Long Non-coding RNA Genes Polymorphisms H19 (rs2251375) and MALAT1 (rs3200401) Association with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Their Correlation with Disease Activity in a Cohort of Egyptian Patients: A Pilot Study.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, progressive, inflammatory, autoimmune disease that could be disabling throughout its course. It affects people in their most reproductive years with relatively high morbidity and mortality. Long non-coding RNAs became one of the epigenetic mechanisms to prove a link to RA pathogenesis and development, including H19 and MALAT1 genes.

Interleukin 17 receptor A haplotype analysis in chronic spontaneous urticaria: A preliminary study.

Background: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a distressing skin disease. Family clustering and heterogeneity in the onset and progression indicate that susceptibility to CSU is a complex trait. In this study, we performed haplotype analysis for one of the key player gene, IL17RA, for CSU to test the association with disease susceptibility and severity.

IL-37 gene variant (rs3811047): A marker of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis: A pilot study.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a joint destructive disorder with great morbidity. Unraveling genetic determinants causing the disease would pave the road towards early detection and precise medicine. Interleukin 37 (IL-37), a natural inhibitor of innate immunity, was shown to be a key modulator in RA.

Ropporin gene expression in infertile asthenozoospermic men with varicocele before and after repair.

Objective: To assess Ropporin gene expression in the sperm of infertile asthenozoospermic men with varicocele (Vx) before and after repair.

Methods: This study included 24 infertile asthenozoospermic men with Vx. They were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, scrotal color Doppler, and semen analysis with sperm separation.

Evaluation of IL-12 serum level in patients with recalcitrant multiple common warts, treated by intralesional tuberculin antigen.

Background: No universal consensus about optimal modality for treating the recalcitrant multiple common warts (RMCW).

Objective: To evaluate the immunological mechanisms and clinical therapeutic effect of using of intralesional purified protein derivative (PPD) in the treatment of RMCW.

Methods: The study included 40 patients with RMCW.

T helper type 1/T helper type 17-related cytokines in chronic hepatitis C patients before and after interferon and ribavirin therapy.

Objective: This study examined the T helper (Th) 1/Th17-related cytokines, interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-17 in the serum of biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C patients before and after IFN and ribavirin therapy to address whether or not viral clearance is related to Th1/Th17 cytokines.

Subjects And Methods: The serum levels of IFN-γ and IL-17 were assayed by ELISA on 26 patients with chronic hepatitic C virus (HCV) infection before the start and 3 months after treatment with pegylated IFN-α plus ribavirin and compared with sera from 15 normal control subjects.

Results: IFN-γ and IL-17 levels are higher in the serum of patients with chronic hepatitis than in normal controls and these elevated levels were not directly correlated (r = -0.

Correlation of apparent diffusion coefficient value with prognostic parameters of lung cancer.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to correlate the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value with prognostic parameters of lung cancer.

Methods: Thirty-one patients diagnosed with lung cancer (22 men, 9 women; mean age, 57 years) underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the chest using echo-planar imaging sequence with b factors of 0, 300, and 600 s/mm. Apparent diffusion coefficient values were calculated and correlated with tumor grade and size as well as associated mediastinal lymph nodes.

Interferon therapy shifts natural killer subsets among Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Natural killer cells can be divided into five subpopulations based on the relative expression of CD16 and CD56 markers. The majority of natural killer cells are CD56(dim), which are considered to be the main cytotoxic effectors. A minority of the natural killer cells are CD56(bright), and function as an important source of immune-regulatory cytokines.

Genotypic detection of rifampicin and isoniazid resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains by DNA sequencing: a randomized trial.

Background: Tuberculosis is a growing international health concern. It is the biggest killer among the infectious diseases in the world today. Early detection of drug resistance allows starting of an appropriate treatment.

Diminished absolute counts of CD56dim and CD56bright natural killer cells in peripheral blood from Egyptian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Natural killer cells (NK) as components of the innate immunity substantially contribute to anti-tumor immune responses, NK cell subpopulations can be defined on the basis of the relative expression of CD16 and CD56 markers. Earlier research demonstrated a dramatic reduction in the frequency of peripheral blood CD56dimCD16+ NK subsets in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients compared with healthy subjects. We aim to assess the relative and absolute counts of natural killer cells subsets in hepatitis C-related HCC among Egyptian patients.

Expression of toll-like receptor 2 on peripheral blood monocytes of patients with inflammatory and noninflammatory acne vulgaris.

The pathogenesis of acne vulgaris is multifactorial and entails the interplay of hormonal, microbial and immunological events. The bacterium Propionibacterium acnes is involved in the induction of comedogenesis and maintenance of the inflammatory phase of acne. Toll-like Receptor 2 (TLR2) expressed on mononuclear inflammatory cells and possibly on keratinocytes and sebocytes is thought to be of vital importance in mediating P.

Automation of semen analysis using flow cytometer in comparison with manual methods.

In order to standardize techniques and limit the effect of human factors on the results of analyses of biological fluids, automation seems to be mandatory. In an attempt to automate semen analysis, computer assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system has been developed, however its use is still limited and its practical applications have many criticisms. In a trial to automate semen analysis, this study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of flow cytometer in the detection of some seminal parameters in comparison with the traditional manual methods.

Diminished CD4+CD25+ T-lymphocytes in peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

The exact aetio-pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is still speculative, where dysregulation or depletion of CD4+CD25+ T lymphocytes is among the supposed mechanisms. In this study, we thought to investigate patients with SLE for percentages of CD4+CD25+ T cells in their peripheral blood and to correlate this with their disease activity scores. Twenty-five patients with SLE who fulfilled, at least, four of the revised Criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and twenty healthy volunteers participated in this study.

TT virus infection among Egyptian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) have been associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, a novel DNA virus was isolated from a patient with posttransfusion hepatitis of unknown etiology and designated TT virus (TTV). To examine whether this virus is associated with HCC, we investigated sera from 82 Egyptian patients with histopathologically-diagnosed HCC.

IL-10 and IL-12p40 in Egyptian patients with HCV-related chronic liver disease.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide with a prevalence of approximately 14% in Egypt. IL-10 is a cytokine produced by Th2 cells. It down-regulates the proinflammatory response and modulates hepatic fibrogenesis.

Increased circulating FcepsilonRII-bearing B-lymphocytes and serum levels of IL-4 in non-autoreactive chronic idiopathic urticaria.

The exact pathophysiology of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is not well understood. The concept of autoreactivity has evolved to explain the disease in up to 50% of cases, while the search for other mechanisms is still needed to explain the disease, at least among the remaining subpopulation of non-autoreactive CIU. Therefore, we thought to investigate some aspects of the IgE-dependent, lymphocyte-mediated late-phase response (LPR) of anaphylaxis.