Polymeric nanoparticles have been introduced as a delivery vehicle for active compounds in a broad range of medical applications due to their biocompatibility, stability, controlled release of active compounds, and reduced toxicity. The oral route is the most used approach for delivery of biologics to the body. The homeostasis and function of oral cavity tissues are dependent on the activity of stem cells. The present work focuses, for the first time, on the interaction between two types of polymeric nanoparticles, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) or PLGA and PLGA/chitosan, and two stem cell populations, oral keratinocyte stem cells (OKSCs) and stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs). The main results show that statistical significance was observed in OKSCs uptake when compared with normal keratinocytes and transit amplifying cells after 24 h of incubation with 5 and 10 µg/mL PLGA/chitosan. The CD117⁺ SHED subpopulation incorporated more PLGA/chitosan nanoparticles than nonseparated SHED. The uptake for PLGA/chitosan particles was better than for PLGA particles with longer incubation times, yielding better results in both cell types. The present results demonstrate that nanoparticle uptake depends on stem cell type, incubation time, particle concentration, and surface properties.

Hepatitis B, a persistent inflammatory liver condition, stands as a significant global health issue. In Romania, the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) infection ranks among the highest in the European Union. The HLA genotype significantly impacts hepatitis B virus infection progression, indicating that certain HLA variants can affect the infection’s outcome. The primary goal of the present work is to identify HLA alleles and specific amino acid residues linked to hepatitis B within the Romanian population. The study enrolled 247 patients with chronic hepatitis B; HLA typing was performed using next-generation sequencing. This study’s main findings include the identification of certain HLA alleles, such as DQB1*06:03:01, DRB1*13:01:01, DQB1*06:02:01, DQA1*01:03:01, DRB5*01:01:01, and DRB1*15:01:01, which exhibit a significant protective effect against HBV. Additionally, the amino acid residue alanine at DQB1_38 is associated with a protective role, while valine presence may signal an increased risk of hepatitis B. The present findings are important in addressing the urgent need for improved methods of diagnosing and managing CHB, particularly when considering the disease’s presence in diverse population groups and geographical regions.

The HLA genes are associated with various autoimmune pathologies, with the control of the immune response also being significant in organs and cells transplantation. The aim of the study is to identify the HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-C alleles frequencies in the analyzed Romanian cohort. We performed HLA typing using next-generation sequencing (NGS) in a Romanian cohort to estimate class I HLA allele frequencies up to a six-digit resolution. A total of 420 voluntary donors from the National Registry of Voluntary Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors (RNDVCSH) were included in the study for HLA genotyping. Peripheral blood samples were taken and brought to the Fundeni Clinical Institute during 2020–2021. HLA genotyping was performed using the Immucor Mia Fora NGS MFlex kit. A total of 109 different alleles were detected in 420 analyzed samples, out of which 31 were for HLA-A, 49 for HLA-B, and 29 for HLA-C. The most frequent HLA-A alleles were HLA-A*02:01:01 (26.11%), HLA-A*01:01:01 (12.5%), HLA-A*24:02:01 (11.67%), HLA-A*03:01:01 (9.72%), HLA-A*11:01:01, and HLA-A*32:01:01 (each with 8.6%). For the HLA-B locus, the most frequent allele was HLA-B*18:01:01 (11.25%), followed by HLA-B*51:01:01 (10.83%) and HLA-B*08:01:01 (7.78%). The most common HLA-C alleles were HLA-C*07:01:01 (17.36%), HLA-C*04:01:01 (13.47%), and HLA-C*12:03:01 (10.69%). Follow-up studies are ongoing for confirming the detected results.

This research aims to determine whether HLA heterozygosity confers a protective effect against hepatitis B virus infection by analyzing the relationship between HLA diversity and the risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. A total of 327 hepatitis B patients were selected and categorized based on their clinical status: 284 patients with chronic HBV infection and 43 patients with HBV-related liver cirrhosis (LC). The control group included 304 healthy individuals. HLA genotyping for 11 loci, including HLA class I and class II, was conducted using next-generation sequencing. The results of this study indicate a statistically significant negative correlation between HLA class II heterozygosity and the risk of HBV infection. Specifically, heterozygosity in HLA-DQB1 (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.31–0.76, p = 0.01277) and HLA-DRB1 (OR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.24–0.77, p = 0.01855) were significantly associated with protection. Subgroup analysis was conducted to explore the effect of HLA diversity among pathological subtypes (chronic hepatitis B and control group, liver cirrhosis and control group). For liver cirrhosis, compared with the control group, a decreased risk of LC was possibly associated with the heterozygosity of HLA class I locus B (OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.09–0.65, p = 0.0591), but this hypothesis was not confirmed by other studies. The diversity of HLA, measured by HLA heterozygosity, was associated with a protective effect against HBV infection.

Background and Objectives. Numerous genome-wide association studies have highlighted that chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a lymphoproliferative disorder with an important genetic component. An important number of genes have been implicated in CLL etiology, with some of the most important being human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of CLL with certain HLA alleles in the Romanian population and to compare our results with previous findings. Materials and Methods. This study included 66 patients with CLL, diagnosed between 2020 and 2022, and 100 healthy controls. HLA class I and class II genes (HLA-A/B/C, HLA-DQA1/DQB1/DPA1/DPB1, and HLA-DRB1/3/4/5) were investigated using next-generation sequencing technology. Results. Several HLA alleles were strongly associated with CLL. The most important finding was that HLA-DRB104:02:01 ( , OR = 1.05) and HLA-DRB302:01:01 ( , OR = 1.03) have a predisposing role in CLL development. Moreover, we identified that HLA-A24:02:01 0.01 ( , OR = 0.38), HLA-DQA105:05:01 ( , OR = 0.56), HLA-DQB103:02:01 ( , OR = 0.40), and HLA-DRB401:03:01 ( , OR = 0.54 alleles have protective roles. Correlations between HLA expression and gender showed that women had a higher expression of protective HLA alleles when compared to men. Conclusions. Our data are the first to indicate that in Romanian patients with CLL, the HLA-A24:02:01 and HLA-DQA105:05:01 alleles have a protective role against CLL development, whereas HLA-DRB104:02:01 and HLA-DRB302:01:01alleles are positively associated with CLL.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a distinct category of lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by the clonal expansion of mature B cells, followed by their accumulation in primary and secondary lymphoid organs. Cluster of differentiation (CD) markers such as CD79b, CD45, CD23, CD22 and CD81 serve as reliable prognostic indicators in CLL as well as the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) with its well-documented associations with various cancers. This study aims to investigate, for the first time, potential connections between HLA typing and CD marker expression in CLL. Although it is one of the most prevalent neoplasms, there is a need for biomarkers that can improve survival. This study included 66 CLL patients and 100 controls, with all samples analyzed using biochemical methods, flow cytometry, and cytomorphology. Next-generation sequencing was performed for HLA typing. The results indicate that several CD markers are statistically associated with different HLA alleles, specifically CD45 with HLA-C*07:01:01; CD79b with HLA-DPA1*02:01:02; CD23 with HLA-B*39:01:01; CD22 with HLA-B*49:01:01, HLA-C*07:01:01, HLA-DPB1*02:01:02, and HLA-DRB1*07:01:01; and CD81 with HLA-DPB1*04:02:01, HLA-DQA1*01:04:01, and HLA-DQB1*05:03:01. In conclusion, this research demonstrates significant statistical links between HLA genes and immunophenotypic markers in CLL patients, shedding new light on the immunological context of CLL.