Laura E Valinotto

• PhD
• Hospital de Niños Ricardo Gutièrrez

The second wave of COVID-19 occurred in South America in early 2021 and was mainly driven by Gamma and Lambda variants. In this study, we aimed to describe the emergence and local genomic diversity of the SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant in Argentina, from its initial entry into the country until its detection ceased. Molecular surveillance was conducted...

The COVID-19 pandemic has lately been driven by Omicron. This work aimed to study the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineages during the third and fourth waves of COVID-19 in Argentina. Molecular surveillance was performed on 3431 samples from Argentina, between EW44/2021 and EW31/2022. Sequencing, phylogenetic and phylodynamic analyses were perfor...

Introduction : Coinfection with two SARS-CoV-2 viruses is still a very understudied phenomenon. Although next generation sequencing methods are very sensitive to detect heterogeneous viral populations in a sample, there is no standardized method for their characterization, so their clinical and epidemiological importance is unknown. Material and m...

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is a clinically heterogeneous heritable skin disorder, characterized by blistering of the skin and mucous membranes following minor trauma. Dominant (DDEB) and recessive (RDEB) forms are caused by pathogenic variants in COL7A1 gene. Argentina's population has a heterogeneous genetic background, and little is k...

La eritroqueratodermia variable y progresiva es una genodermatosis que, en la mayoría de los casos, se hereda de forma autosómica dominante y presenta una expresividad variable. Es producida principalmente por variantes patogénicas en los genes GJB3, GJB4 y GJA1. Estos genes codifican las proteínas conexina 31, conexina 30.3 y conexina 43, respecti...

SARS-CoV-2 variants with concerning characteristics have emerged since the end of 2020. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed on a total of 4,851 samples from the capital city and 10 provinces of Argentina, during 51 epidemiological weeks (EWs) that covered the end of the first wave and the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic i...

Molecular surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants was performed on a total of 2,406 samples from the capital city and nine provinces of Argentina, during 30 epidemiological weeks (EW) that covered the end of the first wave and the beginning of the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country (EW 44/2020 to EW 20/2021). The surveillance s...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has rapidly spread worldwide. Studies of transmission of the virus carried out in animals have suggested that certain animals may be susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2. The aim of the present study was to investigate the...

Ichthyosis follicularis, atrichia and photophobia syndrome (IFAP) is an X‐linked inherited disease caused by pathogenic variants in the gene encoding the membrane‐bound transcription factor peptidase, site 2 (MBTPS2). Clinical presentation includes ichthyosis follicularis, alopecia, photophobia and developmental delay. Hereditary mucoepithelial dys...

This is the first study of respiratory infections in Córdoba, Argentina, caused by endemic human coronavirus (HCoV)-OC43 and HCOV-229E, which circulated during 2011-2012 at a 3% rate, either as single or multiple infections. They were detected mainly in children, but HCoV-229E was also found in adults. HCoV-229E was detected in five out of 631 samp...

Here is a description of a protocol for whole genome sequencing of RSV from clinical samples (nasopharyngeal aspirates -NPA-). The protocol was tested with samples with viral loads as low as 10+03 viral copies/ml NPA. The RNA is amplified by RT-PCR in five overlapped fragments of around 2300-4500 nt in length by using specific primers which anneal...

Typical hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) is an exanthematous viral disease with a classic symptomatology of fever, papulovesicular rash on the hands and feet with or without herpangina. It is usually caused by enterovirus 71 and Coxsackievirus A16, members of the genus Enterovirus. Recently, worldwide outbreaks of HFMD with atypical manifestations ca...

Background: Kindler syndrome is a rare genodermatosis. Major clinical criteria include acral blistering in infancy and childhood, progressive poikiloderma, skin atrophy, abnormal photosensitivity, and gingival fragility. Methods: FERMT1 gene was sequenced in 5 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Kindler syndrome. Results: We report a novel p...

Over the last decade, the number of viral genome sequences deposited in available databases has grown exponentially. However, sequencing methodology vary widely and many published works have relied on viral enrichment by viral culture or nucleic acid amplification with specific primers rather than through unbiased techniques such as metagenomics. T...

Minimum (Min), maximum (Max) and average (Avg) depth of coverage with and without duplicated reads per gene per sample sequenced with C methodology. (XLSX)

Additional coverage profiles obtained per sample per methodology. C, E, H and I methodologies are indicated at the left of each profile and described in the manuscript. Sequenced virus and genome length are denoted in pink at the top of the coverages. Genome regions with depth of coverage upper than 4 are underlined in orange. GenBank accession num...

Here is a description of a protocol for whole genome sequencing of RSV from clinical samples (nasopharyngeal aspirates -NPA-). The protocol was tested with samples with viral loads as low as 10+03 viral copies/ml NPA. The RNA is amplified by RT-PCR in five overlapped fragments of around 2300-4500 nt in length by using specific primers which anneal...

The largest outbreak of dengue in Buenos Aires, Argentina, occurred during 2016. Phylogenetic, phylodynamic, and phylogeographic analyses of 82 samples from dengue patients revealed co-circulation of 2 genotype V dengue virus lineages, suggesting that this virus has become endemic to the Buenos Aires metropolitan area.

Additional information about the sequencing and analysis of dengue virus genomes.

Objectives: To evaluate the occurrence of secondary Dengue virus (DENV) infections during the 2009 outbreak in a non-endemic area. Viral loads were evaluated in serum from acute phase patients, comparing primary and secondary infection. Methods: Serum samples from patients with clinical diagnosis of suspected dengue were referred to the Virology...

We report two cases of St. Louis encephalitis where the virus was detected in patients' sera directly by molecular techniques allowing subsequent typing. Phylogenetic analysis of both samples showed that NS5 sequences clustered with viruses previously classified as genotype III.

The human adenovirus (HAdV) types most commonly found in respiratory samples belong to HAdV species C (HAdV-C1, -C2, -C5, and -C6) and to HAdV species B (HAdV-B3 and -B7). Several studies in South America have shown the association between severe respiratory infections and subspecies B1. The aim of this study was to identify the adenovirus types as...

An influenza pandemic caused by swine-origin influenza virus A/H1N1 (H1N1pdm) spread worldwide in 2009, with 12,080 confirmed cases and 626 deaths occurring in Argentina. A total of 330 H1N1pdm viruses were detected from May to August 2009, and phylogenetic and genetic analyses of 21 complete genome sequences from both mild and fatal cases were ach...

Pandemic influenza A H1N1 2009 virus presents a new challenge to health authorities and communities worldwide. In Argentina, the outbreak was at its peak by the end of June 2009, during the southern winter. A systematic analysis of samples from patients with pandemic H1N1 2009 studied in our laboratory (Virology Laboratory, Hospital de Niños R Guti...

A rubella outbreak was recorded in Buenos Aires during 2008. The objective of this communication is to present the genetic and phylogenetic analyses of wild-type RUBV circulating in Buenos Aires during the 2008 outbreak. Throat swab samples collected from patients diagnosed with rubella between June 2008 and December 2008 were inoculated in cell cu...

Microsomal cytochrome P450 monooxygenases of groups 1-3 are mainly expressed in the liver and play a crucial role in phase 1 reactions of xenobiotic metabolism. The cDNAs encoding human CYP2D6 and human NADPH-P450 oxidoreductase (CPR) were transformed into the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris and expressed with control of the methanol-inducible...