The Effect of Different Stabilizers on Stability of Horseradish Peroxidase- Bovine Serum Albumin-Aflatoxin B1, a Conjugated Tracer for Detection of Aflatoxin B1 in Immunoassay-Based Methods

Abstract Aflatoxins are a group of fungal toxic metabolites, which are contaminated certain food commodities. ELISA is one of the sensitive methods for detection of aflatoxins. Preparation and stabilizing of a proper conjugated tracer for detection of aflatoxins is probably the main step for designing an ELISA method. In current study, different stabilizers were applied to stabilize a newly prepared conjugated molecule, Horseradish peroxidase-Bovine serum albumin-Aflatoxin B1 (HRP-BSA-AFB1). Stabilizing effects of six different stabilizers were compared during 10 months verification at room temperature and 6 weeks verification at 37°C. Based on the results, it was concluded that trehalose-containing stabilizers especially those contain casein in their compositions show the best stabilizing effects on HRP-BSA-AFB1 conjugated tracer

Drugs Side Effects in Pregnant Women Infected with HIV Referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital, Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center Tehran, Iran 2009 – 2013

Objective: To have enough information about the prevalence of the ARV side effects in pregnant women infected with HIV and their infants and also evaluate drug efficacy in decreasing HIV infection in their children.Method: This descriptive study was based on information of 40 pregnant women infected with HIV files at voluntary and counseling center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran during 2009 -2013. In this study, we evaluated epidemiologic, demographic, clinical, laboratory data and drugs side effects,.Results: The most commonly used drug group was AZT/3TC/EFV; about 75.5% of patients received mother to child prevention and 27.5% received ARV Antiretroviral therapy treatment. 5% anemia, 2.5% rash and 2.5% pre rupture of membranes were reported and no preeclampsia or gestational diabetes were reported in patients files. Only one abortion (2.5%) was occurred in late first trimester. Except rash, other adverse effects were solely reported in ARV treatment group. All neonates had normal Apgar score. Fetal defects were not reported at birth.Conclusion: In this evaluation, safety of ARV in pregnancy period and at birth was observed especially in the group received prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). So we advise ARV treatment or PMTCT in pregnancy period

Genotypic Prediction of Co-receptor Tropism of HIV-1 Subtypes A and C

Antiretroviral treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type-1 (HIV-1) infections with CCR5-antagonists requires the co-receptor usage prediction of viral strains. Currently available tools are mostly designed based on subtype B strains and thus are in general not applicable to non-B subtypes. However, HIV-1 infections caused by subtype B only account for approximately 11% of infections worldwide. We evaluated the performance of several sequence-based algorithms for co-receptor usage prediction employed on subtype A V3 sequences including circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) and subtype C strains. We further analysed sequence profiles of gp120 regions of subtype A, B and C to explore functional relationships to entry phenotypes. Our analyses clearly demonstrate that state-of- the-art algorithms are not useful for predicting co-receptor tropism of subtype A and its CRFs. Sequence profile analysis of gp120 revealed molecular variability in subtype A viruses. Especially, the V2 loop region could be associated with co-receptor tropism, which might indicate a unique pattern that determines co-receptor tropism in subtype A strains compared to subtype B and C strains. Thus, our study demonstrates that there is a need for the development of novel algorithms facilitating tropism prediction of HIV-1 subtype A to improve effective antiretroviral treatment in patients

Prevalence of HLA-B*57:01 allele in HIV-infected patients in a university hospital in Tehran

Background: Abacavir is an anti-retroviral medication used to treat HIV infected/AIDS patients and its efficacy has been proven in randomized clinical trials. The most significant adverse reaction associated with abacavir is the acute hypersensitivity phenomenon which manifests in many forms and in severe cases could result in death. Hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir has been closely linked to the presence of HLA-B*57:01 allele. Avoidance of abacavir initiation in allele-positive patients is the most effective strategy in preventing possible severe hypersensitivity reactions. Previous epidemiologic studies have made great strides toward delineating HLA-B*57:01 allele frequency in different regions of the World and the available results indicate significant discrepancy between geographical regions. Despite these efforts, no study to date has determined the allele frequency among Iranian HIV-positive patients. The aim of the present study was to determine the proportion of allele-positive patients among a group of Iranian HIV-infected patients. Methods: Between September 2012 and February 2013, 122 HIV-positive patients were selected among patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital’s Consultation cen-ter for high risk behaviors using the convenience sampling method. Sampling scheme was designed in a manner to include equal number of infected patients with and without clinical Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Patient data was collected using available records and a blood sample for DNA analysis was also obtained. Presence of HLA-B*57:01 allele was determined using the Polymerase Chain Reaction- Sequence Specific Method (PCR-SSP). Results: Seventy three patients (59.8%) were male. Co-infection with hepatitis B and C was observed in 1.7% and 40.7% of the patients, respectively. History of addiction and anti-retroviral therapy was positive in 50.0% and 60.7% of the patients, respectively. Overall, three patients were allele-positive which corresponds to a frequency of 2.46% (95% CI: 0.005-7.30). No association between presence of allele and investigated vari-ables were identified. Conclusion: Frequency of HLA-B*57:01 allele among a group of Iranian HIV-infected patients is estimated to be 2.5%. This rate is comparable to those reported in other Middle-Eastern countries, yet is relatively lower than reports generated from South-Eastern Asia, Europe, and the United States. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to corroborate these findings

Assessment of the Effects of a Novel Herbal Immunomodulator Drug (IMOD) on Cytokine Profiles in Experimental Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis: a Preliminary Survey

Background: Cytokines play a fundamental role in the regulation of immune responses in remission and/or relapsing of leishmaniasis. Therefore, immunotherapy for the treatment of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) has represented a principle approach in control of the infection. The present research aimed to evaluating the immunotherapeutic potential of a novel herbal immunomodulator drug (IMOD) on CVL. Methods: Twelve mongrel dogs were intravenously infected with Iranian strain of L. infantum and randomly divided into three groups; 1: negative control (non-infected), 2: immunotherapy with IMOD and 3: positive control (non-treated). Cell proliferation and Th1-/Th2-type cytokines were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) by cell proliferation kit I (MTT) and enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) assays, respectively. Results : At the 60 days follow-up assessment, no adverse effects were observed in treated interventional group. Cellular proliferation assay indicated that PBMCs of IMOD group had higher stimulation index (SI) than positive control group (p <0.05). Enhancement of CD4+ T cells such as IL-2, IL-4 & IL-10 were detected in negative control group due to in vitro IMOD stimulation 30 days post-treatment. In accordance to decreasing trends of Th1 & Th2 cytokines in positive control group, the mean number of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 spot forming cells (SFCs) down regulated for IMOD group during the study. Conclusion: These data indicate that IMOD had immunomodulatory potential but is not sufficient for total parasitic cure due to balance of Th1/Th2 cytokines. This is a preliminary study and we propose to undertake a series of experiments to evaluate the CVL due to in vitro modulatory effects of IMOD