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Abstract Background Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most prevalent congenital malformation affecting 1 in 100 newborns. While advances in early diagnosis and postnatal management have increased survival in CHD children, worrying long-term outcomes, particularly neurodevelopmental disability, have emerged as a key prognostic factor in the counseling of these pregnancies. Methods Eligible participants are women presenting at 20 to

Study Design: Retrospective Cohort., Objective: We investigate whether duration of symptoms a patient experiences prior to lumbar microdiscectomy affects pain, lifestyle, and return to work metrics after surgery., Methods: A retrospective review of patients with a diagnosis of lumbar radiculopathy undergoing microdiscectomy was conducted using a statewide registry. Patients were grouped based on self-reported duration of symptoms prior to surgical intervention (Group 1: symptoms less than 3 months; Group 2: symptoms between 3 months and 1 year; and Group 3: symptoms greater than 1 year). Radicular pain scores, PROMIS PF Physical Function measure (PROMIS PF), EQ-5D scores, and return to work rates at 90 days, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery were compared using univariate and multivariate analysis., Results: There were 2408 patients who underwent microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniation for radiculopathy with 532, 910, and 955 in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Postoperative leg pain was lower for Group 1 at 90 days, 1 year, and 2 years compared to Groups 2 and 3 ( P < .05). Postoperative PROMIS PF and EQ-5D scores were higher for Group 1 at 90 days, 1 year, and 2 years compared to Groups 2 and 3 ( P < .05)., Conclusion: Patients with prolonged symptoms prior to surgical intervention experience smaller improvements in postoperative leg pain, PROMIS PF, and EQ-5D than those who undergo surgery earlier. Patients undergoing surgery within 3 months of symptom onset have the highest rates of return to work at 1 year after surgery., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: All authors have no relationships related to this study specifically. Although BCBSM and MSSIC work collaboratively, the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of BCBSM or any of its employees. Support for MSSIC is provided by BCBSM and Blue Care Network as part of the BCBSM Value Partnerships program. Although BCBSM and MSSIC work collaboratively, the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of BCBSM or any of its employees. Support for MSSIC is provided by BCBSM and Blue Care Network as part of the BCBSM Value Partnerships program.

Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of bacterial infections occurs when blocking or inhibitory antibodies facilitate the infectivity of pathogens. In humans, antibodies involved in ADE of bacterial infections may include those naturally produced against Galα1-3Galβ1-4GlcNAcβ (αGal). Here, we investigate whether eliminating circulating anti-αGal antibodies using a soluble αGal glycopolymer confers protection against Gram-negative bacterial infections. We demonstrated that the in vivo intra-corporeal removal of anti-αGal antibodies in α1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout (GalT-KO) mice was associated with protection against mortality from Gram-negative sepsis after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The improved survival of GalT-KO mice was associated with an increased killing capacity of serum against Escherichia coli isolated after CLP and reduced binding of IgG1 and IgG3 to the bacteria. Additionally, inhibition of anti-αGal antibodies from human serum in vitro increases the bactericidal killing of E. coli O86:B7 and multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the case of E. coli O86:B7, there was also an improvement in bacteria opsonophagocytosis by macrophages. Both lytic mechanisms were related to a decreased binding of IgG2 to the bacteria. Our results show that protective immunity against Gram-negative bacterial pathogens can be elicited, and infectious diseases caused by these bacteria can be prevented by removing natural anti-αGal antibodies., Competing Interests: DB-G and RM are founders and shareholders of RemAb Therapeutics SL. In addition, DB-G, MP-C, CCV, and RM hold a patent in Methods and reagents for prevention and/or treatment of infection., (Copyright © 2023 Olivera-Ardid, Bello-Gil, Perez-Cruz, Costa, Camoez, Dominguez, Ferrero-Alves, Vaquero, Khasbiullina, Shilova, Bovin and Mañez.)

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is one of the main causes of perinatal mortality/morbidity. Today, a parameter offering useful information on fetal central nervous system (CNS) development/damage is eagerly awaited. We investigated the role of brain-protein S100B in the maternal blood of GDM pregnancies by means of a prospective case-control study in 646 pregnancies (GDM: n = 106; controls: n = 530). Maternal blood samples for S100B measurement were collected at four monitoring time-points from 24 weeks of gestation to term. Data was corrected for gender and delivery mode and correlated with gestational age and weight at birth. Results showed higher ( p < 0.05) S100B from 24 to 32 weeks and at term in GDM fetuses than controls. Higher ( p < 0.05) S100B was observed in GDM male new-borns than in females from 24 to 32 weeks and at term, in GDM cases delivering vaginally than by caesarean section. Finally, S100B positively correlated with gestational age and weight at birth (R = 0.27; R = 0.37, respectively; p < 0.01). The present findings show the usefulness of S100B in CNS to monitor high-risk pregnancies during perinatal standard-of-care procedures. The results suggest that further investigations into its potential role as an early marker of CNS growth/damage in GDM population are needed.

Background and Purpose: Fetuses with isolated nonsevere ventriculomegaly (INSVM) are at risk of presenting neurodevelopmental delay. However, the currently used clinical parameters are insufficient to select cases with high risk and determine whether subtle changes in brain development are present and might be a risk factor. The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive evaluation of cortical development in INSVM by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and assess its association with neonatal neurobehavior., Materials and Methods: Thirty-two INSVM fetuses and 29 healthy controls between 26-28 weeks of gestation were evaluated using MR imaging. We compared sulci and fissure depth, cortical maturation grading of specific areas and sulci and volumes of different brain regions obtained from 3D brain reconstruction of cases and controls. Neonatal outcome was assessed by using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale at a mean of 4 ± 2 weeks after birth., Results: Fetuses with INSVM showed less profound and underdeveloped sulcation, including the Sylvian fissure (mean depth: controls 16.8 ± 1.9 mm, versus INSVM 16.0 ± 1.6 mm; P = .01), and reduced global cortical grading (mean score: controls 42.9 ± 10.2 mm, versus INSVM: 37.8 ± 9.9 mm; P = .01). Fetuses with isolated nonsevere ventriculomegaly showed a mean global increase of gray matter volume (controls, 276.8 ± 46.0 ×10 mm 3 , versus INSVM 277.5 ± 49.3 ×10 mm 3 , P = .01), but decreased mean cortical volume in the frontal lobe (left: controls, 53.2 ± 8.8 ×10 mm 3 , versus INSVM 52.4 ± 5.4 ×10 mm 3 ; P = < .01). Sulcal depth and brain volumes were significantly associated with the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale severity ( P = .005, Nagelkerke R 2 = 0.732)., Conclusions: INSVM fetuses showed differences in cortical development, including regions far from the lateral ventricles, that are associated with neonatal neurobehavior. These results suggest the possible use of these parameters to identify cases at higher risk of altered neurodevelopment., (© 2019 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.)

The IL-22 signaling pathway is critical for regulating mucosal defense and limiting bacterial dissemination. IL-22 is unusual among interleukins because it does not directly regulate the function of conventional immune cells, but instead targets cells at outer body barriers, such as respiratory epithelial cells. Consequently, IL-22 signaling participates in the maintenance of the lung mucosal barrier by controlling cell proliferation and tissue repair, and enhancing the production of specific chemokines and anti-microbial peptides. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major pathogen of ventilator-associated pneumonia and causes considerable lung tissue damage. A feature underlying the pathogenicity of this bacterium is its capacity to persist and develop in the host, particularly in the clinical context of nosocomial lung infections. We aimed to investigate the ability of P. auruginosa to disrupt immune-epithelial cells cross-talk. We found that P. aeruginosa escapes the host mucosal defenses by degrading IL-22, leading to severe inhibition of IL-22-mediated immune responses. We demonstrated in vitro that, protease IV, a type 2 secretion system-dependent serine protease, is responsible for the degradation of IL-22 by P. aeruginosa. Moreover, the major anti-proteases molecules present in the lungs were unable to inhibit protease IV enzymatic activity. In addition, tracheal aspirates of patients infected by P. aeruginosa contain protease IV activity which further results in IL-22 degradation. This so far undescribed cleavage of IL-22 by a bacterial protease is likely to be an immune-evasion strategy that contributes to P. aeruginosa-triggered respiratory infections.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major health problem becoming a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A large part of these disorders is associated with acute exacerbations resulting from infection by bacteria, such as non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi). Our understanding of the pathogenesis of these exacerbations is still elusive. We demonstrate herein that NTHi infection of mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke (CS), an experimental model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), not only causes acute pulmonary inflammation but also impairs the production of interleukin (IL)-22, a cytokine with potential anti-bacterial activities. We also report that mice lacking IL-22, as well as mice exposed to CS, have a delayed clearance of NTHi bacteria and display enhanced alveolar wall thickening and airway remodeling compared with controls. Supplementation with IL-22 not only boosted bacterial clearance and the production of anti-microbial peptides but also limited lung damages induced by infection both in IL-22 -/- and CS-exposed mice. In vitro exposure to CS extract altered the NTHi-induced IL-22 production by spleen cells. This study shows for the first time that a defect in IL-22 is involved in the acute exacerbation induced by NTHi infection during experimental COPD and opens the way to innovative therapeutic strategies.

We have previously described that boosted natural xenoantibodies in rats cross-react to bacteria by targeting carbohydrate antigens. This type of immunization is associated with reduced survival after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). In the present study, we investigated further this phenomenon by immunizing Lewis rats with three intraperitoneal injections, every other day, of hamster blood compared to saline-injected control animals. One day after the last injection, CLP was performed to produce a low-grade sepsis. Induction of xenoantibodies was associated with a reduction in animal survival after CLP relative to controls (45% vs. 90%, p<0.01). No bacterial blood load was observed after CLP in this model either with or without xenoantibody enhancement, indicating that the augmented mortality was not mediated by a direct effect of boosted xenoantibodies over blood bacteria. Nevertheless, the xenoimmunization produced a systemic inflammatory response in all rats. Additionally, a lack of weight gain at the time of CLP was present in animals that died after the procedure, which was not observed in surviving rats and controls. The cytokine profile at the time of CLP in animals that died after the procedure was characterized by an increase in the serum level of several cytokines, particularly adipokines. In contrast, the cytokine profile at CLP of xenoimmunized rats that survived the procedure was characterized by a reduction in the level of cytokines. In conclusion, this study failed to show a direct effect of boosted xenoantibodies over blood bacterial isolates as cause for the decreased survival after CLP. However, it evidenced that non-infectious systemic inflammation may lead to a pattern of augmented cytokines, particularly adipokines, which impairs survival after subsequent CLP. Therefore, the profile of cytokines existing before the infectious insult appears more crucial than that resulting from the condition for the outcome of sepsis.

Natural antibodies include a subset described as xenoantibodies considered to be directed at microorganisms and also cross-react with antigens of unrelated species. In this study, we generated T-cell-independent (TI) and T-cell-dependent (TD) xenoantibodies in Lewis rats with hamster and pig blood injections. TI anti-hamster and anti-pig IgM and IgG xenoantibodies cross-reacted with Enterococcus faecalis but not with Escherichia coli isolated from the blood of Lewis rats after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). TI anti-pig IgM xenoantibodies also showed some reactivity with two human blood isolates of E. faecalis. In contrast, TD xenoantibodies did not show any reactivity with rat or human bacteria. TI and TD anti-hamster and anti-pig IgM and IgG xenoantibodies showed cross-reactivity with lymphocytes and endothelial cells from species distinct to that used for immunization. Glycan array analysis and inhibition assays identified antibodies against melibiose and L-rhamnose as mediators of anti-hamster and anti-porcine xenoantibody cross-reactivity with E. faecalis. A rise in TI anti-hamster and anti-pig xenoantibodies was accompanied by decreased survival of Lewis rats in a low-severity sepsis model of CLP. Therefore, TI xenoantibodies in the rat include anti-carbohydrate antibodies reactive to bacteria of endogenous flora. Enhancement of these antibodies may result in more severe infectious diseases caused by these microorganisms., (Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel)