Little is known about the vaccine protective response for infants born from HIV-infected mothers. We evaluated the antibody response to hepatitis B, tetanus, and diphtheria vaccine in vertically HIV-exposed uninfected infants and compared them to those of control infants not exposed to the virus. The quantitative determination of specific neutralizing antibodies against hepatitis B, diphtheria, and tetanus were performed blindly on serum samples. The results showed that 6.7% of the HIV-exposed uninfected individuals were nonresponders to hepatitis B vaccine (anti-HBs titer, <10 mIU/ml), and 64.4% were very good responders (anti-HBs titer, >1,000 mIU/ml), whereas only 3.6% of the nonexposed infants were nonresponders ( 2 ‫؍‬ 10.93; 1 df). The HIV-exposed uninfected infants showed protective titers for diphtheria and tetanus but lower geometric mean anti-tetanus titers compared to those of the HIV-unexposed infants. Our data point to the necessity of evaluating vaccine immune responses in these children and reinforced that alterations in lymphocyte numbers and functions reported for newborns from HIV-infected mothers interfere with the vaccine response.

BCG-specific T-cell proliferation was reduced in HIV-exposed uninfected infants and IFN-γ concentration was lower in younger exposed infants, showing a delay in immune system maturation of HIV-exposed infants.

This review focuses on the mechanisms of DNA methylation, DNA methylation pattern formation and their involvement in gene regulation. Association of DNA methylation with imprinting, embryonic development and human diseases is discussed. Furthermore, besides considering changes in DNA methylation as mechanisms of disease, the role of epigenetics in general and DNA methylation in particular in transgenerational carcinogenesis, in memory formation and behavior establishment are brought about as mechanisms based on the cellular memory of gene expression patterns.

Objective. To evaluate diagnosis, age of referral, karyotype, and sex of rearing of cases with disorders of sex development (DSD) with ambiguous genitalia. Methods. Retrospective study during 23 years at outpatient clinic of a referral center. Results. There were 408 cases; 250 (61.3%) were 46,XY and 124 (30.4%) 46,XX and 34 (8.3%) had sex chromosomes abnormalities. 189 (46.3%) had 46,XY testicular DSD, 105 (25.7%) 46,XX ovarian DSD, 95 (23.3%) disorders of gonadal development (DGD), and 19 (4.7%) complex malformations. The main etiology of 46,XX ovarian DSD was salt-wasting 21-hydroxylase deficiency. In 46,XX and 46,XY groups, other malformations were observed. In the DGD group, 46,XY partial gonadal dysgenesis, mixed gonadal dysgenesis, and ovotesticular DSD were more frequent. Low birth weight was observed in 42 cases of idiopathic 46,XY testicular DSD. The average age at diagnosis was 31.7 months. The final sex of rearing was male in 238 cases and female in 170. Only 6.6% (27 cases) needed sex reassignment. Conclusions. In this large DSD sample with ambiguous genitalia, the 46,XY karyotype was the most frequent; in turn, congenital adrenal hyperplasia was the most frequent etiology. Malformations associated with DSD were common in all groups and low birth weight was associated with idiopathic 46,XY testicular DSD.

Gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-10 levels in supernatants and serum anti-PT IgG levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The net percentage of CD3؉ blasts in cultures with B. pertussis in the group vaccinated with wP was higher than that in the group vaccinated with the wP low vaccine (medians of 6.2% for the wP vaccine and 3.9% for the wP low vaccine; P ‫؍‬ 0.029). The frequencies of proliferating CD4 ؉ , CD8 ؉ , and ␥␦ ؉ cells, cytokine concentrations in supernatants, and the geometric mean titers of anti-PT IgG were similar for the two vaccination groups. There was a significant difference between the T-cell subpopulations for B. pertussis and PHA cultures, with a higher percentage of ␥␦ ؉ cells in the B. pertussis cultures (P < 0.001). The overall data did suggest that wP vaccination resulted in modestly better specific CD3 ؉ cell proliferation, and ␥␦ ؉ cell expansions were similar with the two vaccines.