Intervirology最新文献

Introduction: Many COVID-19 vaccines have been emerging with different efficacy and safety profiles. So far, very little attention has been paid to severity and reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the side effects associated with the first dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers (HCWs) and nonhealthcare workers (non-HCWs).

Method: This is an observational cross-sectional study conducted at King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz University Hospital, Saudi Arabia, between February 28 and March 12, 2021. The major outcomes were the reported side effects of day 1, day 2, and day 3 after vaccination among HCWs and non-HCWs. Other outcomes included the onset and the duration of the reactions or the side effects that were reported.

Results: A total of 526 participants completed the survey with 173 (32.8%) HCWs and the remaining majority were non-HCWs. Some of the most frequently reported side effects among the participants on the first day were muscle aches (49%), followed by fever (42%) and headache (40%). HCWs experienced more muscle aches, headache, sore throat, and abdominal pain, which were statically significant, compared to non-HCWs. The mean onset of symptoms was 16 (±15.3) h in the HCW arm compared with 12.2 (±10.2) h in non-HCWs (p = 0.0024). Furthermore, the mean duration of symptoms in the HCW group was 37 (±19) h compared with 32.3 (±13) h in the non-HCW group (p = 0.067).

Conclusion: The reported side effects were common but not pressing in both groups. HCW respondents appeared to have more COVID-19 vaccine-associated symptoms.

Introduction: Recombination-activating gene (Rag) 1 and Rag2, which are essential in V(D)J recombination, play a crucial role in B- and T-cell maturation.

Method: We investigated the effects of Rag2 deficiency in clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9-mediated FVB-Rag2 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice infected with mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) via the intranasal route.

Results: MAV-1 infection caused more severe histopathological changes in FVB-Rag2 KO mice than in WT mice. FVB-Rag2 KO mice exhibited moderate to severe inflammation on day 4 and severe inflammation on day 8 post infection. In contrast, WT mice showed mild inflammation on day 4 and mild to severe inflammation on day 8 post infection, including interstitial pneumonia and inflammatory cell infiltration in the lungs and liver. Viral loads in the spleen and kidneys were significantly higher in FVB-Rag2 KO mice than in WT mice on day 8 post infection. Levels of cytokines and chemokines, including macrophage inflammatory protein-1α, induced protein 10, interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ, and tumor necrosis factor alpha, were upregulated in the spleens of FVB-Rag2 KO mice compared with those of WT mice. The upregulation of several cytokines occurred concurrently with the histopathological changes. MAV-1 infection induced more severe systemic infection in FVB-Rag2 KO mice than in WT mice.

Conclusion: In mice, Rag2 deficiency induces inflammatory cell recruitment via the upregulation of cytokine and chemokine levels. The MAV-1 infection model can be utilized to assess the efficacy and safety of therapeutic agents for human adenoviral diseases.

Several studies have reported serological cross-reactivity of the immune responses between SARS-CoV-2 and DENV. Most of the available studies are based on the point-of-care rapid testing kits. However, some rapid test kits have low specificity and can generate false positives. Hence, we aimed to investigate the potential serological cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and DENV-IgG antibodies using advanced assays including chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. A total of 90 DENV-IgG-ELISA-positive and 90 DENV-IgG-ELISA-negative prepandemic sera were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2-IgG using the automated CL-900i CLIA assay. Furthermore, a total of 91 SARS-CoV-2-IgG-CLIA-positive and 91 SARS-CoV-2-IgG-CLIA-negative postpandemic sera were tested for anti-DENV-IgG using the NovaLisa ELISA kit. The DENV-IgG-positive sera resulted in five positives and 85 negatives for SARS-CoV-2-IgG. Similarly, the DENV-IgG-negative sera also resulted in 5 positives and 85 negatives for SARS-CoV-2-IgG. No statistically significant difference in specificity between the DENV-IgG-positive and DENV-IgG-negative sera was found (p value = 1.00). The SARS-CoV-2-IgG-positive sera displayed 43 positives, 47 negatives, and 1 equivocal for DENV-IgG, whereas the SARS-CoV-2-IgG-negative sera resulted in 50 positives, 40 negatives, and 1 equivocal for DENV-IgG. No statistically significant difference in the proportion that is DENV-IgG positive between the SARS-CoV-2-IgG-positive and SARS-CoV-2-IgG-negative sera (p value = 0.58). In conclusion, there is a low risk of serological cross-reactivity between the DENV and SARS-CoV-2-IgG antibodies when using advanced detection assays.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the possible reason of the high incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in Longnan, China.

Materials and methods: 147 and 124 invasive squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) samples from Longnan and different cities and districts of Gansu province were collected in the present study. All the samples were obtained from patients who underwent biopsies with colposcopy or advanced operations and were evaluated by experienced pathologists. HPV genotypes were examined with a validated HPV subtypes kit. The prevalence of HPV infection in SCC patients of China was analyzed by evidence-based medicine in the published literature. The markers of DNA damage response (DDR) - ATMpSer1981, H2AXp Ser139 (γH2AX), Chk2pThr68, and p53 - were analyzed by immunohistochemistry.

Results: HPV positivity, high-risk and multiple HPV positivity, and HPV58 infection were significantly higher in Longnan. Our results show that the prevalence of HPV infection in SCC patients of Longnan are consistent with the HPV prevalence in China. ATM, γH2AX, and p53 expressions in total and HPV+ samples were also higher in Longnan.

Conclusions: HPV-related DDR activation may be one reason for the high incidence and mortality of Longnan cervical cancer.

Background: Around 130 million infections of hepatitis C virus with 3% overall prevalence are there worldwide. There are approximately 4-5 million persons coinfected with HIV. The main objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of HCV among HIV-positive individuals and to assess the predictors involved in the outcomes of HIV-HCV coinfected patients.

Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted on patients enrolled from 2007 to 2012 at Infectious Disease Unit, Hospital Palau Pinang, Pinang, Malaysia. Sociodemographic da%)ta as well as clinical data were collected with the help of a valid data collection form from the patients' records. Data were entered and analyzed by using statistical software SPSS version 20.0, and p < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The overall prevalence of hepatitis C among 708 HIV-infected patients was 130 (16.1 including 541 (76.4%) males and 167 (23.6%) females. High prevalence of HIV-HCV coinfection was significantly observed in males (122 [17.2%]) compared to females (8 [1.1%]) (p < 0.001). The main route of transmission among HIV-HCV coinfected patients was heterosexual contact (98 [13.8%]), followed by homosexual contact (4 [0.4%]). The statistically significant predictors involved in treatment outcomes of HIV-HCV coinfected patients are gender (OR = 2.015, p = 0.002) and intravenous drug users (OR = 2.376, p ≤ 0.001).

Conclusion: The current study shows that HCV infection has an impact on the recovery of CD4 cells of the patients on HAART. Screening of HCV among HIV patients who were smokers and intravenous drug users should be monitored before starting HAART.

Introduction: Accumulated studies have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the leading causes for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanisms underlying the effect of HCV on the occurrence of HCC are still poorly understood.

Methods: HCV infection datasets (GSE82177 and GSE17856) and HCC datasets (The Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma and GSE89377) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus or TCGA for analysis. The common differentially expressed genes in the above four datasets were identified by R software. The expression of ubiquitin D (UBD) in HCV-infected HepG2 cells was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot, respectively. The interaction between NS3 and p53 was detected by co-immunoprecipitation. The influence of UBD on the proliferation and migration ability of HepG2 cells was evaluated by CCK-8 and wound healing assay, respectively.

Results: UBD was upregulated in both HCV-infected samples and HCC samples. HCV NS3 interacted with p53 and inhibited its expression. HCV NS3-induced UBD promoted the proliferation and migration of HepG2 cells.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that HCV NS3-induced UBD is positively correlated with the development of HCV-related HCC during HCV infection. Targeting UBD could be a potential strategy for preventing and treating HCV-induced HCC.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently the most important etiological agent of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with millions of infections and deaths in the last 2 years worldwide. Several reasons and parameters are responsible for the difficult management of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients; the first is virus behavioral factors such as high transmission rate, and the different molecular and cellular mechanisms of pathogenesis remain a matter of controversy, which is another factor.

Summary: In the present review, we attempted to explain about features of SARS-COV-2, particularly focusing on the various aspects of pathogenesis and treatment strategies.

Key messages: We note evidence for the understanding of the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, which can help design the appropriate drug or vaccine. Additionally, and importantly, we reported the updated issues associated with the history and development of treatment strategies such as, drugs, vaccines, and other medications that have been approved or under consideration in clinics and markets worldwide.

Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between serum antibody and neutralizing antibody titers in convalescent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with different disease severities, and the seropositive reaction rates of 9 reported B-cell epitopes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Methods: Serum IgG and total antibody titers of 165 convalescent COVID-19 patients were determined by chemiluminescence, the serum neutralization antibody titers were determined by microneutralization assay, and the S/CO values of 9 peptides were detected by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Correlations between the aforementioned indexes were statistically analyzed, and differences in patients with different diseases severities were evaluated.

Results: IgG, total antibody, and neutralizing antibody titers increased with disease severity. The positive rate of the receptor-binding region (RBD) was 100%, and the average positive rate for all the 9 peptides was above 50% in 165 patients. IDf showed the highest rate of positivity (86.06%), with a rate of 95% for the (IDf + IDa) pattern. Moreover, S/CO values of RBD and mix (IDh) were significantly correlated with IgG, total antibody titers, and neutralizing antibody titers (p < 0.001), whereas the S/CO values for other 8 peptides showed no obvious correlation.

Conclusion: In this study, a large sample was used to confirm that the peptide IDf had a high positive reaction rate for all patients (86.06%) and also had the highest detection rate in asymptomatic patients (86.67%). Only long peptide and mixed peptide showed correlation with neutralizing antibody titers, suggesting that the ability of SARS-CoV-2 antibody to neutralize virus infectivity may require the interaction of multiple sites.

Introduction: The avian influenza (AI) virus causes a highly contagious disease which is common in wild and domestic birds and sporadic in humans. Mutations and genetic reassortments among the 8 negative-sense RNA segments of the viral genome alter its pathogenic potential, demanding well-targeted, active surveillance for infection control.

Methods: Wild duck fecal samples were collected during the 2018 bird health annual surveillance in South Korea for tracking variations of the AI virus. One low-pathogenic avian influenza H5N3 reassortment virus (A/mallard duck/South Korea/KNU18-91/2018 [H5N3]) was isolated and genomically characterized by phylogenetic and molecular analyses in this study.

Results: It was devoid of polybasic amino acids at the hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage site and exhibited a stalk region without deletion in the neuraminidase (NA) gene and NA inhibitor resistance-linked E/D627K/N and D701N marker mutations in the PB2 gene, suggesting its low-pathogenic AI. It showed a potential of a reassortment where only HA originated from the H5N3 poultry virus of China and other genes were derived from Mongolia. In phylogenetic analysis, HA was different from that of the isolate of H5N3 in Korea, 2015. In addition, this novel virus showed adaptation in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, with 8.05 ± 0.14 log10 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) /mL at 36 h postinfection. However, it could not replicate in mice well, showing positive growth at 3 days postinfection (dpi) (2.1 ± 0.13 log10 TCID50/mL) but not at 6 dpi.

Conclusions: The HA antigenic relationship of A/mallard duck/South Korea/KNU18-91/2018 (H5N3) showed differences toward one of the old low-pathogenic H5N3 viruses in Korea. These results indicated that a novel reassortment low-pathogenic avian influenza H5N3 subtype virus emerged in South Korea in 2018 via novel multiple reassortments with Eurasian viruses, rather than one of old Korean H5N3 strains.

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer all over the world, so in the battle to fight this hurdle, new therapeutic approaches such as oncolytic viruses (OV) have attracted much attention because of the fact that they can inherently kill cancer cells. Oncolytic reovirus is one of the candidates for treatment as a nonpathogenic species specially reovirus type 3 Dearing (T3D), which can induce apoptosis. To speed up the entry and function of the reovirus, low-intensity ultrasound, which is a safe system for damage to the cells and tissues, is a promising approach to be used in combination with other therapeutic approach.

Methods: L929 and CT26 cells were infected with reovirus T3D and were exposed to ultrasonic irradiation (1 MHz, 1 W/cm2, and 20% duty factor) for 10 s. The viruses' titer level of both groups was calculated in 2 types of cells by using the CCID50 method and compared with each other. Apoptosis, after 24 h, was measured by the flow cytometry method.

Result: The results of CCID50 in infected cells were exposed to low-intensity ultrasound showed an increased virus titer compared with unexposed infected cells. Moreover, according to the results of the flow cytometry test, it was found that the amount of apoptosis in infected cells that are exposed to low-intensity ultrasound waves is higher than those infected cells.

Conclusion: Due to the results of CCID50 and flow cytometry tests, low-intensity ultrasound increases the cytotoxicity level of reovirus in CT26 cells of the cellular colorectal cancer model.