Polyomavirus persistence in lymphocytes: prevalence in lymphocytes from blood donors and healthy personnel of a blood transfusion centre

BK and JC polyomaviruses (BKV and JCV) are widespread in humans and are thought to persist and reactivate under immune alterations. In addition to the kidney, lymphoid cells have been proposed as a site of latency. However, while this was shown to occur in immunocompromised patients, discordant data were published for healthy humans. To help to solve this issue, an extensive study (231 healthy subjects) was carried out on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from blood donors of two towns and from operators of a blood transfusion centre. To discriminate between past and recent infection, nested PCRs for BKV and JCV non-coding control region (NCCR) and VP1 DNA sequences were carried out. Twenty-two per cent of subjects had BKV NCCR, but only 7% also had BKV VP1, as detected by PCR assays of similar sensitivities; the latter positivity was found to decrease with age. In both towns, the BKV WW archetypal DDP strain, subtype I, was found. Only 0.9% of subjects contained JCV DNA, for both NCCR and VP1. Blood operators presented a statistically significant increased prevalence of BKV NCCR (3. 0-fold) and BKV VP1 (9.4-fold) sequences with respect to blood donors of comparable ages, suggesting the possibility of occupational risk of BKV (re)infection or reactivation. Since the possibility of amplifying BKV VP1 sequences from PBMC of healthy humans is lost with age, this suggests that PBMC are not a site of polyomavirus persistence in healthy individuals and that detection of BKV VP1 DNA in PBMC is probably indicative of recent infection or reactivation.

Adoptive immunotherapy with cytokine-induced killer cells generated with a new good manufacturing practice-grade protocol

BACKGROUND AIMS

We have recently shown that thymoglobulin (TG) efficiently expands cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells in combination with interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-2 (ITG2 protocol). It is presently unknown whether the infusion of autologous immune effector cells generated by TG, IFN-γ and IL-2 is feasible and safe.

METHODS

Five patients with advanced and/or refractory solid tumors were enrolled in the present phase I/II study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) collected by leukapheresis were stimulated under good manufacturing practice (GMP)-conditions with IFN-γ, followed by TG and IL-2. After 2-3 weeks in culture, a median of 4.65 × 10(6) immune effector cells per kilogram of recipient's body weight was obtained and infused intravenously. The median time from enrollment into the study to infusion of the expanded CIK cells was 30 days.

RESULTS

ITG2 efficiently expanded immune effector cells that comprised both conventional natural killer (NK) cells and CD3(+) CD16(+) CD56(+) CIK cells. One patient with advanced melanoma died because of disease progression before the infusion of CIK cells. The target dose of at least 2.5 × 10(6) CIK cells/kg of recipient's body weight was reached in four out of five evaluable patients. CIK cells were administered intravenously without any measurable toxicity. In vitro, CIK cells exerted lytic activity against cervical cancer cells. The median survival was 4.5 months (range 1-13) from the first infusion of CIK cells.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has highlighted the feasibility and safety of the administration of CIK cells generated with the ITG2 protocol. Whether CIK cells can help control disease burden in patients with advanced malignancies will be determined in future clinical trials.

Determination of antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in the serum of patients living in Calabria, southern Italy

The aim of our work was to determine the sero-prevalence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi in 300 patients living in Calabria, a region of southern Italy. The research of antibodies to B. burgdorferi was conducted by ELISA as a screening method and Western Blot as a confirmatory test. Out of the 300 patients we found a rate of positivity of 7.3% with ELISA and 4.5% with Western Blot. This data allows us to classify Calabria, among the regions where Lyme borreliosis is non-endemic and where sero-epidemiological research has been carried out on patients, as having a degree of positivity second to that of Campania (9.1%) and higher than Lombardy (3.2%) and Umbria (2.8%). Considering all the demographic and clinical data, only that of the higher IgG positivity of males over females is statistically significant.

Seroprevalence of anti-human parvovirus B19 antibodies in patients attending a centre for sexually transmitted diseases

The aim of this study was to establish the serological prevalence of anti-human Parvovirus B19 (HP-B19) antibodies in a group of 321 patients attending a Centre for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and epidemiologically examine whether this virus may also be sexually transmitted. For this purpose, the serum prevalence of anti-HP-B19 evaluated in STD patients (39%) was compared with that of 164 healthy blood donors (10%, p < 0.001), using commercially available ELISA methods detecting the anti-VP1 reactivity of the sera. The same STD patients were also analyzed for serum reactivities against 4 STD-causing microorganisms, namely T. pallidum (TPHA), HBV (HBcAb), HCV (HCV-Ab) and HIV (HIV-Ab), to observe possible associations with the serum anti-HP-B19 reactivity. These tests were also carried out with commercially available kits. The results suggest that the serum anti-HP-B19 antibody prevalence in patients with STDs is increased, also independently of their intravenous drug addition and varies with the reactivity pattern determined. In addition, as expected for a STD, the anti-HP-B19 prevalence is increased in homobisexual patients compared with heterosexuals.