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The association between HLA class II antigens and childhood primary nephrotic syndrome has been reported in different populations. To investigate this association in Egyptian children,DRB1alleles were typed by DNA polymerase chain reverse hybridization in 20 frequent relapsers/steroid-dependent and 14 steroid-resistant children with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) and 121 unrelated healthy controls from the northern part of Egypt. The strength of the association was expressed as the relative risk (RR) estimated by the odds ratio. TheDRBI *07011allele frequency was significantly higher among patients than controls (78.9% vs. 16%,Pc<0.001). The etiological fraction (EF) was high at 0.75 [RR=20.1, confidence interval (CI)=6.0-66.7]. Similarly, patients with steroid-resistant MCNS had a higher frequency of theDRBI *07011allele than controls (64.3% vs. 16.5%,Pc<0.001). The EF was high at 0.57 (RR=9.6, CI 2.9-31.7). In the whole group of patients the frequency ofDRBI *11alleles was low compared with controls (11.4% vs. 32.2%,P=0.02), but was not significant whenPwas corrected. In conclusion, theDRBI *07011allele confers susceptibility to a frequently relapsing and steroid-dependent or steroid-resistant course of childhood MCNS. These patterns of the disease seem to have the same immunogenetic components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and serotypes in anti-HCV–positive hemodialysis patients and determine the concordance between genotyping and serotyping methods. Sixty-two hemodialysis patients were included in this study. HCV RNA was determined using polymerase chain reaction assay and genotypes using a line probe assay. HCV serotyping was performed with competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Genotype 4 (52 patients) was the most predominant genotype, followed by type 1 (10 patients). The most prevalent HCV serotype was type 4 (41 patients), followed by serotype 1 (6 patients). We detected multiple serotypes in 4 patients and untypeable strains in 11. The overall sensitivity of serotyping assay was 82% for the study patients. According to the genotyping results, the sensitivity of serotyping was 60% and 86.5% for HCV types 1 and 4, respectively. There was a 100% concordance between results of serotyping and genotyping in the identification of HCV type 1 and 91% concordance in HCV type 4. Serological typing method may be of great value in microbiology laboratories that require a simple assay for identification of HCV genotypes, although the sensitivity of this assay may be limited by the immunocompetence of infected hemodialysis patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels in supernatant fluid from cultured peripheral blood mono-nuclear cells (PBMC) were measured by ELISA in 54 children with active non-inherited forms of primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS), 10 nephrotics in remission, and 10 healthy controls. Children with active PNS included 21 patients with steroid-sensitive (SS) minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS), 5 patients with steroid-resistant (SR) MCNS, 11 with SR focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), 6 patients with SS diffuse mesangial proliferation (DMP), 5 patients with SR DMP, and 6 patients with mesangiocapillary glomerulonephritis (MCGN). Patients with active PNS had elevated TNF-α production compared with controls. Remis)sion was associated with normalization of TNF-α production. There was a positive correlation between TNF-α production and the degree of proteinuria (r=0.34, P=0.013), mesangial hypercellularity (r=0.42, P=0.028), and glomerulosclerosis (r=0.46, P=0.001). By using ROC curve, TNF-α production greater or equal to a cut-off point of 50 pg/ml could be used to predict resistance to steroid therapy (predictability 93.2%). By discriminate analysis, TNF-α production could be used to discriminate between patients with SR MCNS, SR FSGS, and SR DMP (predictability 100%). (In conclusion, TNF-α from cultured PBMC might be involved in the pathogenesis of proteinuria as well as the pathological changes that occur in non-inherited forms of PNS. TNF-α levels in PBMC culture could be used to predict the pathological type of PNS and the response of these patients to steroid therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]