Association Between Immunoglobulin E Levels and Kaposi Sarcoma in African Adults With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection.

It has been demonstrated that activated mast cells (MCs) are enriched in Kaposi sarcoma (KS) tumors and contribute to the inflammatory microenvironment. Mechanisms driving MC activation, however, are incompletely understood. We sought to understand whether immunoglobulin E (IgE), a potent activator of MCs, was associated with KS incidence and severity. In a cross-sectional study of untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults with or without KS in Uganda, we found that patients with KS had higher plasma IgE levels than those without KS. After adjustment for age, sex, CD4+ T-cell count, and HIV RNA levels, there was a dose-response relationship between plasma IgE levels and the presence and severity of KS. Higher eosinophil counts were also associated with IgE levels, and plasma interleukin 33 concentrations were higher in individuals with KS. These findings suggest that IgE-driven atopic inflammation may contribute the pathogenesis of KS. Therapies targeting IgE-mediated MC activation thus might represent a novel approach for treatment or prevention of KS.

Cadophora meredithiae and C. interclivum, new species from roots of sedge and spruce in a western Canada subalpine forest.

Two new species of Cadophora are described based on multigene phylogenetic analyses and phenotypic and ecological characters. The species delimitation was based on concordance of gene genealogies. The cultures of the Cadophora species were isolated from the roots of long-beaked sedge and white spruce from a subalpine forest in western Canada; however, they probably have a broader distribution because their internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences have high similarity with a number of GenBank sequences from ecological studies of plant roots. The taxonomy of Cadophora in Leotiomycetes is discussed based on the phylogeny generated in this study. Results from this work will facilitate ecological and evolutionary studies on root-associated fungi.