HspBP1 and anti-HspBP1 levels in the serum of HIV-infected individuals are associated to the disease progression

AIMS

The objective of this research was to quantify the levels of circulating HspBP1 and anti-HspBP1 IgG in HIV-infected individuals and to correlate them with CD4 T cell counts and viral load, as well as to determine the kinetics of those proteins during acute phase.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Sixty serum samples from HIV-positive outpatients, thirty with high viral load and thirty with low viral load were analysed. The HspBP1 and anti-HspBP1 were quantified by ELISA. To investigate the kinetic of HspBP1 and anti-HspBp1 during the acute phase, these proteins and antibodies were quantified in samples of a commercial seroconverting HIV panel. All dosages were compared with the CD4 and CD8 T cell counts and HIV viral load. The results indicated that HIV positive outpatients presented significant increase in HspBP1 and anti-HspBP1 serum levels, compared with uninfected healthy. HspBP1 and anti-HspBP1 were negatively correlated with CD4 counts and CD4:CD8 ratio. In the acute phase, HspBP1 became significantly elevated 15 days after HIV infection.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that the quantification of HspBP1 can be associated to others well-established parameters of the HIV progression.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The discovery that HspBp1 and anti-HspBp1 are associated with progression of HIV infection is new and corroborates to validate the quantification of these proteins as an additional strategy in the management of the HIV infection.

A neuropathological analysis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis with predominant brain stem and cerebellar involvement and differences between active and passive induction

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease that can be induced in a variety of animal species and which is commonly used as an animal model of multiple sclerosis. In rodent EAE models, the clinical disease is typified by ascending paralysis; however, other clinical patterns can also be observed by inducing disease with particular peptides of myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein. Here we describe EAE induced in C3H/HeJ mice by inoculation with residues 190-209 of PLP. This form of EAE is manifested clinically by a movement disorder, with axial rotation of the head and trunk. Histologically, this form of EAE is characterized by predominant cerebellar or brain stem involvement, depending on whether EAE is induced by active immunization with the PLP peptide, or by passive transfer of T cells specific for the peptide. The inflammatory cell infiltrate is composed of polymorphonuclear cells and mononuclear cells. This rotatory form of EAE may be a useful model for studying the neuropathological characteristics of multiple sclerosis affecting the brain stem and cerebellum.

Blood speed imaging with an intraluminal array

In applications in which Doppler processing is not possible, such as side-looking intravascular imaging systems, decorrelation methods can be used to estimate blood speed. Here, a method is presented measuring relative blood speed using an FIR filter bank to estimate temporal decorrelation rates. It can be implemented in a modern commercially available ultrasound imaging system with no additional hardware. Both simulations and experiments using an intraluminal scanner appropriate for coronary artery applications have tested the system. In this study, the FIR filter bank is contrasted with previous methods, and its utility is further demonstrated with real-time color flow images from a pig model.