T cell subsets in human airways prior to and following endobronchial administration of endotoxin.

Background And Objectives: Bronchial instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) provides a reversible model of lung inflammation that may resemble early stages of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We investigated the distributions of T-cell subsets in the human airways and sought to determine whether pro- and anti-inflammatory T cells are involved in the local immune response to lung inflammation.

Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed in 15 healthy volunteers, after which Escherichia coli LPS (4 ng/kg) was administered.

Predictors of hemoglobin in Danish blood donors: results from the Danish Blood Donor Study.

Background: It is well known that blood donors are at increased risk of iron deficiency and subsequent development of iron deficiency anemia. We aimed to investigate the effect of factors influencing hemoglobin (Hb) levels.

Study Design And Methods: Initiated in 2010, the Danish Blood Donor Study is a population-based study and biobank.

HIV and schistosomiasis in rural Zimbabwe: the association of retinol-binding protein with disease progression, inflammation and mortality.

Background: Vitamin A has widespread effects on immune function and is therefore interesting in HIV-infection. Retinol-binding protein (RBP or RBP4) is a negative acute-phase protein and a marker of vitamin A status. Our aim was to investigate the association of RBP with HIV progression, infection with schistosomiasis, inflammatory cytokines, and mortality.

The new Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions database (SCANDAT2): a blood safety resource with added versatility.

Background: Risks of transfusion-transmitted disease are currently at a record low in the developed world. Still, available methods for blood surveillance might not be sufficient to detect transmission of diseases with unknown etiologies or with very long incubation periods.

Study Design And Methods: We have previously created the anonymized Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions (SCANDAT) database, containing data on blood donors, blood transfusions, and transfused patients, with complete follow-up of donors and patients for a range of health outcomes.

Course and Clinical Significance of CD8+ T-Cell Counts in a Large Cohort of HIV-Infected Individuals.

Objectives: To examine trajectories of CD8(+) T-cell counts before and after combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals and associations with mortality.

Methods: CD8(+) T-cell counts were measured in 3882 HIV-infected individuals who received care in Copenhagen during 1995-2012. Reference values were obtained from 1230 persons from the background population.

Sibship structure and risk of infectious mononucleosis: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Present understanding of increased risk of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related infectious mononucleosis among children of low birth order or small sibships is mainly based on old and indirect evidence. Societal changes and methodological limitations of previous studies call for new data.

Methods: We used data from the Danish Civil Registration System and the Danish National Hospital Discharge Register to study incidence rates of inpatient hospitalizations for infectious mononucleosis before the age of 20 years in a cohort of 2,543,225 Danes born between 1971 and 2008, taking individual sibship structure into account.

No association between rs6897932 in the gene encoding interleukin-7 receptor α and low-grade inflammation or self-reported health - results from the Danish Blood Donor Study.

The T-allele in the single nucleotide polymorphism rs6897932 in the gene encoding the IL-7 receptor α (IL7RA) is associated with reduced risk of autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis and also affects the course of HIV infection. Low-grade inflammation (LGI) and self-reported, health-related quality of life (HRQL) are often associated with chronic diseases and widely used in assessing and monitoring health status. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the T-allele in rs6897932 is associated with reduced risk of LGI (hsCRP 3-10 mg/L), history of infectious mononucleosis (IM), and HRQL in healthy individuals.

Common filaggrin gene mutations and risk of cervical cancer.

Background: As carriers of filaggrin gene (FLG) mutations may have a compromised cervical mucosal barrier against human papillomavirus infection, our primary objective was to study their risk of cervical cancer.

Methods: We genotyped 586 cervical cancer patients for the two most common FLG mutations, R501X and 2282del4, using blood from the Copenhagen Hospital Biobank, Denmark. Controls (n = 8050) were genotyped in previous population-based studies.

Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor as a marker for use of antidepressants.

Objectives: Inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of depression. A few cross-sectional population-based studies have found that depression is associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers. Soluble urokinase plasminogen activation receptor (suPAR) is known to be a stable marker for inflammation.

Soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor levels in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: The etiology of schizophrenia remains largely unknown but alterations in the immune system may be involved. In addition to the psychiatric symptoms, schizophrenia is also associated with up to 20 years reduction in life span. Soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a protein that can be measured in blood samples and reflects the levels of inflammatory activity.

Polymorphism in interleukin-7 receptor α gene is associated with faster CD4⁺ T-cell recovery after initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy.

Objectives: To investigate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding interleukin-7 receptor α (IL7RA) as predictors for CD4⁺ T-cell change after initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in HIV-infected whites.

Design: SNPs in IL7RA were determined in the Danish HIV Cohort Study.

Methods: CD4⁺ T-cell changes were estimated 6 months, 1, 2, and 5 years after initiation of cART in 1683 HIV-infected virally suppressed individuals.

A randomized trial of an early measles vaccine at 4½ months of age in Guinea-Bissau: sex-differential immunological effects.

Background: After measles vaccine (MV), all-cause mortality is reduced more than can be explained by the prevention of measles, especially in females.

Objective: We aimed to study the biological mechanisms underlying the observed non-specific and sex-differential effects of MV on mortality.

Methods: Within a large randomised trial of MV at 4.

Regulatory T cells in HIV-infected immunological nonresponders are increased in blood but depleted in lymphoid tissue and predict immunological reconstitution.

Background: HIV-infected immunological nonresponders fail to immune reconstitute despite optimal treatment. We hypothesized that regulatory T cells (Tregs) are involved in immunological reconstitution. Tregs and Treg subpopulations were measured in blood and Foxp3 cells in lymphoid tissue, and the impact of Tregs on immunological reconstitution was determined.

Ready-made allogeneic ABO-specific serum eye drops: production from regular male blood donors, clinical routine, safety and efficacy.

Purpose: To overcome problems and delays of the preparation of autologous serum eye drops, a production line of ABO-specific allogeneic serum eye drops from male blood donors was set up in a blood bank. Feasibility, clinical routine, safety and efficacy were evaluated in a cohort of patients with severe ocular surface disorders.

Methods: Serum was derived from 450 ml whole-blood donations from regular male blood donors, produced and tested according to good manufacturing practice and legislation regulating blood products in Denmark.

Combined oral contraception and obesity are strong predictors of low-grade inflammation in healthy individuals: results from the Danish Blood Donor Study (DBDS).

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a well-established marker of inflammation. The level of CRP is affected by several lifestyle factors. A slightly increased CRP level, also known as low-grade inflammation (LGI), is associated with increased risk of several diseases, especially cardiovascular disease.

Predictors of iron levels in 14,737 Danish blood donors: results from the Danish Blood Donor Study.

Background: Dietary studies show a relationship between the intake of iron enhancers and inhibitors and iron stores in the general population. However, the impact of dietary factors on the iron stores of blood donors, whose iron status is affected by blood donations, is incompletely understood.

Study Design And Methods: In the Danish Blood Donor Study, we assessed the effect of blood donation frequency, physiologic factors, lifestyle and supplemental factors, and dietary factors on ferritin levels.

Human leukocyte antigen-G and regulatory T cells during specific immunotherapy for pollen allergy.

Background: TH2-biased immune responses are important in allergy pathogenesis. Mechanisms of allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) might include the induction of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 blocking antibodies, a reduction in the number of effector cells, and skewing of the cytokine profile towards a TH1-polarized immune response. We investigated the effects of SIT on T cells, on immunomodulation of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G, which has been associated with allergy, on regulatory cytokine expression, and on serum allergen-specific antibody subclasses (IgE and IgG4).

Immunoregulatory T cells may be involved in preserving CD4 T cell counts in HIV-infected long-term nonprogressors and controllers.

Background: HIV-infected controllers control viral replication and maintain normal CD4 T cell counts. Long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs) also maintain normal CD4 T cell counts but have ongoing viral replication. We hypothesized that immunoregulatory mechanisms are involved in preserved CD4 T cell counts in controllers and in LTNPs.

Genetic analyses of the human eye colours using a novel objective method for eye colour classification.

In this study, we present a new objective method for measuring the eye colour on a continuous scale that allows researchers to associate genetic markers with different shades of eye colour. With the use of the custom designed software Digital Iris Analysis Tool (DIAT), the iris was automatically identified and extracted from high resolution digital images. DIAT was made user friendly with a graphical user interface.

Discrepant coagulation profile in HIV infection: elevated D-dimer but impaired platelet aggregation and clot initiation.

Objectives: In HIV infection, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has emerged as a clinical problem, and elevated D-dimer has been reported. The pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying this remain unclear. We aimed to investigate whether untreated HIV-infected individuals display evidence of functional coagulopathy and whether this was associated with microbial translocation.

Impaired thymic output in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Altered T cell homeostasis in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been demonstrated. However, it is unknown whether fibrosis is associated with more perturbed T cell homeostasis in chronic HCV infection. The aim of this study was to examine and compare T cell subsets including recent thymic emigrants (RTE), naive, memory, senescent, apoptotic and IL-7 receptor α (CD127) expressing CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells as well as telomere length and interferon-γ production in HCV-infected patients with (n = 25) and without (n = 26) fibrosis as well as in healthy controls (n = 24).

Longitudinal Analysis of CCR5 and CXCR4 Usage in a Cohort of Antiretroviral Therapy-Naïve Subjects with Progressive HIV-1 Subtype C Infection.

HIV-1 subtype C (C-HIV) is responsible for most HIV-1 cases worldwide. Although the pathogenesis of C-HIV is thought to predominantly involve CCR5-restricted (R5) strains, we do not have a firm understanding of how frequently CXCR4-using (X4 and R5X4) variants emerge in subjects with progressive C-HIV infection. Nor do we completely understand the molecular determinants of coreceptor switching by C-HIV variants.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Genetic Variants in LPS-Stimulated IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1ra and TNF-α Cytokine Response in a Danish Cohort.

Background: Cytokine response plays a vital role in various human lipopolysaccharide (LPS) infectious and inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to find genetic variants that might affect the levels of LPS-induced interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1ra and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α cytokine production.

Methods: We performed an initial genome-wide association study using Affymetrix Human Mapping 500 K GeneChip® to screen 130 healthy individuals of Danish descent.

Persistent inflammation and endothelial activation in HIV-1 infected patients after 12 years of antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: The study investigated markers of inflammation and endothelial activation in HIV infected patients after 12 years of successful combination antiretroviral treatment (cART).

Methods: Inflammation and endothelial activation were assessed by measuring levels of immunoglobulins, β2-microglobulin, interleukin (IL) 8, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), sE-Selectin, and sP-Selectin.

Results: HIV infected patients had higher levels of β2-microglobulin, IL-8, TNFα, and sICAM-1 than uninfected controls, and HIV infected patients lacked correlation between platelet counts and sP-Selectin levels found in uninfected controls.

Different immunological phenotypes associated with preserved CD4+ T cell counts in HIV-infected controllers and viremic long term non-progressors.

Background: HIV-infected controllers control viral replication and maintain normal CD4+ T cell counts. Long Term Non-Progressors (LTNP) also maintain normal CD4+ T cell counts, but have on-going viral replication. We hypothesized that different immunological mechanisms are responsible for preserved CD4+ T cell counts in controllers and LTNP.