HTLV infection in HCV-antibody positive patients in Spain.

Since hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) share transmission routes, dual infection could be frequent. In Spain, HTLV underdiagnosis is highlighted by the high proportion of patients presenting either with tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) or adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) at first diagnosis. We examined whether the renewed efforts for expanding HCV testing may provide a sentinel population that might selectively be targeted to unveil asymptomatic HTLV carriers. The presence of anti-HTLV antibodies was examined in 3,838 consecutive individuals with reactive HCV serology attended during the last three years at 13 hospitals distributed across the Spanish geography. Overall 71% were male and the median age was 41-years old. Foreigners represented 9% of the study population. A total of 50 individuals (1.3%) were seroreactive for HTLV, being 30 confirmed as HTLV-2 and two as HTLV-1 (0.12%). The remaining 18 had indeterminate Western blot patterns. Most individuals with HTLV-2 and HTLV indeterminate serology were HIV-positive, former injection drug users and native Spaniards. In contrast, the two HTLV-1 infections were found in men coming from Brazil and the Dominican Republic, respectively. In summary, the overall prevalence of HTLV infection in individuals living in Spain seropositive for HCV is 1.3%, more than 10-fold greater than in general outclinics in Spain. However, immigrants from HTLV-1 endemic regions and former injection drug users with HTLV-2 infection are by far the major contributory groups in HCV patients. Therefore, testing for HTLV in newly diagnosed HCV individuals would not contribute much to improve late HTLV diagnosis in Spain.

[Fungemia due to Trichosporon asahii in a patient with hematological malignancy]. / Fungemia por Trichosporon asahii en un paciente con neoplasia hematológica.

BACKGROUND: Trichosporonosis is an opportunistic infection caused by the genus Trichosporon. The majority of cases of invasive trichosporonosis occurs in immunocompromised individuals. CASE REPORT: We describe a case of disseminated infection by Trichosporon asahii in a hematology patient. A 52-year-old man diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed a febrile episode during the third cycle of the induction chemotherapy. The blood cultures were positive after 24h incubation, showing elongated structures compatible with fungal elements in the Gram stain. The identification of the fungus as Trichosporon asahii was carried out by the assimilation of compounds of carbon and the amplification and sequencing of the D1/D2 domain and the internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA. The fungus was also isolated from the pustular lesions that the patient had in the chest. After treatment with amphotericin B, the patient progressed satisfactorily. CONCLUSIONS: Trichosporon asahii is an emergent pathogen in immunosupressed patients and its presence should not be considered as colonization, as there is risk of invasive infection.

Use of Cervista HPV HR assay for detection of human papillomavirus in samples with hybrid capture borderline negative results.

We have evaluated Cervista HPV HR for papillomavirus detection in 65 samples previously borderline negative by the hybrid capture method (Digene), using InnoLipa and sequencing as confirmatory techniques. Nine samples were found to be positive by Cervista HPV HR, of which five (7.6%) were confirmed by InnoLipa. Four samples (6.1%) were false positive, of which three samples were reactive for A9 probes. The Cervista HPV HR assay can detect HPV-positive samples from those with hybrid capture borderline results but can produce false-positive results when tested for reactivity with A9 probes.

Comparison of human papillomavirus genotyping using commercial assays based on PCR and reverse hybridization methods.

Different tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) screening are commercially available, detecting high-risk oncogenic HPV types with a pool of genotype-specific probes. However, it is necessary to establish reliable methods for the identification of individual genotypes. The purpose of this study was to compare three different commercial methods for HPV genotyping: INNO-LiPA HPV Genotyping v2 (LiPA), Linear Arrays HPV Genotyping Test (LA) and Clinical Arrays Human Papillomavirus (CA). A total of 83 HPV DNA-positive samples by hybrid capture method were genotyped (82, 78 and 81 by LiPA, LA and CA, respectively). Comparison analysis was limited to the HPV genotypes common to the three assays. There were concordant results (absolute agreement between assays) in 31 samples (39.7%) and compatible results (correspondence for some but not all genotypes) were found in 44 samples (56.4%). Only three samples (3.8%) were considered as discordant (did not show any similarity between the tests). Analyzing kappa values we have a very good agreement (>0.8) for HPV16 and HPV31 and good agreement (0.6-0.8) for HPV types 6, 18, 53 and 66 when all methods are compared. We conclude that all genotyping methods tested are highly comparable and suitable for clinical and epidemiological studies.

Sesquiterpenes as immunosuppressants.

BACKGROUND: The search for new immunosuppressive drugs is a high priority. Sesquiterpenes constitute a family of compounds with a great variety of biological activities due to their reactive moieties. METHODS: Human tumor cell lines and murine primary cells and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells or primary CD4+ cells from healthy individuals were stimulated in the presence of sesquiterpenes. Cell division was analyzed by 5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester, cell cycle progression by Hoecht, and cell death by Anexin-V and propidium iodine staining. Cytokine secretion was analyzed by means of a bioplex assay. RESULTS: Two sesquiterpene derivatives of the 18 previously shown to inhibit vegetal cell growth are shown to block cell division and cell cycle progression in human and murine cell lines and primary cells. Cytokine secretion is also impaired on stimulation in the presence of sesquiterpenes. CONCLUSIONS: Here, we show that sesquiterpenes heliannuols constitute a novel family of molecules with potential use as immunosuppressants. Moreover, we show that an assay based on the allelopathic effect of plant leads can be used as a cost-effective screening previous to studies in mammalian cells.