Batoul Pourgheysari

Comparison of the effect of honey and miconazole against Candida albicans in vitro

Background: One of the most common causes of vaginitis is candidiasis. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of honey and miconazole against Candida albicans, in vitro. Materials and Methods: The different W/V concentrations of honey were prepared at 20, 40, 60, 80, and 95% and different dilutions of miconazole were prepared in 0.05, 5, and 50 μg/ml. A microdilution of 100/000 cells per ml of a two-day old culture of Candida albicans was prepared in normal saline, after culturing the strain of PTCC 5027 in RPMI 1640 medium. Ten microliters of this dilution was added to 1 ml of the RPMI 1640 medium containing different concentrations of honey and to 1 ml of the RPMI 1640 medium containing different dilutions of miconazole. The cultures were incubated at 35°C for 12, 24, and 48 hours. Results: The growth rate of Candida albicans was determined in the cultures. The results indicated that the honey prevented the growth of C. albicans greatly only at an 80% concentration, whereas, miconazole inhibited it completely. Conclusions: As Candida albicans is a normal vaginal flora, the inhibitory effect of honey without the fungicide effect is a very good trend in the treatment of vaginal candidiasis.

Up-regulated Th17 cell function is associated with increased peptic ulcer disease in Helicobacter pylori -infection

BACKGROUND During Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection CD4+ T cells in the gastric lamina propria are hyporesponsive and polarized by Th1/Th17 cell responses controlled by Treg cells. The objective of this study was to determine the number of Th17 cells in gastric mucosa of patients with gastritis and peptic ulcer and determined the relationship between main virulence factor of H. pylori and Th17 cells. METHODS AND MATERIALS A total of 89 H. pylori-infected gastritis patients, 63 H. pylori-infected peptic ulcer patients and 48 H. pylori-negative non-ulcer dysplasia patients were enrolled in this study. The number of Th17 was determined by immunohistochemistry. IL-8 and IL-17A expressions were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Also, the grade of chronic and active inflammation was investigated for involvement according to the density of neutrophils and mononuclear in gastric mucosal crypts, from one to all crypts. RESULTS The number of Th17 cells and the expression of IL-8 and IL-17A in infected patients were significantly higher than uninfected subjects. The number of Th17 cells and the expression of IL-8 and IL-17A in infected patients with peptic ulcer were significantly higher than patients with gastritis. Additionally, the numbers of Th17 cells as well as the expression of IL-8 and IL-17A were positively correlated with the degree of H. pylori density in infected patients with peptic ulcer, while this correlation was negative in infected patients with gastritis. The numbers of Th17 cells as well as the expression of IL-8 and IL-17A were positively correlated with the degree of chronic inflammation. CONCLUSION The predominant Th17 cell responses may play a role in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcers disease in infected patients.

Prevalence of Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Types I and II in Patients With Hematological Disorders in Isfahan, Iran.

Background: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus types Ι and ΙΙ (HTLV-Ι and HTLV-II) are deltaretroviruses which may cause leukemia, lymphoma and HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). In addition, HTLV-1 may be related to thalassemia and hemophilia cases after blood transfusion. Objectives: The aim of this study was evaluation of the prevalence of HTLVs in patients with hematological disorders (leukemia, thalassemia, lymphoma and hemophilia). Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during April to October 2012. A total of 101 serum samples were collected from patients and were stored at -20ºC. DNA was extracted from serum by an extraction kit. The extracted DNA was tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of HTLV-Ι and HTLV-II pol and tax gene sequences, respectively. Samples were collected from 67 (66.33%), 20 (19.80%), 4 (3.96%), and 10 (9.90%) patients with thalassemia, leukemia, lymphoma and hemophilia, respectively. Results: One thalassemia sample was HTLV-Ι positive, but none of the samples contained the genome of HTLV-II. The prevalence of HTLV-Ι in this study in patients with hematological disorders was 0.99%. Conclusions: The prevalence of HTLV-Ι in hematological disorders was similar to that of other parts of Iran. The present study revealed that HTLV-Ι screening should be performed before blood transfusion to reduce the risk of virus transmission in patients with hematological disorders. More study should be performed to detect these viruses in blood donors.

Alteration of T Cell Subtypes in Beta-Thalassaemia Major: Impact of Ferritin Level.

INTRODUCTION Oxidative damage and regular antigenic stimulation are main factors in accelerating immunosenescence. The present study was conducted to investigate new concepts of early immunosenescence in thalassaemia patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty seven beta-thalassaemia major patients and a group of matched healthy volunteers aged 10-30 years in Shahrekord, Iran were recruited into the study. Ferritin level was determined and CD4 or CD8 T cells were analysed versus phenotyping markers, CD27, CD28, CD57 and CCR7, by flowcytometry. Data were analysed by Mann-Whitney and Spearmans correlation coefficient test in SPSS 11.5. RESULTS Absolute lymphocytosis and partial decrease in T cells were observed in the patients. CD4+CD57+ and CD4+CCR7- T cells were significantly higher, whereas CD8+CD27+ and CD8+CCR7+ T cells were partially higher in patients. A negative correlation was observed between ferritin level and number of CD8+CD27+ and CD8+CCR7+ T cells, whereas the correlation was positive between ferritin level and number of CD57+ T cells. CONCLUSION Moderate alteration of T cell repertoire and increase in CCR27-, CCR7-, and CD57+ T cells could reflect antigenic stimulation, decline in naïve T cells, and being closer to terminally differentiated cells. Effect of iron overload is potentially explained by positive correlation of blood transfusion and ferritin level with frequency of CD3+CD27- and that of ferritin with frequency of CD57+ T cells.

Factor XIIIA-V34L and factor XIIIB-H95R in venous thromboembolism in central Iran: protective and neutral.

Polymorphisms of coagulation factor XIII, an A2B2 tetramer, have been reported in correlation with venous and arterial thrombotic events. As there were limited data on these polymorphisms from Iranian population, we studied the correlation of factor XIIIA-Val34Leu and factor XIIIB-His95Arg with venous thromboembolism (VTE) in central Iran. Venous blood was collected from 102 unrelated VTE patients, diagnosed as pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism/DVT and 165 healthy persons as control group. Genotyping was performed from DNA for FXIIIA-V34L and FXIIIB-H95R by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Services software. There was no difference in age among the three groups of patients and between male and female participants. 41.02% of patients versus 42.04% of controls were carriers of FXIIIA-V34L as homozygous or heterozygous. Homozygosity of 34LL was significantly lower in patients compared with control participants (OR: 0.107, 95% CI: 0.14–0.83, P = 0.01) with only one homozygous in patients compared with 14 in the control group. Factor XIIIB-H95R was observed in 26.5% of patients versus 17.6% of control participants with no significant difference. There was no significant difference between patients and control group in homozygosity. Our findings on the frequency of FXIIIA-V34L is compatible with Caucasians. The significantly higher existence of homozygous 34LL in control participants is comparable with those who found it as protective against VTE. It may help to recognize risk factors or may contribute to prophylaxis in family members. We found FXIIIB-H95R polymorphism neutral. As there are different ethnicities in Iran, it may be beneficial to study other populations.

Interaction between Gallic acid and Asparaginase to potentiate anti-proliferative effect on lymphoblastic leukemia cell line

BACKGROUND Treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) fails in some cases and the side effects cause mortality in certain patients. Gallic acid (GA), a polyhydroxyphenolic compound has biological functions including anti-proliferative properties. The aim of the present study was to investigate the growth inhibition effects of GA in combination with asparaginase (ASP), as a component of combination chemotherapy, in a lymphoblastic leukemia cell line. METHODS Jurkat cells were incubated with different concentrations of GA with or without ASP. Proliferation inhibition was investigated using MTS test. The level of apoptosis alterations were evaluated using flow cytometry. The expression of Fas gene level and surface expression were investigated by quantitative real time PCR and flow cytometry respectively. RESULTS GA at 50μM concentration and ASP at 0.5 IU/ml inhibited 50% cell proliferation in 48 hours. GA also increased the inhibitory effect of ASP and some combinations had synergistic results. The increase of cell apoptosis and Fas expression were observed in GA-treated cells compared to control. GA increased the effect of ASP on proliferation inhibition, induction of apoptosis and Fas expression. CONCLUSION GA is an effective component in proliferation inhibition, apoptosis induction and enhancement of Fas expression level in Jurkat cell line. GA in some combination with ASP increases the effect of the latter on the cells. The study of the mechanism of these effects could be a further step towards target therapy. This study is a preliminary phase to the use of GA and should be carried out by more comprehensive study and animal models.

A preliminary study of inherited thrombophilic risk factors in different clinical manifestations of venous thromboembolism in central Iran

Background & objectives: Inherited thrombophilia is known to be an important risk factor for developing venous thromboembolism. Whether such abnormalities may impact the development of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) differently is not well defined. This preliminary study was undertaken to compare thrombophilic polymorphism in patients with DVT and PE. Methods: A total of 35 DVT, 23 DVT/PE, and 37 PE patients admitted to the Hajar Hospital, Shahrekord, Iran, between October 2009 and February 2011 were included in the study and 306 healthy volunteers matched by age and sex from the same geographical area with no history of venous or arterial diseases were included as control group. Factor V Leiden (FV 1691G/A, rs6025), prothrombin (FII 20210G/A), methylene tetrahydrofulate reductase (MTHFR 677C/T, rs1801133), and PLA2 polymorphisms of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GpIIIa 1565T/C, rs5918) were investigated by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: The number of patients with the investigated polymorphisms and homozygous carriers was significantly different among the groups (P<0.05). No significant difference was observed in the presence of FV 1691G/A and FII 20210G/A between any of the patients groups and the control group. GpIIIa 1565T/C and homozygous MTHFR 677C/T polymorphisms were higher in DVT patients compared with the control group (OR=6.65, 95% CI=3.09-14.30 and OR=4.08, 95% CI=1.35-12.38, respectively). Interpretation & conclusions: As none of the investigated polymorphisms were associated with PE, other thrombophilia polymorphisms may have a role in the pathogenesis of PE in these patients and should be investigated. Because of different prognostic risk factors among different types of patients, the treatment approach could be different.