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Microbial Biotechnology Jul 2023Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge and is often associated with other health consequences mainly in pregnant women. BV is described... (Review)
Review
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge and is often associated with other health consequences mainly in pregnant women. BV is described by an imbalance in the vaginal microbiota where strictly and facultative anaerobic bacteria outgrow the lactic acid- and hydrogen peroxide-producing Lactobacillus species. The species involved in BV are capable to grow and form a polymicrobial biofilm in the vaginal epithelium. The treatment of BV is usually performed using broad-spectrum antibiotics, including metronidazole and clindamycin. However, these conventional treatments are associated with high recurrence rates. The BV polymicrobial biofilm may have an important role on the treatment outcome and is accounted as one of the factors for treatment failure. Other possible reasons for treatment failure include the presence of species resistant to antibiotics or the chance of reinfection after treatment. Therefore, novel strategies to increase the rates of treatment have been studied namely the use of probiotics and prebiotics, acidifying agents, antiseptics, plant-based products, vaginal microbiota transplantation, and phage endolysins. Although some of them are still in an initial phase of development with very preliminary results, they show great perspectives for application. In this review, we aimed to study the role of the polymicrobial nature of BV in treatment failure and explore a few alternatives for treatment.
Topics: Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Vaginosis, Bacterial; Metronidazole; Vagina; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Biofilms
PubMed: 37042412
DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.14261 -
Viruses Sep 2023Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are a constant public health problem, especially in infants and older adults. Virtually all children will have been infected... (Review)
Review
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are a constant public health problem, especially in infants and older adults. Virtually all children will have been infected with RSV by the age of two, and reinfections are common throughout life. Since antigenic variation, which is frequently observed among other respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 or influenza viruses, can only be observed for RSV to a limited extent, reinfections may result from short-term or incomplete immunity. After decades of research, two RSV vaccines were approved to prevent lower respiratory tract infections in older adults. Recently, the FDA approved a vaccine for active vaccination of pregnant women to prevent severe RSV disease in infants during their first RSV season. This review focuses on the host response to RSV infections mediated by epithelial cells as the first physical barrier, followed by responses of the innate and adaptive immune systems. We address possible RSV-mediated immunomodulatory and pathogenic mechanisms during infections and discuss the current vaccine candidates and alternative treatment options.
Topics: Infant; Child; Female; Pregnancy; Humans; Aged; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections; Reinfection; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses; Immunity; Vaccines; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines; Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human
PubMed: 37896776
DOI: 10.3390/v15101999 -
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology Jul 2023Acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health concern with substantial geographical variation in the incidence rate. People who have received unsafe medical... (Review)
Review
Acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health concern with substantial geographical variation in the incidence rate. People who have received unsafe medical procedures, used injection drugs, and lived with human immunodeficiency virus are reported to be most susceptible to acute HCV infection. The diagnosis of acute HCV infection is particularly challenging in immunocompromised, reinfected, and superinfected patients due to difficulty in detecting anti-HCV antibody seroconversion and HCV ribonucleic acid from a previously negative antibody response. With an excellent treatment effect on chronic HCV infection, recently, clinical trials investigating the benefit of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) treatment for acute HCV infection have been conducted. Based on the results of cost-effectiveness analysis, DAAs should be initiated early in acute HCV infection prior to spontaneous viral clearance. Compared to the standard 8-12 week-course of DAAs for chronic HCV infection, DAAs treatment duration may be shortened to 6-8 weeks in acute HCV infection without compromising the efficacy. Standard DAA regimens provide comparable efficacy in treating HCV-reinfected patients and DAA-naïve ones. For cases contracting acute HCV infection from HCV-viremic liver transplant, a 12-week course of pangenotypic DAAs is suggested. While for cases contracting acute HCV infection from HCV-viremic non-liver solid organ transplants, a short course of prophylactic or pre-emptive DAAs is suggested. Currently, prophylactic HCV vaccines are unavailable. In addition to treatment scale-up for acute HCV infection, practice of universal precaution, harm reduction, safe sex, and vigilant surveillance after viral clearance remain critical in reducing HCV transmission.
Topics: Humans; Antiviral Agents; Hepacivirus; Hepatitis C, Chronic; Hepatitis C; Liver Transplantation
PubMed: 36800699
DOI: 10.3350/cmh.2022.0349 -
Cell Host & Microbe Jun 2023Mpox represents a persistent health concern with varying disease severity. Reinfections with mpox virus (MPXV) are rare, possibly indicating effective memory responses...
Mpox represents a persistent health concern with varying disease severity. Reinfections with mpox virus (MPXV) are rare, possibly indicating effective memory responses to MPXV or related poxviruses, notably vaccinia virus (VACV) from smallpox vaccination. We assessed cross-reactive and virus-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells in healthy individuals and mpox convalescent donors. Cross-reactive T cells were most frequently observed in healthy donors over 45 years. Notably, long-lived memory CD8 T cells targeting conserved VACV/MPXV epitopes were identified in older individuals more than four decades after VACV exposure and exhibited stem-like characteristics, defined by T cell factor-1 (TCF-1) expression. In mpox convalescent donors, MPXV-reactive CD4 and CD8 T cells were more prevalent than in controls, demonstrating enhanced functionality and skewing toward effector phenotypes, which correlated with milder disease. Collectively, we report robust effector memory MPXV-specific T cell responses in mild mpox and long-lived TCF-1 VACV/MPXV-specific CD8 T cells decades after smallpox vaccination.
Topics: Humans; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Mpox (monkeypox); Smallpox; Vaccinia virus; Poxviridae
PubMed: 37236191
DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.04.015 -
Cell Jan 2024We describe a human lung disease caused by autosomal recessive, complete deficiency of the monocyte chemokine receptor C-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2). Nine...
We describe a human lung disease caused by autosomal recessive, complete deficiency of the monocyte chemokine receptor C-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2). Nine children from five independent kindreds have pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), progressive polycystic lung disease, and recurrent infections, including bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) disease. The CCR2 variants are homozygous in six patients and compound heterozygous in three, and all are loss-of-expression and loss-of-function. They abolish CCR2-agonist chemokine C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL-2)-stimulated Ca signaling in and migration of monocytic cells. All patients have high blood CCL-2 levels, providing a diagnostic test for screening children with unexplained lung or mycobacterial disease. Blood myeloid and lymphoid subsets and interferon (IFN)-γ- and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-mediated immunity are unaffected. CCR2-deficient monocytes and alveolar macrophage-like cells have normal gene expression profiles and functions. By contrast, alveolar macrophage counts are about half. Human complete CCR2 deficiency is a genetic etiology of PAP, polycystic lung disease, and recurrent infections caused by impaired CCL2-dependent monocyte migration to the lungs and infected tissues.
Topics: Child; Humans; Lung; Macrophages, Alveolar; Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis; Receptors, CCR2; Reinfection
PubMed: 38157855
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.036 -
International Immunopharmacology Nov 2023While The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern(PHEIC), the risk of reinfection and... (Review)
Review
While The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern(PHEIC), the risk of reinfection and new emerging variants still makes it crucial to study and work towards the prevention of COVID-19. Stem cell and stem cell-like derivatives have shown some promising results in clinical trials and preclinical studies as an alternative treatment option for the pulmonary illnesses caused by the COVID-19 and can be used as a potential vaccine. In this review, we will systematically summarize the pathophysiological process and potential mechanisms underlying stem cell-based therapy in COVID-19, and the registered COVID-19 clinical trials, and engineered extracellular vesicle as a potential vaccine for preventing COVID-19.
PubMed: 37688914
DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110890 -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2023Associations of HLA class II alleles with genital chlamydial infection outcomes have been reported, especially . However, the potential role of in influencing...
Associations of HLA class II alleles with genital chlamydial infection outcomes have been reported, especially . However, the potential role of in influencing reinfection risk has still not been established. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the association of with chlamydia reinfection was impacted by any other nearby HLA class II variants that were also associated with reinfection. We used next-generation sequencing to map HLA class II variants spanning the and - loci. as well as were confirmed as significant predictors of chlamydia reinfection, when controlling for age and percent African ancestry. SKAT analysis revealed one region each in , , , and three intergenic regions that had variants associated with reinfection. Further analyses of these variants revealed that rs112651494 within and an intergenic SNP rs617058 in : were significantly associated with reinfection, but this did not impact the significance of the association of or with reinfection.
Topics: Humans; HLA-DQ Antigens; HLA-DRB1 Chains; Reinfection; HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; Chlamydia; Haplotypes; Alleles; Gene Frequency
PubMed: 37958786
DOI: 10.3390/ijms242115803