Intra-alveolar neutrophil-derived microvesicles are associated with disease severity in COPD.

Despite advances in the pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there is a distinct lack of biochemical markers to aid clinical management. Microvesicles (MVs) have been implicated in the pathophysiology of inflammatory diseases including COPD, but their association to COPD disease severity remains unknown. We analyzed different MV populations in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) taken from 62 patients with mild to very severe COPD (51% male; mean age: 65.9 yr). These patients underwent comprehensive clinical evaluation (symptom scores, lung function, and exercise testing), and the capacity of MVs to be clinical markers of disease severity was assessed. We successfully identified various MV subtype populations within BALF [leukocyte, polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN; i.e., neutrophil), monocyte, epithelial, and platelet MVs] and plasma (leukocyte, PMN, monocyte, and endothelial MVs) and compared each MV population to disease severity. BALF neutrophil MVs were the only population to significantly correlate with the clinical evaluation scores including forced expiratory volume in 1 s, modified Medical Research Council dyspnea score, 6-min walk test, hyperinflation, and gas transfer. BALF neutrophil MVs, but not neutrophil cell numbers, also strongly correlated with BODE index. We have undertaken, for the first time, a comprehensive evaluation of MV profiles within BALF/plasma of COPD patients. We demonstrate that BALF levels of neutrophil-derived MVs are unique in correlating with a number of key functional and clinically relevant disease severity indexes. Our results show the potential of BALF neutrophil MVs for a COPD biomarker that tightly links a key pathophysiological mechanism of COPD (intra-alveolar neutrophil activation) with clinical severity/outcome.

Quantitative Evaluation of Lobar Pulmonary Function of Emphysema Patients with Endobronchial Coils.

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in bronchoscopic lung volume reduction offer new therapies for patients with emphysema and hyperinflation. Pulmonary lobe segmentation with quantification of lobar volumes and emphysema severity plays a pivotal role in treatment planning and post-interventional assessment. Computed tomography (CT)-derived lobar volumes could reflect more accurate regional changes in pulmonary function. OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study is to validate the reliability of an in-house CT Lung Segmentation software (LungSeg; the Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London, UK) for lung lobar volume and emphysema quantification for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. METHODS: A total of 108 CT scans from subjects who participated in an endobronchial coil treatment trial were included. Lobar volume and emphysema quantification were performed using the LungSeg and Syngo CT Pulmo 3D package (Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Germany). The inter-user reliability of the LungSeg program was investigated. Correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman analyses were used to quantify the inter-software variability. The agreement between CT volume analysis and plethysmography analysis was also examined. RESULTS: The high intraclass correlation coefficients (mean ICC = 0.98) of the lobar volumes and emphysema indices measured by LungSeg suggest its excellent reproducibility. The LungSeg and Syngo program have good correlation (rho ≥0.94) and agreement for both lobar volume (median difference = 94 mL and LOAnp = 214.6 mL) and emphysema index (median difference ≤1.5% and LOAnp ≤2.03%) calculations. CT analysis provides a higher estimation of total lung capacity (TLCCT) than body plethysmography (TLCpleth), while there is a fair agreement on residual volume (RVCT) by LungSeg as compared with body plethysmography (RVpleth). CONCLUSIONS: CT-derived lobar volume and emphysema quantification using the LungSeg program is efficient and reliable in allowing lobar volume assessment. LungSeg has low inter-user variability and agrees better with plethysmography for COPD assessment in our study.

Expression of CD133 as a cancer stem cell marker in invasive gastric carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Gastric cancer is considered to be the fourth most common malignancy worldwide and the second cause of cancer deaths. Regarding the cancer stem cells (CSCs) theory, they are a small group of tumor cells with unrestricted self-renewal and differentiation abilities that help tumor formation. There is an interest in the utility of CD133 as a promising marker to detect the tumor stem cell population for a variety of solid malignancies including gastric cancer. Tumors that express stem cell markers such as CD133 are found to be more aggressive tumors with poor prognosis and high liability for recurrence. This study aimed to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of CD133 in invasive gastric carcinoma and study the relation between CD133 immunohistochemical expression and different clinicopathological parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 77 cases of gastric carcinoma were collected from the surgical pathology unit at the Gastroenterology Center, Mansoura University, Egypt. CD133 expression in tumor tissue was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: CD133 expression positively correlated with tumor metastasis and recurrence. Multivariate analysis revealed CD133 positivity to be an independent prognostic factor for tumor recurrence (P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: CD133 is a good marker that can predict tumor recurrence and metastasis in gastric carcinoma. Even though, studies regarding CSCs are still in their initial stages especially those related to CD133 in gastric cancer.

ICSI outcome in patients with high DNA fragmentation: Testicular versus ejaculated spermatozoa.

Sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) has emerged as an important biomarker in the assessment of male fertility potential with contradictory results regarding its effect on ICSI. The aim of this study was to evaluate intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes in male patients with high SDF using testicular versus ejaculated spermatozoa. This is a prospective study on 36 men with high-SDF levels who had a previous ICSI cycle from their ejaculates. A subsequent ICSI cycle was performed using spermatozoa retrieved through testicular sperm aspiration. Results of the prior ejaculate ICSI were compared with those of the TESA-ICSI. The mean (SD) SDF level was 56.36% (15.3%). Overall, there was no difference in the fertilization rate and embryo grading using ejaculate and testicular spermatozoa (46.4% vs. 47.8%, 50.2% vs. 53.4% respectively). However, clinical pregnancy was significantly higher in TESA group compared to ejaculated group (38.89% [14 of 36] vs. 13.8% [five of 36]). Moreover, 17 live births were documented in TESA group, and only three live births were documented in ejaculate group (p < .0001). We concluded that the use of testicular spermatozoa for ICSI significantly increases clinical pregnancy rate as well as live-birth rate in patients with high SDF.

Semen quality and infertility status can be identified through measures of oxidation-reduction potential.

Standard analyses for evaluating semen quality require technical expertise and are interpretive in nature. Oxidative stress (OS) alters many of the semen parameters; thus, a measure of OS could be an indicator of semen quality. Static oxidation-reduction potential (sORP) is a universal measure of OS traditionally used in environmental applications but is increasingly used in biomedical studies. sORP was measured to determine how well it associates with semen quality and if it differentiates semen from infertile patients and fertile donors. All study participants (Infertile, n = 365 and Fertile, n = 50) underwent standard semen analyses, and sORP was measured in unprocessed semen. In infertile patients, sORP increased with decreased total sperm number, motility and morphology. sORP values were higher in samples with abnormal quality (low number, motility and/or normal morphology) compared with those of normal quality. Infertile patients had higher sOPR values compared to fertile donors. A sORP cut-off value of 1.38 mV/106  sperm/ml can differentiate normal from abnormal semen samples, while a cut-off value of 1.41 mV/106 sperm/ml, can differentiate between infertile and fertile semen samples. In conclusion, sORP provides a quick and unbiased indicator of semen quality that can be a beneficial addition to semen analysis to determine semen quality and fertility status.

Sexual dysfunction in Klinefelter's syndrome patients.

Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) is the most common chromosomal abnormality in men with infertility and hypogonadism. Although its influence on fertility has been extensively investigated, very few studies assessed the sexual function of patients with KS. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in patients with KS and investigate possible aetiological factors for reported findings. Medical records of 53 patients with KS were retrospectively reviewed and compared to 75 age-matched control subjects who were prospectively recruited. Sexual history was evaluated through utilisation of international index of erectile function-5 and Arabic index for premature ejaculation questionnaires. Sexual desire was reported subjectively by patients or controls. The incidence of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation in patients with KS was 18.9% and 22.6% respectively. Compared to age-matched controls, patients with KS had significantly lower incidence of PE. However, there was no statistically significant difference between both groups regarding erectile function. Libido was significantly lower in patients with KS than normal controls (54.7% vs. 17.3%, p = 0.001). Klinefelter's syndrome is a condition that has a variable presentation. Despite having a higher likelihood of reduced sexual desire, patients may have normal erectile function comparable to age-matched individuals. They tend to have a lower incidence of premature ejaculation.

Varicocele among infertile men in Qatar.

Objective of this retrospective study was to assess the presence and clinical grade of varicocele among Qatari and non-Qatari men evaluated for infertility. Diagnosis of varicocele was performed clinically and confirmed via colour Doppler ultrasonography. A total of 455 infertile male patients (mean age 36.3 ± 7.6 years) were divided into either Qatari (n = 91, mean age 37.3 ± 9.1 years) or non-Qatari (n = 364, mean age 36.0 ± 7.1 years) groups. Among all patients, 43.1% (n = 196) were confirmed to have varicocele, of which 40 were Qatari and 156 non-Qatari. Among all patients, 171 (37.6%) presented with left-sided varicocele and 25 (5.5%) with bilateral varicocele. Of the 196 patients with varicocele, grade I was given to 40 (20.4%), grade II to 68 (34.7%) and grade III to 88 (44.9%). Grade II and III varicocele were seen significantly more frequently than grade I among all patients and non-Qatari patients (p < .05). Grade II varicocele was seen more frequently than grades I or III among Qatari patients, but difference was not significant. Grade III was seen significantly more frequently than grade I among patients with secondary infertility (p < .05). Varicocele is an important health issue in Qatar among both Qatari and non-Qatari men.

Development and evaluation of a novel score for prediction of large oesophageal varices in patients with hepatitis c virus-induced liver cirrhosis.

OBJECTIVE: Variceal bleeding is one of the most common life-threatening complications of liver cirrhosis. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a predictive score, named Platelet count, Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and Prothrombin-INR (PAP) for the prediction of large oesophageal varices and to compare PAP score with eight common liver fibrosis scores (AAR, APRI, GUCI, BRC score, Fibro-Alfa, FIB4, Lok and Fibro-Q) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) induced liver cirrhosis. METHODS: A total of 277 patients with HCV-induced liver cirrhosis were evaluated by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for presence of varices. Liver biochemical profile, complete blood count, prothrombin time and AFP were estimated. Stepwise linear discriminant analysis and area under receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUCs) were used to create a predictive score (PAP score) comprising platelet count, AFP and prothrombin-INR. RESULTS: PAP score predicts large oesophageal varices in patients with HCV-induced liver cirrhosis with AUC of 0.85. The optimum cut-off for predicting large oesophageal varices using ROC curve analysis was 0.27. At this point the PAP score had 77% sensitivity, 86% specificity, 94% negative predictive value and 84% efficiency. The diagnostic performances (AUC) of eight common liver fibrosis scores were 0.58 for the AAR score, 0.63 for APRI, 0.66 for GUCI, 0.68 for BRC, 0.72 for Fibro-Alfa, 0.70 for FIB4, 0.72 for Lok and 0.77 for Fibro-Q. CONCLUSION: PAP scores a non-invasive, inexpensive and simple score that could predict the presence of large oesophageal varices reducing the need of endoscopy. The PAP score has a superior AUC score than other scores, suggesting improved clinical value.

Ovarian gastrointestinal stromal tumor: does this diagnosis exist?.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare gastrointestinal (GI ) tract tumors. Those tumors rarely arise extra intestinally; within omentum, mesentery, and rarely uterus. The authors report a case of myxoid variant of GIST arising in the ovary with no evidence of a primary tumor in the GI tract. Surgeons as well as gynecologists should bear this possibility in mind when managing pelvic masses.

Outcome of testicular sperm extraction in nonmosaic Klinefelter syndrome patients: what is the best approach?

Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is the most common chromosomal disorder associated with male hypogonadism and infertility. Parenthood can be achieved in men with KS by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using testicular spermatozoon. The aim of this study was to evaluate surgical sperm retrieval (SSR) rate in patients with KS and to investigate the approach associated with the highest SSR. This is a retrospective study where all medical records of patients with KS who underwent SSR for ICSI, in our centre in the past 14 years, were reviewed. Forty-three patients were included in this study. Twenty-three underwent conventional testicular sperm extraction (TESE), while 20 patients underwent microsurgical TESE (Micro-TESE). The SSR was significantly higher in the Micro-TESE group when compared with the TESE group (30% versus 0% respectively). In the Micro-TESE group, hormonal stimulation was given to 16 patients, while no treatment was given to four patients. SSR was only successful in hormonally treated patients (6/16). When the type of hormone stimulation was evaluated, SSR was higher in patients receiving aromatase inhibitors (27.8%). SSR in patients with KS is significantly higher when using hormonal stimulation by aromatase inhibitors followed by microsurgical testicular sperm extraction.

Outcome of microsurgical testicular sperm extraction in familial idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the sperm retrieval rate by microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (TESE) in familial idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA). One hundred and nineteen patients with idiopathic NOA who underwent microsurgical TESE over the past 5 years were included. Patients were then divided into two groups; Group 'A' with familial idiopathic NOA (11 families with two brothers in each family, 22 patients) and Group 'B' with nonfamilial idiopathic NOA (97 patients). Clinical data as well as data of microsurgical TESE were recorded. In Group 'A', the sperm retrieval rate was 9.1% (2/22 patients) compared to 45.4% in Group 'B' (44/97 patients) (P ≤ 0.05). The two patients in Group 'A' with successful sperm retrieval belonged to one family. The histopathological diagnosis was the same in the brothers in each family. It can be concluded that the testicular sperm retrieval rate in familial idiopathic NOA is significantly lower than in nonfamilial idiopathic NOA.

Cytokine profiles and hepatic injury in occult hepatitis C versus chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a new entity that should be considered when diagnosing patients with abnormal liver functions of unknown origin. This work was carried out to evaluate T-helper 1/T-helper 2 (Th1/Th2) cytokine profiles in patients with occult HCV infection versus chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection, also to investigate any association between theses cytokines and liver histological features in both groups. Serum levels of Th1 cytokines (IL-2, IFN-gamma) and Th2 (IL-4 and IL-10) were measured in 35 patients with occult HCV infection compared to 50 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and 30 healthy controls. We have found that Th1 cytokines were significantly increased in patients with CHC infection than in both occult HCV infection and control groups (p less than 0.001). On the other hand, serum IL-4 levels were higher in occult HCV infection than in CHC and control groups (p less than 0.001). Furthermore, serum IL-10 levels were higher in both patient groups vs control group (pless than 0.001), with no significant difference between CHC and occult HCV groups. Finally, only serum IL-10 levels were significantly higher among patients with high activity (A2-A3) than those with low activity (A0-A1) in both CHC and occult HCV groups (p=0.038, p=0.025, respectively). Patients with occult HCV infection exhibited a distinct immunoregulatory cytokine pattern that is shifted towards the Th2 arm.

Exploring the reported adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines among vaccinated Arab populations: a multi-national survey study.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a major challenge worldwide for the past years with high morbidity and mortality rates. While vaccination was the cornerstone to control the pandemic and disease spread, concerns regarding safety and adverse events (AEs) have been raised lately. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 1st and January 22nd, 2022, in six Arabic countries namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Iraq, and Algeria. We utilized a self-administered questionnaire validated in Arabic which encompassed two main parts. The first was regarding sociodemographic data while the second was about COVID-19 vaccination history, types, doses, and experienced AEs. A multistage sampling was employed in each country, involving the random selection of three governorates from each country, followed by the selection of one urban area and one rural area from each governorate. We included the responses of 1564 participants. The most common AEs after the first and second doses were local AEs (67.9% and 46.6%, respectively) followed by bone pain and myalgia (37.6% and 31.8%, respectively). After the third dose, the most common AEs were local AEs (45.7%) and fever (32.4%). Johnson and Johnson, Sputnik Light, and Moderna vaccines showed the highest frequency of AEs. Factors associated with AEs after the first dose included an increase in age (aOR of 61-75 years compared to the 12-18 years group: 2.60, 95% CI: 1.59-4.25, p = 0.001) and male gender (OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.63-0.82, p < 0.001). The cumulative post-vaccination COVID-19 disease was reported with Sinovac (16.1%), Sinopharm (15.8%), and Johnson and Johnson (14.9) vaccines. History of pre-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly increases the risk of post-vaccination COVID-19 after the first, second, and booster doses (OR: 3.09, CI: 1.9-5.07, p < 0.0001; OR: 2.56, CI: 1.89-3.47, p < 0.0001; and OR: 2.94, CI: 1.6-5.39, p = 0.0005 respectively). In conclusion, AEs were common among our participants, especially local AEs. Further extensive studies are needed to generate more generalizable data regarding the safety of different vaccines.

Prevalence of late-onset hypogonadism in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) or age-associated testosterone deficiency syndrome is defined as a clinical and biochemical syndrome associated with advancing age and characterised by symptoms and a deficiency in serum testosterone levels. This condition may result in significant detriment in the quality of life and adversely affect the function of multiple organ systems. It has been suggested that sex steroid hormones may play a causal role in the development of insulin resistance and type II diabetes. This comparative study was aimed at determining the prevalence of LOH in diabetic men with erectile dysfunction and investigating the effect of testosterone replacement therapy on erectile function and on glycaemic control.

[Virus-induced cancers: interplay between genetics and environment]. / Les cancers viro-induits: interrelations génétique-environnement.

Among cancers diagnosed worldwide on a yearly basis, 20% are thought to be associated with a viral infection. The viruses involved are, by order of decreasing incidence, the hepatitis viruses, the papillomaviruses and the Epstein-Barr virus. These virus-induced cancers generate a high level of interest not only for the study of mechanisms involved in the neoplastic transformation, but also for the set-up of specific immunotherapies including prophylactic and therapeutic antitumor vaccination.

Secure control design for nonlinear cyber-physical systems under DoS, replay, and deception cyber-attacks with multiple transmission channels.

This paper introduces the state-/output-feedback control for multi-channel nonlinear cyber-physical systems (CPSs). Many cyber-attacks are considered such as Denial-of-Service (DoS), replay and deception attacks. The deception cyber-attacks can be treated as measurement additive and multiplicative uncertainties. Both time-varying state-dependent and state-independent sensor additive attacks are considered. As DoS attack makes the CPS states unavailable, the standard modeling​ and control methods cannot be applied directly. Alternatively, as attackers in the replay attack re-transmit previous data and prevent the transmission of the more recent data, a delayed model is generated. To deal with these problems, a new observer at the controller side is proposed. It is used to perform two main tasks. The first is to estimate all system states at every time instant. The second is to exclude some unsecured transmitting channels from affecting the system response. Therefore, all attacks in these channels will have no effect on the system response. Using the estimated states, an anti-cyber-attacks state-feedback controller is investigated. Meanwhile, it is verified that the suggested approach certifies the convergence of all the CPSs states under different cyber-attacks. The effectiveness of the proposed secure control approach against different kinds of cyber-attacks is confirmed through two examples with simulation results.

Adaptive leader-follower control for nonlinear uncertain multi-agent systems with an uncertain leader and unknown tracking paths.

With unknown leader parameters and false or immeasurable tracking paths, the leader-follower tracking problem via adaptive control becomes more complex and challenging. Different from the existing work in the literature and in line with real-world applications, this challenging issue is solved in this paper for multi-agent networks with different kinds of unknown uncertainties in the followers such as partially known parameters, nonlinearities, external disturbances, communication weights, and sensor faults. The solution of this challenging issue is obtained in three steps. Firstly, the tracking path is estimated by designing distributed adaptive observers at all agents that have direct communication edges with the leader. Next, by designing local adaptive observers for all followers, the estimates of all followers' states can be obtained. Then, distributed adaptive controllers for all followers are designed using the estimated states of both followers and their neighbors in addition to the estimated tracking path. The tracking performances are provided via sufficient conditions for both the adaptive observers and the adaptive controllers. The proposed methods are evaluated through two examples that are commonly used in the literature. The obtained results prove the efficacy of the recommended adaptive approaches.

Cooperative control for cyber-physical multi-agent networked control systems with unknown false data-injection and replay cyber-attacks.

The paper discusses the cooperative tracking problem of partially known cyber-physical multi-agent networked systems. In this system, there exist two cascaded chances for cyber-attacks. The local agent is of networked system type that is subjected to unknown false data-injection and replay cyber-attacks that are dissimilar in the sensor-controller and the controller-actuator network parts. The communication between any two agents, if they are connected, is accomplished via a communication network that is subjected to false data-injection cyber-attacks. The problem of the existing two cascaded chances for cyber-attacks is solved in three steps. First, with partially known system parameters and unknown false data-injection and replay cyber-attacks, the state estimates of all the local followers are evaluated by designing local adaptive observers. Second, a new technique is designed to compensate for the unmatched terms that result from the use of local adaptive observers. After that, distributed adaptive leader-follower security controllers are proposed based on the local estimated information in addition to the infected arrived information from the neighbors. Meanwhile, it is verified that the suggested security control method guarantees that all states of the followers under the considered cyber-attacks follow the given leader asymptotically. The efficacy of the developed adaptive leader-follower security controllers is verified via an illustrative example.

Role of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a prognostic indicator for COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new pandemic disease, associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Its diagnosis requires centralized facilities and time. AIMS: To describe the exposure history and clinical picture of the COVID-19 patients, to study the SARS-CoV-2 Virus load and some determinants that may correlate with its prognosis, and to evaluate the role of inflammatory index NLR as an early predictor of COVID-19 prognosis. METHODOLOGY: A prospective follow-up study included laboratory-confirmed 179 COVID-19 cases out of 660 suspected COVID-19 cases, at El-Madinah El-Monawarah General Hospital in April 2020. Confirmed cases were managed by the Saudi Protocol and followed up every 2 weeks by PCR, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for 1 month. Data were collected through a validated questionnaire and by qualified infection control staff. RESULTS: The majority of the COVID-19 cases were 67 (37.4%) aged 30 to <45 years, 157 (87.7%) males, 76.0% working outside the medical field. 38.0% were asymptomatic and 26.3% had severe symptoms, while the main presenting symptoms were fever and dry cough (49.7% and 43.6%), respectively. The case fatality was 7.8%. The male, nonmedical occupation, and low level of education had a statistically significant relationship with the baseline PCR. There was an inverse significant correlation between baseline PCR readings and the recovery duration and health status outcomes. NLR was noted to be significantly higher among old age, illiterate nonmedical occupation, case with severe symptoms, MICU admission, and worst health status outcomes, but it was paradoxically higher among nonadmitted positive cases. CONCLUSION: Admitted COVID-19 cases outcomes (disease severity, ICU admission, and mortality) significantly correlated to NLR and not to the baseline PCR viral load. NLR could be a beneficial prognostic and triaging parameter especially old nonmedical COVID-19 patients.

Association of human leucocyte antigen Class I (HLA-A and HLA-B) with chronic hepatitis C virus infection in Egyptian patients.

Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the world, ranging from 6% to 28% with an average of approximately 13.8% in the general population. It has been reported that human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alleles are associated with the outcome of HCV infection, but this associations showed ethnic and geographical differences. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between the frequencies of HLA Class I and chronic HCV infection in Egyptian patients and to find out whether there is a relation between certain HLA Class I antigens and HCV viral load, degree of fibrosis, activity and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. A case control study was conducted on 100 patients with chronic HCV infection and 150 healthy controls. HLA-A and HLA-B typing by complement-dependent micro-lympho-cytotoxicity assay was performed for both groups. HLA-A11 antigen was significantly increased in patients with chronic HCV infection versus controls (OR 3.98; 95% CI = 1.85-8.89; P = 0.001; and Pc = 0.021). HLA-B12, HLA-B13, HLA-B17 and HLA-B40 were higher in patients, and HLA-A32 and HLA-B14 were higher in controls, although the significance was lost after correction for multiple testing. HLA-A9 was significantly associated with low viral load (P = 0.008, Pc = 0.048). The results of this work implicate that HLA-A11 antigen may influence chronic HCV infection and may play a role in viral persistence. Different HLA Class I antigens are not associated with degree of liver fibrosis, grades of activity or level of ALT. However, HLA-A9 is associated with low HCV viral load in chronic HCV Egyptian patients.