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Virology Journal Feb 2024Pneumonia is the most common complication of varicella infections. Although previous studies have tended to focus mainly on immunocompromised patients, varicella...
Pneumonia is the most common complication of varicella infections. Although previous studies have tended to focus mainly on immunocompromised patients, varicella pneumonia can also occur in healthy adults. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to assess the progression of varicella pneumonia in immunocompetent hosts. This retrospective study involved immunocompetent adult outpatients with varicella who attended the adult Fever Emergency facility of Peking University Third Hospital from April 1, 2020, to October 31, 2022. Varicella pneumonia was defined as a classic chickenpox-type rash in patients with infiltrates on chest computed tomography. The study included 186 patients, 57 of whom had a contact history of chickenpox exposure. Antiviral pneumonia therapy was administered to 175 patients by treating physicians. Computed tomography identified pneumonia in 132 patients, although no deaths from respiratory failure occurred. Seventy of the discharged patients were subsequently contacted, all of whom reported being well. Follow-up information, including computed tomography findings, was available for 37 patients with pneumonia, among whom 24 reported complete resolution whereas the remaining 13 developed persistent calcifications. Notably, we established that the true incidence of varicella pneumonia is higher than that previously reported, although the prognosis for immunocompetent hosts is generally good.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Chickenpox; Retrospective Studies; Prevalence; Pneumonia, Viral; Immunocompetence; Herpesvirus 3, Human
PubMed: 38336670
DOI: 10.1186/s12985-024-02303-3 -
Euro Surveillance : Bulletin Europeen... Feb 2024BackgroundData on infectious encephalitis in immunodeficient (ID) individuals are scarce. This population may present with atypical clinical symptoms, be infected by...
BackgroundData on infectious encephalitis in immunodeficient (ID) individuals are scarce. This population may present with atypical clinical symptoms, be infected by uncommon pathogens and develop poor outcomes.AimWe aimed to describe the epidemiology of infectious encephalitis among HIV-negative ID patients.MethodsPatients from the ENCEIF (Etude Nationale de Cohorte des Encéphalites Infectieuses en France) prospective cohort meeting criteria for infectious encephalitis between January 2016 and December 2019 were included. We compared clinical presentation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results, biological results, infection causes and outcome of ID patients with immunocompetent (IC) patients using Pearson's chi-squared test and Student's t-test. We carried out logistic regression to assess the role of immunodeficiency as risk factor for poor outcome.ResultsID patients (n = 58) were older (mean 72 vs 59 years), had higher prevalence of diabetes (26% vs 12%), pre-existing neurological disorders (12% vs 5%) and higher case-fatality rate (23.6% vs 5.6%) compared to IC patients (n = 436). Varicella zoster virus was the primary cause of encephalitis in ID patients (this aetiology was more frequent in ID (25.9%) than in IC patients (11.5%)), with herpes simplex virus second (22.4% in ID patients vs 27.3% in IC patients). Immunodeficiency was an independent risk factor for death or major sequelae (odds ratio: 3.41, 95%CI: 1.70-6.85).ConclusionsVaricella zoster virus is the most frequent cause of infectious encephalitis in ID patients. Immunodeficiency is a major risk factor for poor outcome. ID encephalitis patients should benefit from stringent investigation of cause and early empiric treatment.
Topics: Humans; Encephalitis; Herpesvirus 3, Human; HIV Infections; Infectious Encephalitis; Prospective Studies; Middle Aged; Aged
PubMed: 38333938
DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.6.2300046 -
BMC Genomics Feb 2024Studies have confirmed that Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV) infection induces mitochondrial damage. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNA...
Integrated analysis of microRNA and messenger RNA expression profiles reveals functional microRNA in infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus-induced mitochondrial damage in Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells.
BACKGROUND
Studies have confirmed that Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV) infection induces mitochondrial damage. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNA molecules, which are involved in various biological processes and pathological changes associated with mitochondrial damage. It is currently unclear whether miRNAs participate in IBRV-induced mitochondrial damage in Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells.
RESULTS
In the present study, we used high-throughput sequencing technology, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis to screen for mitochondria-related miRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs). In total, 279 differentially expressed miRNAs and 832 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified in 6 hours (IBRV1) versus 24 hours (IBRV2) after IBRV infection in MDBK cells. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that 42 differentially expressed mRNAs and 348 target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were correlated with mitochondrial damage, and the miRNA-mitochondria-related target genes regulatory network was constructed to elucidate their potential regulatory relationships. Among the 10 differentially expressed miRNAs, 8 showed expression patterns consistent with the high-throughput sequencing results. Functional validation results showed that overexpression of miR-10a and miR-182 aggravated mitochondrial damage, while inhibition of miR-10a and miR-182 alleviated mitochondrial damage.
CONCLUSIONS
This study not only revealed the expression changes of miRNAs and mRNAs in IBRV-infected MDBK cells, but also revealed possible biological regulatory relationship between them. MiR-10a and miR-182 may have the potential to be developed as biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of IBRV. Together, Together, these data and analyses provide additional insights into the roles of miRNA and mRNA in IBRV-induced mitochondria damage.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; MicroRNAs; Herpesvirus 1, Bovine; Epithelial Cells; Kidney; Gene Regulatory Networks; RNA, Messenger; Gene Expression Profiling
PubMed: 38331736
DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10042-6 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2024Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is an inflammatory disease that is primarily caused by herpesvirus infection, most commonly varicella-zoster virus (VZV), followed by herpes... (Review)
Review
Acute retinal necrosis (ARN) is an inflammatory disease that is primarily caused by herpesvirus infection, most commonly varicella-zoster virus (VZV), followed by herpes simplex virus (HSV) and occasionally cytomegalovirus (CMV). Sintilimab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) that can enhance the body's anti-tumor immune response. However, treatment with ICIs may lead to reactivation of the VZV. Here, we present a case of ARN caused by VZV infection in a patient receiving sintilimab for cervical cancer. A 64-year-old female patient developed vision loss and floaters with left eye redness for one week after 22 cycles of sintilimab for cervical cancer. Based on clinical manifestations, ophthalmological examination, and vitreous humor biopsy, the patient was diagnosed with acute retinal necrosis syndrome secondary to VZV. After receiving systemic antiviral and anti-inflammatory therapy, retinal necrosis lesions and visual function improved. In conclusion, clinicians should be aware of the risk of ARN when using sintilimab and should actively monitor patients for prompt diagnosis and optimal management of this rare adverse drug reaction.
Topics: Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Retinal Necrosis Syndrome, Acute; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Herpesvirus 3, Human; Herpes Simplex; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
PubMed: 38322266
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1301329 -
Human Genomics Feb 2024Periodic bioinformatics-based screening of wastewater for assessing the diversity of potential human viral pathogens circulating in a given community may help to...
BACKGROUND
Periodic bioinformatics-based screening of wastewater for assessing the diversity of potential human viral pathogens circulating in a given community may help to identify novel or potentially emerging infectious diseases. Any identified contigs related to novel or emerging viruses should be confirmed with targeted wastewater and clinical testing.
RESULTS
During the COVID-19 pandemic, untreated wastewater samples were collected for a 1-year period from the Great Lakes Water Authority Wastewater Treatment Facility in Detroit, MI, USA, and viral population diversity from both centralized interceptor sites and localized neighborhood sewersheds was investigated. Clinical cases of the diseases caused by human viruses were tabulated and compared with data from viral wastewater monitoring. In addition to Betacoronavirus, comparison using assembled contigs against a custom Swiss-Prot human virus database indicated the potential prevalence of other pathogenic virus genera, including: Orthopoxvirus, Rhadinovirus, Parapoxvirus, Varicellovirus, Hepatovirus, Simplexvirus, Bocaparvovirus, Molluscipoxvirus, Parechovirus, Roseolovirus, Lymphocryptovirus, Alphavirus, Spumavirus, Lentivirus, Deltaretrovirus, Enterovirus, Kobuvirus, Gammaretrovirus, Cardiovirus, Erythroparvovirus, Salivirus, Rubivirus, Orthohepevirus, Cytomegalovirus, Norovirus, and Mamastrovirus. Four nearly complete genomes were recovered from the Astrovirus, Enterovirus, Norovirus and Betapolyomavirus genera and viral species were identified.
CONCLUSIONS
The presented findings in wastewater samples are primarily at the genus level and can serve as a preliminary "screening" tool that may serve as indication to initiate further testing for the confirmation of the presence of species that may be associated with human disease. Integrating innovative environmental microbiology technologies like metagenomic sequencing with viral epidemiology offers a significant opportunity to improve the monitoring of, and predictive intelligence for, pathogenic viruses, using wastewater.
Topics: Humans; Wastewater; Michigan; Pandemics; Viruses; Enterovirus; Virus Diseases
PubMed: 38321488
DOI: 10.1186/s40246-024-00581-0 -
Infectious Diseases Now Jun 2024
Topics: Humans; Pregnancy; Female; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Varicella Zoster Virus Infection; Herpesvirus 3, Human; Chickenpox; Infant, Newborn; Antiviral Agents
PubMed: 38311003
DOI: 10.1016/j.idnow.2024.104857 -
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual... Feb 2024Necrotizing viral retinitis is a serious eye infection that requires immediate treatment to prevent permanent vision loss. Uncertain clinical suspicion can result in...
PURPOSE
Necrotizing viral retinitis is a serious eye infection that requires immediate treatment to prevent permanent vision loss. Uncertain clinical suspicion can result in delayed diagnosis, inappropriate administration of corticosteroids, or repeated intraocular sampling. To quickly and accurately distinguish between viral and noninfectious retinitis, we aimed to develop deep learning (DL) models solely using noninvasive blood test data.
METHODS
This cross-sectional study trained DL models using common blood and serology test data from 3080 patients (noninfectious uveitis of the posterior segment [NIU-PS] = 2858, acute retinal necrosis [ARN] = 66, cytomegalovirus [CMV], retinitis = 156). Following the development of separate base DL models for ARN and CMV retinitis, multitask learning (MTL) was employed to enable simultaneous discrimination. Advanced MTL models incorporating adversarial training were used to enhance DL feature extraction from the small, imbalanced data. We evaluated model performance, disease-specific important features, and the causal relationship between DL features and detection results.
RESULTS
The presented models all achieved excellent detection performances, with the adversarial MTL model achieving the highest receiver operating characteristic curves (0.932 for ARN and 0.982 for CMV retinitis). Significant features for ARN detection included varicella-zoster virus (VZV) immunoglobulin M (IgM), herpes simplex virus immunoglobulin G, and neutrophil count, while for CMV retinitis, they encompassed VZV IgM, CMV IgM, and lymphocyte count. The adversarial MTL model exhibited substantial changes in detection outcomes when the key features were contaminated, indicating stronger causality between DL features and detection results.
CONCLUSIONS
The adversarial MTL model, using blood test data, may serve as a reliable adjunct for the expedited diagnosis of ARN, CMV retinitis, and NIU-PS simultaneously in real clinical settings.
Topics: Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Deep Learning; Cytomegalovirus Retinitis; Retinal Necrosis Syndrome, Acute; Eye Infections, Viral; Cytomegalovirus; Herpesvirus 3, Human; Immunoglobulin M
PubMed: 38306107
DOI: 10.1167/iovs.65.2.5 -
PLoS Pathogens Jan 2024Viral infection is a significant risk factor for fertility issues. Here, we demonstrated that infection by neurotropic alphaherpesviruses, such as pseudorabies virus...
Viral infection is a significant risk factor for fertility issues. Here, we demonstrated that infection by neurotropic alphaherpesviruses, such as pseudorabies virus (PRV), could impair female fertility by disrupting the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis (HPOA), reducing progesterone (P4) levels, and consequently lowering pregnancy rates. Our study revealed that PRV exploited the transient receptor potential mucolipin 1 (TRPML1) and its lipid activator, phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate (PI(3,5)P2), to facilitate viral entry through lysosomal cholesterol and Ca2+. P4 antagonized this process by inducing lysosomal storage disorders and promoting the proteasomal degradation of TRPML1 via murine double minute 2 (MDM2)-mediated polyubiquitination. Overall, the study identifies a novel mechanism by which PRV hijacks the lysosomal pathway to evade P4-mediated antiviral defense and impair female fertility. This mechanism may be common among alphaherpesviruses and could contribute significantly to their impact on female reproductive health, providing new insights for the development of antiviral therapies.
Topics: Female; Mice; Animals; Herpesvirus 1, Suid; Progesterone; Virus Internalization; Lysosomes; Antiviral Agents; Pseudorabies
PubMed: 38295116
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011956 -
Journal of Clinical Immunology Jan 2024Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a neurotropic alphaherpesvirus exclusively infecting humans, causing two distinct pathologies: varicella (chickenpox) upon primary...
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a neurotropic alphaherpesvirus exclusively infecting humans, causing two distinct pathologies: varicella (chickenpox) upon primary infection and herpes zoster (shingles) following reactivation. In susceptible individuals, VZV can give rise to more severe clinical manifestations, including disseminated infection, pneumonitis, encephalitis, and vasculopathy with stroke. Here, we describe a 3-year-old boy in whom varicella followed a complicated course with thrombocytopenia, hemorrhagic and necrotic lesions, pneumonitis, and intermittent encephalopathy. Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) was strongly suspected and as the condition deteriorated, HLH therapy was initiated. Although the clinical condition improved, longstanding hemophagocytosis followed despite therapy. We found that the patient carries a rare monoallelic variant in autocrine motility factor receptor (AMFR), encoding a ubiquitin ligase involved in innate cytosolic DNA sensing and interferon (IFN) production through the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of IFN genes (cGAS-STING) pathway. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the patient exhibited impaired signaling downstream of STING in response dsDNA and 2'3'-cGAMP, agonists of cGAS and STING, respectively, and fibroblasts from the patient showed impaired type I IFN responses and significantly increased VZV replication. Overexpression of the variant AMFR R594C resulted in decreased K27-linked STING ubiquitination compared to WT AMFR. Moreover, ImageStream technology revealed reduced STING trafficking from ER to Golgi in cells expressing the patient AMFR R594C variant. This was supported by a dose-dependent dominant negative effect of expression of the patient AMFR variant as measured by IFN-β reporter gene assay. Finally, lentiviral transduction with WT AMFR partially reconstituted 2'3'-cGAMP-induced STING-mediated signaling and ISG expression in patient PBMCs. This work links defective AMFR-STING signaling to severe VZV disease and hyperinflammation and suggests a direct role for cGAS-STING in the control of viral infections in humans. In conclusion, we describe a novel genetic etiology of severe VZV disease in childhood, also representing the first inborn error of immunity related to a defect in the cGAS-STING pathway.
Topics: Child, Preschool; Humans; Chickenpox; Herpes Zoster; Herpesvirus 3, Human; Immunity, Innate; Interferon Type I; Leukocytes, Mononuclear; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic; Nucleotidyltransferases; Pneumonia; Receptors, Autocrine Motility Factor; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; Male
PubMed: 38277122
DOI: 10.1007/s10875-024-01653-5 -
Preventive Veterinary Medicine Mar 2024There is sufficient evidence that both bovine herpesvirus (BoHV-1) and bubaline herpesvirus (BuHV-1) can overcome the species barrier represented by their respective...
There is sufficient evidence that both bovine herpesvirus (BoHV-1) and bubaline herpesvirus (BuHV-1) can overcome the species barrier represented by their respective hosts, cattle and buffalo. Although several studies have focused on the impact of BoHV-1 on buffalo, little is known about the impact of BuHV-1 on cattle. In this work, we evaluated the seroprevalence of BuHV-1 in the cattle population in an area where intensive buffalo farming is highly developed (Campania region, Italy). BuHV-1 seroprevalence of cattle sampled in this study was estimated to be 21.4% using a specific commercial ELISA for the detection of antibodies against glycoprotein E of the virus. Risk factor assessment by univariate analysis revealed a correlation between housing type and higher prevalence. Similarly, cattle housed with buffalo and adult animals had a higher likelihood of being seropositive. BoHV-1 vaccination did not prove to be a protective factor against BuHV-1 exposure. The role of age, grazing, and co-living with buffalo in influencing BuHV-1 exposure was also confirmed by multivariate analysis. All BuHV-1 positive animals were also tested with cross-serum neutralization aimed at evaluating the specific antibody titers against BoHV-1 and BuHV-1. We, therefore, assessed the potential cross-reaction between BoHV-1 and BuHV-1, the co-infection rate, and the agreement of the assays used. This study described the presence of BuHV-1 in the cattle population of the Campania region (Italy) and indicated the requirement to take BuHV-1 into consideration for any measures and control and/or eradication plans to be applied against BoHV-1.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Herpesviridae Infections; Buffaloes; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Herpesviridae; Bison; Herpesvirus 1, Bovine; Cattle Diseases; Antibodies, Viral
PubMed: 38271923
DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2024.106116