Reinfection rate of hepatitis C in HIV-1 positive men who have sex with men: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PurposeA reduction of 80% in new Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is expected by 2030. However, high HCV reinfection rates have been reported among the high-risk population. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the HCV reinfection rate after successful treatment of HIV-1 coinfected MSM populations.MethodsBibliographic databases were searched and a random-effect model was utilized to calculate the pooled HCV reinfection rate. Sub-group and meta-regression were used to explore heterogeneity among selected studies. A funnel plot and Egger's regression test were performed to estimate the publication bias.ResultsSixteen studies with 9,017.2 person-years (PY) follow-up were included. The overall HCV reinfection rate following successful treatment among HIV-1-infected MSM was 5.27/100 PY (95% CI, 3.98, 6.96). Lower reinfection rates were observed in developed parts of Europe (5.28/100 PY; 95% CI, 3.73, 6.84) and North America (3.92/100 PY; 95% CI, 1.67, 6.17). Reinfection rates among people with HCV test intervals of fewer than 6 months (7.59/100 PY; 95% CI: 5.15, 10.03) were significantly higher than those with more than 6 months test interval (2.88/100 PY; 95% CI: 2.26, 3.50), with an adjusted RR of 1.86 (95% CI, 1.06, 3.13). The adjusted study factors explained 91.03% the of studies' heterogeneity.ConclusionHCV reinfection rate was high in successfully treated MSM who were coinfected with HIV-1. A shorter HCV test interval may help to explore more HCV reinfections. HCV reinfection rate studies from HIV-1 coinfected MSM in underdeveloped countries are urgently needed.Meta registrationPROSPERO: CRD42021285206, URL: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/

The Second Human Pegivirus, a Non-Pathogenic RNA Virus with Low Prevalence and Minimal Genetic Diversity

The second human pegivirus (HPgV-2) is a virus discovered in the plasma of a hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patient in 2015 belonging to the pegiviruses of the family Flaviviridae. HPgV-2 has been proved to be epidemiologically associated with and structurally similar to HCV but unrelated to HCV disease and non-pathogenic, but its natural history and tissue tropism remain unclear. HPgV-2 is a unique RNA virus sharing the features of HCV and the first human pegivirus (HPgV-1 or GBV-C). Moreover, distinct from most RNA viruses such as HCV, HPgV-1 and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), HPgV-2 exhibits much lower genomic diversity, with a high global sequence identity ranging from 93.5 to 97.5% and significantly lower intra-host variation than HCV. The mechanisms underlying the conservation of the HPgV-2 genome are not clear but may include efficient innate immune responses, low immune selection pressure and, possibly, the unique features of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP). In this review, we summarize the prevalence, pathogenicity and genetic diversity of HPgV-2 and discuss the possible reasons for the uniformity of its genome sequence, which should elucidate the implications of RNA virus fidelity for attenuated viral vaccines

Patterns of HIV or AIDS Mortality Among Older People From 1990 to 2019 in China: Age-Period-Cohort Analysis

BackgroundWith the increasing effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy and shifting demographics, the problem of older people with HIV or AIDS is increasingly grim in China, and neglecting infection among them may cause more serious social problems, exacerbate the difficulty of controlling HIV or AIDS transmission, and increase the risk of death. ObjectiveWe investigated the variations in the trends of Chinese mortality by age, period, and cohort, from 1990 to 2019, to reveal the relationship between age, period, cohort, and HIV burden, as well as providing guidance for resource allocation to prevent HIV-related deaths in vulnerable target populations. MethodsWe extracted the HIV or AIDS mortality data from the Global Burden of Disease. The joinpoint regression model was applied to detect changes in HIV or AIDS trends. The age-period-cohort model was used to explore the age, period, and cohort effects. ResultsThe trends in age-standardized mortality rates in HIV or AIDS were increased in both genders, from 0.50 to 4.54/105 individuals for males, and from 0.19 to 1.43/105 individuals for females. Joinpoint regression model showed the average annual percentage change of age-standardized mortality rates was 7.0 for male and 6.4 for female individuals, showing an increasing trend. The age effect of male HIV or AIDS mortality showed a net increase of 0.59 (–0.21 to 0.38) from the ages 50-79 years. There is a gradual upward trend in the change in risk of death from HIV or AIDS for the period effect among the older population, lowest at ages 50-54 years (–0.80 for male and –0.78 for female individuals) and highest at ages 75-79 years (0.86 for male and 0.69 for female individuals). The variation of cohort effects was complex, but both genders had a nearly consistent tendency; people born in 1920-1929 had the lowest cohort effect, and those born in 1950-1954 had the highest values. ConclusionsOur study showed a marked rise in HIV mortality for both genders in China from 1990 to 2019. Aging is an important issue in current HIV prevention and control. There is an urgent need to promote HIV testing and health education. Our findings will help predict future HIV or AIDS mortality changes and identify age-specific priority populations for intervention

Systematic evaluation of C. elegans lincRNAs with CRISPR knockout mutants

Abstract Background Long intergenic RNAs (lincRNAs) play critical roles in eukaryotic cells, but systematic analyses of the lincRNAs of an animal for phenotypes are lacking. We generate CRISPR knockout strains for Caenorhabditis elegans lincRNAs and evaluate their phenotypes. Results C. elegans lincRNAs demonstrate global features such as shorter length and fewer exons than mRNAs. For the systematic evaluation of C. elegans lincRNAs, we produce CRISPR knockout strains for 155 of the total 170 C. elegans lincRNAs. Mutants of 23 lincRNAs show phenotypes in 6 analyzed traits. We investigate these lincRNAs by phenotype for their gene expression patterns and potential functional mechanisms. Some C. elegans lincRNAs play cis roles to modulate the expression of their neighboring genes, and several lincRNAs play trans roles as ceRNAs against microRNAs. We also examine the regulation of lincRNA expression by transcription factors, and we dissect the pathway by which two transcription factors, UNC-30 and UNC-55, together control the expression of linc-73. Furthermore, linc-73 possesses a cis function to modulate the expression of its neighboring kinesin gene unc-104 and thus plays roles in C. elegans locomotion. Conclusions By using CRISPR/cas9 technology, we generate knockout strains of 155 C. elegans lincRNAs as valuable resources for studies in noncoding RNAs, and we provide biological insights for 23 lincRNAs with the phenotypes identified in this study