1,720,983 research outputs found
HIV-specific antibody responses in HIV-infected patients: From a monoclonal to a polyclonal view
No full textHIV infections represent a major global health threat, affecting more than 35 million individuals worldwide. High infection rates and problems associated with lifelong antiretroviral treatment emphasize the need for the development of prophylactic and therapeutic immune intervention strategies. It is conceivable that insights for the design of new immunogens capable of eliciting protective immune responses may come from the analysis of HIV-specific antibody responses in infected patients. Using sophisticated technologies, several monoclonal neutralizing antibodies were isolated from HIV-infected individuals. However, the majority of polyclonal antibody responses found in infected patients are nonneutralizing. Comprehensive analyses of the molecular targets of HIV-specific antibody responses identified that during natural infection antibodies are mainly misdirected towards gp120 epitopes outside of the CD4-binding site and against regions and proteins that are not exposed on the surface of the virus. We therefore argue that vaccines aiming to induce protective responses should include engineered immunogens, which are capable of focusing the immune response towards protective epitopes
HIV microarray for the mapping and characterization of HIV-specific antibody responses
No full textWe used the microarray technology to develop chips containing a comprehensive set of proteins and peptides covering the proteome of HIV-1 clade C, which is the HIV-1 subtype that causes the majority of infections worldwide. We demonstrate that the HIV microarray allows simultaneous, sensitive and specific detection of antibody responses for the major immunoglobulin classes (IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE) and subclasses (IgG1-4) with minute amounts of serum samples towards a large number of HIV antigens and peptides. Furthermore, we show that the HIV chip can be used for the monitoring of antibody responses during the course of the disease and during treatment. The HIV microarray should be useful to study antibody responses to multiple HIV antigens and epitopes in HIV-infected patients to explore pathomechanisms of the disease, for diagnosis and for monitoring of treatment and of vaccine trials
Erratum: HIV microarray for the mapping and characterization of HIV-specific antibody responses (Lab on a Chip - Miniaturisation for Chemistry and Biology (2015) 15 (1574-1589))
No full textCorrection for 'HIV microarray for the mapping and characterization of HIV-specific antibody responses' by Daniela Gallerano et al., Lab Chip, 2015, 15, 1574-1589
Persistence of IgE-associated allergy and allergen-specific IgE despite CD4+ T cell loss in AIDS
No full textThe infection of CD4+ cells by HIV leads to the progressive destruction of CD4+ T lymphocytes and, after a severe reduction of CD4+ cells, to AIDS. The aim of the study was to investigate whether HIV-infected patients with CD4 cell counts <200 cells/µl can suffer from symptoms of IgE-mediated allergy, produce allergen-specific IgE antibody responses and show boosts of allergen-specific IgE production. HIV-infected patients with CD4 counts ≤ 200 cells/µl suffering from AIDS and from IgE-mediated allergy were studied. Allergy was diagnosed according to case history, physical examination, skin prick testing (SPT), and serological analyses including allergen microarrays. HIV infection was confirmed serologically and the disease was staged clinically. The predominant allergic symptoms in the studied patients were acute allergic rhinitis (73%) followed by asthma (27%) due to IgE-mediated mast cell activation whereas no late phase allergic symptoms such as atopic dermatitis, a mainly T cell-mediated skin manifestation, were found in patients suffering from AIDS. According to IgE serology allergies to house dust mites and grass pollen were most common besides IgE sensitizations to various food allergens. Interestingly, pollen allergen-specific IgE antibody levels in the patients with AIDS and in additional ten IgE-sensitized patients with HIV infections and low CD4 counts appeared to be boosted by seasonal allergen exposure and were not associated with CD4 counts. Our results indicate that secondary allergen-specific IgE production and IgE-mediated allergic inflammation do not require a fully functional CD4+ T lymphocyte repertoire
Characterisation of allergic reactivity to fungi in a Zimbabwean population
Full text linkWhile fungal diseases are a growing global problem, there remains a paucity of epidemiological data in most developing countries. Hence, this thesis aimed to investigate the epidemiology, immunology, and aetiology of fungal allergic diseases in Zimbabwe.
This study demonstrated that the burden of fungal diseases in Zimbabwe is high (14%), with tinea capitis being the most prevalent condition. The country's background sensitivity
to fungal allergens and the effect of host-related factors was unknown. Therefore, this thesis further investigated the prevalence of fungal sensitisation and reactivity among Zimbabwean children and how the gut mycobiome composition affected these, whilst considering the effects of host age, gender, and Schistosoma haematobium infection status. The prevalence of fungal sensitisation to ≥1 fungal species was 96%, and the metagenomic analysis of the gut mycobiome showed that the mycobiome comprised <1% of the sequenced gut microbiome. There was no association between the mycobiome and fungal reactivity, or the host factors studied. Interestingly, an increase in Aspergillus, Tricholoma, and Periglandula abundance was associated with schistosome infection.
Due to the high prevalence of fungal sensitisation, this thesis further identified and characterised fungal proteins that were immunoreactive against serum samples from fungal-sensitised children. Furthermore, the utility of a specific Aspergillus fumigatus allergen (Asp f 2) peptide in the differential diagnosis of fungal allergy was evaluated. As a result, novel immunogens from fungi were discovered, potentially increasing the number of known fungal allergens. The Asp f 2 peptide was demonstrated to be an inadequate indicator for diagnosing fungal allergy in the population.
Taken together, the findings of this thesis add to the ongoing global discussions about the burden of fungal diseases. Furthermore, it provides novel data on several important
aspects of fungal allergy that must be evaluated and validated since they may have implications for the care of allergic individuals
Journal of Leukocyte Biology / Progress and history of the 10th Federation of African Immunological Societies Congress
No full textThe 10th Federation of African Immunological Societies (FAIS) Congress, held in Tunisia in November 2017, marked a significant scientific milestone. It enabled scientists from across the continent to promote immunology research and to showcase major achievements made by immunologists throughout Africa. This issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (JLB) features manuscripts from the FAIS Congress. As noted in these papers, research in infectious diseases remains the focus of the African immunology community; however, increasingly noncommunicable diseasessuch as autoimmunity, allergy, primary immunodeficiency, cancer and transplantation immunologyare also an emerging priority. This overview gives a brief history of the FAIS meeting, which also commemorated the 25th anniversary of the FAIS. It describes the current activities of the organization, as well as its history and the future opportunities for this Federation.(VLID)510290
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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