Lipopolysaccharides: From Erinyes to Charites

Following the discovery of endotoxins by Richard Pfeiffer, such bacterial product was associated to many severe disorders produced by an overwhelming inflammatory response and often resulting in endotoxic shock and multiple organ failure. However, recent clinical and basic sciences investigations claimed some beneficial roles of typical as well as atypical endotoxins. The aim of this paper is to focus on recent data supporting a beneficial activity of both typical and atypical endotoxins. Such novel perspective looks promising for development of new drugs for prevention and therapy of several human diseases

Detection of human papillomaviruses in paired healthy skin and actinic keratosis by next generation sequencing

peer reviewe

Special Issue “Chronic HCV Infection: Clinical Advances and Eradication Perspectives”

The latest report of global hepatitis estimated 58 million people with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic disease and 1 [...

Six cases of sepsis caused by Pantoea agglomerans in a teaching hospital

Pantoea agglomerans is an environmental organism which may seldom cause opportunistic infections. Here we report on a 6 case outbreak in a teaching hospital. Within three months . agglomerans was isolated from blood cultures of 5 patients from oncology and 1 patient from ICU departments. P. agglomerans was in pure culture in 5 cases, while in the last one Rahnella aquatilis and Candida famata were also isolated. Therefore, P. agglomerans is able to produce nosocomial infections in patients with primary pathology often associated with immune suppression

Virological Mechanisms in the Coinfection between HIV and HCV

Due to shared transmission routes, coinfection with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is common in patients infected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The immune-pathogenesis of liver disease in HIV/HCV coinfected patients is a multifactorial process. Several studies demonstrated that HIV worsens the course of HCV infection, increasing the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Also, HCV might increase immunological defects due to HIV and risk of comorbidities. A specific cross-talk among HIV and HCV proteins in coinfected patients modulates the natural history, the immune responses, and the life cycle of both viruses. These effects are mediated by immune mechanisms and by a cross-talk between the two viruses which could interfere with host defense mechanisms. In this review, we focus on some virological/immunological mechanisms of the pathogenetic interactions between HIV and HCV in the human host