The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is one of the most crucial host factors influencing disease progression in bacterial and viral infections. This review provides the basic concepts of the structure and function of HLA molecules in humans. Here, we highlight the main findings on the associations between HLA class I and class II alleles and susceptibility to important infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, melioidosis, Staphylococcus aureus infection, human immunodeficiency virus infection, coronavirus disease 2019, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C in populations worldwide. Finally, we discuss challenges in HLA typing to predict disease outcomes in clinical implementation. Evaluation of the impact of HLA variants on the outcome of bacterial and viral infections would improve the understanding of pathogenesis and identify those at risk from infectious diseases in distinct populations and may improve the individual treatment.

Human pythiosis is associated with poor prognosis with significant mortality caused by Pythium insidiosum. Antimicrobials’ in vitro and in vivo results against P. insidiosum are inconsistent. Although antimicrobials are clinically useful, they are not likely to achieve therapeutic success alone without surgery and immunotherapy. New therapeutic options are therefore needed. This non-exhaustive review discusses the rationale antimicrobial therapy, minimum inhibitory concentrations, and efficacy of antibacterial and antifungal agents against P. insidiosum. This review further provides insight into the immunomodulating effects of antimicrobials that can enhance the immune response to infections. Current data support using antimicrobial combination therapy for the pharmacotherapeutic management of human pythiosis. Also, the success or failure of antimicrobial treatment in human pythiosis might depend on the immunomodulatory effects of drugs. The repurposing of existing drugs is a safe strategy for anti-P. insidiosum drug discovery. To improve patient outcomes in pythiosis, we suggest further research and a deeper understanding of P. insidiosum virulence factors, host immune response, and host immune system modification by antimicrobials.

The practical applications of breed identification are numerous and diverse, and they include breed conservation and breeding program design. However, distinguishing between breeds remains challenging and costly, especially for phenotypically similar chicken populations. Continued research is necessary to develop more accessible and optimized methodologies. To address these challenges, machine learning (ML) offers promising tools for analyzing complex genetic data. The capabilities of machine learning, especially the random forest (RF) model, to enhance various fields, including bioinformatics, have recently been demonstrated. In this study, microsatellite genotype data from 651 individuals across 30 chicken populations filtered from a larger initial dataset for consistency were used to classify breeds using an RF model. Cross-validation techniques, including 10-fold cross-validation and leave-one-out cross-validation, were employed to assess the performance of the model. The model performance was evaluated using metrics such as accuracy, Cohen’s Kappa, 95% confidence interval, and F1-score. Results showed that the RF model achieved a 95.38% accuracy on the testing dataset. Accuracies of 91.44% and 90.99% were observed for 10-fold cross-validation and leave-one-out cross-validation, respectively. It is believed that larger datasets will significantly improve outcomes for other breeds. Because of its generalizability, the trained model can serve as a straightforward and modern method for chicken breed determination using machine learning. This study demonstrates that ML, particularly automated approaches like AutoGluon, provides a robust and accessible framework for chicken breed identification using cost-effective microsatellite data.

SUMMARY: Human vascular pythiosis is a rare, life-threatening angioinvasive infection caused predominantly by the oomycete Pythium insidiosum . Unlike ocular or cutaneous pythiosis, the vascular form is defined by arterial wall invasion, long-segment thrombosis, limb ischemia, aneurysmal complications, and high risks of amputation and death. Although P. insidiosum is broadly distributed in freshwater environments, reported human vascular disease remains concentrated in Thailand, indicating that exposure alone is insufficient for disease development. Available evidence supports a multifactorial model centered on repeated freshwater exposure and host susceptibility, particularly hemoglobinopathies and iron dysregulation, while the rarity of comparable vascular disease elsewhere remains unexplained. Because vascular-specific mechanistic data are limited, evidence from animal pythiosis, nonvascular human disease, environmental studies, genomic analyses, and experimental models must be interpreted selectively and linked explicitly to vascular pathogenesis, diagnosis, or management. Infection usually begins at sites of skin disruption after freshwater exposure and progresses through soft tissue and perivascular planes into the arterial wall. Longitudinal intramural extension, rather than typical hematogenous dissemination, explains long-segment arterial occlusion, proximal progression, and relapse after incomplete source control. Diagnosis requires early suspicion, serology, vascular imaging, and tissue-based confirmation. Management depends on prompt and complete surgical removal of infected arterial tissue, supported by adjunctive protein-synthesis–inhibiting antibacterial therapy, particularly when residual disease is suspected. Conventional antifungals have limited activity, and Pythium antigen immunotherapy remains historically important but of uncertain independent benefit. Earlier recognition, better surgical-margin assessment, standardized diagnosis, and prospective treatment data are needed.