Determination of molecular epidemiologic pattern of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) in Alborz province, Iran.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is linked to two debilitating diseases, adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), which are prevalent in various parts of the world, including the Alborz province in Iran. Understanding the prevalence and evolutionary relationships of HTLV-1 infections in these endemic areas is of utmost importance. In the realm of phylogenetic studies, long terminal repeat (LTR) region of HTLV-1 stands out as highly conserved, yet more variable compared to other gene segments. Consequently, it is the primary focus for phylogenetic analyses. Additionally, trans-activator of transcription (Tax), an oncoprotein, holds a pivotal role in the regulation of gene expression. This cross-sectional study delved into the phylogenetic analysis of HTLV-1 among individuals in Alborz province of Iran. To confirm infection, we amplified partial sequence LTR (PLTR) and HTLV-1 bZIP factor (PHBZ). For phylogenetic analysis, we sequenced the full sequence LTR (FLTR) and full Tax sequence (FTax). The FLTR and FTax sequences underwent analysis using BioEdit, and phylogenetic trees were constructed using MEGA-X software. Out of the roughly 15,000 annual blood donors in Alborz, 19 samples tested positive for HTLV-1, indicating a 0.13% HTLV-1 positivity rate among blood donors. Furthermore, the HTLV-1 virus prevalent in the Alborz province belongs to subtype A (cosmopolitan) subgroup A. The findings revealed that while mutations were observed in both the LTR and Tax genes, they were not significant enough to bring about fundamental alterations. Despite positive selection detected in three Alborz isolates, it has not led to mutations affecting Tax function and virulence.

Frequency of adenovirus serotype 8 in patients with Keratoconjunctivitis, in Ahvaz, Iran.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis is an extremely frequent ophthalmological disease caused by various serological subtypes of human adenovirus (HAdV) worldwide. Adenoviruses serotypes 8, 11, 19, 37 frequently cause epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC). This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of adenovirus serotypes in patients with EKC in Ahvaz, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-eight ocular swabs were collected from patients with EKC. The specimens were analyzed for detection of adenovirus by standard PCR. The PCR products were further sequenced and analyzed to determine the serotypes. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 49/88 (55.7%) males and 39/88 (44.3%) females. Among them 25 (51.02%) males and 22 (56.41%) females were positive for HAdV serotype 8 (p= 0.488). Overall forty-seven (53.4%) samples were positive for AdV serotype 8 while forty-one patients (46.59%) were negative for the adenovirus serotypes. CONCLUSION: The results of this study revealed predominanance of HAdV 8 with high prevalence of 53.4% among patients with Keratoconjunctivitis. Forty-one patients (46.59%) were negative for adenovirus. Still, the role for other related viruses such as enteroviruses need to be investigated in patients with EKC.

Human Rhinoviruses A9, A49, B14 and Echovirus 3, 9 among the patients with acute respiratory infection.

  Background: Acute respiratory infection result in high mortality and morbidity worldwide. There are several viral factors that originate respiratory diseases among them Enteroviruses(EVs) and Human Rhinoviruses(HRVs) can be mentioned. HRVs and EVs belong to Picornaviridae family and they have been recently classified under Enteroviruses. The pattern of respiratory infections generating organisms varies according to geographical locations. Therefore, it seems necessary to organize an appropriate plan to manage common viral diseases exclusively about Rhinoviruses and Enteroviruses. PATIENT AND METHODS: A total of 100 samples were collected from patients with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) who were hospitalized in Ahvaz city hospitals during December 2012 to November 2013 (one year longitude). Semi-Nested PCR was done on samples for detection of HRVs and EVs using region gene of VP4/VP2. Phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary analyses performed with MEGA version 5 software find out the sequence homology among the detected HRV and EV serotype. RESULTS: The results of this study revealed that from of 100 cases of ARIs 19 patients (19%) were HRV positive and 3 (3%) patients positive for EVs. Most positive cases of HRVs were observed in the autumn season while 3 positive cases of EVs were equally found in spring, summer and autumn. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the HRV strains were HRV-A9, HRV-A49, HRV-B14 and EV strains were Echo3 and 9. CONCLUSION: The results of this study revealed that high prevalence of 19% HRVs, HRV-A9, HRV-A49, HRV-B14 serotypes and low frequency of 3% Echo Viruses, Echo3 and Echo 9 serotypes have been detected in patients with ARI.

Trimethyl Chitosan Improves Anti-HIV Effects of Atripla as a New Nanoformulated Drug.

BACKGROUND: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been commonly used for HIV treatment. Its main drawbacks like drug resistance and side effects raised researcher's interest to find new approaches for its treatment. Trimethyl chitosan is one of the drug carriers which has been introduced recently. MATERIALS AND METHODS: the conjugated atripla-trimethyl chitosan was designed and characterized by zetasizer, AFM and FTIR techniques. The drug conjugation with trimethyl chitosan and cellular uptake of nano-conjugate were determined by spectrophotometry. XTT test was used to measure the cytotoxicity. Anti-retroviral efficiency was studied by ELISA test. RESULTS: Zetasizer Results proved that the average size of nano-conjugate particles agglomeration was 493.4±24.6 nm but the size of the majority of the particles was 177.2±7.8 nm with the intensity of 87.9%. AFM technique revealed that the sizes of nano-conjugate and trimethyl chitosan were 129 nm and 59.78 nm, respectively. Zeta potential was -1.35±0.04 mv for nano-conjugate and -7.69±0.3 mv for drug. Conjugation efficiency of atripla with trimethyl chitosan was 5.27%. Measured cellular uptake with spectrophotometry for nano-conjugate was about twice of the free drug in examined concentrations (P=0.007). Compared to atripla, the nano-conjugate showed a higher inhibitory effect on HIV replication (P=0.0001). CONCLUSION: The result showed that atripla-TMC conjugate does not have a significant cytotoxicity effect. Due to the higher inhibitory effect of nano-conjugate on viral replication, it can be used in lower concentration for antiviral treatment, which resulted in reduction of drug resistance and other side effects.

Association study of four polymorphisms in the interleukin-7 receptor alpha gene with multiple sclerosis in Eastern Iran.

OBJECTIVES: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with unknown etiology. Various genetics and environmental factors contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. The interleukin-7 receptor alpha chain (IL-7Ra) was identified as the first non-major histocompatibility complex (non-MHC) MS susceptibility locus. In this study we are trying to find the association of IL-7Ra gene polymorphisms with MS susceptibility in Eastern Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case-control study was performed in two provinces Sistan & Baluchistan and Khorasan with 219 patients and 258 unrelated matched healthy controls, using PCR-RFLP method for four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs7718919, rs11567685, rs11567686 and rs6897932 of IL-7Ra gene. RESULTS: We found a tendency toward association with genotyping analyses in SNP rs7718919 (P=0.048, OR=4.344, and 95% CI=0.892-21.146); also genotype and allele frequency in gender and MS subtype stratification were shown to have significant association with MS. Analysis of two provinces separately showed a significant difference in results of the allele and genotype frequencies. Moreover, haplotyping analysis showed that (GTGC) has an association only in the male secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) patients in comparison to the healthy controls (P=0.043, OR=0.413, and 95% CI=0.179-0.955). CONCLUSION: IL7-Ra could be a susceptible gene to MS within the Eastern Iran population especially after MS and gender stratification.