Assessment of the effects of levosimendan and thymoquinone on lung injury after myocardial ischemia reperfusion in rats

Arslan, Mustafa/0000-0003-4882-5063WOS: 000433205000001PubMed: 29861626Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of levosimendan and thymoquinone (TQ) on lung injury after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Materials and methods: Twenty-four Wistar albino rats were included in the study. The animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental groups. In Group C (control group), left anterior descending artery was not occluded or reperfused. Myocardial I/R was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending artery for 30 min, followed by 2 h of reperfusion in the I/R, I/R-levosimendan (24 mu g/kg) (IRL) group, and I/R-thymoquinone (0.2 mL/kg) (IRTQ) group. Tissue samples taken from the lungs of rats were histochemically stained with H&E and immunohistochemically stained with p53, Bcl 2, Bax, and caspase 3 primer antibodies. Results: Increased expression of p53 and Bax was observed (4+), especially in the I/R group. In IRTQ and IRL groups, expression was also observed at various locations (2+, 3+). H&E staining revealed that that the lungs were severely damaged and the walls of the alveoli were too thick, the number of areas examined was increased during the evaluation. Caspase 3 expression was observed to be at an (1+, 2+) intensity that was usually weak and diffuse in multiple areas. Bcl 2 was not found to be expressed in any of the tissues. H&E staining revealed that that the lungs were severely damaged in the I/R group, with the walls of the channels and alveoli thickened and edematous, and also an intense inflammatory cell migration was observed. Immunohistochemical staining was more prominent in inflammatory areas and structures around the terminal bronchioles. Conclusion: The findings in our study have shown that administration of levosimendan and TQ during I/R increases expression of caspase 3, p53, and Bax in lung tissue and has a protective effect on lung as distant organ. We suggest that findings of this study be elucidated with further large-scale clinical studies

Assessment of the Effects of Levosimendan and Nigella Sativa on Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Rats

WOS: 000437529600014Objective: Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a chain of events put in place by tissue ischemia. Reperfusion following the damage of cell causes an active inflammatory response. In our research we tried to evaluate the protective effect of Levosimendan and Nigella Sativa on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Methods: We included twenty-four Wistar albino rats in our research. The rats were randomly divided into four experimental groups. The coronary arteries of rats in Group C (control group) were not occluded or reperfused. Left anterior descending coronary artery was ligated for 30 min to perform myocardial IR and then reperfused for 2 h in the IR (IR), IR-Levosimendan (24 mu g/kg) (IRL) and IR-Nigella Sativa (0.2 mL/kg) (IRNS) group. Results: Inflammation findings were significantly higher in the IR group compared with the C, IR-NS, and IR-L groups (p=0.001, p=0.019, p=0.019, respectively). Compared with the C, IR-NS, and IR-L groups, the microscopic myocardial disorganization was significantly higher among the IR group (p<0.0001, p=0.007, p=0.001, respectively). The light microscopic myocardial tissue interstitial fibrosis levels were significantly higher in the IR group than in the C, IR-NS, and IR-L groups (p<0.0001, p=0.044, p=0.003, respectively). Conclusion: Levosimendan and NS administration at the beginning of myocardial ischemia can provide varying degrees of protection against negative effects of variations in light microscopic inflammation findings, myocardial disorganization degrees and myocardial tissue interstitial fibrosis levels

Assessment of the effects of levosimendan and thymoquinone on lung injury after myocardial ischemia reperfusion in rats

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of levosimendan and thymoquinone (TQ) on lung injury after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Materials and methods: Twenty-four Wistar albino rats were included in the study. The animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental groups. In Group C (control group), left anterior descending artery was not occluded or reperfused. Myocardial I/R was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending artery for 30 min, followed by 2 h of reperfusion in the I/R, I/R-levosimendan (24 mu g/kg) (IRL) group, and I/R-thymoquinone (0.2 mL/kg) (IRTQ) group. Tissue samples taken from the lungs of rats were histochemically stained with H\&E and immunohistochemically stained with p53, Bcl 2, Bax, and caspase 3 primer antibodies. Results: Increased expression of p53 and Bax was observed (4+), especially in the I/R group. In IRTQ and IRL groups, expression was also observed at various locations (2+, 3+). H\&E staining revealed that that the lungs were severely damaged and the walls of the alveoli were too thick, the number of areas examined was increased during the evaluation. Caspase 3 expression was observed to be at an (1+, 2+) intensity that was usually weak and diffuse in multiple areas. Bcl 2 was not found to be expressed in any of the tissues. H\&E staining revealed that that the lungs were severely damaged in the I/R group, with the walls of the channels and alveoli thickened and edematous, and also an intense inflammatory cell migration was observed. Immunohistochemical staining was more prominent in inflammatory areas and structures around the terminal bronchioles. Conclusion: The findings in our study have shown that administration of levosimendan and TQ during I/R increases expression of caspase 3, p53, and Bax in lung tissue and has a protective effect on lung as distant organ. We suggest that findings of this study be elucidated with further large-scale clinical studies

Process development for an effective COVID-19 vaccine candidate harboring recombinant SARS-CoV-2 delta plus receptor binding domain produced by Pichia pastoris

Abstract Recombinant protein-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are needed to fill the vaccine equity gap. Because protein-subunit based vaccines are easier and cheaper to produce and do not require special storage/transportation conditions, they are suitable for low-/middle-income countries. Here, we report our vaccine development studies with the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Plus strain (RBD-DP) which caused increased hospitalizations compared to other variants. First, we expressed RBD-DP in the Pichia pastoris yeast system and upscaled it to a 5-L fermenter for production. After three-step purification, we obtained RBD-DP with > 95% purity from a protein yield of > 1 g/L of supernatant. Several biophysical and biochemical characterizations were performed to confirm its identity, stability, and functionality. Then, it was formulated in different contents with Alum and CpG for mice immunization. After three doses of immunization, IgG titers from sera reached to > 106 and most importantly it showed high T-cell responses which are required for an effective vaccine to prevent severe COVID-19 disease. A live neutralization test was performed with both the Wuhan strain (B.1.1.7) and Delta strain (B.1.617.2) and it showed high neutralization antibody content for both strains. A challenge study with SARS-CoV-2 infected K18-hACE2 transgenic mice showed good immunoprotective activity with no viruses in the lungs and no lung inflammation for all immunized mice