Vaccine responses and hybrid immunity in people living with HIV after SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge for people living with HIV (PLWH), particularly immune non-responders (INR) with compromised CD4 T-cell reconstitution following antiretroviral therapy (CD4 count <350 cells per mm). Their diminished vaccine responses raised concerns about their vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections (BTI). Our in-depth study here revealed chronic inflammation in PLWH and a limited anti-Spike IgG response after vaccination in INR.

Chronic HIV Infection Increases Monocyte NLRP3 Inflammasome-Dependent IL-1α and IL-1β Release.

Antiretroviral treatment (ART) has converted HIV from a lethal disease to a chronic condition, yet co-morbidities persist. Incomplete immune recovery and chronic immune activation, especially in the gut mucosa, contribute to these complications. Inflammasomes, multi-protein complexes activated by innate immune receptors, appear to play a role in these inflammatory responses.

COVID-19 patients treated with convalescent plasma.

Background: In Norway, treatment with COVID-19 convalescent plasma has been given through the NORPLASMA project. The treatment was initially offered to critically ill patients after an individual assessment, but from December 2020, the indication was limited to critically ill, immunocompromised patients. In this article we describe clinical characteristics, comorbidity and mortality in patients who received convalescent plasma in these two periods.

Increased interleukin-6 and macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 are associated with respiratory failure in COVID-19.

In SARS-CoV-2 infection there is an urgent need to identify patients that will progress to severe COVID-19 and may benefit from targeted treatment. In this study we analyzed plasma cytokines in COVID-19 patients and investigated their association with respiratory failure (RF) and treatment in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Hospitalized patients (n = 34) with confirmed COVID-19 were recruited into a prospective cohort study.

Elevated plasma sTIM-3 levels in patients with severe COVID-19.

Background: The pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still incompletely understood, but it seems to involve immune activation and immune dysregulation.

Objective: We examined the parameters of activation of different leukocyte subsets in COVID-19-infected patients in relation to disease severity.

Methods: We analyzed plasma levels of myeloperoxidase (a marker of neutrophil activation), soluble (s) CD25 (sCD25) and soluble T-cell immunoglobulin mucin domain-3 (sTIM-3) (markers of T-cell activation and exhaustion), and sCD14 and sCD163 (markers of monocyte/macrophage activation) in 39 COVID-19-infected patients at hospital admission and 2 additional times during the first 10 days in relation to their need for intensive care unit (ICU) treatment.