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Soluble factors from CD8(+) T cells and cervicovaginal mucosa of women are recognized as important in controlling human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and transmission. Previously, we have shown the strong anti-HIV-1 activity of prothymosin α (ProTα) derived from CD8(+) T cells. ProTα is a small acidic protein with wide cell distribution, to which several functions have been ascribed, depending on its intracellular or extracellular localization. To date, activities of ProTα have been attributed to a single protein known as isoform 2. Here we report the isolation and identification of 2 new ProTα variants from CD8(+) T cells and cervicovaginal lavage with potent anti-HIV-1 activity. The first is a splice variant of the ProTα gene, known as isoform CRA_b, and the second is the product of a ProTα gene, thus far classified as a pseudogene 7. Native or recombinant ProTα variants potently restrict HIV-1 replication in macrophages through the induction of type I interferon. The baseline expression of interferon-responsive genes in primary human cervical tissues positively correlate with high levels of intracellular ProTα, and the knockdown of ProTα variants by small interfering RNA leads to downregulation of interferon target genes. Overall, these findings suggest that ProTα variants are innate immune mediators involved in immune surveillance.

Objective: To establish the relationship of measured intraoperative blood loss to gestational age at pregnancy termination, and to determine which factors, if any, affect the risk of bleeding.Methods: A single-operator series of 363 consecutive women undergoing pregnancy termination between 5 and 24 weeks gestational age, as dated by ultrasound, was prospectively evaluated. All pregnancies under 13 weeks gestation were terminated by mechanical dilation and suction curettage without preoperative cervical ripening. All pregnancies between 13 and 24 weeks gestation were terminated by preoperative osmotic cervical dilation with laminaria tents and subsequent uterine evacuation by a combination of suction curettage, sharp curettage, and Bierer forceps extraction. All patients over 12 weeks gestation received a postoperative oxytocin infusion. Whenever possible, amniotic fluid and blood were collected and measured separately. Patients were excluded from the data analysis for pregnancy demise, PPROM, Potter's syndrome, or inability to separate blood establish their relationship. After adjustment for gestational age, the results were analyzed to determine if blood loss was related to maternal age, smoking history, body habitus, or operative indication.Results: A curvilinear relationship between blood loss and gestational age was observed. Mean blood loss at 24 weeks exceeded 800 mL. After adjustment for gestational age, no factors significantly affected blood loss at dilation and aspiration of first trimester pregnancies. In those patients undergoing dilation and evacuation in the second trimester, both simple and stepwise regression analyses showed obesity (BMI >/=32.3) to be significantly associated with increased blood loss (P

Excerpt Diffuse visceral changes occurring in scleroderma have been described by Lewin and Heller,1Notthafft,2Kraus,3Klemperer, et al.,4Bevans,5and Weiss et al.6In some of these cases changes have ...