The effects of a promoter of cell differentiation and selected hormones on human cytomegalovirus infection using an in vitro cell system

Article Abstract:

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a member of the herpesvirus family. CMV can cause an acute disease or it can remain dormant and cause the disease to recur in later years. Once a primary CMV infection occurs, the virus will persist within the host, in a latent form, for the entire life of the host. CMV is ubiquitous, and most individuals become infected with CMV at some point in their life. Many CMV infections are not noticed until the host's immune system becomes suppressed, often as a result of another infection or disease. The treatments developed for CMV include antiviral drugs, immunotherapy and vaccines. However, these agents are not readily available and are not highly effective. The ability of hormones to reduce CMV replication and protein production was evaluated in cell cultures of human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF, connective tissue cells). The cells were inoculated with CMV and treated with either hydrocortisone, phorbol diester, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), progesterone or estradiol. Hydrocortisone, when added to the cells prior to inoculation with CMV, significantly enhanced CMV replication and synthesis of specific proteins. Phorbol diester, added 1.5 hours after CMV, increased the production of viral progeny 8- to 13-fold over untreated cells. HCG, on the other hand, suppressed CMV viral replication by 25 to 72 percent compared with untreated cells, and progesterone and estradiol suppressed CMV protein synthesis. It is concluded that hydrocortisone treatment may increase susceptibility to CMV infection. A better understanding of the factors that influence CMV replication will be beneficial in developing new treatments for CMV infection. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Prevention, Hormone therapy, Cytomegalovirus infections, Cytomegaloviruses, Cytomegalovirus

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Patient-to-patient transmission of Campylobacter pylori infection by fiberoptic gastroduodenoscopy and biopsy

Article Abstract:

A fiberoptic endoscope, an instrument affixed with an illuminating end, can be used to examine the inside of the digestive tract. Although fiberoptic endoscopes used in the stomach and duodenum (small intestine) are cleaned with 70 percent alcohol in between uses, infectious agents have been known to pass from one patient to the next (cross infection). Endoscopic cross-infection with the bacteria Campylobacter pylori may be responsible for type B gastritis (swelling of the stomach lining) and stomach ulcers. The incidence of patient-to-patient cross infection with C. pylori following endoscopic examinations is reviewed. There were 281 examinations performed on 84 patients, 107 examinations in 47 patients originally negative for C. pylori and 174 examinations in 37 patients who were cured of C. pylori infection. A cross-infection was detected in three patients. The chances of an uninfected person becoming infected was 1.1 percent on the basis of this retrospective study. Cross-infection was confirmed by examining the DNA (genetic material) of the infecting bacteria. Two out of three patients who were successfully treated for C. pylori with antibiotics were found to have been reinfected, one at 1 and 21 months, the other at 32 months later. It was estimated that 3 out of every 1,000 endoscopic evaluations performed on the upper digestive tract transmitted a C. pylori infection. Although the risk of cross-infection cannot be generalized to apply to all endoscopic examinations, gastroscopic transmission of C. pylori is likely to continue unless optimum disinfecting procedures are employed in between uses on different patients. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Case studies, Causes of, Complications and side effects, Statistics, Disease transmission, Cross infection, Gastroscopy, Iatrogenic diseases

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Invasion-related antigens of Campylobacter jejuni

Article Abstract:

Campylobacter jejuni has been identified as one of the principal causes of intestinal disease. The organism possesses three factors associated with virulence (ability to cause disease): invasiveness, enterotoxin production, and cytotoxin production. The manner in which the disease is manifest and its diverse clinical presentations suggest that no one single factor can account for its varied spectrum. Acute bloody diarrhea associated with fever and abdominal pain are characteristic of an invasive infection. Watery diarrhea without inflammatory reaction are typical enterotoxin reactions. The pathogenic significance of the cytotoxins is currently unknown. This report describes the invasive properties and antigens of C. jejuni. Strains of C. jejuni and other Campylobacter species were collected from isolates of patients with bloody diarrhea. A human laryngeal carcinoma (HEp-2) cell culture model was used to identify antigens associated with the invasive properties. The capability of C. jejuni organisms to invade and adhere to HEp-2 cells appears to be lost if the cells are passed repeatedly in the laboratory. A monoclonal antibody that inhibited the invasiveness of C. jejuni for HEp-2 cells was identified. This property may aid in the identification and isolation of one or more of the invasive antigens of C. jejuni. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diagnosis, Physiological aspects

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