Personal and professional quality of life among French health care workers during the first COVID-19 wave: a cross-sectional study.

Background: We aimed to assess the personal and professional quality of life changes among health care workers of different professions during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large French university hospital. Other published data originated from countries with different health care systems and outbreak dynamics.

Methods: All health care workers from our hospital were invited to fill-in an anonymous e-questionnaire of 71 questions regarding perceived personal, professional and overall quality of life before and during the first COVID-19 wave, general profile, occupation and job characteristics, change of assignment, COVID-care features if relevant, general perception during the first wave, and personal experience of being encouraged or stigmatised.

Rituximab and Corticosteroid Effect on Desmoglein-Specific B Cells and Desmoglein-Specific T Follicular Helper Cells in Pemphigus.

Pemphigus is an autoimmune blistering disease mediated by autoantibodies directed against desmogleins (DSGs). We recently showed that first-line treatment with rituximab (RTX) enables more patients to achieve long-lasting remission off therapy than corticosteroids alone. To understand the immunological mechanisms that mediate long-lasting clinical remission after RTX treatment, we analyzed the phenotype of DSG-specific memory B cells and DSG-specific T follicular helper cells by flow cytometry and measured antibody-secreting cells by enzyme-linked immune absorbent spot in patients treated with corticosteroids alone or RTX.

Author Correction: B-cell depletion induces a shift in self antigen specific B-cell repertoire and cytokine pattern in patients with bullous pemphigoid.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

B-cell depletion induces a shift in self antigen specific B-cell repertoire and cytokine pattern in patients with bullous pemphigoid.

Bullous Pemphigoid is the most common auto-immune bullous skin disease. It is characterized by the production of auto-antibodies directed against 2 proteins of the hemi-desmosome (BP180 and BP230). We assessed the efficacy and mechanisms of action of rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, in 17 patients with severe and relapsing type of bullous pemphigoid.

Soluble alpha-enolase activates monocytes by CD14-dependent TLR4 signalling pathway and exhibits a dual function.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common form of chronic inflammatory rheumatism. Identifying auto-antigens targeted by RA auto-antibodies is of major interest. Alpha-enolase (ENO1) is considered to be a pivotal auto-antigen in early RA but its pathophysiologic role remains unknown.

Long-term remissions of severe pemphigus after rituximab therapy are associated with prolonged failure of desmoglein B cell response.

Pemphigus is a severe blistering condition of the skin and mucosa caused by autoantibodies directed against desmogleins, which are a type of keratinocyte adhesion protein. B cell depletion by rituximab has short-term efficacy against pemphigus. We aimed to assess the long-term course of pemphigus patients after B cell depletion and to understand the immunological mechanisms that mediate long-lasting remissions.

Role of toll-like receptor 4 in the inflammation reaction surrounding silicone prosthesis.

The inflammation which occurs around the silicone prosthesis is a complex process that can provoke the failure of the device and compromise the health of the implanted patient. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which are transmembrane proteins, are now known to act in the innate immune response and in endogenous inflammation. The aim of our study was to assess the role of TLR4 in the foreign body reaction to a silicone shell prosthesis.

Novel serum markers of fibrosis progression for the follow-up of hepatitis C virus-infected patients.

Liver biopsy is considered the gold-standard method for the assessment of liver fibrosis during follow-up of hepatitis C virus-infected patients, but this invasive procedure is not devoid of complications. The aim of the present study was to identify novel non-invasive markers of fibrosis progression. By microarray analysis, we compared transcript levels in two extreme stages of fibrosis from 16 patients.

Down-regulated expression of the TSAP6 protein in liver is associated with a transition from cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) results from cirrhosis and, in Western Europe, hepatitis C virus and alcoholism are the predominant causes of this disease. We recently documented a global transcript repression in hepatocarcinoma nodules. The tumour suppressor activated pathway-6 (TSAP6) transcript codes for a transmembrane molecule that is an inducer of a caspase-3-dependent apoptotic pathway.

Transient and etiology-related transcription regulation in cirrhosis prior to hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence.

Aim: To search for transcription dysregulation that could (1) differentiate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-free from HCC-related cirrhosis (2) differentiate HCC-free cirrhosis related to HCV from that related to alcohol intake.

Methods: Using microarray analysis, we compared transcript levels in HCC-free cirrhosis (alcoholism: 7; hepatitis C: 7), HCC-associated cirrhosis (alcoholism: 10; hepatitis C: 10) and eight control livers. The identified transcripts were validated by qRT-PCR in an independent cohort of 45 samples (20 HCC-free cirrhosis; 15 HCC-associated cirrhosis and 10 control livers).

Genome-wide differences in hepatitis C- vs alcoholism-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: To look at a comprehensive picture of etiology-dependent gene abnormalities in hepatocellular carcinoma in Western Europe.

Methods: With a liver-oriented microarray, transcript levels were compared in nodules and cirrhosis from a training set of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (alcoholism, 12; hepatitis C, 10) and 5 controls. Loose or tight selection of informative transcripts with an abnormal abundance was statistically valid and the tightly selected transcripts were next quantified by qRTPCR in the nodules from our training set (12 + 10) and a test set (6 + 7).