The HLA-B*27 peptidome has drawn significant attention due to the genetic association between some of the HLA-B*27 alleles and the inflammatory rheumatic disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS), for which a comprehensive biological explanation is still lacking. This study aims to expand the known limits of the HLA-B*27 peptidome to facilitate selection and testing of new peptides, possibly involved in the disease. The HLA peptidomes of HeLa and C1R cell lines stably transfected with the AS-associated HLA-B*27:05 allele, the nonassociated HLA-B*27:09 allele, or their cysteine 67 to serine mutants (C67S), are analyzed on a very large scale. In addition, the peptidomes of HLA-B*27:05 and HLA-B*27:05-C67S are analyzed from the spleens of rats transgenic for these alleles. The results indicate that C67S mutation increases the percentage of peptides with glutamine or lysine at their P2 position (P2-Lys), in both HLA-B*27:05 and HLA-B*27:09. Furthermore, a small fraction of HLA-B*27 peptides contains lysine at their second position (P2), in addition to the more commonly found peptides with arginine (P2-Arg) or the less common glutamine (P2-Gln) located at this anchor position. Overall these data indicate that peptides with P2-Lys should be considered as real ligands of HLA-B*27 molecules and taken into account while looking for putative peptides implicated in the AS.

AIMTo evaluate the bidirectional association between metabolic syndrome (MS) components and antiviral treatment response for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.METHODSThis retrospective cohort study included 119 HCV + patients treated with pegylated-interferon-α and ribavirin. Metabolic characteristics and laboratory data were collected from medical records. Differences in baseline clinical and demographic risk factors between responders and non-responders were assessed using independent samples t-tests or χ2 tests. The effects of sustained viral response (SVR) to antiviral treatment on de novo impairments in MS components, including impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), were assessed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis, while the effect of MS components on SVR was assessed using univariable logistic regression analysis.RESULTSOf the 119 patients, 80 (67%) developed SVR over the average 54 ± 13 mo follow-up. The cumulative risks for de novo T2DM and IFG were 5.07- (95%CI: 1.261-20.4, P = 0.022) and 3.87-fold higher (95%CI: 1.484-10.15, P = 0.006), respectively for non-responders than responders, when adjusted for the baseline risk factors age, sex, HCV genotype, high viral load, and steatosis. Post-treatment triglyceride levels were significantly lower in non-responders than in responders (OR = 0.27; 95%CI: 0.069-0.962, P = 0.044). Age and HCV genotype 3 were significantly different between responders and non-responders, and MS components were not significantly associated with SVR. Steatosis tended to attenuate SVR (OR = 0.596; 95%CI: 0.331-1.073, P = 0.08).CONCLUSIONSVR was associated with lower de novo T2DM and IFG incidence and higher triglyceride levels. Patients infected with HCV should undergo T2DM screening and antidiabetic treatment.

Key Clinical MessageCapsule endoscopy was used to detect intestinal Taenia saginata infection in a 19‐year‐old man. The patient was initially believed to have Crohn's disease due to a notable family history of the disease. Capsule endoscopy is a valuable tool for diagnosing tapeworm infection even when Crohn's disease is suspected.