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Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) play a crucial role in the context of viral infections and their associated diseases. The link between HSCs and HPCs and disease status in COVID -19 patients is largely unknown. This study aimed to monitor the kinetics and contributions of HSCs and HPCs in severe and non-severe COVID -19 patients and to evaluate their diagnostic performance in differentiating between healthy and COVID-19 patients as well as severe and non-severe cases. Peripheral blood (PB) samples were collected from 48 COVID-19 patients, 16 recovered, and 27 healthy controls and subjected to deep flow cytometric analysis to determine HSCs and progenitor cells. Their diagnostic value and correlation with C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, and ferritin levels were determined. The percentages of HSCs and common myeloid progenitors (CMPs) declined significantly, while the percentage of multipotent progenitors (MPPs) increased significantly in COVID-19 patients. There were no significant differences in the percentages of megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitors (MEPs) and granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMPs) between all groups. Severe COVID-19 patients had a significantly low percentage of HSCs, CMPs, and GMPs compared to non-severe cases. Contrarily, the levels of CRP, D-dimer, and ferritin increased significantly in severe COVID-19 patients. MPPs and CMPs showed excellent diagnostic performance in distinguishing COVID-19 patients from healthy controls and severe from non-severe COVID-19 patients, respectively. Collectively, our study indicated that hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are significantly altered by COVID-19 and could be used as therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers for severe COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triclosan has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activities, and a low aqueous solubility but is highly soluble in organic solvents, also it has high lipophilicity. This study aimed to determine whether there is a correlation between the presence of triclosan in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients' blood samples and illness exacerbation. This study was conducted on 44 patients who were confirmed as HCV infection positive only and did not receive any treatment for HCV infection at the Cardiac and Gastroenterology Center Hospital in Sohag, Egypt. From each patient plasma and serum samples were collected for quantitation of HCV titers using real-time PCR and HCV antibody titers using ELISA. While the amount of triclosan in representative 12 serum samples was measured in monograms by the GC-MS instrument. The results revealed that there is an inverse proportion between the triclosan and HCV particles, and a direct relationship between triclosan and HCV antibody titers. In conclusion, triclosan can confer antibody stimulation and antiviral action against HCV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiological agent of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), and multicentric Castleman Disease (MCD). Recent mechanistic advances have discerned the importance of microRNAs in the virus-host relationship. KSHV has two modes of replication: lytic and latent phase. KSHV entry into permissive cells, establishment of infection, and maintenance of latency are contingent upon successful modulation of the host miRNA transcriptome. Apart from host cell miRNAs, KSHV also encodes viral miRNAs. Among various cellular and molecular targets, miRNAs are appearing to be key players in regulating viral pathogenesis. Therefore, the use of miRNAs as novel therapeutics has gained considerable attention as of late. This innovative approach relies on either mimicking miRNA species by identical oligonucleotides, or selective silencing of miRNA with specific oligonucleotide inhibitors. Here, we provide an overview of KSHV pathogenesis at the molecular level with special emphasis on the various roles miRNAs play during virus infection., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objectives: Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) glycoprotein B (gB) is expressed on the viral envelope as well as on the cytoplasmic membrane of infected cells. In the current study, we aimed to decipher the impact of membrane-associated gB on adhesion and migration of cells via modulating the expression of cytokines., Methods: A combination of polymerase chain reaction array, cell adhesion assay, and wound-healing migration assay was conducted to study the influence of the gB-induced cytokines on cell adhesion and migration., Results: Membrane-associated gB was demonstrated to significantly upregulate the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α. Elevated levels of these cytokines were observed in conditioned medium (CM) collected from gB-expressing cells (gB-CM) compared to CM collected from untransfected cells or cells transfected with empty vector. KSHV gB-induced IL-1β and TNF-α play a role in the ability of gB-CM to mediate cell adhesion while inhibiting migration., Conclusion: Our results provide novel evidence that demonstrates full-length gB expressed on cell membrane to mediate adhesion and inhibit migration of cells not only by autocrine mechanism mediated by RGD-based interactions [Hussein et al.: BMC Cancer 2016; 16: 148], but also by paracrine mechanism mediated by gB-induced IL-1β and TNF-α., (© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.)