Hepatitis C virus-specific reactivity of CD4+-lymphocytes in children born from HCV-infected women

Background/Aims: T-lymphocyte reactivity against viral antigens may represent the only immunological marker of host contact with a virus. Aim of the present study was to investigate whether vertical exposure to hepatitis C virus (HCV) could activate HCV-specific T-cell responses that may represent a biomarker of previous contact with the virus, and possibly contribute to the low rate of vertical HCV transmission. Methods: We studied 28 children born from chronically HCV-infected mothers. HCV-specific activation and proliferation of CD4+-lymphocytes and cytokine production were evaluated in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated in vitro with HCV-peptides. Results: HCV-specific CD4+-cell reactivity was observed in 20 out of the 28 children (71%). The proliferation of HCV-specific CD4+-cells was more frequent and vigorous in children than in their mothers. In children, but not in the mothers, activation of CD4+-cells upon stimulation with HCV-peptides was directly correlated with proliferation. Early upon stimulation with HCV-peptides, lymphocytes from children produced lower levels of IL-10 than lymphocytes from the mothers. Conclusions: Vertical exposure to HCV induces the development of viral-specific CD4+-cell-mediated immune responses, possibly endowed with protective function against infection, which may contribute to the low rate of vertical HCV transmission

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

La ricerca delle salmonelle nelle acque superficiali. II Risultati e considerazioni circa l'impiego di metodiche qualitative e quantitative.

3nonenoneNARDI G; TANZI ML; F. DONATONardi, Giuseppe; Tanzi, Ml; Donato, Francesc