Prevalence and determinants of SENV viremia among adolescents in an endemic area of chronic liver diseases

SEN virus genotype H distribution in β-thalassemic patients and in healthy donors in Iraq: Molecular and physiological study

The SEN virus (SENV) has been linked to transfusion-associated non-A-E hepatitis; however, information regarding SENV infections in patients with thalassemia, particularly in those with hepatitis virus co-infections, remains limited. This study investigated the frequency of SENV (genotypes D and H) infections in Iraqi patients with thalassemic patients infected and not infected with hepatitis C virus. The study involved 150 β-thalassemia patients (75 with HCV infections and 75 without) and 75 healthy blood donors. Patient levels of vitamins C and E, liver function markers, and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were determined. Recovered viral nucleic acids were amplified using the conventional polymerase chain reaction (SENV DNA) or the real-time polymerase chain reaction (HCV RNA) techniques. Only 10% of healthy donors had evidence of SENV infection. Among patients with thalassemia, 80% and 77% of patients with and without concurrent HCV infections, respectively, had SENV infections. DNA sequencing analyses were performed on blood samples obtained from 29 patients. Patients with thalassemia, particularly those with SENV infections, had higher levels of several enzymatic liver function markers and total serum bilirubin (P < 0.05) than did healthy blood donors. Among the examined liver function markers, only gamma-glutamyl transferase demonstrated significantly higher levels in HCV-negative patients infected with SENV-H than in those infected with SENV-D (P = 0.01). There were significantly lower vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione peroxidase levels in patients than in healthy donors (P < 0.05), but only glutathione peroxidase levels were significantly lower in HCV-negative thalassemia patients infected with SENV than in those without SENV infections (P = 0.04). The SENV-H genotype sequences were similar to the global standard genes in GenBank. These results broaden our understanding the nature of the SENV-H genotype and the differential role of SENV-H infections, compared to SENV-D infections, in patients with thalassemia, in Iraq.

Esophageal squamous cell cancer in a highly endemic region

AIM: To identify risk factors associated with esophageal cancer in Zambia and association between dietary intake and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2α (8-isoPGF2α).

METHODS: We conducted a prospective, case control study at the University Teaching Hospital. Subjects included both individuals admitted to the hospital and those presenting for an outpatient upper endoscopy. Esophageal cancer cases were compared to age and sex-matched controls. Cases were defined as patients with biopsy proven esophageal cancer; controls were defined as subjects without endoscopic evidence of esophageal cancer. Clinical and dietary data were collected using a standard questionnaire, developed a priori. Blood was collected for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serology. Urine was collected, and 8-isoPGF2α was measured primarily by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and expressed as a ratio to creatinine.

RESULTS: Forty five controls (mean age 54.2 ± 15.3, 31 male) and 27 cases (mean age 54.6 ± 16.4, 17 males) were studied. Body mass index was lower in cases (median 16.8) than controls (median 23.2), P = 0.01. Histopathologically, 25/27 (93%) were squamous cell carcinoma and 2/27 (7%) adenocarcinoma. More cases smoked cigarettes (OR = 11.24, 95%CI: 1.37-92.4, P = 0.02) but alcohol consumption and HIV seropositivity did not differ significantly (P = 0.14 for both). Fruit, vegetables and fish consumption did not differ significantly between groups (P = 0.11, 0.12, and 0.10, respectively). Mean isoprostane level was significantly higher in cases (0.03 ng/mg creatinine) than controls (0.01 ng/mg creatinine) (OR = 2.35, 95%CI: 1.19-4.65, P = 0.014).

CONCLUSION: Smoking and isoprostane levels were significantly associated with esophageal cancer in Zambians, but diet, HIV status, and alcohol consumption were not.

Prevalence and clinical significance of SEN virus infection in patients with non A-E hepatitis and volunteer blood donors in Shanghai

AIM: To explore the prevalence of SEN virus (SENV) in patients with non A-E hepatitis and volunteer blood donors in Shanghai.

METHODS: According to the published gene sequences, primers from the conserved region were designed. Then, the prevalence of SEN virus in 30 samples from healthy voluntary blood donors and 30 samples from patients with non A-E hepatitis were detected by nested-PCR of SENV-D/H. Some PCR products were cloned and sequenced.

RESULTS: The specificity of genotype-specific PCR was confirmed by sequencing, the SENV DNA was detected in 53.3% of the patients with non A-E hepatitis and 10% of the blood donors. The prevalence of SENV-D/H viremia was significantly higher in patients with non A-E hepatitis than in blood donors (P = 0.0002). SENV-H subtype and SENV-D subtype were found in 2 and 1 samples, respectively from blood donors. SENV-H subtype, SENV D subtype, mixed SENV-D and SENV-H subtype were found in 8, 6 and 2 samples, respectively, from patients with non A-E hepatitis.

CONCLUSION: The gene type of SENV in patients with non A-E hepatitis and blood donors in shanghai is D or H subtype, and transfusion is not the only transmitting form of SENV.