Evaluation of Lethal Effect of Pergularia Tomentosa and Priploca aphylla on Trichomonas Vaginalis In Vitro

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis protozoan is one of the causes of human vaginitis. The selective medicine for treatment is metronidazole. However, it has some adverse outcomes including increasing drug resistance and having numerous side effects. Pergularia tomentosa is a desert plant with some antifungal and anti-Plasmodium properties. Interestingly, the anti-dermatophytic effect of Priploca aphylla is more powerful than conventional antifungal drugs such as griseofulvin. In this study, we aimed to use its ingredients to introduce a new medicine for the treatment of Trichomonas vaginalis infections. Materials and Methods: Pergularia tomentosa and Periploca aphylla were collected, cleaned and dried. Then, plants main ingredients were extracted by using water, methanol, dichloromethane and n-hexane solvents. Then, herbal extracts with concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800 µg/ml were prepared by adding normal saline and glycerin. Trichomonas vaginalis trophozoite with the concentration of 106 /100 µl was mixed with 100 ml of an herbal extract of Pergularia tomentosa and Priploca aphylla. The mixture incubated for 24 hours at 37°C. The mortality rate of the protozoa was measured by using the MTT test, and the effect of extracts was evaluated on Vero cells. The phytochemical evaluation was performed using the HPTLC technique to determine the composition of the extract. All tests were repeated three times and SPSS software, version 16 was used for data analysis. Results: Anti-Trichomonas aqueous, methanol, dichloromethane and n-hexane extracts of Pergularia tomentosa in 800µg/ml concentration was % 64, % 72.4, %95.2 and % 95.4 respectively. Lethal effect on Trichomonas for Priploca aphylla with the same concentration was 70.8%, 67%, 93.4% and 93.2% respectively. Cytotoxic effect of methanol extracts of Pergularia tomentosa and Priploca aphylla at 800µg/ml concentration against Vero cells was %50.3 and %63 respectively. Phytochemical screening of herbal extracts showed that both have the same ingredients including alkaloid, flavonoid, terpenoid, saponin, sterol, phenol, iridoid, tannin, phenylpropanoid, and anthocyanins. Conclusion: The results showed that for Pergularia tomentosa and Priploca aphylla, the dichloromethane and n-hexane extracts were more effective against Trichomonas vaginalis than methanolic and water extracts in all concentrations. For the future research, identification of the mechanism of anti-Trichomonas vaginalis effect of these herbal ingredients is necessary

High sensitivity C-reactive protein is associated with the metabolic syndrome independent to viral and bacterial pathogen burden

To investigate the influences of bacterial or viral pathogen burden in the relationship of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and the metabolic syndrome in a population-based study. METHODS: Data from 1754 men and women aged >or=25 years, from the Persian Gulf Healthy Heart Study were analyzed. The definition of the metabolic syndrome according to the Adult Treatment Panel III was used. Sera were analyzed for IgG antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae, Herpes simplex virus type 1, Helicobacter pylori and cytomegalovirus using ELISA. Measurement of CRP by a high-sensitivity CRP assay was done. RESULTS: The subjects with the metabolic syndrome had a higher geometric mean of CRP levels than the normal persons (p<0.0001). A linear relationship between an increase in the number of metabolic syndrome components and CRP concentrations was observed (p for trend<0.0001). In multiple logistic regression models, hs-CRP showed significant associations with the metabolic syndrome after controlling for cardiovascular risk factors and infectious burden divided into 2, 3 and 4 pathogens [OR=2.06, CI (1.32-3.21), p=0.001; OR=1.75, CI (1.26-2.42), p=0. 001; OR=2.12, CI (1.46-3.08), p<0.0001; respectively]

Human germline heterozygous gain-of-function STAT6 variants cause severe allergic disease

STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6) is a transcription factor that plays a central role in the pathophysiology of allergic inflammation. We have identified 16 patients from 10 families spanning three continents with a profound phenotype of early-life onset allergic immune dysregulation, widespread treatment-resistant atopic dermatitis, hypereosinophilia with esosinophilic gastrointestinal disease, asthma, elevated serum IgE, IgE-mediated food allergies, and anaphylaxis. The cases were either sporadic (seven kindreds) or followed an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern (three kindreds). All patients carried monoallelic rare variants in STAT6 and functional studies established their gain-of-function (GOF) phenotype with sustained STAT6 phosphorylation, increased STAT6 target gene expression, and TH2 skewing. Precision treatment with the anti-IL-4Rα antibody, dupilumab, was highly effective improving both clinical manifestations and immunological biomarkers. This study identifies heterozygous GOF variants in STAT6 as a novel autosomal dominant allergic disorder. We anticipate that our discovery of multiple kindreds with germline STAT6 GOF variants will facilitate the recognition of more affected individuals and the full definition of this new primary atopic disorder

Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis in Prima-ry School Children of Bushehr, Iran in 2011

Background: Enterobius vermicularis is a human parasitic nematode and lives in the cecum and the distal parts of the digestive system. It is estimated that about one billion people are infected with this parasite worldwide, and children are more commonly infected than other age groups. This study was conducted to determine the&nbsp;prevalence of E.vermicularis and the relevant factors among primary school children in Bushehr. Materials & Methods: After coordination with the ministry of education, 12 schools were randomly&nbsp;selected from six districts in two stages, and 203 male and female students at different educational levels were examined using Garaham method. First, parents were trained how to sample properly and were given the necessary equipment. Then samples were collected and examined microscopically. Data were analyzed in SPSS 18.0 software using appropriate statistical tests. Results: Of the participants, 13.3% of cases (7.9% male and 5.4% female) were infected with&nbsp;E.vermicularis. The highest prevalence was observed in the fifth-grade students. There was no significant relationship between some symptoms such as drooling, sucking fingers and nail-biting and their gender, but it was significant for tooth grinding during sleep. The infection rate increased with the increasing family size. Conclusion: Given the prevalence of E.vermicularis among school children was relatively considerable in this study and that it causes sleep, growth and learning disorders in children, it is suggested that training courses be held for parents and preventive measures be taken to improve health in the region

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Bushehrian high-school girls at aged 14-17 years old

Background: The prevalence of obesity in recent decades gets more and is considered as common nutritional health problem in developing and developed countries. Obesity is known as risk factor for a lot of chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, CVA, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Childhood and adolescent obesity is important indicator and determinant of adulthood obesity. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of obesity and overweight in high school girls in Bushehr city. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 high school girls (14-17 years old) by using layer sampling method. Data collection included interview with the girls about demographic, social, economic, medical history, physical activity and anthropometric measurements (weight, height) for BMI calculation based on CDC Standard BMI. Percentile under 5 percent considered as underweight, BMI percentile between the 85-95 considered as overweight and percentile above 95 was considered obese. Results: The prevalence of obesity, overweight and underweight in this study were 7.1, 14.5 and 2.9 percent respectively. Obesity and overweight were significantly correlated with educationTjobs of parents and physical activity of girls. In the obese girls 58.3 had activity rate less than 30 minutes daily, 25 percent of samples had TV watching more than 4 hours, 50 percent consumed snacks twice per day and 38.9 percent reported obesity in first-degree relatives respectively. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the prevalence of obesity and overweight in high school girls were less than similar global studies but more than domestically research studies. Giving information to high school girls and their families, especially mothers about risk factors of obesity, to improve physical activity and nutritional behaviors is recommended

Fauna and Monthly Activity of Sand flies in The Focus of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Bushehr District (2007-2008)

Background: Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is one of the endemic diseases in Bushehr Province, which its prevalence has increased in some districts, as well as Bushehr district recently. This is essential to access minute information about epidemiology of diseases (Parasite, Vector, Reservior), in order to achieve effective control of disease. One of the basic information in respect of controlling measures, is the knowledge and information of fauna and monthly activities of vectors which is essential, because ignoring of different biological aspects of vectors, could cause failure to control strategies. Methods: This is a descriptive- cross sectional study, carried out in four villages of Bushehr district (2007-2008) which were affected by cutaneous Leishmaniasis. Sand flies were collected by standard sticky traps, and identified by electric microscope, using reliable identification keys. Results: Sixteen species. (six Phelebotomus and ten Sergentomyia) were identified from a total of 15952 sand flies caught for this study, out of which eight species are reported for the first time in Bushehr district, namely: Phelobotomus mongolensis, P.caucasicus, P.ansari, Sergentomyia tiberiadis, S.clydei, S.antenata, S.iranica, S.palestiensis. Monthly activity of sand flies starts in mid March and ends by the end of December. The peack of sand flies monthly activities is in June, while the peack activity of P.papatasi is in the end of July. Conclusion: Considering nine months activity period of sand flies in Bushehr district, and their peack of activities, specially for P.paptasi, it is suggested that the controlling measures to be administrated in July

Designing a T-cell epitope-based vaccine using in silico approaches against the Sal k 1 allergen of Salsola kali plant

Abstract Allergens originated from Salsola kali (Russian thistle) pollen grains are one of the most important sources of aeroallergens causing pollinosis in desert and semi-desert regions. T-cell epitope-based vaccines (TEV) are more effective among different therapeutic approaches developed to alleviate allergic diseases. The physicochemical properties, and B as well as T cell epitopes of Sal k 1 (a major allergen of S. kali) were predicted using immunoinformatic tools. A TEV was constructed using the linkers EAAAK, GPGPG and the most suitable CD4+ T cell epitopes. RS04 adjuvant was added as a TLR4 agonist to the amino (N) and carboxyl (C) terminus of the TEV protein. The secondary and tertiary structures, solubility, allergenicity, toxicity, stability, physicochemical properties, docking with immune receptors, BLASTp against the human and microbiota proteomes, and in silico cloning of the designed TEV were assessed using immunoinformatic analyses. Two CD4+ T cell epitopes of Sal k1 that had high affinity with different alleles of MHC-II were selected and used in the TEV. The molecular docking of the TEV with HLADRB1, and TLR4 showed TEV strong interactions and stable binding pose to these receptors. Moreover, the codon optimized TEV sequence was cloned between NcoI and XhoI restriction sites of pET-28a(+) expression plasmid. The designed TEV can be used as a promising candidate in allergen-specific immunotherapy against S. kali. Nonetheless, effectiveness of this vaccine should be validated through immunological bioassays

Occurrence of Xiphinema santos Lamberti, Lemos, Agostinelli & D’Addabo 1993 (Nematoda: Longidoridae), a X. americanum-group member in Iran

A population of Xiphinema americanum-group was recovered in association with stone fruit trees in Isfahan province, center of Iran. A reverse taxonomic approach based upon the large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA D2-D3) and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI mtDNA) gene sequences in integration with morphological studies, revealed that the recovered population belongs to Xiphinema santos. The Iranian population was mainly characterized by 1240–1868 μm long females with 60–84 μm long odontostyle, a = 37.2–51.9 and c = 42.8–54.6. It is further characterized by a lip region having a depression in junction with the body, presence of visible endosymbiont bacteria in ovaries under light microscope, dorsally convex and ventrally slightly concave conical tail with a blunt tip and three juvenile developmental stages. This population was similar to the type population in its morphology; however overlapped and extended morphometric data ranges, as well as differences in some indexes were observed. Compared to a Spanish population of this species, the Iranian population had a close morphology, similar morphometric data ranges and identical LSU and COI sequences. In LSU phylogeny, the relationship between the present and some previously sequenced isolates of the species and some isolates of three species X. georgianum, X. laevistriatum and X. citricolum was not resolved. In COI phylogeny, the clade of the Iranian and Spanish populations appeared as an independent lineage inside an unsupported clade including several species. The comparison with other populations of the species was reported and discussed. A second species, X. primum, that is native to Iran, was recovered from a new locality and characterized molecularly.The financial support of Tarbiat Modares University is appreciated. The authors acknowledge the critically reading of the MS by Dr. Mohammad Reza Atighi. The presented findings in this paper are part of the results of the project number 0-16-16-94176 by the first author entitled “Determination of infestation of pomegranate orchards and nurseries to plant parasitic nematodes with an emphasis on root knot nematodes”