The Tat protein of human immunodeficiency virus-1 enhances hepatitis C virus replication through interferon gamma-inducible protein-10

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with faster progression of liver disease and an increase in HCV persistence. However, the mechanism by which HIV-1 accelerates the progression of HCV liver disease remains unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HIV-1/HCV co-infection is associated with increased expression of interferon gamma-induced protein-10 (IP-10) mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). HCV RNA levels were higher in PBMCs of patients with HIV-1/HCV co-infection than in patients with HCV mono-infection. HIV-1 Tat and IP-10 activated HCV replication in a time-dependent manner, and HIV-1 Tat induced IP-10 production. In addition, the effect of HIV-1 Tat on HCV replication was blocked by anti-IP-10 monoclonal antibody, demonstrating that the effect of HIV-1 Tat on HCV replication depends on IP-10. Taken together, these results suggest that HIV-1 Tat protein activates HCV replication by upregulating IP-10 production.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>HIV-1/HCV co-infection is associated with increased expression of IP-10 mRNA and replication of HCV RNA. Furthermore, both HIV-1 Tat and IP-10 activate HCV replication. HIV-1 Tat activates HCV replication by upregulating IP-10 production. These results expand our understanding of HIV-1 in HCV replication and the mechanism involved in the regulation of HCV replication mediated by HIV-1 during co-infection.</p

The Performance of Pleural Fluid T-SPOT.TB Assay for Diagnosing Tuberculous Pleurisy in China: A Two-Center Prospective Cohort Study

The performance of T-SPOT.TB (T-SPOT) assay in diagnosing pleural tuberculosis (plTB) is inconsistent. In this study, we compared the performance of peripheral blood (PB) and pleural fluid (PF) T-SPOT assay in diagnosing plTB. Between July 2017 and March 2018, 218 and 210 suspected plTB patients were prospectively enrolled from Wuhan (training) and Guangzhou (validation) cohort, respectively. PB T-SPOT, PF T-SPOT, and other conventional tests were simultaneously performed. Our data showed the performance of PB T-SPOT in diagnosing plTB was limited, especially with low sensitivity. However, the results of early secreted antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10) in PF T-SPOT were significantly increased compared with those in PB T-SPOT in plTB patients. If using 76 as the cutoff value of MAX (the larger of ESAT-6 and CFP-10) in Wuhan cohort, the sensitivity and specificity of PF T-SPOT to diagnose plTB were 89.76 and 96.70%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of PF T-SPOT was better than other routine tests such as pathogen detection methods and biochemical markers. The diagnostic accuracy of PF T-SPOT in Guangzhou cohort was similar to that in Wuhan cohort, with a sensitivity and specificity of 91.07 and 94.90%, respectively. Furthermore, CD4+ T cells were more activated in PF compared with PB, and the frequency of mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific CD4+ T cells in PF was significantly higher than that in PB in plTB patients. In conclusion, the performance of PF T-SPOT is obviously better than PB T-SPOT or other laboratory tests, which suggests that PF T-SPOT assay has been of great value in the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis

Simulation of a multi-stage adiabatic reactor with inter-stage quenching for dimethyl ether synthesis

Adiabatic fixed-bed reactor has proven commercially successful in large scale production of catalytic dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether. A one dimensional pseudo-homogeneous model of an industrial reactor of dimethyl ether synthesis has been established. To verify the proposed model, the simulation results have been compared to available data from an industrial reactor. A good agreement has been found between them. The distribution of the catalyst bed temperature and concentration of each component was obtained under conditions of inlet temperature 260°C, reaction pressure 1.2MPa and gaseous hourly space velocity 950.7 h-1. With inlet catalyst bed temperature 240-280°C, operating pressure 0.6-1.8MPa and gaseous hourly space velocity 831.8-1069.5 h-1, the influence of these reaction conditions on temperature distribution of the reactor catalytic bed, outlet methanol conversion and the dimethyl ether yield were calculated. The results show that, with the rise of inlet temperature (240-280°C) and operating pressure (0.6-1.8MPa), the outlet conversion of methanol, the hot spot temperature and the DME yield increased. The increase of gaseous hourly space velocity (831.8-1069.5 h-1) leads to a decrease in the hot spot temperature of catalytic bed and the outlet conversion of methanol. But the DME yield rise initially and then descend

Impact of heating rate and solvent on Ni-based catalysts prepared by solution combustion method for syngas methanation

Ni-Al2O3 catalysts prepared by solution combustion method for syngas methanation were enhanced by employing various heating rate and different solvent. The catalytic properties were tested in syngas methanation. The result indicates that both of heating rate and solvent remarkably affect Ni particle size, which is a key factor to the catalytic activity of Ni-Al2O3 catalysts for syngas methanation. Moreover, the relationship between Ni particle size and the production rate of methane per unit mass was correlated. The optimal Ni-Al2O3 catalyst prepared in ethanol at 2°C/min, achieves a maximum production rate of methane at the mean size of 20.8 nm

The effect of preparation method on the performance of PtSn/Al2O3 catalysts for acetic acid hydrogenation

PtSn/Al2O3 catalysts with a given loading of 1 wt% Pt and 1 wt% Sn were prepared by co-impregnation or successive impregnation with aqueous solutions of Pt, Sn precursors and a commercial alumina. The catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption, H2-TPR (H2 temperature-programmed reduction), H2-pulse chemisorption, XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and CO-FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), and tested in the hydrogenation of acetic acid. The results showed that the preparation method affected both the chemical properties and their performance in the hydrogenation of acetic acid. Sn enrichment on the catalysts surface was observed on the co-impregnated catalyst and catalyst in which the Pt precursor had been loaded first. It was found that the modification of Pt was a function of the sequence of Sn addition as revealed by CO-FTIR. Co-impregnated catalyst showed the highest activity and ethanol selectivity