Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection might increase the risk of fungal superinfection in allogeneic stem cell transplant patients. The potential association between the occurrence of CMV DNAemia and the development of invasive aspergillosis in this clinical setting was investigated. The current retrospective observational study included 167 patients undergoing T cell-replete allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current study was designed to assess the predictive value of the evaluation of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific T-cell immunity early following admission to the intensive care unit for inferring the risk of active CMV infection in non-immunosuppressed surgical and trauma patients. A total of 31 CMV-seropositive patients were included. Patients were screened for the presence of CMV DNA in plasma and in tracheal aspirates by real-time PCR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe performance of the QuantiFERON-cytomegalovirus (CMV) assay was compared to that of a flow cytometry intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) method for the detection of CMV-specific gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing CD8(+) T-cell responses in allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT) recipients and for estimations of their magnitude and functionality. A total of 90 whole-blood specimens from 23 allo-SCT recipients was analyzed by both methods. Overall, the percentage of specimens that yielded concordant results by both methods was 68.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune mechanisms involved in control of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in the allogeneic stem cell transplantation setting have not been fully disclosed. CMV pp65 and IE-1-specific CD8(+) T cells expressing IFN-γ, TNF-α, and CD107a, alone or in combination, and NKG2C(+) NK cells were prospectively enumerated during 13 episodes of CMV DNAemia. The expansion of monofunctional and polyfunctional CD8(+) T cells was associated with CMV DNAemia clearance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDissociation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA loads between the lower respiratory tract and blood, with high levels in the former compartment and low or undetectable levels in the latter, commonly occurs during active CMV infection in critically ill patients despite the presence of high frequencies of CMV-specific IFN-γ-producing CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells in blood. Data presented in this case report suggest that inter-compartmental differences in interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels may, in part, explain the pathobiology of this phenomenon. In the absence of ganciclovir treatment, a significant correlation was observed between IL-10 levels and CMV DNA loads in lower respiratory tract specimens (P = 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPreemptive antiviral therapy strategies for active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection occurring in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients should be optimized to avoid overtreatment. The current study was aimed at determining whether the analysis of the kinetics of CMV DNA load in plasma may provide useful information for the therapeutic management of active CMV infection in this setting. A total of 59 consecutive patients were included in the study, of which 40 (67.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation occurs frequently in critically ill patients. The natural course of CMV infection and the interaction between CMV and the adaptive immune system in this setting remain poorly defined. Fifty-three CMV-seropositive patients in a surgical and trauma intensive care unit were included in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe dynamics of CMV pp65 and IE-1-specific IFNgamma-producing CD8(+) (IFNgamma CD8(+)) and CD4(+) (IFNgamma CD4(+)) T cells and CMV DNAemia were assessed in 19 pre-emptively treated episodes of active CMV infection. Peripheral counts of IFNgamma CD8(+) and IFNgamma CD4(+) T cells inversely correlated with CMV DNAemia levels (P = <0.001 and P = 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe evolution of white blood cells after ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and their association with infarct size and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) remains unclear. Two hundred eleven patients underwent CMR after STEMI. Infarct mass (grams) was determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) may enhance cytomegalovirus (CMV) replication in allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT) recipients either through direct or indirect mechanisms. Definitive evidence supporting this hypothesis are lacking. We investigated the effect of HHV-6 replication on active CMV infection in 68 allo-SCT recipients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFB cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a lymphoproliferative disorder with a variable clinical course. Patients with unmutated IgV(H) gene show a shorter progression-free and overall survival than patients with immunoglobulin heavy chain variable regions (IgV(H)) gene mutated. In addition, BCL6 mutations identify a subgroup of patients with high risk of progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, the theory that hyperinflammation is the body's primary response to potent stimulus has been challenged. Indeed, a deregulation of the immune system could be the cause of multiple organ failure. So far, clinicians have focused on the last steps of the inflammatory cascade.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is a remarkably heterogeneous disorder. Some patients have an indolent disease whereas others undergo a more agressive presentation needing treatment. New therapeutics approaches are necessary for the treatment of B-CLL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The incidence of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) end-organ disease has dramatically decreased since the implementation of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAARTs), but the precise immune mechanism whereby HCMV is controlled remains to be elucidated.
Objectives: To investigate the effect of (HAART) on CD4+ T-cell immunity to HCMV in AIDS patients with no past or current HCMV disease.
Study Design: Seventeen patients were prospectively examined for CD4+ (CD45RO+ and CD45 RA+) T-cell counts (flow cytometry), HIV RNA load (Amplicor HIV test), HCMV leukoDNAemia and HCMV DNA in urine (nested PCR), lymphoproliferative response (LPR) to HCMV, phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and purified protein derived from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPD) by measurement of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation to DNA (ELISA) and cytokine secretion (IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-10) by HCMV-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cultures (ELISA).
Both hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and hypereosinophilic syndrome have been associated with hematologic neoplasms and are respectively related to an overproduction of the cytokines Thelper 1 (Th1) and Th2 by tumor cells or reactive cells. To our knowledge, this is the first time a case of a peripheral T-cell lymphoma consecutively associated with both paraneoplastic conditions has been reported. Importantly, in this case when the lymphoma exclusively involved the bone marrow, severe paraneoplastic systemic damage, a CD8+ suppressor/cytotoxic phenotype and a hypereosinophilia not related to high levels of interleukin (IL)-5 was found.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEarly reconstitution of lymphoid populations was monitored by immunophenotyping in 57 allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell (allo-PBSC) transplant patients either with or without cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia or disease. Cell counts for total lymphocytes and CD4(+) T cells above the percentile 60th at day 14 postransplant were associated significantly with CMV viremia-free survival within 120 days after transplant. Recovery of total lymphocyte, CD3(+), and CD8(+) T-cell counts proceeded at a more rapid rate in CMV viremic patients than in nonviremic patients, irrespective of whether preemptive treatment with ganciclovir had been prescribed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong 20 cases of typical splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL), two cases had blastic transformation. The genetic mechanisms underlying the morphologic transformation were investigated by comparing genetic changes in initial and blastic phases. A complex karyotype including trisomy of 3q and genomic gain of 17q22-q24 was seen in both cases at diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe efficacy of antisense gene therapy depends on efficient delivery of oligonucleotides into targeted cells. Although polyethyleneimine based polyplexes have been reported as good transfection reagents, they are inefficient in lymphoid cell transfection. We report the construction of an immunopolyplex, a targeted nonviral vector based on a polyplex backbone and its application for oligonucleotide transfer on human lymphoma cell lines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Specific and efficient delivery of genes into targeted cells is a priority objective in non-viral gene therapy. Polyethyleneimine-based polyplexes have been reported to be good non-viral transfection reagents. However, polyplex-mediated DNA delivery occurs through a non-specific mechanism.
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