13 research outputs found
Incidence of multiple Herpesvirus infection in HIV seropositive patients, a big concern for Eastern Indian scenario
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with an increased risk for human <it>herpes viruses </it>(HHVs) and their related diseases and they frequently cause disease deterioration and therapeutic failures. Methods for limiting the transmission of HHVs require a better understanding of the incidence and infectivity of oral HHVs in HIV-infected patients. This study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of human herpes viruses (CMV, HSV 2, EBV-1, VZV) antibodies and to evaluate their association with age, sex as well as other demographic and behavioral factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A study of 200 HIV positive patients from Eastern India attending the Calcutta Medical College Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, Apex Clinic, Calcutta Medical College Hospital and ART Center, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, West Bengal was done. Serum samples were screened for antibodies to the respective viruses using the indirect ELISA in triplicates.</p> <p><it>CytoMegalo virus </it>(CMV), <it>Herpes Simplex virus </it>type 2 (HSV-2), <it>Varicella Zoster virus </it>(VZV), and <it>Epstein Barr virus </it>(EBV-1) were detected in 49%, 47%, 32.5%, and 26% respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study has contributed baseline data and provided insights in viral OI and HIV co-infection in Eastern India. This would undoubtedly serve as a basis for further studies on this topic.</p
Evaluation of a dry format reagent for CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell enumeration with FACSCount and Guava polymerase chain reaction
Purpose: In all CD4+/CD8+ T-cell estimation systems, the reagents used
are liquid in nature and have to be transported and stored at
2°-8°C. This causes problems in countries where the ambient
temperature is high for most parts of the year or where the
laboratories are at remote places. Materials and Methods: We evaluated
a dry format of CD4/CD8 reagents from ReaMetrix (Bangalore, India)
against the existing liquid reagents from Becton Dickinson (San Jose,
CA, USA) and Guava PCA system (Guava Technologies, Hayward, CA, USA).
Blood samples collected during March 2009 through May 2009 from 102
HIV-infected individuals and 31 normal healthy individuals in a
tertiary care centre in India (south) were tested by Guava;
EasyCD4™ System (PCA) and FACSCount using the respective reagents
and the corresponding ReaMetrix reagents. Results: Overall, the
correlation (r) of the new Rea T Count and FACSCount reagents for the
CD4+ T-cell estimation was 0.98, while with ReaPan 3 4 G reagent in the
Guava PCA system with the Guava reagent was 0.97. The mean bias for
CD4+ T-cell measurements between Rea T count and BD reagent was -6
cells/ml, while the same with ReaPan 3 4 G reagent in the Guava PCA
system was 78 cells/μl. The mean bias for the Rea T count and the
ReaPan 3 4 G reagent tested in the FACSCount and Guava PCA system was
17 cells. Conclusions: The dry reagents were found to be reliable and
cheaper compared to the existing liquid reagents. This allows the
transportation of reagents in the absence of cold chain and will
facilitate a more user-friendly CD4+ T-cell testing system
Detection of opportunistic DNA viral infections by multiplex PCR among HIV infected individuals receiving care at a tertiary care hospital in South India
Purpose: Opportunistic viral infections cause increased morbidity and
mortality among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected
individuals, especially those who are not on antiretroviral treatment.
Early diagnosis of these opportunistic viruses will be able to reduce
the risk of disease progression with appropriate intervention.
Materials and Methods: Multiplex PCR was attempted to detect the
opportunistic herpes viruses (HSV-1, HSV-2, VZV, EBV, and CMV),
adenovirus and polyoma viruses (JC and BK) in three cocktails of PCR
reactions. Subsequently, all the viruses detected were quantitated by
testing using monoplex real time PCR. Whole blood samples collected
between 2006 and 2007 from 68 treatment naοve HIV-1 infected and
30 normal healthy individuals were tested for these eight viruses.
Among the 68 HIV -1 infected individuals 35 had CD4+ T cell count less
than or equal to 200 while the other 33 had greater than 200 CD4+ T
cells. Results: Among the 68 HIV-1 infected individuals, 49 (72%) were
positive for EBV, 5 (7%) samples were positive for CMV. All the five
CMV positive individuals had CD4+ T cell count of less than or equal to
200 cells/µL. The mean EBV load among the individuals with a CD4+
T cells of less than or equal to 200 cells/µL was 3.88 log 10
while among those with greater than 200 CD4+ T cells it was 3.75 log 10
. The mean CMV load was 6.98 log 10. Three samples were positive for
both CMV & EBV. None of the samples was positive for HSV-1, HSV-2,
VZV, Adenovirus, JC and BK viruses. Conclusions: In our study,
multiplex PCR based detection system was found useful in detecting
opportunistic viruses in HIV infected individuals. Though EBV is the
most prevalent opportunistic viral infection among HIV infected
individuals, there was no significant association between EBV load,
CD4+ T cell counts and HIV-1 virus load. CMV was seen in HIV infected
individuals with low CD4+ T cell counts (less than 200 cells/μL)
Immune responses to Epstein-Barr virus in individuals with systemic and organ specific autoimmune disorders
Purpose: Autoimmune diseases usually manifest in genetically
predisposed individuals following an environmental trigger. There are
several viral infections including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) implicated
in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders. The aim of this study was
to look at the antibody pattern to EBV proteins in the plasma of both
systemic and organ specific autoimmune disorders, estimate
pro-inflammatory plasma cytokines (IL-8 and TNF-α) among these
autoimmune patients and compare the observations with those in normal
healthy controls. Materials and Methods: Samples from 44 rheumatoid
arthritis patients, 25 Hashimoto's thyroiditis patients, appropriately
age and sex matched healthy controls were tested for EBV IgM antibodies
by an immunoblot assay and two cytokines (IL-8 and TNF-α) by
commercial assays. Results: Among the rheumatoid arthritis patients, 23
(52%) were positive for EBNA1 antibody, while 13 (52%) of the
Hashimoto's thyroiditis patients and 12 (30%) of the healthy controls
showed similar bands. The intensity of the bands was high in the
autoimmune patients when compared to the bands seen in control samples.
The difference in the EBNA1 reactivity between rheumatoid arthritis
patients and controls were significant (P = 0.038). There was a
significant difference in the IgM reactivity to VCAp19 protein between
patients and controls (P = 0.011). Conclusion: Our study showed an
increased EBV activation among the autoimmune patient groups compared
to the normal healthy controls. Further studies are required to
delineate the association between the aetiology of autoimmune disorders
and EBV