Reconstruction of the origin and dispersal of the worldwide dominant Hepatitis B Virus subgenotype D1

Funding Information: N.S.T. and P.L. were supported by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme [FP7/2007-2013] under Grant Agreement number 278433-PREDEMICS. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 725422 - ReservoirDOCS). MT is a PhD fellow at the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium, grant number 1S47118N). A.-C.P.-P. was supported by European Funds through grant 'Bio-Molecular and Epidemiological Surveillance of HIV Transmitted Drug Resistance, Hepatitis Co- Infections and Ongoing Transmission Patterns in Europe' (BEST HOPE) (project funded through HIVERA: Harmonizing Integrating Vitalizing European Research on HIV/Aids, grant 249697); by Fundação para a Cieñcia e Tecnologia for funds to GHTMUID/ Multi/04413/2013; by the Migrant HIV project (financed by FCT: PTDC/DTP-EPI/7066/2014; and by Gilead Ǵenese HIVLatePresenters. B.V. was supported by a postdoctoral grant (12U7121N) of the FWO (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen). G.B. acknowledges support from the Interne Fondsen KU Leuven/ Internal Funds KU Leuven under grant agreement C14/18/094 and the Research Foundation - Flanders ('Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen', G0E1420N, G098321N). This work was supported by the Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds KU Leuven (BOF) No. OT/14/115. This work was supported by public grants. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s).Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV-D1 is the dominant subgenotype in the Mediterranean basin, Eastern Europe, and Asia. However, little is currently known about its evolutionary history and spatio-temporal dynamics. We use Bayesian phylodynamic inference to investigate the temporal history of HBV-D1, for which we calibrate the molecular clock using ancient sequences, and reconstruct the viral global spatial dynamics based, for the first time, on full-length publicly available HBV-D1 genomes from a wide range of sampling dates. We pinpoint the origin of HBV subgenotype D1 before the current era (BCE) in Turkey/Anatolia. The spatial reconstructions reveal global viral transmission with a high degree of mixing. By combining modern-day and ancient sequences, we ensure sufficient temporal signal in HBV-D1 data to enable Bayesian phylodynamic inference using a molecular clock for time calibration. Our results shed light on the worldwide HBV-D1 epidemics and suggest that this originally Middle Eastern virus significantly affects more distant countries, such as those in mainland Europe.publishersversionpublishe

Licence plate recognition using Viola-Jones method

This paper contains description of licence plate's recognition algorithm using Viola-Jones method. The results of the work program implementing the method of Viola-Jones C{++} OpenCV library are performed

World Hepatitis Day in 2022: Challenges of Viral Hepatitis Elimination in Elongated COVID-19 Pandemic

Recently, the World Hepatitis Day (WHD) of 2022 was observed to raise awareness of the global burden of viral hepatitis [...

Plasma virome dynamics in chronic hepatitis B virus infected patients

The virome remains an understudied domain of the human microbiome. The role of commensal viruses on the outcome of infections with known pathogens is not well characterized. In this study we aimed to characterize the longitudinal plasma virome dynamics in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected patients. Eighty-five longitudinal plasma samples were collected from 12 chronic HBV infected individuals that were classified in the four stages of HBV infection. The virome was characterized with an optimized viral extraction protocol and deep-sequenced on a NextSeq 2500 platform. The plasma virome was primarily composed of members of the Anello- Flavi-, and Hepadnaviridae (HBV) families. The virome structure and dynamics did not correlate with the different stages of chronic HBV infection nor with the administration of antiviral therapy. We observed a higher intrapersonal similarity of viral contigs. Genomic analysis of viruses observed in multiple timepoint demonstrated the presence of a dynamic community. This study comprehensively assessed the blood virome structure in chronic HBV infected individuals and provided insights in the longitudinal development of this viral community

Elimination of Viral Hepatitis and an Update on Blood Safety Technology

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The impact understanding of exosome therapy in COVID-19 and preparations for the future approaches in dealing with infectious diseases and inflammation

Abstract Cytokine storms, which result from an abrupt, acute surge in the circulating levels of different pro-inflammatory cytokines, are one of the complications associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This study aimed to assess the effect of exosomes on the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and compare it with a control group. The cytokines evaluated in this study were TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17, and IFN-γ. The study compared the levels of these pro-inflammatory cytokines in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of five COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit, who were subjected to both inactivated SARS-CoV-2 and exosome therapy, with those of five healthy controls. The cytokine levels were quantified using the ELISA method. The collected data was analyzed in SPSS Version 26.0 and GraphPad Prism Version 9. According to the study findings, when PBMCs were exposed to inactivated SARS-CoV-2, pro-inflammatory cytokines increased in both patients and healthy controls. Notably, the cytokine levels were significantly elevated in the COVID-19 patients compared to the control group P-values were < 0.001, 0.001, 0.008, and 0.008 for TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17, and IFN-γ, respectively. Conversely, when both groups were exposed to exosomes, there was a marked reduction in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This suggests that exosome administration can effectively mitigate the hyperinflammation induced by COVID-19 by suppressing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in patients. These findings underscore the potential safety and efficacy of exosomes as a therapeutic strategy for COVID-19

Natural disasters pose a challenge for hepatitis elimination in Iran

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Persons with Intellectual Disability: A Potential Reservoir of Invasive Strains of Hepatitis B Virus

Background: A higher prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been reported in persons with intellectual disability as well as the nurses working in closed institutions compared to the general population. Objectives: In the present study, the serological and molecular markers of HBV infection in individuals with intellectual disability of closed institutions were investigated. Methods: Blood samples were derived from 400 persons with intellectual disability living in six institutions in Tehran and tested for HBsAg and HBcAb. Nested PCR, direct sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis were performed to determine the HBV genotypes and mutational patterns of HBsAg. Also, HBsAb was tested for HBV DNA positive cases. Results: Twenty-eight (7.0%) patients were positive for the HBsAg serological test. Furthermore, six HBV occult cases were identified. In total, out of 41 patients with HBV infection markers, 26 cases were positive for HBV DNA. Of these patients, 15 full-length HBsAg were successfully amplified and sequenced. All strains belonged to genotype D and subtypes ayw2 and ayw3. These 15 isolated strains carried several immune escape mutants in the S genes. Surprisingly, mutations related to antiviral resistance were detected in the overlapped pol genes of strains isolated from naïve-treatment patients. Conclusions: The observed frequency of HBV infection in individuals with intellectual disability was higher than the reported estimation of HBV infection in Iranian blood donors and the general population. All HBV isolates from these patients represented a homogenous genotype and corresponded with other reported strains from Mediterranean countries. The high frequency of immune escape strains, despite vaccination and detection of identical mutational patterns in different genes, might indicate that persons with intellectual disability have shared vaccine-escape and drug-resistant HBV strains.status: Published onlin