Telomerase Expression Related with Poor Immune Response to HCV Core Antigen in Egyptian HCV Patients' PBMCs.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignant tumor of the liver. Aim: This study aimed to assess serum human telomerase enzyme (hTERT) levels and their relation to the progression of liver disease. Also, it aimed to assess the effect of hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein on memory T-cells in HCV patients with or without HCC and the correlation between memory cell phenotype and the progression of the disease in the same patients. Methods: HTERT level in serum was assessed through relative quantitative RT-PCR. Flow cytometric analysis was used to assess T-cell responsiveness (as IFN- γ secretion) before and after stimulation with HCV core protein and the memory CD8+ cell phenotype using several differentiation markers. Results: HTERT was found to be increased in a stepwise manner upon comparing its level in controls, chronic hepatitis patients, cirrhotic patients, and HCC patients. T-cells showed a similar manner of stepwise decrease in response (decreased IFN- γ secretion) in HCC patients compared to HCV patients without HCC and controls. Also, late differentiated memory cells (CD8+, CD27-, CD28-, CD45RA+, and CCR7-) were depleted in HCC patients compared to HCV patients without HCC. Conclusion: These results suggest a negative correlation between hTERT and IFN- γ secretion by T-cells in HCV patients and that this relationship, along with the depletion of late differentiated memory cells, could help the progression of liver disease to HCC.

Ameliorative effect of kefir against γ-irradiation induced liver injury in male rats: impact on oxidative stress and inflammation.

Ionizing radiation is a double-edged sword because of its benefits and risks to human health. Therefore, protecting human organs from harmful effects of radiation is an important concern of researchers. Kefir, as a good source of probiotics, received growing interest in protective medicine owing to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. Thus, this study was planned to investigate the protective role of kefir against γ-radiation-induced hepatotoxicity. Thirty-two male rats were distributed in four groups: (I) control, (II) received Kefir orally (5 ml/kg body weight) for 28 days, (III) exposed to whole body γ-irradiation (6.5 Gy) to induce hepatotoxicity, and (IV) was pretreated with kefir for 21 days then exposed to γ-irradiation followed by 7 days of kefir treatment. At the end of the experiment, complete blood picture (CBC), liver function, and lipid profile were estimated. Furthermore, levels of lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide content, and endogenous antioxidants, in addition to concentrations of copper, iron, and calcium were measured in liver tissue. Furthermore, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and relative gene expression of nuclear factor kappa (NF-κB) were assessed. The results revealed that oral administration of kefir significantly reduced the radiation-induced hepatic histological alterations, hepatic function impairment, and dyslipidemia. Moreover, kefir notably ameliorated the state of oxidative stress and appeared to inhibit the induced inflammation. This study provides a possible counteracting role of kefir against hepatotoxicity induced γ-radiation. This can focus the benefit of kefir application as a prophylactic treatment to limit hepatic inflammation during radiotherapy.

Relevance of cystatin-C, N-acetylglucosaminidase, and Interleukin-18 with the diagnosis of acute kidney injury induced by cadmium in rats.

The diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequently established on modifications in serum creatinine (SCr). The discriminative and prognostic aptitudes of serum cystatin-C as well as N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) and Interleukin-18 (IL-18) were inspected for the estimation of AKI. In this study twelve rats were alienated into two groups: control group received saline, second group received cadmium chloride at a dose (2.4 mg Cd/kg/day, i.p) for 30 days. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), SCr, and IL-18 serum level were measured in addition to serum and tissue content of cystatin-C and NAG. AKI model showed significant increase in BUN, creatinine, and IL-18. RT-PCR showed upregulation of cystatin-C gene besides significant increase of its level in serum. Additionally, tissue content of NAG was significantly increased. Our findings may provide that grouping of several biomarkers for diagnosis of AKI is a more valuable diagnostic tool than single-marker measurement.

Allostatic Load Assessment for Early Detection of Stress in the Workplace in Egypt.

AIM: Workplace stress is hazardous for its harmful impact on employees' health and organizational productivity. The aim of the study is to apply the Allostatic Load Index (ALI) which is a multi-component measure for health risk assessment and early detection of stress among workers in Egypt. METHODS: Sixty-two working adults randomly selected from two different working environments in Egypt were included in the study. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire for socio-demographic and work variables. Andrews and Withey test for Job Satisfaction was filled and 3 ml blood samples were collected. Markers assessed for Allostatic Load were serum cortisol, c-reactive protein, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate, total thyroxine, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, waist to hip ratio and body mass index. The risk quartile method was used for calculation of ALI. ALI value of four or more indicates high Allostatic Load. RESULTS: Job satisfaction scale defined about a quarter of the study population (24%) to be dissatisfied with Allostatic Load of 2.4 as the mean value. Population percentage with ALI ≥4 reached 12.9% with 100% of them females. A significant association was found between Allostatic Load of primary mediators and age, the presence of chronic diseases, place of work and female gender. CONCLUSION: Female gender and the old age of the Egyptian workforce under study are at higher risk of chronic diseases. Using an alternative way -for example, the cut-point method- instead of the risk quartiles for dichotomization of markers used in ALI calculation could be more precise for early detection of stress among healthy individuals.

Ischemic heart diseases in Egypt: role of xanthine oxidase system and ischemia-modified albumin.

It is known that xanthine oxidoreductase contributes significantly to ischemia/reperfusion injury by generating reactive oxygen species. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a biomarker of acute myocardial ischemia with high sensitivity but moderate specificity. Our study aims to evaluate the xanthine oxidase (XO) system and the IMA level in the serum of patients with ischemic heart disease, and their correlation with traditional cardiac markers. The study was conducted on 60 patients with ischemic heart disease and 22 healthy subjects (control group). Subjects were divided into three groups: group I (30 patients with ST-elevated myocardial infarction), group II (30 patients with chronic stable angina), and the control group (22 subjects). The patients and controls had laboratory tests performed including lipid profile, cardiac enzymes, XO, uric acid, and IMA. The serum levels of XO and IMA were significantly higher in group I (1.65 ± 0.29 U/ml and 0.58 ± 0.15 ABSU, respectively) than in group II (1.11 ± 0.20 U/ml and 0.29 ± 0.10 ABSU, respectively) and the control group (0.95 ± 0.16 U/ml and 0.24 ± 0.08 ABSU, respectively) (P < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between XO and IMA in group I. Also, there was significant positive correlation between XO or IMA and other cardiac markers, with the highest level of significance between IMA and creatine kinase (CK-MB). In group II only XO activity was significantly elevated in comparison with controls. These results confirm the role of XO enzyme in ischemic heart disease with involvement of IMA, at a detectable level, during the early necrotic phase.