Head and neck cancer association to CIAP-2 expression due to human papillomavirus-16 [HPV-16] infection

It was relevant to assess the impact of a HPV-16 [human papillomavirus-16] which is a high-risk genotype on head and neck cancers and its relation to CIAP-2 expression [Cellular Inhibitor of apoptosis-2]. Tissue samples were taken from patients diagnosed as head and neck cancer. All samples were subjected to qualitative polymerase chain reaction [PCR] analysis for HPV, qualitative and semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] of CIAP-2. There was a significant association between HPV-16 and CIAP2 positivity and head and neck tumors. CIAP-2 expression in malignant tissues was highly associated with HPV-16 infection at sensitivity 73.9% and absolute specificity

Evaluation of the immune response in patients with chronic HCV infection

The imbalance in the cytokine production by the hepatitis C viral [HCV] infection might contribute to the chronicity of liver inflammation with subsequent progression to hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]. The current study was performed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of HCV infection of normal donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMC] as well as in patients with chronic HCV infection and patients. The study included 363 subjects [group 1] with chronic liver disease and 40 healthy control subjects [group 2]. Of group 1, three hundred and thirty seven patients were HCV Ab positive as was measured by HCV enzyme immunoassay [EIA] version 3.0. Only 250 patients had HCV RNA in their sera as evidenced by polymerase chain reaction [PCR]. Of the PCR positive patients, sixty-eight patients were further as a representative subgroup, 68 HCV RNA positive patients were subjected to HCV subjected to quantitative branched DNA assay, 12 patients had high viremia, 33 had moderate viremia and 23 had low viremia. All patients were subjected to lL-4, IL-1Beta, and TNF-alpha estimation by ELISA viremia. All subjects were subjected to IL-4, lL-1Beta, and TNF-alpha estimation by EIA. Group 1 showed a significant increase in serum levels of TNF-alpha, lL-4 and ALT, and lowered levels of IL-1Beta and albumin compared to Group 2. Within group 1, HCV RNA positive patients demonstrated increased levels of lL-4 and ALT, and decreased levels of IL-1Beta and albumin compared to Nov RNA negative patients. TNF-alpha levels showed insignificant change among between both subgroups. Treatment of phytohaemaggiutinin [PHA]-stimulated normal donor-PBMC with pelleted virus led to decrease in their rate of proliferation [as determined by H3. Thymidine uptake] in a dose response manner. This response was partaliy reversed after addition of HCV RNA positive patients’ sera. To conclude, HCV infection leads to imbalance of cytokine release with predominance of Th2 cytokines over Th1, which was evident from the increased levels of IL-4, and the decreased levels of lL-1beta in patients' sera infected with HCV

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa

The progression of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous and the full impact is not yet well understood. Here, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations, predominantly from Europe, which diminished following the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1 and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind-spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a breeding ground for new variants.