Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0021051 (immunodeficiency)
 71,517 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of estrogen and progesterone on the vaginal mucosa and their role in vaginal transmission of simian immunodeficiency virus. Incidentally, endometrial hyperplasia was observed in estrogen-treated monkeys at necropsy. Six adult female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were ovariectomized and 120 days later received two subcutaneous implants, each containing 200 mg estradiol. The animals were sacrificed 17-27 months later and the uterus examined at necropsy. All the monkeys had simple endometrial hyperplasia, some with polyps or adenomyosis, at the time of necropsy. The severity of the changes correlated with the time between implantation and necropsy. The lesions were similar to endometrial hyperplasia caused by unopposed estrogen in women, but occurred over a time period that is suitable for experimental manipulation. Rhesus monkeys could be used as a model to test the safety of various combinations of sex steroids for the prevention of postmenopausal symptoms in women.
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PMID:Endometrial hyperplasia, polyps, and adenomyosis associated with unopposed estrogen in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). 1224 67

Worldwide, 18.5 million women are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). At least 80% of these HIV infections have occurred as a result of sexual intercourse with an infected male partner. This review focuses on how HIV-1 enters the human female reproductive tract, and how oestrogen or progesterone, by altering the cervicovaginal epithelium, might change a woman's susceptibility to HIV infection. Experiments on hysterectomised Rhesus monkeys suggest that the vagina, rather than the cervix or uterus, is the main site of viral entry. If ovariectomised monkeys are given systemic oestrogen treatment, this makes them completely resistant to infection by intravaginally administered simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), whereas progesterone-treated animals, like the untreated controls, are extremely susceptible. Some studies have also shown that women on systemic long-acting gestagen-only contraceptives have a thinner vaginal epithelium and hence might be more susceptible to HIV infection; this is certainly true of post-menopausal women. The beneficial effects of oestrogen are thought to be due to increased thickness and cornification of the cervicovaginal epithelium, which prevents the virus from coming into contact with the target Langerhans cells (LCs). Topical vaginal oestrogen treatment is widely used as a safe and effective way of thickening and keratinising the vaginal epithelium in post-menopausal women. Perhaps this could be an exciting new way of protecting women from HIV infection.
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PMID:How oestrogen or progesterone might change a woman's susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. 1249 87

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) is primarily a sexually transmitted disease. Identification of cell populations within the female reproductive tract that are initially infected, and the events involved in transmission of infection to other cells, remain to be established. In this report, we evaluated expression of HIV receptors and coreceptors on epithelial cells in the uterus and found they express several receptors critical for HIV infection including CD4, CXCR4, CCR5 and galactosylceramide (GalC). Moreover, expression of these receptors varied during the menstrual cycle. Expression of CD4 and CCR5 on uterine epithelial cells is high throughout the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle when blood levels of oestradiol are high. In contrast, CXCR4 expression increased gradually throughout the proliferative phase. During the secretory phase of the cycle when both oestradiol and progesterone are elevated, CD4 and CCR5 expression decreased whereas CXCR4 expression remained elevated. Expression of GalC on endometrial glands is higher during the secretory phase than during the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle. Because epithelial cells line the female reproductive tract and express HIV receptors and coreceptors, it is likely that they are one of the first cell types to become infected. The hormonal regulation of HIV receptor expression may affect a woman's susceptibility to HIV infection during her menstrual cycle. Moreover, selective coreceptor expression could account for the preferential transmission of R5-HIV-1 strains to women. In addition, these studies provide evidence that the uterus, and potentially the entire upper reproductive tract, are important sites for the initial events involved in HIV infection.
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PMID:Human immunodeficiency virus receptor and coreceptor expression on human uterine epithelial cells: regulation of expression during the menstrual cycle and implications for human immunodeficiency virus infection. 1270 27

Histological examination of 38 nodular formations extirpated from the site of vaccine administration to cats disclosed 25 cases of sarcoma and 13 of granuloma. Average age of the cats bearing sarcoma was 8.75 years whereas granuloma occurred at average age of 1.9 year. This age-relationship of the lesions, as well as their similar morphologic features indicated a progression of chronic inflammatory changes to tumors. Similar tumors were diagnosed in one cat with "posttraumatic ocular sarcoma" and in the uterus of female-cat with long-standing pyometra. These two cats were 15 and 8 years old, respectively. Experimental study of local reaction 21 days after administration of commercial, lipid-adjuvanted vaccine revealed in young cats (age 9 months) a reaction to immunogen, whereas in old animals (age 10 to 15 years) there was a reaction to foreign material. The data suggest that chronic inflammation and age-related immunodeficiency are instrumental in pathogenesis of the vaccine-associated sarcoma.
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PMID:Postinflammatory sarcoma in cats. 1462 May 38

Castlemans disease (CD) was described from Benjamin Castleman in 1954. The disease today is enumerated among lymphoproliferative disorders and has unknown etiology, but a interleukin-6 (IL-6) dysregulation and a reaction to viral antigens (HHV8) especially in patients with immunodeficiency is suspected. It is observed in adult and young people, in male or female with equal frequency; the appearance in childhood is extremely rare. The disease shows various clinical and histological pictures, with a localized type (involvement of one lymph node group) described more frequently than the multicentric one. Histological examination distinguish a "hyaline-vascular type" that represents approximately the 91%, a plasma cell type" that represents approximately the 9% has an aggressive clinical outcome, and the "mixed types". Initial symptoms are nearly absent, but not for the plasma cell type. We describe the clinical case of a female patient 21 years old. She reached our observation in May 1999, referring us for pelvic pains and amenorrhoea from four years. During 1996 she underwent to a laparoscopy that diagnosed an endometrial cyst on left ovary. A year later a new retroperitoneal mass was discovered and a second laparoscopy was performed with a little partial excision of the tumor. In our Institute the us and the TC showed a retroperitoneal mass of 4.5 cm of diameter, next to the uterus and the iliac left vessels. The patient underwent surgical laparotomic excision and histological examination showed hyaline vascular type of CD. Three years after surgery the patient is still free of any symptoms.
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PMID:[Castleman's disease: a case report]. 1520 15

In the acute stage of infection following sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), virus-specific CD8+ T-lymphocyte responses partially control but do not eradicate infection from the lymphatic tissues (LTs) or prevent the particularly massive depletion of CD4+ T lymphocytes in gut-associated lymphatic tissue (GALT). We explored hypothetical explanations for this failure to clear infection and prevent CD4+ T-lymphocyte loss in the SIV/rhesus macaque model of intravaginal transmission. We examined the relationship between the timing and magnitude of the CD8+ T-lymphocyte response to immunodominant SIV epitopes and viral replication, and we show first that the failure to contain infection is not because the female reproductive tract is a poor inductive site. We documented robust responses in cervicovaginal tissues and uterus, but only several days after the peak of virus production. Second, while we also documented a modest response in the draining genital and peripheral lymph nodes, the response at these sites also lagged behind peak virus production in these LT compartments. Third, we found that the response in GALT was surprisingly low or undetectable, possibly contributing to the severe and sustained depletion of CD4+ T lymphocytes in the GALT. Thus, the virus-specific CD8+ T-lymphocyte response is "too late and too little" to clear infection and prevent CD4+ T-lymphocyte loss. However, the robust response in female reproductive tissues may be an encouraging sign that vaccines that rapidly induce high-frequency CD8+ T-lymphocyte responses might be able to prevent acquisition of HIV-1 infection by the most common route of transmission.
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PMID:CD8+ T-lymphocyte response to major immunodominant epitopes after vaginal exposure to simian immunodeficiency virus: too late and too little. 1599 17

Although more than 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, little is known regarding their cancer risk. We investigated cancer risk among persons with HIV/AIDS in Uganda using record-linkage. We linked records of 12,607 HIV-infected persons attending The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Kyadondo County from October 1988 through December 2002 to the Kampala Cancer Registry. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) to identify increased cancer risks in the early (4-27 months after TASO registration), late (28-60 months), or combined (4-60 months) incidence periods. We identified 378 cancers (181 prevalent, 197 incident) among TASO participants. Of incident cancers, 137 (70%) were AIDS-defining cancers. Risk was increased in the early-incident period, compared to the general population, for the AIDS-defining cancers: Kaposi sarcoma (SIR 6.4, 95%CI 4.8-8.4), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (6.7, 1.8-17), and cervical carcinoma (2.4, 1.1-4.4). These three cancers were also increased in the combined periods. Risks of five non-AIDS-defining cancers were increased in the combined periods: Hodgkin lymphoma (5.7, 1.2-17) and cancers of the conjunctiva (SIR 4.0; 1.5-8.7), kidney (16, 1.8-58), thyroid (5.7, 1.1-16), and uterus (5.5, 1.5-14). Cancers of the breast, nasopharynx, and lung were increased either in the early or late incident periods only. Among 407 children, seven cancers were observed, of which five were Kaposi sarcoma. The application of a record-linkage design in Africa broadens the repertoire of epidemiological tools for studying HIV-infected populations. We confirm the increased risks of AIDS-defining cancers and report increased risks of a few non-AIDS-defining cancers.
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PMID:Spectrum of cancers among HIV-infected persons in Africa: the Uganda AIDS-Cancer Registry Match Study. 1610 15

The derivation of embryonic stem (ES) cells by nuclear transfer holds great promise for research and therapy but involves the destruction of cloned human blastocysts. Proof of principle experiments have shown that 'customized' ES cells derived by nuclear transfer (NT-ESCs) can be used to correct immunodeficiency in mice. Importantly, the feasibility of the approach has been demonstrated recently in humans, bringing the clinical application of NT-ESCs within reach. Altered nuclear transfer (ANT) has been proposed as a variation of nuclear transfer because it would create abnormal nuclear transfer blastocysts that are inherently unable to implant into the uterus but would be capable of generating customized ES cells. To assess the experimental validity of this concept we have used nuclear transfer to derive mouse blastocysts from donor fibroblasts that carried a short hairpin RNA construct targeting Cdx2. Cloned blastocysts were morphologically abnormal, lacked functional trophoblast and failed to implant into the uterus. However, they efficiently generated pluripotent embryonic stem cells when explanted into culture.
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PMID:Generation of nuclear transfer-derived pluripotent ES cells from cloned Cdx2-deficient blastocysts. 1640 38

The classic clinical features in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome are congenital heart defects, hypocalcemia, immunodeficiency, learning, speech, and behavioral difficulties. The phenotype is highly variable and continues to expand. We present two cases of absent uterus and unilateral renal agenesis in females with the 22q11.2 deletion. Clinicians caring for these adolescents should be aware of the possibility of renal anomalies and Mullerian agenesis. The diagnosis of 22q11.2 deletion may be considered in a female with Mullerian agenesis, particularly, in association with a history of learning difficulties and speech delay.
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PMID:Primary amenorrhea and absent uterus in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. 1767 98

Malignant uterine tumors are responsible for up to 9% of all new cancer cases and for 4.5% of all cancer related deaths in women. The three important uterine cancers are endometrial cancers, uterine sarcomas and cervical cancers. Endometrial cancers are typically found in elderly women and are > 70% hormone sensitive (type I), type II is often less differentiated and not hormone sensitive. Diagnosis can be achieved by vaginal ultrasound and by histology after hysteroscopy and curettage of the uterine cavity. Therapy of choice is the stage related radical hysterectomy (incl. lymphnode dissection). Postoperatively and at progressive stages endocrine and radiation therapies can be useful. Chemotherapy is only useful in not hormone sensitive and in progressive tumors. Uterine sarcomas are a rare and heterogeneous group of tumors. Therefore no clinical guidelines are available for this entity. These often aggressive tumors are hardly responding to systemic and radiation therapy. Therefore radical tumor surgery plays the main therapeutic role. Cervical carcinomas are usually growing on an underlying chronic infection with oncogenic HPV subtypes. Important co-factors for carcinogenesis are tobacco smoking, an immunodeficiency and chronic genital infections of other causes. Cervical carcinomas and their precursor lesions are easily accessible for screening tests. Many tumors are detected in early tumor stages. Preoperatively diagnostic procedures are performed to examine local and distant tumor growth. In early stages a radical hysterectomy (incl. pelvine (+paraaortal) lymphonodectomy) and in rare cases an uterus preserving surgery should be performed. Alternatively a primary radiochemotherapy can be applied. Patients with tumors in stages > or = FIGO IIb receive a primary combined radiochemotherapy.
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PMID:[Malignant tumors of the uterus]. 1794 55


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