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Pathogens
Special Issues
Opportunistic Infections in Autoimmune Disorders and Immunosuppressed Patients
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Opportunistic Infections in Autoimmune Disorders and Immunosuppressed Patients

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Immunological Responses and Immune Defense Mechanisms".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 4806

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sebastian Dolff

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Guest Editor
Department of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
Interests: Nephrology; Autoimmunity; Kidney Transplantation; Autoimmune Disorders; Clinical Immunology; Systemic Lupus Erythematosus; Vasculitis; Lupus Nephritis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Systemic autoimmune diseases and immunosuppressed patients i.e. after solid organ transplantation are characterized by altered cellular and humoral immune responses. The underlying disease and the frequently used immunosuppressive treatment make the patients prone to develop a broad spectrum of opportunistic infections. These infectious diseases include bacterial, fungal and viral infections.

The prevention, detection and treatment of infectious diseases in autoimmune diseases and immunocompromised patients is a pivotal clinical issue. Vaccination is one of the most efficient strategies to prevent diseases and studies in these vulnerable patients are necessary. Also biomonitoring of the immune system might be a helpful tool to foresee smoldering diseases and relapses (i.e. CMV-infections). In this special issue we want to encourage authors to submit work elucidating the role of B- and T-cells, dysfunctional T- and B-cell regulation in systemic autoimmune diseases and immunosuppressed patients with special regard to opportunistic infections. Following topics are of major interest

  • Activation and co-stimulation of CD4+T-cells
  • Cytotoxic T-cells
  • B-cell hyperactivity
  • Regulatory T-cells and B-cells
  • Biomonitoring of infectious diseases
  • Opportunistic infections in autoimmune disease (SLE, ANCA-vasculitis)
  • Opportunistic infections in solid organ transplantation (SOT)

Dr. Sebastian Dolff
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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10 pages, 750 KiB  
Article
COVID-19—Importance for Patients on the Waiting List and after Kidney Transplantation—A Single Center Evaluation in 2020–2021
by Simone C. Boedecker, Pascal Klimpke, Daniel Kraus, Stefan Runkel, Peter R. Galle, Martina Koch and Julia Weinmann-Menke
Pathogens 2021, 10(4), 429; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens10040429 - 03 Apr 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1848
Abstract
(1) Background: Dialysis patients and recipients of a kidney allograft are at high risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2. It has been shown that the development of potent neutralizing humoral immunity against SARS CoV-2 leads to an increased probability of survival. However, the question [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Dialysis patients and recipients of a kidney allograft are at high risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2. It has been shown that the development of potent neutralizing humoral immunity against SARS CoV-2 leads to an increased probability of survival. However, the question of whether immunocompromised patients develop antibodies has not yet been sufficiently investigated; (2) Methods: SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were examined in hemodialysis patients on the waiting list for kidney transplantation as well as patients after kidney transplantation. Patients were interviewed about symptoms and comorbidities, BMI, and smoking history; (3) Results: SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were found in 16 out of 259 patients (6%). The trend of infections here reflects the general course of infection in Germany with a peak in November/December of 2020. Remarkably, patients on the waiting list experienced only mild disease. In contrast, transplanted patients had to be hospitalized but recovered rapidly from COVID-19. Most interesting is that all immunosuppressed patients developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after infection; (4) Conclusions: Even with extensive hygiene concepts, an above-average number of patients were infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the second wave of infections in Germany. Because SARS-CoV-2 infection triggered the formation of antibodies even in these immunocompromised patients, we expect vaccination to be effective in this group of patients. Thus, dialysis patients and patients after kidney transplantation should be given high priority in vaccination programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Opportunistic Infections in Autoimmune Disorders and Immunosuppressed Patients)
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11 pages, 2284 KiB  
Case Report
Visceral Dissemination of Mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis in a Kidney Transplant Recipient
by Nídia Marques, Manuela Bustorff, Anabela Cordeiro Da Silva, Ana Isabel Pinto, Nuno Santarém, Filipa Ferreira, Ana Nunes, Ana Cerqueira, Ana Rocha, Inês Ferreira, Isabel Tavares, Joana Santos, Elsa Fonseca, Conceição Moura, André Cerejeira, Júlia Vide, Jorge Cancela, Joana Sobrinho Simões and Susana Sampaio
Pathogens 2021, 10(1), 18; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens10010018 - 30 Dec 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1981
Abstract
Intracellular protozoan of the genus Leishmania, endemic in the Mediterranean basin, are the cause of cutaneous (CL), mucocutaneous (MCL), and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). A 75-year-old woman was admitted nine years after a second kidney transplant (KT), due to persistent pancytopenia and fever. [...] Read more.
Intracellular protozoan of the genus Leishmania, endemic in the Mediterranean basin, are the cause of cutaneous (CL), mucocutaneous (MCL), and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). A 75-year-old woman was admitted nine years after a second kidney transplant (KT), due to persistent pancytopenia and fever. She presented edema and erythema of the nose in the last two years and an exophytic nodular lesion located on the left arm, with areas of peripheral necrosis and central ulceration in the last 18 months. A bone marrow biopsy revealed features compatible with Leishmania amastigotes, and polymerase chain reaction test (PCR) for Leishmania infantum was positive. Moreover, biopsy and PCR for L. infantum of the cutaneous lesion on the patient’s left arm and nose and PCR from peripheral blood were positive. Thus, a diagnosis of CL, MCL, and VL was made, and liposomal amphotericin B was initiated, but the patient had an unfavorable outcome and died. This is the first report of a KT recipient presenting with the entire spectrum of leishmaniasis. In Portugal, this infection is rare—so a high degree of clinical suspicion is required for its diagnosis, especially in endemic regions, as visceral leishmaniasis is a potentially life-threatening infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Opportunistic Infections in Autoimmune Disorders and Immunosuppressed Patients)
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