AIMTo assess the levels of different immune modulators in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in relation to other hepatic diseases.METHODSEighty-eight patients were included in the current study and represented patients with HCC (20), liver cirrhosis (28) and chronic hepatitis (CH; 25), and normal controls (NC; 15). Peripheral blood was isolated for immunophenotyping of active myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs; CD1c and CD40), mature inactive myeloid cells (CD1c and HLA), active plasmacytoid cells (pDCs; CD303 and CD40), mature inactive pDCs (CD30 and HLA), active natural killer (NK) cells (CD56 and CD161), active NK cells (CD56 and CD314) and inactive NK cells (CD56 and CD158) was done by flow cytometry. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-10, IL-12, IL-1β, interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-αR2 were assessed by ELISA.RESULTSActive mDCs (CD1C+/CD40+) and inactive mDCs (CD1c+/HLA+) were significantly decreased in HCC patients in relation to NC (P < 0.001). CD40+ expression on active pDCs was decreased in HCC patients (P < 0.001), and its level was not significantly changed among other groups. Inactive pDCs (CD303+/HLA+), inactive NKs (CD56+/CD158+) and active NKs (CD56+/CD161+) were not statistically changed among the four groups studied; however, the latter was increased in CH (P < 0.05). NKG2D was statistically decreased in HCC, CH and cirrhosis (P < 0.001), and it was not expressed in 63% (12/20) of HCC patients. There was significant decrease of IL-2, IFN-α and IFN-γ (P < 0.001), and a significant increase in IL-10, IL-1β, and TNF-αR2 (P <0.01, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001; respectively) in HCC patients. There was inverted correlation between IL-12 and IL-1β in HCC (r = -0.565, P < 0.01), with a strong correlation between pDCs (CD303+/CD40+) and NKs (CD56+/CD161+; r = 0.512, P < 0.05) as well as inactive mDCs (CD1c+/HLA+) and inactive NK cells (CD56+/CD158+; r = 0.945, P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONNKG2D, CD40, IL-2 and IL-10 are important modulators in the development and progression of HCC.

In winter, the lizard, Scincus scincus, fails to form humoral antibodies to parenterally introduced rat erythrocytes. The response is slow and feeble in spring whereas, it is quick and vigorous in summer and autumn. In winter, the thymus of Scincus is involuted, white pulp of spleen highly depleted while, gut-associated lymphoid tissue is rather developed. By the beginning of spring, lymphoid organs start to regenerate. By the end of spring through midfall, the thymus presents a rich lymphoepithelial organization; splenic lymphoid aggregates are so developed that they become confluent and gut aggregates increase in number and size. The data suggest that, the kinetics and magnitude of the lizard's humoral response to foreign erythrocytes, correlate with the state of lymphoid tissue development which, in turn, is affected by seasonal variations.The different orders of reptiles possess a well developed lymphoid system and respond to challenges with diverse soluble and particulate immunogens, in a specific and temperature dependent manner (Bockman, '70; Cohen, '71; Cooper, '73, '76; Ambrosius, '76; Borysenko, '76). Although the vital activities of reptiles were reported to be influenced by seasonal factors (Cloudsley-Thompson, '71; Jcjrgensen, '76), the effect of seasonal variation on immune system in reptiles has not been investigated.Reports from our laboratory demonstrated that structure of lymphoid tissues in lizards and snakes is season-dependent (Hussein et al., '78a,b,c). The present data on the lizard, Scincus scincus, confirm this finding and illustrate the effect of seasonal variation on lizards' humoral response to heterologous erythrocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS LizardsAdult, male and female Scincus scincusScincidae, hibernator (Badir, '58) -weighing 20-40g were collected from the desert near Alexandria. Lizards were maintained in large basins with 40 cm deep sand, in a sunny, beetles: Pimelia angulata) were given ad libitum. ErythrocytesAdult albino rats were bled, when needed, directly in Alsever's solution and erythrocytes (RRBCs) washed three times with phosphate buffered saline pH 7.1 (PBS). Sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) were obtained in Alsever's solution from the Egyptian Organization for Biological and Vaccine Production, Cairo and washed in PBS immediately before use in tests for specificity. ImmunizationAt the beginning of each season, 50 Scincus received each, a single intraperitoneal injection of 0.3-0.4 ml of 20% RRBCs suspension in PBS. Groups of four lizards were sacrificed a t 15-day intervals throughout the season. Serum was heat inactivated a t 56°C for 30 minutes and immediately tested for anti-body activity. Antibody assay (haemagglutination test)Haemagglutination tests were performed in microtiter plates (Cooke Laboratory Products, Alexandria, Virginia, USA) using two-fold dilutions of normal or experimental sera in PBS and 0.05 ml of 1% suspension RRBCs or SRBCs. Plates were maintained at + 4"C, read after 2 hours and again after 24 hours. Titers 91

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Three juvenile nematode parasites were collected naturally from 90 (75 %) out of 120 specimens of the marine greater lizard fish Saurida undosquamis captured from water coasts at Hurghada City along the Red Sea in Egypt during the period from September 2013 to April 2014. Worms were identified on the basis of light and scanning electron microscopy. Two of the recovered worms were isolated from the peritoneal cavity of the infected fish around the wall of the stomach as encapsulated larvae. The anisakid juvenile Anisakis sp. (Type II) was characterized by an anteroventrally triangular mouth, with a boring tooth; its postanal tail was rounded, without a terminal mucron or spine. The gnathostomatid Echinocephalus overstreeti was characterized by the presence of a cephalic bulb armed with six transverse rows of spines which were slightly more compact near the anterior end of bulb with maximal separation near the midbulb; the cephalic bulb terminated at a pseudolabia which situated dorsoventrally and reached its greatest width at the posterior one third of the body, The postanal tail terminated at a pointed mucron. The third juvenile species, Hysterothylacium patagonense (Anisakidae), was isolated from the intestine of the infected fish; they are characterized by a small-sized body with a conical tail provided by a nodulose apex, and the anterior end was equipped with three lips. A dorsal lip slightly smaller than the two subventrals left a deep postlabial groove and prominent lateral flanges in between, and the proximal part of each lip was smooth. The three described species were compared morphologically and morphometrically with some of the previously recorded species of the same genus. From this comparison, the similarity and variations between these species were described and concluded that the present study should be considered as a new host record in Egypt.

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