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Microb Pathog 2022 May 18:105595. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.

An essential step in SARS-CoV-2 infection is binding the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the ACE2 receptor on the surface of host cells. Therefore, variation in this region can have crucial effects on clinical outcomes and the emergence of variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs). In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 54 patients with SARS-COV-2 infection were enrolled. Read More

Eur J Med Chem 2022 May 14;238:114452. Epub 2022 May 14.

Key Laboratory of Computational Chemistry Based Natural Antitumor Drug Research & Development, Liaoning Province, School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, People's Republic of China. Electronic address:

Two series of flavonoid hybrids, totaling 42 compounds, were designed, synthesized and evaluated to develop antiviral compounds effective against hepatitis A virus (HAV). A recombinant viral screening system revealed that most of the synthesized derivatives exhibited significant anti-HAV activity, and compounds B2, B3, B5 and B27 were identified as potential inhibitors of HAV. Post-treatment of cells with B2, B3, B5 and B27 after HAV infection strongly suppressed HAV infection, whereas pretreatment or simultaneous treatment were ineffective. Read More

Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

In the 1970s, an unknown virus was suspected for documented cases of transfusion-associated hepatitis, a phenomenon called non-A, non-B hepatitis. In 1989, the infectious transmissible agent was identified and named hepatitis C virus (HCV) and, soon enough, the first diagnostic HCV antibody test was developed, which led to a dramatic decrease in new infections. Today, HCV infection remains a global health burden and a major cause of liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver transplantation. Read More

J Am Pharm Assoc (2003) 2022 Apr 26. Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Background: Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection is challenging to address in patients with barriers to accessing care, including those from underserved populations. Linking at-risk patients through the HCV cascade of care can address such disparities by leveraging existing patient-provider relationships to identify and treat HCV. Pharmacists are ideal clinical team members to provide direct-acting antiviral (DAA) management, given their expertise in pharmacotherapy and medication access. Read More

J Mol Biol 2022 May 17:167633. Epub 2022 May 17.

Center for Biomolecular Structure and Organization, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. Electronic address:

Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication is initiated by the binding of the viral polymerase (P) to epsilon (ε), an ≈85-nucleotide (nt) cis-acting regulatory stem-loop RNA located at the 5'-end of the pre-genomic RNA (pgRNA). This interaction triggers P and pgRNA packaging and protein-primed reverse transcription and is therefore an attractive therapeutic target. Our recent nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) structure of ε provides a useful starting point toward a detailed understanding of HBV replication, and hints at the functional importance of ε dynamics. Read More

Clin Microbiol Infect 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham, UK.

Int J Surg Case Rep 2022 May 16;95:107199. Epub 2022 May 16.

Visceral Surgery Department, Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital Center, Lome, Togo.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the major malignant tumour of the liver. Its rupture is a serious and fatal complication. Its diagnosis and management are a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Medicine.

Background: This study investigated the effect of nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUC) treatment on HBV DNA integration and hepatocyte clonal expansion, both of which are implicated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis B.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients receiving NUCs (11 lamivudine, 7 telbivudine, 10 entecavir) were included. All had liver biopsies at baseline and year 1, and seven had a third biopsy at year 10. Read More

PLoS One 2022 20;17(5):e0259727. Epub 2022 May 20.

Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB), University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

Background & Aims: Major HCV infections lead to chronic hepatitis, which results in progressive liver disease including fibrosis, cirrhosis and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). P2X4 and P2X7 are most widely distributed receptors on hepatocytes.

Methods: Full length P2X4 (1. Read More

Vet Ital 2021 Dec 31;57(4):287-295. Epub 2021 Dec 31.

University Clinical Center of Serbia, Clinic for Digestive Surgery, Belgrade, Serbia.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), the zoonotic agent of infectious hepatitis, is present in swine farms in different geographical areas. Little is known about the mechanism of liver damage and type of local immune response by HEV in swine. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the morphological and immunophenotypic characteristics of hepatic lesions caused by hepatitis E virus in naturally infected swine. Read More

Hepatol Commun 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Rheumatology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

The appropriate prophylaxis for hepatitis B virus reactivation (HBVr) during gestation for immunocompromised pregnant women has yet to be determined. The prophylactic efficacy and safety of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive patients and the HBVr risk in hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb)-positive patients during gestation were investigated. Eligible pregnant women were diagnosed with rheumatic diseases and were administered prednisone (≤10 mg daily) with permitted immunosuppressants at screening. Read More

Liver Int 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Liver Diseases and Interventional Radiology, Digestive Diseases Hospital, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.

Liver diseases are major causes of illness and death worldwide. In China, liver diseases, primarily viral hepatitis, affect approximately 300 million people, thus having a major impact on the global burden of liver diseases. Portal hypertension is the most severe complications of chronic liver diseases, including ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and bleeding from gastroesophageal varices. Read More

Cureus 2022 Apr 16;14(4):e24184. Epub 2022 Apr 16.

Internal Medicine, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, USA.

Coombs-positive hemolytic anemia induced by cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a rare phenomenon, often not life-threatening in immunocompetent young adults. To date, the pathogenesis of CMV-induced severe hemolysis is still unknown. Here, we discuss a case of a 22-year-old male without significant past medical history who presented with severe hemolytic anemia that required four units of packed red blood cells. Read More

Cureus 2022 Apr 16;14(4):e24193. Epub 2022 Apr 16.

Section of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taitung Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taitung County, TWN.

A 39-year-old man with a history of intravenous drug use was diagnosed to have a sudden onset of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in the background of a chronic hepatitis C infection with genotype 3a. Two courses of high-dose pulse dexamethasone therapy (40 mg daily for consecutive four days) failed to raise the platelet counts, but a combination direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimen of sofosbuvir and velpatasvir, which had been proved to be effective for all hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes, successfully restored the platelets number to normal ranges after hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid (RNA) was totally eliminated. Molecular mimicry of hepatitis C virus envelope proteins with platelet surface antigens is proposed to be the underlying cause of immune thrombocytopenia. Read More

Hepatol Res 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Liver Disease, Research Center for Hepatitis and Immunology, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Chiba, Japan.

Background/aim: Antiviral therapy advancements resulted in an era in which eradication of hepatitis C has become a goal, however, there are few reports on the long-term course of liver disease progression with antiviral therapy. The aim of this study was to use the Markov model to analyze disease progression and non-invasive liver fibrosis index in hepatitis C Patients.

Methods: Patients with chronic hepatitis C (n = 1432) were diagnosed between January 2012 and May 2021 in the Musashino Red Cross Hospital. Read More

Commun Biol 2022 May 19;5(1):483. Epub 2022 May 19.

Laboratory of Nuclear Transport Dynamics, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBIOHN), Osaka, Japan.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ORF6 is an antagonist of interferon (IFN)-mediated antiviral signaling, achieved through the prevention of STAT1 nuclear localization. However, the exact mechanism through which ORF6 prevents STAT1 nuclear trafficking remains unclear. Herein, we demonstrate that ORF6 directly binds to STAT1 with or without IFN stimulation, resulting in the nuclear exclusion of STAT1. Read More

J Hepatol 2022 Jun;76(6):1249-1262

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address:

Functional cure of hepatitis B is defined as sustained undetectable circulating HBsAg and HBV DNA after a finite course of treatment. Barriers to HBV cure include the reservoirs for HBV replication and antigen production (covalently closed circular DNA [cccDNA] and integrated HBV DNA), the high viral burden (HBV DNA and HBsAg) and the impaired host innate and adaptive immune responses against HBV. Current HBV therapeutics, 1 year of pegylated-interferon-α (PEG-IFNα) and long-term nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUCs), rarely achieve HBV cure. Read More

Curr Opin Immunol 2022 May 16;77:102207. Epub 2022 May 16.

Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. Electronic address:

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes either acute or chronic liver diseases. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) often progresses to the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. As HBV is extremely noncytopathic, immunological events play a key role in the infection outcome. Read More

Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis 2022 May 12;86:101820. Epub 2022 May 12.

Department of Biochemistry, Izmir/Bornova Veterinary Control Institute, TR-35030 Izmir, Turkey.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection as a zoonotic disease virus has been thoroughly investigated in pigs around the world, but there have been few studies in pet animals. Although molecular and serological evidence suggests that numerous other animal species may act as HEV hosts in industrialized countries, domestic pigs and wild boars are the main reservoirs of HEV genotypes 3 and 4 for human infections. In this study, the sera of 91 household cats from Türkiye were studied by using serological (new generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA)) and molecular methods. Read More

J Clin Invest 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States of America.

A prophylactic hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccine that elicits neutralizing antibodies could be key to HCV eradication. However, the genetic and antigenic properties of HCV envelope (E1E2) proteins capable of inducing anti-HCV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) in humans have not been defined. Here, we investigated the development of bNAbs in longitudinal plasma of HCV-infected persons with persistent infection or spontaneous clearance of multiple reinfections. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2022 May 19:e0149322. Epub 2022 May 19.

College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural Universitygrid.108266.b, Zhengzhou, China.

Hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS) induced by fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) has caused huge economic losses to poultry industries. The key genes responsible for different virulence of FAdV-4 strains are not fully elucidated. Previous studies indicated that hexon of pathogenic FAdV-4 has a conserved arginine (R) at position 188, and a conserved isoleucine (I) is present at this position in reported nonpathogenic FAdV-4. Read More

Sci Immunol 2022 May 19:eabo6294. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality in the ongoing global pandemic. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms that govern innate immune and inflammatory responses during SARS-CoV-2 infection is critical for developing effective therapeutic strategies. While IFN-based therapies are generally expected to be beneficial during viral infection, clinical trials in COVID-19 have shown limited efficacy and potential detrimental effects of IFN treatment during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read More

mBio 2022 May 19:e0067722. Epub 2022 May 19.

Center for Pathogen Biology and Infectious Diseases, Department of Immunology, Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Transplantation of the Ministry of Education, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related diseases are among the major diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. These diseases are difficult to eradicate and thus pose a serious global health challenge. There is an urgent need to understand the cross talk mechanism between HBV and the host. Read More

Magn Reson Med Sci 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine.

Viral hepatitis was previously the most common cause of chronic liver disease. However, in recent years, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) cases have been increasing, especially in developed countries. NAFLD is histologically characterized by fat, fibrosis, and inflammation in the liver, eventually leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Read More

J Vet Med Sci 2022 May 17. Epub 2022 May 17.

Chinese People's Liberation Army Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ticks are an important group of arthropod vectors. Ticks pose a profound risk to public health by transmitting many types of microorganisms that are human and animal pathogens. With the development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and viral metagenomics, numerous novel viruses have been discovered in ticks and tick-related hosts. Read More

PLoS One 2022 18;17(5):e0268469. Epub 2022 May 18.

Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP), Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Background: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is a leading cause of viral hepatitis in children, yet the HAV vaccine is not included in the national immunization program (NIP) in Mexico. This study addresses an identified evidence gap of the burden of hepatitis A disease, complications, and associated costs in Mexico by analyzing surveillance and healthcare data. Data review included disease morbidity (incidence and hospitalization), mortality, and healthcare resource utilization costs. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 May 18;18(5):e1010231. Epub 2022 May 18.

Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, United States of America.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a highly pathogenic mosquito-borne virus capable of causing hepatitis, encephalitis, blindness, hemorrhagic syndrome, and death in humans and livestock. Upon aerosol infection with RVFV, the brain is a major site of viral replication and tissue damage, yet pathogenesis in this organ has been understudied. Here, we investigated the immune response in the brain of RVFV infected mice. Read More

J Viral Hepat 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam Infection and Immunity Institute, UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission occurs primarily in men who have sex with men (MSM). By early diagnosis and immediate treatment of acute HCV infections HCV micro-elimination in MSM is within reach. In cooperation with the community affected we developed an online HCV-RNA home-based self-sampling test service. Read More

J Viral Hepat 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Virological failure occurs in a small proportion of people treated for hepatitis C virus (HCV) with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies. This study assessed retreatment for virological failure in a large real-world cohort. REACH-C is an Australian observational study (n=10843) evaluating treatment outcomes of sequential DAA initiations across 33 health services between March 2016 to June 2019. Read More

Xi Bao Yu Fen Zi Mian Yi Xue Za Zhi 2022 Apr;38(4):361-367

School of Laboratory Medicine, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu 233000, China. *Corresponding authors, E-mail:

Objective To express the recombinant HCV NS2, establish and evaluate the detection method of serum anti-ns2 antibody based on chemiluminescence. Methods Using the NS2 sequence plasmid of HCV 1b genotype (PUC-NS2) as the template, a recombinant plasmid containing the whole NS2 sequence (pGEX-KG-NS2) was constructed. Prokaryotic expression of NS2 protein was induced. Read More