An Investigation of Innate Immune Response of Human Blood Macrophage to Sense and Antisense dsRNA

Silencing of gene expression by siRNA (small interfering RNA) is a powerful approach used to study the genetic analysis and functional roles of mammalian genes. There is at present no report about the effects of mammalian two-hybrid system plasmids delivery of sense and antisense strands. The leishmania pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1) gene was cloned as sense and antisense strands into mammalian two hybrid system plasmids. The constructs were transfected into human blood macrophages on the basis of eight experimental groups. (Antisense strand ± LPS, sense strand ± LPS, dsRNA ± LPS, negative control ± LPS). After 24 hours, cytokines production was assessed with ELISA.Transfection of sense and antisense strand RNA into monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) was confirmed by RT-PCR. Single strands RNA expressed IL-8, IL-12, IL-1β inflammatory cytokines and dsRNA induced IL-8, IL-12 and TNF-α production in MDM. In contrast, random uptake from a mixture of two plasmids was downregulated IL-8, IL-12, IFN-γ cytokines, with a significant difference of p<0.05 in macrophage.With respect to the increased level of IL-8 in macrophage detected in single strand groups, the chemokine production—as a major feature of innate immunity—is a powerful tool for evaluation of sense/antisense in experimental and therapeutic gene vaccine delivery. siRNA–based gene therapy could have great potential in cancer treatment.Highlights siRNA (small interfering RNA) is powerful approach to study the functional roles of mammalian genes.dsRNA induced antiviral response by induction of different cytokines including TNF-α, IL-12 and IL-8.dsRNA showed promising results as a vaccine adjuvant for both antiviral and antitumor prophylaxis.The strong response of IL-8 chemokine indicated the linkage between innate immunity and adaptive immunity in progressive malignances

Nutritional Literacy Measurement among Iranian Elderly Population

Background & Objective: One of the criteria for determining health is health-promoting behaviors. A high level of nutrition literacy is an important factor for differences in diet and nutritional behaviors which promotes health. Therefore, the present study investigates nutrition literacy status and its related factors in the older adults in Tehran. Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic (correlational) study. The study population included 270 older adults of Tehran city selected using random cluster sampling in Tehran in 2018. Data collection was carried out using a 28-item nutrition literacy scale (NLS) and demographic characteristics questionnaire. Then, data analysis was conducted using SPSS ver. 16 and descriptive statistics and Chi-square, Kruskal–Wallis, Spearman correlation coefficient and multiple regression tests.  Results: In this study, the majority of the older adults were in the group aged 60–64 years (41.9%). According to NLS, 52.2% of the older adults had inadequate nutritional literacy, 37% had borderline nutritional literacy, and only 10.7% of them had adequate nutrition literacy (p<0.001). Also, there was a significant relationship between nutrition literacy and age, sex, level of education, and occupation. Conclusion: The majority of Iranian elderly had inadequate and borderline nutritional literacy, and only one-tenth of them had adequate nutrition literacy. Therefore, due to low nutritional literacy and its relationship with age, the elderly need to receive simple and understandable information to communicate and understand health information to make appropriate decisions, and it needs more attention from health workers, health workers and physicians

The Association Between Medical Factors During Pregnancy and Cesarean Section in Bandar Abbas-Prospective Cohort

Background & Objectives: Cesarean section rates have increased significantly over the past decade. This increase has not been clinically justified. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of medical factors on the type of delivery. Materials & Methods: This prospective cohort study was done on 200 pregnant mothers. The main exposure in this study was the medical reasons for cesarean section and the main outcome of cesarean delivery. The relative risk index was calculated using the Cox regression model. Results: Of the 196 pregnant women remained in the study, 40.31% had Cesarean section. Compared to non-medical factors, the risk of Cesarean section was higher (Relative Risk = 4.64) in mothers with medical factors. Also, the risk of elective Cesarean section was higher in mothers with medical factors (Relative Risk = 2.34). On the other hand, the risk of Cesarean section and elective Cesarean section was and higher in mothers with previous abortion (Relative Risk = 2.11) and hard labor (Relative Risk = 3.25), respectively. However, there was a significant relationship between maternal mental disorder during pregnancy and Cesarean section delivery (Relative Risk = 1.49). Conclusion: Based on these results, there is an association between medical factors and type of delivery. Therefore, maternal preventable or controllable medical problems during pregnancy requires more attention