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Biomedical subjects

F J Jenkins

Publications and source records attributed to F J Jenkins.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Detection of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in normal prostates.

BACKGROUND: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) DNA has been detected in semen and prostatic tissues in some, but not all reports. We have analyzed prostate tissues from HHV-8 seropositive men for the expression of viral proteins and determined if expression of these proteins are associated with increased inflammation. METHODS: Paraffin sections of non-cancerous prostates from HHV-8 seropositive (n = 16) and seronegative (n = 2) men who died with AIDS were screened for expression of three viral proteins by immunohistochemistry. Levels of inflammation were determined by expression of CD68 and CD20. Cellular proliferation was determined by expression of Ki67. RESULTS: Among the 16 HHV-8 seropositive cases, 68.9% (11/16) (95% C.I. = 0.41-0.89) were positive for HHV-8 protein expression, while the 2 seronegative patients showed no HHV-8 protein expression. There was increased inflammation among HHV-8 positive prostates. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that HHV-8 is present in normal prostates of HIV-infected men and the expression of viral proteins is associated with increased localized inflammation.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Multicenter comparison of serologic assays and estimation of human herpesvirus 8 seroprevalence among US blood donors.

BACKGROUND: As part of assessing the possibility of transfusion transmission of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8 or Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus), HHV-8 seroprevalence was estimated among US blood donors, the performance of HHV-8 serologic tests was compared, and the presence of HHV-8 DNA was tested for in donated blood. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Replicate panels of 1040 plasma specimens prepared from 1000 US blood donors (collected in 1994 and 1995) and 21 Kaposi's sarcoma patients were tested for antibodies to HHV-8 in six laboratories. HHV-8 PCR was performed on blood samples from 138 donors, including all 33 who tested seropositive in at least two laboratories and 22 who tested positive in at least one. RESULTS: The estimated HHV-8 seroprevalence among US blood donors was 3.5 percent (95% CI, 1.2%-9.8%) by a conditional dependence latent-class model, 3.0 percent (95% CI, 2.0%-4.6%) by a conditional independence latent-class model, and 3.3 percent (95% CI, 2.3%-4.6%) by use of a consensus-derived gold standard (specimens positive in two or more laboratories); the conditional dependence model best fit the data. In this model, laboratory specificities ranged from 96.6 to 100 percent. Sensitivities ranged widely, but with overlapping 95 percent CIs. HHV-8 DNA was detected in blood from none of 138 donors evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: Medical and behavioral screening does not eliminate HHV-8-seropositive persons from the US blood donor pool, but no viral DNA was found in donor blood. Further studies of much larger numbers of seropositive individuals will be required to more completely assess the rate of viremia and possibility of HHV-8 transfusion transmission. Current data do not indicate a need to screen US blood donors for HHV-8.

Antibodies, Viral↗

A case-control study of HIV-1-related dementia and co-infection with HHV-8.

This nested case-control study assessed the putative protective effect of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) against HIV-1-related dementia (dementia). The HHV-8 seropositivity of 210 male age- and HIV disease stage-matched cases and controls was compared. The overall HHV-8 seropositivity of 66% was similar among demented HIV-infected cases and nondemented HIV-infected controls.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗

Primary human herpesvirus 8 infection generates a broadly specific CD8(+) T-cell response to viral lytic cycle proteins.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is a recently discovered gammaherpesvirus that is the etiologic agent of Kaposi sarcoma (KS). The natural history of primary HHV-8 infection, including clinical outcome and host immune responses that may be important in preventing disease related to HHV-8, has not been elucidated. The present study characterized the clinical, immunologic, and virologic parameters of primary HHV-8 infection in 5 cases detected during a 15-year longitudinal study of 108 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 seronegative men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. Primary HHV-8 infection was associated with mild, nonspecific signs and symptoms of diarrhea, fatigue, localized rash, and lymphadenopathy. There were no alterations in numbers of CD4(+) or CD8(+) T cells or CD8(+) T-cell interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production to mitogen or nominal antigen. CD8(+) cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursor (CTLp) and IFN-gamma reactivity were detected during primary HHV-8 infection, with broad specificity to 5 lytic cycle proteins of HHV-8 encoded by open reading frame 8 (ORF 8; glycoprotein B homolog of Epstein-Barr virus), ORF 22 (gH homolog), ORF 25 (major capsid protein homolog), ORF 26 (a minor capsid protein homolog), or ORF 57 (an early protein homolog), in association with increases in serum antibody titers and appearance of HHV-8 DNA in blood mononuclear cells. CD8(+) T-cell responses to HHV-8 decreased by 2 to 3 years after primary infection. This antiviral T-cell response may control initial HHV-8 infection and prevent development of disease.

Adult↗

Detection of infectious baboon cytomegalovirus after baboon-to-human liver xenotransplantation.

Xenotransplantation is considered to be a solution for the human donor shortage. However, there is a potential risk of transmitting animal infections from the transplanted organ. The known transmissibility and clinical significance of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection after allotransplantation led us to evaluate whether baboon cytomegalovirus (BCMV) transmission could occur after a baboon-to-human liver xenotransplant. We examined serial blood samples from a baboon liver recipient and isolated replication-competent CMV-like agents on days 29, 36, and 42 after xenotransplantation. BCMV and HCMV DNAs were detected in the day 29 isolate, while only HCMV DNA was detected in the other isolates. This is the first report of detecting a replication-competent virus from a source animal after xenotransplantation and is a concern with regard to potential zoonotic transmission to others.

Adult↗

CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses to lytic proteins of human herpes virus 8 in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected and -uninfected individuals.

T cell immunity to lytic proteins of herpesviruses is important in host control of infection. We have characterized the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to 5 human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) homologues of lytic proteins in HHV-8-seropositive individuals. HLA class I-restricted, CD8(+) CTL responses to >/=1 HHV-8 lytic protein were detected in all 14 HHV-8-seropositive study subjects tested, with or without human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, but not in any of 5 HHV-8-seronegative individuals. Seven of these study subjects with both HHV-8 and HIV-1 infection had greater anti-CTL reactivity to glycoprotein H (open-reading frame 22) than did the 7 study subjects infected only with HHV-8. Moreover, there was a strong, inverse correlation between HIV-1 load and glycoprotein H-specific CTL lysis in the study subjects infected with both viruses. CTL reactivity to HHV-8 lytic proteins may be involved in host control of HHV-8-related diseases, such as Kaposi's sarcoma.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Interaction of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and human herpesvirus type 8 infections on the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma.

To determine Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) risk related to timing of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) infections, stored longitudinal sera from 400 homosexual men with known dates of HIV-1 seroconversion (+/-4.5 months) were tested for HHV-8 antibody. Times from HHV-8 seroconversion to KS were compared for the 69 men who became infected with HHV-8 after acquiring HIV-1 to the 182 men who were HHV-8 seropositive before their HIV-1 infection. None developed KS before coinfection. HHV-8 seroconversion after HIV-1 infection increased the risk of KS (risk ratio, 2.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-6.10) compared with those infected with HHV-8 before HIV-1. The KS hazards in HHV-8-infected men increased by 60% (P<.001) for each year of HIV-1 infection. Faster CD4 cell loss and higher HIV-1 RNA levels significantly predicted KS. The quicker development of KS in men acquiring HHV-8 after HIV-1 and its association with CD4 slope argues that KS is more likely if HHV-8 infection occurs in an immunocompromised person.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Reduced risk of AIDS lymphoma in individuals heterozygous for the CCR5-delta32 mutation.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has been increasing in frequency in the industrialized world, but the environmental and genetic factors that contribute to susceptibility are not known. B-cell lymphomas represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected individuals. The identification of a deletion in the CCR5 chemokine receptor gene that alters the risk for infection and progression to AIDS led us to examine a potential role of this gene in AIDS lymphoma. A matched case-control analysis was performed using all eligible NHL cases in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. Patients were matched for age, study center, time AIDS-free, and slope of the CD4+ T-cell decline. The CCR5-delta32 allele was found to be associated with a 3-fold lower risk of NHL among individuals after controlling for time of infection and progression toward AIDS. The CCR5 gene was not associated with a difference in risk for Kaposi's sarcoma, another common malignancy in AIDS patients, or opportunistic infections. Costimulation of normal phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-treated B cells with the CCR5 ligand RANTES induced a proliferative response, indicating that RANTES is a mitogen for B cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that the CCR5 gene plays a role in the risk of NHL in HIV-infected patients, perhaps through a mechanism involving a decreased response of B cells to the mitogenic activity of RANTES.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

A.E. Bennett Research Award. Developmental traumatology. Part I: Biological stress systems.

BACKGROUND: This investigation examined the relationship between trauma, psychiatric symptoms and urinary free cortisol (UFC) and catecholamine (epinephrine [EPI], norepinephrine [NE], dopamine [DA]) excretion in prepubertal children with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) secondary to past child maltreatment experiences (n = 18), compared to non-traumatized children with overanxious disorder (OAD) (n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 24). METHODS: Subjects underwent comprehensive psychiatric and clinical assessments and 24 hour urine collection for measurements of UFC and urinary catecholamine excretion. Biological and clinical measures were compared using analyses of variance. RESULTS: Maltreated subjects with PTSD excreted significantly greater concentrations of urinary DA and NE over 24 hours than OAD and control subjects and greater concentrations of 24 hour UFC than control subjects. Post hoc analysis revealed that maltreated subjects with PTSD excreted significantly greater concentrations of urinary EPI than OAD subjects. Childhood PTSD was associated with greater co-morbid psychopathology including depressive and dissociative symptoms, lower global assessment of functioning, and increased incidents of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempts. Urinary catecholamine and UFC concentrations showed positive correlations with duration of the PTSD trauma and severity of PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that maltreatment experiences are associated with alterations of biological stress systems in maltreated children with PTSD. An improved psychobiological understanding of trauma in childhood may eventually lead to better treatments of childhood PTSD.

Adolescent↗

Herpesvirus 6 variant A infection after heart transplantation with giant cell transformation in bile ductular and gastroduodenal epithelium.

Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is a ubiquitous virus known to cause febrile syndromes and exanthema subitum in children. Less commonly, and particularly in organ transplant recipients, it may result in hepatitis, bone marrow suppression, interstitial pneunonitis, and meningoencephalitis. This report expands the spectrum of clinical disease associated with HHV-6 by documenting viral infection in a 44-year-old heart transplant recipient presenting with gastroduodenitis, pancreatitis, and hepatitis. On histopathologic examination, the gastric, duodenal, and bile ductular epithelium showed a multinucleate giant cell transformation similar to the cytopathic effect caused by the virus in human T-lymphocytes infected in vitro. Electron microscopy showed herpes particles with a thick tegument layer in the duodenum. Polymerase chain reaction amplified HHV-6 variant A sequences from multiple sites. Serology confirmed the presence of an acute HHV-6 infection. Thus, HHV-6 variant A can cause gastroduodenitis and pancreatitis in immunosuppressed individuals. Multinucleate giant cells and enveloped virions with a prominent tegument can be used as morphologic criteria to raise the possibility of HHV-6 infection in human biopsy tissue.

Adult↗

The roles of herpes simplex virus in neuroscience.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) has been a focus of research in many laboratories during the last 30-35 years, with the majority centered on the virus' replication, molecular biology and pathogenesis. Recently, HSV has begun to receive considerable attention in the field of neuroscience, where scientists have begun to use the virus as a tool or model for several areas of investigation. These areas include the construction and development of HSV-based vectors for gene therapy and the use of HSV as a neuronal tracer, as a model for demyelinating disease and to study interactions between the nervous, immune and endocrine systems. The goal of this paper is to review these different roles for HSV in the broad field of neuroscience.

Animals↗

Deletion of the Herpes simplex 1 internal repeat sequences affects pathogenicity in the mouse.

We have isolated three different herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) recombinant viruses, each frozen in either the P (prototype), IS (inversion of S component), or ILS (inversion of both components) genome arrangement. Common to all three recombinant viruses is the deletion of approximately 14 kilobases (kb) of viral DNA sequences representing greater than 95% of the internal repeat sequences and the insertion of a 9.6 kb mini-Mu genome containing a functional thymidine kinase gene. No unique DNA sequences were deleted from the viral genomes. Analyses of growth curves of the wild-type and recombinant viruses in cell culture has revealed that the recombinants grow somewhat more slowly, producing final titers within 1.5 logs of wild-type HSV-1(F). There is no discernible difference in plaque size or plaque morphology between the recombinant and wild type strains. Analysis of the recombinant viruses in mice reveals the following: I), the recombinant viruses are essentially avirulent, exhibiting drastically increased LD50 values as compared to the wild-type strain by intracerebral injection; ii), the recombinant viruses are not neuroinvasive in that they do not spread from the cornea to sensory ganglion; iii), the recombinant viruses exhibit minimal local replication both in the corneas of infected mice and in the brains of mice inoculated by intracerebral injection; and iv), the recombinant viruses do not establish a reactivable latent infection in the trigeminal ganglion following either intracerebral inoculation or inoculation of scarified corneas. These properties suggest a unique pattern of pathogenesis for HSV mutants in the mouse model.

Animals↗

Herpes simplex virus: a tool for neuroscientists.

Herpes viruses have received a great deal of attention due to their widespread and ubiquitous prevalence in the human population and to the diverse range of diseases caused as a result of an infection. During the last 20-25 years, many research laboratories have investigated the pathogenesis and molecular biology of these viruses; particularly herpes simplex virus (HSV). As a result of this research, HSV has begun to get the attention of neuroscientists. In fact, in the last few years there has been an explosion of research involving the use of HSV and related viruses as tools or model systems for different areas of neuroscience research. This brief review will describe several of these areas including demyelinating diseases, neuronal tracings, and genetic therapy.

Animals↗

Time course of natural killer cell activity and lymphocyte proliferation in response to two acute stressors in healthy men.

To clarify the time course of immune system activity during and after acute stressor exposure, this study collected immune measures from 31 men at 6 times (before, during, and after 2 common laboratory stressors; mental arithmetic with harassment or a cold pressor task). The 6-min stressor period was associated with increased self-report of pain and distress in both stressor groups and with increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in the mental arithmetic group. Increased natural killer cell activity in this group was observed during the task (2 and 5 min into the task) and 5 min after the task ended. A significant Group x Time effect was observed for lymphocyte proliferation to pokeweed mitogen, and a significant Group x Time x Dilution effect was observed for proliferation to concanavalin A. Inspection of the data suggested that this interaction was due to a reduction in proliferation in both stressor groups during the task period.

Adult↗

The UL37 protein of herpes simplex virus type 1 is associated with the tegument of purified virions.

The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) UL37 open reading frame encodes a 120-kDa late (gamma 1) phosphoprotein in infected cells. Analysis of isolated mature HSV virions and light particles revealed that the UL37 protein is a component of the virion. Detergent solubilization and protease digestion experiments suggest that the UL37 protein is part of the tegument structure. Indirect immunofluorescence experiments using HSV-1-infected cells and cells infected with a vaccinia recombinant virus that expresses the UL37 gene demonstrated that the UL37 protein is present in both the nucleus and cytoplasm of infected cells and that localization to the nucleus does not require additional HSV proteins.

Animals↗

High titers of anti-Epstein-Barr virus DNA polymerase are found in patients with severe fatiguing illness.

Forty-one patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), 76 healthy controls matched with the patient group for age range, sex, race, and socioeconomic class, and 22 symptomatic patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) had serum sampled for antibodies against 2 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replicating enzymes. Abnormal titers of antibodies were found twice as often in CFS patients as controls (34.1% vs. 17.1%), with SAD patients having an intermediate frequency (27.3%). Stratifying for disease severity sharpened the differences considerably, with the sicker CFS and SAD patients having 52% and 50% abnormal tests, respectively; more mildly afflicted CFS and SAD patients had a frequency of abnormal tests in the normal range. Antibodies to EBV DNA polymerase (DNAP) were the more sensitive of the two tests in that they were positive in all cases but one. These findings suggest that antibodies against EBV DNAP may be a useful marker in delineating a subset of patients with severe fatiguing illness for appropriate treatment trials and for monitoring their outcomes.

Adult↗

Vaccination with the immediate-early protein ICP47 of herpes simplex virus-type 1 (HSV-1) induces virus-specific lymphoproliferation, but fails to protect against lethal challenge.

Assessing the immunobiological function of the individual proteins of herpes simplex virus-type 1 (HSV-1) continues to be important in elucidating virus-host interactions and for the rational design of subunit vaccines. In this report, the non-structural, immediate-early protein ICP47 of HSV-1 was examined for its ability to induce virus-specific immune responses. The ICP47 protein, when expressed from a recombinant vaccinia virus or when produced by cell-free, in vitro translation, induced a vigorous HSV-1-specific lymphoproliferative response. However, other common parameters of immunity such as neutralizing antibody, delayed-type hypersensitivity, and class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) were not induced by ICP47. Moreover, mice immunized with vaccinia-expressed ICP47 were unable to survive lethal challenge with virulent HSV, indicating that in spite of its ability to induce significant HSV-1-specific lymphoproliferation, ICP47 appears unable to afford protective immunity in vivo. Possible reasons for this failure and the implications of these results in terms of vaccine design are discussed.

Animals↗