Serological markers of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis D virus infections in Greek adults with primary hepatocellular carcinoma

Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) has been linked etiologically to chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection by epidemiologic and molecular lines of evidence. Serologic evidence of HBV and hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection was assessed in sera from 47 Greek patients with PHC. Radioimmunoassays for the detection of serological markers of HBV and HDV infections and molecular hybridization techniques for the detection of HBV DNA sequences were used. Serological evidence of HBV infection was found in 93.6% of PHC patients. Of the 47 patients, 20 (42.6%) were positive for HBsAg, 43 (91.5%) were positive for anti-HBc and 21 (44.7%) were positive for anti-HBs. Anti-HBe was detected in a high percentage (90%) of HBsAg positive PHC patients. Anti-HBc IgM was also detected in 90% of HBsAg positive PHC patients; in contrast, HBV DNA was detected only in 5% of them. None of the 47 patients had serological evidence of HDV infection. These data show that HBV appears to be the principal etiological agent of PHC in Greece. © 1989 MMV Medizin Verlag GmbH München

Low molecular weight measles immunoglobulin M in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and acute measles

Thirty eight patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) were investigated. Five patients who previously had measles immunoglobulin M (IgM) detected in unfractionated serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) had measles IgM exclusively in the low molecular weight (LMW) fractions of serum and CSF. Measles IgM had previously not been found in unfractionated serum from 33 patients but was detected exclusively in the LMW fractions of serum from 30 patients. Seven children with acute measles had the expected high molecular weight (HMW) measles IgM in serum but 5 also had LMW measles IgM. Four young adults who had had measles in childhood had neither HMW nor LMW measles IgM in their sera

Keep calm and carry on: miRNA biogenesis under stress

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are major post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Their biogenesis relies on the cleavage of longer precursors by a nuclear localized processing machinery. The evolutionary preference of plant miRNAs to silence transcription factors turned these small molecules into key actors during growth and adaptive responses. Furthermore, during their life cycle plants are subject to changes in the environmental conditions surrounding them. In order to face these changes, plants display unique adaptive capacities based on an enormous developmental plasticity, where miRNAs play central roles. Many individual miRNAs have been shown to modulate the plant response to different environmental cues and stresses. In the last few years, increasing evidence has shown that not only individual genes encoding miRNAs but also the miRNA pathway as a whole is subject to regulation in response to external stimulus. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge about the miRNA pathway. We dissect the pathway to analyze the events leading to the generation of these small RNAs and emphasize the regulation of core components of the miRNA biogenesis machinery.Fil: Manavella, Pablo Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Yang, Seong W.. Yonsei University; Corea del SurFil: Palatnik, Javier Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; Argentin

Advances in researches on the immune dysregulation and therapy of severe acute pancreatitis*

During the development and progression of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), conspicuous immune dysregulation develops, which is mainly manifested as excessive immune response in the early stage and immunosuppression in the late stage. This process involves complex changes in a variety of immune molecules and cells, such as cytokines, complements, lymphocytes, and leukocytes. With the gradual deepening of studies on the development and progression of SAP, the role of immune dysregulation in the pathogenesis of SAP has attracted more and more attention. In this article, we review the advances in research on the immune dysregulation in SAP and the immunotherapy of this disease through exploring the formation of excessive immune response and immune suppression as well as their mutual transformation