Increased expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with autoimmune hepatitis

Background: Previous studies have indicated an elevated level of serum Interleukin [IL]-22 in patients with autoimmune hepatitis [AIH]. However, there are no experimental data on the master transcription factor [aryl hydrocarbon receptor] that plays an important role in the development of T helper type 22 [Th22] cells as major producers of IL-22. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor in patients with AIH and in normal controls

Methods: Levels of mRNA transcripts were measured in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 18 patients with AIH and compared with 18 normal controls by a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction

Results: mRNA expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor was significantly higher in patients with AIH compared with the healthy control group [P=0.006]

Conclusion: Th22 cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of AIH

Dermatologic manifestations of hepatitis C infection and the effect of interferon therapy: a literature review

The skin could be a main target organ for extrahepatic manifestations in hepatitis C virus- [HCV] infected patients and research data suggest that interferon treatment may be associated with immune-mediated skin lesions. However, case reports propose that the response of dermatologic extrahepatic manifestations to interferon in patients with chronic HCV is greatly different. The objective of this study is to summarize currently available data on dermatologic conditions associated with chronic HCV infection. In addition, we investigate the incidence of the development of immune mediated dermatologic disorders during interferon therapy in these patients

autoimmune diseases manifested by production of autoantibodies: the autoantigens identified by random peptide library

Phage-displayed random peptide libraries [RPL] provide a powerful technique for identification, structural and functional analysis of ligands for many different target molecules, including, antibodies, receptors or other proteins. This strategy has been verified to be an effective tool for research in immunology and successfully has been used to determine the target sequence for monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. The peptide library approach provides great promise for characterization of ligands with no prior information concerning antibody specificity. This would allow the recognition of candidate antigens involved in initiation or perpetuation of autoimmune diseases. This technology also offers the potential for new therapeutic opportunities, production of diagnostic reagents, or even development of effective new vaccines. This review focuses on studies regarding the identification of autoantigens recognized by antibodies in autoimmune diseases using phage-display peptide libraries

Serum antibodies against hepatitis C Virus in Iranian patients with graves' disease

Hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection has been associated with a plethora of immune and autoimmune perturbations. A variety of conditions ranging from endocrinopathies to different skin diseases has been described in HCV infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and clinical significance of HCV infection in patients with graves' disease [GD]. A total of 55 patients with GD [30 women, 25 men, mean age: 35.24 +/- 12.27 years] and 50 control subjects [28 women, 22 men, mean age: 33.34 +/- 11.99 years] were examined. Third generation ELISA test was used for detection of antibodies to HCV in human sera, and anti-HCV seropositivity was confirmed by recombinant immunoblot assay [RIBA]. All normal controls were anti-HCV negative whereas anti-HCV antibody was present in 1 patient with GD and confirmed by Western blotting. These results indicate that there was no significant difference of anti-HCV antibodies between patients and controls. In this study no relationship was found between GD and HCV infection, which imply that hepatitis C virus has not a direct causal role in the pathogenesis of GD, however, this does not rule out a “hit and run” virus induced disease

Identification of hitherto undefined B-cell epitopes by antibodies in the sera of vitillgo patients using phage-display peptide library

A random 12 mers phage library was used to screen a pool of immunoglobulin fractions obtained from vitiligo patients. Subsequent to panning experiments, a panel of affinity selected phage from vitiligo patients were obtained. This panel was tested using an ELISA for their reactivity with pooled sera from patients and normal controls. Among the 16 randomly selected clones, two of clones showed distinct positive reactivity with the patient's sera compared with controls. The peptides displayed by these phages expressed the following amino acid sequences: SHMPLANQYQWA and NHVQAWEQFWDS. Thus, screening with phagedisplayed random peptide library of vitiligo sera can reveal peptide sequences that mimic vitiligo-related self-antigen