Immunogenicity and safety of routine 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination outside recommended age range in patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors.

Hematological malignancy and solid tumor are major risks for invasive pneumococcal disease. Thirteen-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) is recommended for immunocompromised patients aged 6 years and older and adults who had not received the vaccine previously. However, vaccination for these individuals is not publicly subsidized in Japan. We measured pneumococcal serotype-specific IgGs (Pn-IgGs) and opsonophagocytic activities (Pn-OPAs) against PCV13 serotypes (1, 3, 5, 6A, 7F, and 19A) in patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors who were outside the recommended age range for routine vaccination at baseline and at 1 and 6 months after the first dose of PCV13. Pneumococcal serotype-specific memory B cells (Pn-MBCs) against serotype 3 were measured from a portion of the study samples. Thirty-seven patients (30 in the young patient group and 7 in the adult patient group) completed the study. Pn-IgGs were significantly elevated at 1 month post-vaccination and persisted in protection level for 6 months after the first vaccination against all six serotypes measured except serotype 3. Pn-OPAs were significantly elevated and persisted as well against all six serotypes. Pn-MBCs were measured in 10 patients, and 90% of them had at least one detectable Pn-MBC, and 70% of them showed an increased frequency of Pn-MBCs against serotype 3. No serious adverse events were observed up to 1 month after vaccination. PCV13 is thus safe and immunogenic, including against serotype 3, in patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors outside the recommended age range for routine vaccination.

Population-based study of a free rubella-specific antibody testing and immunization campaign in Chiba city in response to the 2018-2019 nationwide rubella outbreak in Japan.

Japan has not been able to eliminate rubella; as a result, the large rubella epidemic has occurred. Considering the complicated history of the vaccine policy in Japan, some susceptible populations became infected with rubella, resulting in an outbreak. We conducted a large serosurveillance against rubella in Chiba city after initiating free rubella-specific antibody testing and an immunization campaign during 2018-2019. The total number of rubella specific antibody tests that was conducted in the nationwide campaign and Chiba city original campaign was 8277 and 6104, respectively. The proportion of participants with an antibody titer of ≤1:16 using the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test was higher in those in their 20-30s. On the contrary, the proportion of participants with an antibody titer of <1:8 using the HI test was higher in men in their 40-50s. This discrepancy possibly reflects the complicated history of the vaccine policy. The number of participants in the nationwide immunization campaign in this city was 1517, whereas that in the Chiba city campaign was 3607. The Chiba city campaign was effective against women in their 20-30s (child-bearing generation); however, the nationwide campaign was not sufficiently effective against men in their 40-50s because many workers were did not visit medical facilities to receive the measles-rubella vaccine.

Integumental reddish-violet coloration owing to novel dichromatic chromatophores in the teleost fish, Pseudochromis diadema.

In the reddish-violet parts of the skin of the diadema pseudochromis Pseudochromis diadema, we found novel dichromatic chromatophores with a reddish pigment and reflecting platelets. We named these novel cells 'erythro-iridophores'. In standard physiological solution, erythro-iridophores displayed two hues, red and dark violet when viewed with an optical microscope under ordinary transmission light and epi-illumination optics, respectively. Under transmission electron microscopy, however, we observed no typical red chromatosomes, i.e., erythrosomes, in the cytoplasm. High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of the pigment eluted from the erythro-iridophores indicated that carotenoid is the main pigment generating the reddish color. Furthermore, when the irrigating medium was a K(+)-rich saline solution, the color reflected from the erythro-iridophores changed from dark violet to sky blue, but the red coloration remained. The motile activities of the erythro-iridophores may participate in the changes in the reddish-violet shades of the pseudochromis fish.

Comparison of genotypes between environmental and clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii based on microsatellite patterns.

We applied multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) method to investigate the genetic relation between Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii clinical and environmental isolates in São Paulo, Brazil. This MLMT method includes three functional gene sequences of C. neoformans var. grubii, which are dispersed on three chromosomes. In all, 89 strains (36 clinical and 53 environmental isolates) were analyzed. Of 36 clinical strains, 20 belonged to a major type of MLMT-13 (55.6%). They were mainly isolated from clinical specimens. About 52.8% of strains from the environment belong to a major type of MLMT-36, which are indigenous to environments and which were not isolated from clinical samples. Thus, we recognized two genotypes that distinguish majority of clinical and environmental strains. No differences were found in antifungal susceptibility and capsule size between major environmental and clinical MLMT types.