Human papilloma virus profiles in breast cancer in correlation with Vitamin D.

The major roles of vitamin D in the genesis of breast cancer and as an immunomodulator against acute and chronic infections have been the subject of much research in recent years. A low vitamin D status could decrease the function of blocking the cell multiplication cycle of the cancer process and weaken the immune system. In this context, we were interested in the implication of vitamin D status in women with human papilloma virus (HPV)-induced breast cancer. Our study included 63 women, 53 with breast cancer and 10 healthy women, and we measured the plasma 25(OH)D3 level and looked for the presence of HPV by PCR in our population. 90.6% had low serum 25(OH)D3 levels and HPV was found in 41% of cases. In this regard, the data in the literature are discordant. Vitamin D status could explain the concomitance of the two conditions, breast cancer and HPV; it would be desirable to broaden the sample in order to better define its impact.

Detection of Major Human Herpesviruses in Iranian Patients with Suspected Encephalitis Using Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction.

BACKGROUND: The Herpesviridae family plays a significant etiological role in central nervous system viral infections during primary infection or reactivation from a latent form. Early detection is crucial because prescribing some antivirals can prevent severe side effects or life-threatening conditions. METHODS: In this study, 251 CSF specimens were collected from patients with clinical suspicion of viral encephalitis in Pars Hospital, Tehran, Iran. DNA was extracted, and a multiplex PCR was designed to investigate the presence of herpes simplex virus-1, herpes simplex virus-2, varicella zoster virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and cytomegalovirus. RESULTS: Overall, 59 cases of the 251 CSF samples were positive for multiplex PCR (23.5%). The most frequent positive findings were EBV and HSV, with a prevalence of 10.3% and 8.7% (5.5% HSV-1 and 3.1% HSV-2), respectively. Four co-infections were also seen in this study. CONCLUSIONS: This multiplex PCR assay detects simultaneously different herpesviruses in CSF samples of patients with suspected encephalitis in 2 rounds of PCR amplification; therefore, it is a reliable and cost-saving diagnostic method for evaluating patients infected with herpesvirus with neurological disorders.

Importance of miR-141-5p and miR-501-5P expression in patients with HBV infection.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as small RNA and post-transcriptional modulators are shown to have regulatory effects for different cellular activities and pathways, such as metabolism, virus replication and also cell growth. In addition, miRNAs can regulate the replication of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Therefore, the expression profile of miRNAs was evaluated in HBV-infected patient groups and healthy controls. The expression levels of the following microRNAs (as noninvasive biomarkers) were compared in two experimental (those with various stages of HBV infection) and control groups to evaluate their diagnosis ability: mir141-5p and mir501-5p. RNA extraction was performed for 45 serum samples. The miRCURY LNA™ Universal RT-miRNA-PCR system and miRNA PCR panels were used for measuring microRNA expression profiles. To normalize quantitative values, the endogenous reference by UniSp6 expression was used. Serum mir141-5p and mir501-5 were significant None in patient in different stages of HBV infection(p<0.001) than in controls(p<0.01). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses suggested that serum has mir141-5p and mir501-5p none significant diagnostic value for HBV infection. Results suggest that mir141-5p and mir501-5 can not be used as diagnostic biomarkers for monitoring of HBV infection and other biomarkers in this disease need to be investigated.

Importance of miR-125a-5p and miR-122-5p expression in patients with HBV infection.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as a small RNA and post-transcriptional modulator are shown to have regulatory effects for different cellular activities and pathways, such as metabolism, virus replication and also cell growth. In addition, miRNAs can regulate the replication of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Therefore, the expression profile of miRNAs was evaluated in HBV infected patient groups and healthy controls. The expression levels of following microRNAs (as noninvasive biomarkers) were compared in two experimental (those with various stages of HBV infection) and control groups to evaluate their diagnosis ability: miR-122-5p, miR-125a-5p, miR-199a-3p, miR-210-5p, miR-205-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-372-5p, and miR-1-5p. RNA extraction was performed for 45 serum samples. The miRCURY LNA™ Universal RT-miRNA-PCR system and miRNA PCR panels were used for measuring microRNA expression profiles. To normalize quantitative values, the endogenous reference by UniSp6 expression was used.Serum miR-125a-5p and miR-122-5p were significantly higher in patients in different stages of HBV infection (p<0.001) than in controls (p<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses suggested that serum miR-125a-5p and miR-122-5p have significant diagnostic value for HBV infection. A significant difference was not found in terms of serum levels of other miRs (miR-199a-3p, miR-210-5p, miR-205-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-372-5p and miR-1-5p). Results suggest that miR-125a-5p and miR-122-5p can be used as possible noninvasive biomarkers for monitoring of HBV infection need to confirm in future completed studies.

Diagnostic and methodological evaluation of studies on the urinary shedding of SARS-CoV-2, compared to stool and serum: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Investigating the infectivity of body fluid can be useful for preventative measures in the community and ensuring safety in the operating rooms and on the laboratory practices. We performed a literature search of clinical trials, cohorts, and case series using PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library, and downloadable database of CDC. We excluded case reports and searched all-language articles for review and repeated until the final drafting. The search protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database. Thirty studies with urinary sampling for viral shedding were included. A total number of 1,271 patients were enrolled initially, among which 569 patients had undergone urinary testing. Nine studies observed urinary viral shedding in urine from 41 patients. The total incidence of urinary SARS-CoV-2 shedding was 8%, compared to 21.3% and 39.5 % for blood and stool, respectively. The summarized risk ratio (RR) estimates for urine positive rates compared to the pharyngeal rate was 0.08. The pertaining RR urine compared to blood and stool positive rates were 0.20 and 0.33, respectively. Our review concludes that not only the SARS-CoV-2 can be excreted in the urine in eight percent of patients but also its incidence may have associations with the severity of the systemic disease, ICU admission, and fatality rates. Moreover, the findings in our review suggest that a larger population size may reveal more positive urinary cases possibly by minimizing biases.

The Relationship Between the MTHFR C677T Genotypes to Serum Anti-Müllerian Hormone Concentrations and In Vitro Fertilization/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Outcome.

BACKGROUND: The expression of the 5,10-methylentetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene in human oocytes and preimplantation embryos suggests that the MTHFR gene is involved in folliculogenesis and female reproduction. Considering the importance of the MTHFR gene on female reproduction, the aim of this study was to evalu- ate the influence of MTHFR C677T polymorphism on ovarian marker reserve, particularly serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, and ovarian response as well as clinical pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization (IVF)/ intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). METHODS: A total of 137 women who underwent ART treatment due to male factor infertility enrolled in this study. Genotyping of MTHFR C677T polymorphism and serum AMH concentrations were performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique and an ultrasensitive enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Women with the TT genotype showed significantly higher AMH levels (4.5 ± 3.2 ng/mL) compared to carriers of other genotypes after ovarian stimulation. We observed a nonsignificant trend towards lower clinical pregnancy rates in patients with the TT (23.1%) versus CT (48.4%) genotypes (p = 0.2). No significant differences existed in terms of miscarriage and live birth rates among the groups. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that the duration of infertility and AFC were important predictive variables for the live birth rate. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirmed that the presence of the T mutant allele of the 677 polymorphism in the MTHFR gene led to an increased trend in AMH levels. Interestingly, we observed that the numbers of oocytes retrieved decreased in the mutated genotypes. We have not observed this trend in relation to oocyte maturity. The influence of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism on embryo quality and pregnancy rate after ART cycles remains unclear.