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Abstracts AB13SATURDAY

It was reported that Bartonella henselae, B. quintana and Coxiella burnetii was not strongly associated with coronary artery disease but on the basis of geometric mean titer, C. burnetii infection might have a modest association with coronary artery disease. Serum antibodies to B. henselae from 14 patients with acute phase of Kawasaki disease were determined by the indirect fluorescence antibody assay .Serum antibodies to C. burnetii were also tried to detect. However, no positive results were obtained. I also examined 10 children and 10 pregnant women who had serum IgG antibody to B. henselae or to C. burnetii. No one showed abnormal findings of coronary artery. @JASEM Several Bartonella species cause illness and asymptotic infection in humans. B. henselae has been associated with an increasing spectrum of clinical syndromes including cat scratch disease. Although the clinical spectrum has not been completely clarified, B. quintana may cause blood-culture negative endocarditis in children (Barbe et al, 2000). Coxiella burnetii causes in humans a widespread zoonosis, Q fever, though in many cases infection is asymptomatic and confirmed by serologic diagnosis only (Kafetzis et al., 2001). Endocarditis is the most common presentation of chronic Q fever. B. henselae, B. quintana and C. burnetii also can adhere to and enter endothelial cells and cause local inflammation (Sawyer et al., 1987). Inflammation clearly plays an important role in the atherosclerotic process, and chronic intercellular infections due to these organisms were speculated to play an important role in this inflammatory pathogenesis (Ender et al., 2001). Vasculitis has some kind of role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.Bacteremia or presence of infectious agents in blood stream has been associated vasculitis and endocarditis. An association between C. burnetii infection and long-term vascular complications was suggested (Dehio, 1999 MATERIALS AND METHODSCoronary artery disease is an inflammatory condition associated with several infections, including Chlamydia pneumoniae, cytomegalovirus, Helicobacter pylori and other intercellular bacteria (Danesh et al., 1997). Previous studies supported the possibility of certain populations having an association of infections and coronary artery disease Kawasaki disease (KD). KD with characteristic complication of coronary arteries in children has long been considered to have an infectious cause, but no association has been reported with Rickettsia conorii, Rickettsiae typhi, C. burnetii, or Ehrlichia phagocytophilia (Lovey et al., 1999). Serum IgG and IgM antibodies to the Houston-1 isolate of B. henselae (ATCC 49882) from 14 patients with acute phase of KD were determined by the indirect fluorescence antibody assay (IFA) as described previously (Numazaki et al., 2000). Serum antibody titers greater than 1:64 for IgG and 1:16 for IgM against B. henselae were considered positive. Serum IgG and IgM antibodies to C. burnetii Nine Mile phase II were also tried to detect. Serum antibody titers gre...

ABSTRACT:We reported a case with interstitial pneumonia associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in whom clinical improvement was observed after the treatment with primary adoptive immunotherapy. Although adoptive transfer of CMV-specific T cells offers the potential for reconstitution of viral immunity after allegoric transplantation, the logistics of producing virus-specific T-cell clones has limited the application of therapies. @JASEM Under immunosuppressive conditions, latent or persistent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can be reactivated to produce a wide variety of clinical manifestations.Unfortunately, no successful antiviral treatment of pediatric CMV infection without displaying cytotoxicity has yet been developed. Adoptive transfer of antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) offers safe and effective therapy for certain viral infections.Peggs and colleagues (2003) reported that they treated patients for CMV infection with polyclonal CMV-specific T-cell lines and that massive in-vivo expansions of CMV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes were observed, resulting in reconstitution of viral immunity. MATERIALS AND METHODSWe reported a case with interstitial pneumonia associated with CMV infection in whom clinical improvement was observed after the treatment with primary adoptive immunotherapy (Numazaki et al., 1997). A 17-month-old girl was admitted because of cough and dyspnea. Her chest roentgenogram demonstrated interstitial pneumonic shadow. At this time serum IgG and IgM antibodies against CMV were detected and CMV was isolated from sputum and urine. CMV DNA was also detected from her peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by PCR.Her PBMCs were separated from blood and cultured with immobilized anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody and human recombinant interleukin 2 (rIL-2).A rapid proliferation of T lymphocytes was obtained by this procedure. Cultured T lymphocytes were then transferred to a gas-permeable culture bag and culture continued for an additional 8 days with an increasing volume of medium. T cell numbers increased about 2000-hold during 2 weeks of culture. The final population contained about 30% CD4+ and 60% CD8+ T lymphocytes. CD4+ T lymphocytes had cytotoxic activity as strong as CD8+ cells. T lymphocytes generated from her peripheral blood were administered intravenously to the patient in six doses (4.3x10 8 to 1.1x10 9 cells) of a total of 4.03x10 10 cells. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONSAfter the treatment with primary adoptive immunotherapy, chest radiograph showed resolution of infiltrates, CMV was not isolated from sputum and CMV DNA was not detected from PBMCs. Clinical symptoms and laboratory abnormal findings improved and CMV disappeared from clinical specimens after the treatment with primary adoptive immunotherapy. The virus-specific CD8+ cytotoxic and CD4+ helper or cytotoxic T cells may be amplified and used to control CMV infection.Walter and colleagues (1995) provides important evidence that infusion of donor-derived CD8+ cytotoxic T-cell clones specific for CMV can promp...