Shoshana Marmon

Bio: Shoshana Marmon is an academic researcher from New York University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Medicine & Teledermatology. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 10 publications receiving 4321 citations.

Identification of a major co-receptor for primary isolates of HIV-1

Abstract: Entry of HIV-1 into target cells requires cell-surface CD4 and additional host cell cofactors. A cofactor required for infection with virus adapted for growth in transformed T-cell lines was recently identified and named fusin. However, fusin does not promote entry of macrophage-tropic viruses, which are believed to be the key pathogenic strains in vivo. The principal cofactor for entry mediated by the envelope glycoproteins of primary macrophage-tropic strains of HIV-1 is CC-CKR-5, a receptor for the β-chemokines RANTES, MIP-1α and MIP-1β.

Decreased Bacterial Diversity Characterizes the Altered Gut Microbiota in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis, Resembling Dysbiosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract: Objective To characterize the diversity and taxonomic relative abundance of the gut microbiota in patients with never-treated, recent-onset psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods High-throughput 16S ribosomal RNA pyrosequencing was utilized to compare the community composition of gut microbiota in patients with PsA (n = 16), patients with psoriasis of the skin (n = 15), and healthy, matched control subjects (n = 17). Samples were further assessed for the presence and levels of fecal and serum secretory IgA (sIgA), proinflammatory proteins, and fatty acids. Results The gut microbiota observed in patients with PsA and patients with skin psoriasis was less diverse when compared to that in healthy controls. This could be attributed to the reduced presence of several taxa. Samples from both patient groups showed a relative decrease in abundance of Coprococcus species, while samples from PsA patients were also characterized by a significant reduction in Akkermansia, Ruminococcus, and Pseudobutyrivibrio. Supernatants of fecal samples from PsA patients revealed an increase in sIgA levels and decrease in RANKL levels. Analysis of fatty acids revealed low fecal quantities of hexanoate and heptanoate in both patients with PsA and patients with psoriasis. Conclusion Patients with PsA and patients with skin psoriasis had a lower relative abundance of multiple intestinal bacteria. Although some genera were concomitantly decreased in both conditions, PsA samples had a lower abundance of reportedly beneficial taxa. This gut microbiota profile in PsA was similar to that previously described in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and was associated with changes in specific inflammatory proteins unique to this group, and distinct from that in patients with skin psoriasis and healthy controls. Thus, the role of the gut microbiome in the continuum of psoriasis–PsA pathogenesis and the associated immune response merits further study.

Dissecting cellulitis of the scalp

Abstract: Dissecting cellulitis of the scalp is a chronic, relapsing, inflammatory disease of the scalp that results in scarring alopecia. We present a case of a 32-year-old man with recalcitrant disease who is now responding to treatment with isotretinoin. The pathogenesis, clinical presentation, disease associations, and histopathological findings are reviewed. Treatment can be challenging. The literature on medical and surgical therapeutic options is reviewed.

Verrucous epidermal nevus

Abstract: A 64-year-old man presented with a three-year history of an enlarging, pruritic, linear, verrucous plaque on his left lower extremity. Histopathologic examination was consistent with a verrucous epidermal nevus, which is a benign epidermal hamartoma, most commonly observed in the pediatric population. Verrucous epidermal nevi are often refractory to treatment and have high rates of recurrences, causing them to be therapeutic challenges. We review the treatment modalities reported to be effective in verrucous epidermal nevi.

Chemokines — Chemotactic Cytokines That Mediate Inflammation

Abstract: The attraction of leukocytes to tissues is essential for inflammation and the host response to infection. The process is controlled by chemokines, which are chemotactic cytokines. This review introduces the burgeoning family of cytokines, with special emphasis on their role in the pathophysiology of disease and their potential as targets for therapy. Structure and Function of Chemokines Over 40 chemokines have been identified to date, most of them in the past few years. The relations among chemokines were not initially appreciated, which led to an idiosyncratic nomenclature consisting of many acronyms. When initially identified, these proteins had no known biologic . . .

Resistance to HIV-1 infection in caucasian individuals bearing mutant alleles of the CCR-5 chemokine receptor gene.

Abstract: HIV-1 and related viruses require co-receptors, in addition to CD4, to infect target cells. The chemokine receptor CCR-5 (ref.1) was recently demonstrated to be a co-receptor for macrophage-tropic (M-tropic) HIV-1 strains, and the orphan receptor LESTR (also called fusin) allows infection by strains adapted for growth in transformed T-cell lines (T-tropic strains). Here we show that a mutant allele of CCR-5 is present at a high frequency in caucasian populations (allele frequency, 0.092), but is absent in black populations from Western and Central Africa and Japanese populations. A 32-base-pair deletion within the coding region results in a frame shift, and generates a non-functional receptor that does not support membrane fusion or infection by macrophage- and dual-tropic HIV-1 strains. In a cohort of HIV-1 infected caucasian subjects, no individual homozygous for the mutation was found, and the frequency of heterozygotes was 35% lower than in the general population. White blood cells from an individual homozygous for the null allele were found to be highly resistant to infection by M-tropic HIV-1 viruses, confirming that CCR-5 is the major co-receptor for primary HIV-1 strains. The lower frequency of heterozygotes in seropositive patients may indicate partial resistance.

Genetic Restriction of HIV-1 Infection and Progression to AIDS by a Deletion Allele of the CKR5 Structural Gene

Abstract: The chemokine receptor 5 (CKR5) protein serves as a secondary receptor on CD4 + T lymphocytes for certain strains of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1). The CKR5 structural gene was mapped to human chromosome 3p21, and a 32-base pair deletion allele ( CKR5Δ32 ) was identified that is present at a frequency of ∼0.10 in the Caucasian population of the United States. An examination of 1955 patients included among six well-characterized acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cohort studies revealed that 17 deletion homozygotes occurred exclusively among 612 exposed HIV-1 antibody-negative individuals (2.8 percent) and not at all in 1343 HIV-1-infected individuals. The frequency of CKR5 deletion heterozygotes was significantly elevated in groups of individuals that had survived HIV-1 infection for more than 10 years, and, in some risk groups, twice as frequent as their occurrence in rapid progressors to AIDS. Survival analysis clearly shows that disease progression is slower in CKR5 deletion heterozygotes than in individuals homozygous for the normal CKR5 gene. The CKR5Δ32 deletion may act as a recessive restriction gene against HIV-1 infection and may exert a dominant phenotype of delaying progression to AIDS among infected individuals.