Epidemiological evidence and association of human papillomavirus with esophageal cancer in northeastern Thailand: a case-control study.

Recently, epidemiological evidence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) and its association with the increasing risk of esophageal cancer (EC) have been described. However, the involvement of such a virus in the pathogenesis of EC is still inconclusive in the literature. Therefore, our objective was to clarify the epidemiology of HPV infections in primarily diagnosed EC cases and validate this correlation with hospital-based control patients using a retrospective study with a case-control model. Here, we reported that the overall prevalence of HPV DNA was statistically associated with an increased risk of EC (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 2.5-4.3). Interestingly, a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was constituted and significantly associated with HPV prevalence (adjusted OR, 4.6; 95% CI, 2.2-9.5). Furthermore, our meta-analysis in public databases also indicated that the combined OR and 95% CI between HPV infection and EC risk were 3.31 and 2.53-4.34, respectively, with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 78%). Variations in the geographic study, tissue type, and detection method remain potential predictors of heterogeneity. In addition, publication bias and sensitivity analysis were not observed, and the results exhibited stable outcomes. Collectively, we specify the recent epidemiological evidence in a validation of the distributed HPV, which might be statistically associated with an increased risk of EC. However, additional high-quality studies with larger sample sizes are needed to further verify the link between HPV and EC.

P16/Ki-67 Dual Staining in Positive Human Papillomavirus DNA Testing for Predictive Diagnosis of Abnormal Cervical Lesions in Northeastern Thai Women.

OBJECTIVE: Cervical cancer screening can effectively reduce new cervical cancer cases, including in Thailand. The abnormal results are subsequently referred for colposcopy. To avoid unnecessary colposcopy, an efficient triage is still needed for validation. This study aimed to investigate the overall positivity of cytology-based screening, HPV detection, and p16/Ki-67 dual staining and evaluate different triage strategies for predictive diagnosis of abnormal cervical lesions in northeastern Thailand. METHODS: Cervical cells were collected from 191 women who came for cervical screening in the gynecological outpatient department during March 2019-February 2020. Pap smear samples were classified into 6 groups including 17 atypical glandular cells (AGC), 21 atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US), 7 atypical squamous cells - cannot exclude HSIL (ASC-H), 26 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs), 19 high-grade SILs (HSILs) and 101 no squamous intraepithelial lesion (noSIL). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for HPV DNA detection. HPV genotyping was determined by reverse line blot hybridization. P16/Ki-67 dual staining was performed by using CINtec PLUS Cytology kit. Biopsies from abnormal screening were collected for surgical pathology classification. RESULTS: High-risk HPV (HR-HPV) infection was 2.97%, 29.41%, 38.10%, 57.14%, 46.15% and 84.21% in noSIL, AGC, ASC-US, ASC-H, LSIL and HSIL cytology respectively. P16/ Ki-67 in noSIL, AGC, ASC-US, ASC-H, LSIL and HSIL was 0.99%, 5.88%, 9.52%, 42.86%, 26.92% and 63.16%, respectively (P-value < 0.001). Among p16/Ki-67 positive cases, 96.15% (25/26) were infected with HPV and 84.62% (22/26) were HR-HPV. The overall positivity of each and co-testing between cytology or HPV DNA testing or p16/Ki-67 dual staining was evaluated. In each cervical lesion, primary HPV DNA testing showed the highest sensitivity, but low specificity. The combined all HPV/HR-HPV with p16/Ki-67 detection increased the specificity of abnormal cervical lesions. CONCLUSION: P16/Ki-67 dual stain cytology in HPV-positive women performs well for diagnosis of abnormal cervical lesions and should be considered for management of HPV-positive women to avoid unnecessary colposcopy referrals.

Characterization and Involvement of Exosomes Originating from Chikungunya Virus-Infected Epithelial Cells in the Transmission of Infectious Viral Elements.

The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne alphavirus that affects the world's popula-tion with chikungunya disease. Adaptation of the viral life cycle to their host cells' environment is a key step for establishing their infection and pathogenesis. Recently, the accumulating evidence advocates a principal role of extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, in both the infection and pathogenesis of infectious diseases. However, the participation of exosomes in CHIKV infec-tion and transmission is not well clarified. Here, we demonstrated that the CHIKV RNA and pro-teins were captured in exosomes, which were released by viral-infected epithelial cells. A viral genomic element in the isolated exosomes was infectious to naïve mammalian epithelial cells. The assay of particle size distribution and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed CHIKV-derived exosomes with a size range from 50 to 250 nm. Treatments with RNase A, Triton X-100, and immunoglobulin G antibodies from CHIKV-positive patient plasma indicated that in-fectious viral elements are encompassed inside the exosomes. Interestingly, our viral plaque for-mation also exhibited that infectious viral elements might be securely transmitted to neighboring cells by a secreted exosomal pathway. Taken together, our recent findings emphasize the evidence for a complementary means of CHIKV infection and suggest the role of exosome-mediated CHIKV transmission.

"Endoscopy Salon" for Controlling Respiratory Droplet Spreading During Endoscopic Procedure.

Introduction Preventing droplet dispersal is an important issue for decreasing the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) transmission rate; numerous personal protective equipment (PPE) devices have been recently developed for this. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel PPE device to prevent droplet spread during nasal endoscopic and fiber optic laryngoscopic examination and postuse equipment cleaning technique. Methods The "endoscopy salon" was created with a hooded salon hair dryer, plastic sheath, and silicone nipple. Comparison fluorescence dye dispersal from simulating forceful coughing with and without using the "endoscopy salon" was conducted to assess the droplet spread control. The effects of heat produced in the "endoscopy salon" and disinfection cleaning were also evaluated. Results Fluorescent dye droplet spread from a mannequin's mouth without using the "endoscopy salon" to care providers' clothes and the floor surrounding mannequin, whereas no dye droplets spread out when using the "endoscopy salon". The maximal temperature observed in the hair dryer was 56.3°C. During the cleaning process, when a plastic bag was attached to the hair dryer's hood to create a closed system, the temperature increased to 79.8 ± 3.1 °C. These temperatures eliminated four test organism cultures during equipment disinfection. Conclusion This novel "endoscopy salon" device prevented respiratory droplet spread and eliminated infectious organisms during postuse equipment cleaning.

Proteomics Analysis of Andrographolide-Induced Apoptosis via the Regulation of Tumor Suppressor p53 Proteolysis in Cervical Cancer-Derived Human Papillomavirus 16-Positive Cell Lines.

Regardless of the prophylactic vaccine accessibility, persistent infections of high-risk human papillomaviruses (hr-HPVs), recognized as an etiology of cervical cancers, continues to represent a major health problem for the world population. An overexpression of viral early protein 6 (E6) is linked to carcinogenesis. E6 induces anti-apoptosis by degrading tumor suppressor proteins p53 (p53) via E6-E6-associated protein (E6AP)-mediated polyubiquitination. Thus, the restoration of apoptosis by interfering with the E6 function has been proposed as a selective medicinal strategy. This study aimed to determine the activities of andrographolide (Androg) on the disturbance of E6-mediated p53 degradation in cervical cancer cell lines using a proteomic approach. These results demonstrated that Androg could restore the intracellular p53 level, leading to apoptosis-induced cell death in HPV16-positive cervical cancer cell lines, SiHa and CaSki. Mechanistically, the anti-tumor activity of Androg essentially relied on the reduction in host cell proteins, which are associated with ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathways, particularly HERC4 and SMURF2. They are gradually suppressed in Androg-treated HPV16-positive cervical cancer cells. Collectively, the restoration of p53 in HPV16-positive cervical cancer cells might be achieved by disruption of E3 ubiquitin ligase activity by Androg, which could be an alternative treatment for HPV-associated epithelial lesions.

Correction: Doum, D., et al. Dengue Seroprevalence and Seroconversion in Urban and Rural Populations in Northeastern Thailand and Southern Laos. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 9134.

There was an error in the original article [...].

Dengue Seroprevalence and Seroconversion in Urban and Rural Populations in Northeastern Thailand and Southern Laos.

Dengue is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. The detection of clinical cases enables us to measure the incidence of dengue infection, whereas serological surveys give insights into the prevalence of infection. This study aimed to determine dengue seroprevalence and seroconversion rates in northeastern Thailand and southern Laos and to assess any association of mosquito control methods and socioeconomic factors with dengue virus (DENV) infection. Cross-sectional seroprevalence surveys were performed in May and November 2019 on the same individuals. Blood samples were collected from one adult and one child, when possible, in each of 720 randomly selected households from two urban and two rural sites in both northeastern Thailand and southern Laos. IgG antibodies against DENV were detected in serum using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Overall, 1071 individuals participated in the study. The seroprevalence rate was high (91.5%) across all 8 study sites. Only age and province were associated with seroprevalence rates. There were 33 seroconversions during the period from May to November, of which seven reported fever. More than half of the seroconversions occurred in the rural areas and in Laos. Dengue seroconversion was significantly associated with young age (<15 years old), female gender, province, and duration of living in the current residence. No socioeconomic factors or mosquito control methods were found to be associated with seroprevalence or seroconversion. Notably, however, the province with most seroconversions had lower diurnal temperature ranges than elsewhere. In conclusion, our study has highlighted the homogeneity of dengue exposure across a wide range of settings and most notably those from rural and urban areas. Dengue can no longer be considered to be solely an urban disease nor necessarily one linked to poverty.