Garlic Extract (Allicin) Improves the Proliferation of Endothelial Progenitor Cell (EPC) from Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease

BACKGROUND: The reduced number and function of endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) in stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) patients aggravate endothelial dysfunction and inhibit neovascularization, thus lead to atherosclerosis. Garlic is currently believed to increase the number and function of EPC. AIM: Therefore, this in vitro study was conducted to analyze the effect of garlic extract (allicin) on the proliferation of EPC in patients with SCAD. METHODS: Mononuclear cells were isolated from peripheral blood of eight SCAD patients and cultured on colony-forming unit (CFU)-Hill medium for 3 days. Samples were divided into two groups: Group treated with allicin and control group. The treatment group was then divided into three subgroups which received 10, 50, and 100 mg/ml of doses and incubated for 48 h. EPC proliferation was assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell proliferation assay. Immunohistochemical method of CD34+ was performed for EPC identification. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and ANOVA. RESULTS: MTT assay showed a significant increase in EPC proliferation in the allicin group compared to the control group (0.2811 ± 0.008 vs. 0.194 ± 0.151, p < 0.05) and significant improvements were observed in each dose increment. CFU-Hill quantification shows the addition of EPC colony in high-dose allicin. Immunohistochemical method shows positive CD34+ expression. CONCLUSION: Allicin increases EPC proliferation dose-dependently from peripheral blood of SCAD patients

The effect of statin administration on IL-6 and IL-1b expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a hypertensive patient with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein stimulation

Aim The infection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus potentially causes a cytokine storm with elevated IL-6 and IL-1β levels. Statin therapy was common among COVID-19 patients due to their cardiovascular comorbidities. However, the effect of statins on COVID-19 infection is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of statin administration on IL-6 and IL-1β level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after SARS-CoV-2 spike protein stimulation. Methods The PBMCs were isolated from a hypertensive patient and stimulated by the SARS-CoV-2 subunit S1 spike protein. The PBMCs were then divided into four treatment groups and treated with simvastatin at various doses (10 µM, 25 µM, 50 µM, and control). IL-6 and IL-1β were measured from the supernatant using the ELISA method. Results The stimulation of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in PBMC cell culture statistically increased IL-6 and IL1β expression of 5.2 and 35.07 fold, respectively (p<0.05). The expressions of IL-6 and IL-1β were not statistically significant among three simvastatin doses and control. Conclusion Statin administration did not have significant effect on IL-6 and IL-1β levels in PBMCs after SARS-CoV-2 spike protein stimulation in this study, a further study is needed

The Legal Construction of Land Bank Regulations to Realize Fair Management of State Land Assets in Indonesia

The fact that the amount of land is fixed while the need for physical development is increasing as the increase in population, leads to inevitable social conflict. Social conflict is caused by the conflict of interest between the government and the people. The people tend to be reluctant to let go of the land they owned for the development of infrastructure in public interest with the pretext that the price set by the government is too low. As an agency for which its primary task is to reserve land for the government that is obtained before the need arises, a land bank appears to be able to be considered one of the alternatives for land procurement without conflict that can be applied in Indonesia as a solution in overcoming the land crisis for development. Through the normative legal research method, this research aims to analyzes the land bank’s concept in finding a legal construction of land bank regulations to realize fair management of state land assets in Indonesia. The result of the research shows that the legal construction of regulations for a land bank as an effort to realize fair management of state land assets can be achieved with regulations equal to a law. Values of fairness, legal certainty, and legal usefulness in the organization of a land bank must be included in the legal and normative basis in the content of the proposed law