Children with Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia Exhibit High Expression of Human Endogenous Retroviruses TRIM28 and SETDB1.

Chronic immune thrombocytopenia (CITP) is an autoimmune disease whose underlying biologic mechanisms remain elusive. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) derive from ancestral infections and constitute about 8% of our genome. A wealth of clinical and experimental studies highlights their pivotal pathogenetic role in autoimmune diseases.

Pregnancy Is Associated with Impaired Transcription of Human Endogenous Retroviruses and of TRIM28 and SETDB1, Particularly in Mothers Affected by Multiple Sclerosis.

Accumulating evidence highlights the pathogenetic role of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) in eliciting and maintaining multiple sclerosis (MS). Epigenetic mechanisms, such as those regulated by TRIM 28 and SETDB1, are implicated in HERV activation and in neuroinflammatory disorders, including MS. Pregnancy markedly improves the course of MS, but no study explored the expressions of HERVs and of TRIM28 and SETDB1 during gestation.

Expressions of Type I and III Interferons, Endogenous Retroviruses, TRIM28, and SETDB1 in Children with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis.

Interferons (IFNs) and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) play essential roles for the control of viral infections. Their expression in infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis is poorly defined. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) represent 8% of our genome and modulate inflammatory and immune reactions.

Intrapartum use of zidovudine in a large cohort of pregnant women living with HIV in Italy.

Background: Intravenous administration of zidovudine (ZDV) during labour is a key step for vertical HIV transmission (VT) prevention, but there is no evidence of benefit when maternal HIV-RNA at delivery is <50 copies/mL. The aim of this study is evaluating the appropriateness of intrapartum ZDV use in Italy.

Methods: Observational study including mother-infant pairs with perinatal HIV exposure during 2002-2019, enrolled in the Italian Register for HIV Infection in Children.

Enhanced Expression of Human Endogenous Retroviruses, TRIM28 and SETDB1 in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are relics of ancestral infections and represent 8% of the human genome. They are no longer infectious, but their activation has been associated with several disorders, including neuropsychiatric conditions. Enhanced expression of HERV-K and HERV-H envelope genes has been found in the blood of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients, but no information is available on syncytin 1 (SYN1), SYN2, and multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus (MSRV), which are thought to be implicated in brain development and immune responses.

Enhanced expression of endogenous retroviruses and of TRIM28 and SETDB1 in children with food allergy.

Background: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) represent 8% of our genome. They originate from ancestral infections and although no longer contagious they can regulate transcription of adjacent cellular genes, produce viral RNAs sensed as non-self by pattern recognition receptors, and encode viral proteins, such as Syncytin (SYN) 1 and 2, that exhibit potent immunomodulatory properties. Based on this, HERVs have been studied and proposed as relevant cofactors in several chronic inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases.

Off-label use of combined antiretroviral therapy, analysis of data collected by the Italian Register for HIV-1 infection in paediatrics in a large cohort of children.

Background: Early start of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in perinatally HIV-1 infected children is the optimal strategy to prevent immunological and clinical deterioration. To date, according to EMA, only 35% of antiretroviral drugs are licenced in children < 2 years of age and 60% in those aged 2-12 years, due to the lack of adequate paediatric clinical studies on pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and drug safety in children.

Methods: An observational retrospective study investigating the rate and the outcomes of off-label prescription of HAART was conducted on 225 perinatally HIV-1 infected children enrolled in the Italian Register for HIV Infection in Children and followed-up from 2001 to 2018.

Real-World Analysis of Survival and Clinical Events in a Cohort of Italian Perinatally HIV-1 Infected Children From 2001 to 2018.

Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has been associated with a steep decrease in mortality and morbidity in HIV-1 infected children. New antiretroviral molecules and drug classes have been developed and the management of HIV-infected children has improved, but recent data on survival are limited. An observational retrospective study investigating changes in mortality and morbidity was conducted on 1,091 perinatally HIV-1 infected children enrolled in the Italian Register for HIV Infection in Children and followed-up from 2001 to 2018.

Impaired transcription of human endogenous retroviruses in the sperm with exception of syncytin 1: short communication.

Background: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), remnants of ancestral infections, represent 8% of the human genome. HERVs are co-opted for important physiological functions during embryogenesis; however, little is known about their expression in human gametes. We evaluated the transcriptional levels of several retroviral sequences in human spermatozoa.

COVID-19 in Children: Expressions of Type I/II/III Interferons, TRIM28, SETDB1, and Endogenous Retroviruses in Mild and Severe Cases.

Children with the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have milder symptoms and a better prognosis than adult patients. Several investigations assessed type I, II, and III interferon (IFN) signatures in SARS-CoV-2 infected adults, however no data are available for pediatric patients. TRIM28 and SETDB1 regulate the transcription of multiple genes involved in the immune response as well as of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs).

Overexpression of endogenous retroviruses in children with celiac disease.

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) represent 8% of our genome. Although no longer infectious, they can regulate transcription of adjacent cellular genes, produce retroviral RNAs, and encode viral proteins that can modulate both innate and adaptive immune responses. Based on this, HERVs have been studied and proposed as contributing factors in various autoimmune disorders.

Enhanced expression of human endogenous retroviruses in new-onset type 1 diabetes: Potential pathogenetic and therapeutic implications.

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) have been studied and proposed as relevant cofactors in several autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes (T1D), though with controversial results and no study at disease onset. In order to gather further information on the potential role of HERVs in the development of T1D we assessed the transcription levels of pol genes of HERV-H, HERV-K, and HERV-W in peripheral leucocytes from 37 children and adolescents with new-onset T1D and 50 age-matched control subjects. A PCR real time Taqman amplification assay was used to evaluate HERV transcripts with normalisation of the results to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Chronic HCV Infection Is Associated with Overexpression of Human Endogenous Retroviruses that Persists after Drug-Induced Viral Clearance.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with several hepatic and extrahepatic complications, including cancers and autoimmune disorders, whose frequency is reduced but not abolished after drug-induced viral clearance. The causes of these complications and of their persistence are ill-defined. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are remnants of ancestral infections and constitute 8% of the human genome.

Human Endogenous Retroviruses Are Preferentially Expressed in Mononuclear Cells From Cord Blood Than From Maternal Blood and in the Fetal Part of Placenta.

Placenta shows high transcription levels of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) that are overexpressed during embryonic and fetal development. In order to gather further information on the degree of HERV activation in maternal and fetal tissues we assessed the transcription levels of pol genes of HERV-H, -K, and -W in PBMCs of newborns and their mothers as well as in chorion (fetal part) and decidua basalis (maternal part) of the placenta using a real time PCR assay. Transcripts of pol genes of the three HERV families were significantly higher in mononuclear cells from cord blood than from maternal blood and in the fetal part than in the maternal part of the placenta.

Transcriptional activity of human endogenous retroviruses is higher at birth in inversed correlation with gestational age.

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) have been studied in relation to the onset and/or progression of several diseases. However, increasing evidence highlights that they also have important physiologic roles, for instance they are involved in preimplantation embryonic growth and in placentation. We assessed the transcriptional activity of HERVs in PBMCs of healthy newborns, infants and children to gather further information on their potential physiological roles.

Transcriptional Activity of Human Endogenous Retroviruses in Response to Prenatal Exposure of Maternal Cigarette Smoking.

Objective: Transcription of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) elements is usually suppressed by epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation and heterochromatin silencing by histone modifications. There is an association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and DNA methylation levels in placental tissue and in DNA from cord blood.

Study Design: We assessed the transcriptional activity of HERV-H, HERV-K, and HERV-W in umbilical cord blood from 47 term babies unexposed to tobacco smoke in utero and 23 term babies exposed to tobacco smoke in utero.

Molecular Detection of Human Astrovirus in Children With Gastroenteritis, Northern Italy.

Background: Human astroviruses have increasingly been identified and are important agents of diarrheal disease, especially in infants and young children. This article presents the real-time polymerase chain reaction TaqMan assay for the detection and quantification of human astrovirus for clinical fecal samples collected from hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis in Piedmont (northern Italy) from December 2014 to November 2015.

Methods: A total of 159 fecal specimens from hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis, previously screened for rotavirus, adenovirus, norovirus, human parechovirus, salivirus and sapovirus, were tested for human astrovirus.

Strategies for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission Adopted in the "Real-World" Setting: Data From the Italian Register for HIV-1 Infection in Children.

Background: Strategies for prevention of HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) have been continuously optimized. However, cases of vertical transmission continue to occur in high-income countries.

Objectives: To investigate changes in PMTCT strategies adopted by Italian clinicians over time and to evaluate risk factors for transmission.

Epidemiologic Impact of the New Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Acute Rheumatic Fever.

Objectives: To estimate the incidence of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) in a metropolitan area of Northern Italy and study how the introduction of the 2015 revised Jones criteria affects the epidemiology in a region with moderate to high incidence of ARF.

Study Design: The incidence of ARF in children 5-14 years old living in the Province of Turin was estimated using low-risk criteria in a 10-year period (group A patients). The proportion of patients fulfilling only high-risk (HR) criteria (group B patients) was also calculated both prospectively (from July 2015 through December 2016) and retrospectively (from January 2007 through June 2015).

MW Polyomavirus in diarrheal Italian infants.

Background: MXPyV, like MWPyV, was identified in stool samples from children suffering diarrhea in Mexico. In this study, we used a home-made real time PCR to investigate the presence of this novel viruses in stool specimen collected from under-five-year-old children with gastroenteritis.

Methods: A total of 192 fecal specimens previously screened for RV, ADV, NoV, HPeV and SaV, were tested for MWPyV with Taqman real time PCR.