tahereh donyavi

Meningitis is one type of the inflammation in the protective membranes of the brain and spinal cord. Aseptic meningitis is the term used for all types of diseases that are not due to pyogenic bacteria. Various etiological agents can cause aseptic meningitis. Infectious agents include viruses, fungi, and parasites. Viruses are considered one of the major etiological agents of aseptic meningitis. The viral etiology of this disease varies in different age groups and countries. This study examined the prevalence of different viruses (enterovirus, mumps virus, and HSV-1) in Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of aseptic meningitis children. 58 CSF samples were obtained from meningitis-suspected patients admitted to Ali Asghar Hospital in Tehran during 2019-2020. Nucleic acid extraction was performed and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing was performed for the investigation of different meningitis-causative viruses.Viruses were detected in 32 patients (24 males and 8 females). Enterovirus (n=15, 25.9%) was the predominant meningitis virus detected. Mumps virus and HSV were found in 11 (19%) and six (10.3%) patients, respectively. Fever and vomiting were found the most clinical manifestations in children with aseptic meningitis. A statistically significant relationship was found between term week and viral meningitis among HSV- and mumps-infected patients (p-value=0.04). Besides, there was a borderline relationship between a history of surgery and viral meningitis. Enteroviruses are among the most important etiological agents of aseptic meningitis in different age groups. Accurate diagnosis of meningitis viruses such as enteroviruses will lead to appropriate and life-saving antiviral therapies and a reduction of antibiotics overuse.

 Persistent detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in individuals who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains an unexplained phenomenon warranting further study. Recent research suggests that this RNA could be the result of transcription from an integrated SARS-CoV-2 genome.

 This study aimed to investigate the presence of the DNA form of the SARS-CoV-2 genome in oropharyngeal, nasopharyngeal, and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples from COVID-19 patients with prolonged viral detection.

 We examined the presence of the reverse-transcribed viral genome in samples from eighty COVID-19 patients, including 40 outpatients (group 1), 40 hospitalized patients (group 2), and 40 healthy individuals (group 3), using a TaqMan® based real-time RT-PCR assay.

 The mean ages of groups 1, 2, and 3 were 36.1 ± 11.0, 61.6 ± 18.4, and 39.0 ± 8.7, respectively. The molecular tests did not detect viral DNA forms, which may be produced during the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle, in the examined samples.

 Although no evidence of integrated viral DNA was found in this study, further research is essential to confirm these findings and explore the underlying mechanisms of prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA presence in recovered COVID-19 patients.

The Totiviridae family includes a number of double-stranded RNA viruses that can infect Trichomonas vaginalis. Some T. vaginalis isolates are infected with one or more double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses. In this study, different strains of double-stranded RNA virus in Iranian isolates of T. vaginalis were evaluated for the first time in Iran. 

Vaginal swabs were collected from 1550 participants who were referred to hospitals associated with Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran from June to November 2018.    T. vaginalis isolates were cultured in Diamond's modified medium. After the extraction of nucleic acids using a DNA/RNA extraction kit, RT-PCR was performed and PCR products were purified and sequenced.

In general 9 (0.6%) isolates were confirmed as T. vaginalis among 1550 collected vaginal samples. Among 9 isolates of T. vaginalis, three of them were infected with TVV1. One isolate has multiple infections with T. vaginalis virus (TVV1, TVV2 and TVV3) as coinfection. The nucleotide BLAST indicated that the T. vaginalis virus 1(TVV1) isolates were most closely related to TVV1-OC5, TVV1-UR1-1.The T. vaginalis virus 2 (TVV2) sequence had also a similarity with TVV2-UR1-1, TVV2-UR1 and TVV2-OC3. The sequence of T. vaginalis virus 3(TVV3) had similarity with TVV3-OC5, TVV3-UR1-1 and TVV3-UR1.

Three dsRNA viruses T. vaginalis virus (TVV1, TVV2 and TVV3) were detected using RT-PCR in T. vaginalis Iranian isolates. The coinfection of TVV1, TVV2 and TVV3 in one isolate of T.vaginalis was observed for the first time in Iran.

Leishmania are intracellular flagellate protozoan parasites cause a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations in human. The immunological basis for resistance against leishmaniasis depends on Thl responses in the course of performance of cytokines like IL-12. In this study, a transgenic Leishmania coding human IL-12 was produced that can be used in Leishmanization.
A fragment of Iranian lizard Leishmania (I.L.L) gene, named Cysteine Peptidase C (CPC), was amplified separately as two parts with PCR reaction. Then, they were attached using SOEing PCR such that the restriction site of SalI was placed in the middle of it. SOEing PCR product was purified and cloned in HindIII restriction site of pGEM-7z-f and named pKDB-CPC. After clone optimization, the hIL-12 construct was cloned in SalI restriction site of pKDB-CPC and named pKDB-IL12. Prokaryotic section of the above construct was removed and transferred into I.L.L by electroporation.
Production of recombinant hIL-12 in transgene parasites was proved by ELISA. rhIL-12 secreted into supernatant culture medium accumulated at concentrations up to 246.53 ± 15.92 pg.mL-1.
Targeted gene replacement into the I.L.L genome using plasmid pKDB-cpc identical replacement process was successfully completed for the first time. Stabilized recombinant DNA consist of target gene didn’t have any toxicity for the parasite. Transgenic I.L.L produced and secreted active human interleukin 12 and can be an appropriate candidate for Leishmanization.