Search

Background Lower respiratory tract infections are among the main causes of death. Although there are many respiratory viruses, diagnostic efforts are focused mainly on influenza. The Respiratory Viruses Network (RespVir) collects infection data, primarily from German university hospitals, for a high diversity of infections by respiratory pathogens. In this study, we computationally analysed a subset of the RespVir database, covering 217,150 samples tested for 17 different viral pathogens in the time span from 2010 to 2019. Methods We calculated the prevalence of 17 respiratory viruses, analysed their seasonality patterns using information-theoretic measures and agglomerative clustering, and analysed their propensity for dual infection using a new metric dubbed average coinfection exclusion score (ACES). Results After initial data pre-processing, we retained 206,814 samples, corresponding to 1,408,657 performed tests. We found that Influenza viruses were reported for almost the half of all infections and that they exhibited the highest degree of seasonality. Coinfections of viruses are frequent; the most prevalent coinfection was rhinovirus/bocavirus and most of the virus pairs had a positive ACES indicating a tendency to exclude each other regarding infection. Conclusions The analysis of respiratory viruses dynamics in monoinfection and coinfection contributes to the prevention, diagnostic, treatment, and development of new therapeutics. Data obtained from multiplex testing is fundamental for this analysis and should be prioritized over single pathogen testing.

A 43-year-old woman with a past medical history of breast cancer and an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) presented with headache over a 3-week period. The clinical examination was completely unremarkable. CT and MRI scans showed a contrast enhancing lesion in the left temporal lobe. Histopathologic examination revealed a malignant, hematopoietic tumor with high mitotic activity, areas of necrosis and diffuse infiltration of the brain parenchyma. Positive staining for Chloroacetateesterase and lysozyme of tumor cells identified its myeloid lineage. The diagnosis was granulocytic sarcoma (GS)/chloroma, a metastatic manifestation of AML. Granulocytic sarcoma (GS) most often occurs in patients with AML, myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative disorders, and can involve any organ. However intracerebral manifestation of GS is a rare event. In this case histopathological features and differential diagnoses of intracerebral GS are discussed.

Our own studies and those of others have shown that the incidence of calcium oxalate stones and plaques is markedly increased by nephrotoxins. The possible role of oxalate as a nephrotoxin has not been fully appreciated. However, recent studies in experimental animals and in cultured cells support this possibility. The results of these studies led us to hypothesize that hyperoxaluria promotes stone formation in several ways: by providing a substrate for the formation of the most common form of renal stones, calcium oxalate stones, and by inducing damage to renal epithelial cells. Damaged cells in turn would produce an environment favorable for crystal retention and provide membranous debris that promotes crystal nucleation, aggregation and adherence. The present report summarizes evidence for oxalate nephrotoxicity and discusses the potential importance of oxalate toxicity in the pathogenesis of stone disease.

Purpose: Broadly HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) can suppress viremia in humans and represent a novel approach for effective immunotherapy. However, bNAb monotherapy selects for antibody-resistant viral variants. Thus, we focused on the identification of new antibody combinations and/or novel bNAbs that restrict pathways of HIV-1 escape. Methods: We screened HIV-1 positive patients for their neutralizing capacities. Following, we performed single cell sorting and PCR of HIV-1 Env-reactive mature B cells of identified elite neutralizers. Found antibodies were tested for neutralization and binding capacities in vitro. Further, their antiviral activity was tested in an HIV-1 infected humanized mouse model. Results: Here we report the isolation of antibody 1–18, a VH1–46-encoded CD4 binding site (CD4bs) bNAb identified in an individual ranking among the top 1% neutralizers of 2,274 HIV-1-infected subjects. Tested on a 119-virus panel, 1–18 showed to be exceptionally broad and potent with a coverage of 97% and a mean IC50 of 0.048 lg/mL, exceeding the activity of most potent CD4bs bNAbs described to-date. A 2.4 Å cryo-EM structure of 1–18 bound to a native-like Env trimer revealed that it interacts with HIV-1 env similar to other CD4bs bNAbs, but includes additional contacts to the V3 loop of the adjacent protomer. Notably, in vitro, 1–18 maintained activity against viruses carrying mutations associated with escape from VRC01-class bNAbs. Further, its HIV-1 env wide escape profile differed critically from other CD4bs bNAbs. In humanized mice, monotherapy with 1–18 was sufficient to prevent the development of viral escape variants that rapidly emerged during treatment with other CD4bs bNAbs. Finally, 1–18 overcame classical HIV-1 mutations that are driven by VRC01-like bNAbs in vivo. Conclusion: 1–18 is a highly potent and broad bNAb that restricts escape and overcomes frequent CD4bs escape pathways, providing new options for bNAb combinations to prevent and treat HIV-1 infection.

Patients with t-MN have a poor prognosis with median overall survival < 1 year due to high risk features of the disease and refractoriness to chemotherapy. HSCT represents the only curative treatment. Outcome after HSCT has progressively improved over time with a last EBMT study showing a 2-year OS at 44% in patients with secondary leukemia (79% post MPN or MDS) (BBMT 2018: 1406). Previous large studies showed survival < 30% in patients transplanted for t-MN (Blood. 2010:1850; Haematologica 2009:542). We recently reported in patients transplanted for a leukemia arising from MDS, MPN and CMML that the primary disease impacts the outcome, particularly patients with a previous MPN had the worst outcome (BJH, 2019: 725). We report here outcome of patients who received HSCT for a t-MN (excluding post MDS, MPN and CMML) with the hypothesis that the primary cancer impacts the outcome. From EBMT registry, patients with MDS or AML occurring after a primary cancer who received a HSCT between 01/06 and 12/16 were included. OS and RFS were analyzed using Kaplan Meier curves and log-rank test, relapse and NRM were analyzed as competing risks with cumulative incidence curves and Gray's test. 2334 patients were identified. Primary cancers were CLL in 102, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 668, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in 235, plasma cell disease (PCD) in 111, breast cancer in 643 and other solid tumor (ST) in 575. 981 patients had MDS and 1353 had AML at time of transplantation. Performance status by Karnofsky score was 90 or higher in 1376 (59%) patients. 722 (31%) patients were transplanted from HLA matched sibling donor (SIB) and 843 (36%) received a myelo-ablative conditioning regimen (MAC). 1307 patients were in remission at time of transplantation: 29% of MDS and 76% of AML patients. Three-year OS and RFS were 34 and 32% respectively. OS was significantly better in patients with AML in CR (43%) than not in CR (21%). OS and DFS were impacted by the primary cancer: post NHL (30 and 27%), post HL (29 and 28%), post ST (34% for both), post breast cancer (41 and 37%), post CLL (34 and 31%) and post PCD (32 and 25%) (p The multiple variables models includes age, regimen intensity, donor type, Karnofsky score, t-MN category (AML in CR, AML not in CR, MDS) and the primary type of cancer. Patients with HL (HR: 1.36, p=0.005) or NHL (HR: 1.31, p=0.001) had a higher adjusted risk for OS than patients with other primary diseases. Other risk factors for OS were t-MN type (AML not in CR, HR: 1.45, AML in CR, HR: 0.76, MDS = reference, p Conclusion: A quarter to one third of patients with t-MN can be cured by HSCT which was influenced by type of t-MN and performance status. The type of primary cancer influenced also the outcome with lower mortality, especially NRM in patients with previous solid tumor or PCD as compared to patients with lymphoma. Disclosures Robin: Novartis Neovii: Research Funding. Beelen:Medac GmbH Wedel Germany: Consultancy, Honoraria. Kroeger:DKMS: Research Funding; Neovii: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Riemser: Research Funding; JAZZ: Honoraria; Sanofi-Aventis: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Medac: Honoraria. Platzbecker:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria. Finke:Riemser: Honoraria, Other: research support, Speakers Bureau; Neovii: Honoraria, Other: research support, Speakers Bureau; Medac: Honoraria, Other: research support, Speakers Bureau. Blaise:Pierre Fabre medicaments: Honoraria; Molmed: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Chevallier:Daiichi Sankyo: Honoraria; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria.