“Anybody Should Follow Their Own Footsteps”: An Interview with Pietro Alano

Pietro Alano (26 May 1959) is Principal Investigator at Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy. After his Ph.D. (University of Milan, 1986) on the bacteriophage-E. coli interplay he entered molecular parasitology (Woods Hole course Biology of Parasitism, 1986; University of Edinburgh, 1987-1991) and joined ISS in 1991. Over the past 30 years Pietro’s team has investigated genetics, cell biology and development of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and human and mosquito host-parasite interactions. This work, described in over 90 publications, generated ‘omics’ datasets, molecular tools and transgenic lines recently used in anti-parasite transmission drug discovery and development of innovative P. falciparum diagnostics tools. What comes below is an interview with Pietro Alano (PA) conducted by Mostafa Pourhaji (MP)

Design, Effectiveness, Limitations and Future Perspectives of CAR-T Cells: A Review Article

Context: Targeted anti-cancer approaches bring about individual therapies to combat the complexity of most malignancies and enhance their chances of success. Currently, immunotherapy, which exploits the patient's immune system to fight the disease, has made a significant progress in the success rate of cancer treatment. T lymphocytes are one of the most powerful arms of the immune system against cancer cells; however, many tumor cells can escape by hiding their peptide antigens. Evidence Acquisition: CAR-T cells can detect tumor cells' HLA without any restrictions. Promising outcomes from CAR-T cell clinical trials have increased hope among cancer patients, making CAR-T cell a prospective treatment for most cancers. However, its unique toxicities and the possibility of recurrence have raised concerns among scientists. Results: Therefore, in this review, in addition to the design of CAR-T cells, we intend to discuss the process of CAR-T cell therapy in the treatment of malignancies and explore its disadvantages, advantages, and prospects. Conclusion: Despite extensive studies, it is not yet possible to confirm the role of CAR-T cells, but based on the experience of applying CAR-T cells, a definite treatment is feasible through immunotherapy and strengthening the immune system

T cell therapy of B-CLL lymphoma against CD20 alternative splice variant: in vitro experiments : T cell therapy of B-CLL lymphoma

Introduction: Cancer immunotherapy has become a major player in modern oncology. In immunotherapy, immune cells selectively recognize and kill cancerous cells; this way, many side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy are reduced. One of the immunotherapy methods is the T cell therapy, which is based on the use of T cells with determined antigenic specificity for cancer cells. The search for unique tumor antigens which are specific to malignant cells and have the ability to stimulate cellular immunity is one of the main targets of malignancies treatment. Materials and methods: D393-CD20 is an alternative splicing form of the CD20 surface receptor, which lacks 168 nucleotides in exons 3 to 7 of the CD20 sequence. D393-CD20 peptide is merely expressed on cancerous B cells, such as Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL), DLBCL and B-CLL. In this study we isolated and expanded a CD8+ T lymphocyte specific clone for a D393-CD20 antigen to examine the effect on B-CLL cell line. To this end, we evaluated the impact of cytotoxic T cells upon D393-CD20 antigen, expressed on malignant B cells. We also evaluated the ratio of apoptosis using flow cytometry and MTT. Results: Results suggest that targeting D393-CD20 antigen with specific CD8+ T lymphocytes is very effective in preventing tumor cells growth. Conclusion: Targeting D393-CD20 can be a proper choice for B-cell lymphoma immunotherapy

Células asesinas naturales: nuevos sospechosos en la tormenta de citocinas de la infección por COVID-19

Context: Various studies show that contracting the Covid 19 disease can affect the normal functioning of the immune system. In some patients, lack of stimulation of the specific immune system causes excessive innate immune activity and secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Evidence Acquisition: It seems that the occurrence of cytokine storm depends on various factors. One of the immune system cells that can play an important role in cytokine storm is Natural killer (NK) cell.  Thus, more attention should be paid to the role of NK cell in patients with Covid-19. Results: In this article, we seek to examine the role of NK cell in cytokine storms. Conclusion: Perhaps the difference between the characteristics of NK cell in children and adults is due to the difference in the severity of symptoms after infection with Covid-19

Comparison of common para-clinical and laboratory methods in Iran: for the diagnosis of Covid-19 disease

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute RespiratorySyndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was first discovered in China in late 2019 and spreadrapidly worldwide. This study aimed to correlate positive real time Reverse TranscriptasePolymerase Reaction (RT-PCR) results after one month of follow-up with laboratory findingsof the same patients at hospital admission to predict clinical outcome and diagnosis.Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on the laboratory findings of299 adult patients suspected of COVID-19. Patients were admitted to hospital from March21 to May 25, 2021 with final follow-up of one month for each patient. After one month offollow-up, 233 patients recovered; however, in 64 patients the symptoms worsened. For thesepatients RT-PCR was performed and some patients needed chest Computed Tomography(CT) imaging and were hospitalized. We extracted laboratory findings of these 64 patients andcorrelated the results of their RT-PCR with their laboratory findings.Results: Based on our findings, severe cases are middle-aged adults (P=0.001) withlymphopenia (P<0.001), decreased levels of white blood cells (WBCs) (P<0.001), and platelets(P=0.007) count along with elevated COVID-19 IgG antibody (P=0.002) and ErythrocyteSedimentation Rate (ESR) (P<0.001).Conclusion: RT-PCR is not necessary at admission; instead, some routine hematologyexaminations and serological tests can predict the prognosis of COVID- 19 disease.  Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a newly emerging virus, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was first discovered in China in late 2019 and has spread rapidly worldwide. This study aimed to correlate patients with positive real time reverse transcriptase polymerase reaction (RT-PCR) results after one month of follow-up with their laboratory findings at hospital admission to predict clinical outcome and diagnosis. Methods: We performed a retrospective study on the laboratory findings of 299 adult patients suspected with COVID-19. Patients were admitted to hospital from 21 March 2021 to 25 May 2021 with final follow-up of one month for each patient. Results: After one month of follow-up, 233 patients recovered but in 64 patients, the symptoms worsened. For these patients RT-PCR was performed and some patients needed chest computed tomography (CT) imaging and were hospitalized. We extracted laboratory findings of these 64 patients at hospital admission and correlate the results of their RT-PCR with their laboratory findings. Conclusions: Based on our results, severe cases are middle-aged adults (p = 0.001) with lymphopenia (p<0.001) and decreased levels of white blood cells (WBCs) (p<0.001) and platelets (p = 0.007) count along with elevated COVID-19 IgG antibody (p = 0.002) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (p<0.001). It is therefore suggested that RT-PCR is not necessary at admission; instead, some routine hematology examinations and serological tests can predict the prognosis of COVID- 19 disease