FATEMEH HEIDARI^1,2, REIHANEH SEYEDEBRAHIMI^1,2, PIAO YANG³, MOHSEN ESLAMI FARSANI^1,2, SHIMA ABABZADEH^2,4, NASER KALHOR⁵, HAMED MANOOCHEHRI⁶, MOHSEN SHEYKHHASAN^7,*, MARYAM AZIMZADEH^8,9,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.12, pp. 2597-2608, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.043351 - 27 December 2023

Abstract Exosomes are small vesicles that carry molecules from one cell to another. They have many features that make them interesting for research, such as their stability, low immunogenicity, size of the nanoscale, toxicity, and selective delivery. Exosomes can also interact with viruses in diverse ways. Emerging research highlights the significant role of exosomes in viral infections, particularly in the context of diseases like COVID-19, HIV, HBV and HCV. Understanding the intricate interplay between exosomes and the human immune system holds great promise for the development of effective antiviral therapies. An important aspect is gaining clarity More >

SONIA MORETTI, FLAVIA MANCINI, ALESSANDRA BORSETTI^*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.12, pp. 2695-2699, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.022257 - 10 August 2022

Abstract Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies are efficacious for the achievement of sustained virologic response (SVR) in almost all treated hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. However, the impacts of HCV eradication on immune function and chronic immune activation in the long-term remain controversial and limited, especially in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Indeed, although restoration of many immune responses clearly can be observed, several features of immune perturbations persist over time after HCV clearance. Understanding the degree and reasons of the partial recovery of the immune system in chronic HCV/HIV co-infection after HCV elimination is More >

Hoda M. EL-EMSHATY¹, Entsar A. SAAD², Mona S. GOUIDA³, Zahraa R. ELSHAHAWY^1,2

BIOCELL, Vol.42, No.2, pp. 55-60, 2018, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2018.07009

Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-cirrhotic patients have the highest threat of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and may be at risk of extra hepatic cancer. The present study was designed to investigate CD133 and CK19 in HCV (genotype-4)-cirrhotic patients with/without HCC or extra hepatic cancer, to assess the degree of their correlation with cell cycle abnormalities and finally to assess the role of their combination as diagnostic tool for discrimination of cirrhotic patients with HCC from those with extra hepatic cancer. The study included 77 HCV-cirrhotic patients and 20 healthy non-disease control group. Patients were categorized… More >

Gonzalo RODRÍGUEZ-LOMBARDI¹, Luciana REYNA², María Susana VITALI¹, Susana GENTI-RAIMONDI²

BIOCELL, Vol.39, No.2-3, pp. 15-24, 2015, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2015.39.015

Abstract A competitive internal control (IC) adapted to RT-PCR in-house assay was developed for HCV RNA detection in human pooled plasma. Also, it was applied in a multiplex RT-PCR for the HIV-1 and HCV RNA screening in human pooled plasma and plasma-derived products. A 258-bp PCR product from the 5´noncoding region of HCV genome was obtained. A competitive IC template was constructed by inserting a 52-bp double strand sequence into the NheI site of the 258-bp amplicon. This sequence was cloned and the obtained plasmid was used to generate a synthetic RNA. The IC/RNA was incorporated… More >

Francesca Capone¹, Susan Costantini¹, Eliana Guerriero¹, Rosa Calemma², Maria Napolitano², Stefania Scala², Francesco Izzo², Giuseppe Castello^1,2

European Cytokine Network, Vol.21, No.2, pp. 99-104, 2010, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2010.0192

Abstract The role played by the microenvironment in cancer induction, promotion and progression is crucial. Emerging evidence suggests that cytokines, chemokines and growth factors are major players in carci-nogenesis. Therefore, a detailed understanding of factors and mechanisms associated with the processes leading from inflammation to cancer could improve the therapeutic strategies against this disease. We have used hepatocarcinoma as our model in this study. We evaluated the serum levels of 50 different cytokines, chemo-kines and growth factors in patients affected by HCC with chronic HCV-related hepatitis and liver cirrhosis using multiplex biometric ELISA-based immunoassay. Our data More >

Maria Angeles Jimenez-Sousa¹, Raquel Almansa², Concha de la Fuente¹, Agustín Caro-Paton³, Lourdes Ruiz⁴, Gloria Sanchez-Antolín³, Jose Manuel Gonzalez⁴, Rocio Aller⁴, Noelia Alcaide³, Pilar Largo¹, Salvador Resino⁵, Raul Ortiz de Lejarazu⁶, Jesus F. Bermejo-Martin²

European Cytokine Network, Vol.21, No.2, pp. 84-91, 2010, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2010.0191

Abstract Hepatitis C virus causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The infection induces upregulation of cytokine and chemokines commonly linked to the development of cellular and pro-inflammatory antiviral responses. The current standard in hepatitis C treatment consists of combination regimens of pegylated interferon-alpha plus ribavirin. The impact of combined treatment in the host immune response is still poorly understood. In the present study, we profiled 27 cytokines, chemokines and growth factors involved in the innate and adaptive responses to the virus in the serum of 27 hepatitis C virus-infected patients, before and after 12 weeks of… More >

Susan Costantini¹, Francesca Capone¹, Eliana Guerriero¹, Patrizia Maio², Giovanni Colonna³, Giuseppe Castello¹

European Cytokine Network, Vol.21, No.4, pp. 251-256, 2010, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2010.0214

Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can present as an acute manifestation, and can lead to severecomplications such as chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It represents a globalhealth problem because there is no vaccine currently available. Cytokines play an important role in viralclearance, infection control, inflammation, regeneration and fibrosis, and also are implicated in the pathologicalprocesses occurring in the liver during viral infection. Immunological markers of chronic HCV hepatitis pro-gression as compared to cirrhosis and HCC would be extremely useful, particularly for distinguishing betweenthe molecules produced during HCV-induced chronic inflammation and those secreted during… More >