Cytokine Dynamics in Acute Pancreatitis: The Quest for Biomarkers from Acute Disease to Disease Resolution.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas with incompletely known pathogenic mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the temporal changes in serum cytokines in patients with AP and to assess the association of these changes with disease severity. Methods: Fifty patients hospitalized with AP were enrolled, and their serum cytokine levels were analyzed at four different time points. A healthy control (HC) group of 30 outpatients was included. Results: AP patients showed increased levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 at admission when compared with HC. IL-6, VEGF, and EGF remained elevated 1 month after hospitalization and 6 months after discharge. Conclusions the Bedside Index of Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP) and severity classification of the revised Atlanta classification system, IL-6 and VEGF, determined 48 h after hospitalization, were the two cytokines consistently elevated in the most severe patients. Increased levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-alpha at admission and MCP-1 48 h after admission are also related to the length of hospital stay. Conclusions: Our study highlights the role cytokines play in the pathogenesis of AP and can be useful in the development of future drug trials for AP.

Lymphocyte Subsets in Cervicovaginal Lavage Specimens of HIV-Infected Women: A Surrogate Risk Marker of HPV-Associated Cervical Lesions.

INTRODUCTION: To better understand the role of mucosa immunity in the development of cervical carcinoma in HIV infection, cervical lymphocyte subsets were characterized in HIV+ and HIV- women, as well as their relation to HPV-associated cervical lesions. METHODS: Eighty-three (52 HIV+, 31 HIV-) cell suspensions of cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) and 52 HIV+ peripheral blood (PB) samples were assessed by flow cytometry to evaluate lymphoid populations. High-risk (HR) HPV was assessed in liquid-based cytology and HIV mRNA in PB in the same patients. RESULTS: Cervical CD4+ T cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio were decreased (p < 0.0001) and cervical CD8+ T cells were increased (p = 0.0080) in HIV+ women. These patients had lower CD4+ T-cell percentages in CVL compared to PB (p = 0.0257), and the opposite was true for CD8+ T cells (p = 0.0104). They also had a higher prevalence of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) with an increased prevalence of HR HPV. Cervical CD8+ T cells were increased in HR HPV+ patients (p = 0.0300) and related to higher prevalence of SILs (p = 0.0001). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Cervical lymphoid populations can be characterized by flow cytometry, showing a distinct cervical T-cell compartment in HIV+ women. This may represent a surrogate risk marker of HPV-associated cervical lesions in this population and prompt further research on this subject, contributing to improving patients' management.

Case Report: Primary Immunodeficiencies, Massive EBV+ T-Cell Lympoproliferation Leading to the Diagnosis of ICF2 Syndrome.

In immunocompromised patients, EBV may elicit B-cell transformation and proliferation. A 5-year-old microcephalic boy was admitted with fever and non-malignant polymorphic T-cell lymphoproliferative disease associated with EBV. A presumptive diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency with inability to control EBV was made and next-generation sequencing led to the identification of a novel ZBTB24 mutation (ICF2-syndrome). This case shows that susceptibility to EBV seems to be particular of ICF-2 as it has not been described in the other types of ICF. It is mandatory to raise the hypothesis of an underlying PID in case of severe EBV infection.