Uranium mine proximity, immune function, and Helicobacter pylori infection in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan is a country with numerous abandoned uranium mines and individuals residing in close proximity to these sites. Inspection of one of these sites next to the town of Taboshar revealed uncontrolled waste with elevated radiation levels. Convenience samples of subjects likely to have been exposed to uranium mining (i.e., combined living near wastes and former miners) and unexposed subjects (living far from mines and never working in mining) were recruited. There was a higher prevelance of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection among the exposed and there were significantly more virulent infections involving CagA. Histolological examination of the stomach showed more gastric atrophy in the exposed group. Exposed individuals also had lower percentage of T lymphocytes, fewer T-helper cells, significant imbalance in the immunoregulation index, and significantly higher levels of cytotoxic lymphocytes. There were also reduced levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG in the exposed group. These findings are consistent with adverse effects on immune functioning that might increase the rate of development of infectious disease, However, lack of control for confounding factors and lack of individual exposure assessment limit conclusions that can be drawn. Further research that addresses these limitations of this analysis is needed.

Intracoronary Infusion of Autologous CD133(+) Cells in Myocardial Infarction and Tracing by Tc99m MIBI Scintigraphy of the Heart Areas Involved in Cell Homing.

CD133 mesenchymal cells were enriched using magnetic microbead anti-CD133 antibody from bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs). Flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry analysis using specific antibodies revealed that these cells were essentially 89 ± 4% CD133(+) and 8 ± 5% CD34(+). CD133(+)/CD34(+) BMMNCs secrete important bioactive proteins such as cardiotrophin-1, angiogenic and neurogenic factors, morphogenetic proteins, and proinflammatory and remodeling factors in vitro. Single intracoronary infusions of autologous CD133(+)/CD34(+) BMMNCs are effective and reduce infarct size in patients as analyzed by Tc99m MIBI myocardial scintigraphy. The majority of patients were treated via left coronary artery. Nine months after cell therapy, 5 out of 8 patients showed a net positive response to therapy in different regions of the heart. Uptake of Tc99 isotope and revitalization of the heart area in inferoseptal region are more pronounced (P = 0.016) as compared to apex and anterosptal regions after intracoronary injection of the stem cells. The cells chosen here have the properties essential for their potential use in cell therapy and their homing can be followed without major difficulty by the scintigraphy. The cell therapy proposed here is safe and should be practiced, as we found, in conjunction with scintigraphic observation of areas of heart which respond optimally to the infusion of autologous CD133(+)/CD34(+) BMMNCs.

Epidemiological and clinical evaluation of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and delta hepatitis viruses in Tajikistan.

The implication of genotypes is recognized increasingly in the clinical course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and in response to anti-viral drugs of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Genotypic prevalence of both etiological agents varies geographically and no data are available for Tajikistan. To investigate the epidemiology and clinical significance of HBV and HCV genotypes in chronic hepatitis (group 1) and liver cirrhosis/hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (group 2) patients in Tajikistan, 124 patients with chronic liver disease (group 1 = 84 and group 2 = 40) were enrolled. Genotypes of HBV, HCV, and delta hepatitis virus (HDV) were determined by sequencing. The overall prevalence of anti-HCV, HCV core antigen (HCVcAg) and HBsAg was 46% (57/124) and 41.1% (51/124), respectively. Coinfection of HCV/HBV, HBV/HDV, and HCV/HBV/HDV was found in 4.8% (6/124), 11.2% (12/124), and 0.8% (1/124) of cases, respectively. HDV genotype 1 was found in 19.6% (10/51) of HBsAg-positive patients. The HBV/HDV coinfection was relatively high in group 2 compared to group 1 (15% vs. 7.1%). HCV/1b detected in 84.6% (44/52) of HCV RNA-positive patients, followed by 3a (7.6%), 2a (5.7%), and 2c (1.9%). HBV/D was detected in 94.1% (48/51) of HBsAg-positive patients, followed by HBV/A [5.8% (3/51)]. T1762/A1764 double mutation was associated with liver cirrhosis/HCC in HBV-infected patients (P = 0.0004). This is the first study on the molecular epidemiology of hepatitis viruses among chronic liver diseases patients in Tajikistan. Among HBV-infected patients, the T1762/A1764 mutation was associated with liver cirrhosis/HCC.