SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 and BA.2 coinfection detected by genomic surveillance in Brazil, January 2022.

In January 2022, our genomic surveillance network identified a SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 and BA.2 coinfection in a sample from a patient residing in Brazil. Our results suggest that the true number of SARS-CoV-2 coinfections remains largely underestimated.

Expression of the c-MET, HGF and VEGF biomarkers in intestinal and diffuse gastric cancer in the Brazilian population: a pilot study for the standardization of the quantitative PCR technique

Background: Gastric carcinoma (GC) is the third leading cause of death among malignant tumors worldwide, causing approximately 900,000 deaths/year. Changes in oncogenes that encode tyrosine kinase receptors play an important role in the pathogenesis of GC. MET gene is a proto-oncogene that encodes a tyrosine kinase receptor c-MET and it is required for embryonic development and tissue repair. The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is the only known ligand for c-Met receptor. The MET oncogene activation suppresses apoptosis and promotes the survival, proliferation, migration, differentiation and angiogenesis of cells. Among the angiogenic factors, VEGF is the main regulator. Its biological function includes the promotion of endothelial cells mitosis to stimulate cells proliferation. These biomarkers expression in GC is relatively recent and population-based studies are required to define the expression pattern. The aim of this study was to determine qPCR technical standardization to evaluate quantitatively, in paraffin tissue samples, the presence of gene 23 expression of the MET, HGF and VEGF in diffuse and intestinal GC types. Methods: Twenty GC patients were studied, 10 patients were intestinal-type GC (average age 72.1 years) and 10 diffuse-type (average age 50.1 years). In all patients, tissue samples were analyzed from the tumor and distant areas of the tumor tissue. The relative expressions of the tumor markers c-Met, HGF and VEGF were performed by qPCR technique by comparing tumor and non-tumoral samples and they were normalized with the GAPDH constitutive gene. Statistical analysis was performed through T-test. Results: For c-Met, 18/20 (90%) patients expressed the marker and 9/20 (45%) overexpressed this gene, in which three were intestinal-type GC and six were diffuse-type GC. For HGF, only 7/20 (35%) patients expressed this gene and it was overexpressed in 4/20 (20%), in which two were intestinal-type GC and two were diffuse-type GC. For VEGF, 20/20 (100%) patients expressed this marker and in 12/20 (60%) were observed overexpression, in which eight patients had diffuse-type GC and four had intestinal-type GC. Conclusions: qPCR technique was standardized and suitable for expression analysis of the three biomarkers using paraffin embedded tissue samples. Further studies should be carried out to characterize the expression pattern of these biomarkers in GC in the Brazilian population (AU)

Immune response evaluation through determination of type 1, type 2, and type 17 patterns in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

Innate and adaptive immune cells secrete different cytokines, which participate through distinct mechanisms in cell-mediated immunity and humoral immune responses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immune response through analysis of type 1 (Th1), Th2, and Th17 cells in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Our study included 44 patients with EOC (study group) and 32 gynecological patients with no ovarian disease (control group). Fragments of ovarian tissue and blood samples were collected in both groups and aliquots of intracystic fluid and peritoneal fluid were recovered from the EOC patient group. Interleukin (IL)-2/IL-4/IL-6/IL-10/IL-17/tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α/interferon (IFN)-γ levels were measured by cytometric bead array. Statistical analysis included chi-squared, Student t, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and Cox regression model. Patients with EOC were associated with higher levels of TNF-α/IL-4/IL-6/IL-10 compared to the control group. Both IL-10 and TNF-α concentrations were higher in patients with stage III/IV EOC and also associated with higher levels of cancer antigen 125. Higher Th1-mediated immune response was observed when the cytoreduction was considered optimal. However, patients with EOC with unsatisfactory cytoreductive surgery and undifferentiated tumors were associated with higher concentrations of Th2 cytokines in the 4 sites studied. Higher IL-6/IL-10 and lower IFN-γ concentrations were also associated with a lower overall survival rate in patients with EOC. The EOC group presented a predominantly Th2 response and an immunosuppressant standard and had association between IL-6/IL-10/IFN-γ and prognosis.