Antibody Response to Pneumocystis jirovecii: Antibody Response to Pneumocystis jirovecii Major Surface Glycoprotein

We conducted a prospective pilot study of the serologic responses to overlapping recombinant fragments of the Pneumocystis jirovecii major surface glycoprotein (Msg) in HIV-infected patients with pneumonia due to P. jirovecii and other causes. Similar baseline geometric mean antibody levels to the fragments measured by an ELISA were found in both groups. Serum antibodies to MsgC in P. jirovecii patients rose to a peak level 3–4 weeks (p<0.001) after recovery from pneumocystosis; baseline CD4+ count >50 cells/μL and first episode of pneumocystosis were the principal host factors associated with this rise (both p<0.001). Thus, MsgC shows promise as a serologic reagent and should be tested further in clinical and epidemiologic studies

Elizabeth Koch, oboe and John Warren, clarinet

Kennnesaw State University School of Music presents Faculty Recital: Elizabeth Koch, oboe and John Warren, clarinet.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1546/thumbnail.jp

Serum Antibody Levels to the Pneumocystis jirovecii Major Surface Glycoprotein in the Diagnosis of P. jirovecii Pneumonia in HIV+ Patients

infection has never been developed. major surface glycoprotein recombinant fragment C1 (MsgC1) in 110 HIV+ patients with active PcP (cases) and 63 HIV+ patients with pneumonia due to other causes (controls) by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The cases had significantly higher IgG and IgM antibody levels to MsgC1 than the controls at hospital admission (week 0) and intervals up to at least 1 month thereafter. The sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) of IgG antibody levels increased from 57.2%, 61.7% and 71.5% at week 0 to 63.4%, 100%, and 100%, respectively, at weeks 3–4. The sensitivity, specificity and PPV of IgM antibody levels rose from 59.7%, 61.3%, and 79.3% at week 0 to 74.6%, 73.7%, and 89.8%, respectively, at weeks 3–4. Multivariate analysis revealed that a diagnosis of PcP was the only independent predictor of high IgG and IgM antibody levels to MsgC1. A high LDH level, a nonspecific marker of lung damage, was an independent predictor of low IgG antibody levels to MsgC1.The results suggest that the ELISA shows promise as an aid to the diagnosis of PCP in situations where diagnostic procedures cannot be performed. Further studies in other patient populations are needed to better define the usefulness of this serologic test

The Vehicle, Fall 2002

Table of Contents Caterpillar DreamsAubrey Bonannopage 4 GrandmotherNatalie Espositopage 5 PhotographNatalie Espositopage 5 For My SisterAnn Hudsonpage 6 BuckeyeCaleb Judypage 6 A Moment\u27s GlowMelissa Knoblockpage 7 April 8,1994Andy Kochpage 8 Koch FuneralsAndy Kochpage 9 Grandpa Koch\u27s Sense of HumorAndy Kochpage 10 DeparturesDave Moutraypage 11 1958 VetteAlex Nicolpage 11 HomelandDave Moutraypage 12 The TravelerDave Moutraypage 12 GrandpaJennifer Probstpage 13 Confusion upon LearningJody Sanchezpage 14 Chucktown PrideMike Scalespage 14 I Might be WrongDallas Schumacherpage 15-20 UntitledAlex Nicholpage 21 Late NightRachel Seftonpage 22 Old DreamsRachel Seftonpage 23 Two-Minded ThoughtsRachel Sefton & Jodi Sanchezpage 24 Strange GraffitiMike Scalespage 24 On PoetryNick Slicerpage 25-26 Sometimes Things Just Happen That WayThomas Webbpage 26-33 Biographiespage 34-35 Editor\u27s Notepage 36https://thekeep.eiu.edu/vehicle/1076/thumbnail.jp

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Serologic Responses to Pneumocystis jiroveci

Seroepidemiologic studies of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in humans have been limited by inadequate reagents. We have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using three overlapping recombinant fragments of the human Pneumocystis major surface glycoprotein (MsgA, MsgB, and MsgC) for analysis of antibody responses in HIV-positive patients and healthy blood donors. HIV-positive patients had significantly higher antibody levels to all Msg fragments. Furthermore, HIV-positive patients who experienced a previous episode of PCP (PCP-positive) had higher level of antibodies to MsgC than patients who never had PCP. A significant association was found between ELISA antibody level and reactivity by Western blot in HIV-positive patients, especially those who were PCP-positive. Thus, this ELISA will be useful in studying serum antibody responses to Pneumocystis in different human populations

Healthcare Worker Occupation and Immune Response to Pneumocystis jirovecii

Humans may be a reservoir for this pathogen and transmit it from person to person

Neuropilin-2 mediates VEGF-C–induced lymphatic sprouting together with VEGFR3

If neuropilin-2 and the growth factor VEGF-C don’t come together, lymphatic vessels don’t branch apart

Lineage-specific distribution of high levels of genomic 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in mammalian development

Methylation of cytosine is a DNA modification associated with gene repression. Recently, a novel cytosine modification, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) has been discovered. Here we examine 5-hmC distribution during mammalian development and in cellular systems, and show that the developmental dynamics of 5-hmC are different from those of 5-methylcytosine (5-mC); in particular 5-hmC is enriched in embryonic contexts compared to adult tissues. A detectable 5-hmC signal appears in pre-implantation development starting at the zygote stage, where the paternal genome is subjected to a genome-wide hydroxylation of 5-mC, which precisely coincides with the loss of the 5-mC signal in the paternal pronucleus. Levels of 5-hmC are high in cells of the inner cell mass in blastocysts, and the modification colocalises with nestin-expressing cell populations in mouse post-implantation embryos. Compared to other adult mammalian organs, 5-hmC is strongly enriched in bone marrow and brain, wherein high 5-hmC content is a feature of both neuronal progenitors and post-mitotic neurons. We show that high levels of 5-hmC are not only present in mouse and human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and lost during differentiation, as has been reported previously, but also reappear during the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells; thus 5-hmC enrichment correlates with a pluripotent cell state. Our findings suggest that apart from the cells of neuronal lineages, high levels of genomic 5-hmC are an epigenetic feature of embryonic cell populations and cellular pluri- and multi-lineage potency. To our knowledge, 5-hmC represents the first epigenetic modification of DNA discovered whose enrichment is so cell-type specific