Evaluation of the In Vitro Capacity of Anti-Human Cytomegalovirus Antibodies to Initiate Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity.

In the setting of infectious diseases, antibodies show different functions beyond neutralizing activity. In this study, we investigated the activation of NK cells in vitro in the presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-specific antibodies and their potential role in the control of HCMV infection through antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC). Retinal pigmented epithelial cells (ARPE-19) infected with the HCMV strain VR1814 were co-cultured with cytokine-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the presence of sera collected from 23 HCMV-seropositive and 9 HCMV-seronegative donors.

Union is strength: the combination of radiomics features and 3D-deep learning in a sole model increases diagnostic accuracy in demented patients: a whole brain 18FDG PET-CT analysis.

Objective: FDG PET imaging plays a crucial role in the evaluation of demented patients by assessing regional cerebral glucose metabolism. In recent years, both radiomics and deep learning techniques have emerged as powerful tools for extracting valuable information from medical images. This article aims to provide a comparative analysis of radiomics features, 3D-deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) and the fusion of them, in the evaluation of 18F-FDG PET whole brain images in patients with dementia and normal controls.

Relationship of human cytomegalovirus-infected endothelial cells and circulating leukocytes in the pathogenesis of disseminated human cytomegalovirus infection: A narrative review.

Among the leucocyte subpopulations circulating in peripheral blood of immune-compromised patients with disseminated Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, polymorphonuclear leuckocytes (PMNL) and M/M may carry infectious virus. While only in PMNL early HCMV replicative events do occur, monocytes are susceptible to complete virus replication when they enter human organs, where as macrophages become a site of active complete virus replication. In vivo leucocytes and endothelial cells interact continuously, as suggested by several in vitro experimental findings showing the bidirectional HCMV transmission from leucocytes to and from endothelial cells with the critical aid of adhesion molecules.

Greater accuracy of radiomics compared to deep learning to discriminate normal subjects from patients with dementia: a whole brain 18FDG PET analysis.

Methods: 18F-FDG brain PET and clinical score were collected in 85 patients with dementia and 125 healthy controls (HC). Patients were assigned to various form of dementia on the basis of clinical evaluation, follow-up and voxels comparison with HC using a two-sample Student's t -test, to determine the regions of brain involved. Radiomic analysis was performed on the whole brain after normalization to an optimized template.

Autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs underlie West Nile virus encephalitis in ∼40% of patients.

Mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) infection is benign in most individuals but can cause encephalitis in <1% of infected individuals. We show that ∼35% of patients hospitalized for WNV disease (WNVD) in six independent cohorts from the EU and USA carry auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-α and/or -ω. The prevalence of these antibodies is highest in patients with encephalitis (∼40%), and that in individuals with silent WNV infection is as low as that in the general population.

Fibroblast, Epithelial and Endothelial Cell-Derived Human Cytomegalovirus Strains Display Distinct Neutralizing Antibody Responses and Varying Levels of gH/gL Complexes.

In sequential sera from pregnant women with HCMV primary infection (PI), the serum neutralizing activity is higher against virions produced in epithelial and endothelial cells than in fibroblasts. Immunoblotting shows that the pentamer complex/trimer complex (PC/TC) ratio varies according to the producer cell culture type used for the virus preparation to be employed in the neutralizing antibody (NAb) assay, and is lower in fibroblasts and higher in epithelial, and especially endothelial cells. The blocking activity of TC- and PC-specific inhibitors varies according to the PC/TC ratio of virus preparations.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) long-term shedding and HCMV-specific immune response in pregnant women with primary HCMV infection.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) shedding has been extensively investigated in newborns and in young children, however, much less is known about it in immunocompetent adults. Shedding of HCMV was investigated in saliva, vaginal secretions and urine of pregnant women experiencing primary infection along with the development of the HCMV-specific immune response. Thirty-three pregnant women shed HCMV DNA in peripheral biological fluids at least until one year after onset of infection, while in blood HCMV DNA was cleared earlier.

Immunosuppressive treatments selectively affect the humoral and cellular response to SARS-CoV-2 in vaccinated patients with vasculitis.

Objectives: To analyse humoral and cellular immune response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in patients with GCA.

Methods: Consecutive patients with a diagnosis of GCA receiving two doses of BNT162b2 vaccine were assessed at baseline and 3 weeks from the second vaccine dose. Healthy subjects (n = 51) were included as controls (HC).

Congenital Human Cytomegalovirus Infection: A Narrative Review of Maternal Immune Response and Diagnosis in View of the Development of a Vaccine and Prevention of Primary and Non-Primary Infections in Pregnancy.

Congenital cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) may affect about 1% of all newborns all over the world as a result of either a primary or recurrent human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. While about 90% of infants affected by cCMV are asymptomatic at birth, the remaining 10% are symptomatic often with neurodevelopmental impairment and sensorineural hearing loss. In view of identifying the best approach to vaccine prevention of cCMV, this review will examine the most important steps made in the study of the immune response to, and diagnosis of, HCMV infection.

Pitfalls in the Serological Diagnosis of Primary Human Cytomegalovirus Infection in Pregnancy Due to Different Kinetics of IgM Clearance and IgG Avidity Index Maturation.

Primary infection occurs when seronegative women are infected by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Diagnosis of primary infection is based on the following: antibody seroconversion, presence of IgM and low IgG avidity index (AI), and presence of DNAemia. The kinetics of HCMV-specific IgM antibody and maturation of AI might be very rapid or long-lasting during primary infection, which makes serological diagnosis insidious.

Slow cytomegalovirus-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell differentiation: 10-year follow-up of primary infection in a small number of immunocompetent hosts.

Differentiation of human cytomegalovirus specific T cells is a slow process requiring years. In the acute phase, EM predominate; subsequently, no contraction occurs (memory inflation) and T increase, especially among CD8 T cells, while few LTM T cells appear. After some years, LTM stabilizes and predominate among CD4 .

Prenatal Management of Congenital Human Cytomegalovirus Infection in Seropositive Pregnant Patients Treated with Azathioprine.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the leading infectious agent causing congenital disabilities. The risk of HCMV transmission to the fetus in pregnant women receiving immunosuppressive agents is unknown. We describe two cases of pregnant women with evidence of pre-conception HCMV protective immunity receiving azathioprine for ulcerative colitis or systemic lupus erythematosus.

Determination of anti-p52 IgM and anti-gB IgG by ELISA as a novel diagnostic tool for detection of early and late phase of primary human cytomegalovirus infections during pregnancy.

Background: Dating of primary human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in pregnancy is crucial to define whether infection occurred before or during pregnancy and at which gestational age.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify a diagnostic strategy for determination of early, intermediate and late phase of HCMV primary infection during pregnancy.

Study Design: Sequential serum samples from 40 pregnant women with defined onset of HCMV primary infection were tested retrospectively for IgM, IgG and IgG avidity against whole HCMV lysate, along with anti-p52 IgM and anti-gB IgG (Euroimmun AG).

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-specific T cell but not neutralizing or IgG binding antibody responses to glycoprotein complexes gB, gHgLgO, and pUL128L correlate with protection against high HCMV viral load reactivation in solid-organ transplant recipients.

Immune correlates of protection against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection are still debated. This study aimed to investigate which arm of the immune response plays a major role in protection against HCMV infection in kidney transplant recipients (n = 40) and heart transplant recipients (n = 12). Overall, patients were divided into 2 groups: one including 37 patients with low viral load (LVL), and the other including 15 patients with high viral load (HVL).

False human cytomegalovirus IgG-positivity at prenatal screening.

Background: An incorrect definition of immune status to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can lead to incorrect management of pregnant women.

Objectives: Aims of the study were: i) to describe 10 cases of unconfirmed HCMV IgG-seroconversion in pregnancy; ii) to develop a panel of confirmatory tests to define HCMV serostatus; iii) to investigate the frequency of false IgG-positive results in pregnant women screened with the LIAISONCMVIgGII automated assay.

Study Design: Blood samples from 10 pregnant women referred for HCMV IgG-seroconversion were examined to confirm/exclude a primary infection.

Phenotype and specificity of T cells in primary human cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy: IL-7Rpos long-term memory phenotype is associated with protection from vertical transmission.

Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is the major cause of birth defects and a precise definition of the HCMV-specific T-cell response in primary infection may help define reliable correlates of immune protection during pregnancy. In this study, a high throughput method was used to define the frequency of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells specific for four HCMV proteins in the naïve compartment of seronegative subjects and the effector/memory compartments of subjects with primary/remote HCMV infection. The naïve repertoire displayed comparable frequencies of T cells that were reactive with HCMV structural (pp65, gB and the pentamer gHgLpUL128L) and non-structural (IE-1) proteins.

Human Cytomegalovirus-Specific Memory CD4+ T-Cell Response and Its Correlation With Virus Transmission to the Fetus in Pregnant Women With Primary Infection.

Background: Primary human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection during pregnancy is the major cause of congenital viral sequelae. The HCMV-specific T-cell response may have a role in the prevention of virus transmission to the fetus.

Methods: HCMV-specific memory T cells were investigated in the second month after primary infection onset in 44 pregnant women (15 transmitting the infection to the fetus) and 8 pregnant women with remote infection.

Follicular helper T-cells and virus-specific antibody response in primary and reactivated human cytomegalovirus infections of the immunocompetent and immunocompromised transplant patients.

Analysis of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) primary infection in immunocompetent (n=40) and immunocompromised transplant patients (n=20) revealed that the median peak antibody titre neutralizing infection of epithelial cells was 16-fold higher in immunocompromised patients. The mechanism of this finding was investigated by measuring: (i) HCMV DNAemia; (ii) HCMV neutralizing antibodies; (iii) ELISA IgG antibody titre to HCMV glycoprotein complexes gHgLpUL128L, gHgLgO and gB; and (iv) HCMV-specific (IFN-γ+) CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells. Circulating CXCR5+ CD4+ (memory T follicular helper - TFH-cells) were identified as activated TFH (ICOS+PD-1++CCR7lo) and quiescent cells.