Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan province, China. SARS-CoV-2 causes coronavirus disease 2019 . Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has an essential role as a receptor in the entry of the SARS-CoV-2 into the host cells. It has been declared, ACE2 expresses in the lungs, heart, kidneys, placenta, and liver. This study reviews the liver's markers' characteristics in patients with COVID-19 to achieve novel insights in improving clinical treatment. Liver disease and chronic kidney disease patients are susceptible to COVID-19. There is limited information about the effects of SARS-COV-2 on patients with preexisting liver associated disorders, including chronic hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus, primary biliary cirrhosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and more are yet to be understood. By considering conducted studies in this manner since ACE2 receptors, which are the primary receptors for SRAS-CoV-2, exist on the liver and lungs, heart, kidneys, and placenta, SRAS-CoV-2 can infect liver cells too. Consequently, this infection will have resulted in liver function tests' escalated levels and total bilirubin as biochemical biomarkers. Further investigations need to be done to point out the hepatic manifestations of COVID-19's infected patients with chronic liver disease and improve clinical management and more stringent preventive measures for this type of infected patients.
Background. Currently, a novel coronavirus found in 2019 known as SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Various parameters including clinical manifestations and molecular evaluation can affect the accuracy of diagnosis. This review aims to discuss the various clinical symptoms and molecular evaluation results in COVID-19 patients, to point out the importance of onset symptoms, type, and timing of the sampling, besides the methods that are used for detection of SARS-CoV-2. Methods. A systematic literature review of current articles in the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE was conducted according to the PRISMA guideline. Results. Of the 12946 patients evaluated in this investigation, 7643 were confirmed to be COVID-19 positive by molecular techniques, particularly the RT-PCR/qPCR combined technique (qRT-PCR). In most of the studies, all of the enrolled cases had 100% positive results for molecular evaluation. Among the COVID-19 patients who were identified as such by positive PCR results, most of them showed fever or cough as the primary clinical signs. Less common symptoms observed in clinically confirmed cases were hemoptysis, bloody sputum, mental disorders, and nasal congestion. The most common clinical samples for PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients were obtained from throat, oropharyngeal, and nasopharyngeal swabs, while tears and conjunctival secretions seem to be the least common clinical samples for COVID-19 diagnosis among studies. Also, different conserved SARS-CoV-2 gene sequences could be targeted for qRT-PCR detection. The suggested molecular assay being used by most laboratories for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 is qRT-PCR. Conclusion. There is a worldwide concern on the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of well-managed global control. Hence, it is crucial to update the molecular diagnostics protocols for handling the situation. This is possible by understanding the available advances in assays for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Good sampling procedure and using samples with enough viral loads, also considering the onset symptoms, may reduce the qRT-PCR false-negative results in symptomatic COVID-19 patients. Selection of the most efficient primer-probe for target genes and samples containing enough viral loads to search for the existence of SARS-CoV-2 helps detecting the virus on time using qRT-PCR.
Background Parvovirus B19 is the causative agent for erythema infectiosum, and also as a potentially life-threatening infectious agent, it is mainly presented in high erythrocyte turnover patients. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited monogenic hematological disorder resulting from the mutations in the hemoglobin β-chain gene. Thalassemia is a hereditary hematological syndrome that happens in consequence of deficiencies in the production of one or more globin chains. We summarize current knowledge about the prevalence rates of the parvovirus B19 infection in sickle cell anemia and thalassemia patients. Methods Several online databases were searched including, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed, which were performed amidst 2009–2019 by using distinct keywords: “Thalassemia,” “Parvovirus,” “Anemia,” “Sickle cell anemia,” “parvoviridae,” “parvoviridae infection,” and “parvovirus B19.” Results Search results indicated 4 and 7 studies for the prevalence of the parvovirus B19 in β-thalassemia and SCD, respectively. Among the β-thalassemia patients, the B19V seroprevalence for IgG and IgM were ranged from 18.2–81% and 14.5–41.1%, respectively; meanwhile, B19V DNA positively results was 4–15.3%. Moreover, in the SCD group, the extent of B19V IgG was varied from 37.6 to 65.9% and that of IgM was in a range of 2.9–30%, and the DNA detection rate was 4–54%. Conclusion B19V seroprevalence changes in several conditions including, different epidemiological features, socio-economic status, and overpopulation. Age can expand the incidence of anti-B19V IgG/IgM in SCD and beta-thalassemia patients. Reinfection and diverse genotypes are relevant factors in the seroprevalence of B19v. The patients’ immunological-hematological station and higher abundance of transfusions can affect the B19V seroprevalence in SCD and beta-thalassemia group. Further investigations in this field could be suggested to better understand the virus distribution in this susceptible population of patients.
Context: There have been two coronavirus-related pandemics during the past 18 years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV in 2002 and 2012, respectively. Seven years after the emergence of MERS, a new coronavirus (i.e., SARS-CoV-2) was detected in several patients in 2019. SARS-CoV-2 spread widely, and its high prevalence enabled the virus to start a new pandemic in 2020. It is believed that the higher infectivity of the virus in comparison to that of SARS-CoV is related to its molecular interaction affinity of transmembrane spike glycoprotein and human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) cell receptors. Moreover, the primary reason for the high case fatality rate (CFR) is the cytokine storm and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) because of the immune system response to the invaders. Hence, a solid understanding of the components involved in the mechanism of viral entry and immune system response is crucial for finding approaches to disrupt the virus interplay and neutralizing its impacts on the host immune system. In this review, we investigated the molecular aspect and potential therapeutic targets associated with cell receptors and downstream signaling cascades. Evidence Acquisition: In this review, we presented the available information regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A systematic search was implemented on several online databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus during 2019-2021 using the following keywords: "SARS-CoV-2", "COVID-19", "ACE-2", "Therapeutic Targets", "Acute respiratory distress syndrome", and "Cytokine Storm". Results: Various internal or external agents are responsible for the virus infectivity and stimulating acute immune system response. Since currently there is no cure for the treatment of COVID-19, several repurposed drugs can be employed to disrupt the process of viral entry and mitigate the symptoms raised by the cytokine storm. Inhibition of several agents, including signal transduction mediators and TMPRSS2 may be momentous. Conclusions: Despite the increase in the CFR, no drugs were developed with significant efficacy. Understanding the virus entry mechanism and the immune system’s role could help us surmount the problems in developing a promising drug or employing the repurposed ones.
Introduction: The cytotoxicity of chemotherapy drugs is a significant challenge in the way of surmounting cancer. Liposomal drug delivery has proven to be efficacious in increasing the function of the drugs. Its potential to accumulate drugs in the target site and enhance the efficiency of anti-cancer agents with lower doses hinders their cytotoxicity on normal healthy cells. Since the release of drugs from liposomes is not generally on a controlled basis, several studies have suggested that external stimuli including lasers could be used to induce controlled release and boost the efficiency of liposomal drug delivery systems (LDDSs). Methods: The A375 cancer cell line was used and exposed to the liposomes containing doxorubicin in the presence of a low-level laser beam to investigate its effect on the liposomal stimuli-responsiveness release and its toxicity on cancer cells. So as to achieve that goal, Annexin V/PI was employed to analyze the number of cells that underwent apoptosis and necrosis. Results: Here, we report the effect of laser irradiation on LDDSs. According to the results obtained from the annexin V/PI assay, the pattern of viability status has shifted, so that the number of pre-apoptotic cells treated with liposomal doxorubicin and a laser beam was more than that of cells treated with only liposomal doxorubicin. Conclusion: The use of stimuli-responsive LDDSs, in this case, laser-responsive, has led to favorable circumstances in the treatment of cancer, offering enhanced cancer cell cytotoxicity.
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