Neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antioxidant, chemotherapeutic, and antidiabetic properties of Salvia Reuterana: A mini review

Objectives: Herbal medicine is known as a valid alternative treatment. Salvia Reuterana, which has been used in the Iranian traditional medicine, is mostly distributed in the central highlands of Iran. Salvia Reuterana is a medicinal herb with various therapeutic usages. The aim of the present review is to take account of pharmacological properties of Salvia Reuterana. Materials and Methods: The present review summarizes the literature with respect to various pharmacological properties of Salvia Reuterana. Results: Salvia Reuterana possesses neurological, antimicrobial, antioxidant, chemotherapeutic, and antidiabetic properties. Conclusions: Salvia Reuterana can be used as an alternative for treatment of several disorders

A comparative study pertaining to deleterious effects of diclofenac sodium and meloxicam on kidney tissue in rats

NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are a class of drugs with analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic effects. Diclofenac sodium is one of the world's most widely-prescribed NSAIDs. Meloxicam is another NSAID that was approved in the last several years. Treatment with NSAIDs may result in renal damage. Relatively, little is known about com-parative nephrotoxicity of NSAIDs. Therefore, the present study was designed to compare the adverse effects of diclofenac sodium and meloxicam on renal tissue in rats. Forty eight Wistar male rats were randomly assigned into 3 groups of 16 animals each. Group C served as normal control and received normal saline. Group D and M received diclofenac sodium (2.3 mg/kg/day) and meloxicam (2.3 mg/kg/day), respectively. After 17 days, all rats were scarified. Their kidneys were then harvested and processed for histological examination. In addition to cellular details, renal tubular count and diameter were assessed with the light microscope. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. We found that the mean number of renal tubules was significantly lower in group D, than in group C. Moreover, the mean renal tubular diameter was significantly higher in group D than in group C. The present study showed that a considerable degree of nephrotoxicity resulted from diclofenac sodium, compared to meloxicam. We suggest that diclofenac sodium can be replaced with meloxicam

Lateral rectus muscle disinsertion and reattachment to the lateral orbital wall in exotropic Duane syndrome: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The surgical correction of anomalous movement such as upshoot in Duane syndrome is challenging. Lateral rectus muscle disinsertion and reattachment to the lateral orbital wall is a new approach used to minimize or eliminate the effects of co-contraction including globe retraction, palpebral fissure narrowing and anomalous vertical movement.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a case of a 7-year-old boy who underwent this procedure for severe upshoot, globe retraction and exotropia in the left eye due to Duane syndrome. The patient achieved satisfactory ocular alignment following surgery. Upshoot and globe retraction were substantially improved.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Lateral rectus muscle disinsertion and reattachment to the lateral orbital wall is a safe and effective procedure for weakening of the anomalous lateral rectus muscle in Exotropic Duane Syndrome.</p

A New Sparse Representation Algorithm for 3D Human Pose Estimation

This paper addresses the problem of recovering 3D human pose from single 2D images using Sparse Representation. While recent Sparse Representation (SR) based 3D human pose estimation methods have attained promising results estimating human poses from single images, their performance depends on the availability of large labeled datasets. However, in many real world applications, accessing to sufficient labeled data may be expensive and/or time consuming, but it is relatively easy to acquire a large amount of unlabeled data. Moreover, all SR based 3D pose estimation methods only consider the information of the input feature space and they cannot utilize the information of the pose space. In this paper, we propose a new framework based on sparse representation for 3D human pose estimation which uses both the labeled and unlabeled data. Furthermore, the proposed method can exploit the information of the pose space to improve the pose estimation accuracy. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed method is significantly better than the state of the art 3D human pose estimation methods

Induced overexpression of MARCH-1 in human macrophages altered to M2 phenotype for suppressing inflammation process

Objective(s): The M1 macrophage is characterized by enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokines production, whereas macrophage (M2) has anti-inflammatory features. Macrophage polarization as a therapeutic target for controlling immune responses could be performed by gene transduction to control the regulation of exaggerated innate/adaptive immune responses. Materials and Methods: Macrophages were prepared from THP-1 cell line and human monocytes that were transduced with (Membrane-Associated RING-CH-type finger) MARCH-1 viral lentivector produced in HEK-293T cells. RT-PCR and Western blotting confirmed MARCH-1 gene transduction. Cytokine production, CD markers assay, macrophage phagocytosis potential activity and mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) with CFSE were performed for M1/M2 plasticity. Results: The mean fluorescent intensity of HLA-DR and CD64 expression reduced in MARCH-1+ transduced macrophage population. However, CD206 and CD163 expression increased in these macrophages. The concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α and iNOS were decreased in MARCH-1 transduced cells, and TGF-β production showed an augmentation in concentration. Western blotting and real-time PCR measurement confirmed that the expression levels of MARCH-1 protein and arginase-1 enzyme were increased in transduced macrophages. Conclusion: The anti-inflammatory features of MARCH-1 revealed the reduced levels of pro-inflammatory factors and maintained M2 phenotype characterized by high levels of scavenger receptors. Therefore, targeting MARCH-1 in monocytes/macrophages could represent a new autologous cell-based therapies strategy for inflammatory conditions

Effect of Plasma-Derived Exosomes of Refractory/Relapsed or Responsive Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma on Natural Killer Cells Functions

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate effect of plasma-derived exosomes of refractory/relapsed or responsive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients on natural killer (NK) cell functions. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional and experimental study, NK cells were purified from responsive patients (n=10) or refractory/relapsed patients (n=12) and healthy donors (n=12). NK cells were treated with plasma-derived exosomes of responsive or refractory/relapsed patients. We examined the expression levels of hsa-miR-155-5p, hsalet- 7g-5p, INPP5D(SHIP-1) and SOCS-1 in NK cells quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Percentages of NK cells expressing CD69, NKG2D and CD16, NK cell cytotoxicity and NK cell proliferation (using flow-cytometry) as well as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) level in the supernatant of NK cells using ELISA were also investigated. Results: We observed an increased level of hsa-miR-155-5p and a decreased level of SOCS-1 in NK cells treated with exosomes compared to untreated NK cell in healthy donors and DLBCL patients. An increase in hsa-miR-155-5p level was associated with an increased level of IFN-gamma in healthy donors. The decreased levels of hsa-let-7g-5p were observed in NK cells treated with exosomes in comparison with untreated NK cells in DLBCL patients (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the percentage of CD69(+) NK cells and NKG2D(+) NK cells in the absence or presence of exosomes of DLBCL patients in each group. Furthermore, we observed significant reduction of NK cell proliferation in DLBCL patients and healthy donors in the presence of exosomes of refractory/relapsed patients (P<0.05). A significant decrease was observed in cytotoxicity of NK cell in patients with DLBCL treated with exosomes of responsive patients. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated adverse effect of plasma-derived exosomes of DLBCL patients on some functions of NK cell. It was also determined that low NK cell count might be associated with impaired response to R-CHOP and an increased recurrence risk of cancer

Can the Decreased Expression of Human Leukocyte Antigen Class Ⅰ and Ⅱ by Spermatozoa Lead to Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion?

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) is defined as an unknown cause of occurrence of three or more clinically detectable pregnancy losses before 20 weeks of gestation, but it occurs presumably as a result of the immune system dysfunctions. We supposed that the disruption of semen or spermatozoa might be responsible for the dysfunction of the immune system in women with URSA. Semen and spermatozoa (as antigens) induce female reproductive tract (FRT) immunity. This stimulated immunity is necessary for pregnancy occurrence. The disruption of semen or spermatozoa can be a result of altering a variety of surface molecules on spermatozoa, especially polymorphic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules or antigens. Despite the importance of HLA antigens in reproduction, to the best of our knowledge, no one has studied the relation of HLA expression between spermatozoa and URSA. Therefore, this paper aims to assess this relation. METHODS: Semen samples were collected from 15 URSA couples and 20 normal couples. After purification of normal spermatozoa, the HLA class I and II expressions were evaluated by flow cytometry methods. RESULTS: Results showed that the expression of both HLA class I and II by spermatozoa, in URSA couples, was significantly less than the control couples. CONCLUSION: The decreased expression of polymorphic HLA class Ⅰ and Ⅱ by spermatozoa can be related to URSA occurrence

Producing soluble human programmed cell death protein-1: A natural supporter for CD4+t cell cytotoxicity and tumor cells apoptosis

Background: Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 pathway is one of the immune checkpoint pathways involved in the regulation of the immune responses and the suppression of anti-tumor defense. PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies improve immune responses such as cytotoxic activity of CD8+/CD4+T cells and increase mortality of tumor cells as well; however, their use is accompanied by adverse side effects. Objectives: We aimed to produce a native blocker of human PD-1/PD-L1, for developing T cells cytotoxicity and tumor cells apoptosis. Materials and Methods: We designed and cloned soluble human PD-1-GFP-pcDNA3.1/hygro construct in Escherichia coli strain TOP10 cells and then transfected this construct into the HEK cells. The concentration of the secreted shPD-1 in the supernatant was measured and the supernatant was used for blocking PD-L1 on the MDA-MB-231 cells. The cytotoxicity of CD8+/CD4+T cells and the apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells, under the influence of shPD-1 in the co-culture of T cells with the MDA-MB-231 cells, were evaluated using flow cytometry technique. Results: The GFP expression in the transfected cells illustrated the successful designing, transfection, and production of shPD-1. Soluble human PD-1 concentration in the supernatant of the transfected HEK cells was significantly higher than the untransfected cells. In addition, shPD-1 significantly blocked PD-L1 on the MDA-MB-231 cells, improved the cytotoxicity of CD4+T cells, and increased the apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells. Conclusion: Overall, increased CD4+T cell cytotoxicity and tumor cells apoptosis under the influence of shPD-1, confirmed the effectiveness of shPD-1 as a natural blocker of PD-L1and as an augmenter of the anti-tumor immune responses. © 2019 The Author(s)

Application of hypoxia-mesenchymal stem cells in treatment of anaerobic bacterial wound infection: wound healing and infection recovery

Mesenchymal stromal cells, commonly referred to as MSCs, are a type of multipotent stem cells that are typically extracted from adipose tissue and bone marrow. In the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, MSCs and their exosomes have emerged as revolutionary tools. Researchers are now devoting greater attention to MSCs because of their ability to generate skin cells like fibroblasts and keratinocytes, as well as their distinctive potential to decrease inflammation and emit pro-angiogenic molecules at the site of wounds. More recent investigations revealed that MSCs can exert numerous direct and indirect antimicrobial effects that are immunologically mediated. Collectively, these antimicrobial properties can remove bacterial infections when the MSCs are delivered in a therapeutic setting. Regardless of the positive therapeutic potential of MSCs for a multitude of conditions, transplanted MSC cell retention continues to be a major challenge. Since MSCs are typically administered into naturally hypoxic tissues, understanding the impact of hypoxia on the functioning of MSCs is crucial. Hypoxia has been postulated to be among the factors determining the differentiation of MSCs, resulting in the production of inflammatory cytokines throughout the process of tissue regeneration and wound repair. This has opened new horizons in developing MSC-based systems as a potent therapeutic tool in oxygen-deprived regions, including anaerobic wound infection sites. This review sheds light on the role of hypoxia-MSCs in the treatment of anaerobic bacterial wound infection in terms of both their regenerative and antimicrobial activities

Immune Responses to Corona Family Viruses and Vaccine Strategies

Corona respiratory viruses are native animal pathogens that infect upper respiratory tract in humans. Severe pulmonary inflammation caused by disruption of the regulation of cytokines in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), such as elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), IPLO protein, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and IL-8 in the blood, with undesirable consequences. Specific executive T lymphocytes against viruses produce essential cytokines including IL-2, TNF-α, interferon-gamma (IFNγ), and the chemokines such CXCL-9, 10, and 11, and cytotoxic molecules such as perforin and granzyme B. Acute respiratory phase causing by corona virus disease is associated with severe lymphopenia in peripheral blood accompanied with decreased TCD4 and TCD8 in 80% to 90% of patients. Acute inflammatory cytokines including IL-2, IL-7, IL-10, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha (MIP-1A), and TNFα have been reported to be elevated in acute hospitalized patients with lymphopenia and sepsis viral. In addition, inflammation, lung injury, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, loss of respiratory function and other organs, and eventually death are the consequences of the pathogenesis of the virus responsiveness by immune system. How pathogens are harmed in humans has provided a clear picture for interrupt in processing steps by immunologists. While most people infected with the virus have only moderate or asymptomatic symptoms, but a minority have experienced acute complications. Investigating the correlation between safety protection and long-term safety protection in hospitalized patients with corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) has opened a way to design effective vaccines or effective therapies to counter the prevalence of coronavirus and disease