Observations of a chemical at a point in the atmosphere typically show sudden transitions between episodes of high and low concentration. Often these are associated with a rapid change in the origin ...of air arriving at the site. Lagrangian chemical models riding along trajectories can reproduce such transitions, but small timing errors from trajectory phase errors dramatically reduce the correlation between modeled concentrations and observations. Here the origin averaging technique is introduced to obtain maps of average concentration as a function of air mass origin for the East Atlantic Summer Experiment 1996 (EASE96, a ground‐based chemistry campaign). These maps are used to construct origin averaged time series which enable comparison between a chemistry model and observations with phase errors factored out. The amount of the observed signal explained by trajectory changes can be quantified, as can the systematic model errors as a function of air mass origin. The Cambridge Tropospheric Trajectory model of Chemistry and Transport (CiTTyCAT) can account for over 70% of the observed ozone signal variance during EASE96 when phase errors are side‐stepped by origin averaging. The dramatic increase in correlation (from 23% without averaging) cannot be achieved by time averaging. The success of the model is attributed to the strong relationship between changes in ozone along trajectories and their origin and its ability to simulate those changes. The model performs less well for longer‐lived chemical constituents because the initial conditions 5 days before arrival are insufficiently well known.
Passive transfer of antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been thought to occur after infusion of human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), as anti-HCV and/or HCV RNA was commonly found in that ...product. Recently, however, HCV RNA was detected in the serum of recipients of IVIG. Establishment of a causal relationship between IVIG therapy and HCV infection in recipients was attempted.
Anti-HCV and HCV RNA sequences were investigated in serum samples from 39 persons who received a human IVIG product in seven different hospitals in Spain. HCV RNA was also investigated in two batches of the IVIG shared by some recipients. All the viral RNA detected were characterized with a line probe assay, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the 5'-noncoding and core regions, and sequencing of the nonstructural 5 region.
On the basis of both clinical and laboratory data, a relationship could be established between the IVIG therapy and the acquisition of the HCV infection by the recipients. Several HCV strains were detected among the recipients, with most of the recipients coming from the same hospital presenting with closely related strains. Moreover, an HCV strain almost identical to the main strain detected among the recipients was found in one batch of the IVIG that probably was shared by most of them. Follow-up studies and evaluation of low-avidity anti-HCV IgG suggested that both acute primary infections and reinfections were produced. In one case, direct evidence of reinfection by a different HCV strain was obtained.
The results did not exclude the possibility that a second HCV strain associated with a further, unidentified batch of the IVIG could have contributed to this outbreak.
HIV and Drug Misuse in the Edinburgh Cohort Bell, Jeanne E; Arango, Carlos J; Robertson, Roy ...
Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999),
2002-October-1, Volume:
31 Suppl 2
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Peer reviewed
Open access
The Edinburgh cohort of intravenous drug users (IVDUs) became infected with HIV between 1983 and 1984. Before the era of effective therapy, many of these infected IVDUs displayed cognitive ...impairments on progressing to AIDS and were found to have HIV encephalitis (HIVE). Full autopsies were conducted on these patients, providing an opportunity to study the intersecting pathology of pure HIVE and drug use. High proviral load in the brain correlated well with the presence of giant cells and HIV p24 positivity. In presymptomatic HIV infection, IVDUs were found to have a lymphocytic infiltrate in the central nervous system (CNS). Apart from the expected microglial activation in the presence of HIV infection of the CNS, drug use in its own right was found to be associated with microglial activation. Examination of HIV-negative IVDUs revealed a number of neuropathologic features, including microglial activation, which may underpin HIV-related pathology in the CNS. HIV isolated from different regions of the brain was exclusively of R5-tropic type throughout the course of infection. Detailed studies of p17 and V3 sequences suggest that viral sequestration occurs in the CNS before the onset of AIDS and that increasing diversity of HIV variants within the brain is associated with increasing severity of HIVE. Because brain isolates have proved to be different from those in lymphoid tissue (and blood), it is likely that selective neuroadaptive pressures operate before HIVE supervenes. Drug abuse may be synergistic in this process through activation of microglia, breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, and direct neurotoxicity. Collections of clinically well-characterized HIV-infected tissues such as those in the Edinburgh Brain Bank are a vital resource to support ongoing studies of viral pathogenesis in the CNS and interactions with drug abuse.
To demonstrate that HIV-1 immunocapture with an antibody against CD8 specifically captures virions derived from infected CD8 T cells, and to determine the proportion of HIV-1 derived from CD8 ...lymphocytes in plasma samples from HIV-infected individuals.
A virus capture method was developed to enable the detection of HIV-1 virions based upon the presence of certain cell-specific host-derived proteins (CD8, CD3, CD36) within the viral envelope. HIV-1 virions were captured using antibodies against these proteins and levels of bound virus were determined by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Highly pure CD8 and CD3+CD8- T-cell cultures were used as in-vitro models to determine the specificity of the virus capture technique.
The in-vitro model demonstrates that incorporation of the CD8 molecule into released virions is specific to infection of CD8 T cells. Levels of HIV-1 immunocaptured from plasma of infected individuals using the anti-CD8 antibody indicate that up to 15% (range 10-33) of the plasma viral load is derived from CD8 lymphocytes.
This study demonstrates for the first time that HIV-1-infected CD8 T cells can contribute substantially to levels of circulating virus during the course of infection. Levels of CD8-derived virus did not correlate with the level of infection of circulating CD8 T cells, but do show a significantly good fit to plasma viral loads based on a power model. The extensive infection of CD8 T cells implied by these results may contribute towards immune dysfunction and disease progression to AIDS.
There is increasing evidence that a wider range of lymphoid cell types other than CD4+ T helper lymphocytes are infected with HIV-1 in vivo, including CD8 lymphocytes, natural killer cells, and ...reticulodendritic cells. Each potentially contributes to the reservoir of infected cells that resist antiviral treatment and to the impairment of immune responses in AIDS. By quantitative PCR for HIV proviral sequences we have now obtained evidence for substantial infection of γδ lymphocytes, contributing 3–45% of the proviral load in peripheral blood. A large proportion of γδ lymphocytes constitutively expressed the chemokine receptors CCR5 and CXCR4, with evidence for marked up-regulation of CD8 in samples from HIV-infected individuals, corresponding to an activated phenotype. That γδ lymphocytes might be susceptible to HIV infection was investigated using in vitro infectivity assays of recombinant HIV-expressing green fluorescent protein, followed by flow cytometry. γδ, CD4, and CD8 lymphocytes were each productively infected, with γδ lymphocytes showing the greatest susceptibility. For each cell type, blocking assays with an anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody indicated that entry was CD4-dependent.
Virology of hepatitis C virus Simmonds, Peter
Clinical therapeutics,
1996, 1996-00-00, 1996-1-00, 19960101, Volume:
18
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Peer reviewed
Open access
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been identified as the main causative agent of post-transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis. Through recently developed diagnostic assays, routine serologic screening of blood ...donors has prevented most cases of post-transfusion hepatitis. The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively review current information regarding the virology of HCV. Recent findings on the genome organization, its relationship to other viruses, the replication of HCV ribonucleic acid, HCV translation, and HCV polyprotein expression and processing are discussed. Also reviewed are virus assembly and release, the variability of HCV and its classification into genotypes, the geographic distribution of HCV genotypes, and the biologic differences between HCV genotypes. The assays used in HCV genotyping are discussed in terms of reliability and consistency of results, and the molecular epidemiology of HCV infection is reviewed. These approaches to HCV epidemiology will prove valuable in documenting the spread of HCV in different risk groups, evaluating alternative (nonparenteral) routes of transmission, and in understanding more about the origins and evolution of HCV.
A retrospective study of sera from mothers infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) was undertaken to investigate whether the titers or affinities of antibodies against the third ...hypervariable region (V3 loop) of gpl20 correlated with transmission of the virus from mother to child. The cohort comprised 7 mothers who transmitted HIV-1 to their children and 20 who did not. Sera were screened for reactivity against two synthetic peptides, one encompassing the entire V3100p of gpl20 (amino acids 297–330) and the other containing an immunodominant epitope from gp41 (amino acids 596–614). Doubling dilutions of sera were tested to obtain antibody titers against both peptides: Anti-gp41 titers were used to normalize the anti-V3 titers. Maternal sera were also screened for the presence of high-affinity antibodies against the V3 peptide. No differences were observed in either titers or affinities of maternal antibodies to the V3 sequence from transmitters and nontransmitters.
The usefulness of identification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype has recently been investigated for the clinical management of patients infected by HCV. In the present study, the HCV genotype ...infecting 127 patients was determined by two different methods: HCV genotyping using a dot-blot assay with type-specific probes derived from the 5′-UTR of HCV genome and HCV serotyping using an ELISA system in which type-specific antibodies against the NS4 region were detected. Overall, a good correlation of the two methods was observed, the main discrepancy being 4 patients with sequence-confirmed HCV-2 (2 cases) and HCV-3 (2 cases) genotypes recognized as HCV-1 by serotyping. Mixed infections were not detected by either method. In 19 PCR negative sera, in which the HCV genotype could not be evaluated, no particular serotype profile was observed. In conclusion, the molecular and serological techniques are almost equivalent in determining the viral type, although in individual cases, especially in PCR negative patients, the clinical meaning of the serotyping result remains to be determined.
Comparison of complete genome sequences for different variants of hepatitis C virus (HCV) reveals several different constraints on sequence change. Synonymous changes are suppressed in coding regions ...at both 5' and 3' ends of the genome. No evidence was found for the existence of alternative reading frames or for a lower mutation frequency in these regions. Instead, suppression may be due to constraints imposed by RNA secondary structures identified within the core and NS5b genes. Nonsynonymous substitutions are less frequent than synonymous ones except in the hypervariable region of E2 and, to a lesser extent, in E1, NS2, and NS5b. Transitions are more frequent than transversions, particularly at the third position of codons where the bias is 16:1. In addition, nucleotide substitutions may not occur symmetrically since there is a bias toward G or C at the third position of codons, while T left and right arrow C transitions were twice as frequent as A left and right arrow G transitions. These different biases do not affect the phylogenetic analysis of HCV variants but need to be taken into account in interpreting sequence change in longitudinal studies.
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