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Introduction: Allergic Rhinitis (AR) is a common inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa. The CD14 is a receptor for lipopolysaccharide and inhaled endotoxin which can stimulate the production of interleukins by antigen presenting cells. Accordingly, CD14 plays an important role in allergic and atopic diseases, which can be one of the etiological factors for allergic diseases. The present study investigated the association between the CD14 gene polymorphism C-159T and AR and aimed to detect the correlation between serum levels of CD14 and AR. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on two groups of participants. The experimental group consisted of 125 patients with AR referring to Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Mashhad, Iran, and the control group included 125 healthy subjects from Mashhad National Blood Center, Iran. Serum CD14 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was employed to detect C-159T gene polymorphism in the CD14 promoter region. Results: There was a significant association between CD14 C-159T gene polymorphism and AR (P<0.001). The results of the statistical analysis showed that the TT genotype could significantly increase the risk of AR (P<0.001). Additionally, a significant association was observed between C-159T gene polymorphism and the serum level of CD14 (P<0.001). Regardless of the genotypes, the serum CD14 levels were significantly higher in AR patients than in those of the participants in the controls (P=0.007). Conclusions: According to the obtained results of this study, CD14 in serum might be a potential marker for the diagnosis of AR, and in genetic levels it might be a predictive factor for the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Infection with the human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type-I (HTLV-I) is endemic in Mashhad, Iran. In our research we evaluated the relation between exposure to this infection and the occurrence of dermatologic manifestations. Materials and Methods: 100 blood donors, who were seropositive but asymptomatic for infection with HTLV-I, were selected as case group. They were identified by the Blood Transfusion Organization, Mashhad, Iran, via the ELISA test and documented by PCR. Another 100 blood donors, that were seronegative for HTLV-I via the ELISA test and who were matched to the case group for age, gender, and existence of systemic diseases, were considered as the controls. Dermatologic evaluations and skin biopsies were performed if deemed necessary, and the results were statistically analyzed. Results: 73% of the case and control groups were male, while 27% in each of these groups were female. The mean age in both groups was 40.96±11.94 years. The examination indicated that 58% of the case group and 37% of the control group had cutaneous manifestations (P<0.01). The most common diseases found in the case group were aphthous stomatitis, herpes labialis, and non-genital warts, while common diseases found in the control group were herpes labialis, aphthous stomatitis, and skin tag. The frequency of aphthous stomatitis, eczema, and non-genital warts in the case group were significantly more than the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Cutaneous diseases can be found more frequent in asymptomatic carriers of HTLV-I than those who are HTLV-I seronegative. The aphthous stomatitis, eczema, and non-genital warts are more prevalent in those infected by HTLV-I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]