Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Markers among the Women with Breast Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer represents a formidable peril to the female populace on a worldwide level. The association between breast cancer and various factors, including viral infections, has been extensively investigated. Recently, the link between HBV infection and breast cancer patients has garnered attention. The present research aims to assess the prevalence of HBV markers among women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ahvaz city, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum specimens were procured from 90 patients who had been clinically diagnosed with breast cancer. The age of the patients ranged from 29 to 80 years, with a mean age of 49.42±10.7. Histological examination of biopsy specimens revealed that 75 (83.33%) were ductal, 11 (8.88%) lobular, 2 (2.22%) mucinous, 1 (1.11%) medullary, and 1 (1.11%) was metastatic. The serum samples were subjected to initial HBsAg and anti-HBc testing via ELISA. Samples that tested seropositive (HBsAg + anti-HBc) were subsequently analyzed for the S region of HBV through nested PCR and DNA sequencing. Finally, a phylogenetic tree was constructed for positive HBV DNA tests. RESULTS: Among the 5/90 (5.55%) cancer patients, it was found that 3 (3.33%) cases of ductal carcinoma and one (1.11%) lobular carcinoma displayed positivity for HBV markers (HBsAg, anti-HBc, HBV PCR). Notably, one (1.11%) patient with ductal carcinoma solely demonstrated anti-HBc positivity. The phylogenetic tree analysis of the S region revealed that all HBV strains identified were categorized as genotype D. CONCLUSION: The statistical analysis did not reveal any significant findings (p= 0.315) in the distribution of cancer types across different age groups. Among patients diagnosed with breast cancer, a notable prevalence of 5.5% was observed in HBV markers. The dominant HBV genotype among breast cancer patients was identified as genotype D.

Status of anti-HEV IgG and IgM antibodies among the hemodialysis patients in southwest region of Iran.

Background and Objectives: Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) account for acute hepatitis, fulminant liver failure and chronic hepatitis worldwide. Several high risk groups including hemodialysis (HD) patients are at risk of HEV infection. Based on consequences of HEV infection it is important to determine the serological and molecular epidemiology of HEV in HD patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of HEV antibodies and HEV RNA in HD patients. Materials and Methods: The sera of 84 HD patients were collected and tested for anti-HEV IgG and anti IgM antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at Golestan hospital in Ahvaz city during October 2014 and November 2014. HEV RNA was tested in HD patients using RT PCR. The prevalence of anti-HEV IgG was evaluated in the age group (52/84) > 50 and (31/84) < 50 years. Results: Out of 84 patients, 52 (61.9%) were males and 32 (38.1%) females. The mean age of participants was 52 ± 1.57 years. 43/84 (51.19%) cases including 26/52 (50%) males and 17/32 (53.1%) females were positive for anti-HEV IgG (p=0.95). Among the 43 cases positive anti-HEV IgG 8 cases including 5 (9.61%) males and 3 (9.37%) females tested positive for anti-HEV IgM (p=0.729) while the HEV RNA was negative in HD patients. The distribution of anti-HEV IgG was 62.75% and 33.33% among the age group >50 and <50 respectively (p=0.015). Conclusion: This study showed high prevalence of anti-HEV IgG antibodies (51.19%) were observed among the HD patients while the HEV RNA tested negative in HD patients. The rate of HEV IgG is significantly higher with increased age. Further investigation require to identify the factors account for high seroprevalence of HEV in Ahvaz HD units.

Parechovirus and enteroviruses among young infants with sepsis in Iran.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Human parechoviruses (HPeV) and Human enteroviruses (EV) frequently cause a sepsis-like illness in young infants (younger than three months). Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the frequency of HPeV and EV among the young infants with clinical signs and symptoms of sepsis in Ahvaz city, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The blood specimens were collected from 100 (younger than 90 days hospitalized infants) including 54 (56.25%) males and 46 (43.75%) females with clinical signs and symptoms of sepsis-like disease. The RNA was extracted and tested for detection of VP1 region of HPeV and 5 UTR (Untranslated Region) of EV by RT-PCR. The sequences of positive of HPeV were further analyzed to determine HPeV genotyping. RESULTS: 5/100 (5%) of patients including 2/46 (2%) females and 3/54 (3%) males tested positive for HPeV (P=0.85). The analysis of 5 positive VP1 region of HPeV revealed the genotype 1. The analysis of sequencing and phylogenetic tree revealed that the isolated HPeVs were genotype 1. While 38/100 (38%) specimens including 16 (16%) females and 22 (22%) males were tested positive for EV (P=0.68). CONCLUSION: The frequency of HPeV genotype 1 was 5% among the young infants with sepsis. While frequency of EV was 38% among the young infants with sepsis. This study showed HPeV genotype 1 and EV are dominant in this region.

In silico functional and structural characterization of hepatitis B virus PreS/S-gene in Iranian patients infected with chronic hepatitis B virus genotype D.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection is the most prevalent chronic liver disease and has become a serious threat to human health. In this study, we attempted to specify and predict several properties including physicochemical, mutation sites, B-cell epitopes, phosphorylation sites, N-link, O-link glycosylation sites, and protein structures of S protein isolated from Ahvaz. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Initially, hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV DNA) was extracted from five sera samples of untreated chronic hepatitis B patients. The full-length HBV genomes were amplified and then cloned in pTZ57 R/T vector. The full sequences of HBV were registered in the GenBank with accessions numbers (MK355500), (MK355501) and (MK693107-9). PROTSCALE, Expasy's ProtParam, immuneepitope, ABCpred, BcePred, Bepipred, Algpred, VaxiJen, SCRATCH, DiANNA, plus a number of online analytical processing tools were used to analyse and predict the preS/S gene of genotype D sequences. The present study is the first analytical research on samples obtained from Ahvaz. RESULTS: We found major hydrophilic region (MHR) mutations at "a" determining region that included K122R, N131T, F134Y, P142L, and T126N mutations. Moreover, Ahvaz sequences revealed four sites (4, 112, 166, and 309) in the preS/S gene for N-glycosylation that could possibly be a potential target for anti-HBV therapy. CONCLUSION: In the present study, mutations were identified at positions T113S and N131T within the MHR region of S protein; these mutations can potentially decrease the effect of hepatitis B vaccination in vaccine recipients.

Molecular epidemiology of JC polyomavirus in HIV-infected patients and healthy individuals from Iran.

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is the causative agent for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in immunocompromised patients. More than 40% of healthy population excretes JCPyV particles in their urine. As JCPyV is ubiquitous in human, the definition of genotype distribution can help trace population migration. In this study, to define the frequency of JCPyV in southwest of Iran, urine samples of 161 volunteers including 80 healthy individuals and 81 HIV-infected patients were collected. PCR assays and sequence analysis were performed using JCPyV-specific primers designed against VP1 coding region. JCPyV DNA was detected in 65 out of 81 urine samples (80.2%) of HIV-infected, and in 43 out of 80 urine samples (53.8%) of healthy individuals (P = 0.001). The shedding of JCPyV among HIV-infected patients revealed an age-related pattern while such relationship was not observed in healthy individuals group. The most common genotype found in this region was genotype 3A (80.8%), followed by genotype 2D (11.5%), 4 (3.8%), and 7 (3.8%). The frequency of JCPyV in the urine of HIV-infected patients was found significantly higher than in the healthy individuals (P = 0.001).

The AP-1 pathway; A key regulator of cellular transformation modulated by oncogenic viruses.

Cancer progression is critically associated with modulation of host cell signaling pathways. Activator protein-1 (AP-1) signaling is one such pathway whose deregulation renders the host more susceptible to cancer development. Oncogenic viruses, including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human papilloma virus, Epstein-Barr virus, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1, and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus, are common causes of cancer. This review discusses how these oncoviruses by acting through various aspects of the host cell signaling machinery such as the AP-1 pathway might affect oncoviral tumorigenesis, replication, and pathogenesis. The review also briefly considers how the pathway might be targeted during infections with these oncogenic viruses.

Dominance of Variant Human Herpesvirus 6 A Among Hemodialysis Patients, Ahvaz, Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Hemodialysis (HD) patients are a high-risk population for acquiring blood-borne viruses such as HHV-6. HHV-6 can remain latent in the host cells after primary infection; the reactivation of virus may result complications such as seizure, respiratory failure, hepatitis, and encephalitis. There is a limited report concerning HHV-6 infection in HD patients in Iran. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the frequency of HHV-6 among HD patients. METHODS: We determined HHV-6 DNA in sera samples of 84 patients undergoing HD. The DNA was extracted from the sera samples and the presence of HHV-6 DNA variants A and B was evaluated by nested PCR. RESULTS: 52/84 (61.9%) of HD patients were males and 32/84 (38.1%) females. The age ranges of patients were between 18 to 85 years and the mean age was 52 ± 1.52 (± SD) years. Out of 84 sera samples, HHV-6 DNA was detected in 10 (11.9%) participants, including 6/52 (11.5%) in males and 4/32 (12.5%) in females. HHV- 6A was detected in 10/10 (100%) of positive cases. No HHV-6 B was found in HD patients. The distribution of HHV-6A DNA was not significant between genders (P > .05). Out of 84 HD patients, 55 (65.47%) cases were over 50 years, among them 10 (18.18%) cases were positive for HHV-6 A infection (P < .05). CONCLUSION: The results showed that only HHV-6 DNA variant A was found in 11.9% of HD patients. Regarding the consequence of HHV-6 reactivation, to manage and improve treatment, the screening of HHV-6 DNA test should be implemented for HD patients.

Human Cytomegalovirus DNA among Women with Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cause of death among women worldwide. Although there are many known risk factors in breast cancer development, infectious diseases have appeared as one of the important key to contribute to carcinogenesis formation. The effects of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) on women with breast cancer has been recently studied and reported. To contribute to this research trend, this study was conducted to evaluate the association between HCMV and the women with breast cancer. Objective: This experiment aimed to evaluate HCMV DNA in women with breast cancer in Ahvaz city, Iran. Materials and Methods: A total of 37 formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues of the patients with ductal breast carcinoma and 35 paraffin embedded tissues of the patients with fibro adenoma as control group were collected. The deparaffinization of all the samples were carried out and the DNA was extracted. Initially, the PCR test was carried out to detect beta ­globulin DNA as an internal control. For those samples positive for beta ­globulin DNA, Polymerase Chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect HCMV for the tests and control samples. Results: Among 37 ductal breast carcinoma, 20 (54.04%) cases were proved positive for HCMV DNA by PCR. While among the 35 control group (fibroadenoma), 10 (28.57%) cases were positive for HCMV DNA (P >0.028). The prevalences of HCMV DNA among the age groups 30-39, 40-49 and >50 years were 7 (72.22%), 9 (69.23%), 4 (57.14%), respectively (P=0.066). A high frequency of HCMV DNA was detected in tumor grade III, 13/18 (58.33%) compared with tumor grade II, 7/19 (36.84%) (p=0.044). A high frequency of 16/24 (66.66%) of HCMV DNA was found in invasive ductal breast cancer compared with 4/13 (30.76%) HCMV DNA in situ (P<0.028). Conclusion: A high prevalence of 54.05% HCMV was found among the patients with ductal carcinoma. The percentages of the high prevalence of HCMV among age group (40-49) years, tumors grades, and invasive stage were (69.23%), (58.33%), (66.66%), respectively. Further study of HCMV in the latency phase in patients with ductal carcinoma would be necessary to extend our knowledge.

The frequency of Epstein-Barr virus among hemodialysis patients, Ahvaz, Iran.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has infected more than 90% of adults worldwide. EBV infection is asymptomatic in healthy individuals and is controlled by a robust immune response while in individuals with weakened immunesystems including Hemodialysis (HD) patients and transplant recipients leads to serious illnesses. This study was aimed to investigate the frequency of EBV among the HD patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cross-sectional study was carried out on 84 HD patients. These sera were checked for anti-EBV (VCA) IgG Ab assessment using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The DNA was extracted from the sera samples and tested for EBV DNA using nested PCR. RESULTS: 52/84 (61.9%) of HD were males and 32/84 (38.1%) were females. The average age of participants was varying from 18 to 85 years while the mean age was 52 ± 1.57 SD years. 81 of 84 (96.42%); including 49/52 (94.23%) male and 32/32 (100%) female, were positive for anti-EBV (VCA) IgG antibody while 3 (3.58%) were negative. No significant differences were observed between the subjects regarding gender (P=0.28). EBV DNA was detected in 7 (8.33%) individuals, including 6 (11.53%) and 1 (3.12%) in male and female, respectively (P=0.24). CONCLUSION: Our study results showed that high prevalence of anti-EBV (VCA) IgG antibody (96.42%) were observed among the HD patients. Although the status of EBV latency was not performed, but it seems many of these patients are at risk of EBV-reactivation during the organ transplantation. As a result, it is recommended that the detection of EBNA-1 gene as a marker of EBV latency should be implemented for all HD patients to prevent EBV reactivation during organ transplantation.

Frequency of Epstein­Barr Virus DNA in Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tissue of Patients with Ductal Breast Carcinoma

Background: Ductal carcinoma is one of the most common breast cancer (BrC) among the women in the world. Several factors may involve in establishment of breast cancer. The role of viral infections have been investigated in BrC, Among them the association of Epstein Barr virus have been reported in the patients with breast cancer type ductal carcinoma. Thus this study was conducted to evaluate the rate of Epstein Barr virus in women with breast cancer type ductal carcinoma. Material and methods: A total of 72 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks samples were collected from 37 (51.38%) women with breast cancer type ductal carcinoma and 35 (48.61%) samples of breast with fibro adenoma as control group. The DNA was extracted for all the samples. The detection of EBNA 3C EBV DNA was done by nested PCR. The results of positive were sequenced to confirm PCR product and determine EBV genotypes. Results: About 10/37 (27.02%) samples of ductal breast carcinoma were showed positive for EBNA 3C EBV DNA while 4/35 (11.42%) of fibro adenoma were positive for EBNA 3C EBV DNA (p= 0.095). Randomly 7 PCR products were sequenced and the results of sequencing EBNA 3C shows, the detected EBVDNA were type 1 EBV type. Conclusion: This study shows high prevalence of 27.02% EBV DNA type 1 was found in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue of Patients with ductal breast carcinoma. The outcomes of this study suggesting that EBV might have a significant role in breast cancer in Ahvaz city, south west region of Iran. However the expression of EBV oncoproteins ,EBNA1, LMP1, and LMP2 require to be determined with ductal carcinoma cells. About 72.97% breast samples showed negative for EBVDNA. The role other viruses including Human cytomegalovirus, papilloma viruses and Merkel viruses are required to be investigated in further studies.