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Background and Aim: Gastric cancer (GC) is a major health problem worldwide. Several studies have shown the virus's role in cancer pathogenesis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in GC by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in hospitals in the East Azerbaijan province, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 100 tissue samples of paraffin-embedded, including GC (50 samples), benign gastric hyperplasia (25 samples), and a control group (25 samples) were collected from the archives of laboratories in East Azerbaijan province from April to October 2021. The IHC and PCR were used to detect the HPV virus. SPSS software version 22 and t-test and Chi-Square statistical tests were used for data analysis. Results: 8 out of 50 cancer samples were HPV positive by IHC and PCR. HPV-positive samples had a mean age of 62.87 ± 9.67. Men had the highest number of HPV-positive samples compared to women (5 samples vs. 3 samples). However, no viral genomes were observed in non-malignant and control samples. There was a significant relationship between HPV infection and GC (P=0.03). Conclusion: According to the present study's findings, the presence of HPV infection in GC plays an important role in the development of GC in the hospitals of East Azerbaijan province. Also, the results showed that PCR and IHC are both more sensitive and reliable in detecting HPV because the results of both IHC and PCR were the same. Hence IHC method can be used as an alternative to the PCR method to detect HPV oncoproteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The pyocyanine pigment in Pseudomonas aeruginosa stimulates blood cells to secrete IL-2. IL-2 cytokine is an activator of cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells. These cells destroy the target cells of patients with cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of pyocyanine on the IL-2 secretion from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with breast, prostate, and bladder cancers. Materials and Methods: :. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, a total of 30 P. aeruginosa isolates were collected from different clinical specimens (urine, blood, burns, etc.) of patients admitted to Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, Iran, from October to December 2019. The pyocyanine was extracted from the isolates by chloroform. Also, twenty-eight peripheral blood samples were selected from 21 patients with breast, prostate, and bladder cancers and 7 healthy controls. Following the isolation of PBMCs from patients and the control group using Ficoll density gradient, samples were prepared for cell culture. Half of the PBMCs were treated with pyocyanine (0.5 μg/mL), and the rest of them remained without treatment. Then, the IL-2 secretion from the treated and untreated cells with pyocyanine was investigated by ELISA method. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 22. Results: Significant increases were seen in the IL-2 secretion from PBMCs in the patients with breast (P=0.032), prostate (P=0.002), bladder (P=0.009) cancers, and healthy controls (P=0.004) after treatment with pyocyanine in comparing with before treatment with this pigment in vitro. Conclusion: Low concentrations of pyocyanine can stimulate the PBMC of cancer patients to secrete IL-2 cytokines. Further studies should be performed on the immunostimulatory effects of pyocyanine in laboratory animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Dendritic cells (DCs) with unique functions and phenotypic characteristics play distinct roles in eliciting key immune responses after transplantation. These cells are key initiators of the immune response leading to acute rejection. The objective of this study was to compare the maturation and function of monocyte derived DCs (MoDCs) in the groups of rejected and non- rejected liver transplant recipients. Material and Methods: In this study blood samples were obtained from liver transplant patients with the symptoms of acute rejection (n=6) and non-rejected patients (n=7). In these two groups after the generation of DCs from monocytes, expression levels and mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) of DC markers were evaluated by flowcytometry, secretion of proinflammatory cytokines of IL-6, IL-12 and IL-23 were determined by ELISA and gene expressions of TLR2, TLR4 and IL-23 were analyzed by real-time PCR. Results: The results indicated that in rejected patients compared to non-rejected recipients, expression of markers of CD83 (p = 0.002), CD1a (p = 0.007) and HLA- DR (p = 0.02) in DCs, MFIs for CD1a (p = 0.007) and CD86 (p = 0.009), secretion of IL-12 (p = 0.001) and IL-23 (p = 0.001) by DCs and gene expressions of TLR2 (p = 0.002), TLR4 (p = 0.001) and IL-23 (p = 0.001) in DCs were significantly increased. Conclusion: In liver transplant patients with the symptoms of rejection, increased expression and MFI of DC markers, elevated secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and increased TLR2, TLR4 and IL-23 mRNA expression levels in DCs can promote acute rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]