Background: Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with a heterogeneous clinical phenotype. The association of interleukins and other cytokines and their receptors with schizophrenia has been previously reported. Additionally, a number of studies have reported altered mico-RNA (miRNA) expression in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The aim of our study was to explore the possible association of miR-31, miR-146a, miR-181c and miR-155 with schizophrenia pathogenesis, as well as their link to IL2 gene expression in disease. Methods: For this case-control study, 225 patients with paranoid schizophrenia and 225 sex- and age-matched controls with no family history of schizophrenia were recruited. The expression of studied miRNAs and the IL2 gene was measured using qPCR. DNA samples of all patients and controls were genotyped for IL2 rs2069778 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) using PCR with sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP). Statistical analyses include the Mann-Whitney U-test and Fischer’s exact test. Results: All studied miRNAs were over-expressed in schizophrenic patients IL2 gene expression was down-regulated in schizophrenic patients. The IL2 rs2069778 SNP is not associated with schizophrenia but regulates expression of the IL2 gene. Conclusions: Over-expression of studied miRNAs and down-regulation of IL2 gene expression may be considered as genetic risk factors for chronic schizophrenia. Abnormalities in studied miRNA expressions result in the deregulation of the T-cell receptor signaling pathway in schizophrenia.
Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 provides essential information into viral evolution, transmission, and epidemiology. Short-read next-generation sequencing platforms are currently the gold-standard approaches characterized by the highest accuracy. Meanwhile, Oxford Nanopore's long-read sequencing devices show great promise, offering comparable accuracy, fast turnaround time, and reduced cost. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing and molecular-genetic characterization of SARS-CoV-2 from clinical specimens using an amplicon-based nanopore sequencing approach. Lineage and phylogenetic analysis identified the most prevalent lineages at different time points (B.1.1.163, B.1.1.208, B.1.1, and since March 2021 - B.1.1.7). In addition, we evaluated the possible effect of identified mutations on the efficacy of recommended primers and probes used for PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2. In summary, a high-quality SARS-CoV-2 genome can be acquired by nanopore sequencing and it can serve as an efficient and affordable alternative to short-read next-generation sequencing and be used for epidemiologic surveillance and molecular-genetic analyses of the virus.
COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the healthcare and economy on a global scale. It is widely recognized that mass testing is an efficient way to contain the infection spread as well as the development of informed policies for disease management. However, the current COVID-19 worldwide infection rates increased demand in the rapid and reliable screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We compared the performance of qRT-PCR in direct heat-inactivated, heat-inactivated/pelleted samples against RNA in a group of 74 subjects (44 positive and 30 negative). In addition, we compared the sensitivity of heat-inactivated/pelleted in another group of 196 COVID-19 positive samples. Our study suggests that swab sample heat-inactivation and pelleting show higher accuracy for SARS-CoV-2 detection PCR assay compared to heat-inactivation only (89% vs 83% of the detection in RNA). The accuracy of detection using direct samples varied depending on the sample transport and storage media as well as the viral titer. Our study suggests that purified RNA provides more accurate results, however, direct qRT-PCR may help to significantly increase testing capacity. Switching to the direct sample testing is justified if the number of tests is doubled at least.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.