antiretroviral therapy, initiating vaccination with two doses of the BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine administered at six-week interval.

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Article Synopsis
  • The SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused global outbreaks and numerous fatalities, with some treatments available to lower mortality and hospitalization rates.
  • Researchers studied IFN-γ levels as a potential biomarker to predict hospitalization risks early in infection; individuals with low IFN-γ (below 15 IU/mL) were significantly more likely to be hospitalized.
  • In addition to low IFN-γ levels, factors such as being over 65 years old and unvaccinated were linked to increased hospitalization risk, highlighting the importance of early monitoring and treatment decision-making for COVID-19 patients.
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Background: While air pollution is a major issue due to its harmful effects on human health, few studies focus on its impact on the immune system and vulnerability to viral infections. The lockdown declared following the COVID-19 pandemic represents a unique opportunity to study the large-scale impact of variations in air pollutants in real life. We hypothesized that variations in air pollutants modify Th1 response represented by interferon (IFN) γ production.

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Primary membranous nephropathy (pMN) is an auto-immune disease characterized by auto-antibodies targeting podocyte antigens resulting in activation of complement and damage to the glomerular basement membrane. pMN is the most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults without diabetes. Despite a very heterogeneous course of the disease, the treatment of pMN has for many years been based on uniform management of all patients regardless of the severity of the disease.

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Patients with hematological malignancies have impaired immune response after two doses of BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech) vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Here, in this observational study (registration number HDH F20210324145532), we measure SARS-CoV-2 anti-Spike antibodies, neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses after immune stimulation with a third dose (D3) of the same vaccine in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (n = 13), B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 14), and multiple myeloma (n = 16)). No unexpected novel side effects are reported.

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