Excerpt:

Emerging and resurging vector-borne diseases cause significant
morbidity and mortality, especially in the developing world. We
focus on how advances in mapping, Geographic Information System,
and Decision Support System technologies, and progress in spatial
and space-time modeling, can be harnessed to prevent and control
these diseases. Major themes, which are addressed using examples
from tick-borne Lyme disease; flea-borne plague; and
mosquito-borne dengue, malaria, and West Nile virus disease,
include (a) selection of spatial and space-time modeling
techniques, (b) importance of using high-quality and biologically
or epidemiologically relevant data, (c) incorporation of new
technologies into operational vector and disease control
programs, (d) transfer of map-based information to stakeholders,
and (e) adaptation of technology solutions for use in
resource-poor environments. We see great potential for the use of
new technologies and approaches to more effectively target
limited surveillance, prevention, and control resources and to
reduce vector-borne and other infectious diseases. Expected final
online publication date for the Annual Review of Entomology
Volume 56 is December 03, 2010. 

PURPOSE OF REVIEW:
Borrelia burgdorferi colonization of the joints induces an inflammatory response, which in some individuals progresses to chronic arthritis. In this review, we discuss novel pathways that are implicated in disease development by modulating host defenses to B. burgdorferi infection.

SUMMARY: The cause and pathogenesis of Lyme arthritis are complex. Elucidating the mechanisms that govern this chronic inflammatory response will provide direct insights into other infectious arthritides and the development of novel therapeutic approaches against B. burgdorferi infection.

Excerpt:

Three pathologists graded immunoreactivity according
to a four-tier grading system: negative, weak, moderate, strong.
Canine parvoviral immunoreactivity was markedly decreased
following 2, 7, and 10 weeks of fixation in myocardium, small
intestine, and spleen, respectively. Bovine respiratory syncytial
virus immunoreactivity was markedly decreased following 7 weeks
of fixation. Bartonella henselae had an abrupt loss of
immunoreactivity following 9 weeks of fixation. Despite variation
among time points, immunoreactivity remained moderate to strong
throughout the study period for the other 18 antigens. These
results suggest that prolonged formalin fixation of up to 7 weeks
generally does not limit immunohistochemical detection of
infectious agents. However, the effects of prolonged fixation
depend on the targeted antigen and the selected antibody. The
results of this study further validate the utility and
reliability of immunohistochemistry in diagnostic pathology.

Excerpt:

Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) is a recently discovered gammaretrovirus that has been linked to prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. This virus is therefore an important potential human pathogen and, as such, it is essential to understand its host cell tropism. Intriguingly, infectious virus has been recovered from patient-derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These cells express several antiviral restriction factors that are capable of inhibiting the replication of a wide range of retroviruses, including other gamma retroviruses. This raises the possibility that, similar to HIV, XMRV may have acquired resistance to restriction. We therefore investigated the susceptibility of XMRV to a panel of different restriction factors. We found that both human APOBEC3 and tetherin proteins are able to block XMRV replication. Expression of human TRIM5alpha, however, had no effect on viral infectivity. There was no evidence that XMRV expressed countermeasures to overcome restriction. In addition, the virus was inhibited by factors from nonhuman species, including mouse Apobec3, tetherin, and Fv1 proteins. These results have important implications for predicting the natural target cells for XMRV replication, for relating infection to viral pathogenicity and pathology, and for the design of model systems with which to study XMRV-related diseases.

Methods: Amplification of DNA sequences of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato by nested PCR from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded skin biopsies of morphea, GA and LSA, followed by automated sequencing of amplification products. PCR-based studies on Borrelia species in these disorders published until July 2009 were retrieved by a literature search.

Results: Borrelia DNA was detected in 3 of 112 skin biopsies (2.7%) including one of 49 morphea biopsies (2.0%), one of 48 GA biopsies (2.1%) and one of 15 LSA biopsies (6.6%). Amplification products belonged to B. burgdorferi sensu stricto in two cases available for sequence analysis.

Conclusions: The results of our and most of other PCR-based studies do not argue for a significant association of B. burgdorferi sensu lato with morphea, GA, LSA.

Journal of Cutaneous Pathology, 12/21/09

Known or suspected mechanisms of persistence in babesial parasites include cytoadhesion and rapid
variation of the adhesive ligand in Babesia bovis and genetic diversity in
several merozoite stage proteins of different Babesia spp. In Anaplasma,
extensive variation in the pfam01617 gene family accompanies cycling of organism
levels in chronic infection. One result from the pioneering research at
Onderstepoort is the definition of a related polymorphic gene family that is
likely involved in immunity against heartwater disease. We are beginning to
understand the sizes of the antigenic repertoires and full definition is close,
with the possibility of applying simultaneous high-throughput sequencing to the
order of 1000 small genomes. We also, for the first time, can consider modifying
these genomes and looking at effects on persistence and virulence. However,
important biological questions remain unanswered; for example, why we are seeing
a new emerging Anaplasma infection of humans and is infection of endothelial
cells by Anaplasma significant to persistence in vivo.

http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=19967928&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks
PMID: 19967928  [PubMed – in process]

Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 2009 Mar;76(1):53-8.

Persistence mechanisms in tick-borne diseases.

Barbet AF.

Department of Infectious Diseases & Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Methods.Separate serum sets from LD patients and control subjects were tested independently at 2 medical centers using whole‐cell enzyme immunoassays and IgM and IgG immunoblots, with recombinant VlsE added to the IgG blots. The results from both centers were combined, and a new second‐tier IgG algorithm was developed.

Results.With standard 2‐tiered IgM and IgG testing, 31% of patients with active erythema migrans (stage 1), 63% of those with acute neuroborreliosis or carditis (stage 2), and 100% of those with arthritis or late neurologic involvement (stage 3) had positive results. Using new IgG criteria, in which only the VlsE band was scored as a second‐tier test among patients with early LD (stage 1 or 2) and 5 of 11 IgG bands were required in those with stage 3 LD, 34% of patients with stage 1, 96% of those with stage 2, and 100% of those with stage 3 infection had positive responses. Both new and standard testing achieved 100% specificity.

Conclusions.Compared with standard IgM and IgG testing, the new IgG algorithm (with VlsE band) eliminates the need for IgM testing; it provides comparable or better sensitivity, and it maintains high specificity.

Received 27 May 2009; accepted 10 August 2009; electronically published 30 November 2009.

Reprints or correspondence: Dr. John A. Branda, Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, GRB 526, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114 (branda.john@mgh.harvard.edu).

• Presented in part: 45th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, San Diego, CA, 4-7 October 2007; and 11th International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick‐Borne Diseases, Irvine, CA, 19-22 October 2008.

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/648674 Clinical Infectious Diseases 2010;50:000-000 © 2009 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. 1058-4838/2010/5001-00XX$15.00 DOI: 10.1086/648674 MAJOR ARTICLE

2‐Tiered Antibody Testing for Early and Late Lyme Disease Using Only an Immunoglobulin G Blot with the Addition of a VlsE Band as the Second‐Tier Test

John A. Branda,¹

Maria E. Aguero‐Rosenfeld,^3,4

Mary Jane Ferraro,^1,2

Barbara J. B. Johnson,⁵

Gary P. Wormser,⁴ and

Allen C. Steere²

Departments of ¹Pathology and ²Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Departments of ³Pathology and ⁴Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York; ⁵Division of Vector‐Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado

In response to an overwhelming request for a diagnostic test for XMRV, WPI has temporarily agreed to allow Viral Immune Pathology Diagnostics (VIP Dx, at www.vipdx.com) to begin offering the identical tests that have been extensively validated using the same technology developed by Drs. Vince Lombardi and Judy Mikovits and their colleagues as reported in Science. [That is, VIP Dx, formerly RedLabs USA, indicates it has licensed the XMRV test technology.]

VIP Dx is a small state certified laboratory in Reno, Nevada that was formed in response to the September 11, 2001 crisis which resulted in the cessation of blood sample shipments between the United States and Europe. Faced with the loss of important lab tests impacting patients with neuro-immune diseases, the Whittemore family made the decision to support the lab in Reno.

“Our family made it possible for the lab to not only continue delivering diagnostic tests to doctors, but also help the WPI bring cutting edge biomarkers of disease to this field of medicine, such as the tests for XMRV,” said Annette Whittemore, Founder and President of WPI. “Tests conducted for XMRV, and other tests that support the diagnostic process in this field, will support the continuation of vital work at WPI through our donation of all of our net proceeds.”

XMRV test acceptance commenced at VIP Dx this month. For more information about the XMRV test kit, visit www.vipdx.com.