The detection of sLFA-3 in plasma of patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

Potential clinical biomarkers in monitoring the severity of Hantaan virus infection

Hantavirus, which causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is almost prevalent worldwide. While Hantaan virus (HTNV) causes the most severe form of HFRS with typical clinical manifestations of thrombocytopenia, increased vascular permeability, and acute kidney injury. Although the knowledge of the pathogenesis of HFRS is still limited, immune dysfunction and pathological damage caused by disorders of immune regulation are proposed to play a vital role in the development of the disorder, and the endothelium is considered to be the primary target of hantaviruses. Here, we reviewed the production and function of multiple molecules, mainly focusing on their role in immune response, endothelium, vascular permeability regulation, and platelet and coagulation activation which are closely related to the pathogenesis of HTNV infection. meanwhile, the relationship between these molecules and characteristics of HTNV infection including the hospital duration, immune dysfunction, thrombocytopenia, leukocytosis, and acute kidney injury are also presented, to provide a novel insight into the potential role of these molecules as monitoring markers for HTNV infection.

The detection of vascular endothelial growth factor in serum of patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is an acute infectious disease characterized by endothelial cell dysfunction, which results in plasma exosmosis, hyperpermeability, and sometimes hemorrhages. As one of the vascular permeability cytokines, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) might mediate the hyperpermeability caused by HFRS. In the present study, the levels of serum VEGF were measured by competitive inhibition ELISA. We found variable but persistently elevated levels of VEGF throughout the various stages and types of HFRS disease, which suggested that the levels of VEGF were closely correlated to the progression of HFRS. Moreover, elevated levels of VEGF have correlation with the severity and degree of kidney damage. Therefore, to study the relationship between levels of VEGF and disease severity of patients with HFRS is helpful to clarify the pathogenesis of HFRS.

Levels of HTNV-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes in PBMC from the patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

The pathogenesis of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) has not been fully clarified. Cell-mediated immunity appears to play a crucial role in the immune pathogenesis of HFRS. To explore the relationship between Hantaan (HTNV)-specific CD8(+) T lymphocytes and the immune pathogenesis of HFRS, the levels of interferon γ (IFN-γ) secreted by HTNV-specific CD8(+) T lymphocytes were detected by flow cytometry in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Levels of HTNV-specific CD8(+) T lymphocytes in patients with HFRS were associated with different phases of HFRS. In fever phase, it was significantly elevated. The levels of HTNV-specific CD8(+) T lymphocytes in PBMC of patients with HFRS were negatively correlated with the levels of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine in plasma. The results show that the HTNV-specific CD8(+) T lymphocyte levels correlate with disease phases. Therefore, dynamic observation of these levels in patients with HFRS can help to judge the status of HFRS disease and to clarify the immune pathogenesis of HFRS.

On the roles of polyvalent binding in immune recognition: perspectives in the nanoscience of immunology and the immune response to nanomedicines

Immunology often conveys the image of large molecules, either in the soluble state or in the membrane of leukocytes, forming multiple contacts with a target for actions of the immune system. Avidity names the ability of a polyvalent molecule to form multiple connections of the same kind with ligands tethered to the same surface. Polyvalent interactions are vastly stronger than their monovalent equivalent. In the present review, the functional consequences of polyvalent interactions are explored in a perspective of recent theoretical advances in understanding the thermodynamics of such binding. From insights on the structural biology of soluble pattern recognition molecules as well as adhesion molecules in the cell membranes or in their proteolytically shed form, this review documents the prominent role of polyvalent interactions in making the immune system a formidable barrier to microbial infection as well as constituting a significant challenge to the application of nanomedicines.