Increased Serum Antibody Titer against HPV-16 Antigen in Patients with Behçet's Disease

Identification and validation of diagnostic genes IFI44 and IRF9 in insomnia-associated autoimmune uveitis

Objective

Insomnia is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in the development of various autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune uveitis (AU). We investigated insomnia-associated genes that may contribute to AU pathogenesis and sought to identify potential biomarkers for insomnia-associated AU.

Methods

Microarray data related to insomnia and AU were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzed. The GEO2R tool was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were common between insomnia and AU. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), protein-protein interaction (PPI), functional enrichment, and CMap analyses were then performed to identify pathogenic genes, underlying mechanisms, and potential therapeutic drugs for insomnia-associated AU. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression was employed to screen for candidate biomarkers, and their diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Finally, molecular docking was applied to verify binding activities.

Results

We identified 138 up-regulated and 85 down-regulated DEGs that were common to insomnia and AU. PPI network analysis highlighted 10 key genes, CMap analysis identified 30 compounds, and WGCNA revealed 54 key genes and 30 compounds. Intersection of the above-mentioned key genes and compounds identified six genes and five compounds. After verification by qPCR and ROC curve analysis, IFI44 and IRF9 were confirmed as hub genes. Finally, two compounds were selected based on docking scores of less than -7 kcal/mol.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated involvement of the viral response in both insomnia and AU and identified the diagnostic significance of IFI44 and IRF9 in these conditions. These findings provide novel insights for future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to treat insomnia-associated AU.

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy and oncolytic virotherapy in HPV positive and HPV negative skin cancer: A comprehensive review

Skin cancer is the most common new cancer among Caucasians. This cancer has different types, of which non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common type. Various factors affect this disease, one of which is viral infections, including HPV. This virus plays an important role in skin cancer, especially cSCCs. There are various options for the treatment of skin cancer, and today special attention has been paid to treatments based on therapeutic goals, immunotherapy and combination therapy. In this study, we have investigated treatments based on immunotherapy and virotherapy and the effect of HPV virus on the effectiveness of these treatments in skin cancer. Treatments based on virotherapy are performed for a long time in combination with other common treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy in order to have a greater effect and lower its side effects, which include: shortness of breath, tachycardia, lowering blood pressure in the patient. Also, the most important axis of immunotherapy is to focus on PD1-PDL1, despite abundant evidence on the importance of immunotherapy, many studies investigate the use of immunotherapy inhibitors in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant setting in various cancers. Also, previous findings show conflicting evidence of the effect of HPV status on the response to immunotherapy.

Unveiling the Therapeutic Horizon: HPV Vaccines and Their Impact on Cutaneous Diseases-A Comprehensive Review

Human papillomavirus (HPV) encompasses a diverse array of viruses, comprising approximately 200 serotypes that affect humans. While the majority of HPV strains are associated with benign skin or mucous membrane growths, a subset is implicated in severe health conditions, such as cervical, anal, vulvar, and vaginal cancers. Despite the established effectiveness of HPV vaccines in preventing cervical and anal carcinomas in particular, their therapeutic potential in addressing cutaneous diseases linked to diverse HPV strains remains an intriguing area of investigation. This narrative review critically examines the existing literature to assess the viability of HPV immunization as a therapeutic intervention for prevalent cutaneous conditions. These include genital and extragenital cutaneous warts, epidermodysplasia verruciformis, and keratinocyte carcinomas. The findings suggest a promising dual role for HPV vaccines in preventing and treating dermatologic conditions while emphasizing future research directions, including the immunization perspective against β-HPVs. Moreover, the presence of conflicting study outcomes underscores the imperative for larger-scale, randomized trials with well-matched control groups to validate the efficacy of HPV immunization in the dermatologic context. This review contributes valuable insights into the evolving landscape of HPV-vaccine applications in the field of dermatology.

Risk factors, clinical features and treatment of Behçet's disease uveitis

Behçet's disease is a systemic vasculitis frequently associated with intraocular inflammation. Recent findings identified independent clinical clusters in Behçet's disease, each involving distinct combinations of affected organs. Ocular Behçet's disease, mainly manifested as uveitis, is characterized as an independent cluster with a low likelihood of association with other system involvements, such as intestinal, cardiovascular, or central nervous system. A prevailing theory suggests that the pathogenesis of the disease is multifactorial, where a variety of genetic and infectious agents may interact with each other to cause the disease. Among sporadic cases, the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, including HLA-B51, HLA-A26, HLA-B15, and HLA-B5701, have been found to be a key component conferring genetic susceptibility. Outside the HLA region, a set of susceptibility variants are identified, closely related to interleukin (IL)-23/IL-17 pathway, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling, and pattern recognition receptor systems. Microbial infections, such as Streptococcus sanguinis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Herpes simplex virus (HSV), are linked to play the triggering of disease in immunogenetically predisposed individuals. Clinically, due to the notable relapsing-remitting course of ocular Behçet's disease, the prevention of recurrent attack would be the primary treatment goal. Combination of corticosteroids and immunomodulatory drugs, such as anti-TNF agents, interferon, and conventional immunosuppressants (e.g. cyclosporine, azathioprine), have been the mainstream regimen for the disease. Future research may focus on comparing the effectiveness of immunomodulatory drugs and identifying the most suitable subgroups for a specific drug on the basis of the knowledge of the molecular heterogeneity of the disease.

Infectious agents and pathogenesis of Behçet's disease: An extensive review

Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic chronic vasculitis. Sustained and enhanced immune responses were reportedly associated with active BD. Although genetic polymorphisms increase development risk, genetic factors alone cannot account for BD development, suggesting the involvement of exogenous factors. Also, how various infectious agents promote BD in high-risk populations is not fully understood. In this review, we summarized the current findings on the associations of infectious agents with BD pathogenesis. The review also highlights the potential microbial risk factors and their pathogenic role in BD progression. Interactions between genetic and infectious risk factors was also discussed. Furthermore, evidence implied that after the eradication of infectious agents, BD symptoms and recurrence decreased, thus highlighting that combined use of antibiotics may be an effective therapy for BD. Finally, we summarized the main limitation of the current related studies, providing valuable insights and a basis for future studies on BD pathogenic factors.

Bibliometric and Altmetric Analyses of Publication Activity in the Field of Behcet's Disease in 2010-2019

BACKGROUND

Behcet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis accompanied by oral-genital ulcers, ocular, cerebral, and gastrointestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate BD articles published between 2010-2019 bibliometrically and to provide up-to-date data. A secondary aim was to present a different perspective using altmetric assessments.

METHODS

This bibliometric and altmetric research was performed with data obtained from the Web of Science database. The key terms "Behcet's disease," "Behcet's syndrome," and "Behcet" were used for listing the articles. The number of articles, citation data, and active countries were determined. Trend and correlation analyses were performed. Altmetric attention scores (AASs) and Mendeley readers count (MRC) of the articles were acquired for the altmetric evaluations.

RESULTS

A total of 5,201 articles were listed. After the exclusion criteria, a total of 2,163 articles were obtained for further analysis. A significant and increasing trend was detected in the number of articles from 2010 to 2019 (P < 0.001). Turkey (28.24%), China (9.57%), South Korea (9.20%), Japan (6.38%), and Italy (5.64%) were the five most productive countries. France, the United States and, the United Kingdom were the top three countries in respect of the average number of citations per article. A weak significant correlation was detected between the number of citations and AAS (P < 0.001). The number of citations was significantly and strongly correlated with the MRC (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

An increasing trend was found in BD research productivity. Although the Silk Road countries were prominent in the number of articles, a similar ranking was not valid for the average number of citations per article.

Acute anterior uveitis after topical interferon for conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)

Objective: Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) is the most common type of non-melanocytic ocular surface tumor. Conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is a type of OSSN that be medically managed by either topical interferon alpha-2b (IFN α-2b), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), or mitomycin C. While a paradoxical response to IFN α-2b in the HIV population has been reported, we report a case of a paradoxical response in an immunocompetent individual. Methods: A 65-year-old immunocompetent female presents to the clinic with CIN. Results: She is started on topical IFN α-2b, resulting in an unexpected hypopyon, increased corneal epithelial defect, and increased size of the lesion. Switching to topical 5-FU resulted in decreasing size of the CIN lesion and resolution of the epithelial defect. Conclusions: Topical IFN α-2b can produce a paradoxical worsening of CIN lesions in some patients. Providers should be aware of this reaction, as well as the presenting signs and symptoms, to make appropriate treatment changes when treating CIN.