Combined linkage and association studies show that HLA class II variants control levels of antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus antigens.

Over 95% of the adult population worldwide is infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV infection is associated with the development of several cancers, including Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Elevated levels of anti-EBV antibodies have been associated with increased risk of HL.

Liver stiffness values in HIV-infected patients with isolated anti-hepatitis B core antibodies.

Background: Hepatitis B reactivation has been observed in HIV-infected patients with isolated anti-HBc. However, the impact of isolated anti-HBc on liver fibrosis is not known in this population.

Methods: We investigated liver stiffness values (LSV) in a population of HIV-infected patients with isolated anti-HBc, and attempted to identify risk factors for high values.

Detection and genotyping of human papillomavirus by real-time PCR assay.

Background: Diagnosis of human papillomavirus (HPV) disease remains a challenge due to several factors related to the cost, the workload of available commercial assays to detect and genotype HPV, and to the low prevalence of infected patients.

Objective: Our study aimed to develop a real-time PCR, based on SPF10 primers, in order to combine HPV-DNA detection and genotype identification avoiding the negative samples.

Study Design: Validation of SYBR-green based SPF10 real-time PCR on HPV-DNA plasmids followed by the investigation of the viral status in 92 samples from oropharyngeal (94%) cutaneous biopsies (3%) and anal smears (3%) which had previously been HPV-genotyped by LiPA hybridization.

Production of hepatitis B defective particles is dependent on liver status.

Defective hepatitis B virus (dHBV) generated from spliced RNA is detected in the sera of HBV-chronic carriers. Our study was designed to determine whether the proportion of dHBV changed during the course of infection, and to investigate whether dHBV might interfere with HBV replication. To achieve this, HBV wild-type and dHBV levels were determined by Q-PCR in sera from 56 untreated chronic patients and 23 acute patients, in sequential samples from 4 treated-patients and from liver-humanized mice after HBV infection.

Serologic response to hepatitis B vaccination in HIV-Infected patients with isolated positivity for antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen.

We assessed the safety and immunogenicity of hepatitis B vaccination among 40 human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with isolated positivity for antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen. No baseline factors were found to be predictive of an anamnestic response, which occurred in 32.5% of the patients.

Strong correlations of anti-viral capsid antigen antibody levels in first-degree relatives from families with Epstein-Barr virus-related lymphomas.

Background: Markers of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection include anti-viral capsid antigen (VCA) immunoglobulin (Ig) G. High anti-VCA titers are associated with EBV-related lymphoproliferation, such as Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

Methods: Intrafamilial correlations of anti-VCA IgG levels were studied in 3 settings: 127 families recruited through patients with HL in France (population A), 31 families recruited through patients with BL in Uganda (population B), and 74 large families from a general population in Cameroon (population C).

Prospective comparison of Abbott RealTime HBV DNA and Versant HBV DNA 3.0 assays for hepatitis B DNA quantitation: impact on HBV genotype monitoring.

The quantitation of human hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the serum of infected patients is recommended to characterize the course of chronic HBV infection. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the performance of the Abbott RealTime PCR assay for HBV DNA quantitation by comparison with the standard Versant HBV DNA 3.0 assay.

Expression of defective hepatitis B virus particles derived from singly spliced RNA is related to liver disease.

Background: Defective hepatitis B virus (HBV) particles, generated from singly spliced HBV RNA, have been detected in chronic carriers of HBV. The present study was designed to quantify the expression of defective HBV (dHBV) and wild-type HBV (wtHBV) genomes in the serum of patients with HBV infection and its relation to the severity of liver disease.

Methods: HBV and dHBV loads were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in the serum of 89 untreated HBV-infected patients (31 coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] type 1) with liver disease of different stages.

Evaluation of the LIAISON ANA screen assay for antinuclear antibody testing in autoimmune diseases.

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are widely detected by immunofluorescence on HEp-2 cells in patients with connective tissue diseases and other pathological conditions. We evaluated the first-automated chemiluminescence immunoassay for the detection of ANA (LIAISON ANA screen, DiaSorin). This study was carried out simultaneously in two laboratories by testing 327 patient samples with clinically defined connective diseases, 273 routine samples for ANA screening, and 300 blood donors.

Positive correlation between Epstein-Barr virus viral load and anti-viral capsid immunoglobulin G titers determined for Hodgkin's lymphoma patients and their relatives.

Markers of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection include measures of specific serological titers and of viral load (VLo) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Few studies have investigated the correlation between these two phenotypes. Here, we found that there was no correlation between VLo and either anti-EBV nuclear antigen type 1 or anti-early antigen immunoglobulin G (IgG) titer but that anti-viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG titer increased with VLo in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (P = 3.

Epstein-Barr virus viral load in Crohn's disease: effect of immunosuppressive therapy.

Background: More than 80% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) occurring in transplant recipients on immunosuppressive therapy are associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. EBV viral load (EBV-VL) is predictive of NHL occurrence in this setting. The aim of this work was to determine EBV-VL in patients with Crohn's disease (CD), both according to disease activity and use of immunosuppressive therapy, including infliximab.

Mycobacterium kansasii infection in a Paris suburb: comparison of disease presentation and outcome according to human immunodeficiency virus status. Groupe dEtude Des Mycobactéries de la Seine-Saint-Denis.

Setting: Department of Seine-Saint-Denis, France.

Objective: To compare the presentation and outcome of Mycobacterium kansasii infections according to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status.

Design: Retrospective analysis of all the medical charts of adults meeting the diagnostic criteria of the American Thoracic Society for M.

Molecular fingerprinting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and risk factors for tuberculosis transmission in Paris, France, and surrounding area.

Forty-three percent of the tuberculosis cases reported in France are from the Ile de France region. The incidence of tuberculosis in this region is 33 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, twice the national average. A restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed with clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated during 1995 in 10 hospitals in Paris and surrounding areas to detect tuberculosis transmission and define the factors associated with clustering in this population.