Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus. HEV can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis, with the latter usually occurring in immunocompromised patients. Modes of transmission range from the classic fecal–oral route or zoonotic route, to relatively recently recognized but increasingly common routes, such as via the transfusion of blood products or organ transplantation. Extrahepatic manifestations, such as neurological, kidney and hematological abnormalities, have been documented in some limited cases, typically in patients with immune suppression. HEV has demonstrated extensive genomic diversity and a variety of HEV strains have been identified worldwide from human populations as well as growing numbers of animal species. The genetic variability and constant evolution of HEV contribute to its physiopathogenesis and adaptation to new hosts. This review describes the recent classification of the Hepeviridae family, global genotype distribution, clinical significance of HEV genotype and genomic variability and evolution of HEV.

Genetic Variability and Evolution of Hepatitis E Virus.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen transmitting both human to human via the fecal oral route and from animals to humans through feces, direct contact, and consumption of contaminated meat products. Understanding the host range of the virus is critical for determining where potential threats to human health may be emerging from and where potential reservoirs for viral persistence in the environment may be hiding. Initially thought to be a human specific disease endemic to developing countries, the identification of swine as a primary host for genotypes 3 and 4 HEV in industrialized countries has begun a long journey of discovering novel strains of HEV and their animal hosts. As we continue identifying new strains of HEV in disparate animal species, it is becoming abundantly clear that HEV has a broad host range and many of these HEV strains can cross between differing animal species. These cross-species transmitting strains pose many unique challenges to human health as they are often unrecognized as sources of viral transmission.

The Current Host Range of Hepatitis E Viruses.

Globally, Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes over 20 million cases worldwide. HEV is an emerging and endemic pathogen within economically developed countries, chiefly resulting from infections with genotype 3 (G3) HEV. G3 HEV is known to be a zoonotic pathogen, with a broad host range. The primary source of HEV within more economically developed countries is considered to be pigs, and consumption of pork products is a significant risk factor and known transmission route for the virus to humans. However, other foods have also been implicated in the transmission of HEV to humans. This review consolidates the information available regarding transmission of HEV and looks to identify gaps where further research is required to better understand how HEV is transmitted to humans through food.

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The Foodborne Transmission of Hepatitis E Virus to Humans.

Assessment of hepatitis E virus (HEV) in the edible goat products pointed out a risk for human infection in Upper Egypt

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a cosmopolitan foodborne pathogen. The viral agent infects humans through the consumption of contaminated food (uncooked or undercooked). Most cases of infection are asymptomatic and for this reason, this pathology is considered underdiagnosed. Domestic and wild animals are considered natural reservoirs: that is, domestic pig, wild boar, sheep, goat, deer, rabbit, and so on. Therefore, various work categories are at risk: that is, veterinarians, farmers, hunters, slaughterhouse workers, and so on. In these last decades, researchers found a high percentage of positivity to the molecular viral detection in several food matrices included: ready-to-eat products, processed meat products, milk, and shellfish. This review aims to provide an international scenario regarding HEV ribonucleic acid (RNA) detection in several foodstuffs. From this investigative perspective, the study aims to highlight various gaps of the current knowledge about technologies treatments' impact on viral loads. The purpose was also to provide an innovative point of view "One Health"-based, pointing out the strategic role of environmental safety.

Hepatitis E Virus in the Food of Animal Origin: A Review

Background. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a significant pathogen of viral hepatitis and can be transmitted through fecal-oral route. Epidemiological data concerning HEV in goats, however, are relatively sparse to date. Here, the prevalence and characteristics of HEV isolated from goats at slaughterhouse were investigated in Tai’an region, China. Methods. Anti-HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) in blood samples and HEV RNA in the liver samples were determined by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. In addition, partial nucleotide sequences of open reading frame 2 (ORF-2) of HEV isolates were analyzed. Results. Fifty goat blood samples (46.7%, 50/120) were masculine for anti-HEV IgG. HEV RNA was detected in 2 liver samples (4.0%, 2/50) and belonged to genotype 4 subtype 4 h, with high identity (91.2–93%) with cow HEV strains detected in the same province, China. Conclusions. These findings demonstrated that goats may be an important reservoir for HEV and can become a major source of HEV infection in humans via food chain.

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Detection and Characterization of Hepatitis E Virus in Goats at Slaughterhouse in Tai'an Region, China.

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic respiratory disease. Hereditary factors played a key role in the pathogenesis of the AR. This study investigated the association between CLEC16A variants and AR risk in the Chinese population. Methods: We applied Agena MassARRAY technology platform to genotype five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in CLEC16A in 1004 controls and 995 cases. The association between CLEC16A SNPs (rs2286973, rs887864, rs12935657, rs11645657 and rs36045143) and AR risk were calculated by logistic regression analysis, with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). False-positive report probability (FPRP) was also used to assess the significant results to reduce false positives. Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was completed to assess the interaction between CLEC16A variants to predict AR risk. Results: Totally, CLEC16A (rs887864, rs12935657, rs2286973, rs11645657 and rs36045143) were significantly associated with AR risk. Therein, rs2286973, rs11645657 and rs36045143 were related to a decreased risk of AR in the people ≤ 43 years old, females and the people with BMI≤24, respectively. And rs887864 and rs12935657 were also associated with a decreased susceptibility of AR in the people >43 years old. Meanwhile, in the results of region stratification, rs887864 conferred a reduced risk to AR in the people from loess hilly area. Conclusion: CLEC16A variants conferred a decreased risk to AR in the Chinese population.

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CLEC16A variants conferred a decreased risk to allergic rhinitis in the Chinese population

Abstract Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a great risk factor for developing asthma, and its pathogenesis is affected by various factors, such as gene and environment. GSDMB is related to allergic diseases. Our purpose is to explore the correlation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GSDMB and AR risk in the Chinese population. Methods We performed a case-control study including 1005 cases and 1004 controls. Rs2305479, rs4795400, and rs12450091 in GSDMB were geneotyped using Agena MassARRAY. The relationships between GSDMB SNPs and AR risk were assessed by logistic regression analysis in PLINK1.9. Results Our study showed that rs4795400 was a protective factor for AR in overall (TT vs. CC: OR = 0.66, p = 0.009; TT vs. CC/TC: OR = 0.67, p = 0.008; additive: OR = 0.87, p = 0.042 males, people with BMI ≤ 24, and living in wind-blown sand area. Rs2305479 was associated with a reduced AR risk in males (TT vs. CC: OR = 0.47, p = 0.014; TT vs. CC/TC: OR = 0.43, p = 0.004). However, rs12450091 was a risk factor for AR in people living in the loess hilly region (CC: OR = 4.75, p = 0.047). The levels of EO and EO_per in the case group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion This study indicated that GSDMB polymorphisms (rs4795400, rs2305479, and rs12450091) were associated with AR susceptibility. Further studies are required to confirm our findings and to clarify the functional relationship.

Association between polymorphisms of the GSDMB gene and allergic rhinitis risk in the Chinese population: a case-control study

The function of long non-coding RNA in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

AbstractThe relationship of human papillomavirus (HPV) to squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck has been long known and explored. However, it has not been investigated whether cancer areas have the prognostic value of genetic diversity within HPV. Most existing studies in head and neck cancer analysis only involve a single imaging modality, e.g., computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which may not provide complementary and diverse information for prediction task. Recently, positron emission tomography with 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-D-glucose integrated with CT (\(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT) has become a powerful imaging tool. In this study, we integrate these two imaging modalities (i.e., PET and CT) for HPV-associated genetic diversity prediction. Specifically, we design a deep 3D convolutional neural network (called PCNet) to learn PET and CT features in a data-driven manner, consisting of two branches (with each one corresponding to a specific data modality). The generated intermediate feature maps are further fed into a fully-connected layer for abstraction. Moreover, radiomic characteristics, which have been verified as a prognostic indicator in head and neck cancer, are concatenated with these data-driven deep learning features for final prediction. Experiments on 50 subjects demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed PCNet. This is among the first attempts to explore the potential of PET/CT in differentiating genetic diversity in patients with HPV-associated squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.KeywordsHead and neck cancerFar clade classification\(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CTConvolutional neural network 

Mingxia Liu

Papers

Detection and Characterization of Hepatitis E Virus in Goats at Slaughterhouse in Tai'an Region, China.

CLEC16A variants conferred a decreased risk to allergic rhinitis in the Chinese population

Association between polymorphisms of the GSDMB gene and allergic rhinitis risk in the Chinese population: a case-control study

The function of long non-coding RNA in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Prediction of HPV-Associated Genetic Diversity for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck Cancer Based on 18F-FDG PET/CT