Remote Blood Collection for Telomere Length Measurement: Assessing the Impact of Sample Characteristics and Handling on DNA Quality and Assay Outcomes.

Background: Telomere length (TL) is a valuable marker of aging and stress that reflects both genetic and environmental influences. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) TL measurement is a powerful and cost-effective assay, especially in population studies with limited quantities of source material. Nevertheless, collecting and transporting high-quality blood samples can be logistically challenging, and research suggests that several preanalytical and analytical factors can influence the reliability and precision of the qPCR assay.

Interferon-signaling pathways are upregulated in people with HIV with abnormal pulmonary diffusing capacity (DL CO ).

Objective: People with HIV (PWH) are at greater risk of developing lung diseases even when they are antiretroviral therapy (ART)-adherent and virally suppressed. The most common pulmonary function abnormality in PWH is that of impaired diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DL CO ), which is an independent risk factor for increased mortality in PWH. Earlier work has identified several plasma biomarkers of inflammation and immune activation to be associated with decreased DL CO .

Case Report: Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for severe combined immunodeficiency.

We report a case of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The patient had sever bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine-caused disseminated infection and had received allogeneic HSCT for X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disease. After HSCT, complicated by treatment-responding veno-occlusive disease and acute graft-versus-host disease, at the time when immunosuppressants were withdrawn, the patient experienced recurrent fever accompanied by elevated inflammatory indicators.

The stage-specific impairment of granulopoiesis in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with neutropenia.

Neutropenia and impaired functions were common manifestation in antiretroviral therapy (ART) in both naïve and experienced PLWHA. Granulopoiesis can be divided into two phases: lineage determination and committed granulopoiesis. However, stage-specific impairment of granulopoiesis in PLWHA with neutropenia remains unclear.

HIV-1 low-level viremia affects T cell activation rather than T cell development in school-age children, adolescents, and young adults during antiretroviral therapy.

Objectives: Given the improvements in antiretroviral therapy (ART) in recent years, more pediatric HIV patients receiving ART are reaching adolescence and adulthood. This study investigated the influence of poor virological response (low-level viremia (LLV) and virological failure (VF)) on the immune system of these patients.

Methods: HIV-infected, ART-experienced pediatric patients (n=206) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study.

Two types of poor immunological responder showing distinct responses to long-term HAART.

Objectives: Most previous studies on poor immunological responders (PIRs) have been performed on one cohort at one time-point following highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are different subtypes of PIR and whether a certain population might achieve better immune reconstitution following longer HAART.

Methods: This study was designed as an ambispective cohort study, including a 4-5-year retrospective study and a 2-year prospective follow-up investigation.

Efficacy and tolerability of chemotherapy in Chinese patients with AIDS-related Burkitt lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: An observational study.

We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of chemotherapy in HIV-infected patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) receiving CHOP ± R (n = 17) or Burkitt lymphoma (BL) receiving CODOX-M/IVAC ± R (n = 15). The study was conducted in Beijing Ditan Hospital from January 2009 to August 2015. The following grade 4 adverse effects were observed in BL and DLBCL patients, respectively: neutropenia (80% versus 47.

Anemia in combined antiretroviral treatment-naive HIV-infected patients in China: A retrospective study of prevalence, risk factors, and mortality.

Anemia is one of the most important complications of HIV infection. In China, the prevalence, risk factors, and association between anemia and prognosis in HIV-infected patients are poorly elucidated. We analyzed data from 3452 HIV-infected patients not yet on combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) attending Beijing Ditan Hospital from June, 2003 to December, 2015.

Distinct Mitochondrial Disturbance in CD4+T and CD8+T Cells From HIV-Infected Patients.

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction has frequently been found in HIV-infected patients regardless of whether they received antiretroviral therapy (ART). Accumulating evidence suggests that HIV-infected patients exhibit marked changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, adenosine triphosphate generation, mitochondrial mass (MM), mitochondrial DNA, etc. However, mitochondrial toxicity in CD4T and CD8T cells caused by different levels of HIV progression and ART is poorly understood.