170,109 research outputs found
HPV genotypes distribution in Chlamydia trachomatis co-infection in a large cohort of women from north-east Italy
No full textHuman papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis are pathogens with oncogenic potential associated with persistent infections. Epidemiological data on C. trachomatis infection status, C. trachomatis/HPV co-infection and the relationship between HPV genotypes in Italian women are only preliminary. The aim of the present study was to characterize the relationship between HPV genotypes and C. trachomatis in an extending cohort of asymptomatic immunocompetent women from an area of north-east Italy. A retrospective study was conducted using Luminex technology on cervical swabs from asymptomatic immunocompetent women, comprising 921 attending the prevention centre for the Cervical Cancer Program and 6214 who had been referred to the Sexually Transmitted Infections Center, with clinical indications of HPV and C. trachomatis infections. A quantitative real-time PCR was performed to assess chronic C. trachomatis infection by heat-shock protein 60 (Hsp60) gene expression. The overall prevalence of the investigated pathogens was 39 % (359/921) for HPV and 4 % (251/6214) for C. trachomatis. The Hsp60 gene was detected in 57 % of the women infected with C. trachomatis. HPV co-infection was present in 58 % of C. trachomatis-infected women. A high prevalence of co-infection was found in women with chronic C. trachomatis infection (68 %, P = 0.0002), especially in women ≤ 25 years (72 %) where HPV multiple infections were found in 78 % (P = 0.022). HPV genotype distribution showed that uncommon low-risk genotypes were associated with C. trachomatis. These results indicate a high frequency of co-detection of multiple HPV genotypes in chronically infected young women and suggest that the expression of the C. trachomatis Hsp60 gene may favour HPV infection
COMAR - the international database for certified reference materials
No full textКОМАР (COMAR) - международная база данных стандартных образцов. В статье представлены исторические факты, структура, содержание и ведение базы данных, в том числе вклад в информационную базу сведений о стандартных образцах российских изготовителей
Increased Levels of C-C Chemokine RANTES in Asbestos Exposed Workers and in Malignant Mesothelioma Patients from an Hyperendemic Area
No full textBackground: Asbestos-induced mesothelial inflammatory processes are thought to be the basic mechanisms underlying
Malignant Mesothelioma (MM) development. Detection of MM often occurs at late stage due to the long and unpredictable
latent period and the low incidence in asbestos exposed individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate early
immunological biomarkers to characterize the prognostic profile of a possible asbestos-induced disease, in subjects from a
MM hyperendemic area.
Methods: The Luminex Multiplex Panel Technology was used for the simultaneous measurement of serum levels of a large
panel of 47 analytes, including cytokines and growth factors, from workers previously exposed to asbestos (Asb-workers),
asbestos-induced MM patients and healthy subjects. In addition, to explore the influence on serum cytokines profile exerted
by SV40 infection, a cofactor in MM development, a quantitative real time PCR was performed for sequences detection in
the N-terminal and intronic regions of the SV40 Tag gene. Statistical analysis was done by means of the Mann-Whitney test
and the Kruskall-Wallis test for variance analysis.
Results: A variety of 25 cytokines linked to pulmonary inflammation and tumor development were found significantly
associated with Asb-workers and MM patients compared with healthy controls. A specific pattern of cytokines were found
highly expressed in Asb-workers: IFN-alpha (p,0.05), EOTAXIN (p,0.01), RANTES (p,0.001), and in MM patients: IL-12(p40),
IL-3, IL-1 alpha, MCP-3, beta-NGF, TNF-beta, RANTES (p,0.001). Notably, the chemokine RANTES measured the highest
serum level showing an increased gradient of concentration from healthy subjects to Asb-workers and MM patients (p,
0.001), independently of SV40 infection.
Conclusion: This study shows that, in subjects from an hyperendemic area for MM, the C-C chemokine RANTES is associated
with the exposure to asbestos fibres. If validated in larger samples, this factor could have the potential to be a critical
biomarker for MM prognosis as recently reported for breast tumor
Neutralizing and IgG Antibodies against Simian Virus 40 in Healthy Pregnant Women in Italy
No full textPolyomavirus simian virus 40 (SV40) sequences have been detected in various human specimens and SV40 antibodies have been found in human sera from both healthy individuals and cancer patients. This study analyzed serum samples from healthy pregnant women as well as cord blood samples to determine the prevalence of SV40 antibodies in pregnancy.Serum samples were collected at the time of delivery from two groups of pregnant women as well as cord bloods from one group. The women were born between 1967 and 1993. Samples were assayed by two different serological methods, one group by neutralization of viral infectivity and the other by indirect ELISA employing specific SV40 mimotopes as antigens. Viral DNA assays by real-time polymerase chain reaction were carried out on blood samples.Neutralization and ELISA tests indicated that the pregnant women were SV40 antibody-positive with overall prevalences of 10.6% (13/123) and 12.7% (14/110), respectively. SV40 neutralizing antibodies were detected in a low number of cord blood samples. Antibody titers were generally low. No viral DNA was detected in either maternal or cord bloods.SV40-specific serum antibodies were detected in pregnant women at the time of delivery and in cord bloods. There was no evidence of transplacental transmission of SV40. These data indicate that SV40 is circulating at a low prevalence in the northern Italian population long after the use of contaminated vaccines
- …
