Human cytomegalovirus non-primary infection during pregnancy: antibody response, risk factors and newborn outcome.

Objectives: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) non-primary infections can occur in pregnant women and may result in congenital infection. Comprehensive studies investigating the frequency, characteristics, risk factors and immune response of non-primary infection in pregnancy are missing, while the rate of vertical transmission is not known.

Methods: HCMV non-primary infection was investigated prospectively in 250 pregnant women.

EBV DNA increase in COVID-19 patients with impaired lymphocyte subpopulation count.

Objectives: The immunologic profile and opportunistic viral DNA increase were monitored in Italian patients with COVID-19 in order to identify markers of disease severity.

Methods: A total of 104 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 were evaluated in the study. Of them, 42/104 (40.

Development and persistence of DAA resistance associated mutations in patients failing HCV treatment.

Background: Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) combined with pegylated-interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin (RBV) are still a standard treatment in patients with genotype 1HCV infection. However, virologic response could be impaired by baseline or early selection of resistant HCV strains.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the onset and persistence of resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) in the NS3 and NS5B genes of DAA-naïve patients failing treatment.

L1 gene sequence of a putative novel type human papillomavirus in an immunocompetent patient with glans lichen sclerosus.

The identification of a putative novel type human papillomaviruses (HPV) strain related to HPV-RTRX3 in a subject with penile skin warts and glans lichen sclerosus is reported. A beta-HPV-RTRX3-like strain was detected in a immunocompetent patient with glans lichen sclerosus. HPV screening was performed by PCR in L1 gene.

Systematic analysis of human oncogenic viruses in colon cancer revealed EBV latency in lymphoid infiltrates.

Background: Environmental factors may play a role in colon cancer. In this view, several studies investigated tumor samples for the presence of various viral DNA with conflicting results.

Findings: We undertook a systematic DNA analysis of 44 consecutive, prospectively collected primary tumor samples by real time and qualitative PCR for viruses of known or potential oncogenic role in humans, including polyomavirus (JCV, BKV, Merkel cell polyomavirus), HPV, HTLV, HHV-8 and EBV.

Phylogenetic analysis of HIV type 1 CRF02_AG in multiple genes in Italian and African patients living in Italy.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) circulating recombinant form (CRF) 02_AG is a major recombinant variant in different geographic areas and is predominant in West and Central Africa. Of particular interest is the increased frequency of CRF02_AG in patients living in Italy. In the present study, phylogenetic analyses were performed on gag, pol (integrase), and env (gp120 and gp41) gene sequences from 34 CRF02_AG-infected patients living in Italy.

Naturally occurring resistance mutations to inhibitors of HCV NS5A region and NS5B polymerase in DAA treatment-naïve patients.

Background: Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents target HCV proteins; some of these have already been approved for the treatment of HCV infection, while others are in development. However, selection of DAA-resistant viral variants may hamper treatment. The aim of this study was to illustrate potential natural DAA-resistance mutations in the HCV NS5A and NS5B regions of HCV genotypes 1a and 1b from DAA-naïve patients.

Complete genome characterization of enterovirus 104 circulating in Northern Italy shows recombinant origin of the P3 region.

Human enterovirus 104 (EV-C104) is a member of the Human Enterovirus species C (Family Picornaviridae, Genus Enterovirus) and has been associated with mild respiratory syndromes. At present, only two EV-C104 complete genome sequences from strains detected in Switzerland and Japan have been deposited in GenBank. In this study a complete genome analysis of seven Italian EV-C104 strains was carried out.

Multiple clusters of A(H1N1)pdm09 virus circulating in severe cases of influenza during the 2010-2011 season: a phylogenetic and molecular analysis of the neuraminidase gene.

The molecular characterization of circulating influenza A viruses is crucial to detect mutations potentially involved in increased virulence, drug resistance and immune escape. A molecular and phylogenetic analysis of A(H1N1)pdm09 neuraminidase (NA) gene sequences from different patient categories defined according to the severity of influenza infection were analyzed. A total of 126 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 positive samples from patients with severe infections in comparison with those with moderate and mild infections was performed in Lombardy (Northern Italy, nearly 10 million inhabitants) during the 2010-2011 season.

Naturally occurring mutations to HCV protease inhibitors in treatment-naïve patients.

Background: Protease inhibitors (PIs) to treat hepatitis C (HCV) virus infection have been approved and others are under development.

Results: The aims of this study were to illustrate natural polymorphisms in the HCV protease and measure the frequency of PI resistance mutations in different HCV genotypes from PI-naïve patients.Direct sequencing of HCV NS3/4A protease was performed in 156 HCV patients naïve to PIs who were infected with genotype 1a (n = 31), 1b (n = 39), 2 (n = 30), 3 (n = 33) and 4 (n = 23).

Comparison of three different methods for the evaluation of IL28 and ITPA polymorphisms in patients infected with HCV.

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) upstream of the IL28 gene (rs12979860) has been reported to predict sustained virological response to peginterferon-ribavirin therapy in chronic HCV patients. In addition, two functionally deficient variants (rs1127354 and rs7270101) of inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) were shown to protect against ribavirin (RBV) - induced hemolytic anemia during early stages of treatment. In this study, three methods for detecting IL28 and ITPA mutations were compared to evaluate accuracy, sensitivity costs and turn-around time.

Human cytomegalovirus serum neutralizing antibodies block virus infection of endothelial/epithelial cells, but not fibroblasts, early during primary infection.

A panel of human sera exhibited a >or=128-fold higher neutralizing potency against a human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) clinical isolate propagated and tested in endothelial (or epithelial) cells than against the same virus infecting human fibroblasts. In a group of 18 primary infections, the reverse geometric mean titre was in the range of 10-15 in human fibroblasts within the first 3 months after the onset of infection, whereas the endothelial cell infection-neutralizing activity was already present within the first 10 days, reaching median levels of 122, 320 and 545 at respectively 30, 60 and 90 days after onset, then declining slowly. This difference was also confirmed in the majority of reactivated and remote HCMV infections, as well as in a hyperimmune globulin preparation.

Human cytomegalovirus UL130 protein promotes endothelial cell infection through a producer cell modification of the virion.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) growth in endothelial cells (EC) requires the expression of the UL131A-128 locus proteins. In this study, the UL130 protein (pUL130), the product of the largest gene of the locus, is shown to be a luminal glycoprotein that is inefficiently secreted from infected cells but is incorporated into the virion envelope as a Golgi-matured form. To investigate the mechanism of the UL130-mediated promotion of viral growth in EC, we performed a complementation analysis of a UL130 mutant strain.

The human cytomegalovirus UL45 gene product is a late, virion-associated protein and influences virus growth at low multiplicities of infection.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes a protein related to the large (R1) subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (RR), but does not encode the corresponding small (R2) subunit. The R1 homologue, UL45, lacks many catalytic residues, and its impact on deoxyribonucleotide (dNTP) production remains unknown. Here, UL45 is shown to accumulate at late stages of infection and to be a virion tegument protein.