Publications by authors named "R Ramaswami"
The clinical management of people with multidrug-resistant (MDR) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains challenging despite continued development of antiretroviral agents. A 58-year-old male individual with MDR HIV and Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was treated with a new antiretroviral regimen consisting of anti-CD4 domain 1 antibody UB-421 and capsid inhibitor lenacapavir. The individual experienced delayed but sustained suppression of plasma viremia and a substantial increase in the CD4 T cell count.
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- Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a cancer linked to abnormal blood vessel growth, primarily caused by the Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) found in specialized tumor cells.
- Researchers have developed a method to grow patient-derived KS tumors in mice, allowing them to maintain the KSHV infection and tumor characteristics for extended periods, which is crucial for studying the disease.
- The study found that the resulting tumors displayed increased density of KSHV-infected cells, higher proliferation rates, and maintained gene expressions associated with KS, indicating that these mouse models can help in understanding the disease and testing new treatments.
Article Synopsis
- The Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network 12 study showed that pembrolizumab is safe and effective for treating advanced Kaposi sarcoma (KS) in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy.
- In a phase I trial involving 32 participants, 62.1% had a positive response to pembrolizumab, with even higher rates (87.5%) for those who hadn't received previous KS treatments.
- The treatment led to significant progression-free survival, with a median of 28.2 months, and immune-mediated adverse events were effectively managed according to established guidelines.
Sequencing of Kaposi's Sarcoma Herpesvirus (KSHV) genomes from persons of diverse ethnicities and provenances with KSHV-associated diseases demonstrate multiple infections, novel polymorphisms, and low intra-host variance.
PLoS Pathog
July 2024
Recently published near full-length KSHV genomes from a Cameroon Kaposi sarcoma case-control study showed strong evidence of viral recombination and mixed infections, but no sequence variations associated with disease. Using the same methodology, an additional 102 KSHV genomes from 76 individuals with KSHV-associated diseases have been sequenced. Diagnoses comprise all KSHV-associated diseases (KAD): Kaposi sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), KSHV-associated large cell lymphoma (KSHV-LCL), a type of multicentric Castleman disease (KSHV-MCD), and KSHV inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS).
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