Cellular microRNAs (miRNAs) were identified as a key player in the posttranscriptional regulation of cellular‐genes regulatory pathways. They also emerged as a significant regulator of the immune response. In particular, miR‐146a acts as an importance modulator of function and differentiation cells of the innate and adaptive immunity. It has been associated with disorder including cancer and viral infections. Given its significance in the regulation of key cellular processes, it is not surprising which virus infection have found ways to dysregulation of miRNAs. miR‐146a has been identified in exosomes (exosomal miR‐146a). After the exosomes release from donor cells, they are taken up by the recipient cell and probably the exosomal miR‐146a is able to modulate the antiviral response in the recipient cell and result in making them more susceptible to virus infection. In this review, we discuss recent reports regarding miR‐146a expression levels, target genes, function, and contributing role in the pathogenesis of the viral infection and provide a clue to develop the new therapeutic and preventive strategies for viral disease in the future.

Background This study aimed to evaluate the possible role of human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) coinfection as an etiological factor for prostate cancer (PCa) development. Methods This case-control study was conducted on 67 patients with PCa and 40 control subjects. The expression levels of cellular and viral factors involved in inflammation, tumor progression, and metastasis were quantified, using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay. Results The EBV/HPV coinfection was reported in 14.9% of patients in the case group and 7.5% of the control subjects. The high-risk types of HPV, that is, HPV 16 and HPV 18, were responsible for 50 and 30% of HPV/EBV-coinfected PCa cases (n = 10), respectively. No significant relationship was observed between PCa and HPV/EBV coinfection (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 0.18–45.2, P = 0.31). However, the highest percentage of HPV genome integration was found in the HPV/EBV-coinfected PCa group (8/10; 80%). Also, the mean expression levels of inflammatory factors (IL-17, IL-6, TNF-α, NF-κB, VEGF, ROS, and RNS), anti-apoptotic mediators (Bcl-2 and survivin), and anti-anoikis factors (Twist and N-cadherin) were significantly higher in the HPV/EBV-coinfected PCa group, compared to the non-coinfected PCa cases. Nevertheless, the tumor-suppressor proteins (p53 and pRb) and E-cadherin (inhibitor of anoikis resistance) showed significant downregulations in the HPV/EBV-coinfected PCa group, compared to the non-coinfected PCa cases. Conclusion The HPV/EBV coinfection may be an etiological factor for PCa through modulation of cellular behaviors.

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Background and Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most important common cancers in the world. The main etiology of this cancer in developing and third world countries is due to the infection with hepatitis B and C viruses. Hepatitis B and C viruses (HCV) would both cause liver cancer but the incidence of the disease in relation to the age and gender has not been determined. The present study was conducted to evaluate the relation between some demographic characteristics with rs1053004 polymorphism in STAT3 gene among patients with liver cancer following chronic hepatitis B infection and its comparison with healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: In this study, 33 tissue samples of liver cancer from pationts with HBV infection, 50 blood samples from patients with chronic hepatitis B and 50 blood samples from healthy subjects, as the control group, were obtained to determine rs1053004 polymorphism in STAT3 gene (signal transducer factor and activator of transcription in the nucleus) using Real Time PCR method. Results: In the present study 133 subjects were evaluated and from them, 50 (37.6%) were healthy and 50 of the participants (37.6%) had chronic hepatitis B and 33 (24.8%) had HCC. 69.9% of the participants (93 participants) were male and 30.1% (40 participants) were female. According to the results, the gender of the participants in the studied groups had no significant relation with their SNPrs1053004 polymorphism. But the relation between gender and liver cancer was statistically significant (p < 0001); indicating that the prevalence of liver cancer was higher among men than women. The average age of the healthy group was 35.86 years, of the chronic hepatitis B group was 40.4 years and of the HCC group was 53.78 years. Based on the results, the difference in age groups of chronic hepatitis B group and HCC pationts was statistically significant as compared with the control group (p < 0.001). Conclusions:Results of the present study showed no significant relation between the presence of rs1053004 polymorphism in STAT3 gene (signal transducer factor and activator of transcription in the nucleus) and gender of the participants but the difference between the ages of the healthy group, chronic hepatitis B group and HCC group was statistically significant. In other words, age could be a predicting factor in developing HCC.

Salivirus (SaV) is a newly described member of the family Picornaviridae that has been associated with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, particularly in children. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of SaV in symptomatic children and its potential association with GI complications. A systematic search was conducted from 01 December 2009 to 10 December 2020, in three major English databases, including Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science as well as Google scholar search engine. Random effect model-based overall prevalence and odds ratio (OR)were assessed in cross-sectional and case-control studies by STATA 14.1. The random effect model-based pooled prevalence of SaV was 1.6% (95% CI, 0.010-0.022%) and overall OR for all eight case-control studies indicated an association (3.19 with 95% confidence interval 1.35-7.57) that was not statistically significant, due to the small number of studies available. More comprehensive case-control studies in multiple geographies should be conducted on the prevalence of SaV in children.