Prevalence of hepatitis-B surface antigen among blood donors and human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in Jos, Nigeria

Information is very scarce on the prevalence of hepatitis-B virus (HBV) infection among blood donors and patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Nigeria. Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) ELISA was used to determined the prevalence of HBsAg among 175 blood donors (aged 20-40 years) and 490 HIV-infected patients (aged 17-60 years) in Jos, Nigeria. Twenty-five (14.3%) of the blood donors and 127 (25.9%) of the HIV-infected individuals were HBsAg seropositive, indicating a higher HBV infection among HIV-infected persons than among healthy blood donors. A slightly higher HBsAg seroprevalence was recorded in the males (14.6%) than females (12.9%) of the blood donors. Among the HIV-infected patients, the males had considerably higher HBsAg seroprevalence than the females (31.8 vs 22.1%) with the highest prevalence of HBsAg occurring in the 51-60 years age group (44%), followed by those of 31-40 years (28.2%). Results confirmed the high endemicity of HBV infection in Jos, Nigeria and the significantly greater prevalence of HBV infection among HIV -infected patients than among blood donors

Antioxidant enzyme gene delivery to protect from HIV-1 gp120-induced neuronal apoptosis

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection in the central nervous system (CNS) may lead to neuronal loss and progressively deteriorating CNS function: HIV-1 gene products, especially gp120, induce free radical-mediated apoptosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), are among the potential mediators of these effects. Neurons readily form ROS after gp120 exposure, and so might be protected from ROS-mediated injury by antioxidant enzymes such as Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and/or glutathione peroxidase (GPx1). Both enzymes detoxify oxygen free radicals. Because they are highly efficient gene delivery vehicles for neurons, recombinant SV40-derived vectors were used for these studies. Cultured mature neurons derived from NT2 cells and primary fetal neurons were transduced with rSV40 vectors carrying human SOD1 and/or GPx1 cDNAs, then exposed to gp120. Apoptosis was measured by TUNEL assay. Transduction efficiency of both neuron populations was \u3e95%, as assayed by immunostaining. Transgene expression was also ascertained by Western blotting and direct assays of enzyme activity. Gp120 induced apoptosis in a high percentage of unprotected NT2-N. Transduction with SV(SOD1) and SV(GPx1) before gp120 challenge reduced neuronal apoptosis by \u3e90%. Even greater protection was seen in cells treated with both vectors in sequence. Given singly or in combination, they protect neuronal cells from HIV-1-gp120 induced apoptosis. We tested whether rSV40s can deliver antioxidant enzymes to the CNS in vivo: intracerebral injection of SV(SOD1) or SV(GPx1) into the caudate putamen of rat brain yielded excellent transgene expression in neurons. In vivo transduction using SV(SOD1) also protected neurons from subsequent gp120-induced apoptosis after injection of both into the caudate putamen of rat brain. Thus, SOD1 and GPx1 can be delivered by SV40 vectors in vitro or in vivo. This approach may merit consideration for therapies in HIV-1 induced encephalopathy

História como alegoria

Neste artigo abordam-se as diferentes circunstâncias nas quais se tecem comentários sobre um evento (geralmente no passado) quando os comentadores estão, na verdade, preocupados com um outro evento (geralmente no presente). Nele, distingue-se a alegoria pragmática - que se encontra onde quer que haja restrições à liberdade de agilidade política - da alegoria mística - que pressupõe algum tipo de conexão oculta entre os dois acontecimentos. Este segundo tipo de alegoria entrou em declínio no fim do século xvii, mas poderá permanecer mais influente do que todos nós pensamos.<br>This article is concerned with the different circunstances in wich comments are made as one event (usually in the past) when the commentators are really preoccupied with another (usually in the present). It distinguishes pragmatic allegory, to be found whenever there are restrictions on freedom of political speed, from mystical allegory, which assumes some kind of occult connection between the two events. This second kind of allegory has been in decline since the end of the seventeenth century, but it may remain more influential on us all than we think