In light of the growing emphasis on classifying stroke patients for different levels of monitoring intensity and emergency treatments, we conducted a systematic review of a wide range of clinical studies, according to the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, with no restrictions on the language or publication date, to analyze the potential of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an early neurological deterioration (END) risk predictor. A comprehensive search was carried out in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from the inception to March 13, 2022. Nine articles were included in our study. Stroke patients with END had significantly higher NLR levels than the those without END ( SMD = 0.73 ; CI 95 % = 0.42 -1.05, P value < 0.001). In the subgroup analysis, according to ethnicity, East Asian patients with END had elevated levels of NLR compared to those without END ( SMD = 0.79 ; CI 95 % = 0.52 -1.06, P value < 0.001). However, the difference in the Caucasian group was not significant ( SMD = 0.60 ; CI 95 % = − 0.50 -1.70, P value = 0.28). In the subgroup analysis according to the type of stroke, the NLR levels in patients with hemorrhagic stroke who developed END were similar to those without END ( SMD = 0.84 , CI 95 % = − 0.10 -1.77, P value = 0.07). Vice versa, in the ischemic stroke group, patients with END had elevated levels of NLR compared to those without END ( SMD = 0.67 , CI 95 % = 0.38 -0.96, P value < 0.001). NLR is a unique inflammatory biomarker whose increase in END suggests an immune system dysfunction in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are known for their significant capability to reconstitute and preserve a functional hematopoietic system in long-term periods after transplantation into conditioned hosts. HSCs are thus crucial cellular targets for the continual repair of inherited hematologic, metabolic, and immunologic disorders. In addition, HSCs can undergo various fates, such as apoptosis, quiescence, migration, differentiation, and self-renewal. Viruses continuously pose a remarkable health risk and request an appropriate, balanced reaction from our immune system, which as well as affects the bone marrow (BM). Therefore, disruption of the hematopoietic system due to viral infection is essential. In addition, patients for whom the risk-to-benefit ratio of HSC transplantation (HSCT) is acceptable have seen an increase in the use of HSCT in recent years. Hematopoietic suppression, BM failure, and HSC exhaustion are all linked to chronic viral infections. Virus infections continue to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in HSCT recipients, despite recent advancements in the field. Furthermore, whereas COVID-19 manifests initially as an infection of the respiratory tract, it is now understood to be a systemic illness that significantly impacts the hematological system. Patients with advanced COVID-19 often have thrombocytopenia and blood hypercoagulability. In the era of COVID-19, Hematological manifestations of COVID-19 (i.e., thrombocytopenia and lymphopenia), the immune response, and HSCT may all be affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in various ways. Therefore, it is important to determine whether exposure to viral infections may affect HSCs used for HSCT, as this, in turn, may affect engraftment efficiency. In this article, we reviewed the features of HSCs, and the effects of viral infections on HSCs and HSCT, such as SARS-CoV-2, HIV, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, HIV, etc.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cause of cancer death in women. According to the American Cancer Society's yearly cancer statistics, BC constituted almost 15% of all the newly diagnosed cancer cases in 2022 for both sexes. Metastatic disease occurs in 30% of patients with BC. The currently available treatments fail to cure metastatic BC, and the average survival time for patients with metastatic BC is approximately 2 years. Developing a treatment method that terminates cancer stem cells without harming healthy cells is the primary objective of novel therapeutics. Adoptive cell therapy is a branch of cancer immunotherapy that utilizes the immune cells to attack cancer cells. Natural killer (NK) cells are an essential component of innate immunity and are critical in destroying tumor cells without prior stimulation with antigens. With the advent of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), the autologous or allogeneic use of NK/CAR–NK cell therapy has raised new hopes for treating patients with cancer. Here, we describe recent developments in NK and CAR–NK cell immunotherapy, including the biology and function of NK cells, clinical trials, different sources of NK cells and their future perspectives on BC.

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