The Impact of Inflammation and Immune Activation on B Cell Differentiation during HIV-1 Infection

One important pathogenic feature of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection is chronic immune activation and impaired survival of T and B cells. A decline of resting memory B cells was reported to occur in both children and adults infected with HIV-1; these cells are responsible for maintaining an adequate serological response to antigens previously encountered in life through natural infection or vaccination. Further understanding of the mechanisms leading to impaired B cell differentiation and germinal center reaction might be essential to design new HIV vaccines and therapies that could improve humoral immune responses in HIV-1 infected individuals. In the present article we summarize the literature and present our view on critical mechanisms of B cell development impaired during HIV-1 infection. We also discuss the impact of microbial translocation, a driving force for persistent inflammation during HIV-1 infection, on survival of terminally differentiated B cells and how the altered expression of cytokines/chemokines pivotal for communication between T and B cells in lymphoid tissues may impair formation of memory B cells

Comparative analysis of the thermal insulation performance of a façade enclosure integrated by vegetation under simultaneous windy and rainy climatic conditions

The literature offers some studies on the capacity of the greenery apparatus to decrease wind speed and regulate temperatures with the combination of the moisture retained by the plants and the air passing through them, but there is little on the maintenance of performance under particular weather conditions. The aim of this contri- bution is to verify the effectiveness of a vegetal façade in particularly windy conditions combined with rainy and/or high-irradiation events. The subject of the study is the enclosure of the Technology Innovation Centre for Development (itdUPM), on the Polytechnic University of Madrid, where a green wall prototype has been installed. For the purposes of the analysis, the environmental variables are examined and the monitoring data received from sensors positioned at the walls and skin of the insulated envelope are compared with the green face and without, comparing the differences in surface temperatures. These analyses are further examined by considering the correlation with different weather conditions. Experimentation shows a maintenance of per- formance, retaining an insulating capacity in all seasons, in both wind and rain, with results more evident in daylight hours. This contribute want to analyse the subtle variance between the performance of south and west facades. The strongest effect came forward during the summer season because the wall is affected by continuous irradiation on the south that is, also increased by hot weather

Oncogenic Effects of HIV-1 Proteins, Mechanisms Behind

Funding Information: Funding: This study was supported the Russian Fund for Basic Research grants 17_54_30002 and 20‐04‐01034 to M.I., Latvian Science Council grants LZP‐2018/2‐0308 and LZP‐2020/2‐0376 to M.I., Funding Information: and NCI R01CA 217715 to J.P.The work of Francesca Chiodi is supported by a grant from the Swe‐ dish Medical Research Council (Francesca Chiodi; Vetenskapsrådet 2019‐01169). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) are at increased risk of developing cancer, such as Kaposi sarcoma (KS), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), cervical cancer, and other cancers associated with chronic viral infections. Traditionally, this is linked to HIV-1-induced immune suppression with depletion of CD4+ T-helper cells, exhaustion of lymphopoiesis and lymphocyte dysfunction. However, the long-term successful implementation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) with an early start did not preclude the oncological complications, implying that HIV-1 and its antigens are directly involved in carcinogenesis and may exert their effects on the background of restored immune system even when present at extremely low levels. Experimental data indicate that HIV-1 virions and single viral antigens can enter a wide variety of cells, including epithelial. This review is focused on the effects of five viral proteins: envelope protein gp120, accessory protein negative factor Nef, matrix protein p17, transactivator of transcription Tat and reverse transcriptase RT. Gp120, Nef, p17, Tat, and RT cause oxidative stress, can be released from HIV-1-infected cells and are oncogenic. All five are in a position to affect “innocent” bystander cells, specifically, to cause the propagation of (pre)existing malignant and malignant transformation of normal epithelial cells, giving grounds to the direct carcinogenic effects of HIV-1.Peer reviewe

The impact of active HIV-1 replication on the physiological age-related decline of immature-transitional B-cells in HIV-1 infected children

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DNA immunization site determines the level of gene expression and the magnitude, but not the type of the induced immune response

Peer reviewe

Impaired B cells survival upon production of inflammatory cytokines by HIV-1 exposed follicular dendritic cells

Additional file 3. Activation of B and T cells upon different stimuli. The frequency of activated CD69 + cells among PBMCs (A), B cells (B) and T cells (C) are shown when PBMCs were exposed to different activation stimuli

Mental Health in Multiple Sclerosis During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Delicate Balance between Fear of Contagion and Resilience

The current study aimed at exploring the relationship between objective disability, illness perceptions, resilience, fear of COVID-19, and psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress) in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) during the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. A group of 122 pwMS recruited in an Italian university hospital took part in this cross-sectional monocentric study. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the strength of the hypothesized associations. Results indicated that, differently from cognitive impairment, motor disability was positively associated with anxiety. However, accounting for subjective illness perception, such association was no longer significant. Moreover, accounting for both protective and risk factors in the models, even illness perception was no longer significant, highlighting the central role of resilience and fear of COVID-19 in explaining the negative emotional outcomes. Implications for clinical interventions and psychoeducational trainings are discussed

Physical Exercise Moderates the Effects of Disability on Depression in People with Multiple Sclerosis during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Physical disability impacts psychosocial wellbeing in people with multiple sclerosis. However, the role of physical activity in this context is still debated. By taking advantage of a previous survey, conducted online from 22 April to 7 May 2020, we performed a post-hoc analysis with the aim to assess the associations between disability, physical exercise, and mental health in multiple sclerosis. We retrieved the following data: (i) sociodemographic information, (ii) changes in lifestyle (including exercise), (iii) physical disability, as measured with the Patient-Determined Disease Steps scale, and (iv) anxiety feelings and depressive symptoms assessed via the items included in the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders measurement system. Examination of the interaction plot showed that the effect of disability on depression, but not on anxious symptoms, was significant for all levels of physical exercise (low: b = 1.22, 95% C.I. 0.85, 1.58, p < 0.001; moderate: b = 0.95, 95% C.I. 0.66, 1.24, p < 0.001; and high: b = 0.68, 95% C.I. 0.24, 1.13, p = 0.003). Based on these data, we can conclude that disability significantly impacted depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, with physical activity playing a moderating role. Our results suggest that favoring exercise in multiple sclerosis (MS) would ameliorate psychological wellbeing regardless of the level of physical disability