An interesting case of HSV Pneumonia and PCP co-infection in a patient with AIDS: a diagnostic and management challenge

The advent of HIV and AIDS has brought about many diagnostic and management challenges regarding multiple opportunistic infections. Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is a common presentation in patients with AIDS who are not on prophylaxis or highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Herpes simplex 1 virus (HSV-1) is a ubiquitous virus that mainly causes benign disease during primary infection. However, it is known to cause severe pneumonia and disseminated disease in the immunocompromised.1 We present a case of HSV-1 pneumonitis and PCP co-infection in an HIV-positive patient with respiratory failure. To the best of our knowledge, based on Pubmed and Google Scholar searches, this is the first case to be reported in the English language literature

Incidence, clinical spectrum, risk factors and impact of HIV-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in South Africa.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) is a widely recognised complication of antiretroviral therapy (ART), but there are still limited data from resource-limited settings. Our objective was to characterize the incidence, clinical spectrum, risk factors and contribution to mortality of IRIS in two urban ART clinics in South Africa

Benefits to a regional neurosurgical unit following the introduction of a decentralised imaging facility

No Abstrac

HIV and serum protein electrophoresis patterns in Kwazulu Natal: A retrospective study

Original articl

Potential inhibition of HIV-1 encapsidation by oligoribonucleotide–dendrimer nanoparticle complexes

Raveen Parboosing,1,2 Louis Chonco,1,2 Francisco Javier de la Mata,3,4 Thavendran Govender,5 Glenn EM Maguire,5 Hendrik G Kruger5 1Department of Virology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2National Health Laboratory Service, Durban, South Africa; 3Organic and Inorganic Chemistry Department, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, 4Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, Spain; 5Catalysis and Peptide Research Unit, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa Background: Encapsidation, the process during which the genomic RNA of HIV is packaged into viral particles, is an attractive target for antiviral therapy. This study explores a novel nanotechnology-based strategy to inhibit HIV encapsidation by an RNA decoy mechanism. The design of the 16-mer oligoribonucleotide (RNA) decoy is based on the sequence of stem loop 3 (SL3) of the HIV packaging signal (Ψ). Recognition of the packaging signal is essential to the encapsidation process. It is theorized that the decoy RNA, by mimicking the packaging signal, will disrupt HIV packaging if efficiently delivered into lymphocytes by complexation with a carbosilane dendrimer. The aim of the study is to measure the uptake, toxicity, and antiviral activity of the dendrimer–RNA nanocomplex. Materials and methods: A dendriplex was formed between cationic carbosilane dendrimers and the RNA decoy. Uptake of the fluorescein-labeled RNA into MT4 lymphocytes was determined by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The cytoprotective effect (50% effective concentration [EC50]) and the effect on HIV replication were determined in vitro by the methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and viral load measurements, respectively. Results: Flow cytometry and confocal imaging demonstrated efficient transfection of lymphocytes. The dendriplex containing the Ψ decoy showed some activity (EC50 =3.20 µM, selectivity index =8.4). However, there was no significant suppression of HIV viral load. Conclusion: Oligoribonucleotide decoys containing SL3 of the packaging sequence are efficiently delivered into lymphocytes by carbosilane dendrimers where they exhibit a modest cytoprotective effect against HIV infection. Keywords: packaging signal, dendrimers, transfection, antiretroviral, HIV packagin

Synthesis, 68Ga-Radiolabeling, and Preliminary In Vivo Assessment of a Depsipeptide-Derived Compound as a Potential PET/CT Infection Imaging Agent

Noninvasive imaging is a powerful tool for early diagnosis and monitoring of various disease processes, such as infections. An alarming shortage of infection-selective radiopharmaceuticals exists for overcoming the diagnostic limitations with unspecific tracers such as 67/68Ga-citrate or 18F-FDG. We report here TBIA101, an antimicrobial peptide derivative that was conjugated to DOTA and radiolabeled with 68Ga for a subsequent in vitro assessment and in vivo infection imaging using Escherichia coli-bearing mice by targeting bacterial lipopolysaccharides with PET/CT. Following DOTA-conjugation, the compound was verified for its cytotoxic and bacterial binding behaviour and compound stability, followed by 68Gallium-radiolabeling. µPET/CT using 68Ga-DOTA-TBIA101 was employed to detect muscular E. coli-infection in BALB/c mice, as warranted by the in vitro results. 68Ga-DOTA-TBIA101-PET detected E. coli-infected muscle tissue (SUV = 1.3–2.4) > noninfected thighs (P=0.322) > forearm muscles (P=0.092) > background (P=0.021) in the same animal. Normalization of the infected thigh muscle to reference tissue showed a ratio of 3.0 ± 0.8 and a ratio of 2.3 ± 0.6 compared to the identical healthy tissue. The majority of the activity was cleared by renal excretion. The latter findings warrant further preclinical imaging studies of greater depth, as the DOTA-conjugation did not compromise the TBIA101’s capacity as targeting vector