The discovery of monoclonal antibodies made possible the immunological investigation of malignant hemopathies, facilitating the positive diagnosis. We are presenting several cases of acute leukaemia, chronic lymphoblastic leukaemia and one of multiple myelomas in which flowcytometry was useful for establishing the diagnosis. Today, flowcytometry represents an indispensable instrument for the ma...

A 28-years old lady complains of self-limited episodes of relapsing knee arthritis of 48-72h of duration every 2 weeks. Immunological profile was all negative. At the same time, radiological images did not reveal any abnormality. She underwent to knee arthroscopy, however, a definite diagnosis was not reached. We discuss the differential diagnosis of relapsing arthritis.

Neurocysticercosis diagnosis is based on a combination of clinical, epidemiological, radiological, and immunological findings. We describe a real-time PCR assay for the confirmation of neurocysticercosis diagnosis in cerebrospinal fluid. The assay, tested on samples from nine patients living in France and diagnosed with neurocysticercosis, had a detection rate of 83.3% and 100% specificity.

Laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) traditionally relies on smear microscopy and culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from clinical samples. With recent advances in technology, there have been numerous efforts to develop new diagnostic tests for TB that overcome the low sensitivity and specificity and long turnover time associated with current diagnostic tests. Molecular biological tests...

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied for immunological diagnosis of human tularemia, using lipopolysaccharide from Francisella tularensis as antigen. Sera collected from patients, healthy individuals, and vaccinated volunteers were investigated for antibodies against F. tularensis by ELISA and tube agglutination. In ELISA all sera were titrated with a polyspecific anti-immu...

The epidemiology and clinical presentations of giardiasis are reviewed to provide a basis of understanding the laboratory aspects of this parasitic infection. Diagnosis is then discussed in light of recent studies that challenge our overall approach to the diagnosis of enteric parasites and demonstrate the need for further evaluation on the basis of cost-effectiveness as well as reliability and...

Productive T cell recognition of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) is normally accompanied by the formation of a cell-cell contact called the "immunological synapse." Our understanding of the steps leading up to this formation has been limited by the absence of tools for analyzing 3D surfaces and surface distributions as they change over time. Here we use a 3D fluorescence quantitation method to ...

The area of contact between a T cell and an antigen-presenting cell (APC) is known as the immunological synapse. Although its exact function is unknown, one model suggests that it allows for T cell receptor (TCR) clustering and for sustained signaling in T cells for many hours. Here we demonstrate that TCR-mediated tyrosine kinase signaling in naïve T cells occurred primarily at the periphery o...

The coordination of T-cell migration and antigen recognition is crucial for an effective immune response. We have proposed that this coordination is achieved by formation of an immunological synapse between the T cell and the antigen-presenting cell (APC). Our view contrasts with the serial encounter model also proposed in this issue of Trends in Immunology, which is based on transient T cell-A...

Changes in immune system functions are one of the most important consequences of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Studies have reported a higher prevalence of disease mediated by immunological hypersensitivity mechanisms in HIV-positive patients. This study aims to observe how immunological changes in HIV-infected children interfere in atopy determinants. Fifty-seven HIV-positive c...