1,721,322 research outputs found
Gene Xpert MTB/RIF assay confirms its value in the first multicentre, randomised, controlled trial conducted in primary-care settings in Africa
No full textAbstract non disponibile poiché è un commentar
Want a better way to control antibiotic resistance? Fight the corruption
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Activation-associated mitochondrial hyperpolarization hijaks T cells toward an apoptosis-sensitized phenotype
No full textNo abstract availabl
Vocabulaire panlatin de la grippe aviaire - Italien
No full textItalian version of the Pan-Latin Lexicon of avian influenzaVersion en italien du lexique panlatin de la grippe aviaire - projet Realite
Testimonianze dalle periferie del mondo. Sei anni di Charity Work Program Quaderni del CeSI Edizione Vita e Pensiero .
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Antiapoptotic activity by HIV protease inhibitors either alone or boostered
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Candida and candidiasis in HIV-infected subjects. Where commensalism, opportunistic behavior and frank pathogenicity lose their borders
No full textIn this era of efficacious antiretroviral therapy and consequent immune-reconstitution, oropharyngeal and oesophageal candidiasis (OPC and OEC) still remain two clinically relevant presentations in the global HIV setting. Both diseases are predominantly caused by Candida albicans, a polymorphic fungus which is a commensal microbe in the healthy subject but can become an aggressive pathogen in a debilitated host. Actually, C.albicans commensalism is not the result of a benign behavior of one of the many components of human microbiota, but rather the result of host's potent innate and adaptive immune responses that restrict the growth of a potentially dangerous microrganism on the epithelia. An important asset guarding against the fungus is the Th17 functional subset of T helper cells. The selective loss of these cells with the progression of HIV infection causes the decay of fungal containment on the oral epithelium and allows C.albicans to express its pathogenic potential. An important part of this potential is represented by mechanisms to evade host immunity and enhance inflammation and immunoactivation. In C.albicans these mechanisms are mostly incorporated into, and expressed by characteristic morphogenic transitions such as the yeast to hyphal growth and the white to opaque switch. In addition, HIV infection generates an 'environment' selecting for overexpression of the virulence potential by the fungus, particularly concerning the secretion of aspartyl proteinases (Sap). These enzymes can degrade critical host defense components such as complement and epithelial defensive proteins such as histatin-5 and E-cadherin. It appears that part of this enhanced Candida virulence could be induced by the binding of the fungus to HIV and/or induced by HIV proteins such as GP160 and tat. Both OPC and OEC can be controlled by old and new antimycotics, but in the absence of host collaboration, anticandidal therapy may become in the long run ineffective. For these reasons, new therapeutics targeting virulence factors such and specific immune interventions are being addressed. Among these new approaches, vaccination is a promising one. Two subunit vaccines based on antigens dominantly expressed by C.albicans in vivo, i.e. the Als3 adhesin and sap2, have recently undergone Phase 1 clinical trials. Overall, studies of Candida and candidiasis in the HIV+ subject, while certainly contributing to a more effective control of the microorganism, and may also provide useful information on HIV-host relationship itself that can assist the fight against the virus
HIV protease inhibitors prevent mitochondrial hyperpolarization and redox imbalance and decrease endogenous uncoupler protein-2 expression in gp 120-activated human T lymphocytes.
No full textIt has been demonstrated that HIV protease inhibitors (Pls) are able to inhibit apoptosis of both infected and uninfected T cells. It was hypothesized that the mechanisms underlying this effect are associated with a specific activity of these drugs against mitochondrial modifications occurring in the execution phase of apoptosis. In this work, we investigated the activity of PIs towards the early changes occurring in mitochondrial membrane potential in freshly isolated uninfected human T lymphocytes sensitized to CD95/Fas-induced physiological apoptosis via pre-exposure to HIV envelope protein gp120. The results obtained clearly indicate that PIs are capable of hindering early morphogenetic changes bolstering T cell apoptosis, that is, cell polarization and mitochondrial hyperpolarization. The target effect on mitochondria appeared to be characterized by a specific activity of Pls in the maintenance of their homeostasis either in intact cells or in cell-free systems, that is, isolated mitochondria. Pls seem to act as boosters of mitochondrial defense mechanisms, including modulation of endogenous uncouplers. These results add new insights in the field of PI mitochondrial toxicity mechanisms and pharmacological perspectives for the use of these drugs in the control of immune system homeostasis
Safety of darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r) in HIV-1-infected DRV/r-experienced and -naïve patients: analysis of data in the real-world setting in Italy
No full textThis descriptive, non-interventional study on HIV-1-infected patients treated with DRV/r in the usual clinical setting, with a single-arm prospective observational design, collected data on utilization of darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r) under the conditions described in marketing authorization in usual clinical practice in Italy to evaluate efficacy and safety of DRV/r-based antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. This analysis focussed on the safety profile of DRV/r in HIV-1 infected patients
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