Leptomeningeal involvement in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Central nervous system involvement is considered a rare complication of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and so there is the risk of being overlooked.

Case Presentation: We report a case of central nervous system involvement in a 75-year-old mulatto woman with chronic lymphocytic leukemia after 5 years of follow-up and a literature review on the subject. The clinical course, treatment and outcome are described.

Antibody and memory CD4(+) T-cell responses after meningococcal disease.

Currently, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C (MenC) is the major cause of bacterial meningitis in Brazil, affecting mainly teenagers and adults due to the lack of routine public vaccination of these age groups. The goal of this study was to investigate the bactericidal antibody response and the development of CD4(+) T cell memory during the convalescent phase of patients infected with N. menigitidis.

A phosphoramidon-sensitive metalloprotease induces apoptosis of human endothelial cells by Group B Streptococcus.

We explored Group B Streptococcus (GBS)-induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and the role of phosphoramidon, a zinc metalloprotease inhibitor, in this process. GBS 90186 strain (serotype V, a blood isolate) and concentrated supernatant (CS) were used to investigate the viability and morphological alterations in HUVEC by Trypan blue uptake, electrophoresis in 2 % agarose gel and scanning electron microscopy assays. Apoptosis before and after phosphoramidon-treatment were verified by flow cytometry using annexin V-FITC labeling.

Human antibody and memory B and T-cell responses after primary and booster immunisation against Neisseria meningitidis B.

Vaccination against disease aims at the induction of long-lasting cellular and humoral immune responses. Few studies have addressed the mechanisms by which meningococcal vaccines generate and sustain immunological memory. The goal of this study was to investigate the development of long-term humoral and cellular memory to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) in health subjects after immunisation with the Cuban outer membrane protein (OMP) vaccine (VA-MENGOC-BC).

Comparison of long-term humoral memory development after immunisation against Neisseria meningitidis B or diphtheria toxoid.

Since genome sequence data became available there has been a marked increase in number of protein antigens that have been suggested as prospective vaccine components against Neisseria meningitidis B (MenB). Few studies have addressed the mechanisms by which meningococcal vaccines generate and sustain immunological memory. The goal of this study was to compare the B-cell response (antibody-secreting cells [ASC], memory B cell and IgG) evoked by a MenB vaccine (VA-MENGOC-BC(®)) with the B-cell response to diphtheria toxoid (DT) induced by a successful vaccine (Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis [DTP]).