Development of a liquid phase radioimmunoassay for the measurement of serum ferritin levels for the detection of Covid-19 in patients.

The aim of this study was the development and analytically validation of a radioimmunoassay system for the measurement of the serum ferritin concentration as one of the laboratory biomarkers for infection by Covid-19. The main components of the system were prepared in our laboratories. The first component ferritin was extracted and purified from human spleen with high purity. The second component was the 125I-labelled ferritin tracer, prepared using Chloramine-T method. Furthermore anti-ferritin antibodies and ferritin standards were provided. The developed system is sensitive, precise, reproducible and. can be translated into a kit formulation suitable for measuring serum ferritin for the detection of Covid-19 in patients at low costs and high efficiency.

Potential immunotherapeutic role of interleukin-2 and interleukin-12 combination in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Many recent therapeutic interventions are necessary to improve the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), including immunotherapy, which seems to offer one of the new realistic therapeutic modalities. This study aims to investigate the optimization of immunotherapy for HCC patients by appraisal of both interferon (IFN)-γ levels and phenotyping of lymphocytes obtained from peripheral blood and fine-needle aspirates. METHODS: The isolated lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of interleukins (IL)-2, IL-4, and IL-12. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometric techniques were used for the assessment of human IFN-γ production and the studied T-cell subpopulations, respectively. RESULTS: Mixed cell populations of peripheral blood lymphocytes and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes treated with IL-2 plus IL-12 showed a marked and significant elevation in IFN-γ levels in their culture media, a significant decrease in the percentage of cluster of differentiation (CD)4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T-cells, and a nonsignificant increase in the percentage of CD8(+) cytotoxic T-cells. Meanwhile, IL-2 plus IL-4 treatment demonstrated nonsignificant effects. CONCLUSION: Our data suggested that IL-12 together with IL-2 caused a suppression of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T-cells and an elevation of IFN-γ levels, which play a crucial immunotherapeutic role in the management of HCC patients.