KIR2DL1 gene is a surrogate marker of protection against infection-related hospitalization among HIV-1 unexposed versus exposed uninfected infants in Cameroon.

Background: HIV-exposed uninfected infants (HEU) appear more vulnerable to infections compared to their HIV-unexposed uninfected (HUU) peers, generally attributed to poor passive immunity acquired from the mother. This may be due to some genetic factors that could alter the immune system. We thus sought to determine the distribution of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors (KIRs) genes in HEU versus HUU and study their associations with the occurrence of infection-related hospitalization.

Exhaled nitric oxide is associated with inflammatory biomarkers and risk of acute respiratory exacerbations in children with HIV-associated chronic lung disease.

Objectives: Chronic lung disease is a recognized complication in children with HIV. Acute respiratory exacerbations (ARE) are common among this group and cause significant morbidity. Exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) is a known marker of local airway inflammation.

"The effect of 48-weeks azithromycin therapy on levels of soluble biomarkers associated with HIV-associated chronic lung disease".

Objectives: HIV-associated immune activation contributes to chronic lung disease (CLD) in children and adolescents living with HIV. Azithromycin has immunomodulatory and anti-microbial properties that may be useful for treating HIV-associated CLD (HCLD). This study describes the effect of azithromycin on expression of plasma soluble biomarkers in children and adolescents with HCLD.

Proinflammatory and cardiovascular biomarkers are associated with echocardiographic abnormalities in children with HIV taking antiretroviral therapy.

Objectives: Children with perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) and taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) have a high prevalence of subclinical cardiac disease. We hypothesized that cardiac disease may be a consequence of dysregulated systemic immune activation driven by HIV infection. We examined cardiovascular and proinflammatory biomarkers and their association with echocardiographic abnormalities in children with PHIV.

TRIM22 genotype is not associated with markers of disease progression in children with HIV-1 infection.

Objective: Untreated perinatal HIV-1 infection is often associated with rapid disease progression in children with HIV (CWH), characterized by high viral loads and early mortality. TRIM22 is a host restriction factor, which directly inhibits HIV-1 transcription, and its genotype variation is associated with disease progression in adults. We tested the hypothesis that TRIM22 genotype is associated with disease progression in CWH.

Soluble biomarkers associated with chronic lung disease in older children and adolescents with perinatal HIV infection.

Objective: HIV-associated chronic lung disease (HCLD) is a common comorbidity in children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The pathogenesis of HCLD is unclear and may be driven by underlying dysregulated systemic immune activation and inflammation. We investigated the association between 26 plasma soluble biomarkers and HCLD.

Killer-Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors (KIR) in HIV-Exposed Infants in Cameroon.

The biological reason(s) behind persistent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV (albeit at reduced rate compared to the preantiretroviral therapy era) in spite of the successful implementation of advanced control measures in many African countries remains a priority concern to many HIV/AIDS control programs. This may be partly due to differences in host immunogenetic factors in highly polymorphic regions of the human genome such as those encoding the killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) molecules which modulate the activities of natural killer cells. The primary aim of this study was to determine the variants of KIR genes that may have a role to play in MTCT in a cohort of infants born to HIV-infected mothers in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Role of antenatal plasma cytomegalovirus DNA levels on pregnancy outcome and HIV-1 vertical transmission among mothers in the University of Zimbabwe birth cohort study (UZBCS).

Introduction: Despite being a leading infectious cause of childhood disability globally, testing for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in pregnancy is generally not done in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), where breastfeeding practice is almost universal. Whilst CMV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are both endemic in SSA, the relationship between antenatal plasma CMV-DNA, HIV-1-RNA levels and HIV-1-mother to child transmission (MTCT) including pregnancy outcomes remains poorly described.

Methods: Pregnant women at least 20 weeks' gestational age at enrolment were recruited from relatively poor high-density suburbs in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Cytomegalovirus-Specific Immunoglobulin G Is Associated With Chronic Lung Disease in Children and Adolescents from Sub-Saharan Africa Living With Perinatal Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

In a cross-sectional study of 296 children and adolescents from Zimbabwe living with perinatal human immunodeficiency virus, individuals with the top tertile of cytomegalovirus-specific immunoglobulin G titer had an increased odds of chronic lung disease (odds ratio, 3.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.37-8.

Variation of HLA class I (-A and -C) genes in individuals infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus in Cameroon.

The Human Leucocyte Antigens (HLA) work in concert with other immune factors to modulate immunity to viral infections. Extensive variation has been reported in the genetic sequences and functions of classical HLA class I genes in many (mostly Western) populations, and several HLA associations with infectious disease outcomes have been reported. Little is known about their role in the susceptibility or resistance to hepatitis viruses in Central African populations.

A novel full-length two-domain KIR2DL5A allele isolated in Zimbabwean samples: KIR2DL5A*0010104.

The novel allele KIR2DL5A*0010104 differs from that of KIR2DL5A*0010101 with eight single intronic nucleotide changes.

Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Genotypes and Haplotypes Contribute to Susceptibility to Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Cameroon.

Over 325 million people worldwide are living with hepatitis B and C viral infections and are at greater risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. The interactions between killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and their cognate ligands, human leukocyte antigens, modulate both infection processes and disease progression. We report here (1) genotype and haplotype variations in genes in Cameroon and (2) their impact on susceptibility to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Unexpectedly High Prevalence of Cytomegalovirus DNAemia in Older Children and Adolescents With Perinatally Acquired Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection.

Background: Older children and adolescents with perinatally acquired human immunodeficiency virus (PHIV) infection in Africa experience multiple comorbidities that are not typical of HIV-associated opportunistic infections, including growth impairment and chronic lung disease. We examined associations between plasma cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA and lung function and growth.

Methods: Plasma CMV DNA loads were measured children aged 6-16 years with PHIV (n = 402) and HIV-uninfected controls (n = 224).

KIR and HLA-C Genetic Polymorphisms Influence Plasma IP-10 Concentration in Antiretroviral Therapy-Naive HIV-Infected Adult Zimbabweans.

Past studies on the relationship between Killer cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor (KIR) and Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genetic variation and chronic immune activation (CIA) in HIV infection are not uniformly consistent. Moreover, interferon-γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10) is a soluble biomarker of immune activation, with high plasma concentrations predicting accelerated disease progression in HIV infection. Thus, we investigated the association of KIR and HLA-C genetic polymorphisms with plasma IP-10 concentration in 183 treatment-naive chronically HIV-infected adults of Bantu origin from Zimbabwe.

Discrimination Between Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I-Bound and Co-Purified HIV-Derived Peptides in Immunopeptidomics Workflows.

Elucidation of novel peptides presented by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles by immunopeptidomics constitutes a powerful approach that can inform the rational design of CD8 T cell inducing vaccines to control infection with pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) or to combat tumors. Recent advances in the sensitivity of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry instrumentation have facilitated the discovery of thousands of natural HLA-restricted peptides in a single measurement. However, the extent of contamination of class I-bound peptides identified using HLA immunoprecipitation (IP)-based immunopeptidomics approaches with peptides from other sources has not previously been evaluated in depth.

Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors associate with HIV-1 infection in a narrow-source Han Chinese cohort.

Background: The HIV pandemic remains the most serious challenge to public health worldwide. The hallmark characteristics of the disease is the eventual failure of the immune system to control opportunistic infections and death. However not everyone who has HIV develops the disease at the same rate and so we are studying how the immune system works to control the virus in those who have been infected for decades and remain relatively healthy without the need of anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

HLA-associated polymorphisms in the HIV-2 capsid highlight key differences between HIV-1 and HIV-2 immune adaptation.

Objective: HIV-1 frequently adapts in response to immune pressure from cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL). Many HIV-2 infected individuals have robust capsid-specific CTL responses associated with viral control. Despite this CTL pressure, adaptive changes in this key immunogenic HIV-2 protein have not previously been described.

KIR content genotypes associate with carriage of hepatitis B surface antigen, e antigen and HBV viral load in Gambians.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes over 800,000 deaths worldwide annually, mainly in low income countries, and incidence is rising rapidly in the developed world with the spread of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses. Natural Killer (NK) cells protect against viral infections and tumours by killing abnormal cells recognised by Killer-cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptors (KIR). Thus genes and haplotypes encoding these receptors may be important in determining both outcome of initial hepatitis infection and subsequent chronic liver disease and tumour formation.

KIR Gene Content Diversity in a Zimbabwean Population: Does KIR2DL2 Have a Role in Protection Against Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection?

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) mediate natural killer cell function through interaction with their cognate human leukocyte antigen ligands. Thus, KIR gene variants have been implicated in resistance or susceptibility to viral infections. However, research on the role of these variants remains contradictory and inconclusive.

HLA Correlates of Long-Term Survival in Vertically Infected HIV-1-Positive Adolescents in Harare, Zimbabwe.

African infants with vertically acquired HIV infection progress rapidly, with only 50% surviving beyond 2 years in the absence of treatment. Despite this high initial mortality, recent reports describe a substantial burden of older children living with untreated vertically acquired HIV infection in Southern Africa. The immunological and genetic factors associated with long-term survival following vertical infection are poorly understood.

Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors and falciparum malaria in southwest Nigeria.

Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are a group of natural killer cell receptors (NKRs) that regulate NK-cell-mediated production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in response to infection. These receptors have recently been suggested to influence the severity of clinical Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection. We examined the KIR locus in relation to malaria in children from southwest Nigeria.

Association analysis between HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 with nasopharyngeal carcinoma among a Han population in Northwestern China.

Background: Most HLA association studies with NPC focus on Southern part of China. Thus, little is known about the genetic association of HLA with NPC in people from Northern China where the genetic background, environmental factors, and lifestyle are very different.

Methods: 132 NPC patients and 168 normal controls of Han ethnic in Xinjiang Province were genotyped for HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 using the PCR-sequence specific primer technique.