Passive serotherapy can confer immediate protection against microbial infection, but methods to rapidly generate human neutralizing monoclonal antibodies are not yet available. We have developed an ...improved method for Epstein-Barr virus transformation of human B cells. We used this method to analyze the memory repertoire of a patient who recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection and to isolate monoclonal antibodies specific for different viral proteins, including 35 antibodies with in vitro neutralizing activity ranging from 10(-8)M to 10(-11)M. One such antibody confers protection in vivo in a mouse model of SARS-CoV infection. These results show that it is possible to interrogate the memory repertoire of immune donors to rapidly and efficiently isolate neutralizing antibodies that have been selected in the course of natural infection.
Highlights • Improving the diagnostic system would decrease hospitalization costs. • The mechanism explains the full reversibility of the diagnosis of diarrhoea. • Using the GPP assay, we will be ...able to identify undiagnosed infections as well as co-infections.
As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to rage worldwide, the emergence of numerous variants of concern (VOC) represents a challenge for the vaccinal protective efficacy and the reliability of ...commercially available high-throughput immunoassays. Our study demonstrates the administration of two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine that elicited a robust SARS-CoV-2-specific immune response which was assessed up to 3 months after full vaccination in a cohort of 37 health care workers (HCWs). SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody response, evaluated by four commercially available chemiluminescence immunoassays (CLIA), was qualitatively consistent with the results provided by the gold-standard in vitro neutralization assay (NTA). However, we could not observe a correlation between the quantity of the antibody detected by CLIA assays and their neutralizing activity tested by NTA. Almost all subjects developed a SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell response. Moreover, vaccinated HCWs developed a similar protective neutralizing antibodies response against the EU (B.1), Alpha (B.1.1.7), Gamma (P.1), and Eta (B.1.525) SARS-CoV-2 variants, while Beta (B.1.351) and Delta (B.1.617.2) strains displayed a consistent partial immune evasion. These results underline the importance of a solid vaccine-elicited immune response and a robust antibody titre. We believe that these relevant results should be taken into consideration in the definition of future vaccinal strategies.
We aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors for Chagas disease (CD) in Latin American immigrants and to evaluate the accuracy of diagnostic tests. Moreover, we offered to all positive subjects ...a complete free-of-charge clinical/instrumental evaluation as well as benznidazole treatment in order to stage the disease and verify drug tolerability.
A cross-sectional survey of CD among Latin Americans living in Milan and its metropolitan area was conducted between July 2013 and July 2014. Blood samples were tested for serologic evidence of CD together with a questionnaire covering demographic and clinical-epidemiological information.
Forty-eight (9.6%) of the 501 tested subjects were conclusively diagnosed as having CD. The highest prevalence of CD was among those from Bolivia (43/169, 25.4%) and El Salvador (4/68, 5.9%). Older age (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.05, p =0.004), a Bolivian origin (aOR 8.80; p =0.003), being born in the department of Santa Cruz (aOR 3.72, p =0.047), having lived in mud houses (aOR 2.68; p =0.019), and having an affected relative (aOR 12.77, p =0.001) were independently associated with CD. The ARCHITECT Chagas test showed the highest sensitivity (100%) and specificity (99.8%). Twenty-nine of the subjects with CD (60.4%) underwent disease staging, 10 of whom (35.7%) showed cardiac and/or digestive involvement. Benznidazole treatment was associated with high frequency of adverse reactions (19/27, 70.4%) and permanent discontinuation (8/27, 29.6%).
CD is highly prevalent among Bolivians and Salvadorans living in Milan. Regions with a large Latin American immigrant population should implement programmes of active detection and treatment.
Aims: This study compared in vitro activities of Actichelated® propolis (a multicomposite material obtained with mechano‐chemichal activation) and of a hydroalcoholic extract of propolis.
Methods ...and Results: Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC), determined by means of microdilution broth method, against five strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Haemophilus influenzae, Enterococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, showed a greater potency of Actichelated® propolis (MIC range: 0·016–4 mg flavonoids ml−1) in respect to the hydroalcoholic extract (MIC range: 0·08–21·4 mg flavonoids ml−1). Concentrations of Actichelated® propolis active against adenovirus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus and herpes virus type 1 were at least 10 times lower than those of the hydroalcoholic extract. Preincubation of Strep. pyogenes and H. influenzae with subinhibitory concentrations of Actichelated® propolis (1/4 and 1/8 × MIC) significantly reduced the number of bacteria that adhered to human buccal cells.
Conclusions: Actichelated® propolis has proven to possess antibacterial and antiviral activity higher than a hydroalcoholic extract, being also able to interfere on bacterial adhesion to human oral cells.
Significance and Impact of the Study: This new formulation of propolis showing better antimicrobial and physical characteristics could improve the application of propolis in respiratory tract infections.
There is evidence that the oral consumption of micro-organisms produces a protective effect on the gut flora. A significant number of studies suggests that probiotics might have beneficial effects on ...several microbial disorders of the gut, but it is very difficult to define the clinical efficacy of such products. In this review, we report the results of studies on traveller’s diarrhoea (TD), antibiotic associated diarrhoea (AAD) and acute diarrhoea (AD) in which various probiotic preparations have been used in controlled trials and been shown to have a beneficial therapeutic or prophylactic effect.
The prevalence of HIV-1 integrase mutations related to resistance to the next-generation integrase inhibitor (INI), dolutegravir (DTG), was assessed in 440 INI-naïve subjects and in 120 patients ...failing a raltegravir (RTG)-containing regimen. Of the mutations selected by DTG in vitro, S153FY was not detected in any isolate while L101I and T124A were highly prevalent in both groups and significantly associated with non-B subtype. RTG-selected double and triple mutants, mostly the G140S/Q148H variant, were detected in only 32 (26.7%) RTG-treated patients. As L101I and T124A do not appear to exert any major effect in vivo and double and triple mutants resistant to DTG are infrequently selected by RTG, DTG can be effectively used in INI-naïve patients and may retain activity in many patients failing RTG.
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