The correlation between the numerical status of Th22 cells and serum level of IL-22 with severity of ulcerative colitis

Abstract Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory bowel disease, yet its etiology as well as pathogenesis remain poorly understood. There is increasing evidence that aberrant expression of CD4+T lymphocytes plays an essential role in the progression of different pathologies such as UC. This study aimed to evaluate the circulatory frequency of T-helper 22 (Th22), a subset of CD4+ T cells, and serum level of its signature cytokine, IL-22, in patients with UC. Blood samples from 30 patients with UC and 30 controls (n=30) were tested for IL-22 level and circulatory Th22-cell count by ELISA and Flow cytometric analysis, respectively. Our results revealed higher serum level of IL-22 as well as circulatory frequency of Th22 cells in patients with UC compared to those in healthy controls. Notably, effective factors on severity of the disease were age, Th22, IL-22, ESR and CRP. We conclude that elevated circulating Th22 cells and their signature cytokine, IL-22, may be implicated in the pathogenesis of UC. These findings may provide preliminary experimental clues for the development of new therapies for UC and its severity judgment. Keywords: Interleukin-22, Th22 cells, Ulcerative coliti

The correlation between the numerical status of Th22 cells and serum level of IL-22 with severity of ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory bowel disease, yet its etiology as well as pathogenesis remains poorly understood. There is increasing evidence that aberrant expression of CD4+T lymphocytes plays an essential role in the progression of different pathologies such as UC. This study aimed to evaluate the circulatory frequency of T-helper 22 (Th22), a subset of CD4+ T cells, and serum level of its signature cytokine, IL-22, in patients with UC. Blood samples from 30 patients with UC and 30 controls (n=30) were tested for IL-22 level and circulatory Th22-cell count by ELISA and Flow cytometric analysis, respectively. Our results revealed higher serum level of IL-22 as well as circulatory frequency of Th22 cells in patients with UC compared to those in healthy controls. Notably, effective factors on severity of the disease were age, Th22, IL-22, ESR and CRP. We conclude that elevated circulating Th22 cells and their signature cytokine, IL-22, may be implicated in the pathogenesis of UC. These findings may provide preliminary experimental clues for the development of new therapies for UC and its severity judgment. © February 2018, Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. All rights reserved

Serum parameters predict the severity of ultrasonographic findings in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Background: Controversy exists about the correlation between liver ultrasonography and serum parameters for evaluating the severity of liver involvement in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study was designed to determine the association between liver ultrasonography staging in NAFLD and serum parameters correlated with disease severity in previous studies; and set optimal cutoff points for those serum parameters correlated with NAFLD staging at ultrasonography, in order to differentiate ultrasonographic groups (USGs). Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated outpatients with evidence of NAFLD in ultrasonography referred to a general hospital. Those with positive viral markers, abnormal serum ceruloplasmin or gamma-globulin concentrations were excluded. A radiologist performed the ultrasonography staging and stratified the patients into mild, moderate, and severe groups. Fasting serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, triglyceride (TG), high and low density lipoprotein (HDL, LDL), and cholesterol were checked. Results: Two hundred and forty-five patients with a mean age (±standard deviation) of 41.63(±11.46) years were included. There were no significant differences when mean laboratory concentrations were compared between moderate and severe USGs. Therefore, these groups were combined to create revised USGs ("mild" versus "moderate or severe"). There were associations between the revised USGs, and ALT, TG, HDL levels, and diabetes mellitus odds ratios=2.81 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.37-5.76), 2.48 (95% CI: 1.29-4.78), 0.36 (95% CI: 0.18-0.74), and 5.65 (95% CI: 2.86-11.16) respectively; all P values <0.01. A cut-off value of 32.5 mg/dL for ALT gave a sensitivity of 70% and a specificity of 62%, for differentiating between the revised USGs. Conclusions: Serum ALT, TG, and HDL concentrations seem to be associated with the staging by liver ultrasonography in NAFLD. They might be used to predict the staging of liver ultrasonography in these patients. © 2012, Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int

A report of unusual diffuse nodular lesions in intestines of lambs with coccidiosis

Ovine and caprine coccidiosis has always been regarded as one of the important diseases with high morbidity and economic losses such as weight loss, death and costs of treatment and control. In a sheep farm, 4 sick newborn lambs (out of 10 lambs) with the age of 1 to 2 months died with clinical signs of weight loss, loss of appetite, yellowish diarrhea, fever, ruffled wool, contamination of tail and perineal area to diarrheic stool and abdominal pain at the touch of abdomen. At necropsy on one lamb, multiple and diffuse nodular hyperplastic lesions yellowish-white in color were seen in the mucosal surface of jejunum. Microscopically, in addition to hyperplasia of the small intestinal villi, various developmental stages of Eimeria were observed. Based on morphological characteristics and presence of numerous polyp like formations in small intestine, the involved protozoan species was determined as Eimeria bakuensis. The relatively high case fatality rate in this flock could be related to sever nodular lesions in the small intestines, age and immune status of the affected animals

Proton pump inhibitors use and change in bone mineral density

Objective: Limited data are available reporting the effect of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use on changes in bone mineral density (BMD). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between PPI use and BMD. Methods: The current cross-sectional study included 80 patients (31 male and 49 female) aged 20�45 years old without history of hip fracture with a follow-up of at least 2 years. The study was carried out in 40 daily PPI users and 40 PPI non-users. Femur and posterior-anterior spine BMD were quantified by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in all participants. The relationship between use of PPI and BMD was tested by multivariate linear regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, BMI and serum vitamin D levels. Results: Our study demonstrated that mean femoral T-scores were significant between PPI and non-user groups (�0.44 ± 1.11 vs. +0.19 ± 0.95, P = 0.007). In addition, the frequency of femoral osteoporosis and osteopenia in the exposed group was significantly more in the control group (P = 0.04). Mean femoral Z-scores, lumbar spine T-score and lumbar spine Z-score were not statistically different between PPI and non-user groups. The linear regression analysis revealed that there was no association between PPI and non-users, and lumbar spine T-score. Conclusion: Overall, the results of this study showed that PPI use in subjects without risk factors of osteoporosis determined by the femoral T-score compared with the control group was associated with increased risk of developing osteoporosis and osteopenia in the femur bones. © 2016 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Lt

Effects of encapsulated rosemary extract on oxidative and microbiological stability of beef meat during refrigerated storage

In this study, the effect of rosemary extract in two free and encapsulated forms to increase the shelf life of beef meat during a 28-day refrigerated storage period was investigated. For this purpose, rosemary was extracted using different extraction methods including ultrasound, solvent, and supercritical fluid extraction. The amount of phenolic compounds, antioxidant properties (free radical scavenging capacity of DPPH radical, ferric reducing antioxidant power), and antimicrobial activity of rosemary extract against pathogenic bacteria were evaluated. According to the results, the highest amount of phenolic compounds, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity was observed in rosemary extracted by ultrasound method that used for next study (p &lt; .05). In order to encapsulation of the rosemary extract, basil seed gum and soybean protein isolate separately and in combination form (1:1 w:w ratio) were used as carriers. Based on the particle size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency tests, the best carriers were soybean protein isolate that used as a carrier for encapsulation. Then, to investigate the effect of rosemary extract to increase the shelf life of beef meat, 5 treatments including control, rosemary extract with concentrations of 800 ppm and 1,600 ppm, and nano-capsulation form of it with 800 ppm and 1,600 ppm concentrations were selected and they were periodically evaluated for chemical and microbial analysis (peroxide value, Thiobarbituric acid, color index, pH, and total viable count). The results showed that rosemary extract has an antimicrobial and antioxidant properties which could increasingly delay microbial spoilage and lipid oxidation of beef meat fillets, nano-capsulation form of rosemary could increase these qualities. The best results were observed in nano-capsulation of rosemary extract with 1,600 ppm (p &lt; .05) as well as increased the shelf life of fillets till 21st day. Therefore, it seems that encapsulated rosemary extract could be used as a natural preservative in beef meat and meat products

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori vacA, cagA, cagE, iceA, babA2, and oipA genotypes in patients with upper gastrointestinal diseases

Background and Objectives: Helicobacter pylori has been strongly associated with peptic ulcer diseases, chronic gastritis, ulcers, and reported as a risk factor for gastric cancer, too. The vaculating cytotoxin (vacA), the cytotoxin associated genes (cagA), the induced by contact with epithelium factor antigen (iceA gene), blood adhesion binding antigen (babA2), and outer membrane protein oipA have been described as different virulence factors of H. pylori. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the vacA, cagA, cagE, iceA, babA2 and oipA genotypes of H. pylori isolates from patients with upper gasterointestinal problem or dyspepsia. Material and Methods: H. pylori isolated from endoscopic biopsies obtained from 222 studied patients. PCR was done only on cultured positive samples. The vacA alleles, cagA, cagE, iceA, babA2 and oipA genotypes were determined by PCR. Results: The isolation rate of H. pylori strains from culture of gastric biopsies was 16.7. The vacA alleles s1, s2, m1 and m2 were detected in 20 (54.1), 14 (37.8), 9 (24.3) and 23 (62.2) isolates, respectively. VacA s1c genotype was detected in 70.3 of isolates. s1m2 was the most frequent vacA allelic combination in the examined H. pylori strains. The cagA gene was detected in 62.2, cagE in 40.5, iceA1 in 48.6, iceA2 in 16.2, oipA in 81.1 (95 CI: 0.0902-0.1798) and babA2 in 94.6 (95 CI: 0.113- 0.207). A significant correlation was observed between vacAs1 and cagA genotypes (P < 0.008), vacAs1/cagE (P = 0.001), vacAs2/cagA (P < 0.047), and vacAs2/cagE (P = 0.016) with Non-ulcer dyspepsia; but there were not observed any correlation between other virulence markers. Conclusion: No significant correlation was found between the existence of vacA, cagA, cagE, iceA, babA2, and oipA genes with peptic ulcer diseases and non-ulcer dyspepsia groups of studied patients

The helicobacter pylori resistance rate to clarithromycin in Iran

Background: Clarithromycin is the most commonly suggested antibiotic in Helicobacter pylori eradication regimens. Increasing antibiotic resistance rate to clarithromycin is the main reason for therapeutic failure. The resistance is associated with mutations in the 23S rRNA gene. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the clarithromycin resistance rate of isolated H. pylori strains from referral patients in Kashan, Iran. Methods: In total 95 H. pylori strains isolated from gastric mucosa of 246 patients with different clinical signs underwent gastroscopy in Kashan, Iran in 2013. The Epsilometer test was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of clarithromycin (CLR) in isolated H. pylori strains. Occurrence of mutation in 23S rRNA gene of clarithromycin-resistant strains was investigated with polymerase chain reaction-sequencing method. Results: Antibiotic susceptibility pattern showed that 32 strains (33.7) were resistant to clarithromycin (MICs �1μg/ml), 33.7 were intermediate resistant, while 31 of H. pylori strains (32.6) were susceptible. The 23S rRNA gene mutations at positions A2143G and A2142G were detected in H. pylori clarithromycin-resistant strains. Conclusion: The resistance rate to clarithromycin in Iran is high. H. pylori clarithromycin-resistant strains were not associated with sex, age, and disease. The A2143G mutation in clarithromycin-resistant H. pylori strains was the predominant finding. © Copyright 2015, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2015