Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which constitutes 10-20 percent of all breast cancers, is aggressive, has high metastatic potential, and carries a poor prognosis due to limited treatment options. LT-IIc, a member of the type II subfamily of ADP-ribosylating-heat-labile enterotoxins that bind to a distinctive set of cell-surface ganglioside receptors-is cytotoxic toward TNBC cell lines, but has no cytotoxic activity for non-transformed breast epithelial cells. Here, primary TNBC cells, isolated from resected human tumors, showed an enhanced cytotoxic response specifically toward LT-IIc, in contrast to other enterotoxins that were tested.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) clade C is the most prevalent form of HIV-1 comprising nearly 46% of global infections and is the dominant subtype in India. Despite its predominance, the impact of HIV-1 clade C infection on cognitive function has been understudied in comparison with other subtypes, notably clade B, which is primarily found in Europe and North America. Few studies have assessed cognitive impairment in antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve men and women with HIV-1 clade C infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Measuring perinatal depression in women with HIV poses a challenge to accurate assessment. South Africa has particularly high rates of perinatal depression, with antenatal depression rates ranging from 21 to 47% and postnatal depression rates ranging from 17 to 50%. With the goal of providing an examination of the psychometric properties of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in a population at greater risk for depression, the current manuscript examined the factor structures and reliability of the English and Zulu versions of the EPDS among pre- and postnatal women with HIV in South Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpen Forum Infect Dis
March 2022
Dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a monumental test of medical skills and resources worldwide. The management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can at times be difficult, but treating CAP in the setting of COVID-19 can be particularly trying and confusing and raises a number of challenging questions relating to etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. This article is based on the authors' experiences and presents an overview of how CAP during COVID-19 is handled in Canada.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSARS coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) causes a respiratory infection that can lead to acute respiratory distress characterized by inflammation and high levels of cytokines in the lung tissue. In this study we constructed a herpes simplex virus 1 replication-defective mutant vector expressing SARS-CoV-1 spike protein as a potential vaccine vector and to probe the effects of spike protein on host cells. The spike protein expressed from this vector is functional in that it localizes to the surface of infected cells and induces fusion of ACE2-expressing cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding the fertility intentions of people living with HIV can guide safer conception planning and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). Most research has addressed fertility intentions among women, rather than couples, at a single time point. This clinical trial of a PMTCT intervention in rural Mpumalanga province, South Africa, examined longitudinal fertility intentions among perinatal women living with HIV and their male partners.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: With the help of safer conception strategies (SCS), women with HIV (WHIV) can achieve their reproductive goals while minimizing the risk of transmission to their partners or infants. However, interpregnancy intervals of at least 24 months are recommended to optimize maternal and infant health outcomes, so postpartum WHIV need to use contraception to delay subsequent pregnancies. Understanding safer conception and family planning knowledge, attitudes, and practices among WHIV is key to tailoring family planning policy and intervention development in regions with high HIV prevalence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLefamulin is a novel oral and intravenous (IV) pleuromutilin developed as a twice-daily treatment for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP). It is a semi-synthetic pleuromutilin with a chemical structure that contains a tricyclic core of five-, six-, and eight-membered rings and a 2-(4-amino-2-hydroxycyclohexyl)sulfanylacetate side chain extending from C14 of the tricyclic core. Lefamulin inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by binding to the 50S bacterial ribosomal subunit in the peptidyl transferase center (PTC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cumulative burden of multiple mental health conditions may worsen physical health outcomes in vulnerable populations. Accordingly, identifying cumulative burdens of mental health conditions that may affect HIV treatment and care can guide public health strategies to reduce their impact on HIV-related health outcomes. This study examined the relationship between the cumulative burden of mental health conditions and factors associated with engagement in HIV care in Argentina.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Sub-Saharan Africa region still remains the epicentre of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. With regards to new paediatric HIV infections, almost 90% of new HIV infections are among children (aged 0-14 years), largely through mother to child transmission. Male Partner Involvement in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programmes is now strongly advocated as being key in improving infant outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe postnatal period is a time of increased susceptibility to HIV infection and superinfection for postpartum women, sexual partners, and infants. This study examined the effect of a prevention to mother-to-child transmission of HIV intervention compared to standard care, and factors associated with unprotected last sex and inconsistent condom use at 12-months postpartum. Participants were = 1399 HIV-infected women 6-30 weeks pregnant ( = 18 weeks (SD = 5.
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