Scopus Research — Zahraa hamza merza alzubaidy

Background: The genetic diversity of the hosts may have an impact on the clinical range of COVID-19 severity. Dectin-1, an integral component of the innate immune response to SARS-CoV-2, is encoded by the CLEC7A gene. Objectives: This study investigates the relationship between Iraqi patients' susceptibility to COVID-19 and CLEC7A rs3901533 (A/C) polymorphisms. Methodology: Twenty COVID-19 patients, twenty recovered people, and twenty healthy controls provided a total of sixty DNA samples. Using the sequencing method, the CLEC7A rs3901533 (A/C) polymorphisms were genotyped. Results: The frequencies of the A and C alleles were 45%, 52.5%, and 55%, respectively, in patients, recovered individuals, and controls, and 57.5%, 47.5%, and 45%, respectively. Among COVID-19 patients, the CC genotype was much more common (30%) than in controls (15%), indicating a strong correlation with higher susceptibility to the disease (P-value < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, the CC genotype of the CLEC7A rs3901533 polymorphism may be a genetic risk factor for heightened susceptibility to COVID-19. These findings demonstrate the potential of CLEC7A genotyping in predicting the course of disease and directing individualised treatment strategies. © 2026, Egyptian Society for Medical Microbiology (ESMM). All rights reserved.

Background: Kaposi's sarcoma and HHV-8 pose significant risks to children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with Th17 cells playing a crucial role in ALL pathogenesis. Objective: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the percentage of HHV-8 in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was correlated with genetic variations of the IL-17 gene. Methodology: This case-control study in Middle Euphrates, Iraq, involved 50 healthy controls and 100 ALL cases, analyzing IL-17 gene polymorphism and HHV-8 detection using sequencing and PCR. Results: Patients with ALL were 12.6 ± 11.66 years old on average. AHC, or apparently healthy control, had an average age of 14.2±12.62 years. Males accounted up to 59% of ALL, with females making up 41%. The results of the viral genome extraction test showed that 52% of the specimens did not contain a viral genome, whereas 48% did. According to the PCR, the rate of human herpes virus-8 infection was 30.7% (16 out of 52), but the negative result was 69.3% (36 out of 52). DNA polymorphism distributions according to A\A; A\G; A\C; G/C and C/C were 23.3%, 26.7%, 33.3%, 16.7%, and 0%, respectively, in patients with ALL, and 35%, 40%, 15%, 10%, and 0%, respectively, in the AHC group, according to the results of the IL-17 rs2275913 polymorphism. Conclusion: The pathophysiology of ALL may involve polymorphisms in the IL-17 gene, particularly when HHV-8 infection is present as a local confounding factor. © 2026, Egyptian Society for Medical Microbiology (ESMM). All rights reserved.

Background: Exotoxin A (ExoA) is the most widespread and toxic virulence agent among pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa species that acquire adenosine diphosphate-ribosyltransferase activity belonging to the class of exotoxins secreted by pathogenic bacteria that cause human diseases. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate ExoA in multidrug resistance P. aeruginosa isolated from burn infections. Materials and Methods: About 89 P. aeruginosa were isolated from burned infections. The Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method on Mueller–Hinton agar was used to test different antibiotic susceptibilities. In addition, the ExoA encoding gene was analyzed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-DNA-sequencing method. Results: The antibacterial susceptibility test of 89 P. aeruginosa showed a higher percentage of antibiotics resistant against amikacin for 14 isolates at (58.42%), then intermediate resistance against piperacillin was 21 isolates at (23.60%), while the higher sensitivity of antibiotics was against meropenem at 84 isolates (94.38 %). The presence of the tox A gene was not associated with antibiotic resistance (P = 0.45), but the multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates became more virulent when they produced the ExoA. PCR-DNA sequencing results appeared the presence of several mutations in tox A gene within two of the studied isolates that leads to change the amino acids, which may be the effect on exotoxin functions in the P. aeruginosa isolate 18-GF and slightly effects in the P. aeruginosa isolate 61-NR1 by effecting on protein conformation of domain III that participate in forming exotoxin complexed with nicotinamide and adenosine monophosphate. Conclusion: Most P. aeruginosa isolates recovered from burn infections produce ExoA and generally resist recently used antibiotics and some MDR isolates. © 2025 Medical Journal of Babylon | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow.

Background: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been linked to the pathogenicity of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and a number of other hematologic malignancies. However, it is still unknown what part HHV-8 plays in acute leukemia patients. Objectives: The objective of this study is to examine the occurrence of HHV-8 and the variation in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-857C/T in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) from a specific subset of the Iraqi population. Materials and Methods: Seventy-five whole blood samples were obtained from patients with AML enrolled in this study. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify HHV-8, whereas the sequencing method was applied to analyze the TNF-α-857C/T gene polymorphism. Viral and total DNA genomic extraction procedures were conducted as part of these analyses. Results: The positive rate of viral genome extraction was found 41.3% (31 out of 75 specimens with viral genome), while 59.7% (44/75) specimens did not contain viral genome. The PCR results showed that in the AML patient group, the rate of human herpesvirus-8 infection was 35.4% (11 out of 31 cases). The results showed that DNA polymorphism distribution was according to CT, CC, and TT genotypes of TNF-α-857C/T polymorphism: 50%, 33.3%, and 16.7% in the AML patient group, respectively, and 20%, 65%, and 15% in the control group, respectively. Conclusion: Considering the limited sample size of our investigation, the current findings suggest that HHV-8 and TNF-α-857C/T may have a function in the tumor biology of the specific subset of AML that was studied, perhaps contributing to their development. © 2025 Medical Journal of Babylon.

Background: Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus before it is capable of survival. A co-stimulation molecule, CD28's aberrant expression can control T-cell activation and influence the strength of the immunological response. Particularly if obtained during pregnancy, the sexually transmitted infection known as herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) may be linked to spontaneous abortion. Objective: To investigate the effect of CD28R gene polymorphism as well as HSV2 infection in females suffering from recurrent miscarriage (RM). Methods: This case-control study involved a total of 200 placental tissue samples, with 100 obtained from female patients experiencing recurrent miscarriage (RM) and the remaining 100 from placentas exhibiting unremarkable pathological changes, serving as an apparently healthy control group with normal vaginal delivery. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to detect HSV-2 DNA sequences, while Sanger sequencing was used to identify polymorphisms in the CD28R gene. Results: Recurrent miscarriage patients were older on average than the control group, which appeared to be in good health. A substantial positive association was found between mother age, the number of abortions, the number of participants, and the week of the abortion. 27% of the cases tested positive for HSV-2 DNA, according to PCR results, while 73% tested negative. Statistically significant differences were found among groups based on CD28R gene genotyping. Conclusions: Polymorphisms of the CD28R gene and presence of HSV-2 may be considered risk factors for recurrent abortion among Iraqi women. © 2025 The Author(s).

Cabazitaxel, a second-generation taxane chemotherapy agent, has demonstrated efficacy in treating metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in patients who have previously received docetaxel-based therapy. By targeting microtubule dynamics, cabazitaxel inhibits cancer cell division and induces apoptosis, thereby extending survival and delaying disease progression in this challenging patient population. A systematic review and meta-analysis were done by searching the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, MEDLINE (including MEDLINE InProcess; OvidSP), Web of Science, Embase (OvidSP), and Scopus databases. ROB2 Cochrane tools assessment for RCTs. In the analysis, we used RevMan Cochrane software. Our research reveals significantly improved outcomes in terms of patient survival rates, both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), for cabazitaxel over comparative treatment (PFS HR 0.77 [0.61, 0.97]) (OS HR 0.79 [0.70, 0.88]). The treatment response rates were also favorable for cabazitaxel, reported as PSA Reduction Response of more than 50% (PRR) (odds ratio (OR) = 1.59 [0.56, 4.52]) and tumor response rate (TRR) (OR = 2.34 [1.28, 4.28]). Cabazitaxel was associated with significantly more incidence of adverse events. The risk ratio (RR) for serious adverse events was 1.64 [1.14, 2.35] for cabazitaxel compared to the current regimen. A systematic review and meta-analysis were done by searching in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, MEDLINE (including MEDLINE InProcess; OvidSP), Web of Science, Embase (OvidSP), and Scopus databases. ROB2 Cochrane tools assessment for RCTs. In the analysis, we used RevMan Cochrane software. © The Author(s) 2024.