Application of natural and modified exosomes a drug delivery system

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small molecules produced by most cells that may aid in cell communication. They can transfer functional biomolecules from one cell to the next, and even across the body. Exosomes are some of the most studied extracellular vesicle components. Many medications may be incorporated into exosomes and then disseminated to specific organs, tissues, and cells to provide tailored medication administration. According to a new study, exosomes, which are produced by cells, have a variety of functions and aims. Several studies have proven that a broad variety of cargo may be effectively transported to the precisely specified cells. For this reason, EVs are often used to carry medicinal substances as treatment. The researchers used exosomes that had been treated with additional chemicals to boost their transportability. Exosomes offer a number of advantages over other drug delivery technologies such as nanoparticle-based systems, liposomes, and even polymeric nanoparticles. Due to their similar nature to the body’s own cells, exosomes have no immunogenicity. Because of their nanoscale size, exosomes are the most promising strategy for medicine delivery to specific tissues and organs, and they have gotten the greatest attention in recent years. The ability of natural and manufactured exosomes to convey a variety of cargo to the target cell is investigated in this article

Gasotransmitters in the tumor microenvironment: Impacts on cancer chemotherapy (Review)

Nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide are three endogenous gasotransmitters that serve a role in regulating normal and pathological cellular activities. They can stimulate or inhibit cancer cell proliferation and invasion, as well as interfere with cancer cell responses to drug treatments. Understanding the molecular pathways governing the interactions between these gases and the tumor microenvironment can be utilized for the identification of a novel technique to disrupt cancer cell interactions and may contribute to the conception of effective and safe cancer therapy strategies. The present review discusses the effects of these gases in modulating the action of chemotherapies, as well as prospective pharmacological and therapeutic interfering approaches. A deeper knowledge of the mechanisms that underpin the cellular and pharmacological effects, as well as interactions, of each of the three gases could pave the way for therapeutic treatments and translational research

Comparative study of SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers between male and female COVID-19 patients living in Kurdistan region of Iraq

Recently, there is increasing evidence that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes men to experience more serious symptoms and have a higher mortality rate than women, but the association between sex and immune response stays unknown till now, and weather patient’s prognosis associated with sex or not is another vague in COVID-19. In this study, the SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody titer test was performed for 727 patients who were a positive RT-PCR result for COVID-19 and we determined the difference in immune response in both genders. Patients were divided into two groups based on their genders, which were 383 males and 344 females. Plasma was collected from the patients after 17 days of diagnosis with COVID-19, and the concentrations of specific antibodies (IgG and IgM) was measured by multiparametric immunoassay system (VIDAS). Results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in both IgM and IgG production in male participants compared to women. Moreover, despite there was a weak significant positive association between age and IgM in male patients, while there was no significant correlation between IgG and age for the same gender. On the other hand, a slight positive correlation between IgM and IgG with age was observed in female participants. Finally, it concluded that there was no sex biases in patients with COVID-19 in Erbil, Iraq. So, these findings are crucial to treat and care male and female’s patients infected with COVID-19 at hospitals

Lead acetate deteriorates the improvement effect of L-arginine and tetrahydrobiopterin on endothelin-1 receptors activity in rat aorta

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent vasoconstrictor hormone that has been identified as an important factor responsible for the development of cardiovascular dysfunctions. ET-1 exerts its vasoconstrictor activity through two pharmacologically distinct receptors, ETA and ETB that are found in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and the vasodilator activity through an ETB receptor located on endothelial cells. This study aimed to show the impact of 1µM L-arginine (LA), 100µM tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), and their combined effect on ET-1 activity in both lead-treated and lead-untreated rat aortic rings. This means, investigating how endothelial dysfunction reverses the role of nitric oxide precursor and cofactor. In this study, Rat aortic rings have been pre-incubated with BH4, LA and their combination. Subsequently, the aortic rings were preincubated with 200µM N-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and 0.5µM BQ-123. Then, the vascular response to cumulative doses of rat ET-1 was analyzed in each of the above-mentioned groups (LA, BH4, LA & BH4, L-NAME, BQ-123), in the presence and absence of lead acetate 1µM Pb (C2H3O2)2. ET-1 efficacy and potency were significantly decreased in the presence of LA, BH4, and LA and BH4 combination in the untreated group, while it significantly increased in the presence of lead. In the second trial of experiments ET-1 efficacy markedly decreased in BQ-123- incubated cells in both lead-treated and untreated aortic rings. In the presence of lead, the efficacy of ET-1 was raised with the use of L-NAME. In conclusion, LA and BH4 can be considered pharmacological agents to alter the potency of ET-1-induced vasoconstriction and concomitantly lower blood pressure

Does the cytomegalovirus infection cause kidney transplant rejection in Erbil city patients, Kurdistan region of Iraq?

Cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most significant infectious agent, belongs to the family of Herpesviridae. There is a high risk of severe viral reactivation among patients with kidney transplantation, particularly in the first three months after transplantation (where patients are at the peak for immune suppression), The infection has a high morbidity rate. Hence, this study was designed to assess the association of CMV infection with kidney transplantation and recognize the symptoms that are more related to kidney transplantation (KT) in the Erbil city, Kurdistan region of Iraq. The study enrolled 72 patients who received renal allograft from March 2018 to December 2019, and this population has been characterized as Middle Eastern descent and ethnic miscegenation. Data included age and gender of the recipient, type of donor, symptomatic and asymptomatic CMV patients. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) was used to detect and amplify the extracted virus DNA from blood samples. The CMV was found in 43 patients infected with CMV with graft rejection of about 37.21%. While, it was observed in low rate 13.79% in 20 other patients with graft rejection which had free from CMV. The graft rejection rates were significantly higher among the CMV positive group than controls (P= 0.029). In the light of the results of this study, it has been concluded that the CMV infection in patients after kidney transplantation surgery was deemed an important predisposing factor for acute allograft rejection. The study revealed that the screening of CMV among donor could decrease the possibility of kidney graft rejection among recipients

Gender-based differences of inflammatory, coagulation, and cardiac markers in COVID-19 patients in Erbil city

In December 2019, a new coronavirus disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) appeared in Wuhan city and quickly became a global health issue. COVID-19 causes various symptoms ranging from no symptoms to potentially deadly pneumonia. The study aimed to understand the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on immune response and the differences in inflammatory, coagulation, and cardiac biomarkers between male and female patients. Between June 1st and November 1st, 2020, 95 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals were studied at Zanko Hospital. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed using the real-time RT-PCR technique. All cases were analyzed for clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory data. On average, the patients were 50.64 (SEM= 2.359) years old, with 61 males and 34 females. The patients had elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), which was 43.96 (SEM= 6.154), while the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 50.50 (SEM= 5.498). The mean of D-Dimer, ferritin and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were 1.204 (SEM= 0.164), 534.7 (SEM= 61.48), and 366.6 (SEM= 36.81), respectively. There were no significant differences in the study's data mentioned above between male and female patients. In conclusion, inflammation is the most prominent symptom in COVID-19 patients, and males and females are nearly equally affected

Inflammation, immunity and potential target therapy of SARS-COV-2: a total scale analysis review

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a complex disease that causes illness ranging from mild to severe respiratory problems. It is caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) that is an enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus belongs to coronavirus CoV family. It has a fast-spreading potential worldwide, which leads to high mortality regardless of lows death rates. Now some vaccines or a specific drug are approved but not available for every country for disease prevention and/or treatment. Therefore, it is a high demand to identify the known drugs and test them as a possible therapeutic approach. In this critical situation, one or more of these drugs may represent the only option to treat or reduce the severity of the disease, until some specific drugs or vaccines will be developed and/or approved for everyone in this pandemic. In this updated review, the available repurpose immunotherapeutic treatment strategies are highlighted, elucidating the crosstalk between the immune system and SARS-CoV-2. Despite the reasonable data availability, the effectiveness and safety of these drugs against SARS-CoV-2 needs further studies and validations aiming for a better clinical outcome

Lack of association between the eNOS rs1800779 (A/G) polymorphism and the myocardial infarction incidence among the Iraqi Kurdish population

Objectives The genetic polymorphisms of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene are strongly associated with several cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in various populations. The current study aimed to investigate the association of the eNOS rs1800779 (A/G) polymorphism with the progress of myocardial infarction (MI). Methods Eighty-five healthy subjects and 80 patients with MI admitted to the Erbil Cardiac Centre in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were enrolled in the study. All participants were Kurdish from the same ethnic group. The amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) was used to determine the rs1800779 (A/G) polymorphism of eNOS, and the nitric oxide (NO) serum level was detected by spectrophotometer. Results The genotypic frequencies of the eNOS rs1800779 AA (wild type), AG, and GG were 58.75%, 33.75%, and 7.50%, respectively, in the MI patients, and 49.41%, 43.53%, and 7.06%, respectively, for the control group. The frequencies of the A and the G alleles were 75.6% and 24.4%, respectively, in the MI group, and 71.2% and 28.8%, respectively, in the control subjects. The results revealed a lack of association of the rs1800779 genotype distribution with the level of NO serum and increased risk of MI. Conclusion The study concluded that there is a lack of association between the genotypes and alleles of the rs1800779 eNOS and susceptibility to MI in the studied population