Serum Levels of Soluble CD26, A Novel Prognostic Marker for Hepatitis E Infection.

BACKGROUND: Even without treatment, most acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) infected patients resolve HEV but sometimes the disease leads to acute liver failure, chronic infection, or extrahepatic symptoms. The mechanisms of HEV pathogenesis appear to be substantially immune mediated. However, the immune responses to HEV are not precisely identified. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the Th1/Th2 ratio by investigating serum soluble markers from Th1 and Th2 cells in acute HEV infected patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This case-control study included 35 acute HEV infected patients and 35 age and gender matched anti-HEV negative healthy controls. The serum levels of Interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-4, soluble CD26 (sCD26) and sCD30 were determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The results showed a significant difference in IFN-γ and sCD26 (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.001) yet not IL-4 and sCD30 (P = 0.354 and P = 0.159) between acute HEV patients and controls, respectively. There was a positive direct correlation between serum levels of sCD26 and IFN-γ in acute HEV patients (r = 0.64, P = 0.001). In addition, the ratio of sCD26/sCD30 in the acute HEV group was more than two folds higher than in the HEV negative controls. CONCLUSIONS: Acute HEV infection shows a pattern of Th1-type immune response, and the direct significant positive correlation between the serum level of sCD26 and IFN-γ in acute HEV infected patients, suggests that the trend of sCD26 levels is a valuable marker for predicting hepatic inflammation in hepatitis E.

Anti-perinuclear Factor as Diagnostic Marker in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

INTRODUCTION: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease. It is associated with several auto antibodies which can serve as diagnostic and prognostic markers. AIM: In this study, Anti perinuclear Factor (APF) was evaluated as a biomarker in comparison with Rheumatoid Factor (RF) in Rheumatoid Arthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty two sera of patients with RA (mean age 48±15.8), 23 sera of Patient control group (mean age 32.5 ± 16.9) and 30 sera of Healthy control group (mean age 32.1± 16.9) were analysed. The method is based on the binding of APF to perinuclear keratohyalin granules of buccal mucosal cell and its detection using a fluorescently labeled anti human total antiserum. RESULTS: APF were found in 71.2 %(37/52) of patients with RA. The sensitivity and specificity for APF from 1/5 serum dilution was 71.2% and 94.3% respectively. RF test had higher sensitivity (88.5%) compare to the APF test (71.2%), but its specificity was (86.8%) less than APF (94.3%). There was no significant relationship between the onset of APF and severity of disease but there was significant relationship between the APF titer and severity of disease (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that APF test is a valuable serological tool for the diagnosis of the disease and a useful serological marker to differentiate from the other inflammatory rheumatoid diseases.

Serum TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-2 in schizophrenic patients before and after treatment with risperidone and clozapine.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a disorder of the executive function of both sensory and central nervous system. Recent studies suggest that immune mechanisms play a role in the pathophysiology of this disease. The variations in cytokine concentrations have been associated with psychopathology and treatment of schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in serum concentrations of TNF-α, IL-10, and IL-2 in schizophrenic patients before and 40 days after treatment. METHODS: In a case-control study, 26 schizophrenic patients and 26 healthy individuals as a control group were enrolled. PANSS scale questionnaire was used for diagnosis and assessing the severity of the disease. All patients were then treated with risperidone or clozapine for 40 days. Serum concentrations of TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-2 were measured by ELISA before and after treatment in both groups. Paired t-test and Independent t-test were used for comparison of data. RESULTS: Comparison of TNF-α and IL-10 concentrations in patients before and after treatment revealed a significance decrease of TNF-α and increase of IL-10 concentrations (p=0.002, and p=0.008, respectively). Serum concentrations of IL-2 were lower than the detection limit of assay and were not detectable. In comparison with healthy controls, serum concentrations of TNF-α in schizophrenic patients were higher, while IL-10 concentrations were lower before treatment although the differences were not significant (p=0.291 and p=0.375, respectively). There was no correlation between cytokine concentrations and the positive and negative scale (PANSS). Also no significant difference in the admission, relapses, and duration of illness before and after treatment was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Increase of TNF-α and decrease of IL-10 may have an important role in psychopathology of schizophrenia.

Age-specific seroprevalence of anti-hepatitis a antibody among 1-30 years old population of savadkuh, mazandaran, iran with literature review.

BACKGROUND: To determine age-specific seroprevalence rates of hepatitis A virus (HAV) immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody in Savadkuh district, Mazandaran province, north of Iran, as well as to compare the collected data with earlier seroprevalence studies in the region and Iran in order to draw a proper epidemiological pattern for HAV infection in the country. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess an age-specific HAV seroprevalence among 1- to 30-yearold people in Savadkuh, a less developed district of Mazandaran province, north of Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study participants were 984 subjects who aged from one to 30 years and were residents of rural and urban areas of Savadkuh. They were selected using cluster sampling method and divided into five age groups: 1-2.9 (316 cases), 3-6.9 (254 cases), 7-10.9 (201 cases), 11-17.9 (115 cases), and 18-30 (98 cases). Anti-HAV antibody was measured by ELISA method. Seroprevalence rates among different age groups and their relationship to residency, educational levels of parents, water supply, and waste water disposal system was analyzed using chi-squared test. RESULTS: Overall seroprevalence rate was 19.20 % with no significant difference between rural and urban residents. The seroprevalence rates increased significantly with age: from 5.7 % in age group 1-2.9 year to 34.8 % in adolescents, and to 68.4 % among young adults (P < 0.0001); regardless of significant differences in educational levels among parents of residents in two areas it did not affect seroprevalence rates. Findings of this study and reviewing other reports from the region and the country suggest an epidemiological shift towards lower rates of anti-HAV antibody seroprevalence. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that anti-HAV antibody seroprevalence rate has been declining among Iranians and thereby more children would be susceptible to this infection. This would necessitate revising current strategies of preventative measures in Mazandaran and Iran.

The effect of beta interferon on dendritic cells and cytokine synthesis by CD4+ T cells.

BACKGROUND: Dendritic cells (DC) are a key regulator of the immune response, and interferon-beta (IFN-beta) is considered an immunomodulatory molecule for DC. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of IFN-beta treated DC to induce cytokine secretion by CD4+ T cells. METHODS: Dendritic cells were generated from blood monocytes with granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-4 with or without IFN-beta. We analyzed the production of CD4+ T helper cytokines (IL-17, IFN-gamma and IL-10) in the supernatant of the dendritic cell-T cell co- cultures by ELISA. We also studied the effects of HLA-G and costimulatory molecules on immature and mature DC. RESULTS: IFN-gamma and IL-17 decreased significantly in the presence of HLA-G-bearing DC compared to control cultures (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Using the mixed leukocyte reaction, we found that DC treated with IFN-beta mediated the inhibition of T cell activation via cytokine production. We conclude that this is important for preventing overactivation of the immune system.