BACKGROUND A novel pattern in the indirect immunofluorescence antinuclear antibody assay on HEp-2 cells (IIF-HEp-2) characterized by cytoplasmic rods and rings (RR) was reported in HCV patients, but stringent disease specificity studies and longitudinal analysis are lacking. We investigated the clinical significance of anti-RR in an HCV cohort with up to a 12-month treatment follow up. METHOD...

Hepatitis flare is rarely observed during treatment with pegylated interferon alpha for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. A 49-year-old man receiving pegylated interferon α-2a for HCV infection had icterus and hyperbiliru-binemia in the 14th week of therapy, with HCV RNA undetectable after the 12th dose. Liver biopsy was suggestive of chronic hepatitis with cirrhosis without interface pattern....

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial chronic systemic autoimmune disease. It characterized by lack of immune tolerance to autoantigens such as nuclear antigens. The aim the study assess interferon-alpha (IFN-α) serum level in Iraqi patients with SLE and determine its potential relation different clinical laboratory parameters disease activity. 100 were all females mean age 31....

To explore the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and interferon (IFN) in innate immunity against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), we detected expression TLR genes PEDV-infected IPEC-J2 cells by real-time PCR. We also level α (IFN-α) γ (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results showed that exhibited a clear pathological change after PEDV infection at 24 h. In addition, TL...

Our previous studies have shown that vitamin A (VA) status is associated with antiviral immunity and pathogenic conditions in enterovirus 71 (EV71)-infected children. In the present study, we established an in vitro model to investigate the effects and potential mechanism of the antiviral activity of VA. Human monocytic U937 cells were cultured in vitro and infected with EV71. All-trans-retinoi...

The 26S proteasome is a negative regulator of type I interferon (IFN-α/β) signaling. Inhibition of the 26S proteasome by small molecules may be a new strategy to enhance the efficacy of type I IFNs and reduce their side effects. Using cell-based screening assay for new 26S proteasome inhibitors, we found that emodin, a natural anthraquinone, was a potent inhibitor of the human 26S proteasome. E...

This study is conducted to investigate the involvement of T-helper (Th) cells and regulatory T cells in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).The percentages of Th22, Th17, Th1, and regulatory T cells in the peripheral blood of EOC patients, benign ovarian epithelial neoplasm (BOEN) patients, and healthy control (HC) were examined by flow cytometry. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to deter...