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Protein & Cell May 2024
PubMed: 38801319
DOI: 10.1093/procel/pwae033 -
Annali Di Igiene : Medicina Preventiva... May 2024Up until recently, monkeypox (mpox) was considered to be a rare zoonotic infection restricted to Central and West Africa. However, in July 2022, the World Health...
BACKGROUND
Up until recently, monkeypox (mpox) was considered to be a rare zoonotic infection restricted to Central and West Africa. However, in July 2022, the World Health Organization declared mpox to be a public health emergency of international concern, after there were several outbreaks in non-endemic countries. This study assessed the information channels used by individuals accessing the "Telefono Verde AIDS e Infezioni Sessualmente Trasmesse" of Istituto Superiore di Sanità (National Institute of Health in Italy) with regard to mpox. We also evaluated their awareness, and knowledge about mpox focusing on transmission and prevention.
METHODS
This is a cross-sectional study conducted on "Telefono Verde AIDS e Infezioni Sessualmente Trasmesse" users, between January and April 2023. The target population was helpline users who were older than 18 years of age, and were phoning the service for the first time (i.e. who have not phoned in the last 12 months). Participants were interviewed using a questionnaire containing 19 questions filled by the interviewer. Collected data were analysed through descriptive statistics, and significance testing.
RESULTS
From January to April 2023, "Telefono Verde AIDS e Infezioni Sessualmente Trasmesse" received 2,389 phone calls, 216 of which participated in this study. Most of these were male (85.2%; n=186), single (79.2%; n=171) and in employment (72.2%; n=156). Awareness about mpox was high (71.3%; n=154), with the central and south/islands regional areas having the highest percentage of participants who heard about the virus (84.3%; n=43 vs 72.4%; n=42; p=0.078). Television was the most frequently mentioned source of information about mpox by participants (63%; n=97; p<0.001). This medium was also the most preferred source of information about mpox (39%; n=60; p=0.109). The majority of participants stated that they did not know what mpox is (67.6%; n=146), and less than half knew that it is preventable (42.4%; n=89). Of those who stated that mpox is a preventable illness, less than half knew about the existence of a vaccine (44.9%; n=40; p<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
This study provides insights into the awareness, knowledge, prevention tools and information channels of individuals who contacted the "Telefono Verde AIDS e Infezioni Sessualmente Trasmesse". Useful indications for defining future information campaigns were obtained.
PubMed: 38801199
DOI: 10.7416/ai.2024.2637 -
Patterns (New York, N.Y.) May 2024Existing antibody language models are limited by their use of unpaired antibody sequence data. A recently published dataset of ∼1.6 × 10 natively paired human...
Existing antibody language models are limited by their use of unpaired antibody sequence data. A recently published dataset of ∼1.6 × 10 natively paired human antibody sequences offers a unique opportunity to evaluate how antibody language models are improved by training with native pairs. We trained three baseline antibody language models (BALM), using natively paired (BALM-paired), randomly-paired (BALM-shuffled), or unpaired (BALM-unpaired) sequences from this dataset. To address the paucity of paired sequences, we additionally fine-tuned ESM (evolutionary scale modeling)-2 with natively paired antibody sequences (ft-ESM). We provide evidence that training with native pairs allows the model to learn immunologically relevant features that span the light and heavy chains, which cannot be simulated by training with random pairs. We additionally show that training with native pairs improves model performance on a variety of metrics, including the ability of the model to classify antibodies by pathogen specificity.
PubMed: 38800360
DOI: 10.1016/j.patter.2024.100967 -
Kidney Medicine Jun 2024The measurement of cystatin C has been recommended to enhance chronic kidney disease (CKD) detection and risk stratification in clinical practice. This study gathered...
RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE
The measurement of cystatin C has been recommended to enhance chronic kidney disease (CKD) detection and risk stratification in clinical practice. This study gathered insights into the perceptions and experiences of clinical staff regarding the use of cystatin C in CKD detection within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system.
STUDY DESIGN
A qualitative approach was employed to explore barriers and facilitators of clinical staff regarding the use of cystatin C in CKD detection within the VHA system. The Organizational Theory of Implementation Effectiveness informed the development of a semistructured interview guide.
SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
Health care providers, nurses, and clinical pharmacists from the VHA systems in San Francisco, San Diego, and Houston were interviewed between October 2021 and May 2022.
EXPOSURES
Participants' experiences with cystatin C testing.
OUTCOMES
Perceived barriers and facilitators to cystatin C testing.
ANALYTICAL APPROACH
Participant responses from individual interviews were analyzed by a multidisciplinary team using rapid qualitative analysis methods.
RESULTS
Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted across the 3 VHA systems. Ten of 11 providers worked in primary care. Five key barriers to using cystatin C for CKD detection were identified. These included lack of patient awareness of CKD testing, lack of provider awareness about cystatin C, knowledge barriers about cystatin C testing, unclear roles and ownership of CKD detection, and lack of clinic support to enhance CKD detection. Suggested interventions to overcome these barriers included educational and training programs, improved clinic workflows, and electronic health record aids to support CKD detection and use of cystatin C.
LIMITATIONS
The results may not be generalizable to other health care systems outside the VHA.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate a need for targeted interventions such as educational and training programs, improved clinical workflows, and electronic health record aids to address barriers limiting the use of cystatin C in clinical practice for enhanced CKD detection.
PubMed: 38799784
DOI: 10.1016/j.xkme.2024.100830 -
Current HIV Research May 2024People living with HIV (PLWH) are more susceptible to acquiring and having serious consequences from COVID-19. The objective of this study was to examine the correlation...
INTRODUCTION
People living with HIV (PLWH) are more susceptible to acquiring and having serious consequences from COVID-19. The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between COVID-19 infection and other risk factors in these patients.
METHODS
This is a descriptive-analytical study recruiting 160 PLWH referred to the Behavioral Disease Counselling Centre of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran in 2021. The patients were selected through convenient sampling. A checklist was used to collect the necessary data. Descriptive statistical tests, such as mean and standard deviation, were employed alongside inferential statistics, including chi-square, Fisher, independent t-tests, and logistic regression, all evaluated at a significance level of p<0.05 using the R software.
RESULTS
The patients' average age was 43.15 ± 11.23. Forty-four women and 116 men were present. A notable association was observed between the incidence of COVID-19 and variables such as hepatitis C and the duration of time since HIV diagnosis (p<0.001). Moreover, a strong correlation was found between the amount of COVID-19 vaccination doses given to patients and their probability of acquiring the disease. The first vaccination dose was linked to a 5.45 percent increase in COVID-19 incidence in patients, whereas the second and third doses (t=2.95, t=7.57) reduced the risk of getting COVID-19. Furthermore, no discernible link (p>0.05) was found between the use of various antiretroviral medications and COVID-19 infection.
CONCLUSION
This study finds that vaccine type doesn't impact COVID-19 outcomes in HIV-positive patients, but receiving more doses decreases the probability of occurrence of COVID-19, advocating for multiple vaccinations. However, PLWH, especially those non-compliant with antiretrovirals, need strict adherence to health protocols due to heightened vulnerability to viral illnesses.
PubMed: 38798214
DOI: 10.2174/011570162X300999240515091324 -
Vaccines May 2024Since the emergence of COVID-19, extensive research efforts have been undertaken to accelerate the development of multiple types of vaccines to combat the pandemic.... (Review)
Review
Since the emergence of COVID-19, extensive research efforts have been undertaken to accelerate the development of multiple types of vaccines to combat the pandemic. These include inactivated, recombinant subunit, viral vector, and nucleic acid vaccines. In the development of these diverse vaccines, appropriate methods to assess vaccine immunogenicity are essential in both preclinical and clinical studies. Among the biomarkers used in vaccine evaluation, the neutralizing antibody level serves as a pivotal indicator for assessing vaccine efficacy. Neutralizing antibody detection methods can mainly be classified into three types: the conventional virus neutralization test, pseudovirus neutralization test, and surrogate virus neutralization test. Importantly, standardization of these assays is critical for their application to yield results that are comparable across different laboratories. The development and use of international or regional standards would facilitate assay standardization and facilitate comparisons of the immune responses induced by different vaccines. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the principles, advantages, limitations, and application of different SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assays in vaccine clinical trials. This will provide guidance for the development and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccines.
PubMed: 38793805
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12050554 -
Vaccines Apr 2024COVID-19 breakthrough infection (BTI) can occur despite vaccination. Using a multi-centre, prospective, observational Canadian cohort of people with HIV (PWH) receiving...
COVID-19 breakthrough infection (BTI) can occur despite vaccination. Using a multi-centre, prospective, observational Canadian cohort of people with HIV (PWH) receiving ≥2 COVID-19 vaccines, we compared the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific IgG levels 3 and 6 months post second dose, as well as 1 month post third dose, in PWH with and without BTI. BTI was defined as positivity based on self-report measures (data up to last study visit) or IgG data (up to 1 month post dose 3). The self-report measures were based on their symptoms and either a positive PCR or rapid antigen test. The analysis was restricted to persons without previous COVID-19 infection. Persons without BTI remained COVID-19-naïve until ≥3 months following the third dose. Of 289 participants, 92 developed BTI (31.5 infections per 100 person-years). The median days between last vaccination and BTI was 128 (IQR 67, 176), with the most cases occurring between the third and fourth dose (n = 59), corresponding to the Omicron wave. In analyses adjusted for age, sex, race, multimorbidity, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, diabetes and obesity, a lower IgG S/RBD (log10 BAU/mL) at 1 month post dose 3 was significantly associated with BTI, suggesting that a lower IgG level at this time point may predict BTI in this cohort of PWH.
PubMed: 38793698
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12050447 -
Viruses May 2024Parrot bornavirus (PaBV) is an infectious disease linked with proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) with severe digestive and neurological symptoms affecting...
Parrot bornavirus (PaBV) is an infectious disease linked with proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) with severe digestive and neurological symptoms affecting psittacine birds. Despite its detection in 2008, PaBV prevalence in Taiwan remains unexplored. Taiwan is one of the leading psittacine bird breeders; hence, understanding the distribution of PaBV aids preventive measures in controlling spread, early disease recognition, epidemiology, and transmission dynamics. Here, we aimed to detect the prevalence rate of PaBV and assess its genetic variation in Taiwan. Among 124 psittacine birds tested, fifty-seven were PaBV-positive, a prevalence rate of 45.97%. Most of the PaBV infections were adult psittacine birds, with five birds surviving the infection, resulting in a low survival rate (8.77%). A year of parrot bornavirus surveillance presented a seasonal pattern, with peak PaBV infection rates occurring in the spring season (68%) and the least in the summer season (25%), indicating the occurrence of PaBV infections linked to seasonal factors. Histopathology reveals severe meningoencephalitis in the cerebellum and dilated cardiomyopathy of the heart in psittacine birds who suffered from PDD. Three brain samples underwent X/P gene sequencing, revealing PaBV-2 and PaBV-4 viral genotypes through phylogenetic analyses. This underscores the necessity for ongoing PaBV surveillance and further investigation into its pathophysiology and transmission routes.
Topics: Animals; Taiwan; Bornaviridae; Mononegavirales Infections; Phylogeny; Bird Diseases; Prevalence; Psittaciformes; Seasons; Genetic Variation; Parrots; Epidemiological Monitoring
PubMed: 38793686
DOI: 10.3390/v16050805 -
Viruses May 2024Neutralizing antibodies targeting the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, elicited either by natural infection or vaccination, are crucial for protection against the virus....
Neutralizing antibodies targeting the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, elicited either by natural infection or vaccination, are crucial for protection against the virus. Nonetheless, the emergence of viral escape mutants presents ongoing challenges by contributing to breakthrough infections. To define the evolution trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 within the immune population, we co-incubated replication-competent rVSV/SARS-CoV-2/GFP chimeric viruses with sera from COVID-19 convalescents. Our findings revealed that the E484D mutation contributes to increased viral resistant against both convalescent and vaccinated sera, while the L1265R/H1271Y double mutation enhanced viral infectivity in 293T-hACE2 and Vero cells. These findings suggest that under the selective pressure of polyclonal antibodies, SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to accumulate mutations that facilitate either immune evasion or greater infectivity, facilitating its adaption to neutralizing antibody responses. Although the mutations identified in this study currently exhibit low prevalence in the circulating SARS-CoV-2 populations, the continuous and meticulous surveillance of viral mutations remains crucial. Moreover, there is an urgent necessity to develop next-generation antibody therapeutics and vaccines that target diverse, less mutation-prone antigenic sites to ensure more comprehensive and durable immune protection against SARS-CoV-2.
Topics: SARS-CoV-2; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; Humans; COVID-19; Antibodies, Neutralizing; Antibodies, Viral; Animals; Chlorocebus aethiops; Vero Cells; Mutation; Immune Evasion; HEK293 Cells
PubMed: 38793644
DOI: 10.3390/v16050763 -
Viruses Apr 2024People living with HIV (PLWH) can exhibit impaired immune responses to vaccines. Accumulating evidence indicates that PLWH, particularly those receiving antiretroviral...
People living with HIV (PLWH) can exhibit impaired immune responses to vaccines. Accumulating evidence indicates that PLWH, particularly those receiving antiretroviral therapy, mount strong antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccines, but fewer studies have examined cellular immune responses to the vaccinations. Here, we used an activation-induced marker (AIM) assay to quantify SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells generated by two and three doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 50 PLWH receiving antiretroviral therapy, compared to 87 control participants without HIV. In a subset of PLWH, T-cell responses were also assessed after post-vaccine breakthrough infections and/or receipt of a fourth vaccine dose. All participants remained SARS-CoV-2 infection-naive until at least one month after their third vaccine dose. SARS-CoV-2 infection was determined by seroconversion to a Nucleocapsid (N) antigen, which occurred in 21 PLWH and 38 control participants after the third vaccine dose. Multivariable regression analyses were used to investigate the relationships between sociodemographic, health- and vaccine-related variables, vaccine-induced T-cell responses, and breakthrough infection risk. We observed that a third vaccine dose boosted spike-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell frequencies significantly above those measured after the second dose (all < 0.0001). Median T-cell frequencies did not differ between PLWH and controls after the second dose ( > 0.1), but CD8+ T-cell responses were modestly lower in PLWH after the third dose ( = 0.02), an observation that remained significant after adjusting for sociodemographic, health- and vaccine-related variables ( = 0.045). In PLWH who experienced a breakthrough infection, median T-cell frequencies increased even higher than those observed after three vaccine doses ( < 0.03), and CD8+ T-cell responses in this group remained higher even after a fourth vaccine dose ( = 0.03). In multivariable analyses, the only factor associated with an increased breakthrough infection risk was younger age, which is consistent with the rapid increase in SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity that was seen among younger adults in Canada after the initial appearance of the Omicron variant. These results indicate that PLWH receiving antiretroviral therapy mount strong T-cell responses to COVID-19 vaccines that can be enhanced by booster doses or breakthrough infection.
Topics: Humans; Male; HIV Infections; Female; COVID-19 Vaccines; Middle Aged; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Adult; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; Antibodies, Viral; Aged; Immunity, Cellular; Breakthrough Infections
PubMed: 38793543
DOI: 10.3390/v16050661