Antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant B.1.1.529 and subvariant BA.2 following vaccination

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant B.1.1.529 and subvariant BA.2 were first detected in late 2021. The Omicron variant quickly became the most widespread in the United States due to its increased transmissibility compared to previous SARS-CoV-2 variants. The BA.2 sub-lineage has been shown to be particularly communicable and was the most prevalent strain in the United States as of March 2022. It is unknown if this increased infectivity of BA.2 is due to depressed antibody quantities following vaccination against wild-type virus or previous infection with other strains of SARSCoV-2. The goal of this study is to determine antibody titers against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of strains B.1.1.529 and BA.2 following vaccination and/or infection with the virus and compare this data to that of the wild-type strain. METHODS: Subjects were enrolled in a natural history study of the immune response to COVID-19 infection. Informed consent was obtained, and 10 ml of blood was collected and tested for antibodies against COVID-19 proteins. Subjects were followed at 6-month intervals or after vaccination. RBD antigen for either the B.1.1.529 and BA.2 strain were coated on 96 well Immulon-2 plates overnight at 4°C. The plates were washed with PBS, blocked, 2-fold dilutions of serum were added to the antigen coated plates and incubated at room temperature for 2 hours. The plates were washed and then coated with goat anti-human IgG linked to alkaline phosphatase for another 2 hours, developed, and read at 405nm absorbance. End-point dilution titers were determined and compared between wild type (WT, previously done), B.1.1.529 and BA.2 strains. RESULTS: A subset of 23 subjects were more closely examined after initial vaccination and follow-up boosting (2nd dose) comprising a total of 60 samples. The overall rate of seropositivity was 91.3%, 69.0%, and 74.1% for the WT, B.1.1.529, and BA.2 strains respectively. In the prevaccine samples, the WT titers were significantly higher compared to titers against the other 2 strains (

The Impact of Human Papillomavirus Educational Intervention Study on the Knowledge, Health Beliefs, Health Behaviors and Increasing the Use of Gardasil in Women of Color

Lack of human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge and cervical cancer awareness are factors contributing to a disproportion in African American (AA) women with cervical cancer. The purpose of this intervention study was to use gender specific and culturally appropriate HPV educational materials to increase HPV knowledge and cervical cancer awareness, to increase health beliefs, and the intent for AA women to use the HPV vaccine. Convenience sampling was used to describe a sample of 98 AA women recruited from an Ambulatory Women’s health clinic between 2015 and 2017. HPV educational videos and pamphlets materials were used to collect baseline and post intervention knowledge using a self-administered questionnaire, video, and pamphlet. Results revealed an increase in HPV and cervical cancer knowledge, and recommended use of HPV vaccine with family members. HPV educational materials increased women’s knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer, increased healthy behaviors, and the intent to use HPV vaccine with family members, without personal intent to take the HPV vaccine. Future research is needed to examine the decrease in AA women’s’ intent to receive the HPV vaccine

Development and Validation of a HPV-32 Specific PCR Assay

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Human Papillomavirus-32 (HPV-32) has traditionally been associated with focal-epithelial-hyperplasia (FEH). It is also present in 58% of oral warts of HIV-positive individuals whose prevalence is increasing. Current methods for the detection of HPV-32 are labor-intensive and insensitive so the goal of this work was to develop a highly sensitive and easy to use specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>An HPV-32 L1 specific PCR assay was developed and optimized. The sensitivity and specificity was compared to previous assays utilized for detection (PGMY and MY09/11 PCR with dot blot hybridization) using cloned HPV-32 L1, the closely related HPV-42 L1 as well as clinical samples (oral swabs and fluids from 89 HIV-positive subjects).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The HPV-32 specific PCR assay showed improved sensitivity to 5 copies of HPV-32 as compared to the PGMY PCR, MY09/11 PCR and dot blot which had a limit of detection of approximately 3,000 copies. Using the HPV-32 dot blot hybridization assay as the gold standard, the HPV-32 specific PCR assay has a sensitivity of 95.8% and 88.9% by sample and subject, respectively, and specificity was 87.8% and 58.8% by sample and subject, respectively. The low sensitivity is due to the HPV-32 specific PCR assays ability to detect more HPV-32 positive samples and may be the new gold standard.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Due to the ease, sensitivity, and specificity the HPV-32 specific PCR assay is superior to previous assays and is ideal for detection of HPV-32 in large cohorts. This assay provides an excellent tool to study the natural history of HPV-32 infection and the development of oral warts.</p

Self-Collected Vaginal Swabs for HPV Screening: An Exploratory Study of Rural Black Mississippi Women

Objectives. To determine the post-procedure acceptability of self-collecting a vaginal swab for HPV testing among a highly impoverished and geographically isolated population of medically underserved Black women residing in the Mississippi Delta. Further, to test correlates of reporting that self-collection is preferred over Pap testing. Finally, to determine the prevalence of any of 13 high-risk HPV types among this population and the correlates of testing positive. Methods. Eighty-eight women were recruited from two churches located in different towns of the Mississippi Delta. After completing a survey, women were provided instructions for self-collecting a cervico-vaginal swab and completing a post-collection survey. Specimens were tested for 13 oncogenic HPV types. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, significance was defined by a 0.15 alpha-level. Results. Comfort levels with self-collection were high: 78.4% indicated a preference for self-collecting a specimen compared to Pap testing. Overall, 24 women (28.7%) tested positive for one or more of the 13 HPV types. Significant associations with testing positive were found for women having sex with females (P = 0.09), those never having an abnormal Pap (P = 0.06), younger women (P = 0.10), those with greater fatalism scores (P = 0.006), and those having less trust in doctors (P = 0.001). Conclusions. Black rural women from the deep-south are generally comfortable self-collecting cervico-vaginal swabs for HPV testing. Given that nearly 30% tested positive for oncogenic HPV, and that fatalism as well a lack of trust in doctors predicted prevalence, a reasonable screening alternative to Pap testing may be community-based testing for HPV using self-collected vaginal swabs

El acceso de la mujer a la “alta cultura” en la europa del renacimiento

This article explores how in a context that did not allow women access to intellectual circles, women could exercise power through patronage. Through the role of patronesses of the arts and the culture, women were able to access to High Culture of the Renaissance, promoting a feminine perspective that reflected their history, status and interests as women.<br><br>Este artículo analiza cómo en un contexto que no favorecía el acceso femenino a los círculos intelectuales, el patronazgo artístico permitió a las mujeres introducirse en la Alta Cultura del Renacimiento, promoviendo una perspectiva femenina que reflejara su historia, su estatus y sus propios intereses

Papillomavirus Capsid Binding and Uptake by Cells From Different Tissues and Species

The inability of papillomaviruses (PV) to replicate in tissue culture cells has hampered the study of the PV life cycle. We investigated virus-cell interactions by the following two methods: (i) using purified bovine PV virions or human PV type 11 (HPV type 11) virus-like particles (VLP) to test the binding to eukaryotic cells and (ii) using different VLP-reporter plasmid complexes of HPV6b, HPV11 L1 or HPV11 L1/L2, and HPV16 L1 or HPV16 L1/L2 to study uptake of particles into different cell lines. Our studies showed that PV capsids bind to a broad range of cells in culture in a dose-dependent manner. Binding of PV capsids to cells can be blocked by pretreating the cells with the protease trypsin. Penetration of PV into cells was monitored by using complexes in which the purified PV capsids were physically linked to DNA containing the gene for beta-galactosidase driven by the human cytomegalovirus promoter. Expression of beta-galactosidase occurred in < 1% of the cells, and the efficiency of PV receptor-mediated gene delivery was greatly enhanced (up to 10 to 20% positive cells) by the use of a replication-defective adenovirus which promotes endosomal lysis. The data generated by this approach further confirmed the results obtained from the binding assays, showing that PV enter a wide range of cells and that these cells have all functions required for the uptake of PV. Binding and uptake of PV particles can be blocked by PV-specific antisera, and different PV particles compete for particle uptake. Our results suggest that the PV receptor is a conserved cell surface molecule(s) used by different PV and that the tropism of infection by different PV is controlled by events downstream of the initial binding and uptake

Longitudinal Variations in Antibody Responses against SARS-CoV-2 Spike Epitopes upon Serial Vaccinations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) impacted healthcare, the workforce, and worldwide socioeconomics. Multi-dose mono- or bivalent mRNA vaccine regimens have shown high efficacy in protection against SARSCoV- 2 and its emerging variants with varying degrees of efficacy. Amino acid changes, primarily in the receptor-binding domain (RBD), result in selection for viral infectivity, disease severity, and immune evasion. Therefore, many studies have centered around neutralizing antibodies that target the RBD and their generation achieved through infection or vaccination. Here, we conducted a unique longitudinal study, analyzing the effects of a three-dose mRNA vaccine regimen exclusively using the monovalent BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech) vaccine, systematically administered to nine previously uninfected (naïve) individuals. We compare changes in humoral antibody responses across the entire SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) using a high-throughput phage display technique (VirScan). Our data demonstrate that two doses of vaccination alone can achieve the broadest and highest magnitudes of anti-S response. Moreover, we present evidence of novel highly boosted non-RBD epitopes that strongly correlate with neutralization and recapitulate independent findings. These vaccine-boosted epitopes could facilitate multi-valent vaccine development and drug discovery