Siglec-10, CD1B, and Palladin are differentially expressed between Human Immunodeficiency Virus+ (HIV) progressors and nonprogressors

HIV plasma viremia and CD4+ lymphocyte counts dictate the classification of HIV+ disease progression to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), i.e. progressor (PR) vs. non-progressor (NP). In the absence of antiretroviral therapy, NP CD4+ counts remain stable and plasma viremia is substantially reduced. Recent data affirms that NPs exhibit decreased trans-infection efficiency due to reduced cellular cholesterol levels in antigen presenting cells (APCs) through cholesterol efflux protein, ABCA-1. Because defective trans infection in NPs was also observed prior to seroconversion, it is believed that nonprogression is influenced by a genetic trait. Further transcriptome analysis of Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) immature dendritic cells (iDCs) reveals elevated expression profiles for Siglec-10, CD1B, and Palladin (PALLD) in NPs compared to PRs. While the explicit mechanism remains elusive, our aim is to elucidate the genetic origin of NP viremic control. I have hypothesized that upregulated expression of Siglec-10, CD1b, and Palladin in HIV+ MACS NPs is responsible for control of HIV progression by attenuating trans infection between iDCs and CD4 lymphocytes through unrelated molecular and immunological mechanisms. MACS CD14+ monocytes were cultured with IL-4 and GM-CSF to yield iDCs. Protein expression of Siglec-10, CD1B, and PALLD in seronegative (SN), PR, and NP iDCs has been assessed using flow cytometry. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis of MACS iDCs RNA is used for corroboration of gene expression data from the transcriptome findings. TaqMan® SNP genotyping assays examined if there is a link between NP disease state and single base-pair variations within DNA. Flow cytometry shows no significant difference in Siglec-10, CD1b, or PALLD protein expression levels between PR and NP donors. SyBr green qPCR primers for resulted in artefactual amplicons for control and experimental melt curves. IDT Taq-Man® primers were subsequently designed. Analysis of qPCR data shows significant differences in CD1b and PALLD expression levels between NPs and PRs (p < 0.05). Haplotype analysis of CD1b SNPs between NP, PR, and SN individuals via TaqMan Genotyping was not statistically significant. Public Health Significance: Identifying the underlying genetic factors that drive HIV-1 disease progression could reveal potential therapeutic targets with the long term aims of improving HIV health outcomes

Factors determining social participation in the first year after kidney transplantation: a prospective study

BACKGROUND: This study describes changes in social participation in the first year after kidney transplantation and examines the influence of clinical factors, health status, transplantation-related symptoms, and psychological characteristics on change in social participation. METHODS: A prospective study was performed on a cohort of primary kidney transplant recipients, transplanted between March 2002 and March 2003. Data on participation in obligatory activities (i.e., employment, education, household tasks) and leisure activities (i.e., volunteer work, assisting others, sports, clubs/associations, recreation, socializing, going out) were collected by in-home interviews (n=61) at 3 months (T1) and 1 year posttransplantation (T2). Analysis of covariance was performed. RESULTS: Data showed an increase in participation in obligatory activities and diversity of leisure participation between T1 and T2, although pre-end-stage renal disease level was not regained and differed from the general population. On T1, the majority of employed recipients were on sick leave, but returned to work on T2. Employment rate remained stable. An increase in obligatory participation was predicted by clinical factors (i.e., peritoneal dialysis, initial hospitalization), whereas change in leisure participation was related to serum albumin and cognitive capacity. No effects were found for type of donation, comorbidity, and renal function. CONCLUSIONS: We found that mainly clinical factors were associated with an increase in participation in society. Although health-status related factors and the psychological attribute self-efficacy may be related to recovery of social participation, their effect was outweighed by the strength of clinical predictors in multivariate analysis

Pre-transplant weight but not weight gain is associated with new-onset diabetes after transplantation: a multi-centre cohort Spanish study

Background. New-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) is associated with poorer outcomes in kidney transplantation (KT). Thus, identification of modifiable risk factors may be crucial for ameliorating the impact of this entity on transplant outcomes. We assessed the relationships between the weight, body mass index (BMI) and weight gain with NODAT