Mario Poljak

University of Ljubljana

Author Statistics

Papers

Citation

H-Index

i-10 index

Research Trends

Author Order

Document Type

Co-Authors

Katja Seme

University of Ljubljana

120

Boštjan J. Kocjan

Novartis (Slovenia)

Lea Hošnjak

University of Ljubljana

Maja M. Lunar

University of Ljubljana

Nina Gale

University of Ljubljana

Marc Arbyn

Institut Scientifique de Santé Publique

SŽ

Snježana Židovec Lepej

University Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr Fran Mihaljevic"

Mojca Matičič

Ljubljana University Medical Centre

Adriana Vince

University Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr Fran Mihaljevic"

Boštjan Luzar

University of Ljubljana

Cooperative Institutions

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

862

University of Washington

824

University of Ljubljana

260

University College London

242

Tehran University of Medical Sciences

206

Ljubljana University Medical Centre

173

University of Sydney

120

Auckland University of Technology

114

Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico

103

National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences

Author Statistics

Papers

Citation

H-Index

i-10 index

Research Field

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) in tissue specimens of oral squamous cell papillomas and normal oral mucosa.

PubMed (2006)

Andrej Kansky Katja Seme Polona J. Maver Boštjan Luzar Nina Gale

The etiology of oral squamous cell papillomas (OSCP) is still unresolved.The presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) was examined, using PCR and three different consensus primers, in tissue specimens obtained from 49 patients with OSCP and 49 tissue specimens of histologically-normal oral mucosa obtained from the same number of individuals, who matched the patients with OSCP in age, gender and localization of the obtained tissue specimens.Amplifiable DNA was recovered from 44 out of 49 and 45 out of 49 tissue specimens of OSCP and normal oral mucosa, respectively. HPV-6 was detected in three and HPV-16 in one out of 44 OSCP specimens tested. Three tissue specimens of normal oral mucosa were HPV DNA-positive, harboring HPV-6, HPV-11 and HPV-31.Since no significant difference in the prevalence of HPV DNA between the patients with OSCP and the control subjects (9.1% vs. 6.7%; p=0.694) was observed, HPV is deemed to play a limited role in the etiology of OSCP, at least in Europe.

Oral mucosa

Etiology

Papillomaviridae

Stratified squamous epithelium

Source

Cite

Citations (26)

Prevalence of CCR5 Gene 32-Basepair Deletion in Populations of Slavic Origin.

PubMed (2006)

Mario Poljak Polona J. Maver Katja Seme

To the Editor: We read with interest recently published brief report by Ristic et al (1) on the frequency of CCR5 chemokine receptor gene 32-basepair deletion (CCR5Δ32) in Croatian normal population. In the study, 303 randomly selected healthy Croatians were genotyped for the presence of CCR5Δ32 and 7.1% allele frequency of this most important mutation, which prevents HIV transmission and delays the onset of AIDS, was identified. It is the first study of CCR5Δ32 allele frequency in Croatian population. We were surprised to read the author’s statement that the data on CCR5Δ32 mutation prevalence in the populations of Slavic origin were rather scarce. The authors supported their statement by citing a paper published by Voevodin et al (2) in 1998. Additionally, although the authors stated that the aim of their study was to “assess the genetic susceptibility of Croatians, as a part of the Slavic population”, they did not compare the CCR5Δ32 allele frequency established in Croats with those already found in populations of Slavic origin, but rather with the allele frequencies identified in Northern European populations, Hungarians, Turks, Italians, Greeks, Spanish, Sardinians, Basques, and Corsicans. To identify the current evidence on CCR5Δ32 mutation prevalence in the populations of Slavic origin, we searched PubMed/Medline without any search limits using the search term CCR5 coupled with one of following terms: Slavs, Slavic, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Rusyn, Belorussia, Belorussian, Belarus, Belarusian, Belorus, Belorusian, Poland, Polish, Poles, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Czech, Slovakia, Slovak, Moravian, Sorbs, Croatia, Croatian, Croat, Slovenia, Slovenian, Yugoslavia, Yugoslavic, Serbia, Serbian, Serb, Montenegro, Montenegrian, Montenegrin, Bosnia, Bosnian, Bosnian, Bosniaks, Macedonia, Macedonian, Bulgaria, and Bulgarian. The search was carried out on February 01, 2006. From the described search, 23 studies published in peer-reviewed journals were initially identified. All main review articles concerning CCR5Δ32 and other HIV resistance mutations published between 1996-2005 were carefully examined. Finally, after excluding the studies published after March 01, 2005 (because Ristic and colleagues submitted their CMJ paper on March 29, 2005) and those examining the prevalence of CCR5Δ32 mutation in individuals or patients not representing normal population (eg, HIV infected individuals, hepatitis C-infected patients, patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, and soon), 14 studies published in peer-reviewed journals were selected and evaluated. From the results of the selected studies, it is clear that the data on CCR5Δ32 prevalence in the populations of Slavic origin are far from being scarce. The frequency of CCR5Δ32 has been already established in all three main populations of Eastern Slavs: Russians (2-9), Ukrainians (3,5,10), and Belarussians (3,9); in three out of four main Western Slavic populations: Poles (11), Czechs (12,13), and Slovaks (14); and in two populations of South Slavs: Bulgarians (15,16) and Slovenians (17), representing two main branches of South Slavs, South-Eastern and South-Western Slavs, respectively. Now, Ristic et al (1) contributed Croatian data.

Croatian

Ukrainian

Slovak

Source

Cite

Citations (1)

Histomorphologic assessment and distribution of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types in cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions with unusual histomorphologic features

Virchows Archiv (2019)

Helena Gutnik Primož Kastelic Anja Oštrbenk Valenčak Mario Poljak Margareta Strojan Fležar

Squamous intraepithelial lesion

Nuclear atypia

10.1007/s00428-019-02694-7

Cite

Citations (4)

TREATMENT-ASSOCIATED POLYMORPHISMS IN PROTEASE BUT NOT IN REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER VIREMIA AND LOWER CD4 CELL COUNT IN RECENTLY DIAGNOSED TREATMENT-NAIVE PATIENTS

Kristof Theys Koen Deforche Jurgen Vercauteren Pieter Libin David van de Vijver

Viremia

Source

Cite

Citations (0)

Assessment of the Roche Linear Array HPV Genotyping Test within the VALGENT framework

Journal of Clinical Virology (2017)

Lan Xu Anja Oštrbenk Mario Poljak Marc Arbyn

Concordance

Cervical screening

10.1016/j.jcv.2017.12.001

Cite

Citations (44)

Hepatitis B elimination in children of Slovenian origin born in Slovenia after the introduction of preventive strategies: The results of a national study

Slovenian Journal of Public Health (2022)

Nina Grasselli Kmet Mario Poljak Breda Zakotnik Mojca Matičič

In Slovenia national strategies to prevent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in children were introduced in the mid-nineties. The aim of the present study was to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of chronic hepatitis B infection in children in Slovenia after the introduction of mandatory HBV vaccination of children and mandatory screening of pregnant women for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) with consecutive active and passive immunization of newborns of HBsAg-positive mothers.Children from all regions of Slovenia whose blood samples tested positive for HBsAg at the national reference laboratory for viral hepatitis between January 1997 and December 2010 were included. Demographic, epidemiological and virological data were reviewed retrospectively. Statistical evaluation of the patients' characteristics was performed and possible trends during the observation period determined.Among 52 HBsAg-positive children, there were 22 (42.3%) girls and 30 (57.7%) boys. Among 40 children tested for HBeAg, 17 were positive (42.5%). The most frequent risk factor for acquiring HBV infection was "presence of HBV infection within the family" (24/35; 68.8%). A significant association between the presence of HBeAg and a viral load of >20,000 IU/ml was found (p=0.001). The difference in the proportion of children of Slovenian origin born before 1994 and after was statistically significant (p=0.039). A statistically significant negative linear trend of the number of diagnosed children in the observed period was found (p=0.006).Prevention strategies adopted in the mid-nineties have resulted in the elimination of chronic hepatitis B in children of Slovenian origin born in Slovenia.V Sloveniji je bila sredi devetdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja uvedena nacionalna strategija za preprečevanje okužbe z virusom hepatitisa B (HBV) pri otrocih. Cilj naše raziskave je bil analizirati epidemiološke značilnosti kronične okužbe otrok s HBV v Sloveniji po uvedbi obveznega cepljenja otrok proti HBV in obveznega presejanja nosečnic na površinski antigen HBV (HBsAg) s posledično aktivno in pasivno imunizacijo novorojenčkov HBsAg pozitivnih mater.Vključeni so bili otroci iz vseh regij Slovenije, katerih vzorci krvi so bili pozitivni na HBsAg v nacionalnem referenčnem laboratoriju za virusni hepatitis med januarjem 1997 in decembrom 2010. Demografski, epidemiološki in virološki podatki so bili pregledani retrospektivno. Opravljena je bila statistična ocena značilnosti pacientov in ugotovljeni možni trendi v obdobju opazovanja.Med 52 otroki, pozitivnimi na HBsAg, je bilo 22 (42,3 %) deklet in 30 (57,7 %) dečkov, njihova povprečna starost (± standardni odklon – SD) je bila 13,3 (± 5,5) let. Med 40 otroki, testiranimi na HBeAg, je bilo 17 pozitivnih (42,5 %). Najpogostejši dejavnik tveganja za pridobitev okužbe s HBV je bil “okužba s HBV v družini“ (24/35; 68,8 %). Ugotovljena je bila tudi pomembna povezava med prisotnostjo HBeAg in virusnim bremenom > 20.000 IU/ml (p = 0,001). Razlika v deležu otrok Slovenskega izvora, rojenih pred letom 1994 in po njem, je bila statistično značilna (p = 0,039). Ugotovljen je bil statistično značilni negativni linearni trend števila otrok, okuženih s HBV v opazovanem obdobju (p = 0,006).Preventivne strategije, sprejete sredi devetdesetih let, so privedle do eliminacije kroničnega hepatitisa B pri otrocih Slovenskega izvora, rojenih v Sloveniji.

HBeAg

Hepatitis B

10.2478/sjph-2022-0015

Cite

Citations (0)

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor,c-erbB-2and p53 Overexpressions in Epithelial Hyperplastic Lesions of the Larynx

Acta Oto-Laryngologica (1997)

Nina Gale Nina Zidar Vinko Kambič Mario Poljak Andrej Cör

An immunohistochemical analysis of overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), c-erbB-2, and p53 proteins was performed on 43 biopsies of laryngeal epithelial hyperplastic lesions (EHLL), classified according to the Kambic-Lenart classification, and in 11 cases of laryngeal carcinoma (SCCL). The aim of the present study was to determine whether there is a correlation between the staining patterns of these proteins and different grades of EHLL, and to reveal their possible prognostic value. We compared the staining patterns of atypical hyperplasia adjacent to cancer with the same type of lesions which have not turned malignant. p53 and EGFR overexpressions were detected in 28/54 (52%) and 33/54 cases (61%), respectively, and tend to increase with the degree of epithelial changes. The intensity of staining in various grades of EHLL adjacent to cancer was more pronounced than the same type of lesions which have not progressed to cancer. c-erbB-2 was weakly positive in the majority of cases, and changed from predominantly membranous in simple hyperplasia to cytoplasmic staining in abnormal and atypical hyperplasias. There was no significant statistic correlation between the amount of positive cells for all proteins and the grade of epithelial abnormalities. We conclude that the overexpression of each biomarker itself adds little predictive value over routine histomorphology, and cannot be regarded as a reliable prognostic factor for EHLL. However, the histologic characteristics of atypical hyperplasia together with the immunostaining patterns of EGFR and p53 up to two-thirds or more of the epithelial thickness could be considered a reliable pattern which correlates with the progression to cancer.

Atypical Hyperplasia

10.3109/00016489709124048

Cite

Citations (22)

Exploring resistance pathways for first-generation NS3/4A protease inhibitors boceprevir and telaprevir using Bayesian network learning

Infection Genetics and Evolution (2017)

Lize Cuypers Pieter Libin Yoeri Schrooten Kristof Theys V.C. Di Maio

Telaprevir

Boceprevir

NS3

Regimen

Combination therapy

10.1016/j.meegid.2017.05.007

Cite

Citations (11)

Stratified Mucin-Producing Intraepithelial Lesion (SMILE) of the Uterine Cervix: High-Risk HPV Genotype Predominance and p40 Immunophenotype

Cells (2021)

Margareta Strojan Fležar N. I. Nedelko Mario Poljak Anja Oštrbenk Valenčak Helena Gutnik

Stratified mucin-producing intraepithelial lesion (SMILE) is a rare high-grade cervical precancerous lesion designated a variant of adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) in the WHO classification. We aimed to determine HPV genotypes, immunohistochemical phenotype and mucin presence in SMILE. Between 2010 and 2018, SMILE was diagnosed in 34 out of 6958 (0.5%) cervical biopsies, in 23 patients. Twenty-six tissue samples from twenty-one patients were available for further analysis, including 13 with SMILE alone, 12 with SIL and/or AIS and one with HSIL, AIS and endocervical adenocarcinoma. HPV genotyping was performed using the Seegene Anyplex II HPV 28 assay. Of the 26 samples, a single HPV genotype was identified in the majority of cases (n = 22), including 12/13 SMILEs associated with SIL/AIS. All but one were high-risk HPV genotypes (23/24; 96.8%). We identified seven different HPV genotypes, the most common being HPV16 (n = 10; 43.5%), HPV18 (n = 8, 34.8%) and HPV 31 (n = 5, 21.7%). All SMILEs showed a strong positive reaction to p16, CK7, CK19 and high Ki67 expression comparable to adjacent HSIL and/or AIS if present. SMILE showed variable mucin presence and p40-positive squamous differentiation suggesting phenotypic diversity in cervical precancerous lesions infected by single HPV.

Squamous intraepithelial lesion

Immunophenotyping

10.3390/cells10082039

Cite

Citations (7)

Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes - Mixed Infections

Vox Sanguinis (1997)

Mario Poljak Katja Seme

as mixed infection but rather as an infection with a single HCV geno type.This interpretation is consistent with the manufacturer's instruc tions.To determine whether Inno-Lipa 'coinfection patterns' are the result of mixed infections or infections with a single HCV genotype, we recently tested 16 samples with Inno-Lipa la plus lb 'coinfection patterns' using PCR followed by nucleotide sequencing of the 222-bp part of the HCV NS5 region and using commercial nested PCR in the core region followed by hybridization with genotype-specific probes and DNA enzyme immunoassay (GEN-ETI-K-DEIA, Sorin Biomed ica, Saluggia, Italy).Both additional methods undoubtedly confirmed that all 16 patients with Inno-Lipa la plus lb 'coinfection patterns' were infected with a single HCV genotype (12 samples were defined as lb and 4 samples as la genotype).In conclusion, we hope that our suggestions will reduce the number of misinterpreted HCV-mixed infections.

10.1159/000461960

Cite

Citations (1)