Project description:Despite the increasing number of patients suffering from tick-borne diseases, including tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme disease, the mechanisms of development of these diseases and their effects on human body are still unknown. Moreover, the increasing number of cases of co-infections of these diseases additionally hampers the correct diagnosis and the application of effective therapy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in proteomic profile of human plasma induced by the development of TBE and to compare it with changes in TBE patients co-infected with other tick-borne pathogens. The results obtained by proteomic analysis using nanoLC-QExactive/MS showed that the most highly elevated groups of proteins in the plasma of TBE patients with co-infection were involved in the pro-inflammatory response and protein degradation, while the antioxidant proteins and factors responsible for protein biosynthesis were mainly down regulated. The main proteins, which expression differentiated patients with TBE from co-infected patients, such as AP-1, fumarylacetoacetase, serpin, annexin, or carbonic anhydrase 2, are involved in TBE virulence or antibacterial responses. These results were accompanied by the enhanced GSH- and 4-HNE-protein adducts formation, observed in TBE and co-infected patients on higher level than in the case of only TBE patients. In conclusion, the differences in the proteomic profiles between patients with TBE and co-infected indicate that the mechanisms of development of these diseases are diverse and, consequently, require different treatment, what is particularly important for further research, including the development of novel diagnostics tools.
Project description:Dengue virus is the most common arbovirus worldwide and represents a significant public health concern. To date, chronic Dengue infections have not been previously reported. While investigating the etiology of central nervous system (CNS) disease in a patient presenting with progressive dementia, we elucidated a chronic dengue infection within the CNS. Comprehensive viral immune responses in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were profiled by a phage-display assay (VirScan). Enrichment of Dengue viral antibodies were detected in the CSF as compared to the serum. No virus was detected in serum or CSF, but post-mortem analysis confirmed Dengue virus in the brain by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry, RNAscope and sequencing. Dengue virus was detectable by PCR and sequencing from brain biopsy tissue collected 33 months ante-mortem, confirming a chronic infection. Comprehensive antibody profiling assays can aid in the diagnosis of encephalitis of unknown etiologies. Our findings suggest that Dengue virus infections may persist in the CNS and should be considered in patients with progressive dementia in endemic regions or with relevant travel history.
Project description:Each infectious agent represents a unique combination of pathogen-associated molecular patterns that interact with specific pattern-recognition receptors expressed on immune cells. Therefore, we surmised that the blood immune cells of individuals with different infections might bear discriminative transcriptional signatures. Gene expression profiles were obtained for 131 peripheral blood samples from pediatric patients with acute infections caused by influenza A virus, Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) or Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae) bacteria. Thirty-five genes were identified that best discriminate patients with influenza A virus infection from patients with either E coli or S pneumoniae infection. These genes classified with 95% accuracy (35 of 37 samples) an independent set of patients with either influenza A, E coli, or S pneumoniae infection. A different signature discriminated patients with E coli versus S aureus infections with 85% accuracy (34 of 40). Furthermore, distinctive gene expression patterns were observed in patients presenting with respiratory infections of different etiologies. Thus, microarray analyses of patient peripheral blood leukocytes might assist in the differential diagnosis of infectious diseases. Keywords: expression analysis
Project description:Purpose of reviewArbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) infections are increasingly important causes of neurologic disease in the United States through both endemic transmission and travel-associated infections. This article reviews the major arbovirus infections that can cause neurologic disease likely to be encountered in the United States.Recent findingsWest Nile virus continues to be an important cause of epidemic encephalitis, while emerging arbovirus infections such as dengue and chikungunya have rapidly expanded their geographic distribution. As emerging arboviruses expand in new geographic regions, neurologic abnormalities are reported in new patient populations.SummaryEmerging arbovirus infections are increasingly important causes of neurologic disease throughout the world and in the United States. While no US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapy is yet available for these infections, prompt recognition and diagnosis from the consulting neurologist will ensure appropriate supportive care for the patient.
Project description:We performed whole-genome transcriptome analysis of Rasmussen Encephalitis of the early disease stages for an overview of differentially expressed pathways leading to widespread neuroinflammation and degeneration.
Project description:Each infectious agent represents a unique combination of pathogen-associated molecular patterns that interact with specific pattern-recognition receptors expressed on immune cells. Therefore, we surmised that the blood immune cells of individuals with different infections might bear discriminative transcriptional signatures. Gene expression profiles were obtained for 131 peripheral blood samples from pediatric patients with acute infections caused by influenza A virus, Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) or Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae) bacteria. Thirty-five genes were identified that best discriminate patients with influenza A virus infection from patients with either E coli or S pneumoniae infection. These genes classified with 95% accuracy (35 of 37 samples) an independent set of patients with either influenza A, E coli, or S pneumoniae infection. A different signature discriminated patients with E coli versus S aureus infections with 85% accuracy (34 of 40). Furthermore, distinctive gene expression patterns were observed in patients presenting with respiratory infections of different etiologies. Thus, microarray analyses of patient peripheral blood leukocytes might assist in the differential diagnosis of infectious diseases. Experiment Overall Design: Entire study included 144 samples. Only 143 are included in this series because the CHP/CEL file was not available for sample PBMC_Healthy_INF295.