The predominance of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) circulating recombinant form 02 (CRF02_AG) in West Central Africa may be related to its replicative fitness

BACKGROUND: CRF02_AG is the predominant HIV strain circulating in West and West Central Africa. The aim of this study was to test whether this predominance is associated with a higher in vitro replicative fitness relative to parental subtype A and G viruses. Primary HIV-1 isolates (10 CRF02_AG, 5 subtype A and 5 subtype G) were obtained from a well-described Cameroonian cohort. Growth competition experiments were carried out at equal multiplicity of infection in activated T cells and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MO-DC) in parallel. RESULTS: Dual infection/competition experiments in activated T cells clearly indicated that CRF02_AG isolates had a significant replication advantage over the subtype A and subtype G viruses. The higher fitness of CRF02_AG was evident for isolates from patients with CD4+ T cell counts >200 cells/μL (non-AIDS) or CD4+ T cell counts <200 cells/μL (AIDS), and was independent of the co-receptor tropism. In MO-DC cultures, CRF02_AG isolates showed a slightly but not significantly higher replication advantage compared to subtype A or G isolates. CONCLUSION: We observed a higher ex vivo replicative fitness of CRF02_AG isolates compared to subtype A and G viruses from the same geographic region and showed that this was independent of the co-receptor tropism and irrespective of high or low CD4+ T cell count. This advantage in replicative fitness may contribute to the dominant spread of CRF02_AG over A and G subtypes in West and West Central Africa

Why is the world not yet ready to use alternative fuel vehicles?

202202 bchyVersion of RecordOthersThis work was supported by the University of Macau, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.Publishe

Diurnal profiles of particle-bound ROS of PM<inf>2.5</inf> in urban environment of Hong Kong and their association with PM<inf>2.5</inf>, black carbon, ozone and PAHs

Air pollution exposure is associated with a range of adverse health effects, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Particle-bound ROS has been recognised as one of the prevailing parameters to indicate the toxic potential of airborne particulate matter (PM). The temporal variability of particle-bound ROS is a very important metric crucial for the improvement of public health and risk assessment policies. To our knowledge this is the first study aiming to investigate diurnal ROS profiles in both the particle and gas phase and associate them with diurnal variations of important pollutants. For that purpose, we have successfully applied a new instrument to continuously monitor diurnal ROS profiles at two locations in Hong Kong: a busy roadside and an urban background. Data was collected over both the working week and during weekends. We have observed a high correlation between particle-bound ROS and lower concentrations of black carbon (BC) at the roadside during the working week. These associations were less significant over the weekend and at all times with ozone. Our results suggest that most of the particle-bound ROS from both the particle and the gas phase arises from fresh emission sources directly from the traffic. A very interesting observation came out as a result of this study where measured ROS concentration was decreasing with the rise of ozone in conjunction with particle number, suggesting potential role of ROS in particle growth and aging.</p

Health effects of particulate matter air pollution in underground railway systems - a critical review of the evidence

Background: Exposure to ambient airborne particulate matter is a major risk factor for mortality and morbidity, associated with asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke, and more recently type 2 diabetes, dementia and loss of cognitive function. Less is understood about differential effects of particulate matter from different sources. Underground railways are used by millions of people on a daily basis in many cities. Poor air exchange with the outside environment means that underground railways often have an unusually high concentration of airborne particulate matter, while a high degree of railway-associated mechanical activity produces particulate matter which is physicochemically highly distinct from ambient particulate matter. The implications of this for the health of exposed commuters and employees is unclear. Main body: A literature search found 27 publications directly assessing the potential health effects of underground particulate matter, including in vivo exposure studies, in vitro toxicology studies, and studies of particulate matter which might be similar to that found in underground railways. The methodology, findings, and conclusions of these studies were reviewed in depth, along with further publications directly relevant to the initial search results. In vitro studies suggest that underground particulate matter may be more toxic than exposure to ambient/urban particulate matter, especially in terms of endpoints related to reactive oxygen species generation and oxidative stress. This appears to be predominantly a result of the metal-rich nature of underground particulate matter, which is suggestive of increased health risks. However, while there are measureable effects on a variety of endpoints following exposure in vivo, there is a lack of evidence for these effects being clinically significant as may be implied by the in vitro evidence. Conclusion: There is little direct evidence that underground railway particulate matter exposure is more harmful than ambient particulate matter exposure. This may be due to disparities between in vivo exposures and in vitro models, and differences in exposure doses, as well as statistical under powering of in vivo studies of chronic exposure. Future research should focus on outcomes of chronic in vivo exposure, as well as further work to understand mechanisms and potential biomarkers of exposure