Detection of viral RNA and DNA and immune response following administration of live attenuated measles and varicella vaccines in children with chronic liver disease.

Infections preventable by live virus vaccines are surging in the setting of decreased herd immunity. Many children with chronic liver diseases (CLDs) are unimmunized and at increased risk for infection due to guidelines recommending against live vaccines within 4 weeks pretransplant. This prospective study of 21 children with CLD and 13 healthy controls defined the timing of measles virus and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) RNA- and DNA-emia following vaccination and compared immune responses to measles and varicella vaccines in both groups.

Cytomegalovirus in biliary atresia is associated with increased pretransplant death, but not decreased native liver survival.

Background: Biliary atresia (BA) is likely caused by a common phenotypic response to various triggers; one proposed trigger, cytomegalovirus (CMV), may lead to worse outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the severity of disease and pretransplant outcomes of infants with BA, who have evidence of CMV (CMV+) at diagnosis compared with CMV-negative (CMV-) infants.

Methods: The study used data and biospecimens from the Childhood Liver Disease Research Network PROBE study of cholestatic infants.

Optimization of storage and shipment of cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells from HIV-infected and uninfected individuals for ELISPOT assays.

Functional immunologic assays using cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are influenced by blood processing, storage and shipment. The objective of this study was to compare the viability, recovery and ELISPOT results of PBMC stored and shipped in liquid nitrogen (LN/LN) or stored in LN and shipped on dry ice (LN/DI) or stored at -70°C for 3 to 12 weeks and shipped on DI (70/DI 3 to 12); and to assess the effect of donor HIV infection status on the interaction between storage/shipment and the outcome measures. PBMC from 12 HIV-infected and 12 uninfected donors showed that LN/LN conferred higher viability and recovery than LN/DI or 70/DI 3, 6, 9 or 12.