An adenovirus type 5 (AdV5) vector encoding an envelope domain III-based tetravalent antigen elicits immune responses against all four dengue viruses in the presence of prior AdV5 immunity

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by four antigenically distinct serotypes of dengue viruses (DENVs). This disease, which is prevalent in over a hundred tropical and sub-tropical countries of the world, represents a significant global public health problem. A tetravalent dengue vaccine capable of protecting against all four DENV serotypes has been elusive so far. Current efforts are focused on producing a tetravalent vaccine by mixing four monovalent vaccine components. In this work, we have utilized a discrete carboxy-terminal region of the major DENV envelope (E) protein, known as domain III (EDIII), which mediates virus entry into target cells and contains multiple serotype-specific neutralizing epitopes, to create a chimeric tetravalent antigen. This antigen derived by in-frame fusion of the EDIII-encoding sequences of the four DENV serotypes was expressed using a replication-defective recombinant human adenovirus type 5 (rAdV5) vaccine vector. This rAdV5 vector induced cell-mediated immune responses and virus-neutralizing antibodies specific to each of the four DENVs in mice. Interestingly, anti-AdV5 antibodies did not suppress the induction of DENV-specific neutralizing antibodies. We observed that anti-AdV5 antibodies in the sera of immunized mice could promote uptake of a rAdV5-derived reporter vector into U937 cells, suggesting that pre-existing immunity to AdV5 may in fact facilitate the uptake of rAdV5 vectored vaccines into antigen presenting cells. This work presents an alternative approach to developing a single component tetravalent vaccine that bypasses the complexities inherent in the currently adopted four-in-one physical mixture approach.     

Protective Role of Curcumin against N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-Induced Toxicity in Rats

The present investigation was aimed at studying the possible role of curcumin against N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-induced toxicity in albino rats. Administration of NDEA to rats at a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml in drinking water ad libitum for 21 days produced toxicity in them, which was evident from histopathological changes in the rat livers, and increased levels of blood serum enzyme markers, i.e. aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase. In addition, the levels of oxidative stress markers like lipid peroxidation (LPO), protein carbonyl (PCC), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity were elevated and the total glutathione (GSH) content was reduced in the livers. The administration of curcumin to rats at concentrations of 10, 20, and 40 mg/ml in drinking water along with 0.1 mg/ml of NDEA for 21 days effectively suppressed NDEA-induced toxicity and also resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in the levels of blood serum enzyme markers (AST, ALT, ALP, and LDH). Moreover, LPO, PCC, and GST activity were reduced and the GSH level was increased upon the administration of curcumin along with NDEA. The results obtained for the comet assay in rat hepatocytes and blood lymphocytes showed a significant dose-dependent decrease in the mean tail length. The micronucleus assay performed on rat hepatocytes also showed a dose-dependent reduction in the frequency of micronucleated cells along with curcumin administration. These results suggest that curcumin has a protective role against NDEA-induced toxicity in albino rats.     

Immune Responses to the O-Specific Polysaccharide Antigen in Children Who Received a Killed Oral Cholera Vaccine Compared to Responses following Natural Cholera Infection in Bangladesh

Current oral cholera vaccines induce lower levels of protective efficacy and shorter durations of protection in young children than in adults. Immunity against cholera is serogroup specific, and immune responses to Vibrio cholerae lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the antigen that mediates serogroup-specific responses, are associated with protection against disease. Despite this, responses against V. cholerae O-specific polysaccharide (OSP), a key component of the LPS responsible for specificity, have not been characterized in children. Here, we report a comparison of polysaccharide antibody responses in children from a region in Bangladesh where cholera is endemic, including infants (6 to 23 months, n = 15), young children (24 to 59 months, n = 14), and older children (5 to 15 years, n = 23) who received two doses of a killed oral cholera vaccine 14 days apart. We found that infants and young children receiving the vaccine did not mount an IgG, IgA, or IgM antibody response to V. cholerae OSP or LPS, whereas older children showed significant responses. In comparison to the vaccinees, young children with wild-type V. cholerae O1 Ogawa infection did mount significant antibody responses against OSP and LPS. We also demonstrated that OSP responses correlated with age in vaccinees, but not in cholera patients, reflecting the ability of even young children with wild-type cholera to develop OSP responses. These differences might contribute to the lower efficacy of protection rendered by vaccination than by wild-type disease in young children and suggest that efforts to improve lipopolysaccharide-specific responses might be critical for achieving optimal cholera vaccine efficacy in this younger age group.     

Antibody Avidity in Humoral Immune Responses in Bangladeshi Children and Adults following Administration of an Oral Killed Cholera Vaccine

Antibody avidity for antigens following disease or vaccination increases with affinity maturation and somatic hypermutation. In this study, we followed children and adults in Bangladesh for 1 year following oral cholera vaccination and measured the avidity of antibodies to the T cell-dependent antigen cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) and the T cell-independent antigen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in comparison with responses in other immunological measurements. Children produced CTB-specific IgG and IgA antibodies of high avidity following vaccination, which persisted for several months; the magnitudes of responses were comparable to those seen in adult vaccinees. The avidity of LPS-specific IgG and IgA antibodies in vaccinees increased significantly shortly after the second dose of vaccine but waned rapidly to baseline levels thereafter. CTB-specific memory B cells were present for only a short time following vaccination, and we did not find significant memory B cell responses to LPS in any age group. For older children, there was a significant correlation between CTB-specific memory T cell responses after the second dose of vaccine and CTB-specific IgG antibody avidity indices over the subsequent year. These findings suggest that vaccination induces a longer-lasting increase in the avidity of antibodies to a T cell-dependent antigen than is measured by a memory B cell response to that antigen and that early memory T cell responses correlate well with the subsequent development of higher-avidity antibodies.     

Evaluation of immune responses to an oral typhoid vaccine,Ty21a,in children from 2 to 5 years of age in Bangladesh

Young children are very susceptible to typhoid fever, emphasizing the need for vaccination in under five age groups. The parenteral Vi polysaccharide vaccine is not immunogenic in children under 2 years and the oral Ty21a vaccine (Vivotif) available in capsular formulation is only recommended for those over 5 years.     

Antibiotic resistance,virulence gene,and molecular profiles of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates from diverse sources in Calcutta,India

Antibiotic resistance, virulence gene, and molecular profiles of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) non-O157 strains isolated from human stool samples, cow stool samples, and beef samples over a period of 2 years in Calcutta, India, were determined. Resistance to one or more antibiotics was observed in 49.2% of the STEC strains, with some of the strains exhibiting multidrug resistance. The dominant combinations of virulence genes present in the strains studied were stx(1) and stx(2) (44.5% of strains) and stx(1), stx(2), and hlyA (enterohemorrhagic E. coli hemolysin gene) (19% of strains). Only 6.4% of the STEC strains harbored eae. The diversity of STEC strains from various sources was assessed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). STEC strains that gave identical or nearly similar DNA fingerprints in RAPD-PCR and had similar virulence genotypes were further characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Identical RAPD and PFGE profiles were observed in four sets of strains, with each set comprising two strains. There was no match in the RAPD and PFGE profiles between strains of STEC isolated from cows and those isolated from humans. It appears that the clones present in bovine sources are not transmitted to humans in the Calcutta setting although these strains showed evolutionary relatedness. Maybe for this reason, STEC has still not become a major problem in India.     

Calvarial hemangiomas: report of two cases and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Primary hemangiomas of the bone are uncommon tumors, accounting for less than 1.0% of all bone neoplasms. These tumors are mostly found in vertebral bodies. Hemangiomas are rarely seen in the calvarium, where their frequency is 0.2% of all bone neoplasms. Because of their infrequent appearance in the skull, vague symptoms, and absence of prototypical radiological findings, these tumors can be missed in many cases or may be misinterpreted as more ominous lesions like multiple myeloma or osteosarcoma. CASE DESCRIPTION: We report two cases of calvarial hemangiomas: one with a single mass on the right sphenoid wing, and another with two similar lesions on the right occipital and left parietal bones. The diagnoses could be established only by histopathologic analysis. CONCLUSION: Histopathologic confirmation of the tumor is the definitive method for diagnosis of intraosseous hemangiomas. Radiological findings are not always characteristic for calvarial hemangiomas. Due to possible complications and the possibility of effective treatment, this lesion should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of skull lesions.