What's already known about this topic?
Exposure to antiretroviral treatment in pregnancy does not seem to increase the risk of birth defects, but there is no information on the rate of prenatal ...detection of such defects.
What does this study adds?
We provide for the first time, in a national case series, information about prenatal detection rate in women with HIV (51.6% for any major defect, 66.7% for chromosomal abnormalities, and 85% for severe structural defects).
Vaccination with a biologically active Tat protein or
tat DNA contained infection with the highly pathogenic SHIV89.6P virus, preventing CD4 T-cell decline and disease onset. Here we show that ...protection was prolonged, since neither CD4 T-cell decline nor active virus replication was observed in all vaccinated animals that controlled virus replication up to week 104 after the challenge. In contrast, virus persisted and replicated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and lymph nodes of infected animals, two of which died. Tat-specific antibody, CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses were high and stable only in the animals controlling the infection. In contrast, Gag-specific antibody production and CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses were consistently and persistently positive only in the monkeys that did not control primary virus replication. These results indicate that vaccination with Tat protein or DNA induced long-term memory Tat-specific immune responses and controlled primary infection at its early stages allowing a long-term containment of virus replication and spread in blood and tissues.
Objectives Antiretroviral combinations including atazanavir are currently not recommended in HIV-infected patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD). The objective of our study was to evaluate ...efficacy, pharmacokinetics and safety of unboosted atazanavir in HIV-infected patients with ESLD screened for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTx). Patients and methods Single-arm, 24 week pilot study. Atazanavir-naive patients undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy were switched to atazanavir 400 mg/day plus two non-thymidine nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Results Fifteen patients (10 males and 5 females) were included. In the study period, 2 patients were transplanted and 10 completed 24 weeks of atazanavir treatment. Median area under the concentration–time curve at week 4 was 19 211 ng·h/mL (IQR = 8959–27 500). At week 24, median atazanavir trough concentrations (Ctrough) per patient calculated across the study were above the minimum effective concentration (MEC = 100 ng/mL) in 8 of 10 subjects. Atazanavir Ctrough time-point values were always above the MEC in five patients. The other three subjects experienced only one determination below the MEC, with median atazanavir Ctrough levels across the study being above the MEC in two of them. At 8 of 11 time-points when atazanavir and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) were co-administered and at 16 of 19 time-points in which patients had a concomitant tenofovir association, atazanavir Ctrough was above the MEC. Conclusions Unboosted atazanavir showed a favourable pharmacokinetic profile and was able to maintain or gain immuno-virological eligibility for OLTx in all patients. Limited biochemical toxicities (including unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia) and allowance of concomitant administration of tenofovir and PPIs were observed.
We investigated the protective efficacy of a systemic triple vector (DNA/rSFV/rMVA)-based vaccine against mucosal challenge with pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in cynomolgus monkeys. ...Animals were immunized at week 0 with DNA (intradermally), at weeks 8 and 16 with recombinant Semliki Forest virus (rSFV, subcutaneously) and finally, at week 24, with recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara strain (rMVA, intramuscularly). Both DNA and recombinant viral vectors expressed a wide range of SIV proteins (Gag, Pol, Tat, Rev, Env and Nef). This immunization strategy elicited cell-mediated rather than humoral responses that were especially increased following the last boost. Upon intrarectal challenge with pathogenic SIVmac251, three of the four vaccinated monkeys dramatically abrogated virus load to undetectable levels up to 41 weeks after challenge. A major contribution to this vaccine effect appeared to be the T-cell-mediated immune response to vaccine antigens (Gag, Rev, Tat, Nef) seen in the early phase of infection in three of the four vaccinated monkeys. Indeed, the frequency of T-cells producing antigen-induced IFN-gamma mirrored virus clearance in the vaccinated and protected monkeys. These results, reminiscent of the efficacy of live attenuated virus vaccines, suggest that vaccination with a combination of many viral antigens can induce a robust and stable vaccine-induced immunity able to abrogate virus replication.
Studies of nonhuman primate personality have suggested that physiological correlates of relevant behavioral dimensions exist. The present study examined personality using techniques similar to those ...employed in human personality research. Adult male rhesus monkeys were each rated on 25 adjectives while living in their natal groups. Approximately 1.5 years later, 18 animals were inoculated with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and exposed to socially stable or socially unstable conditions. Behavior, viral load (SIV RNA), plasma cortisol concentrations, and the IgG response to SIV and to rhesus cytomegalovirus were measured at regular intervals. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the four personality dimensions (Sociability, Confidence, Equability, Excitability) were correlated with various measures. Following inoculation with SIV, animals higher in Sociability showed a more rapid decline in plasma cortisol concentrations, elevations in the anti-RhCMV IgG response, and a decline in SIV RNA. The results indicate that personality factors in rhesus monkeys do have physiological correlates that have significance for disease processes and that in the context of a social manipulation, Sociability, reflecting the tendency to engage in affiliative interactions, is an important factor in explaining outcome measures at early time points.
The present study was conducted to characterize genetically and physiologically a spontaneous mutation in sunflower which confers a wilty phenotype. The wilting condition of the mutant is due to ...abnormal stomatal behaviour. The mutant stomata resist closure in darkness. This abnormality is associated with low levels of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA). By artificially elevating the ABA content of the mutant plants by spray treatments with 10-4 and 10-5 M solutions it proved possible to effect a phenotypic reversion of the mutant. It has, therefore, been proposed that the primary effect of this spontaneous mutation is to reduce the level of ABA. The genetic analysis has shown that the wilty phenotype is due to recessive nuclear mutation at a single locus.
Pregnant Swiss mice were treated with 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg body weight of bis(tri-n-butyltin) oxide (TBTO) on d 6-15 of gestation. At birth litters were normalized to eight pups, and postnatal ...evaluation of pup growth rate and behavioral observations of dams were carried out. Litters were sacrificed on postnatal days (pnd) 7, 14, and 21, to perform hematological analysis, in connection with another study. Dam weight gain was impaired in all the treated groups (except at the lowest dose level) in the late phase of gestation. A high incidence of anticipated or delayed parturitions, without any correlation with fetal mass, was observed in the treated groups. All the treated dams showed a significant increase in resorptions, and a decrease in body weight gain between gestational day (gd) 6 and pnd 1. At birth, only the 20 and 30 mg/kg dose groups showed reduced litter size and reduced pup weight. Body weight gain reduction of pups persisted in wk 1 of life only in the 10 and 20 mg/kg dose groups. In addition, the maternal weight trend was affected during the lactation period in the higher dose groups. Postnatal death rate and growth rate of treated pups were affected by an altered maternal behavior; pups, apparently viable and with normal weight, were found often scattered throughout the cage with signs of wounds, and the percentage of dams that had not built a nest increased in the 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg dose groups. Total absence of parental care was noted in many litters, and many infanticidal events were reported. Our results seem to confirm low TBTO embryofetotoxicity, and strongly support the assumption that TBTO's toxicity to the mother is much stronger than its embryo-fetotoxic potential. Most of the reproductive parameters examined in this study were unaffected in the low-dose group, while some indices, such as gestation length and maternal weight gain between gd 6 and pnd 1, were markedly altered also at the 5 mg/kg dose level and appear to be sensitive parameters in assessing maternal toxicity.
A sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) mutant characterized by abnormal leaf development was found in an inbred line and designated as "basilicum leaf." Reciprocal crosses between mutant and normal ...plants were executed, and F1, F2, F3, and backcross progenies were analyzed. No differences due to reciprocal effects were found in any cross or backcross. The deformed leaf trait was present in all F1 plants, suggesting a dominant character. Segregation data from F2, F3, and backcross generations indicate that the trait is controlled by one gene. The symbol Bl is proposed for the gene that controls this new trait that may be useful as a genetic marker
PDF
