Low-density lipoprotein-lowering medication and platelet function

Elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL-C) levels represent one of the most important risk factors for atherosclerosis and therefore cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. LDL-C operates at different levels and through various classic and non-classic mechanisms. In particular, increased or modified LDL enhances platelet function and increases sensitivity of platelets to several naturally occurring agonists. Agents that lower LDL-C in hypercholesterolemic patients have been shown to interfere with platelet function. Several studies, in fact, suggested that statins exert anti-thrombotic effects largely as a result of an anti-platelet activity. Among the other LDL-C-lowering agents those acting by interfering with cholesterol reabsorption from the gut (cholestyramine, colestipol) do not appear to interfere with platelet function, whereas peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists (such as fibrates) can inhibit platelet function. The full potential of these drugs in vascular protection is only just being realized. Further studies are still needed to elucidate the full therapeutic benefits of these agents in plaque stabilization and thrombosis. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Development of a versatile tool for the simultaneous differential detection of Pseudomonas savastanoi pathovars by End Point and Real-Time PCR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pseudomonas savastanoi </it>pv. <it>savastanoi </it>is the causal agent of olive knot disease. The strains isolated from oleander and ash belong to the pathovars <it>nerii </it>and <it>fraxini</it>, respectively. When artificially inoculated, pv. <it>savastanoi </it>causes disease also on ash, and pv. <it>nerii </it>attacks also olive and ash. Surprisingly nothing is known yet about their distribution in nature on these hosts and if spontaneous cross-infections occur. On the other hand sanitary certification programs for olive plants, also including <it>P. savastanoi</it>, were launched in many countries. The aim of this work was to develop several PCR-based tools for the rapid, simultaneous, differential and quantitative detection of these <it>P. savastanoi </it>pathovars, in multiplex and <it>in planta</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Specific PCR primers and probes for the pathovars <it>savastanoi</it>, <it>nerii </it>and <it>fraxini </it>of <it>P. savastanoi </it>were designed to be used in End Point and Real-Time PCR, both with SYBR^®Green or TaqMan^®chemistries. The specificity of all these assays was 100%, as assessed by testing forty-four <it>P. savastanoi </it>strains, belonging to the three pathovars and having different geographical origins. For comparison strains from the pathovars <it>phaseolicola </it>and <it>glycinea </it>of <it>P. savastanoi </it>and bacterial epiphytes from <it>P. savastanoi </it>host plants were also assayed, and all of them tested always negative. The analytical detection limits were about 5 - 0.5 pg of pure genomic DNA and about 10²genome equivalents per reaction. Similar analytical thresholds were achieved in Multiplex Real-Time PCR experiments, even on artificially inoculated olive plants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Here for the first time a complex of PCR-based assays were developed for the simultaneous discrimination and detection of <it>P. savastanoi </it>pv. <it>savastanoi</it>, pv. <it>nerii </it>and pv. <it>fraxini</it>. These tests were shown to be highly reliable, pathovar-specific, sensitive, rapid and able to quantify these pathogens, both in multiplex reactions and <it>in vivo</it>. Compared with the other methods already available for <it>P. savastanoi</it>, the identification procedures here reported provide a versatile tool both for epidemiological and ecological studies on these pathovars, and for diagnostic procedures monitoring the asymptomatic presence of <it>P. savastanoi </it>on olive and oleander propagation materials.</p

Genetic Variation within «Phaeoacremonium aleophilum» and «P. chlamydosporum» in Italy

Genetic variation among isolates of Phaeoacremonium chlamydosporum (Pch) and P. aleophilum (Pal), two hyphomycetous fungi involved in the development of symptoms of esca and in a decline of young grapevines, was studied in eight Italian grapevine growing regions. Genetic variation was estimated by analysis of amplification profiles obtained in RAPD- and RAMS-PCR experiments (RAPD = Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA; RAMS = Random Amplified Micro- or Mini-Satellites). The genetic divergence between the two species suggests their assignment to two different genera. Within each species, a low level of polymorphism was found; however a higher degree of genetic variation was found with RAPD than with RAMS experiments, and more with Pal than with Pch isolates. No relationship was found for either species between the clustering of isolates in statistically defined groups and the geographic origin of those isolates. A low level of genetic disequilibrium was found in Pch and Pal, suggesting that sexual reproduction may occur in both fungi

Burkitt's lymphoma mimicking EBV disease as first sign of vertical HIV infection in an adolescent

Burkitt's Lymphoma (BL) rarely represents the first clinical manifestation of vertical HIV infection in adolescent in Western Europe. We report the case of a 17 year-old boy with two week history of fever and enlarged cervical lymph nodes firstly misdiagnosed as EBV infection, subsequently diagnosed as Burkitt's Lymphoma and vertical HIV infection

Insulin resistance as a determinant of platelet activation in obese women

OBJECTIVES We tested the hypothesis that insulin resistance, per se, contributes to increased platelet activation in obesity, independently of underlying inflammation. BACKGROUND Obesity, insulin resistance, and atherosclerosis are closely linked phenomena associated with low-grade inflammation. Obesity is associated with persistent platelet activation in otherwise healthy women. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study in 40 obese and 20 non-obese healthy women using urinary thromboxane metabolite excretion as a non-invasive index of platelet activation. An index of insulin sensitivity, S, and plasma adiponectin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and CD40 ligand (CD40L) levels were measured. RESULTS Obese women had significantly (p < 0.0001) higher 11-dehydro-thromboxane B-2 (11-dehydro-TXB2) excretion (median 718 vs. 211 pg/mg creatinine), CRP (1.13 vs. 0.48 mg/1), and CD40L levels (4.45 vs. 0.90 ng/ml) than controls. Obese women had lower S, (median 2.51 vs. 5.0 10(4) min(-1)/[mu U/ml], p < 0.002) and adiponectin (6.3 vs. 10 mu g/ml, p < 0.01) than control subjects. On multiple regression analysis, waist-to-hip ratio (beta = 0.27, p < 0.05) and S, (beta = -0.72, p < 0.04) predicted 11-dehydro-TXB2 excretion rate, independently of adiponectin, CRP, CD40L, and lipid patterns. In order to investigate the cause-effect relationship of these associations, we examined the effects of a 12-week weight loss program or a 3-week pioglitazone treatment on urinary 11-dehydro-TXB2 in 10 women with impaired S-1 and visceral obesity. Successful weight loss (0.6 kg loss/week) achieved in 5 subjects was associated with increased S-1 (+92%) and decreased CD40L (-27%), CRP (-37%), and 11-dehydro-TXB2 (-53%) (p < 0.05). Consistently, improvement of insulin sensitivity achieved with pioglitazone significantly decreased urinary 11-dehydro-TXB2 excretion (-43%, p < 0.05) without changes in body weight. CONCLUSIONS Insulin resistance is a major determinant of platelet activation in female obesity

Multiplicity of blaKPC genes and pKpQIL plasmid plasticity in the development of ceftazidime-avibactam and Meropenem coresistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 307

In 2021, Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 307 (ST307) strains causing pulmonary and bloodstream infections identified in a hospital in Rome, Italy, reached high levels of resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA). One of these strains reached high levels of resistance to both CZA and carbapenems and carried two copies of bla(KPC-3) and one copy of bla(KPC-31) located on plasmid pKpQIL. The genomes and plasmids of CZA-resistant ST307 strains were analyzed to identify the molecular mechanisms leading to the evolution of resistance and compared with ST307 genomes at local and global levels. A complex pattern of multiple plasmids in rearranged configurations, coresident within the CZA-carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae strain, was observed. Characterization of these plasmids revealed recombination and segregation events explaining why K. pneumoniae isolates from the same patient had different antibiotic resistance profiles. This study illustrates the intense genetic plasticity occurring in ST307, one of the most worldwide-diffused K. pneumoniae high-risk clones.In 2021, Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 307 (ST307) strains causing pulmonary and bloodstream infections identified in a hospital in Rome, Italy, reached high levels of resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA). One of these strains reached high levels of resistance to both CZA and carbapenems and carried two copies of bla(KPC-3) and one copy of bla(KPC-31) located on plasmid pKpQIL

BNT162B2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in heart and lung transplanted young adults: is an alternative SARS-CoV-2 immune response surveillance needed?

[no abstract available