Dysregulation of RNA interference components in COVID-19 patients.

OBJECTIVE: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the novel coronavirus causing severe respiratory illness (COVID-19). This virus was initially identified in Wuhan city, a populated area of the Hubei province in China, and still remains one of the major global health challenges. RNA interference (RNAi) is a mechanism of post-transcriptional gene silencing that plays a crucial role in innate viral defense mechanisms by inhibiting the virus replication as well as expression of various viral proteins. Dicer, Drosha, Ago2, and DGCR8 are essential components of the RNAi system, which is supposed to be dysregulated in COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to assess the expression level of the mentioned mRNAs in COVID-19patients compared to healthy individuals. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrated that the expression of Dicer, Drosha, and Ago2 was statistically altered in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy subjects. Ultimately, the RNA interference mechanism as a crucial antiviral defense system was suggested to be dysregulated in COVID-19 patients.

Humoral immune responses against cancer-testis antigens in human malignancies.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are a class of cancer antigens with extensive expression in human cancers. Many researchers have detected antibody responses against these tumor antigens in serum of cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relevance of humoral immune responses against CTAs in clinical outcome of cancer patientsMETHODS: We searched PubMed/Medline with the key words cancer-testis antigen, antibody, humoral response and cancer. RESULTS: Humoral immune responses against CTAs have been detected in several human malignancies including skin, breast, brain and ovarian cancers. Some studies have shown associations between the presence of these responses in patients and patients' survival. CONCLUSION: Humoral immune responses against CTAs are putative biomarkers for cancer detection and follow-up.