Virus-Induced MicroRNA Modulation and Systemic Sclerosis Disease.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNA sequences that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. They are involved in the regulation of multiple pathways, related to both physiological and pathological conditions, including autoimmune diseases, such as Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). Specifically, SSc is recognized as a complex and multifactorial disease, characterized by vascular abnormalities, immune dysfunction, and progressive fibrosis, affecting skin and internal organs.

Coinfection of Dermal Fibroblasts by Human Cytomegalovirus and Human Herpesvirus 6 Can Boost the Expression of Fibrosis-Associated MicroRNAs.

Tissue fibrosis can affect every type of tissue or organ, often leading to organ malfunction; however, the mechanisms involved in this process are not yet clarified. A role has been hypothesized for Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infections as triggers of systemic sclerosis (SSc), a severe autoimmune disease causing progressive tissue fibrosis, since both viruses and antiviral immune responses toward them have been detected in patients. Moreover, HCMV or HHV-6A infection was reported to increase the expression of fibrosis-associated transcriptional factors and miRNAs in human dermal fibroblasts.

A rare case of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus super-infection.

We report the first Italian case of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus super-infection. Laboratory diagnosis revealed the presence of both agents' RNA specific sequences by molecular methods and infectious influenza A virus by cell culture methods.

Recent Advances in Unveiling the Role of Beta-Herpesviruses in Autoimmune Diseases.

A dysregulated immune response can lead to recognition of self-antigens as non-self-antigens, leading to failure of the immune tolerance toward normal cells and tissues, and the consequent development of a variety of autoimmune diseases [...

Malaria Diagnosis in Non-Endemic Settings: The European Experience in the Last 22 Years.

Accurate, prompt, and reliable tools for the diagnosis of malaria are crucial for tracking the successes or drawbacks of control and elimination efforts, and for future programs aimed at global malaria eradication. Although microscopy remains the gold standard method, the number of imported malaria cases and the risk of reappearance of autochthonous cases stimulated several laboratories located in European countries to evaluate methods and algorithms suited to non-endemic settings, where skilled microscopists are not always available. In this review, an overview of the field evaluation and a comparison of the methods used for the diagnosis of malaria by European laboratories is reported, showing that the development of numerous innovations is continuous.

Rapid Identification of Colistin-Resistant Strains by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry.

Colistin resistance is one of the major threats for global public health, requiring reliable and rapid susceptibility testing methods. The aim of this study was the evaluation of a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) peak-based assay to distinguish colistin resistant (colR) from susceptible (colS) strains. To this end, a classifying algorithm model (CAM) was developed, testing three different algorithms: Genetic Algorithm (GA), Supervised Neural Network (SNN) and Quick Classifier (QC).

Modulation of microRNome by Human Cytomegalovirus and Human Herpesvirus 6 Infection in Human Dermal Fibroblasts: Possible Significance in the Induction of Fibrosis in Systemic Sclerosis.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) have been reportedly suggested as triggers of the onset and/or progression of systemic sclerosis (SSc), a severe autoimmune disorder characterized by multi-organ fibrosis. The etiology and pathogenesis of SSc are still largely unknown but virological and immunological observations support a role for these beta-herpesviruses, and we recently observed a direct impact of HCMV and HHV-6 infection on the expression of cell factors associated with fibrosis at the cell level. Since miRNA expression has been found profoundly deregulated at the tissue level, here we aimed to investigate the impact on cell microRNome (miRNome) of HCMV and HHV-6 infection in in vitro infected primary human dermal fibroblasts, which represent one of the main SSc target cells.

Rapid Classification of Strains Using MALDI-TOF MS Peak-Based Assay in Comparison with PCR-Ribotyping.

Typing methods are needed for epidemiological tracking of new emerging and hypervirulent strains because of the growing incidence, severity and mortality of infections (CDI). The aim of this study was the evaluation of a typing Matrix-Assisted Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS (T-MALDI)) method for the rapid classification of the circulating strains in comparison with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-ribotyping results. Among 95 strains, 10 ribotypes (PR1-PR10) were identified by PCR-ribotyping.

Host-cell dependent role of phosphorylated keratin 8 during influenza A/NWS/33 virus (H1N1) infection in mammalian cells.

In this study, we investigated the involvement of keratin 8 during human influenza A/NWS/33 virus (H1N1) infection in semi-permissive rhesus monkey-kidney (LLC-MK2) and permissive human type II alveolar epithelial (A549) cells. In A549 cells, keratin 8 showed major expression and phosphorylation levels. Influenza A/NWS/33 virus was able to subvert keratin 8 structural organization at late stages of infection in both cell models, promoting keratin 8 phosphorylation in A549 cells at early phases of infection.

Impact of Human Cytomegalovirus and Human Herpesvirus 6 Infection on the Expression of Factors Associated with Cell Fibrosis and Apoptosis: Clues for Implication in Systemic Sclerosis Development.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a severe autoimmune disorder characterized by vasculopathy and multi-organ fibrosis; its etiology and pathogenesis are still largely unknown. Herpesvirus infections, particularly by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), have been suggested among triggers of the disease based on virological and immunological observations. However, the direct impact of HCMV and/or HHV-6 infection on cell fibrosis and apoptosis at the cell microenvironment level has not yet been clarified.

SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed only by cell culture isolation before the local outbreak in an Italian seven-week-old suckling baby.

SARS-CoV-2 emerged in China in December 2019 and has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. This paper described the case of a 7-week-old suckling baby from Italy who was SARS-CoV-2-positive only by the cell culture method, with no clinical suspicion of and/or risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The baby was referred to hospital, with signs and symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, before the virus had spread to the province.

Rapid microbial identification and phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing directly from positive blood cultures: a new platform compared to routine laboratory methods.

The Accelerate Pheno™ System (APS), a new platform that combines rapid identification (ID) of bacteria and yeasts and phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) in a single assay, has been evaluated directly from positive blood cultures in comparison to routine laboratory methods. The APS ID results showed an overall sensitivity and specificity of 92.6% and 99.

Epidemiology of human respiratory viruses in children with acute respiratory tract infection in a 3-year hospital-based survey in Northern Italy.

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children. The viral etiology of ARTIs was investigated over 3 years (October 2012-September 2015) in 2575 children in Parma, Italy, using indirect immunofluorescent staining of respiratory samples for viral antigens, cell culture, and molecular assays. Respiratory viruses were detected in 1299 cases (50.

A Paradigmatic Interplay between Human Cytomegalovirus and Host Immune System: Possible Involvement of Viral Antigen-Driven CD8+ T Cell Responses in Systemic Sclerosis.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a highly prevalent opportunistic agent in the world population, which persists as a latent virus after a primary infection. Besides the well-established role of this agent causing severe diseases in immunocompromised individuals, more recently, HCMV has been evoked as a possible factor contributing to the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases such as systemic sclerosis (SSc). The interplay between HCMV and immune surveillance is supposed to become unbalanced in SSc patients with expanded anti-HCMV immune responses, which are likely involved in the exacerbation of inflammatory processes.

Contribution of the FilmArray Gastrointestinal Panel in the laboratory diagnosis of gastroenteritis in a cohort of children: a two-year prospective study.

This study represents a 2-year picture of the epidemiology of enteric pathogens in children suffering from gastroenteritis using the FilmArray® Gastrointestinal Panel (FA-GP), a multiplex molecular assay that allows to simultaneously detect a large panel of pathogens independently of the etiological suspicion and to evaluate its potential contribution to the diagnosis compared to the conventional methods. A total of 1716 stool samples, collected from children with clinical suspicion of bacterial and/or viral gastroenteritis attending the University Hospital of Parma, was submitted to the FA-GP and, when an adequate aliquot was available, to electron microscopy (n = 1163) for virus detection and to an enterovirus-targeting real-time PCR (n = 1703). Specimens with positive results for Salmonella, Yersinia enterocolitica, Vibrio, diarrheagenic Escherichia coli/Shigella, Campylobacter, Plesiomonas shigelloides and/or parasites by the FA-GP were also submitted to conventional diagnostic methods.

Emergence of novel recombinant GII.P16_GII.2 and GII. P16_GII.4 Sydney 2012 norovirus strains in Italy, winter 2016/2017.

In the winter season 2014/15, the GII.P17_GII.17 norovirus strain Kawasaki 2014 emerged in Italy, cocirculating with pandemic GII.