Search

Introduction: The use of antiretroviral therapy drastically reduces vertical transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus. However, recent studies demonstrate associations between ART use during pregnancy and placental inflammation, particularly within protease inhibitor (PI)-based regimens. We sought to characterize placental macrophages, namely Hofbauer cells, according to the class of ART used during pregnancy., Methods: Using immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, placentas from 79 pregnant people living with HIV (PPLWH) and 29 HIV-uninfected people were analyzed to quantify the numbers and frequencies of leukocytes (CD45 + ) and Hofbauer cells (CD68 + and/or CD163 + ). PPLWH were stratified into three groups based on class of ART: non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based, integrase strand-transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based, and PI-based regimens., Results: Placentas of PPLWH contained significantly more leukocytes and Hofbauer cells than controls. Multivariable analyses revealed that this increase in immune cells was associated with a predominantly CD163 + profile in all ART subgroups compared to the HIV-negative group. This was characterized by an increase in total CD163 + cells in the PI and INSTI subgroups, and a higher frequency of CD163 + cells and CD163 + /CD68 + ratio in the NNRTI and PI subgroups., Discussion: Placentas of PPLWH treated with any ART regimen during their entire pregnancy displayed a selection for CD163 + cells compared to the HIV-negative group, regardless of class of ART, suggesting that class of ART does not intrinsically affect selection of CD163+ and CD68 + Hofbauer cells. Further investigations into the role of Hofbauer cells in ART-associated placental inflammation are warranted to identify the mechanisms behind their potential involvement in maternal-fetal tolerance maintenance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life (WISQOL) questionnaire has been recently developed to objectively assess quality of life (QOL) in patients with nephrolithiasis. However, a French version of the questionnaire was lacking. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop and validate the French version of this tool., Methods: The French version of the WISQOL (F-WISQOL) was developed in a multistep process involving primary translation, back-translation, and pilot testing among a group of patients (n=12). Nephrolithiasis patients from two tertiary care institutions were recruited into this study and completed the following questionnaires: the medical history form and either the WISQOL or F-WISQOL. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's α, and inter-domain associations were evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation (r). One-way ANOVA was used to compare scores from the two groups (WISQOL and F-WISQOL)., Results: A total of 210 patients were enrolled in this study: 68 in the WISQOL group and 148 in the F-WISQOL group. Internal consistency was high for all domains in both groups (F-WISQOL: 0.924-0.970; WISQOL: 0.888-0.965). No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups' scores. Inter-domain association, measured by Spearman correlation, was moderate to very strong between all the domains in the F-WISQOL. Values ranged from r=0.676-0.915, with acceptable correlation between D1, D2, and D3, but weaker correlation between D4 (vitality) and the three other domains (r=0.676-0.729)., Conclusions: In the present study, the French version of the WISQOL questionnaire was validated at two academic institutions.

Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv Vedettos and Lycopersicon chmielewskii Rick, LA 1028, were exposed to two CO(2) concentrations (330 or 900 microliters per liter) for 10 weeks. Tomato plants grown at 900 microliters per liter contained more starch and more sugars than the control. However, we found no significant accumulation of starch and sugars in the young leaves of L. esculentum exposed to high CO(2). Carbon exchange rates were significantly higher in CO(2)-enriched plants for the first few weeks of treatment but thereafter decreased as tomato plants acclimated to high atmospheric CO(2). This indicates that the long-term decline of photosynthetic efficiency of leaf 5 cannot be attributed to an accumulation of sugar and/or starch. The average concentration of starch in leaves 5 and 9 was always higher in L. esculentum than in L. chmielewskii (151.7% higher). A higher proportion of photosynthates was directed into starch for L. esculentum than for L. chmielewskii. However, these characteristics did not improve the long-term photosynthetic efficiency of L. chmielewskii grown at high CO(2) when compared with L. esculentum. The chloroplasts of tomato plants exposed to the higher CO(2) concentration exhibited a marked accumulation of starch. The results reported here suggest that starch and/or sugar accumulation under high CO(2) cannot entirely explain the loss of photosynthetic efficiency of high CO(2)-grown plants.

Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv Vedettos and Lycopersicon chmielewskii Rick, LA 1028, were exposed to two CO(2) concentrations (330 or 900 microliters per liter) for 10 weeks. The elevated CO(2) concentrations increased the initial ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) activity of both species for the first 5 weeks of treatment but the difference did not persist during the last 5 weeks. The activity of Mg(2+)-CO(2)-activated Rubisco was higher in 900 microliters per liter for the first 2 weeks but declined sharply thereafter. After 10 weeks, leaves grown at 330 microliters per liter CO(2) had about twice the Rubisco activity compared with those grown at 900 microliters per liter CO(2). The two species showed the same trend to Rubisco declines under high CO(2) concentrations. The percent activation of Rubisco was always higher under high CO(2). The phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase) activity measured in tomato leaves averaged 7.9% of the total Rubisco. PEPCase showed a similar trend with time as the initial Rubisco but with no significant difference between nonenriched and CO(2)-enriched plants. Long-term exposure of tomato plants to high CO(2) was previously shown to induce a decline of photosynthetic efficiency. Based on the current study and on previous results, we propose that the decline of activated Rubisco is the main cause of the acclimation of tomato plants to high CO(2) concentrations.