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Comparison of the Percentage of Regulatory T cells and their p-STAT5 Expression in Allergic and Non-Allergic Common Variable Immunodeficiency Patients
Get PDFBackground: Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) is a primary immunodeficiency characterized by an immunologic deficiency in immunoglobulin production. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a key role in preventing the development allergic disorders. p-STAT5 is a known factor for the function and survival of Tregs. This study aimed to investigate the number of Tregs and their p-STAT5 expression in allergic and non-allergic CVID patients. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 10 healthy volunteers, 10 allergic patients, and 16 CVID patients (allergic and non-allergic) using Ficoll density centrifugation. The percentage of Tregs in PBMCs was analyzed by flow cytometry. Tregs were also isolated from participants using an immunomagnetic separation method and p-STAT5 expression was evaluated in Tregs using flow cytometry. Results: The results revealed that Treg percentage was significantly lower in the CVID patients than the control groups (healthy and allergic individuals) (p<0.001). There was a significant reduction in Treg percentage in allergic patients compared to healthy subjects (p<0.05). No significant difference in Treg percentage between allergic and non-allergic CVID patients was observed. The expression of p-STAT5 in Tregs was significantly lower in CVID patients than the control groups (p<0.001). In addition, the expression of p-STAT5 in Tregs of allergic patients was significantly decreased compared to healthy subjects (p<0.001). However, the deference of p-STAT5 level was not statistically significant between allergic and non-allergic CVID patients. Conclusion: These findings suggest that p-STAT5 signaling defect and decreased Treg number may not participate in the development of allergy in CVID patients. © 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis
Giardia lamblia infection: Review of current diagnostic strategies
Get PDFGiardiasis has a global distribution and it is a common cause of diarrhea in both children and adults and is transmitted via the fecal-oral route through direct or indirect ingestion of cysts. The laboratory diagnosis of Giardia spp. is mainly based on demonstration of microscopic cyst or trophozoite in stool samples but several immunological-based assays and molecular methods are also available for giardiasis diagnosis. The aim of this study was to conduct a review of the applied methods in medical laboratory and to highlight pitfalls and challenges of them for diagnosis of giardiasis. In this article we have evaluated the Giardia diagnostic methods with a broad review of literature, electronic databases and books. The search has covered the articles and some textbooks that have published up to 2018. It has been concluded that traditional microscopy combination with stool concentration method should still be held in the routine medical laboratory due to economical and high sensitivity and immunological-based assay and molecular methods which are recommended to use as a complementary test to the traditional technique. © 2019 Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases .All Rights Reserved
Satisfaction with and factors related to medicinal herb consumption in older Iranian adults
Get PDFIntroduction: Several factors may have led to herbal medicines consumption, especially in older adults. However, the frequency of satisfaction with, and factors related to the use of medicinal herbs in older adults are not clear. The present study explored the satisfaction with and factors pertaining to medicinal herb use in a sample of Iranian older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 770 old citizens of Kashan, Iran in 2016. A random cluster sampling method was used. The data collection instrument was developed by the researchers and contained questions on demographic variables, the history of known chronic disorders, history of medicinal herb use, the reason for choosing medicinal herbs, subjects� knowledge on medicinal herbs, and their satisfaction with the medicinal herbs used. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results: Approximately, 67.8 of the older adults (72.8 females and 62.4 males) used medicinal herbs. Most of the subjects (60) were satisfied with their consumption of medicinal herbs. A statistically significant association was found between the use of medicinal herbs and having disorders such as cancer (p = 0.006) and hyperlipidemia (p = 0.006). Most of the older adults (48.57) were highly likely to believe in the efficacy of herbs. Conclusions: Medicinal herb consumption was prevalent among older adults -especially among those with chronic conditions- over half were satisfied with the use of herbs. It is necessary to develop training programs on the safe use of herbs for the community and especially for older adults. © 2018 Elsevier Gmb
Effects of quercetin supplementation on glycemic control among patients with metabolic syndrome and related disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Get PDFThis systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed to determine the effect of quercetin supplementation on glycemic control among patients with metabolic syndrome and related disorders. Databases including PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched until August 30, 2018. Nine studies with 10 effect sizes out of 357 selected reports were identified eligible to be included in current meta-analysis. The pooled findings indicated that quercetin supplementation did not affect fasting plasma glucose (FPG), homeostasis model of assessment-estimated insulin resistance, and hemoglobin A1c levels. In subgroup analysis, quercetin supplementation significantly reduced FPG in studies with a duration of �8 weeks (weighted mean difference WMD: �0.94; 95% confidence interval CI; �1.81, �0.07) and used quercetin in dosages of �500 mg/day (WMD: �1.08; 95% CI �2.08, �0.07). In addition, subgroup analysis revealed a significant reduction in insulin concentrations following supplementation with quercetin in studies that enrolled individuals aged <45 years (WMD: �1.36; 95% CI �1.76, �0.97) and that used quercetin in dosages of �500 mg/day (WMD: �1.57; 95% CI �1.98, �1.16). In summary, subgroup analysis based on duration of �8 weeks and used quercetin in dosages of �500 mg/day significantly reduced FPG levels. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Melatonin and cancer: From the promotion of genomic stability to use in cancer treatment
Get PDFCancer remains among the most challenging human diseases. Several lines of evidence suggest that carcinogenesis is a complex process that is initiated by DNA damage. Exposure to clastogenic agents such as heavy metals, ionizing radiation (IR), and chemotherapy drugs may cause chronic mutations in the genomic material, leading to a phenomenon named genomic instability. Evidence suggests that genomic instability is responsible for cancer incidence after exposure to carcinogenic agents, and increases the risk of secondary cancers following treatment with radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Melatonin as the main product of the pineal gland is a promising hormone for preventing cancer and improving cancer treatment. Melatonin can directly neutralize toxic free radicals more efficiently compared with other classical antioxidants. In addition, melatonin is able to regulate the reduction/oxidation (redox) system in stress conditions. Through regulation of mitochondrial nction and inhibition of pro-oxidant enzymes, melatonin suppresses chronic oxidative stress. Moreover, melatonin potently stimulates DNA damage responses that increase the tolerance of normal tissues to toxic effect of IR and may reduce the risk of genomic instability in patients who undergo radiotherapy. Through these mechanisms, melatonin attenuates several side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Interestingly, melatonin has shown some synergistic properties with IR and chemotherapy, which is distinct from classical antioxidants that are mainly used for the alleviation of adverse events of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this review, we describe the anticarcinogenic effects of melatonin and also its possible application in clinical oncology. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Evaluation of Cisplatin efficacy on HepG2 and E. coli Cells under acidic conditions
Get PDFBackground: Cisplatin (Cispt) is a common anticancer drug for the treatment of several malignancies, including hepatocarcinoma. However, this drug suffers from instability in aqueous solutions. The study aimed to evaluate cisplatin efficacy on HepG2 and E. coli cells under an acidic condition. Methods: Acidic Cispt was prepared via incubation in acidic condition (pH=2) for a month duration. The chemical structure of the acidic Cispt was evaluated by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) method. The cytotoxicity of the standard and acidic Cispt were then determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays on HepG2 and E. coli cells, respectively. Results: After preparing of acidic Cispt, its chemical structure was determined by FTIR method. In addition, cytotoxicity effects of Cispt in the standard and acidic forms were calculated 58 ± 2.9 and 65 ± 3.25 μM, respectively. MIC results also confirmed the results of MTT assay. MIC results for the standard and acidic Cispt were estimated 9.5 ± 0.47 and 9.8 ± 0.49 μM, respectively. Conclusion: Preparing Cispt in acidic condition not only did not degrade the drug, but also kept the potency of the drug approximately equal to parent drug. Regarding the instability issues of Cispt, keeping Cispt in acidic condition could be a promising approach to preserve its efficacy. © 2019, Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
Metformin as a Radiation Modifier; Implications to Normal Tissue Protection and Tumor Sensitization
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Nowadays, ionizing radiation is used for several applications in medicine, industry, agriculture, and nuclear power generation. Besides the beneficial roles of ionizing radiation, there are some concerns about accidental exposure to radioactive sources. The threat posed by its use in terrorism is of global concern. Furthermore, there are several side effects to normal organs for patients who had undergone radiation treatment for cancer. Hence, the modulation of radiation response in normal tissues was one of the most important aims of radiobiology. Although, so far, several agents have been investigated for protection and mitigation of radiation injury. Agents such as amifostine may lead to severe toxicity, while others may interfere with radiation therapy outcomes as a result of tumor protection. Metformin is a natural agent that is well known as an antidiabetic drug. It has shown some antioxidant effects and enhances DNA repair capacity, thereby ameliorating cell death following exposure to radiation. Moreover, through targeting endogenous ROS production within cells, it can mitigate radiation injury. This could potentially make it an effective radiation countermeasure. In contrast to other radioprotectors, metformin has shown modulatory effects through induction of several genes such as AMPK, which suppresses reduction/ oxidation (redox) reactions, protects cells from accumulation of unrepaired DNA, and attenuates initiation of inflammation as well as fibrotic pathways. Interestingly, these properties of metformin can sensitize cancer cells to radiotherapy. CONCLUSION: In this article, we aimed to review the interesting properties of metformin such as radioprotection, radiomitigation and radiosensitization, which could make it an interesting adjuvant for clinical radiotherapy, as well as an interesting candidate for mitigation of radiation injury after a radiation disaster. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at [email protected]
Modulation of apoptosis by melatonin for improving cancer treatment efficiency: An updated review
Get PDFRadio- and chemotherapy are the most common cancer treatment modalities. They cause acute and late side effects on normal tissues, which is a burden for delivery of a high dose of radiation or drugs on tumor cells. In addition, tumor cells achieve adaptive responses to subsequent doses of radiation and chemotherapy, leading to tumor resistance and accelerated repopulation. Resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy can occur following adaptive responses, which itself is due to the release of large numbers of inter- and intracellular mediators by immune cells as well as other tumor microenvironment (TME) cells. Melatonin is a potent natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that protects against toxic side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. Furthermore, in some cancer cells, melatonin aids sensitizing cancer cells to therapy. Apoptosis is one of the main mechanisms of cell death following exposure to radiation and chemotherapy. Evidences have shown a direct relation between apoptosis induction in tumor cells with increased tumor delay regression and survival. Melatonin through modulation of several apoptosis mediators such as mitochondria, Bax, Bcl-2, endogenous ROS, and apoptosis receptors facilitate apoptosis. The current review aims to explain mechanisms of apoptosis induction following exposure to radiation and chemotherapy drugs. We also reviewed the modulatory effect of melatonin on apoptosis signaling pathways. © 2019 Elsevier Inc
Ameliorative effects of cerebrolysin against isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury in male rats
Get PDFAims: Myocardial injury (MI) is the principal cause of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD). The present study was conducted to investigate the ameliorative and antioxidant effects of cerebrolysin (CBL) on isoproterenol-induced MI in rats. Methods: MI was induced in the rats by subcutaneously injecting 100 mg/kg of isoproterenol (ISO) in the first two days. The serum levels of creatine phosphokinase (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) were measured on the third day to confirm MI. The post-treatment involved intraperitoneally injecting 5 ml/kg of CBL for 7 days. Nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA) in the heart tissue and catalase (CAT) and serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were measured on the 10th day using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Histopathological examinations of the heart tissue were also performed. Findings: The present results suggested significant increases in CK-MB, cTnI, MDA and NO. A significant decrease was also observed in the ISO-treated rats in certain antioxidant enzymes, including CAT and GPX. CBL administration showed a significant ameliorative increase against the oxidative ISO-induced damage. Moreover, the histopathological findings showed lower levels of the infiltration of inflammatory cells and edema and vascular proliferation in the CBL-treated rats. Significance: The present histopathological and biochemical findings attributed antioxidant properties to CBL in the rat myocardium and suggested protective effects on ISO-induced MI. © 2019 Elsevier Inc
The effects of stress inoculation training on coping strategies among midwives in primary health-care centers
Get PDFBackground:Effective coping with stress is the main component of interpersonal communication. It helps people overcome their conflicts and problems in their interpersonal and social relations. Objectives: This study sought to examine the effects of stress inoculation training (SIT) on coping strategies among midwives in primary health-care centers. Methods:In this two-group, quasi-experimental study, eighty midwives were randomly selected from health-care centers in Zahedan, Iran, and were randomly allocated to an intervention and a control group. The study intervention was an SIT program offered in two 4-h workshops weekly held in 2 consecutive weeks. Participants in both groups responded to the Coping Responses Inventory (CRI) before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the independent-sample t and the Chi-square tests as well as the repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results: The mean score of coping strategies statistically significantly increased in the intervention group from 36.20 ± 7.50 at pretest to 47.22 ± 9.97 1 month after the intervention (P Conclusion: SIT can be used to improve midwives' coping with stress