[Analytical performances of real-time PCR by Abbott RealTime CMV with m2000 for the detection of cytomegalovirus in urine].

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the leading cause of sensoneurinal disability due to infectious congenital disease. The diagnosis of congenital CMV infection is based on the search of CMV in the urine within the first two weeks of life. Viral culture of urine is the gold standard.

Direct-acting antiviral treatment in adults infected with hepatitis C virus: Reactivation of hepatitis B virus coinfection as a further challenge.

Use of direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) greatly improves management of adults infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) whether patients are treatment-naive or unsuccessfully pre-treated. Several inhibitors of viral nonstructural proteins (NS3/4A protease, NS5A and NS5B polymerase) allow a rapid HCV clearance and increase rates of sustained virological response. Both the EASL and AASLD guidelines have recently published up-to-date recommendations for their use, addressing each HCV genotype and particular situations.

Detection of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen using the Abbott ARCHITECT anti-HBc assay: analysis of borderline reactive sera.

Routine use of the automated chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay Abbott ARCHITECT anti-HBc for diagnosis of hepatitis B is limited in case of borderline reactive sera with low signal close to the cut-off index. In order to determine the significance of anti-HBc detection when borderline reactivity occurs using the ARCHITECT anti-HBc assay, a comparative study was designed. 3540 serum samples collected over a 2-month period in the hospital of Nice were examined for markers of HBV infection (HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc).

Designing a HER2/neu promoter to drive alpha1,3galactosyltransferase expression for targeted anti-alphaGal antibody-mediated tumor cell killing.

Introduction: Our goal was to specifically render tumor cells susceptible to natural cytolytic anti-alphaGal antibodies by using a murine alpha1,3galactosyltransferase (malphaGalT) transgene driven by a designed form of HER2/neu promoter (pNeu), the transcription of which is frequently observed to be above basal in breast tumors. Indeed, the alphaGalT activity that promotes Galalpha1,3Galbeta1,4GlcNAc-R (alphaGal) epitope expression has been mutationally disrupted during the course of evolution, starting from Old World primates, and this has led to the counter-production of large amounts of cytotoxic anti-alphaGal antibodies in recent primates, including man.

Method: Expression of the endogenous c-erbB-2 gene was investigated in various cell lines by northern blotting.

High permissivity of human HepG2 hepatoma cells for influenza viruses.

Human HepG2 hepatoma cells are highly permissive for influenza virus type A and type B, even without the addition of trypsin, and they exhibit a marked cytopathic effect. This property greatly facilitates the primary isolation of influenza viruses. Virus replication was significantly reduced by the plasmin(ogen)-specific inhibitor tranexamic acid, and this suggests a potential role played by the plasminogen/tissue plasminogen activator complex at the surface of HepG2 cells.

Epigenetic reprogramming of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE) in HIV-1-infected CEM T cells.

Sialylated glycoconjugates mediate several key lymphocyte functions. We previously reported that hyposialylation occurred in latently HIV-1-infected CEM T cells, despite the fully preserved catalytic activity of several sialyltransferases. We show now that these cells are affected by a down-regulation of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE), which leads to a dramatic decrease in the synthesis of CMP-sialic acid, the donor substrate of all sialyltransferases.

CAL72: a human osteosarcoma cell line with unique effects on hematopoietic cells.

Permanent osteoblastic cell lines are potential tools to study the interactions between osteoblastic and hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow cavity. In a recent work we have shown that the osteosarcoma cell line CAL72 may be more closely related to normal osteoblasts than the osteosarcoma cells previously described. In the present work we continued the characterisation of the CAL72 cell line with regard to its effects on various hematopoietic cells, in coculture experiments.