Polymorphism in promotor region of IL6 gene as a predictor for severity in COVID -19 patients.

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of coronavirus disease started in 2019 (COVID-19). IL-6 gene is located on chromosome 7. A considerable number of polymorphisms was identified in the IL-6 gene. Polymorphism in IL-6-174C allele is associated with a higher level of IL-6 production and this may lead to severity of in COVID-19 patients. We intended to investigate the role of polymorphism in the promotor region of IL-6 gene as a predictor for disease severity in COVID-19 patients. Fifty patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and classified into moderate and severe groups and twenty apparently healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Genotyping for IL-6 gene (-174G/C) was done by using TaqMan SNP genotyping assay for all studied groups. The distribution of different IL-6-174G/C genotypes among COVID-19 patients was 76% for GG genotype, 22% for GC genotype and 2% for CC genotype. Whereas the distribution of genotypes among the control group was 80% for GG genotype, 20% for GC genotype and 0.0% for CC genotype. The G allele distribution was 87% and 90% in the patients and control groups, respectively, while the C allele was 13% and 10% in the patients and control groups, respectively. There was no significant statistical association between different genotypes, severity and treatment outcome in the patients group. In conclusion, this study showed no relation between -174G/C IL-6 gene polymorphism and disease, in COVID-19 patients. Keywords: Interleukin-6, Promotor region, Polymorphism, COVID-19, Severity.

Stability of MERS-CoV RNA on spin columns of RNA extraction kit at room temperature.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging virus causing a highly fatal respiratory disease in humans. Confirmation of MERS-CoV infection and molecular study on the virus may require transportation of samples to specialized laboratories. While freezing at -80 °C is the gold standard method for RNA preservation, maintaining the integrity of viral RNA during transport will require additional precautions and, as a result, increase transport costs. We aimed at testing the stability of MERS-CoV RNA on spin columns of RNA extraction kit at room temperature for 16 weeks. Respiratory samples spiked with stock culture of MERS-CoV were extracted and loaded on QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit spin columns and preserved at room temperature. Amount of viral RNA was evaluated periodically by real-time quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Minimal changes in cycle threshold values over the study period were noted, suggesting stability of viral RNA by this preservation method.

The Role of Serum Interleukin-27 As A Diagnostic Biomarker For Diagnosis of Neonatal Sepsis.

Neonatal sepsis remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity in neonates, Traditional methods for diagnosis like blood culture has a low sensitivity and delayed results in neonates. This study aimed to measure the level of interleukin-27 (IL-27) in sera of patients with neonatal sepsis to determine its potential role as a biomarker for diagnosis of bacterial sepsis. This prospective study included 90 neonates with suspected neonatal sepsis. Plasma levels of IL-27 were measured using an ELISA; blood culture, 16s r DNA and C-reactive protein (CRP) level were done to diagnose sepsis. The ROC curve analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive ability of IL 27 and CRP individually and in combination to identify bacterial sepsis in neonates. The Studied neonates were divided into 45 patients with neonatal sepsis and 45 uninfected systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) patients as controls. 30 neonates in the infected group were identified by positive blood culture results (66.6%) and 15 patients were identified by being positive for 16s r DNA (33.3%). For IL- 27, the ROC area under the curve (AUC) was 0.991 and a cut-off point of > 485.56 with sensitivity of 95.56% and a specificity of 100%. For CRP, the AUC value was 0.933 and a cut-off point of > 32 with sensitivity of 88.89% and a specificity of 82.22%. In conclusion, our results indicated that elevated IL-27 correlated well with bacterial sepsis among neonatal patients with bloodstream infections and may provide additional diagnostic value along with other available biomarkers.