ABSTRACT
BK virus nephropathy [BKVN] is one of the complications of renal transplantation that causes graft loss in renal transplant recipients. To determine the incidence of BKVN after renal transplantation in Hasheminejad Hospital, Tehran, Iran. In this analytical cross-sectional study, we evaluated 31 consecutive kidney transplant recipients [21 men and 10 women] for BK and JC viral infections and BKVN during one year after transplantation, Urine of patients was tested for the presence of decoy cells and DNA of BK and JC virus by PCR. The serum load of BK and JC virus was assessed in patients 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after transplantation. Renal biopsy was performed in presence of allograft dysfunction or viral load>107 copies/mL. The prevalence's of decoy cells and BK and JC viral DNA in urine of patients were 16%, 29%, and 23%, respectively. BK or JC virus was found in 45% of the urine samples. During one year follow-up, no cases of BKVN was observed. Despite a high rate of BK viral infection, no one with BKVN was observed in our kidney trans-plant recipients. Therefore, screening of all transplant recipients for BKVN is not recommended
ABSTRACT
Hepatitis C is a major cause of liver related morbidity and mortality worldwide and represents a major public health problem. Depending on genomic organization, the virus is divided into six genotypes and a number of subtypes. Different genotypes are seen in different parts of the world. Genotype one is difficult to treat, while genotypes 2 and 3 are easy to treat. Therefore, identification of HCV genotype in patients is necessary to begin and follow up the treatment. In this study, viral genomic materials of 214 patients' sera were detected by nested-RT PCR. Based on genomic differences among different genotypes, the PCR products were digested with proper enzymes and studied by RFLP. Except for one, sequencing of 14 samples, representative of all genotypes, confirmed the results of PCR-RFLP. The results of PCR-RFLP were as follows: 1a [52.88%], 1b [14.01%], 3a [27.57%], 2a [2.1%], 4 [3.44%]. This indicates that a high percentage of HCV infected patients in Iran are infected with 1a or 3a genotypes. These findings reveal that the pattern of HCV genotypes in Iran differs from those of other middle-eastern countries