Immunoblots may not be effective in confirming the recency of HIV-1 infection

International audienceRecently, immunoblots (IBs) have tended to substitute Western blots (WBs) for HIV infection diagnosis. Several studies have confirmed IBs' high sensitivity to confirm HIV infection for every stage. Since the nature and pattern of the antigens of IBs are different from those of WB, the abilities of IBs and WBs to distinguish the stages of recent seroconversion and open-ended chronic infection might differ. We aimed to evaluate the performance of two IBs (INNO-LIA™ HIVI/II, Fujirebio, and Geenius™ HIV1/2 Confirmatory assay, Bio-Rad) to define the stage of infection. We studied 53 patients from the French ANRS CO6 PRIMO cohort. IBs have higher positive rates than WB. However, Geenius was less sensitive than WB and INNO-LIA to detect antibodies to p31 (0% vs 22.6 % and 15.1 %, respectively), so it could wrongly label late Fiebig stage and open-ended chronic infections as recent infections (n = 5/53). For the first time, we provide evidence that centralized WBs associated with an enzyme immunoassay for the identification of recent HIV-1 infection support the establishment of a more accurate diagnosis of primary HIV infection to improve the accuracy of enrollments in cohorts of recent HIV infections useful for epidemiological studies, pathogenesis studies or therapeutic trials

Immunoblots may not be effective in confirming the recency of HIV-1 infection

International audienceRecently, immunoblots (IBs) have tended to substitute Western blots (WBs) for HIV infection diagnosis. Several studies have confirmed IBs' high sensitivity to confirm HIV infection for every stage. Since the nature and pattern of the antigens of IBs are different from those of WB, the abilities of IBs and WBs to distinguish the stages of recent seroconversion and open-ended chronic infection might differ. We aimed to evaluate the performance of two IBs (INNO-LIA™ HIVI/II, Fujirebio, and Geenius™ HIV1/2 Confirmatory assay, Bio-Rad) to define the stage of infection. We studied 53 patients from the French ANRS CO6 PRIMO cohort. IBs have higher positive rates than WB. However, Geenius was less sensitive than WB and INNO-LIA to detect antibodies to p31 (0% vs 22.6 % and 15.1 %, respectively), so it could wrongly label late Fiebig stage and open-ended chronic infections as recent infections (n = 5/53). For the first time, we provide evidence that centralized WBs associated with an enzyme immunoassay for the identification of recent HIV-1 infection support the establishment of a more accurate diagnosis of primary HIV infection to improve the accuracy of enrollments in cohorts of recent HIV infections useful for epidemiological studies, pathogenesis studies or therapeutic trials

Immunoblots may not be effective in confirming the recency of HIV-1 infection

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HPV 16 in squamous cell carcinoma of 19th century tonsils

International audienceHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is a common ancient virus of unknown origin. Most types of HPV infect the skin and cause benign warts, but 15 types are high risk and 12 are low risk for genital or oral cancer.Involvement of HPV 16 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is now well established, especially in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

False-negative Results of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Rapid Testing in HIV Controllers

International audienceSerological assays were performed on 85 human immunodeficiency virus-controller samples . 6% presented a negative rapid screening test 7% presented an indeterminate Western blot. The enzyme immunoassay ratio decreased in controllers who had continual negative ultrasensitive HIV RNA results since inclusion

Lower disease activity but higher risk of severe COVID-19 and herpes zoster in systemiclupus erythematosus patients with pre-existing autoantibodies neutralising IFN-

International audienceObjectives: Type-I interferons (IFNs-I) have potent antiviral effects. IFNs-I are alsooverproduced in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Auto-antibodies (AAbs)neutralising IFN-, - and/or - subtypes are strong determinants of hypoxemic COVID-19pneumonia, but their impact on inflammation remains unknown.Methods: We retrospectively analysed a monocentric longitudinal cohort of 609 patients withSLE. Serum AAbs against IFN-α were quantified by ELISA and functionally assessed byabolishment of Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells protection by IFN-α2 against vesicularstomatitis virus challenge. Serum neutralising activity against IFN-, - and - was alsodetermined with a reporter luciferase activity. SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses were measuredagainst wild-type spike antigen, while serum-neutralising activity was assessed against theSARS-CoV-2 historical strain and variants of concerns.Results: Neutralising and non-neutralising anti-IFN- antibodies are present at a frequency of3.3% and 8.4%, respectively, in individuals with SLE. AAbs neutralising IFN-, unlike nonneutralisingAAbs, are associated with reduced IFN- serum levels and a reduced likelihood todevelop active disease. However, they predispose patients to an increased risk of herpes zosterand severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Severe COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with SLE ismostly associated with combined neutralisation of different IFNs-I. Finally, anti-IFN-AAbsdo not interfere with COVID-19 vaccine humoral immunogenicity.Conclusion: The production of non-neutralising and neutralising anti-IFN-I antibodies in SLEis likely to be a consequence of SLE-associated high IFN-I serum levels, with a beneficialeffect on disease activity, yet a greater viral risk. This finding reinforces the recommendationsfor vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in SLE

Dynamics of circulating calprotectin accurately predict the outcome of moderate COVID-19 patients

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