Background Pediatric asthma is a respiratory disease involving bronchial hyperresponsiveness to risk factors, influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Objective: This study investigated IL-38/IL-36R in pediatric asthma. Samples from 140 children aged 1–10 years, including 80 patients and 60 controls, were analyzed. IL-38 mRNA expression was assessed by qRT-PCR, while serum IL-38 and IL-36R were measured by ELISA. Results Revealed significant increase serum level of IL-38 74.80± 11.583pg/ml in asthmatic patients compare to control 59.33± 11.833pg/ml (P=0.01) while serum level of IL-36R in patients 226.26 ±88.07 pg/ml compare to control group167.4250 ±55.03pg/ml, results of expression of mRNA level of IL-38 shows significantly increased in asthmatic patients 2 fold with p value <0.01, significant correlation between serum level of IL-38 and IL-36R (r= −0.7459, p value =0.001), while weak correlation between concentration of IL-36R and mRNA expression of IL-38. Conclusion The results showed that the changes in serum and expression levels of IL-38 have significant impact on asthma disease and its severity. These levels may account as diagnostic marker for pediatric asthma.
BackgroundEpstein-Barr virus (EBV) has recently been implicated in the development of various astrocytic proliferations.Objectiveto assess the prevalence of neurotropic EBV infection in brain tissue samples from astrocytoma patients classified into grades I, II, III, and IV, using a prospective case-control approach.MethodsIn this study, 100 brain tissue specimens were obtained from 75 patients who had astrocytoma grades1, 2, 3 and 4. In contrast, the rest of the brain tissues were enrolled as a control group. The technique of polymerase chain reaction was utilized to amplify and detect the neurotropic DNA sequence of EBV in the examined brain tissues.ResultsThe most infected brain tumor tissues with DNA-EBV are related to the age (41-60 years), which accounted for 10.6%. The overall percentage of positive-PCR detection results for neurotropic EBV genomic DNA sequence in the examined brain tissues from astrocytomas grade 1-4 tissues was 28% (21 out of 75). The difference between the percentage of positivity of PCR detection results of neurotropic EBV genomic DNA sequence in the astrocytoma group and control group was statistically significant (P = 0.04).Conclusion and cancer policythe present results are shedding light on the importance of the studied neurotropic EBV infection in the tumorigenesis and carcinogenesis processes of the astrocytoma cases, possibly either as initiators in the induction of these brain tumors.
BackgroundHerpes simplex viruses belong to the herpesvirus family, which are double-stranded DNA viruses. Type 1 is transmitted through non-sexual contact through childhood, while type 2 is usually transmitted through sexual contact during adulthood. Cytomegalovirus shares many characteristics with other herpes viruses, it is a prevalent opportunistic infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients and is a major cause of viral complications among organ donation recipients.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of immunoglobulin antibodies for HSV-1, HSV-2, and CMV viruses among latency and reactivation cases using ELISA technique.MethodologyA cross-sectional investigation was performed among 147 (58 males, 89 females) aged 18-60 years who visited AL-Numan Teaching Hospital for routine check-ups from September 2023 to April 2024. Blood samples ( 5 ml) were collected and serum was separated for antibody testing using commercial ELISA kits. Inclusion cases included; adult's patients aged 18-60 years with no active symptoms of viral infection. Exclusion cases included immunocompromised patients and those receiving antiviral therapy. Sample size was computed based on the estimated geographical incidence rates with 95% confidence interval and 5% margin of error.ResultsHSV-1 had an alarming 65.3% seroprevalence, with 14.3% exhibiting recent infection/reactivation (IgM+). HSV-2 afflicted 22.4%, with a significant female preponderance (73.5%) and a strong connection with marital status (r = 0.605, p < 0.001). CMV seroprevalence has reached 24.4%. Age, marriage, and smoking were identified as significant risk factors, particularly for sexually transmitted HSV-2.ConclusionThis study demonstrates an extremely high herpesvirus load in Baghdad: two-thirds had HSV-1, while one-quarter have HSV-2 or CMV. The epidemic-level prevalence of HSV-1 necessitates prompt public health intervention. Strong demographic relationships, particularly the HSV-2 marital correlation, give actionable intervention targets. These findings establish Iraq's first complete herpesvirus baseline, highlighting the critical need for national surveillance infrastructure and tailored prevention initiatives to tackle this significant infectious disease burden.
BackgroundUlcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the large intestine. There are different studies about the role and the diagnostic utility of Galectin-1 (Gal-1) and Netrin-1 (Net-1) in multiple diseases such as diabetes, liver and heart diseases as well as brain and colonic cancer where they used to highlight the relationship between the inflammatory process and the disease pathogenesis. The present study aimed to evaluate their role as biomarkers for UC.MethodsThis case-control study included a total of 90 subjects where 60 UC patients including newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed cases were gathered and compared to 30 healthy controls, the sample collection done at the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Hospital in Basrah, Iraq. Serum levels of Gal-1 and Net-1 were measured via ELISA kits, and diagnostic accuracy was assessed using one-way ANOVA and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.ResultsThe mean levels of Gal-1 and Net-1 were significantly elevated in the newly diagnosed UC group compared to the previously diagnosed group and healthy controls. ROC analysis demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy for both biomarkers, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.90 for Gal-1 and 0.96 for Net-1. Optimal cut-off points for distinguishing UC patients from healthy controls were 2.850 ng/mL for Gal-1 and 903.5 pg/mL for Net-1.ConclusionSerum Gal-1 and Net-1 exhibit high diagnostic accuracy in differentiating UC patients from healthy individuals, suggesting their potential as promising biomarkers for UC diagnosis. Further studies are needed to validate these findings and explore their clinical applicability.
BackgroundThe purpose of this research is to examine whether or not there is a connection between polymorphisms in the IL-5 and IL-9 genes and the prevalence of allergic asthma in Iraqi patients.ObjectiveTo investigate the variants in the genes rs2069812T/C (IL-5) and rs1859430 C/T (IL-9) and their association with the likelihood of developing allergic asthma.MethodsTwo hundred forty, one hundred twenty without asthma and one hundred twentywith the condition, made up the healthy subjects. We determined the levels of IL-5 and IL-9 using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) after separating sera from peripheral blood. Additionally, the allele-specific PCR method was used to identify the polymorphism distribution of rs2069812 (IL-5) and rs1859430 (IL-9).ResultsStudy participants with allergic asthma had significantly higher levels of interleukin (IL)-9 and interleukin (IL)-5 than those in the healthy subjects: 2 and 2.39 ± 0.18 pg/ml, compared to 1.004 ± 0.04 pg/ml and 2.21 ± 0.16 pg/ml, respectively, with a significance level of P < 0.05. In terms of age, gender, and place of residence, there was no statistically significant difference between the ill group and the healthy control group. The patients' group had 66 cases of the heterozygous genotype TG compared to 58 cases in the control group. Thus, the TG genotype was associated with an increased risk of allergic asthma illness (etiologic fraction: 0.2963) and an odds ratio of 2.4074 (95% CI: 1.2462-4.6505). The patients' group also had a higher frequency of the homozygous genotype GG (65 cases vs. 54 cases in the control group). The odds ratio for allergic asthma illness was 1.0578 (95% CI: 0.6386-1.7522), and the etiologic fraction was 0.0299, indicating that genotype GG was a risk factor.ConclusionsThese findings provide more evidence that interleukin-5 and interleukin-9 play critical roles in allergic asthma, particularly in eosinophilic inflammation. Consequently, it is important to target them in order to reduce asthma allergy and improve asthma treatment. It is clear that IL-5 and IL-9 levels directly influence allergic asthma in patients compared with healthy individuals.
