Understanding the evolution of the B cell response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants is fundamental to design the next generation of vaccines and therapeutics. We longitudinally analyze at the single-cell level almost 900 neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (nAbs) isolated from vaccinated people and from individuals with hybrid and super hybrid immunity (SH), developed after three mRNA vaccine doses and two breakthrough infections. The most potent neutralization and Fc functions against highly mutated variants belong to the SH cohort.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are one of the most important classes of biologics with high therapeutic and diagnostic value, but traditional methods for mAbs generation, such as hybridoma screening and phage display, have limitations, including low efficiency and loss of natural chain pairing. To overcome these challenges, novel single B cell antibody technologies have emerged, but they also have limitations such as differentiation of memory B cells and expensive cell sorters. In this study, we present a rapid and efficient workflow for obtaining human recombinant monoclonal antibodies directly from single antigen-specific antibody secreting cells (ASCs) in the peripheral blood of convalescent COVID-19 patients using ferrofluid technology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere acute respiratory syndrome 2 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are characterized by high transmissibility and ability to escape natural and vaccine induced immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe continuous evolution of SARS-CoV-2 generated highly mutated variants able to escape natural and vaccine-induced primary immunity. The administration of a third mRNA vaccine dose induces a secondary response with increased protection. Here we investigate the longitudinal evolution of the neutralizing antibody response in four donors after three mRNA doses at single-cell level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSARS-CoV-2 vaccines, administered to billions of people worldwide, mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, however little is known about the molecular basis of antibody cross-protection to emerging variants, such as Omicron BA.1, its sublineage BA.2, and other coronaviruses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: Breast abscess (BA) is a condition leading in the majority of cases to breastfeeding interruption. Abscesses are commonly treated with antibiotics, needle aspiration or incision and drainage (I&D), but there is still no consensus on the optimal treatment. Since there are no well-defined clinical guidelines for abscess management, we conducted a retrospective, observational study with the aim of assessing ultrasound (US)-guided management of BA without surgery, regardless of the BA size.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues, there is a strong need for highly potent monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that are resistant against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VoCs). Here, we evaluate the potency of the previously described mAb J08 against these variants using cell-based assays and delve into the molecular details of the binding interaction using cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) and X-ray crystallography. We show that mAb J08 has low nanomolar affinity against most VoCs and binds high on the receptor binding domain (RBD) ridge, away from many VoC mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants is jeopardizing the effectiveness of current vaccines and limiting the application of monoclonal antibody-based therapy for COVID-19 (refs. ). Here we analysed the memory B cells of five naive and five convalescent people vaccinated with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine to investigate the nature of the B cell and antibody response at the single-cell level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman monoclonal antibodies are safe, preventive, and therapeutic tools that can be rapidly developed to help restore the massive health and economic disruption caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. By single-cell sorting 4,277 SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-specific memory B cells from 14 COVID-19 survivors, 453 neutralizing antibodies were identified. The most potent neutralizing antibodies recognized the spike protein receptor-binding domain, followed in potency by antibodies that recognize the S1 domain, the spike protein trimer, and the S2 subunit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Breastfeeding has effects on health throughout the lives of mothers and babies. In 2014 in Italy, 10,976 babies were born through ART (assisted reproductive technology), accounting for 2.2% of annual births.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Some studies have linked the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs/SNRIs) to the risk of perinatal complications. This study explored the relationship between pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics, SSRIs/SNRIs tolerability and effectiveness and maternal and newborn outcomes.
Methods: Fifty-five pregnant women with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) diagnoses of affective disorders, treated with SSRIs/SNRIs, were recruited and, during the third trimester, their blood samples were collected for pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenetic analyses.
Background: Breastfeeding women are at risk of developing mastitis during the lactation period. has emerged as the community-acquired pathogen responsible for virulence (methicillin resistance and Panton-Valentine leukocidin toxin producing).
Research Aim: The aim was to compare the microorganisms responsible for mastitis and breast abscesses during breastfeeding.
SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are the most useful drugs to treat depression during pregnancy. Intrauterine exposure to SSRIs may increase the risk of growth restriction, preterm birth and neonatal complications. However, advantages in treating depression seem to exceed potential drug side effects in respect un-treated depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To date, the available data on the relationship between the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) venlafaxine and postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) are conflicting and have not been extensively investigated, especially in terms of plasma drug concentrations. We performed data mining of antidepressant-induced PPH reported to the US Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System database, to assess the strength of the potential association between antidepressant pharmacotherapy and PPH in pregnant women. Concurrently, we carried out a descriptive observational population (pregnant women) analysis of the correlation between the plasma concentrations of SSRIs/SNRIs used during pregnancy and the extent of bleeding at delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: It has been previously demonstrated that T lymphocytes may be involved in the development of hypertension and microvascular remodeling, and that circulating T effector lymphocytes may be increased in hypertension. In particular, Th1 and Th 17 lymphocytes may contribute to the progression of hypertension and microvascular damage while T-regulatory (Treg) lymphocytes seem to be protective in this regard. However, no data is available about patients with severe obesity, in which pronounced microvascular alterations were observed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major causes of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. The currently approved therapeutic agents show a rather limited efficacy. We have recently demonstrated that the atypical cadherin FAT1 is a specific marker of CRC and that the FAT1-specific monoclonal antibody mAb198.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The evaluation of the morphological characteristics of small resistance arteries in humans is challenging. The gold standard method is generally considered to be the measurement by wire or pressure micromyography of the media-to-lumen ratio of subcutaneous small vessels obtained by local biopsies. However, noninvasive techniques for the evaluation of retinal arterioles were recently proposed; in particular, two approaches, scanning laser Doppler flowmetry (SLDF) and adaptive optics, seem to provide useful information; both of them provide an estimation of the wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR) of retinal arterioles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Matern Fetal Neonatal Med
September 2019
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are commonly used for the treatment of pregnancy-related and postnatal depression. However, only a few studies have evaluated the passage of these drugs into human milk, often with conflicting results. Here, we sought to evaluate the passage of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors into human milk in the first days after delivery and their potential association with neonatal outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTectonic family member 2 () encodes a transmembrane protein that belongs to the tectonic family, which is involved in ciliary functions. Previous studies have demonstrated the role of tectonics in regulating a variety of signaling pathways at the transition zone of cilia. However, the role of tectonics in cancer is still unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicro-RNA (miRNA) are a family of small non-coding ribonucleic acids that inhibits post-transcriptionally the expression of their target messenger RNA (mRNA). We are interested in studying the involvement of miRNA in longevity and autoimmune diseases. In this study we compared the different expression of seven microRNAs between human plasma healthy controls, plasma samples of centenarians and samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSystemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease with a broad spectrum of clinical presentations and incompletely understood pathogenesis. This autoimmune disease is characterized by alterations in both the innate and adaptive immune system that lead to the loss of immunologic tolerance. In autoimmune diseases particularly in SLE, early diagnosis, flare or remission phases can be difficult to identify.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: An involvement of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in increasing the risk of malformations, neonatal withdrawal syndrome, has been suggested recently. Here, we aimed to investigate the contribution of individual pharmacogenetics of SSRI on infants' outcome. We also estimated the umbilical/maternal plasma SSRI concentration ratio in the pregnant women still on SSRI therapy at the time of delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA young woman was examined in the Emergency Department for fever, pharyngitis and widespread petechial rash. Physical examination, including neurological evaluation, did not show any other abnormalities. Chest X-ray was negative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) are highly activated in cancer and involved in tumorigenesis and resistance to anti-cancer therapy. UPR is becoming a promising target of anti-cancer therapies. Thus, the identification of UPR components that are highly expressed in cancer could offer new therapeutic opportunity.
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