Comparing higher-dose and single standard-dose influenza vaccines in preventing cardiovascular events: a meta-analysis with 68,713 patients.

INTRODUCTION: This manuscript offers an in-depth comparative examination of the effectiveness of higher-dose (double standard-dose and high-dose) influenza vaccines in contrast to a single standard-dose vaccine when it comes to alleviating major cardiovascular events. STUDY DESIGN: Meta-Analysis. METHODS: To conduct this study, an exhaustive search was carried out in the medical English literature using databases such as PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane CENTRAL until 10 April 2024. The evaluation of associations was achieved through the calculation of pooled relative risks (RRs) accompanied by their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: A meticulous analysis encompassed a comprehensive cohort of 68,713 patients. Among these participants, 34,430 individuals were randomly assigned to receive a higher-dose influenza vaccination, whereas 34,283 received the standard influenza vaccination. Contrary to initial expectations, a higher-dose influenza vaccine did not manifest elevated efficacy compared to the standard-dose vaccine in terms of mitigating major cardiovascular events. The computed pooled RR stood at 1.0, accompanied by a 95% CI ranging from 0.93 to 1.10. CONCLUSION: While this systematic review and meta-analysis did not find a statistically significant advantage of higher-dose influenza vaccines over a single standard-dose vaccine in preventing major cardiovascular events, the observed trend towards risk reduction warrants continued investigation. These findings contribute to the ongoing dialogue surrounding vaccination strategies and their implications for cardiovascular outcomes.

The reliability of rifampicin resistance as a proxy for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a systematic review of studies from Iran.

In Iran, patients showing rifampicin (RIF) resistance detected by the Xpert® MTB/RIF assay are considered as candidates for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment. Despite the fact that RIF resistance has been used as a proxy for MDR-TB, little is known about the proportion of isoniazid (INH) resistance patterns in RIF-resistant TB. We systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, and other databases up to March 2017 for studies addressing the proportion of INH resistance patterns in RIF-resistant TB in Iran. The data were pooled using a random effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran's Q and I2 statistics. A total of 11 articles met the eligibility criteria. Data analysis demonstrated that 33.3% of RIF-resistant isolates from new TB cases and 14.8% of RIF-resistant isolates from previously treated cases did not display resistance to INH. The relatively high proportion of INH susceptibility among isolates with RIF resistance indicated that RIF resistance may no longer predict MDR-TB in Iran. Therefore, the detection of RIF resistance by the Xpert MTB/RIF assay will require complementary detection of INH resistance by other drug susceptibility testing (DST) methods in order to establish the diagnosis of MDR-TB.

Prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) is considered to be a major nosocomial pathogen that results in serious morbidity and mortality worldwide. Limited information is available concerning the prevalence of VRE infections in Iran. We carried out a systematic search by using different electronic databases including: Medline (via PubMed), Embase, Web of Science, and the Iranian Database. Meta-analysis was performed using comprehensive meta-analysis software. The meta-analyses revealed that the prevalence of VRE infections was 9.4 % (95 % confidence interval [95 % CI] 7.3-12) among culture-positive cases for Enterococcus species. The prevalence of VRE in Iran is compared with the results of developed countries. The prevalence of VRE in Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), and Italy was 11.2 %, 8.5-12.5 %, and 9 % respectively. Additionally, the frequency of vancomycin resistance among E. faecalis isolates was higher than for E. faecium. The results of this study indicate that a comprehensive infection control strategy based on hand hygiene, educating the hospital staff members, providing clinical guidance and principles for the appropriate use of antibiotics, sanitizing the hospitals, contact precautions, and active surveillance systems on the basis of international criteria is urgently needed.

Translation and psychometric assessment of the Persian version of the Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (INVR) scale for the assessment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

No tools are available to assess or measure the experience of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) for Persian/Farsi speakers. The purpose of this study is to translate the Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (INVR) scale for use with Persian-speaking cancer patients. A sample of 94 cancer patients were recruited from a cancer research centre in Mashhad-Iran. A standard two phase process of scale translation and validation was conducted. In phase I, standard 'forward-backward' translation procedure was used to translate the original version of the INVR questionnaire into Persian. The translated questionnaire was reviewed and revised and a Persian version of the scale was produced. In the second phase, a multiphase instrumentation study describing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the translated version was conducted. The inter-item correlation measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.88. Test/re-test reliability was measured by the weighted kappa and was between 0.63 and 0.79, indicating 'substantial agreement' and stability between the initial and subsequent administrations for each item. These results demonstrate that the Persian version of the INVR is acceptable for use among Iranian cancer patients. Researchers could use this study as a model for future translation and application of psychometric instrumentation.

TB and interstitial lung disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

To determine the frequency of TB among patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs).We performed a comprehensive search in the PubMed/Medline, EMBASE and Scopus databases up to 1 August 2023 of studies reporting on the prevalence of TB among patients with ILDs.Twelve studies comprising 3,817 patients with ILD were found: the pooled prevalence of TB among ILD patients was 11.0% (95% CI 5.4-21.0). In the subgroup analysis, the TB rate among patients with silicosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was respectively 35.6% (95% CI 32.6-38.8) and 4.4% (95% CI 3.6-5.3) (P = 0.00). The frequency of TB among ILD patients was higher in high TB burden countries than in low/intermediate-burden countries: 26.3%, 95% CI 17.7-37.3 vs. 4.9%, 95% CI 3.3-7.2; P = 0.00.This study shows the frequency of TB among ILD patients. The meta-analysis reveals a significantly increased prevalence of TB among ILD patients with silicosis compared to IPF, and among individuals in high TB burden countries than in those with low/intermediate burden. The study results can help physicians and policymakers make efficient decisions for prompt screening and anti-TB treatment initiation in ILD patients..

Silicosis and tuberculosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Silicosis mostly happens in workers with high silica exposure and may accompany the development of various diseases like tuberculosis, cancer, or autoimmune diseases. The term silico-tuberculosis describes a condition in which an individual is affected by both silicosis and tuberculosis at the same time. This systematic review and meta-analysis study was conducted to evaluate the risk of tuberculosis in silicosis patients and individuals exposed to silica dust. METHODS: We performed a systematic search for relevant studies up to 6 September 2022 using PubMed/ Medline, and Embase with the following keywords in titles or abstracts: "silicosis" OR "silicoses" OR "pneumoconiosis" OR "pneumoconioses" AND "tuberculosis". Cohort and case-control studies containing relevant and original information about tuberculosis infection in silicosis patients were included for further analysis. Pooled estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the relative risk of tuberculosis in individuals with silicosis compared to those without; these were evaluated using the random effects model due to the estimated heterogeneity of the true effect sizes. RESULTS: Out of 5352 potentially relevant articles, 7 studies were eligible for systematic review, of which 4 cohort studies were included for meta-analysis. The total population of all studies was 5884, and 90.63% were male. The mean age of participants was 47.7 years. Our meta-analysis revealed a pooled risk ratio of 1.35 (95%CI 1.18-1.53, I 2: 94.30%) which means an increased risk of silicosis patients and silica-exposed individuals to tuberculosis infection. CONCLUSION: Silicosis and silica dust exposure increase the risk of tuberculosis. Therefore, we suggest that individuals with long-time silica exposure, like mine workers, be routinely considered for both silicosis and tuberculosis screening programs.

Vaccination in post-tuberculosis lung disease management: A review of the evidence.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD), as other chronic respiratory disorders, may have infectious complications; some of them can be prevented with vaccinations. So far, no document has discussed the potential role of vaccination in PTLD. Therefore, the objective of this review was to describe vaccination recommendations to prevent infections potentially capable of complicating PTLD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A non-systematic review of the literature was conducted. The following keywords were used: tuberculosis, vaccination, vaccines and PTLD. PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase were used as the search engine, focusing on English-language literature only. RESULTS: We identified 9 vaccines potentially useful in PTLD. Influenza, pneumococcal and anti-COVID-19 vaccinations should be recommended. Patients with PTLD can also benefit from vaccination against shingles. Vaccination against pertussis is mainly relevant during childhood. Diphtheria, tetanus and measles vaccination are recommended for general population and should be considered in patients with PTLD not previously vaccinated. Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) booster should be repeated in every adult every ten years. Vaccination against BCG retains its importance during early childhood in countries where TB is endemic. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination deserves to be considered among the strategies to prevent and/or mitigate PTLD complications. Further evidence is necessary to better understand which vaccines have the greatest impact and cost-benefit.

Susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in Iranian individuals is not affected by compound KIR/HLA genotype.

Natural killer (NK) cells have distinctive functional capacities that are likely to contribute both to innate and adaptive immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and their ligands, i.e. human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules contribute partly in regulation of NK cell activity. In this study, the impact of compound KIR/HLA genotype on susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) has been evaluated in Iranian individuals. A total of 107 TB patients and 100 matched healthy controls were genotyped for 17 KIR genes and their three major HLA class I ligand groups (-C1, -C2 and -Bw4: -B Bw4(Ile80) , -B Bw4(Thr80) and -A Bw4) by a polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primers assay. Various analyses including distribution of KIR and HLA ligand genes and genotypes, frequency of inhibitory and activating KIR+HLA combinations and compound genotype status regarding balance of inhibitory and activating components showed no significant difference between patient and control groups. These findings may suggest that compound KIR/HLA genotype has no major impact on limiting Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Nurses' experiences of providing ethical care to the patients with COVID-19: A phenomenological study.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a newly emerging infectious disease that bringing a heavy workload on nursing staff. Objective: This study explores the nurses' experiences of providing ethical care for patients with COVID-19. Methods: This qualitative study was carried out based on hermeneutic phenomenology. Unstructured interviews were conducted with 18 Iranian nurses. Data were analyzed based on the hermeneutic approach using the Diekelmann approach. Results: Three themes emerged: strong clinical dilemma, flourishing of professional values, and strengthening human and organizational communication. Conclusion: The findings highlight ethical care and its dimensions for COVID-19 patients. Nurses need support from health managers to provide ethical care in such health crises.

Antiviral drugs proposed for COVID-19: action mechanism and pharmacological data.

OBJECTIVE: As a beta-coronavirus, Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has caused one of the most significant historical pandemics, as well as various health and medical challenges. Our purpose in this report is to collect, summarize, and articulate all essential information about antiviral drugs that may or may not be efficient for treating COVID-19. Clinical evidence about these drugs and their possible mechanisms of action are also discussed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To conduct a comprehensive review, different keywords in various databases, including Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, PubMed, and Google Scholar, were searched relevant articles, especially the most recent ones, were selected and studied. These selected original research articles, review papers, systematic reviews, and even letters to the editors were then carefully reviewed for data collection. RESULTS: SARS-CoV-2 is the newest member of the coronavirus family, and there are still no promising therapies or particular antiviral compounds to fight it. After entering the body, SARS-CoV-2 penetrates the cells by attaching to specific lung cell receptors, called angiotensin-converting enzyme-2. Then, by employing cell division machinery, it replicates through a complex mechanism and spreads throughout the patient's body. Various antiviral drugs, including anti-influenza/HIV/HCV drugs, have been applied for treating COVID-19 patients. Due to the similarity of the structure and transcriptional mechanism of COVID-19 to a number of viruses, some of the listed drugs have been beneficial against SARS-CoV-2. However, the effectiveness of others is in an aura of ambiguity and doubt. CONCLUSIONS: Some of the antiviral medications listed and discussed in this article have been effective in the treatment of COVID-19 patients or preventing the virus from spreading further. However, other drugs have to be investigated to reach a reliable conclusion about their effectiveness or ineffectiveness.

Rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Iran: a two-centre study.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis remains a challenge. In this study, we investigated the incidence of rifampicin (RIF) resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a large number of pulmonary specimens. A two-center study in Tehran, the capital of Iran, was performed with 6624 pulmonary samples of patients with tuberculosis (TB) who were subjected to detection of RIF-resistant TB by GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay between May 2014 and July 2018. Conventional drug susceptibility testing was performed to confirm the results. Xpert MTB/RIF identified a total of 96 positives for M. tuberculosis, of which 5 (5.3%) samples were found to be RIF-resistant TB. All RIF-resistant and sensitive isolates detected by GeneXpert were phenotypically confirmed by drug susceptibility testing. These results indicated that the Xpert MTB/RIF test can be used as a rapid diagnostic method and can potentially decrease the morbidity associated with diagnostic delay and mistreatment.

Performance of Wayne assay for detection of pyrazinamide resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a meta-analysis study.

Conventional culture-based drug susceptibility testing (DST) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to pyrazinamide (PZA) is time-consuming and difficult to perform. The current systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Wayne assay against culture-based DSTs as the reference standard. We searched the MEDLINE/Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for the relevant records. The QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the quality of the studies. Diagnostic accuracy measures (i.e., sensitivity and specificity) were pooled with a random-effects model. Statistical analyses were performed with STATA (version 14, Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA), RevMan (version 5.3; The Nordic Cochrane Centre, the Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark), and Meta-DiSc (version 1.4, Cochrane Colloquium, Barcelona, Spain). A total of 31 articles comprising data for 2457 isolates of M. tuberculosis were included in the final analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of the Wayne assay against all reference tests (the combination of BACTEC MGIT 960, BACTEC 460, and proportion method) were 86.6% (95% CI: 84.3-88.7) and 96.0% (95% CI: 94.8-97). The positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and the area under the curve (AUC) estimates were found to be 17.6 (95% CI: 10.5-29.3), 0.11 (95% CI: 0.06-0.20), 164 (95% CI: 83-320) and 97%, respectively. Deek's test result indicated no evidence for publication bias (P > 0.05). Although the current study shows that the Wayne test is sensitive and specific for detecting PZA resistance, it may be used in combination with conventional DSTs to diagnose PZA resistance accurately.

Rifampin resistance among individuals with extrapulmonary tuberculosis: 4 years of experience from a reference laboratory.

Information is limited about the drug resistance patterns in extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in Iran. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of EPTB and to investigate the drug-resistance pattern in Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains collected from extrapulmonary samples at the Tehran regional TB reference laboratory. Extrapulmonary specimens from individuals with suspected TB referred to the TB reference laboratories in five cities of Iran were collected. Both standard conventional methods (culture and direct smear microscopy) and Xpert MTB/RIF assay were used for the identification of mycobacteria. Drug susceptibility testing was done using Xpert MTB/RIF. The proportion method on Lowenstein-Jensen medium was performed for confirmation. Between 2016 and 2020, a total of 12 050 clinical specimens from individuals with suspected TB were collected, of which 10 380 (86%) were pulmonary specimens and 1670 (14%) were extrapulmonary. Of the extrapulmonary specimens, 85 (5.0%) were positive for M. tuberculosis, and the remaining 1585 (95.0%) samples were negative by standard methods. Of 85 M. tuberculosis isolates, drug susceptibility testing was performed for 32 isolates, of which 1 (3.1%, 95% CI 0.0%-9.4%) was rifampin resistant and 31 (96.9%, 95% CI 90.1%-100%) were pan-susceptible. The rifampin-resistant isolate was also resistant to isoniazid, so was assigned as a multidrug-resistant TB. Our study indicated the frequency of drug-resistance among EPTB in Iran. Establishing rapid diagnostic methods for detection of drug-resistance in EPTB, performing drug susceptibility testing for all EPTB cases to provide effective treatment, and continuous monitoring of drug resistance, are suggested for prevention and control of drug resistance in EPTB in Iran.

Compound KIR-HLA genotype analyses in the Iranian population by a novel PCR-SSP assay.

Natural killer (NK) cells eliminate infected and transformed cells while still are self-tolerant. Interactions of the independently segregating Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and human leucocyte antigens (HLA) loci play a critical role in NK cell regulation. Different compound KIR-HLA genotypes can impart different thresholds of activation to the NK-cell repertoire and such genotypic variation has been found to confer altered risk in a number of human diseases including viral infections, autoimmune disorders, reproduction abnormalities and cancers. In this study, we presented a novel combined KIR-HLA polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primers genotyping assay for simultaneous determination of KIR genes and their three major HLA class I ligand groups (C1, C2, and Bw4). Moreover, known inhibitory and activating KIR + HLA (iKIR + HLA: 2DL2/3 + C1, 2DL1 + C2, 3DL1 + Bw4; and aKIR + HLA: 2DS2 + C1, 2DS1 + C2, 3DS1 + Bw4) combinations as well as co-inheritance of aKIR genes and iKIR + HLA pairs were analysed in a total of 200 unrelated healthy Iranian individuals. All tested subjects had at least one of the three iKIR + HLA pairs and the frequencies of various inhibitory combinations in the study group were: 31.5%, three iKIR + HLA pairs, 53.5%, two iKIR + HLA pairs, and 15%, 0ne iKIR + HLA pair. Furthermore, we revealed that majority of Iranians (69%) carry compound genotypes with greater number of inhibitory pairings than activating combinations (iKIR + HLA > aKIR + HLA). Conversely, iKIR + HLA < aKIR (45%) was dominant genotype in the study group. We conclude that selective evolutionary pressure has propensity to maintain KIR-HLA genotypes with more inhibitory combinations to guarantee self-tolerance. In contrast, existence of activating KIR genes without normal endogenous ligands, potentially arms the NK population for competent immunosurveillance and stronger defense against infections.

High-resolution melt curve analysis for rapid detection of rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a single-centre study in Iran.

This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis in comparison with Xpert MTB/RIF as well as conventional drug susceptibility testing (DST) for the detection of rifampicin (RIF) resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Iran. A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out from April 2017 to September 2018. A total of 80 culture-positive clinical samples selected during the study period were analysed for detection of RIF-resistant TB by conventional DST, Xpert MTB/RIF, and sequencing. Sensitivity and specificity of the HRM calculated according to DST was our reference standard test in this study. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of HRM assay were found to be 100%, 89.33%, 38.46%, and 100% respectively. The analysis demonstrated that the diagnostic accuracy of HRM tests is insufficient to replace Xpert MTB/RIF and conventional DST. HRM tests have the advantage of time to result and may be used in combination with culture. Further work to improve molecular tests would benefit from standardized reference standards and the methodology.

Genotyping and drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Iran: a multi-centre study.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a deadly infection and caused 1.4 million deaths in 2018. Assessing the geographic distribution of major lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis can contribute greatly to TB control. Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing is commonly used to differentiate various lineages of M. tuberculosis. A total of 2747 clinical specimens were collected consecutively from October 2018 through June 2019. Clinical isolates were identified as M. tuberculosis using standard biochemical tests. The standard 15-locus MIRU-VNTR typing was used for the genotyping of clinical isolates. Drug susceptibility testing was performed using the conventional proportion method. From the collected specimens, 100 were culture positive for M. tuberculosis. Using MIRU-VNTR, 99 different patterns were detected among the 100 isolates. They were distributed in one cluster comprising two strains and 98 unique patterns. Most of our isolates were similar to New-1 and Delhi/CAS strains. Of the M. tuberculosis isolates, 83 (83.0%) were pan-susceptible and 17 (17.0%) were resistant to at least one drug. Our study showed that MIRU-VNTR is a useful method for studying the genetic diversity of M. tuberculosis isolates in different regional settings and will help the health authorities to construct a preventive programme for TB.

Application of Tragacanth gum impregnated with Satureja khuzistanica essential oil as a natural coating for enhancement of postharvest quality and shelf life of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus).

The effect of Tragacanth gum (TG) coating incorporated with 100, 500 and 1000ppm Satureja khuzistanica essential oil (SEO) on the postharvest quality and shelf life of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) stored at 4±1°C for 16days was investigated. Weight loss, firmness, browning index (BI), total phenolics, ascorbic acid, microbial and sensory quality were measured. The results indicated that treatment with TG containing SEO (TGSEO) maintained 92.4% tissue firmness, and reduced microorganism counts, such as yeasts and molds and Pseudomonas, compared to uncoated samples. Furthermore, mushrooms treated with TGSEO coating exhibited up to 57.1% decreased in BI, significantly higher levels of total phenolics (85.6%) and ascorbic acid accumulation (71.8%) than control and its efficiency was better than that TG coating alone. Sensory evaluation demonstrated the capability of TGSEO coating for preserving the quality of mushroom during the storage. The results obtained endorse that application of TGSEO coating might be a simple and effective technique for prolonging their postharvest shelf life of mushroom by up to 16days.

Soap-film flow induced by electric fields in asymmetric frames.

Net fluid flow of soap films induced by (ac or dc) electric fields in asymmetric frames is presented. Previous experiments of controllable soap film flow required the simultaneous use of an electrical current passing through the film and an external electric field or the use of nonuniform ac electric fields. Here a single voltage difference generates both the electrical current going through the film and the electric field that actuates on the charge induced on the film. The film is set into global motion due to the broken symmetry that appears by the use of asymmetric frames. If symmetric frames are used, the film flow is not steady but time dependent and irregular. Finally, we study numerically these film flows by employing the model of charge induction in ohmic liquids.

SIRT1 gene polymorphisms associated with decreased risk of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) exhibits the rules of the multifactorial hereditary. Notwithstanding, the role of genetic factors in the prevalence of CAD is estimated very high. SIRT1 plays an athero-protective role and alterations in its expression have some important consequence in the metabolism, cholesterol, and fat deposition. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between rs4746720, rs12413112, and rs1467568 polymorphisms in the SIRT1 gene and CAD in the high-risk cases. In the present retrospective case-control study, 150 healthy individuals and 150 cases diagnosed with atherosclerotic lesions were investigated. ARMS PCR was used to determine the genotypes of rs4746720 polymorphism, while tetra primer-ARMS PCR was used for genotyping of rs12413112 and rs1467568 polymorphisms. Considering rs12413112 polymorphism, the frequency of the AG heterozygote genotype was significantly lower in cases than controls (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the frequency of the A-positive (AA+AG vs. GG) genotype was significantly different between groups (P < 0.001). The frequency of the variant A allele was 0.36% in cases and 0.46% in controls (P = 0.01). Except for a borderline protective effect in the present of rs1467568AG genotype, the allele and genotype distributions of both rs1467568 and rs4746720 polymorphisms did not differ between two groups. The haplotype constructed from rs1467568A, rs12413112A, and rs4746720T alleles showed a significant protective effect on the risk of CAD (OR: 0.53; 95%CI: 0.35-0.78; P = 0.001). In conclusion, the SIRT1 gene may contribute to the pathogenesis of CAD, while further investigations were suggested to confirm our results.

mRNA Expression of Interferon Regulatory Factors during Acute Rejection of Liver Transplants in Patients with Autoimmune Hepatitis.

BACKGROUND: Interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) can play a critical role in the regulation of many facets of innate and adaptive immune responses through transcriptional activation of type I interferons, other proinflammatory cytokines, and chemokines. However, their roles in transplantation immunity still remain to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the time course of mRNA expression of all 9 members of IRFs family of transcription factors during liver allograft acute rejection. METHODS: Blood samples of 19 patients with autoimmune hepatitis receiving liver transplants were collected on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 post-transplantation. The patients were followed for 6 months after transplantation and divided into two groups of acute rejection (AR) (n=4) and non-acute rejection (non-AR) (n=15). RESULTS: All of the studied transcription factors were down-regulated in AR-group on days 3, 5, and 7 post-transplantation compared to non-AR group. The mean±SEM IRF5 on day 7 post-transplantation was significantly (p=0.005) lower in AR-group than in non-AR group (0.7±0.21 vs. 1.91±0.27, respectively); expression of other IRFs family members was not significantly different between the two groups on days 3, 5, and 7 post-transplantation. CONCLUSION: IRF5 may have an important role during the acute rejection of liver transplants.