Hepatitis B infection in HIV-1-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy in Lomé, Togo: Prevalence and molecular consequences

Background. No data are available on HIV/hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus coinfection in Togo, and patients are not routinely tested for HBV infection.Objective. To determine the prevalence of HBV and the risk of HBV drug resistance during antiretroviral treatment in HIV-coinfected patients in Togo.Method. This cross-sectional study was carried out in Lomé, Togo, from January 2010 to December 2011 among HIV-infected patients who had been on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 6 months.Results. In total, 1 212 patients (74.9% female) living with HIV/AIDS and treated with ART were included in the study. The seroprevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was 9.7% (117/1 212; 95% confidence interval (CI) 8.04 - 11.45). Of these 117 HBsAg-positive patients, 16 (13.7%) were hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg)-positive, and 115 (98.3%) were on lamivudine. The HBV DNA load was >10 IU/mL in 33/117 patients overall (38%), and in 87.5% of 16 HBeAg-positive patients (p<0.0001). In multivariate analysis, factors associated with HBV DNA load >10 IU/mLwere HBeAg positivity (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 6.4; p=0.001) and a higher level of education (aOR 6.5; p=0.026). The prevalence of HBV resistance to lamivudine was 13.0% (15/115; 95% CI 7.0 - 19.0). The detected resistance mutations were rtL180M (14/15 patients) and rtM204V/I (15/15).Conclusion. The seroprevalence of HBV among ART-treated HIV-infected patients in Togo was 9.7%. The prevalence of HBV lamivudine resistance mutations after 2 years of ART was 13.0%. These results suggest that HBV screening before ART initiation can be based on HBsAg testing

Séroprévalence de l'hépatite A des enfants hospitalisés en service de pédiatrie générale de 2005 à 2007 selon leurs origines familiales et leurs voyages (propositions concernant la vaccination contre l'hépatite A en médecine générale)

Rappels : L hépatite A aiguë est connue pour être une maladie bénigne voire asymptomatique. Cependant 25% des hépatites aiguës graves de l enfant sont dues au virus de l hépatite A (VHA). Il s agit pourtant d une maladie évitable par des vaccins efficaces et donnant une immunité durable. L origine géographique des parents, s il s agit d un pays endémique pour l hépatite A, n est une indication à la vaccination de l enfant en France que depuis avril 2009. Nous nous sommes intéressés dans cette étude au lien qui pourrait exister entre l origine des parents, les antécédents de voyages de l enfant en pays endémique pour le VHA, et la séroprévalence contre le VHA. Méthodes : Dans cette étude rétrospective, nous avons mesuré la séroprévalence d une population d enfants hospitalisés dans un service parisien entre 2005 et 2007 inclus, non vaccinés contre le VHA, selon l origine (endémique ou non) de leurs parents, et leurs éventuels antécédents de voyage. Résultats : La séroprévalence globale était de 8.27% (n=266). Les enfants ayant déjà voyagé en pays endémique avaient une séroprévalence de 28.8 %. La séroprévalence de ceux qui n ont pas voyagé, quelle que soit l origine de leurs parents était de 2.4 %. 93 % des enfants voyageurs sont issus de parents nés en pays endémique. Parmi les enfants non voyageurs : l origine des parents n influe pas dans cette étude sur la séroprévalence contre le VHA. Dans cette étude, tous les enfants séropositifs contre le VHA non vaccinés ont au moins un de leur parents né en pays endémique. Conclusion : Il est primordial de vacciner tous les enfants de plus de 1 an, issus de parents nés en pays endémique, avant même tout projet de voyage.PARIS6-Bibl. St Antoine CHU (751122104) / SudocSudocFranceF

Clonage moléculaire de nouveaux gènes induits par l'interféron alpha administré par voie orale chez la souris

CHATENAY M.-PARIS 11-BU Pharma. (920192101) / SudocPARIS-BIUP (751062107) / SudocSudocFranceF

GAAP-1: a transcriptional activator of p53 and IRF-1 possesses pro-apoptotic activity

The mechanisms that regulate the transcription of the tumour suppressor genes p53 and IRF-1 are poorly understood. We have characterized a 68-kDa transcription factor, GAAP-1 (gatekeeper of apoptosis activating proteins), encoded by an alternative splice product of the PRDII-BF1 gene, that recognizes a novel regulatory element within the p53 and IRF-1 promoters. Transfection of U937 cells with GAAP-1 activates p53 and IRF-1 expression and leads to apoptosis, whereas over-expression of GAAP-1 in K562 cells that lack p53 and IRF-1 induces cell differentiation. Alterations in the 6p24 locus containing the GAAP-1 gene are frequent in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and AML-derived cell lines display reduced GAAP-1 mRNA levels. Together, these results suggest that GAAP-1 acts as a gatekeeper at a critical point in the tumour suppressor gene pathway

Genetic Diversity within Human Erythroviruses: Identification of Three Genotypes

B19 virus is a human virus belonging to the genus Erythrovirus. The genetic diversity among B19 virus isolates has been reported to be very low, with less than 2% nucleotide divergence in the whole genome sequence. We have previously reported the isolation of a human erythrovirus isolate, termed V9, whose sequence was markedly distinct (>11% nucleotide divergence) from that of B19 virus. To date, the V9 isolate remains the unique representative of a new variant in the genus Erythrovirus, and its taxonomic position is unclear. We report here the isolation of 11 V9-related viruses. A prospective study conducted in France between 1999 and 2001 indicates that V9-related viruses actually circulate at a significant frequency (11.4%) along with B19 viruses. Analysis of the nearly full-length genome sequence of one V9-related isolate (D91.1) indicates that the D91.1 sequence clusters together with but is notably distant from the V9 sequence (5.3% divergence) and is distantly related to B19 virus sequences (13.8 to 14.2% divergence). Additional phylogenetic analysis of partial sequences from the V9-related isolates combined with erythrovirus sequences available in GenBank indicates that the erythrovirus group is more diverse than thought previously and can be divided into three well-individualized genotypes, with B19 viruses corresponding to genotype 1 and V9-related viruses being distributed into genotypes 2 and 3

Plasma Endocan as a Biomarker of Thrombotic Events in COVID-19 Patients

(1) Background: Endocan is a marker of endothelial dysfunction that may be associated with thrombotic events. The aim of the study was to investigate the performance of endocan as a marker of thrombotic events in COVID-19 patients. (2) Methods: We measured endocan in plasma from 79 documented COVID-19 patients classified according to disease severity (from mild to critical). Thrombotic events were recorded. (3) Results: Endocan concentrations at admission were significantly increased according to COVID-19 severity. Levels of endocan were significantly increased in patients experiencing thrombotic events in comparison with those without (16.2 (5.5–26.7) vs. 1.81 (0.71–10.5) ng/mL, p < 0.001). However, endocan concentrations were not different between pulmonary embolism and other thrombotic events. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis for the identification of thrombotic events showed an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.776 with an optimal threshold at 2.83 ng/mL (93.8% sensitivity and 54.7% specificity). When combining an endocan measurement with D-dimers, the AUC increased to 0.853. When considering both biomarkers, the Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that the combination of endocan and D-dimers better discriminated patients with thrombotic events than those without. The combination of D-dimers and endocan was independently associated with thrombotic events. (4) Conclusions: Endocan might be a useful and informative biomarker to better identify thrombotic events in COVID-19 patients

Clinical, virological and imaging profile in patients with prolonged forms of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study

International audienceSince January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre-including this research content-immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active

Molecular and Clinical Characterization of Rotavirus From Diarrheal Infants Admitted to Pediatric Emergency Units in France.

International audienceBACKGROUND:: Rotaviruses are the major cause of acute gastroenteritis in young children worldwide, and require careful surveillance, especially in the context of vaccination programs. Prospective surveillance is required to monitor and characterize rotavirus infections, including viral and clinical data, and to detect the emergence of potentially epidemic strains. METHODS:: Between 2006 and 2009, stool samples and clinical records were collected from 2044 children with acute diarrhea admitted to the pediatric emergency units of 13 French university hospitals. Rotaviruses were detected in stools, then genotyped by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction with regard to their outer capsid proteins VP4 and VP7. RESULTS:: The genotyping of 1947 rotaviruses showed that G1 (61.7%) and G9 (27.4%) strains were predominant and stable, followed by G2 (6.5%), G3 (4.0%), and G4 (2.5%) strains. Most strains were associated with P[8] (92.9%). Overall, 31 uncommon strains and possible zoonotic reassortants were detected including G12 and G8 strains, some being closely related to bovine strains. No difference in clinical presentation and severity was found among genotypes. CONCLUSIONS:: The relative stability of rotavirus genotypes currently cocirculating in France may ensure vaccine effectiveness in the short and medium term. However, the likely emergence of G12 and G8 strains should be monitored during ongoing and future vaccination programs, especially as all genotypes can cause severe infections. Special attention should be paid to the emergence of new rotavirus reassortants not included in current rotavirus vaccines