The differential short- and long-term effects of HIV-1 latency-reversing agents on T cell function

Despite the extraordinary success of HIV-1 antiretroviral therapy in prolonging life, infected individuals face lifelong therapy because of a reservoir of latently-infected cells that harbor replication competent virus. Recently, compounds have been identified that can reverse HIV-1 latency in vivo. These latency- reversing agents (LRAs) could make latently-infected cells vulnerable to clearance by immune cells, including cytolytic CD8+ T cells. We investigated the effects of two leading LRA classes on CD8+ T cell phenotype and function: the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) and protein kinase C modulators (PKCms). We observed that relative to HDACis, the PKCms induced much stronger T cell activation coupled with non-specific cytokine production and T cell proliferation. When examining antigen-specific CD8+ T cell function, all the LRAs except the HDACi Vorinostat reduced, but did not abolish, one or more measurements of CD8+ T cell function. Importantly, the extent and timing of these effects differed between LRAs. Panobinostat had detrimental effects within 10 hours of drug treatment, whereas the effects of the other LRAs were observed between 48 hours and 5 days. These observations suggest that scheduling of LRA and CD8+ T cell immunotherapy regimens may be critical for optimal clearance of the HIV-1 reservoir.

Reinforced follow-up for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and inadequate glycaemic control: a randomized controlled trial intervention via the local pharmacist and telecare

AIM

To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of reinforced follow-up via telecare mediated by the local pharmacist in contact with the hospital team to improve glycaemic control in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (DT1).

METHODS

One hundred patients, aged 8 to 17 years, with a history of DT1 of more than 1 year, with HbA(1c) >=8%, were randomly assigned to either the "reinforced follow-up" group (RFG) or the "usual follow-up" group (UFG). The intervention consisted in downloading and then printing data stored in a glucometer every two weeks, by the local pharmacist. Printouts were faxed to the hospital team which then communicated adapted instructions for better glycemic control directly to the family.

RESULTS

Fifty patients were assigned to each group. The two groups were comparable at the beginning. 71 children had a doctor's visit at 6 +/- 1 months (36 in RFG and 35 in UFG). At this date, there was no significant difference between the average HbA(1c) levels of the two groups (9.12 +/- 1.46 in RFG versus 9.27 +/- 1.20 in UFG). We had various difficulties setting up and gaining compliance with the intervention procedure, which explains why only 33 children in the RFG transmitted at least one fax.

CONCLUSION

At this stage, the reinforced follow-up has not proved to be superior to the usual follow-up. However, it would be possible to make numerous improvements in order to make the former more feasible and probably more efficient.

The Miami pediatric quality of life questionnaire: parent scale

Because there were limited measures available to assess health-related quality of life (HRQL) in children with chronic illnesses, this study was initiated to develop an empirically derived questionnaire for use in evaluating HRQL issues in children treated for cancer. Extensive interviews were conducted with 30 families of children with cancer, 10 of pre-school age, 10 of school age and 10 of adolescent age. Responses were videotaped and transcribed, then categorized to develop a pool of 56 items, which were administered to 132 children with cancer and to their parents. This report focuses on parental responses to objective items and ratings of importance of each of these items. Three primary categories, Self-Competence, Emotional Stability and Social Competence, were identified, each of which had solid internal consistency, sensitivity and reliability across 1-month intervals. The measure demonstrated the ability to discriminate between children with different types of cancer, offers an alternative to measures relying on expert judgment to assess HRQL and may lead to greater inclusion of psychological and social concerns as primary factors in determining HRQL in children participating in clinical trials.

Acceptance of HIV testing during prenatal care. Perinatal Guidelines Evaluation Project

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess the factors associated with acceptance of HIV testing during pregnancy on the part of women receiving prenatal care at public clinics.

METHODS

Trained interviewers recruited and interviewed 1,357 women receiving prenatal care at clinics in Florida, Connecticut, and New York City.

RESULTS

Eighty-six percent of participants reported having been tested or having signed a consent form to be tested. Acceptance of testing was found to be related to strong beliefs about the benefits of testing, knowledge about vertical transmission, perceived provider endorsement of testing, and social support. Women who declined testing said they did so because they did not perceive themselves to be at risk for HIV (21%) or they faced administrative difficulties (16%) with some aspect of the testing process (for example, scheduling, limited availability of pre-test counselors).

CONCLUSIONS

Acceptance rates can be increased when women understand the modes of vertical transmission and the role of medication regimens in preventing transmission; believe that prenatal identification of HIV can promote the health of mother and child; and perceive their providers as strongly endorsing testing. These points can be woven into a brief pre-test counseling message and made a routine component of prenatal care.

Stratum corneum lipids of human epidermal keratinocyte air-liquid cultures: implications for barrier function

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to investigate the permeability barrier, i.e., the stratum corneum (SC) lipids, of human epidermal keratinocyte air-liquid cultures and compare them with those of human SC.

METHOD

The SC lipids composition was analyzed by TLC technique, the organization by electron microscopic procedure, and the phase transition temperature by infrared spectroscopic method.

RESULTS

Electron microscopy demonstrated that The SC lipids of cultures were largely retained inside the comeocytes, and that the intercellular lipids lack both the basic unit repetition (i.e., broad: narrow: broad: broad: narrow: broad of electron lucent bands) and the covalently-bound lipid envelope normally found in human SC. These characteristics are similar to those found in SC from patients with atopic dermatitis or psoriasis, or from animals with essential fatty acid deficiency, suggesting that the cultures may be hyperproliferative. In addition, the high free sterol content and the altered fatty acid/ceramide composition of these cultures argue that the compromised barrier function is linked to hyperproliferation and lipid synthesis, or vice versa. Infrared spectroscopic analyses confirm that there are major conformational differences between the lipids of human and cultured SC.

CONCLUSIONS

The profound differences in SC lipid composition, organization and conformational properties attest that permeability alone is not a sufficiently sensitive marker to define barrier equivalence between cultures and human skin.

The effects of HIV on cognitive and motor development in children born to HIV-seropositive women with no reported drug use: birth to 24 months

OBJECTIVE

This study documents delays in the mental and motor functioning of infants perinatally infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while controlling for confounding effects of prenatal drug exposure, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and maternal separation and death.

METHODS

The cognitive and motor development of 126 infants born to nondrug-using, HIV-seropositive Haitian women was assessed at 3-month intervals through 24 months of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. By 18 months of age, 28 of the infants were diagnosed as HIV-infected, and the 98 uninfected infants served as a control group. The infected and uninfected infants did not differ with respect to mean gestational age, birth weight, ethnicity, or rates of maternal separation and death.

RESULTS

By 3 months of age, the mean mental and motor scores of the infected infants were significantly lower than those of the uninfected controls. Furthermore, the initial differences between the two groups increased over time, as many of the infected infants became increasingly delayed. Although the infected infants tended to perform more poorly than the uninfected infants, nearly one third of the infected infants exhibited relatively normal cognitive development and half demonstrated relatively normal motor development.

CONCLUSIONS

Over the first 24 months of life, the mean rate of development of HIV-infected infants is significantly slower than that of noninfected infants born to seropositive mothers. This occurs even when the effects are not confounded with those of prenatal drug exposure.

Characterization of low-temperature (i.e., < 65 degrees C) lipid transitions in human stratum corneum

This study aims to characterize human stratum corneum (SC), focusing on those lipid transitions that occur at or below physiologically relevant temperatures. In the past, a lipid transition near 35 degrees C had been thought to be variable and a consequence of superficial sebaceous lipid contamination. However, analysis here indicates that it is widely present, and cannot be attributed to sebum production. We demonstrate that this transition represents a solid-to-fluid phase change for a discrete subset of SC lipids. The reversibility of this transition upon reheating, and its absence in extracted lipid samples imply that these lipids are not uniformly present throughout the SC, but would appear to be differentially distributed in response to terminal differentiation. Further, such an arrangement could involve a close association with other nonlipid (e.g., protein) components. Evidence for a new transition at approximately 55 degrees C is presented that suggests the loss of crystalline orthorhombic lattice structure. The existence of orthorhombic structure at physiologic temperature is reasoned to involve ceramides and/or free fatty acids. Localization of these lipids at the level of the corneocyte envelope supports a comprehensive picture of water transport across the SC, whereby diffusion occurs primarily via the intercellular lipids. This view, coupled with the hydration-induced changes in lipid disorder observed here provides additional insight into the mechanism by which skin occlusion increases permeability. Summarily, these results i) emphasize the inherent danger of over-interpreting experiments with isolated SC lipids, ii) emphasize the potential advantage(s) of employing several biophysical techniques to study SC structure, and iii) indicate that a full characterization of lipid phase behavior is requisite to our eventual understanding of SC structure and permeability function, particularly those phase transitions that occur near or at normal skin temperature.