Possible effects of ancestry-related oxysterol-binding protein-like 10 genetic polymorphisms on dengue virus replication and anti-dengue immune response.

Purpose: Oxysterol-binding protein-like 10 (OSBPL10) gene has been associated with reduced susceptibility to severe dengue in individuals of African descent. The aim of this study was to determine the possible effect of OSBPL10 on dengue virus (DENV) replication as well as the impact of African and European haplotypes of six OSBPL10 small nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs) on dengue multiplication and innate immune response.

Methods: We conducted gene knockdown experiments targeting OSBPL10 in THP-1 and Huh-7D12 cell lines, followed by a DENV-2 replication assay.

Molecular evolution of coxsackievirus A24v in Cuba over 23-years, 1986-2009.

Coxsackievirus A24 variant (CVA24v) is a major causative agent of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis outbreaks worldwide, yet the evolutionary and transmission dynamics of the virus remain unclear. To address this, we analyzed and compared the 3C and partial VP1 gene regions of CVA24v isolates obtained from five outbreaks in Cuba between 1986 and 2009 and strains isolated worldwide. Here we show that Cuban strains were homologous to those isolated in Africa, the Americas and Asia during the same time period.

Coxsackievirus A6 and enterovirus 71 causing hand, foot and mouth disease in Cuba, 2011-2013.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is usually caused by coxsackievirus A16 or enterovirus 71 (EV71). Between 2011 and 2013, HFMD cases were reported from different Cuban provinces. A total of 42 clinical specimens were obtained from 23 patients.

Comparison of a modified shell vial culture procedure with conventional mouse inoculation for rabies virus isolation.

Rabies is a neurotropic disease that is often lethal. The early diagnosis of rabies infection is important and requires methods that allow for the isolation of the virus from animals and humans. The present study compared a modified shell vial (MSV) procedure using 24-well tissue culture plates with the mouse inoculation test (MIT), which is considered the gold standard for rabies virus isolation.

Epidemiological studies on dengue virus type 3 in Playa municipality, Havana, Cuba, 2001-2002.

Objectives: Recognizing the uniqueness of secondary dengue virus (DENV)-1/3 dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS) cases at an interval of 24 years, we sought to estimate DENV infections as well as the ratios between mild disease and DHF/DSS by DENV infection sequence in Playa District (Havana, Cuba) during the 2001-2002 outbreak of dengue virus type 3 (DENV-3).

Methods: A retrospective seroepidemiological study was conducted in 2003 in Playa District. Blood samples were collected from a 1% random sample of residents and were studied for the prevalence of dengue neutralizing antibodies.

Neutralizing antibody response variation against dengue 3 strains.

To evaluate the neutralizing antibody activity of a human sera panel against seven strains of the homotypic virus. Sera were collected from DENV-3 immune individuals. Two DENV-3 genotypes and strains isolated at different time-points during the 2000 and 2001-2002 Havana epidemics were included.

Primary and secondary infections of Macaca fascicularis monkeys with Asian and American genotypes of dengue virus 2.

The goal of this study was to compare the immune response and the protection capacity induced by the dengue virus 2 (DENV-2) American and Asian genotypes in Macaca fascicularis monkeys. Animals were infected with American or Asian DENV-2 strains and challenged 1 year later with a DENV-2 Asian genotype strain. The viremia and monkey antibody levels were similar for the different strains after primary and secondary infection; however, the functionality of the antibody response was different.

Severe otitis due to Vibrio fluvialis in a patient with AIDs: first report in the world.

A case of waterborne otitis in a patient with AIDS was reported, who got infected with Yibrio fluvialis by swimming in a pool of sea water. This is the first case reported in Cuba and as far as we know in the world. We describe the clinical features associated with this an unusual case and discuss its significance.

[Factors of virulence associated with enteropathogenicity in strains of Aeromonas spp. isolated from children with diarrhea in Mérida, Venezuela].

The feces of 397 patients with acute diarrheal disease (ADD) and of other 121 patients without diarrea (control group) were studied in the state of Mérida, Venezuela, from June 1993 to December 1994. The genus Aeromonas was identified in patients with ADD in 11.83% and in 5.

[Microbiological characterization of non-O1 Vibrio cholerae isolated in Cuba].

The study of 422 non-01 Vibrio cholerae strains from nine provinces, 9 of them isolated from a water-borne disease outbreak, was performed. All the strains exhibited antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence factors. The nine strains from the outbreak were subjected to a DNA macrorestriction study based on the pulsed field electrophoresis technique.

Biological and Molecular Properties of Dengue 2 Strains Isolated during the DHF/DSS Cuban Epidemic, 1981.

To study some biological and molecular properties of nine DENV-2 strains isolated during the 1981 Cuban epidemic, temperature sensitivity, viral plaque size, the kinetic of virus replication in newborn mice inoculated by intracerebral route, the influence of pH medium on virus-cell attachment phase and the restriction enzyme pattern were studied. Strains were classified in two patterns according to temperature sensitivity, plaque size, and virus replication in mouse brain and cell culture and restriction enzymatic pattern the changes observed differentiate clearly the strains isolated at the beginning and at the end of the epidemic suggesting that viruses with different characteristics circulated.

Neutralizing antibodies after infection with dengue 1 virus.

Severity of disease is markedly increased when infection with dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) follows infection with DENV-1 at an interval of 20 years. Studies have shown that heterologous neutralizing antibody titers are inversely correlated with severity of a second infection. If this mechanism controlled disease severity in Cuba, heterotypic antibody titers should have declined over time.

RETRACTED: Evidence for Other Non-Poliovirus Enteroviruses Multiplies in L20B Cells.

This article has been retracted.

Ethnicity and difference in dengue virus-specific memory T cell responses in Cuban individuals.

The different risk factors associated with dengue hemorrhagic fever pathogenesis needs yet additional clarification. The exceptional epidemiological circumstances in Cuba allow their evaluation in a well-defined situation. In the present study the memory T cell response of 80 Cuban donors previously infected with dengue-1 and dengue-2 during the 1977 and 1981 epidemics, and belonging to different ethnic groups, was examined.

Dengue hemorrhagic Fever caused by sequential dengue 1-3 virus infections over a long time interval: Havana epidemic, 2001-2002.

A dengue epidemic caused by dengue virus 3 (DENV-3) occurred in Cuba in 2001-2002. It included cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). We report neutralizing antibody studies on sera from 54 of 78 DHF/DSS patients that provide evidence of infections occurring in the sequence DENV-1 followed by DENV-3.

[Detection of antirabic antibodies in personnel at risk through the use of the neutralization technique by reducing the number of plaques].

The neutralization technique by reducing the number of plaques (NRNP) for detecting antirabic antibodies in personnel at risk was used. Serum samples from individuals at high risk and from persons with vaccination antecedents and without them were studied. The neutralization technique was compared with the biological technique in mouses and as a result of the study it was obtained a concordance of 100%.

Aeromonas: an emerging pathogen associated with extraintestinal infection in Cuba.

An 87 years-old female with a history of heart disease who has been presenting dysnea and fever for 2 months was evaluated. A sputum bacteriological study proved positive for Aeromonas hydrophila in the context of an existing lung cancer. The study was negative for acid fast bacilli.

[Obtention and characterization of a diploid cell line of human kidney].

A new diploid cell line of human embrionary kidney was obtained by serial subcultures (Mag) starting from a primary culture. It was prepared by applying the explant technique instead of the classical enzymatic digestion with trypsin. The stabilization process of the diploid line after the "secondary culture" was attained between the passes 6 and 7.

Antibody responses to Asian and American genotypes of dengue 2 virus in immunized mice.

The possibility of a correlation between dengue virus genotype groups and disease severity is currently under discussion. The objective of this investigation was to identify any immunogenic difference between the American and Asian dengue 2 virus genotypes through the study of antibody development (virus-binding immunoglobulin G and neutralizing antibodies) in mice. Differences in the neutralization pattern between the strains studied were observed, suggesting the presence of slight antigenic variations among them.

Longitudinal study of herpesviruses in kidney transplant recipients in Cuba.

We compared a multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay and a shell vial assay for the detection of herpesviruses infection in 13 Cuban patients who had received kidney transplants. Cytomegalovirus and human herpesvirus 6 were detected in these patients.

Long-term memory cellular immune response to dengue virus after a natural primary infection.

Objectives: This study was conducted to examine the memory T-cell response to dengue virus 20 years after a primary infection. We took advantage of the exceptional epidemiologic situation in Cuba, where the population initially suffered two large successive epidemics due to dengue virus 1 and 2 respectively over a 4-year period. Thereafter, no dengue virus circulation was subsequently observed, except for the Santiago de Cuba municipality.