We previously demonstrated that vaccinia virus (VV)-specific CD4(+) cytolytic T cells can persist for >50 years after immunization against smallpox in the absence of re-exposure to VV. Nevertheless, there have been few studies focusing on CD4(+) T cell responses to smallpox vaccination. To ensure successful vaccination, a candidate vaccine should contain immunodominant CD4(+) T cell epitopes as...

AIM Identifying differences in plasma metabolic profiling between Lp-PLA2 279VV and 279FF in individuals without metabolic syndrome (MetS) can be used to elucidate the roles of novel Lp-PLA2 activities in normal physiological processes. METHODS Non-MetS individuals with 279FF (n=36) and age-, sex- and BMI-matched VV subjects (n=36) were included in this analysis. RESULTS The FF subjects exh...

Vasa vasorum (VV) neovascularization contributes to atherogenesis and its expansion and distribution is correlated with intraplaque expression of angiogenic factors. The present study investigated the roles of Tongxinluo (TXL), a traditional Chinese medication, on VV proliferation and atherogenesis. In vitro, TXL pre-treatment reversed the tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) induced expression of v...

BACKGROUND Accumulating evidence indicates a potential role of adventitial vasa vasorum (VV) dysfunction in the pathophysiology of restenosis. However, characterization of VV vascularization in restenotic arteries with primary lesions is still missing. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the response of adventitial VV to vascular injury resulting from balloon angioplasty in diseased arte...

Prior immunity to a related or unrelated pathogen greatly influences the host’s immune response to a subsequent infection and can cause a dramatic difference in disease course, a phenomenon known as heterologous immunity. Heterologous immunity can influence protective immunity, immunopathology and/or immune deviation of cytokine-producing T cell subsets. Examples of heterologous immunity have b...

Patients with altered skin immunity, such as individuals with atopic dermatitis (AD), can have a life-threatening disruption of the epidermis known as eczema vaccinatum after vaccinia virus (VV) infection of the skin. Here, we sought to better understand the mechanism(s) by which VV associates with keratinocytes. The class A scavenger receptor known as MARCO (macrophage receptor with collagenou...

INTRODUCTION Patients with visual vertigo (VV) report dizziness provoked by moving visual surroundings. It has been suggested that these subjects develop a compensation strategy for a vestibulo-proprioceptive deficit and rely excessively on visual input. We have postulated that patients with VV might have brain abnormalities that interfere with appropriate processing of visual stimulation and p...

In this study we aimed to define the protein and viral subtype specificities of helper Th cells to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). BALB/c mice were primed by infection with RSV, or with vaccinia viruses (VV) containing genes encoding several individual RSV proteins. Priming for Th cell memory was assayed by stimulating spleen cells in vitro with different RSV isolates and measuring RSV-speci...

This acoustic study investigates speech rhythmic restructurings due to speech rate increase in Brazilian Portuguese. Rhythmic restructuring is considered here as the reorganization of stress groups due to speech rate increase. The Dynamical Speech Rhythm model was used as a theoretical background for the acoustic analyses. Main results have shown that speech rate increase reorganizes speech rhy...