Journal of immunological sciences最新文献

{"title":"Perceptions and Rumors About the Ebola Virus Disease Vaccine in the Ituri and Kivu Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.","authors":"Ijeoma Igwe, Nkechi Onyeneho, Joseph C Okeibunor, Michel N'da Konan Yao, Tieman Diarra, Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey, Soce Fall, Abdou Salam Gueye","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/S3.1111","DOIUrl":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/S3.1111","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Perceptions and rumors about vaccinations can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. This study aimed to examine perceptions and rumors about the Ebola vaccine during the 10th Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eight hundred randomly selected respondents were surveyed with a uniform structured questionnaire. Further, we collected qualitative data through focus group discussions and using in-depth interview guides. Results revealed several misperceptions and rumors about the vaccine, which led to some level of vaccine hesitancy and refusal among the people. The acceptance rate of the vaccine was 67.3% (below the 80% threshold needed to create herd immunity in the population). More of the urban population (31.3%) than the rural population (10.4%) accepted the vaccine. Refusals were largely due to fear that the vaccine could activate other diseases in the body and could even kill. Some feared that it was a conspiracy of the government to reduce the population in the study area through forced fertility control and death, among other such concerns. In conclusion, these rumors increased mistrust, which challenged the efforts of the government and its partners to safeguard the health of the people.</p>","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7615612/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139708750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Traditional therapists in Ebola virus disease outbreak response: Lessons learned from the fight against the Ebola virus disease epidemic in North Kivu and Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo.","authors":"Nkechi G Onyeneho, Ngozi Idemili Aronu, Ijeoma Igwe, Joseph Okeibunor, Tieman Diarra, Julienne Ngoudougou Anoko, Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey, Zabulon Yoti","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/S3.1108","DOIUrl":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/S3.1108","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Traditional healers co-exist with orthodox medicine, especially in cases with perceived supernatural causes and during outbreaks of infectious diseases like the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In this study, we examined the role and potential of involving traditional healers in the national response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the DRC. Seventeen community leaders and 20 traditional healers were interviewed. The traditional healers managed symptoms with herbs and were not inclined to refer cases to orthodox healthcare facilities because of their confidence in their ability to handle cases with supernatural causes. The community leaders attested to the acceptance of the traditional healers in the communities, which they attributed to the efficacy of traditional healing, its uncomplicated treatment process, cause of the prolonged cough, as well as cost and the need for secrecy. Traditional healers can be educated to promptly refer cases to Ebola treatment centers for timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7615615/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139708756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Perceptions, Disease Representations, and Response Obstacles Regarding the Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic in the North Kivu and Ituri Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.","authors":"Nkechi Onyeneho, Joseph Okeibunor, Ijeoma Igwe, Ngozi Idemili Aronu, Bailo Diallo, Tiaman Diarra, Barry Rodrigue, Michel N'da Konan Yao, Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey, Soce Fall","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/S3.1112","DOIUrl":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/S3.1112","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We explored the perceptions and representations of diseases in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo to identify perceived obstacles regarding responses to the country 's Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak using a mix-methods approach. We surveyed a representative sample including 800 adults aged 18 years and older, held in-depth interviews with 17 community leaders, and conducted 10 focus group discussions with community members (using same-sex interviewers/discussion leaders). The results revealed the existence of several health conditions among members of the two communities. Locals consider nearly 80 of these ailments as untreatable by orthodox medicines and methods, even when symptoms are similar to EVD. Creating awareness must be considered a critical goal of community education to further educate these populations about EVD and other health problems and their respective treatments.</p>","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7615611/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139708751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Brief Review of the Monkeypox Outbreak: Transmission, Presentation, and Developments in Treatment and Vaccines","authors":"Aria Elahi, Parker Alan Maddox, Hassan Khuram, Joshua R Lewis, Rahim Hirani","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1246","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1246","url":null,"abstract":"The medical response to monkeypox(mpox) is a key demonstration of how COVID-19 remodeled the global response to viruses in the medical field. As a result of the 2019 pandemic, the 2022 mpox outbreak was met with mass production of vaccines, widely available PCR testing, and increased public health and research efforts. Easy access to vaccines such as the ACAM2000 and the JYNNEOS vaccines bolstered prevention while antivirals alleviated symptoms and shortened viral duration in at-risk patients. Various methods of detection have been developed for mpox over a short period with PCR currently being used in an attempt to isolate specific strains of the virus. In this brief review, we discuss its classical presentation, and detection and treatment strategies adapted to mitigate this public health risk.","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83578407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Natriuretic Peptides in Clinical Practice: A Current Review","authors":"Deborah J.W. Lee, Tar-Choon Aw","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1245","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1245","url":null,"abstract":"Heart failure is a major clinical problem affecting 64 million people worldwide with a 5-year mortality rate of around 50%. Patients present to the emergency department with inability to breathe properly. Heart failure is an important condition not to be missed as accurate and early diagnosis or exclusion is crucial for timely intervention. Conventionally heart failure was regarded as congestion consequent to fluid accumulation. Currently heart failure is viewed as a complex heterogeneous entity encompassing severity (clinical versus sub-clinical), onset (acute versus chronic), vascular compartment involved (intra- versus extra-vascular), besides fluid accumulation (cardiopulmonary versus generalized). There is a myriad of biomarkers that reflect different parts of heart failure pathophysiology. However, only natriuretic peptides remain as the “gold standard” against which other biomarkers are compared. This review provides a current update on the utility of natriuretic peptides in clinical practice. We will provide a brief overview of natriuretic peptides, the assays, their clinical use in heart failure, some caveats for their use (age, chronic kidney disease, obesity, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction) and highlight some emerging applications.","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82069159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Poor Prognosis in HBV-associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Successful Viral Suppression: A Case Series Highlighting a Need for a Cure","authors":"Salil Chowdhury, Daniel Garrido, D. Halegoua-DeMarzio, Christopher Roth, H. Hann","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1242","url":null,"abstract":"Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection being an important risk factor for HCC. While nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy has succeeded in suppressing HBV replication and decreasing the risk of HCC in patients with HBV infection, there remains a persistent risk of HCC in those patients. Furthermore, previous studies have highlighted worse survival in patients who developed HCC while on successful NA therapy compared to those who developed HCC without previous NA treatment. We conducted a long-term, retrospective case study in 5 patients observed between 10 and 25 years, to further explore the poor outcomes in patients with HBV-associated HCC with or without previous NA therapy. Our study highlights the aggression and recurrence of HCC in patients with HBV infection, well-suppressed on NA therapy. The results of our observation emphasize the need for early referral for liver transplantation in these select patients.","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88678470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Leflunomide Confers Rapid Recovery from COVID-19 and is Coupled with Temporal Immunologic Changes.","authors":"Ada Alice Dona,&nbsp;James F Sanchez,&nbsp;Joycelynne M Palmer,&nbsp;Timothy W Synold,&nbsp;Flavia Chiuppesi,&nbsp;Sandra Thomas,&nbsp;Enrico Caserta,&nbsp;Mahmoud Singer,&nbsp;Theophilus Tandoh,&nbsp;Arnab Chowdhury,&nbsp;Amrita Krishnan,&nbsp;Michael Rosenzweig,&nbsp;Don J Diamond,&nbsp;Steven Rosen,&nbsp;Flavia Pichiorri,&nbsp;Sanjeet Dadwal","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-3009/2023/1.1241","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 have been considerably effective in reducing rates of infection and severe COVID-19. However, many patients, especially those who are immunocompromised due to cancer or other factors, as well as individuals who are unable to receive vaccines or are in resource-poor countries, will continue to be at risk for COVID-19. We describe clinical, therapeutic, and immunologic correlatives in two patients with cancer and severe COVID-19 who were treated with leflunomide after failing to respond to standard-of-care comprising remdesivir and dexamethasone. Both patients had breast cancer and were on therapy for the malignancy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The protocol is designed with the primary objective to assess the safety and tolerability of leflunomide in treating severe COVID-19 in patients with cancer. Leflunomide dosing consisted of a loading dose of 100 mg daily for the first three days, followed by daily dosing, at the assigned dose level (Dose Level 1: 40 mg, Dose Level -1, 20 mg; Dose Level 2, 60 mg), for an additional 11 days. At defined intervals, serial monitoring of blood samples for toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and immunologic correlative studies were performed, as well as nasopharyngeal swabs for PCR analysis of SARS-CoV-2.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Preclinically, leflunomide impaired viral RNA replication, and clinically, it led to a rapid improvement in the two patients discussed herein. Both patients completely recovered, with minimal toxicities; all adverse events experienced were considered unrelated to leflunomide. Single-cell mass-cytometry analysis showed that leflunomide increased levels of CD8+ cytotoxic and terminal effector T cells and decreased naïve and memory B cells.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>With ongoing COVID-19 transmission and occurrence of breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals, including patients with cancer, therapeutic agents that target both the virus and host inflammatory response would be helpful despite the availability of currently approved anti-viral agents. Furthermore, from an access to care perspective, especially in resource-limited areas, an inexpensive, readily available, effective drug with existing safety data in humans is relevant in the real-world setting.</p>","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10042490/pdf/nihms-1883297.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9227274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementation of Immunometabolism into Curricula, Scientific Societies, and Immunological Routine Diagnostics","authors":"M. Roder, S. Kahlfuss","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2022/4.1243","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-3009/2022/4.1243","url":null,"abstract":"The energy metabolism was demonstrated to directly modulate immune cell function and thereby physiological and detrimental immune responses. In addition, the field of immunometabolism is vastly growing. However, yet there remain fundamental scientific questions in the field, which require the organization of national and international networks as well as the implementation of immunometabolism into curricula, scientific societies, and immunological routine diagnostics to hold the promise of personalized medicine to our patients within the next decade.","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73136892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soluble Complement Receptor 1 Therapeutics","authors":"Matthew P. Hardy, T. Rowe, Sandra Wymann","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2022/4.1240","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-3009/2022/4.1240","url":null,"abstract":"Human Complement Receptor 1 (CR1/CD35) is a potent negative regulator of the complement system. Its mechanism of action is through interaction with the complement activation fragments, C3b and C4b to mediate decay acceleration of the C3 and C5 convertase complexes as well as cleavage of both ligands into inactive fragments via cofactor activity. The result is inhibition of the classical, lectin, and alternative complement pathways. This article will focus on recombinant soluble forms of CR1 that have been generated as potential therapeutics for complement-mediated disorders. Specifically, we will review and contrast the in vitro and in vivo properties of: sCR1 (BRL55730/TP10/CDX-1135), the soluble full-length extracellular domain of human CR1; sCR1-sLex (TP20), a glyco-engineered version of sCR1 additionally targeted to activated endothelium; APT070 (Mirococept), a CR1 fragment conjugated to a myristoylated peptide to enhance tissue targeting; and CSL040, a soluble truncated version of the CR1 extracellular domain which exhibits altered potency and pharmacokinetic properties as compared to the parental molecule. The data obtained from studies on the effects of these CR1-based molecules in animal models of disease and their therapeutic applications will also be discussed.","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91396560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Serologic Response of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based Vaccines in Patients with Autoimmune Diseases","authors":"Kushal N Gandhi, Nathan Joshua Manales, Asley Sanchez, S. Mukkera, A. Ammu, Jan-Ulrich Klar, Alex M Gibson, Evangelina Santiago, Ailena Mulkey, J. Holland, M. Mannem, Lakshmi P. Alahari, J. Garza","doi":"10.29245/2578-3009/2022/3.1235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-3009/2022/3.1235","url":null,"abstract":"Background: In the spring of 2021, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines were approved and distributed in the United States for the public to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, but their rapid development leaves some questions unanswered. Vaccine efficacy has always been a point of interest for individuals with rheumatological diseases that take immunosuppressants. This study investigates the vaccine efficacy of two COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, in subjects in West Texas patients with autoimmune diseases. Materials and Methods: Blood was collected from Texas Tech University employees who received both doses of COVID-19 vaccines within the past nine months. Subjects were separated into either a group with a known history of rheumatic disease (n=18) or those without (n=18). The samples were analyzed for serum immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), and immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels using specific enzyme-linked immunoassay kits, and a neutralizing antibody test using a surrogate virus was conducted as well. Results were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test (unpaired, two-tailed). Results: There was no significant difference in serum IgG and IgA levels between the control and rheumatologic disease groups, but there were significant differences in serum IgM levels. All subjects cleared the threshold for the neutralizing antibody test. Conclusion: The relatively similar serum IgG levels and the 100% detection rate of effective neutralizing antibodies across both groups indicate promising signs of serological response for subjects with autoimmune conditions, but the relatively low serum IgA and IgM levels of the study the group warrants further investigation.","PeriodicalId":73785,"journal":{"name":"Journal of immunological sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85403964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}