Evaluation of the prevalence of bovine leukemia virus DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of multiple sclerosis patients.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune system-mediated neurodegenerative disease. Recent studies suggest that viral agents, especially the Epstein Barr virus (EBV), are etiological agents for MS. The roles of other viruses in MS have been investigated. Studies have shown an increase in the level of antibodies against bovine leukemia virus (BLV) in patients with MS. In this regard, our study aimed to examine the presence of BLV DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of MS patients in Iran. In this cross-sectional study, the presence of BLV in 109 Iranian MS patients and 60 healthy controls was evaluated. The isolated PBMCs were used for DNA extraction and PCR, using specific primers for two distinct genes. The mean age of the participants was 39 ± 9.5 years, and 27 (24.77%) of them were male. Clinical evaluation of these patients showed the most frequent MS type to be relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (71; 65.14%). BLV evaluation did not show any BLV DNA presence in the PBMCs of individuals in either the MS or healthy control groups. Therefore, our study showed no evidence of BLV infection in Iranian MS patients.

The association between CD3+ and CD8+tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and prognosis in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), with more than 250,000 deaths each year, is the eighth leading cause of death worldwide, with a five-year survival of less than 5% and a median recurrence time between 5 and 23 months. The association between PDAC and CD3+/CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and the extent of tumor spread and clinical outcomes has been recently shown. This study aimed to determine and compare the density of TILs and their association with disease prognosis in patients with PDAC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we collected PDAC tissues and corresponding adjacent normal tissues from 64 patients with TIL-positive PDAC. The immunohistochemistry method was used for the detection of the expression levels of CD3+ and CD8+ TILs in PDAC tissues. Also, the completed follow-up history was evaluated for at least five years. RESULTS: The frequency of intratumoral and peritumoral TILs was 20 (31.2%) and 44 (68.8%), respectively. The mean density of CD3+ TILs and CD8+ TILs was 67.73%±20.17% and 69.45%±17.82%, respectively. The density of CD3+ TILs and CD8+ TILs was not associated with overall survival nor metastasis-free survival of the patients and tumor grade. However, the density of TILs was significantly lower in those patients who experienced tumor recurrence than those without this recurrence. CONCLUSION: TILs density was high in patients with PDAC. The density of both CD3+ and CD8+ TILs was significantly lower in patients who experienced tumor recurrence. Thus, this study suggests that tracking and determining the density of CD3+ and CD8+ TILs might be effective in predicting PDAC recurrence.

Signal transduction pathway mutations in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of the signaling pathways mutation rate in the Gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancers in a systematic review and meta-analysis study. The study was performed based on the PRISMA criteria. Random models by confidence interval (CI: 95%) were used to calculate the pooled estimate of prevalence via Metaprop command. The pooled prevalence indices of signal transduction pathway mutations in gastric cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer were 5% (95% CI: 3-8%), 12% (95% CI: 8-18%), 17% (95% CI: 14-20%), and 20% (95% CI: 5-41%), respectively. Also, the mutation rates for Wnt pathway and MAPK pathway were calculated to be 23% (95% CI, 14-33%) and 20% (95% CI, 17-24%), respectively. Moreover, the most popular genes were APC (in Wnt pathway), KRAS (in MAPK pathway) and PIK3CA (in PI3K pathway) in the colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and gastric cancer while they were beta-catenin and CTNNB1 in liver cancer. The most altered pathway was Wnt pathway followed by the MAPK pathway. In addition, pancreatic cancer was found to be higher under the pressure of mutation compared with others based on pooled prevalence analysis. Finally, APC mutations in colorectal cancer, KRAS in gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer were mostly associated gene alterations.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Immunological approaches and emerging pharmacologic treatments.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is an etiological agent of pandemic COVID-19, which spreads rapidly worldwide. No proven effective therapies currently exist for this virus, and efforts to develop antiviral strategies for the treatment of COVID-19 are underway. The rapidly increasing understanding of SARS-CoV-2 virology provides a notable number of possible immunological procedures and drug targets. However, gaps remain in our understanding of the pathogenesis of COVID-19. In this review, we describe the latest information in the context of immunological approaches and emerging current antiviral strategies for COVID-19 treatment.

Molecular epidemiology of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) in Iranian military trainees with acute respiratory symptoms in 2017.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection in many populations, including military recruits receiving basic training. Therefore, this study was set out to determine the molecular epidemiology, genotype and phylogenetic features of RSVs in patients with respiratory infection as a case study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, military barracks of Tehran, Iran, between January to March 2017 exposed to respiratory diseases were used for sampling. Throat swabs were taken, a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) assay was performed to identify RSV and then the genotyping and phylogenetic analyses of RSVs in patients with a respiratory infection. RESULTS: Among 400 Iranian military trainees with respiratory symptoms, RSV infection was identified in 2.75% (11/400) using RT-PCR. Sequencing showed the incidence of type A (2.5%, n=10) to be much higher than type B (0.25%, n=1); Sore throat was the most common symptom among RSV patients. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the majority of strains from the studied samples were more consistent with those from the Philippines and the US strains. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to document RSV as a major cause of acute respiratory illness among military trainees in Iran. The prevalence of RSV is substantial in the cold season and the prevalence of genotype A is dominant in the country, leading to take essential steps in preparing a preventive vaccine against this viral infection.