Either active immunization with trehalose-6, 6'-dimycolate (cord factor)-methylated bovine serum albumin complex or passive transfer of rabbit anti-cord factor serum induced in mice an enhanced resistance against infection with virulent human Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This suggests that the anti-cord factor antibody exerts an infection-protecting effect by neutralizing the toxic action of cor...

To determine if hepatitis C virus seropositivity and active hepatitis B virus infection in HIV-positive patients vary with patients' geographic origins, we studied co-infections in HIV-seropositive adults. Active hepatitis B infection was more prevalent in persons from Africa, and hepatitis C seropositivity was more common in persons from eastern Europe.

OBJECTIVE Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has been a reasonable alternative to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized peripheral blood or bone marrow, as a source of hematopoietic stem cells with a lower risk of graft-versus-host disease. In immunocompromised hosts after transplantation, the risk of viral infection in adults, especially with beta-herpesviruses such as human herpesvirus-7 (H...

Recently, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, the DNA of cytomegalovirus was detected from depigmented white patches in patients with vitiligo. The reactivation of infection and occasional anti-CMV IgM circulating among patients infected by cytomegalovirus has been reported for years. We have studied 26 patients with clinical signs and symptoms of vitiligo, some of whom had a ...

During tuberculosis, macrophages are critical for both pathogen survival and host immune activation. Since expression of particular cell surface markers reflects cell function, we used flow cytometry to measure the abundance of surface markers associated with polarity, lipid uptake, or pattern recognition on macrophages found in induced sputum. Nine macrophage surface markers were examined from...