A study on the cell mediated immunity of human cytomegalovirus infection in kidney transplant recipients

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a major complication after kidney transplantation. Despite antiviral therapy it contributes significantly to high morbidity. This study was aimed at (a) detecting· a CMV specific antigen pp65 in CMV -infected fibroblast cells and in leukocytes of kidney transplant recipients by flow cytometric assay (FCA) (b) determining the stimulation index (S.I.) of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and CMV-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), (c) determining the levels of Th1- and Th-2 related cytokines in the supernatant of stimulated PBMC from kidney transplant recipients with and without active CMV infection (d) determining immunophenotyping of cells found in the peripheral blood of CMV -infected and CMV -uninfected kidney transplant recipients by flow cytometry using antibodies specific to CD2+ (pan T), CD3+ (mature T), CD4+ (T helper), CD8+ (T suppressor), CD26+(T activated), CDI6+/CDS6+ (NK cell), CDI9+(pan B), CDIS+ (granulocytes). Thirty-five patients with, and 44 without active CMV infections, as diagnosed by a CMV antigenemia assay (AA), were inducted into this study. FCA distinguished clearly between the infected and uninfected fibroblast cells. Regarding kidney transplant recipients, the FCA was positive when the number of AA positive cells was five or more per 5x10(4). Moreover, the percentage of antigenemia-positive cells by FCA correlated well with symptomatic CMV infections. After PHA and CMV stimulation of PBMC from patients, S.I. was determined by radioactive thymidine uptake while the production of Th1-type cytokines [interleukin-2 (iL-2), interferon-y (IFN-y) and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFex)] and Th2-type cytokines (IL-4, IL-1O) were measured by ELISA. PBMC of patients with active CMV infection showed significantly lower S.I. values than patients without an ongoing CMV infection (p<O.OOO1). Levels of Th2- type cytokines in CMV -infected and uninfected kidney recipients were similar;however, the levels of the Th1-type cytokines were significantly lower in CMV -infected patients (p<O.O5). Low levels of Th1-type cytokines seem to correlate well with active CMV infection in kidney recipients. The percentage of CD3+ immunocompetent T lymphocytes and CD4+ T lymphocytes were consistently higher in kidney transplant recipients without an active CMV infection than in the group of recipients with an active CMV infection. These differences were statistically significant in the case of CD3+ (p<O.O5) and CD4+ (p<O.OO5). On the other hand the difference in percentage CD2+, CD8+, CD16++CD56+, CD19+, CD15+ cells were statistically insignificant. Therefore, these data suggest that active CMV infection in kidney transplant recipients is associated with a significant alteration in the lymphocyte proliferative responses, the levels of Th1-type cytokines (IFN-y, TNF-ex, IL-2), and the percentage of CD3+, CD4+ when compared to kidney transplant recipients without active CMV infection

Spectrum of Viral Infections Among Primary Immunodeficient Children: Report From a National Registry

Objective: To present the frequency and spectrum of viral infections in primary immunodeficient children.Methods: The data was obtained from the Kuwait National Primary Immunodeficiency Disorders (PIDs) Registry during the period of 2004-2018.Results: A total of 274 PID children were registered in KNPIDR during the study period with predominance of immunodeficiencies affecting cellular and humoral immunity, followed by combined immunodeficiencies with associated syndromic features and diseases of immune dysregulation. Overall infectious complications affected 82.4% of the patients, and viral infections affected 31.7% of the registered patients. Forty-five patients (16.4%) developed viral infections caused by at least 2 organisms, among those 20 patients were affected by three or more viral infections. There was a statistically significant association between viral infections and PID category. However, there was no statistically significant association between viral infections and gender or the patients' onset age. There was a total of 170 viral infections during the study period and the causes of these infections were predominated by CMV (22.2%), adenovirus (11.7%), EBV (11.1%), and enteroviruses (7.4%). CMV and parainfluenza infections were more common in the group of immunodeficiencies affecting cellular and humoral immunity while EBV and human papilloma virus (HPV) were more common in the immune dysregulation group and combined immunodeficiencies with associated syndromic features, respectively. The most common presentation was viremia (28.8%) followed by pneumonia (28.2%) and skin infections (17.6%). The most common causes of viremia were CMV followed by adenovirus and EBV, while the most common organisms causing pneumonia were CMV followed by rhinovirus and parainfluenza. There were 80 deaths among the registered patients, 10% were caused by viral infections.Conclusions: Viral infections are common in PIDs and result into a wide-range of clinical manifestations causing significant morbidity and mortality

Genome Analysis Reveals Genetic Admixture and Signature of Selection for Productivity and Environmental Traits in Iraqi Cattle

The Near East cattle are adapted to different agro-ecological zones including desert areas, mountains habitats, and humid regions along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system. The region was one of the earliest and most significant areas of cattle husbandry. Currently, four main breeds of Iraqi cattle are recognized. Among these, the Jenoubi is found in the southern more humid part of Iraq, while the Rustaqi is found in the middle and drier region of the country. Despite their importance, Iraqi cattle have up to now been poorly characterized at the genome level. Here, we report at a genome-wide level the diversity and signature of positive selection in these two breeds. Thirty-five unrelated Jenoubi cattle, sampled in the Maysan and Basra regions, and 60 Rustaqi cattle, from around Baghdad and Babylon, were genotyped using the Illumina Bovine HD BeadChip (700K). Genetic population structure and diversity level were studied using principal component analysis (PCA), expected heterozygosity (He), observed heterozygosity (Ho), and admixture. Signatures of selection were studied using extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH) (iHS and Rsb) and inter-population Wright’s Fst. The results of PCA and admixture analysis, including European taurine, Asian indicine, African indicine, and taurine indicate that the two breeds are crossbreed zebu × taurine, with more zebu background in Jenoubi cattle compared with Rustaqi. The Rustaqi has the greatest mean heterozygosity (He = 0.37) among all breeds. iHS and Rsb signatures of selection analyses identify 68 candidate genes under positive selection in the two Iraqi breeds, while Fst analysis identifies 220 candidate genes including genes related to the innate and acquired immunity responses, different environmental selection pressures (e.g., tick resistance and heat stress), and genes of commercial interest (e.g., marbling score)

Pattern of Parvovirus B19 Infection During Different Trimesters of Pregnancy in Kuwait

Objective: Aims of this study were to determine the IgG and IgM seropositivity to parvovirus B19 during the three trimesters of pregnancy

Data from: Genome analysis reveals genetic admixture and signature of selection for productivity and environmental traits in Iraqi cattle

The Near East cattle are adapted to different agro-ecological zones including desert areas, mountains habitats as well as humid regions along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system. The region was one of the earliest and most significant areas of cattle husbandry. Currently four main breeds of Iraqi cattle are recognized. Among these, the Jenoubi is found in the southern more humid part of Iraq while the Rustaqi is found in the middle and drier region of the country. Despite their importance, Iraqi cattle have up to now been poorly characterized at genome level. Here, we report at genome-wide level the diversity and signature of positive selection in these two breeds. Thirty-five unrelated Jenoubi cattle, sampled in the Maysan and Basra regions, and 60 Rustaqi cattle, from around Baghdad and Babylon, were genotyped using the Illumina Bovine HD BeadChip (700K). Genetic population structure and diversity level were studied using principal component analysis (PCA), expected heterozygosity (He), observed heterozygosity (Ho) and admixture. Signatures of selection were studied using Extended Haplotype Homozygosity (EHH) (iHS and Rsb) and inter-population Wright’s Fst. The results of PCA and admixture analysis, including European taurine, Asian indicine, African indicine and taurine indicate that the two breeds are crossbreed zebu x taurine, with more zebu background in Jenoubi cattle compared to Rustaqi. The Rustaqi has the greatest mean heterozygosity (He = 0.37) among all breeds. iHS and Rsb signature of selection analyses identify 68 candidate genes under positive selection in the two Iraqi breeds, while Fst analysis identifies 220 candidate genes including genes related to the innate and acquired immunity responses, different environmental selection pressures (e.g. tick resistance, heat stress) and genes of commercial interest (e.g. marbling score)

Mixed Viral Infections Circulating in Hospitalized Patients with Respiratory Tract Infections in Kuwait

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of viral mixed detection in hospitalized patients with respiratory tract infections and to evaluate the correlation between viral mixed detection and clinical severity. Hospitalized patients with respiratory tract infections (RTI) were investigated for 15 respiratory viruses by using sensitive molecular techniques. In total, 850 hospitalized patients aged between 3 days and 80 years were screened from September 2010 to April 2014. Among the 351 (47.8%) patients diagnosed with viral infections, viral mixed detection was identified in 49 patients (14%), with human rhinovirus (HRV) being the most common virus associated with viral mixed detection (7.1%), followed by adenovirus (AdV) (4%) and human coronavirus-OC43 (HCoV-OC43) (3.7%). The highest combination of viral mixed detection was identified with HRV and AdV (2%), followed by HRV and HCoV-OC43 (1.4%). Pneumonia and bronchiolitis were the most frequent reason for hospitalization with viral mixed detection (9.1%). There were statistical significance differences between mixed and single detection in patients diagnosed with bronchiolitis ( = 0.002) and pneumonia ( = 0.019). Our findings might indicate a significant association between respiratory virus mixed detection and the possibility of developing more severe LRTI such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia when compared with single detection