Anti-inflammatory response of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-beta in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

The systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is an inflammatory process seen in association with a large number of clinical infective and non-infective conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). Serum levels of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-beta were determined in 45 patients with SIRS: 38 patients had SIRS of infectious origin, whereas seven patients had non-infectious SIRS. Twenty healthy subjects were used as controls. Serum levels of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-beta were determined by an immunoenzyme assay. A significant increase of IL-4 was observed in these patients at the time of diagnosis and 5 days later. In contrast, serum levels of IL-10 were not increased at the time of diagnosis, but a slight decrease was noted after 5 days. Serum levels of TGF-beta were not increased at time of diagnosis, and a slight increase was observed after 5 days. Serum levels of IL-4 were significantly higher in patients with infectious SIRS at the time of diagnosis, whereas no significant difference between infectious and non-infectious SIRS was noted for serum levels of IL-10 and TGF-beta at the time of diagnosis and 5 days later. During SIRS, serum levels of IL-4 were significantly increased with a significant correlation between IL-4 and mortality, and only levels of IL-4 were significantly increased in the SIRS caused by infectious stimuli.

[Clinical characteristics of HCV infection in pregnancy: the role of sexual transmission]. / Caratteristiche cliniche dell'infezione da HCV in gravidanza: il ruolo della trasmissione sessuale. Analisi di 178 casi.

BACKGROUND: There is no uniformity of opinions about the possibility of sexual transmission of hepatitis-C-virus infection. Moreover the infection during pregnancy is often underestimated. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-eight anti-HCV-positive pregnant women were investigated to evaluate the incidence of HCV infection and the possibility of sexual transmission of the disease to the partners. RESULTS: 126 patients out of 178 (70.8%) were positive for viral infection at PCR. In 96 patients (53.9%) HCV-positivity was detected for the first time in the actual pregnancy. 147 male partners out of 178 were checked for HCV-positivity and in 31 of them (21.1%) HCV antibodies were found. CONCLUSIONS: The results underline the importance of a screening for HCV-positivity in every pregnant, searching for anti-HCV antibodies also in patients not reporting risk factors. ALT values seem to be of little importance in the monitoring of the pathology. Sexual transmission of HCV virus from woman to man seems to occur rarely.

Primary effusion lymphoma after heart transplantation: a new entity associated with human herpesvirus-8.

Deep immunosuppression and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection promote the emergence of lymphoproliferative disorders in patients undergoing solid organ transplantation. In the last few years a new herpesvirus, named human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), has been identified in Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) developing in AIDS patients. Subsequently, the same viral DNA sequences have been identified in almost all cases of Kaposi's sarcoma emerged outside HIV infection, thus suggesting their possible pathogenetic role in this tumor. Similarly, the association between HHV-8 and PEL also emerged in cases without HIV infection, even though the total number of these patients is still limited. Here, we focus on the emergence of this unusual lymphoma in patients undergoing solid organ transplant and underline once again its association with the HHV-8. Moreover, despite the characteristic local growth of this peculiar type of lymphoma, we demonstrate at the molecular level, an early neoplastic spread to the bone marrow suggesting the need to investigate in more detail the origin of the disease, as well as the molecular mechanisms controlling its systemic dissemination.

Possible pathogenic role for Sporothrix cyanescens isolated from a lung lesion in a heart transplant patient.

Sporothrix cyanescens is a fungus rarely isolated from human specimens. Its pathogenic role has never been demonstrated but has been postulated on the basis of its occurrence in normally sterile body sites, its isolation from debilitated individuals and its thermotolerance. A first case of nodular pulmonary lesions developing in an immunosuppressed, heart transplant patient is reported. Sporothrix cyanescens was isolated from a fine needle lung biopsy. The patient failed to respond to itraconazole therapy, whereas he was successfully treated with amphotericin B.

Prognostic determinants of six-month morbidity and mortality in heart transplant recipients. The Italian Study Group on Infection in Heart Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of time course and risk factors for morbidity and mortality may allow better cardiac graft allocation, surveillance timing, and planning of immunosuppressive strategies. METHODS: Six-month morbidity and mortality were retrospectively analyzed in a multiinstitutional series of 645 heart transplant recipients. RESULTS: During a 3432 patient-months follow-up, 87 patients died of infection (n = 11), rejection (n = 11), multiorgan failure (n = 9) and other transplant-related causes (n = 56); six-month survival rate was 86%. Three hundred thirty-seven recipients had 967 treated rejection episodes (2.87 episodes/patient with rejection, lethality 3.2%); 223 major infectious episodes occurred in 162 patients (1.38 episodes/infected patient, lethality 7%). Six-month rejection and infection-free survival rates were 44% and 73%. Total mortality and cause-specific morbidity sharply declined after the first month; 160 patients (25%) had no events during follow-up. At multivariable analysis, significant risk factors for mortality were postoperative acute kidney failure, prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass time, and previous cardiac surgery. Rejection was associated with steroid-free and globulin-free immunosuppression and infection was associated with steroid immunosuppression, cytolytic treatment, venous lines placement greater than 7 days, and mechanical ventilation time. No single or combination of variables was able to discriminate patients with an event-free course. CONCLUSIONS: Morbidity and mortality have the highest incidence during the early posttransplantation phase. Preoperative variables are of limited value with respect to immunosuppressive treatment in predicting outcome. Infection is far less frequent than rejection but, in view of the higher lethality rate, deserves a vigorous effort for prevention, which is best addressed by appropriate modulation of immunosuppressive strategies.

The efficiency of male-to-female and female-to-male sexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus: a study of 730 stable couples. Italian Study Group on HIV Heterosexual Transmission.

To compare the efficiency of male-to-female and female-to-male sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), we studied 524 female partners of HIV-infected men and 206 male partners of HIV-infected women in 16 Italian clinical centers. All of the partners had had a sexual relationship with the index case lasting for at least 6 months and presented no other risk factor than sexual exposure to the HIV-infected partner. Among the 730 couples, 24% of the female partners were HIV positive, in comparison with 10% of the male partners. Using logistic regression analysis, including gender and controlling for condom use, frequency of intercourse, anal sex, partner's CD4+ cell count and clinical stage, sexually transmitted diseases, genital infections, and contraceptive use, we found that the efficiency of male-to-female transmission was 2.3 (95% confidence interval = 1.1-4.8) times greater than that of female-to-male transmission. Between-gender differences in the contact surfaces and the intensity of exposure to HIV during sexual intercourse are possible reasons for the difference in efficiency of transmission.

Man-to-woman sexual transmission of HIV: longitudinal study of 343 steady partners of infected men.

To study incidence and risk factors of heterosexually transmitted HIV infection, we followed a cohort of 343 seronegative women, stable, monogamous partners of infected men whose only risk of acquiring HIV was sexual exposure to the infected partner. Nineteen seroconversions occurred in 529.6 person years (py) of observation, yielding an incidence rate of 3.6 per 100 py. The incidence rate was 7.2 per 100 py among women who did not always use or never used condoms and 1.1 among those who always used them [relative risk (RR) 6.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-21.9]. Anal sex was associated with a risk increase in only those women not always using condoms (RR 1.4, 95% CI 0.4-4.8). No seroconversions were observed among 22 women using oral contraceptives. One of the women using intrauterine devices seroconverted. In couples who did not always use condoms, seroconversions occurred more frequently in partners of men with symptomatic diseases, with a low CD4+ cell number (< 400 per mm3) or with a detectable p24 antigen. In couples not always using condoms and where the man had a low CD4+ cell count, the joint presence of blood viral antigens and AIDS symptoms conditioned a fivefold increased risk of seroconversion of the woman (RR 5.4, CI 1.4-20.3). At multivariate analysis, women with longer relationships (> or = 1 year) showed a lower risk of seroconversion (RR 0.3, CI 0.1-0.8), and those partners of men positive for p24 antigen in serum had an increased risk of seroconversion (RR = 4.0, CI 0.1-0.8).

Anti-gamma-globulin activity, DNA and antibodies to DNA in nonlupoind cryoglobulinemias.

Anti-gamma-globulin activity, free DNA, and DNA binding were studied in 19 cryoglobulinemias: 8 patients with Waldenström's disease (WD), 9 patients with essential cryoglobulinemia (EC), and 2 with chronic aggressive hepatitis (CAH). Antihuman gamma-globulin activity was detected in all sera and dissolved cryoprecipitates but two from EC and one from the CAH group. By diphenylamine assay we found DNA in two sera from WD and in one serum and cryoprecipitate from EC. An antibody to denaturated DNA was shown only in sera from the two patients with CAH and from one patient with EC. Nonspecific binding was more frequent.