Cytomegalovirus infection in pediatric rheumatic diseases: a review

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is familiar to pediatric rheumatologists mainly as a cause of opportunistic disease in pharmacologically immune suppressed patients. However, HCMV also has a variety of immuno-modulatory effects, through which it may influence the course of rheumatic conditions. In this article we discuss the interplay between HCMV and the immune system, and review the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of HCMV infection in children with rheumatic disease

Comparative survey of smoking prevalence in individuals with and without angular bone defects

"nBackground and Aims: There is not sufficient knowledge about the relationship between smoking and vertical bone loss in periodontal diseases. There are also important evidences which propose harmful effects of smoking on periodontal tissues including alveolar bone. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between smoking and prevalence and severity of vertical bone defects."nMaterials and Methods: This case-control study consisted of 71 individuals with angular bone defects (case) and 69 individuals without angular bone defects (control) between 18 to 70 years old. People were selected by radiography, examining and filling up the questionnaire. Vertical bone defect was defined as interproximal bone resorption to the extent of ≥2mm with a clear angel towards the Mesial or Distal of root. Data were analyzed using SPSS software."nResult: The mean age of studied individuals was 37.14 years (±12.72). Among people with angular bone defects, 21.1% were light smokers and 25.4% were moderate-heavy smokers. There was a significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers in terms of smoking status and the chance of having angular bone defects (P=0.001). Simultaneous study of the effect of sex, age, brushing and smoking status showed that except sex, other variables have a significant effect on angular bone defects. The chance of having angular bone defects in light and heavy-moderate smokers was more than that in nonsmokers (adjusted OR=4.17 and adjusted OR=3.87, respectively)."nConclusion: These observations propose that smoking is related to increase in prevalence and severity of vertical bone defects. Smoking is considered as a potential risk factor for vertical periodontal bone loss

Human cytomegalovirus strain-dependent changes in NK cell recognition of infected fibroblasts.

NK cells play a key role in the control of CMV infection in mice, but the mechanism by which NK cells can recognize and kill CMV-infected cells is unclear. In this study, the modulation of NK cell susceptibility of human CMV (hCMV)-infected cells was examined. We used a human lung and a human foreskin fibroblast cell line infected with clinical isolates (4636, 13B, or 109B) or with laboratory strains (AD169, Towne). The results indicate that all three hCMV clinical isolates confer a strong NK resistance, whereas only marginal or variable effects in the NK recognition were found when the laboratory strains were used. The same results were obtained regardless of the conditions of infection, effector cell activation status, cell culture conditions, and/or donor-target cell combinations. The NK cell inhibition did not correlate with HLA class I expression levels on the surface of the target cell and was independent of the leukocyte Ig-like receptor-1, as evaluated in Ab blocking experiments. No relevant changes were detected in the adhesion molecules ICAM-I and LFA-3 expressed on the cell surface of cells infected with hCMV clinical and laboratory strains. We conclude that hCMV possesses other mechanisms, related neither to target cell expression of HLA-I or adhesion molecules nor to NK cell expression of leukocyte Ig-like receptor-1, that confer resistance to NK cell recognition. Such mechanisms may be lost during in vitro passage of the virus. These results emphasize the differences between clinical hCMV isolates compared with laboratory strains