Biomedical subjects

Martin Montes

Publications and source records attributed to Martin Montes.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

A general method for bead-enhanced quantitation by flow cytometry.

Flow cytometry provides accurate relative cellular quantitation (percent abundance) of cells from diverse samples, but technical limitations of most flow cytometers preclude accurate absolute quantitation. Several quantitation standards are now commercially available which, when added to samples, permit absolute quantitation of CD4+ T cells. However, these reagents are limited by their cost, technical complexity, requirement for additional software and/or limited applicability. Moreover, few studies have validated the use of such reagents in complex biological samples, especially for quantitation of non-T cells. Here we show that addition to samples of known quantities of polystyrene fluorescence standardization beads permits accurate quantitation of CD4+ T cells from complex cell samples. This procedure, here termed single bead-enhanced cytofluorimetry (SBEC), was equally capable of enumerating eosinophils as well as subcellular fragments of apoptotic cells, moieties with very different optical and fluorescent characteristics. Relative to other proprietary products, SBEC is simple, inexpensive and requires no special software, suggesting that the method is suitable for the routine quantitation of most cells and other particles by flow cytometry.

Adoptive Transfer↗

PubMed2006

Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in antiretroviral-naive HIV patients.

We characterized regulatory T cells from antiretroviral-naive HIV patients by flow cytometry. The proportion of CD4 cells positive for CD25 and Foxp3 was increased, mainly in those with CD4 cell counts less than 200 cells/microl. The total number of Foxp3-positive cells correlated with the CD4 cell count. Further studies are needed on whether Foxp3-positive cell numbers or function explain the susceptibility to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases seen in some patients with advanced HIV.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome: more answers, more questions.

The institution of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected patients restores protective immune responses against a wide variety of pathogens and dramatically decreases mortality. In a subset of patients receiving HAART, immune reconstitution is associated with a pathological inflammatory response leading to substantial short-term morbidity and even mortality. The past several years have seen marked advances in our clinical understanding of the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), but many questions remain. This article summarizes recent data on clinical risk factors for the development of IRIS. A consistent finding from multiple groups is that IRIS develops in a substantial percentage of HIV-infected patients who have an underlying opportunistic infection and receive HAART. As the use of HAART stands to markedly increase over the next several years, optimal care of patients receiving HAART will need to incorporate monitoring for and treating complications of IRIS.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active↗

PubMed2004

Symptoms of intestinal schistosomiasis presenting during treatment of large B cell lymphoma.

We report a case of chronic intestinal schistosomiasis presenting in a previously asymptomatic 34-year-old woman from Saudi Arabia with large B cell lymphoma. The patient presented with abdominal pain, constipation, recurrent rectal bleeding, and persistent mild eosinophilia during chemotherapy. Stools were repeatedly negative for parasite ova, but duodenal and colonic biopsies demonstrated Schistosoma eggs and eosinophilic granulomatous inflammation. Immunosuppressed patients with schistosomiasis may have diminished egg excretion. Diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion since stool test results may be negative and intestinal biopsies may be needed to make the diagnosis.

Adult↗