Evaluation of INOS, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 gene expression: A study of adult T cell leukemia malignancy associated with HTLV-1

The role of CREB and MAPK signaling pathways in ATLL patients

BACKGROUND

HTLV-1 is a worldwide distribution retrovirus with 10-20 million infected individuals. ATLL is an Adult T-cell leukaemia lymphoma caused by aggressive T-cell proliferation that is infected by HTLV-1 and is associated with an inferior prognosis. The exact molecular pathogenesis has yet to be fully understood. CREB, a transcription factor, acts as a molecular switch that controls the expression of numerous genes in response to various extracellular signals. Its activation is primarily mediated through phosphorylation by multiple kinases, including MAPKs. MAPKs, a family of serine/threonine kinases, serve as crucial mediators of intracellular signaling cascades.

METHOD AND MATERIAL

This study investigated, 38 HTLV-I-infected individuals, including 18 HTLV-1 asymptomatic carriers (ACs) and 20 ATLL subjects. mRNA was extracted and converted to cDNA from Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and then the expression of TAX, HBZ, CREB, and MAPK was analyzed by TaqMan qPCR. The genomic HTLV-1 Proviral loads were examined among the study group.

RESULTS

The data analysis showed a significant difference in the mean of CREB expression amongst study groups (ATLL and carriers, (p = 0.002). There is no statistical difference between the MAPK gene expression (p = 0.35). HBZ, TAX, and HTLV-1 proviral load weree significantly higher in ATLL subjects compared to  ACs  (p = 0.002, 0.000, and 0.000), respectively. Moreover, our results, demonstrated a direct positive correlation among HBZ, CREB, and TAX gene expression in ATLL patients (p = 0.001), whilst between the  ACs, TAX gene expression had a positive significant correlation with HBZ and HTLV-1 proviral load (p = 0.007 and p = 0.004, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrated that CREB gene expression was higher in the ATLL group than ACs, while there was no difference for MAPK. Therefore, this pathway may not strongly involve in the activation of CREB. The CREB may be a prognostic factor for the development of HTLV-I-associated diseases and can be used as a monitoring marker for the efficiency of the therapeutic regime and prognosis.

Aberrant cytokine and VCAM-1 expression in patients with viral and non-viral related liver cirrhosis

The study aim was to compare the alterations in the expression levels of proinflammatory and chemotactic cytokines as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-8, the down regulatory cytokine IL-10, in addition to the vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) gene in different groups of patients with cirrhosis due to various etiologies. This case-control study included 84 patients suffering from cirrhosis of viral and non-viral etiologies and 20 sex and age-matched healthy controls. All patients were subjected to detailed history taking, clinical examination, and liver function assessment. The expression levels of TNF-α, IL-17A, IL-8, IL-10, and VCAM-1 were assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by real-time PCR. Patients with cirrhosis showed marked changes in the tested gene expression levels relative to the control group. Higher expression levels of all genes except IL-10 were seen in patients of the viral than in the non-viral groups. Most of the significant correlations of liver function parameters were observed with TNF-α in both the viral and non-viral groups, followed by IL-17A. Increased TNF-α and IL-17A presented potential risk factors for disease progression to cirrhosis of Child class C.

Molecular insight into the study of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL): Ten-year studies on HTLV-1 associated diseases in an endemic region

The outcome of successful infection, including human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), is determined by the interactions between the host and the infectious agent. Ten years of work on HTLV-1-associated diseases in an endemic region of Iran have been critically compared in the present study. The outstanding findings of RNA-seq, system biology analysis, and gene expression measurements on adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and enzootic bovine leukosis(EBL) in our lab encouraged us to investigate the significant role of oncogenes in the ATLL malignancy. Most studies assessed such interactions by the proviral load (PVL), Tax, and HBZ regulatory proteins in HTLV-1 and the host's immunological and cell cycle factors. The current study is a comprehensive comparing view of our previously published and unpublished results investigating the HTLV-1-host interactions leading to the transformation of the infected cell. The main focus has been on the essential proteins implicated in the virus dissemination, cell survival, and proliferation of infected cells toward leukemia development and progression. Similar to its homolog BLV-AS-1-2 in EBL, the HTLV-1-HBZ is a pivotal factor in the maintenance and progression of the ATLL. In addition, the inappropriate activities of the PI3K/Akt pathway, BRCAs, and RAD51 in the DNA repair system, which are orchestrating many other immortalization pathways, might be the central factors in the manifestation of ATLL. HTLV-1-HBZ and the host PI3K/Akt pathway, BCAs, and RAD51 could be suggested as influential targets for the prognosis and proper therapy of ATLL.

HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) versus adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL)

Objectives

Human T cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1) infection may lead to one or both diseases including HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) or adult T cell leukemia lymphoma (ATLL). The complete interactions of the virus with host cells in both diseases is yet to be determined. This study aims to construct an interaction network for distinct signaling pathways in these diseases based on finding differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between HAM/TSP and ATLL.

Results

We identified 57 hub genes with higher criteria scores in the primary protein–protein interaction network (PPIN). The ontology-based enrichment analysis revealed following important terms: positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter involved in meiotic cell cycle and positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter by histone modification. The upregulated genes TNF, PIK3R1, HGF, NFKBIA, CTNNB1, ESR1, SMAD2, PPARG and downregulated genes VEGFA, TLR2, STAT3, TLR4, TP53, CHUK, SERPINE1, CREB1 and BRCA1 were commonly observed in all the three enriched terms in HAM/TSP vs. ATLL. The constructed interaction network was then visualized inside a mirrored map of signaling pathways for ATLL and HAM/TSP, so that the functions of hub genes were specified in both diseases.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13104-021-05521-y.

Comparison of Snail1, ZEB1, E-Cadherin Expression Levels in HPV-Induced Cervical Cancer

Background:

Molecular profiling techniques are the rapid detection of biomarkers in the human papillomavirus (HPV) infected cells. We aimed to measure the expression level of three cell factors including Snail1, ZEB-1, and E-cadherin in cervical cancer (CC), precancerous and healthy samples, simultaneously, to find potential biomarkers.

Methods:

The expression level of the mentioned cell factors were investigated in 72 CC patients, precancerous patients, and healthy controls by using Real-Time PCR.

Results:

The results demonstrated a significant reduction in the expression level of E-cadherin in cancer and precancerous cases than that in healthy cases; whereas the expression level of ZEB-1 and Snail1 were upregulated in cancer and precancerous samples. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses shows the highest AUC value emerged for Snail1: 1(95% CI: 1-1) in comparing CC and healthy groups with a sensitivity of 100.0 % and specificity of 100.0%.

Conclusion:

The molecular biomarker Snail1 may be helpful to early diagnosis and prognosis of CC in the HPV-infected human populations. Considering the increased expression level of Snail1 in cancer and precancerous tissue compared to healthy tissue as well as the area under the ROC curve, Snail1 can be used for early detection of CC.

Relative Frequency of Blood-Borne Viruses in Hemodialysis-Dependent and Kidney Transplant Recipients in Iran

Background:

Hemodialysis (HD) patients and kidney transplant (KT) recipients are exposed to be infected by blood-borne viruses (BBVs). Current study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of BBVs in HD and KT patients in the whole Iranian population.

Methods:

From Jan 2016 to Dec 2017, 174 hemodialysis and 139 kidney transplant recipients enrolled in this survey. After blood sampling, serum samples were detected for HBV, HCV, HCMV, HIV and HTLV antibodies. Seropositive samples confirmed by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.

Results:

Overall, 6 (3.44%) and 3 (2.15%) of hemodialysis-dependent and transplantation patients had evidence of HCV infection, whereas no patients were HIV and HBV positive, two cases (1.14%) of hemodialysis and one case (0.71%) of transplantation patients demonstrated the HTLV-1 infection. 52 (37.4%) of patients received graft were positive for HCMV antibody. In addition, our study showed a co-infection of HCMV with HCV (3 patients, 2.15%) in transplantation patients.

Conclusion:

Prevalence of BBVs infection was lower in comparison to the previous studies. The current strict infection control practices in Iran appear to be effective in limiting dialysis and related infections after transplantation. Because BBVs infections constantly occur especially in dialysis and after transplantation units, our data will be useful to build a new strategic plan for the elimination of BBVs infection in kidney therapycenters.

Resveratrol supplementation and acute pancreatitis: A comprehensive review

Resveratrol, a natural polyphenolic ingredient extracted from herbs, suppresses oxidative stress and inflammation. We performed a comprehensive review to find any evidence about the effects of Resveratrol on acute pancreatitis (AP). Resveratrol has been found to directly impact cytokine generation. As these factors play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of AP, resveratrol might attenuate AP and its complications. Mechanistically, resveratrol exerts its pharmacological effects through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms via interaction with different signaling molecules and transcription factors. Indeed, resveratrol might prove to be an effective therapeutic component for AP treatment in the future. In this review, we shed light on potential most recent pathways through which resveratrol might impact the management and control of AP.

An insight to HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) pathogenesis; evidence from high-throughput data integration and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Human T-lymphotropic virus 1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a progressive disease of the central nervous system that significantly affected spinal cord, nevertheless, the pathogenesis pathway and reliable biomarkers have not been well determined. This study aimed to employ high throughput meta-analysis to find major genes that are possibly involved in the pathogenesis of HAM/TSP.

RESULTS

High-throughput statistical analyses identified 832, 49, and 22 differentially expressed genes for normal vs. ACs, normal vs. HAM/TSP, and ACs vs. HAM/TSP groups, respectively. The protein-protein interactions between DEGs were identified in STRING and further network analyses highlighted 24 and 6 hub genes for normal vs. HAM/TSP and ACs vs. HAM/TSP groups, respectively. Moreover, four biologically meaningful modules including 251 genes were identified for normal vs. ACs. Biological network analyses indicated the involvement of hub genes in many vital pathways like JAK-STAT signaling pathway, interferon, Interleukins, and immune pathways in the normal vs. HAM/TSP group and Metabolism of RNA, Viral mRNA Translation, Human T cell leukemia virus 1 infection, and Cell cycle in the normal vs. ACs group. Moreover, three major genes including STAT1, TAP1, and PSMB8 were identified by network analysis. Real-time PCR revealed the meaningful down-regulation of STAT1 in HAM/TSP samples than AC and normal samples (P = 0.01 and P = 0.02, respectively), up-regulation of PSMB8 in HAM/TSP samples than AC and normal samples (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01, respectively), and down-regulation of TAP1 in HAM/TSP samples than those in AC and normal samples (P = 0.008 and P = 0.02, respectively). No significant difference was found among three groups in terms of the percentage of T helper and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (P = 0.55 and P = 0.12).

CONCLUSIONS

High-throughput data integration disclosed novel hub genes involved in important pathways in virus infection and immune systems. The comprehensive studies are needed to improve our knowledge about the pathogenesis pathways and also biomarkers of complex diseases.

Serum and tissue miRNAs: potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of cervical cancer

Background

Finding new biomarkers for the early detection of cervical cancer is an essential requirement in this field. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression level of potential biomarkers in progression of cervical cancer in patients with cervical cancer compared to normal subjects.

Methods

The expression levels of tissue and serum miRNAs, including miR-9, miR-192 and miR-205, were investigated in 36 normal, 18 precancer, and 18 cervical cancer samples using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Results

The results showed the higher significant expressions of miR-9, miR-192 and miR-205 in the tissue of cancer samples than those in the normal samples. Moreover, the miR-192 and miR-205 expression were significantly increased in the cancer group in comparison with the precancer group. Examination of serum samples revealed the increase in the expression level in the cancer groups than in the normal samples, for miR-9, miR-192 and miR-205 and the expressions of miR-9, miR-192 and miR-205 were significantly up-regulated in the precancer group in comparison with the normal group. Also the expression of miR-205 was remarkably increased in the cancer group in comparison with the precancer group. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses showed the highest area under the curve value for miR-192.

Conclusions

Given the increased expression level of miR-192 in cancer and in precancerous tissue and serum compared with the normal tissue and serum validated by analysing the ROC curve, miR-192 can be used as potential biomarker for the early detection of cervical cancer.