Journal of immunoassay & immunochemistry最新文献

This study was designed to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in tumor cells (TCs) and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to correlate its expression with clinicopathological parameters. Seventy-two formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks of HCC were collected. The data were collected from the patients' records. The blocks were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Additionally, they were immunostained with PD-L1. Membranous staining was considered positive expression including the entire membrane or part of it ± cytoplasmic staining, and the percentage of total cancer cells ≥ 5% was evaluated as positive staining for TCs. The TICs were considered positive if they expressed membranous ± cytoplasmic staining of PD-L1 ≥ 1%. Of the total cases, 34.7% expressed PD-L1 positively in TCs and 15.3% expressed PD-L1 positively in TICs. Significant associations were observed between PD-L1 expression in TCs and tumor grade, capsular and/or vascular invasion, tumor stage, nodal metastasis, and the expression of PD-L1 in paracancerous tissue. The cases that positively expressed PD-L1 exhibited reduced overall survival (OS). PD-L1 was expressed in HCC TCs and TICs. Its expression in TCs was associated with higher HCC grades, advanced stages, capsular and/or vascular invasion, and nodal metastasis, and cases that expressed PD-L1 displayed reduced OS. Therefore, PD-L1 might serve as a poor prognostic indicator and a tumor immunotherapy target.

Psoriasis is characterized by cutaneous hyperproliferation, secondary to immune system dysregulation. Vitamin A regulates the immune response and sustains epithelial tissue hemostasis. The CYP1A1 gene, has many biological actions, including vitamin A metabolism. To evaluate CYP1A1 gene polymorphism and serum vitamin A level in patients with psoriasis vulgaris, a case-control study involving two groups was conducted: group 1 (45 patients with psoriasis vulgaris) served as the cased group and group 2 (45 healthy participants who were sex and age matched) acted as the control group. CYP1A1 (rs1048943) gene polymorphism and vitamin A serum level were assessed by TaqMan allelic discrimination (PCR) and ELISA, respectively. AG genotype was present only in cases (22.2%), while AA genotype was present in all controls (P=.001). Vitamin A levels were lower in cases than in controls (32.0 ± 7.41 vs. 46.2 ± 15.7 μg/ml, respectively) (P<.001). AG genotype was associated with a lower vitamin A level (P=.001). The detected genotype difference between psoriasis patients and controls, which was associated with a lower serum vitamin A level and was also lower in more severe cases, suggests a role of the CYP1A1 gene and vitamin A in disease pathogenesis and prognosis.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a disorder with several etiologies. The evidence suggests that the absolute copy number of mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA), as well as proportion of mutated mtDNA copies, determines disease onset. This study aims to quantify the relative index of the mtDNA copy number in patients with AA and healthy controls and correlate the results with the existing clinical ‎information. This case-control study included 50 patients with AA and 50 age- and sex-coordinated healthy persons as controls. The severity of AA was weighed using the Severity of Alopecia Tool and Kavak's classification. The relative index of the mtDNA copy number was measured by real-time qPCR. Significant statistical difference was observed between cases and controls regarding mean mtDNA copy number, p < .001. There was significant positive correlation with SALT score (p =  0.001). A cutoff value of >1.619 N/µL could significantly diagnose AA cases (p < .001), and a cutoff value of > 1.36 N/µL could discriminate mild AA cases from those with moderate AA (p =  0.007). The relative index of mtDNA copy number is significantly elevated in AA cases and could be helpful in diagnosing and evaluating AA severity.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global health problem leading to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure. The Hepatitis B vaccine plays a significant role in reducing the incidence of HBV worldwide. Approximately 5-10% of vaccinated people do not produce protective antibody levels. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF‑κB) mediates inflammatory responses through pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, the role of the NF‑κB signaling pathway and its association with pro-inflammatory cytokines in hepatitis B vaccine response is unclear. We aimed to assess changes in the IL1A, IL6, IL12A, TNF-α, and NFκB1 expression levels in the non-responder and responder. A total of 32 non-responders and 36 responders were included in the study. The expression level of determined genes was analyzed by RT-PCR. Our results showed that IL1A, IL6, IL12A, and NFκB1 mRNA levels significantly increased in the non-responders compared to the responders (p < .01). Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between IL1A, IL6, TNF-α, and NFκB1 in the non-responder and responders. In conclusion, inflammatory signaling pathways may play an important role in response to HBV vaccine. Therefore, NF‑κB signaling and associated pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA levels could predict hepatitis B vaccine response. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of hepatitis B vaccine immunity need further investigation.

This study was performed to determine the prevalence, genotype distribution and risk factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among β-thalassemia patients. ELISA was used to detect HBsAg and HBcAb. Molecular evaluation of HBV infection was performed by nested PCR, targeting S, X and pre-C regions of the genome, and sequencing. Of 126 thalassemia patients, 4 cases (3.17%) were positive for HBsAg, 23 cases (18.25%) were positive for HBcAb, and 6 cases (4.76%) had HBV viremia with genotype D, sub-genotype D3 and subtype ayw2. HBV prevalence among thalassemia patients was not statistically associated with gender distribution, place of residency, marital status and frequency of blood transfusion. HBsAg seroprevalence was significantly higher in Afghan immigrants and patients with ALT levels of 41-80 IU/L. The prevalence of HBV viremia was significantly higher among thalassemia patients aged >20 years compared to the patients aged <20 years. Moreover, 1.59% of thalassemia patients had seropositive occult HBV infection, which was positive for HBV-DNA and HBcAb but negative for HBsAg. Considering the relatively high prevalence of occult HBV infection among thalassemia patients, there is a possibility of their contamination through donated blood. Therefore, screening of donated blood based on detection of HBsAg cannot abolish HBV transmission through blood transfusion.

Infection with both Hepatitis B (HBV) and D (HDV) virus causes more severe liver damage than HBV alone. Superinfections among chronic HBV infected cohorts often lead to HDV persistence with rapid progression to cirrhosis, necessitating continuous surveillance to determine their prevalence and relative contribution to liver pathology. A cross-sectional study among hospital outpatients in Ekiti and Osunstates was conducted using random sampling technique. Blood samples were collected from 410 participants and tested for HBV serological markers. All samples positive for HBsAg samples were tested for Hepatitis D virus antigen (HDAg), serum anti-HDV IgM, and serum anti-HDV IgG using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The prevalence of HBV infection among the 410 samples was 12.4% (CI 9.5-15.9). Past HBV exposure was detected in 120 (29.2%), while 147(35.8%) were susceptible to HBV infection. Among the HBsAg positive individuals, 9.8% were hepatitis D antigen (HDAg) positive, while 3.9% and 1.9% were positive for IgG anti-HDV and IgM anti-HDV, respectively. Risk factors associated with HBV infections in this study were multiple sexual partners and sharing of sharp objects. Our investigation has verified the endemicity of HBV in Nigeria and revealed that HBV- HDV co-infection is highly prevalent in south-west Nigeria.

Parvovirus B19 has been identified to infect pregnant women and cause anemia, spontaneous abortion, and fetal death. Given the significance of parvovirus B19 complications, this study aims to determine the seroprevalence and geographical distribution of parvovirus B19 antibodies in pregnant women to improve health control policies in the community. Online international databases and national Persian databases were used to define appropriate studies published between 2000 and January 2021. The quality of all papers was determined by a Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) checklist. The statistical analyses were performed using the Stata version 11 package (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA) software. Heterogeneity among the primary studies was calculated using Cochran's Q-test and I2 index. The Egger test and the funnel plot chart with a significance level of less than 0.1 were used to evaluate the publishing bias. The seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 IgG antibodies among pregnant and non-pregnant women in Iran was assessed in 12 primary studies. Our finding showed that the seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 IgG antibodies among pregnant women varies from 21% to 76%. Combining the results of 5 primary studies based on the random effect model, the seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 IgG antibody among pregnant women in Iran was estimated to be 54% (95% CI:33-76). The seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 IgM antibodies has been reported in 9 studies. By combining the results of these studies using a random effect model, the seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 IgM antibody among pregnant women was estimated to be 3% (95% CI: 1-6). Generally, it is suggested that appropriate screening programs should be performed for the treatment and prevention of diseases. According to this point, the prevalence of parvovirus B19 is low among pregnant women, but it can cause serious manifestations such as hydrops fetalis and severe anemia, therefore, antibody determination using ELISA can be recommended for all pregnant women.

Data on spatiotemporal distribution of rotavirus diarrhea are limited in many endemic settings. This study determined the prevalence and seasonal distribution of rotavirus among Nigerian children with diarrhea. Here, a total of 406 fecal samples were collected from patients attending six health facilities in Lagos between January - December 2019. Socio-demographic data of each enrolled child were collected. Rotavirus VP6 antigen was detected by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and confirmation by VP7 gene detection by reverse transcription polymerase-chain reaction. The overall rotavirus diarrhea prevalence was 16.3% by ELISA with children above 2 years having 29.2% of this prevalence and higher occurrence in females (59.1%) than males (40.9%) (P < .05). Rotavirus diarrhea diagnosis using RT-PCR showed 100% concordance with ELISA. Cases of rotavirus diarrhea were detected from March to July and from September to November with the highest number of cases detected in May and June (22.7% each), followed by July (21.2%). The prevalence of rotavirus diarrhea remains high in Lagos with an emerging higher disease activity in children above 2. A different rotavirus transmission dynamics compared to previous studies from Nigeria and other African countries was found. VP6 ELISA may reliably be used for continuous rotavirus surveillance in Nigeria.

We aimed to evaluate the expression of YAP1, PTEN, VEGF in the placentas of patients with preeclampsia and placentas of healthy pregnant women for trophoblast invasion, which is similar to cancer etiopathogenesis. The placentas of 70 women who gave birth, including 30 preeclampsia and 40 healthy controls, were evaluated. YAP1, PTEN and VEGF immunohistochemical staining were performed using the microarray method on placental tissue. The mean ± standard deviation for YAP1, PTEN and VEGF intensity were; 1.57 ± 0.71,2.59 ± 0.80, 1.61 ± 0.59, respectively. PTEN intensity was statistically significantly lower in the preeclampsia group than in the control group (2.37 ± 0.99 vs 2.75 ± 0.58, p = .049). There was no difference between the groups in terms of YAP1 and VEGF staining (p > .05). The etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia is still unclear. However, since trophoblast invasion and endothelial repair have similar aspects with cancer mechanisms, both preeclampsia and cancer studies are progressing by supporting each other. Our study is a prototype study showing that large-participation studies can be carried out easily by using the microarray method as an economic model.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection follows a natural course of events predicted by a dynamic interaction between viral antigen and the host immune system, which forms the basis for HBV serological diagnosis. These interactions may deviate from the typical serologic patterns. This study investigates the types of atypical HBV serologic profiles (AHBSP) across clinical cohorts of patients with HBV infection in southwestern Nigeria. This is a cross-sectional, hospital-based, multi-centered study. Patients' sera were analyzed for HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe, anti-HBc IgM, and anti-HBc IgG by ELISA from 279 study participants attending selected gastroenterology clinics between August 2019 and December 2020. The prevalence of atypical HBV serologic profiles was 27% (n = 76). The mean age of patients was 35.7 ± 11.2 years. The gender distribution involved 183 females (65.6%) and 96 males (34.4%). Across clinical cohorts of patients with atypical serologic profiles, HBeAg Negative, anti-HBe positive with detectable HBV DNA had the highest prevalence of 21% followed by isolated anti-HBc antibody positive, HBsAg negative and detectable HBV DNA, 5%. The atypical serologic profiles, HBeAg positive, HBsAg negative with detectable HBV DNA and concurrent anti-HBs with HBsAg, had the lowest prevalence, 0.4%, respectively. This study identified the considerable presence of atypical HBV serologic profiles across clinical cohorts of HBV infection in southwestern Nigeria.