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J Buitenwerf

Publications and source records attributed to J Buitenwerf.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

[HIV-2 in The Netherlands].

By comparing data from the HIV confirmation laboratories it could be established that in the period prior to February 1991 a HIV-2 infection was demonstrated in at least 18 persons in the Netherlands. Consequently, use of combined HIV-1/2 tests is urgently recommended for screening in diagnostic and blood bank laboratories in the Netherlands. A suspicion of presence of HIV-2 antibodies may arise in the interpretation of a combined HIV-1/2-ELISA, a specific HIV-1-ELISA and the pattern of HIV-1 western immunoblot. Confirmation of the presence of HIV-2 antibodies should be obtained by means of western blots of viral lysates of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 and peptide tests from the transmembranous region. Most persons with a HIV-2 infection originated from Africa south of the Sahara or the Cape Verdean Islands or had had a sexual relationship with a person from these areas. The vast majority was heterosexual and 13 of the 18 infected persons were women. This differs greatly from the epidemiological pattern of HIV-1 infections in the Netherlands. The possibility of further spread of HIV-2 in the Netherlands via heterosexual contacts should be seriously taken into account.

Adolescent

[Aids caused by HIV-2 in The Netherlands].

In four patients in Rotterdam AIDS was diagnosed, and it was subsequently demonstrated that they were infected with HIV type 2. One of the patients was an immigrant from the Cape Verde islands, two of the others had heterosexual contacts with persons of this area, and the fourth patient was a male homosexual without known contacts with Africans. The Cape Verde islands are one of the areas in which HIV-2 infection occurs, and because of immigration into The Netherlands and in particular to Rotterdam, the possibility of HIV-2 infection should be considered in persons of this population group and their sexual contacts. Furthermore, problems with serologic investigations should be avoided by the application of HIV-2 specific confirmatory assays.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

[HIV-2 infection in a Portuguese woman with an AIDS-dementia complex living in The Netherlands].

The case history is presented of the first patient with a fatal HIV-2 infection in The Netherlands, a Portuguese woman aged 51 yr. The infection resulted in AIDS, the AIDS-dementia complex and death. Her partner, a retired Cape Verde sailor, also proved to be infected with HIV-2. Epidemiology, virology and clinical manifestations of HIV-2 infection are discussed.

AIDS Dementia Complex

Diagnosis and prevalence of HIV-2 antibodies in different population subsets in The Netherlands.

A serum panel obtained from male homosexuals (n = 278); i.v. drug abusers (n = 99), patients attending a VD clinic (n = 390), blood donors who visited Central or West Africa (n = 573), blood donors who had sexual contact with natives from Central or West Africa (n = 38), blood donors from Surinam, South America (n = 481), individuals positive for anti-HIV-1 (n = 94), individuals with indeterminate HIV-1 western blot (WB) reactions (n = 73), African patients with AIDS or AIDS-related symptoms (n = 30), and random Dutch blood donors (n = 555), was tested with HIV-2 ELISA (ELAVIA-2). Of these 2,611 samples, 32 (1.2%) were repeatedly reactive. Antibodies to gp140/105env were found in 4/32 by HIV-2 WB, and in 1/4 by radioimmunoprecipitation (RIPA). These 4 HIV-2 WB-positive samples were also reactive with gp160/120env in HIV-1 WB, suggesting cross-reactivity. In a spot test with synthetic peptides of the transmembrane glycoprotein of both HIV types, 3/4 were only HIV-1 positive and 1/4 was strongly HIV-2 positive and weakly HIV-1 positive. In inhibition assays with soluble HIV-1 or HIV-2 synthetic peptides in HIV-1 and HIV-2 peptide ELISA, cross-reactivity was excluded, which indicates an HIV variant or HIV-1/HIV-2 double infection. It is concluded that for the moment HIV-2 infection is at low prevalence in risk groups in The Netherlands, and that in addition to WB and RIPA, synthetic peptide assays are useful for differentiation between HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies.

Blotting, Western

Transformation in Bacillus subtilis: biological and physical evidence for a novel DNA-intermediate in synchronously transforming cells.

Competent B. subtilis cells exposed to transforming DNA in the presence of EDTA bind, but do not take up DNA. Rapid and almost synchronous uptake of the bound DNA is achieved by the addition of Mg2+ ions in excess of the EDTA. At 30 degrees and at 17 degrees comparable numbers of transformants are produced from cells pre-loaded with DNA at 30 degrees (after termination of uptake by the addition of DNA ase the samples were incubated at 37 degrees). However, almost no transformants are produced when cells are exposed to DNA at 17 degrees, although binding does take place then. Because DNA is taken up at 17 degrees after having loaded the cells at 30 degrees, whereas no uptake occurs after binding at 17 degrees, it is suggested that binding of DNA to the cellular surface involves at least two steps. In DNA re-extracted from cells at 17 degrees, pre-loaded with DNA at 30 degrees, little recombinant type activity is present, indicating that integration is blocked at 17 degrees. However, physico-chemical analysis of the re-extracted DNA indicates that a complex between single-stranded donor DNA and the recipient chromosome is formed at 17 degrees. This complex has a higher buoyant density than donor-recipient complexes formed at 30 degrees.

Bacillus subtilis