Prevalence of Pretreatment HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Armenia in 2017-2018 and 2020-2021 following a WHO Survey.

The increased antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage of patients in the absence of routine genotyping tests and in the context of active labor migration highlight the importance of HIV-1 drug resistance (DR) surveillance in Armenia. We conducted a two-phase pretreatment DR (PDR) study in 2017-2018 (phase I; 120 patients) and 2020-2021 (phase II; 133 patients) according to the WHO-approved protocol. The analysis of HIV-1 genetic variants showed high degrees of viral diversity, with the predominance of A6. The prevalence of any PDR was 9.2% in phase I and 7.5% in phase II. PDR to protease inhibitors was found only in 0.8% in phase II. PDR to efavirenz and nevirapine was found among 5.0% and 6.7% of patients in phase I, and 6.0% and 6.8% of patients in phase II, respectively. The prevalence of PDR to nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors decreased from 5.0% in phase I to 0.8% in phase II. In addition, we identified risk factors associated with the emergence of DR-male, MSM, subtype B, and residence in or around the capital of Armenia-and showed the active spread of HIV-1 among MSM in transmission clusters, i.e., harboring DR, which requires the immediate attention of public health policymakers for the prevention of HIV-1 DR spread in the country.

SARS-CoV-2 detection by extraction-free qRT-PCR for massive and rapid COVID-19 diagnosis during a pandemic in Armenia.

COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the healthcare and economy on a global scale. It is widely recognized that mass testing is an efficient way to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as aid in the development of informed policies for disease management. However, the current COVID-19 worldwide infection rates increased the demand for rapid and reliable screening of infection. We compared the performance of qRT-PCR in direct heat-inactivated (H), heat-inactivated and pelleted (HC) samples against RNA in a group of 74 subjects (44 positive and 30 negative). Then we compared the sensitivity of HC in a larger group of 196 COVID-19 positive samples. Our study suggests that HC samples show higher accuracy for SARS-CoV-2 detection PCR assay compared to direct H (89 % vs 83 % of the detection in RNA). The sensitivity of detection using direct samples varied depending on the sample transport and storage media as well as the viral loads (as measured by qRT-PCR Ct levels). Altogether, all the data suggest that purified RNA provides more accurate results, however, direct sample testing with qRT-PCR may help to significantly increase testing capacity. Switching to the direct sample testing is justified if the number of tests is doubled at least.

Patterns of alveolar macrophage activation upon attenuated and virulent African swine fever viruses in vitro.

The pattern of porcine alveolar macrophage (AM) activation upon classical stimuli of two strains of African swine fever (ASF) viruses, an attenuated ASFV-BA71V and virulent ASFV-Georgia2007 were investigated. In an in vitro experiment ASFV-Georgia2007-infected AM showed M1 polarization pattern different from the one induced by classical stimuli. Altered morphology, appearance of binuclear cells, decreased synthesis of IFN-alpha as well as IFN-epsilon was observed compared with attenuated ASFV-BA71V, and decreased synthesis of IFN-omega compared with intact cells. However, CD68 level did not significantly differ between alveolar macrophage populations infected by ASFV-Georgia2007 and control group, while both LPS/IFN-gamma stimulation and non-pathogenic ASFV-BA71V virus increased the level of CD68 soluble receptor. AM infection with ASFV-Georgia2007 resulted in remarkable DNA proliferation whereas LPS/IFN-gamma and ASFV-BA71V induced less expressed DNA proliferation in activated cells. The higher value of nitric oxide was obvious in the cells infected with ASFV-BA71V, compared to ASFV-Georgia2007 and LPS/IFN-gamma activated cells. In conclusion, pattern of activation of alveolar macrophages induced by ASFV-Georgia2007 virus differs from the one expressed in LPS/IFN-gamma- and ASFV-BA71V-activated cells. ASFV-BA71V and LPS/IFN-gamma share similar antiviral response of porcine AM. Therefore we assume that wild type virulent ASFV can partially down regulate antiviral response of AM and conclude that evolutionary decrease of virulence in ASFV is related to alterations of control of the host cell antiviral response.

Association of Genetic Variants of Dopamine and Serotonin In Schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Several studies indicated that antipsychotic treatment response and side effect manifestation can be different due to inter-individual variability in genetic variations. AIM OF THE STUDY: Here we perform a case-control study to explore a potential association between schizophrenia and variants within the antipsychotic drug molecular targets (DRD1, DRD2, DRD3, HTR2A, HTR6) and metabolizing enzymes (CYP2D6, COMT) genes in Armenian population including also analysis of their possible relationship with disease clinical symptoms. METHODS: A total of 18 SNPs was studied in patients with schizophrenia (n = 78) and healthy control subjects (n = 77) using MassARRAY genotyping. RESULTS: We found that two studied genetic variants, namely DRD2 rs4436578*C and HTR2A rs6314*A are underrepresented in the group of patients compared to healthy subjects. After the correction for multiple testing, the rs4436578*C variant remained significant while the rs6314*A reported borderline significance. No significant differences in minor allele frequencies for other studied variants were identified. Also, a relationship between the genotypes and age of onset as well as disease duration has been detected. CONCLUSIONS: The DRD2 rs4436578*C genetic variant might have protective role against schizophrenia, at least in Armenians.

Chronic schizophrenia is associated with over-expression of the interleukin-2 receptor gamma gene.

Altered immune response, including low-grade inflammatory processes, is involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, a chronic psychiatric disorder with complex etiology. Distinct gene variants of a number of pro-inflammatory and chemotactic cytokines together with their receptors associate with this disorder. Interleukin-2 receptor gamma (IL-2RG) represents an important signaling component of many interleukin receptors and so far, no data on the functional state of this receptor in schizophrenia have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate mRNA expression of the IL2RG gene (IL2RG) in schizophrenia patients in comparison with healthy subjects (controls). Total RNA was isolated from peripheral blood of 66 schizophrenia patients and 99 healthy subjects of Armenian population. The mRNA expression was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using PSMB2 as housekeeping gene. IL2RG mRNA expression was upregulated in peripheral blood of patients in comparison with controls (patients vs. controls, median [interquartile range]: 2.080 [3.428-1.046] vs. 0.324 [0.856-0.000], p<0.0001). In conclusion, our findings suggest that over-expression of the IL2RG gene may be implicated in altered immune response in schizophrenia and contribute to the pathomechanisms of this disorder.