IL8 release, tight junction and cytoskeleton dynamic reorganization conducive to permeability increase are induced by dengue virus infection of microvascular endothelial monolayers.

Permeability alterations of microvascular endothelia may be a factor in the plasma leakage produced by dengue virus infection. Confluent monolayers of the human dermal microvascular endothelial cell line HMEC-1 were utilized as an experimental model to study the cellular responses induced by the virus. Infected monolayers showed increased permeability for [(3)H]mannitol, but no changes were observed for 4-70 kDa dextrans at 48 h post-infection (p.i.), a time at which viral titres reached maximal values and 40 % of the cells expressed viral proteins. A further increase in permeability occurred at 72 h, still without evident cytopathic effects on the monolayer. Coinciding with this, actin was reorganized in the infected cells and the tight junction protein occludin was displaced to the cytoplasm. Increments in the thickness of stress fibres and focal adhesions were observed in uninfected cells neighbouring infected cells. Culture medium from infected monolayers induced permeability changes and thickening of actin-containing structures in control cultures that resembled those observed 48 h p.i. Interleukin (IL) 8 was found in culture medium at concentrations ranging from 20 to 100 pg ml(-1). Neutralizing antibodies against IL8 partially inhibited the changes produced by the culture medium as well as those induced by addition of IL8. Genistein inhibited the effect of the culture medium and the phosphorylation of proteins associated with focal adhesions and indicated the participation of tyrosine kinases. These findings suggest that IL8 production by infected monolayers contributes to the virus-induced effect on the cytoskeleton and tight junctions and thereby modifies transendothelial permeability.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Infectious Disease Surveillance project: establishing bi-national border surveillance.

In 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mexican Secretariat of Health, and border health officials began the development of the Border Infectious Disease Surveillance (BIDS) project, a surveillance system for infectious diseases along the U.S.-Mexico border. During a 3-year period, a binational team implemented an active, sentinel surveillance system for hepatitis and febrile exanthems at 13 clinical sites. The network developed surveillance protocols, trained nine surveillance coordinators, established serologic testing at four Mexican border laboratories, and created agreements for data sharing and notification of selected diseases and outbreaks. BIDS facilitated investigations of dengue fever in Texas-Tamaulipas and measles in California-Baja California. BIDS demonstrates that a binational effort with local, state, and federal participation can create a regional surveillance system that crosses an international border. Reducing administrative, infrastructure, and political barriers to cross-border public health collaboration will enhance the effectiveness of disease prevention projects such as BIDS.