Dengue Fever Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dengue Fever, including details on symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, prevention.

Combination of CTLA-4 and TGFbeta1 gene polymorphisms associated with dengue hemorrhagic fever and virus load in a dengue-2 outbreak.

Chen RF, Wang L, Cheng JT, Chuang H, Chang JC, Liu JW, Lin IC, Yang KD

Department of Medical Research, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The pathogenesis of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) has been considered to be massive immune activation of T cells. Abnormal expression of the immune regulatory molecules, CTLA-4 and TGFbeta1, leads to disturbances of regulatory T cell immune response. We investigate the contribution of CTLA-4 and TGFbeta1 in DHF by analyzing them for association with virus load in blood and polymorphisms of CTLA-4 +49A/G, and TGFbeta1 -509C/T in a DEN-2 outbreak. The increased frequency of the TGFbeta1 -509 CC genotype in patients with DHF was compared to those with dengue fever (OR=1.9, p=0.034). Moreover, the presence of the CTLA-4 +49 G allele and TGFbeta1 -509 CC genotype increased the susceptibility to risk of DHF (OR=2.1, p=0.028) and significantly higher virus load (p=0.013). This finding suggests that a combination of CTLA-4 and TGFbeta1 polymorphisms is associated with the susceptibility of DHF and higher virus load.

Published 18 May 2009 in Clin Immunol, 131(3): 404-9.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Dengue Fever published 13 May 2009:

Cross-reactive memory CD4+ T cells alter the CD8+ T-cell response to heterologous secondary dengue virus infections in mice in a sequence-specific manner.   Viral Immunol, 22(3): 215-9.

Secondary dengue virus (DENV) infection is a major factor contributing to the risk for severe disease, an effect that depends upon the sequence of infection with different DENV serotypes. We previously reported sequence-dependent effects of secondary DENV infection on CD8+ T-cell responses in mice. To further evaluate the effect of infection sequence, we analyzed DENV-specific CD4+ T-cell responses and their relationship to the CD8+ T-cell response. Serotype cross-reactivity of CD4+ T-cell ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Dengue Fever published 28 April 2009:

Pathogenesis and prevention of dengue virus infection: state-of-the-art.   Curr Opin Infect Dis, 22(3): 302-8.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The spread of dengue (DEN) worldwide combined with an increased severity of the DEN-associated clinical outcomes has made this mosquito-borne virus of great global public health importance. This article reviews the latest findings in the field of DEN pathogenesis, vector control and vaccine development. RECENT FINDINGS: Atypical clinical manifestations as well as a shift in the age of DEN-infected patients have forced a revisit of the current definitions and classifications ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Dengue Fever published 13 April 2009:

Evaluation of dengue NS1 test kits for the diagnosis of dengue fever.   Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 64(1): 31-6.

Detection of the dengue NS1 antigen during the symptomatic phase of illness represents an important advance in the diagnosis of dengue fever. The sensitivity of 2 commercial kits was evaluated in a panel of 91 serum samples collected at defined intervals after onset of symptomatic dengue fever. The sensitivity of the Bio-Rad Platelia (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Marnes-La-Coquette, France) dengue NS1 assay was 73.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 63.7-81.6). The Panbio Early ELISA (Panbio ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Evaluation of dengue nonstructural protein 1 antigen strip for the rapid diagnosis of patients with dengue infection.   Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 64(1): 83-4.

Two hundred twenty samples obtained from 104 patients with dengue infection (n = 89) and other febrile illnesses (n = 15) were assayed for dengue nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) antigen by enzyme immunoassay and by an immunochromatography (lateral flow) test strip. The sensitivity and the specificity of dengue NS1 antigen strip were 98.9% and 90.6%, respectively. [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Dengue Fever published 10 April 2009:

Genomic epidemiology of a dengue virus epidemic in urban Singapore.   J Virol, 83(9): 4163-73.

Dengue is one of the most important emerging diseases of humans, with no preventative vaccines or antiviral cures available at present. Although one-third of the world's population live at risk of infection, little is known about the pattern and dynamics of dengue virus (DENV) within outbreak situations. By exploiting genomic data from an intensively studied major outbreak, we are able to describe the molecular epidemiology of DENV at a uniquely fine-scaled temporal and spatial resolution. Two ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Dengue Fever published 7 April 2009:

Application of the dengue virus NS1 antigen rapid test for on-site detection of imported dengue cases at airports.   Clin Vaccine Immunol, 16(4): 589-91.

We used the dengue virus NS1 antigen (Ag) rapid test for on-site detection of imported dengue cases at airports. Among 22 positive cases of dengue identified from 850 patients with a fever suspected to have dengue, 17 were NS1 Ag test positive. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of the NS1 Ag rapid test in screening imported dengue cases at airports. [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Dengue Fever published 6 April 2009:

Lack of efficacy of prophylactic platelet transfusion for severe thrombocytopenia in adults with acute uncomplicated dengue infection.   Clin Infect Dis, 48(9): 1262-5.

Thrombocytopenia in dengue infection raises concerns about bleeding risk. Of 256 patients with dengue infection who developed thrombocytopenia (platelet count, < 20 x 10(3) platelets/microL) without prior bleeding, 188 were given platelet transfusion. Subsequent bleeding, platelet increment, and platelet recovery were similar between patients given transfusion and patients not given transfusion. Prophylactic platelet transfusion was ineffective in preventing bleeding in adult patients with ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Dengue Fever published 2 April 2009:

Highly sensitive detection of dengue virus nucleic acid in samples from clinically ill patients.   J Clin Microbiol, 47(4): 927-31.

Dengue virus (DENV) is a major cause of febrile illness and hemorrhagic fever in tropical and subtropical regions. Typically, patients presenting with acute dengue disease are viremic but may not have yet developed detectable titers of antibody. Therefore, early diagnosis depends mostly on detection of viral components, such as the RNA. To define the potential use of transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) DENV RNA as a diagnostic tool, we first compared its analytic sensitivity using a ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

© 2004-2009 Dengue Fever Research Today. All Rights Reserved.