19 research outputs found
The First Reported Case of Ocular Syphilis in an Iranian Patient
Purpose: To report the first case of ocular syphilis in an Iranian patient and discuss its diagnostic challenges. Case Report: A man in his mid-70s presented with progressive bilateral visual and auditory decline. He had previously lived in a Southeast Asian country for 10 years. Prior steroid therapies entailed no inflammation subsidence. His visual acuity at presentation was light perception OU. Funduscopic findings included severe vitritis, severe optic atrophy, diffuse retinal vascular occlusion, and diffuse retinal atrophy OU. Angiography demonstrated diffuse areas of retinal and choriocapillaris atrophy with no active choroiditis. Scaly cutaneous lesions were noted on his palms and soles – atypical findings of secondary syphilis. Serum analysis revealed an underlying syphilis infection. The cerebrospinal fluid sample was reactive to anti-syphilis antibodies, securing a neurosyphilis diagnosis. Two weeks of antibiotic therapy resulted in cutaneous lesions resolution and relative visual improvement despite extensive baseline retinal atrophic damage. Conclusion: Ocular syphilis can mimic numerous ocular inflammatory scenarios. In cases of ocular inflammation that is unresponsive to steroids, reconsidering alternative diagnoses, especially infections with the highest clinical relevance, is necessary. We stress the importance of acquiring patients’ sexual history, regardless of cultural barriers and the rarity of the entity in some regions
IL-35 Serum Levels in Bladder Cancer Patients: An Analytical Cross-sectional Study
Background: Bladder cancer is a prevalent disease with significant health care costs
and high rates of recurrence. Results from numerous studies to associate bladder
cancer with serum biomarkers have been analyzed for prognostic indicators, or to develop
agents for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Interleukin-35 is a suppressive
cytokine that has a role in tumor immunity as a regulatory cytokine by suppressing T
cell anticancer responses.
Methods: In the present study, we have investigated interleukin-35 serum levels
in bladder cancer patients by ELISA, and compared these levels with a healthy
comparison group, as well as among different clinicopathological subgroups.
Results: We observed no difference in serum levels of interleukin-35 in bladder
cancer patients and healthy controls; however, bladder cancer patients diagnosed at lower
stages (0a, I, II) had significantly higher levels of interleukin-35 in their sera compared
to high stage (III, IV) patients (P=0.018).
Conclusion: Our results could indicate that interleukin-35 has no significant role
in bladder cancer pathogenesis and progression. Interleukin-35 might not be a valuable
biomarker for diagnosis or assessment of bladder cancer progression in clinical settings.
However, further studies are needed in order to reach a definitive conclusion
Investigating the Levels of Shed Extracellular Domain of HER2 Protein in the Sera of Bladder Cancer Patients
Background: Receptor tyrosine-protein kinase ERBB2, also known as human
epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), is heterogeneously expressed in a variety
of human cancers, including bladder cancer. Based on previous studies that show its
association with bladder cancer progression, HER2 has been included in novel
multiplatform biomarkers for prediction of bladder cancer prognosis. However, the
clinical significance of HER2 status remains underinvestigated and poorly linked to
the patients’ clinicopathological features. Here, we aim to scrutinize the levels of the
extracellular domain of HER2 in the sera of bladder cancer patients and correlate these
levels with clinicopathological features of the tumor.
Methods: In the present analytical cross-sectional study, we enrolled 60
pathologically confirmed bladder cancer patients along with 20 age-sex matched
healthy controls, and compared their serum HER2 levels as measured by enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay.
Results:We observed no statistically significant difference when comparing the levels
of HER2 in the sera of cases and controls (P>0.05). Interestingly, serum HER2 levels
of controls were higher than bladder cancer patients who had lymph node metastasis
(P=0.036). Serum levels of HER2 were also higher in controls than bladder cancer
patients with perineural invasion (P=0.028). We observed significantly higher HER2
serum levels in transitional cell carcinoma patients in comparison to non-transitional
cell carcinoma patients (P=0.016).
Conclusion: Our observations are suggestive of the absence of any association
between bladder cancer prognostic factors and serum HER2 levels. To draw any
definitive conclusion, further studies with larger sample sizes that examine the presence
of neutralizing auto-antibodies against serum HER2, immunohistochemistry examination
of HER2 in bladder tumor and lymph node samples, and urinary HER2 levels, along
with measurement of its serum levels would be helpful
Investigation of Interleukin-27 in the Sera of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Patients
IL-27 has been shown to have both tumor promoting and suppressing functions. IL-27, with its diverse influences on immune responses, has not been studied extensively in nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC), including Squamous and Basal Cell Carcinomas (SCC and BCC), and its roles in tumor initiation, progression, and its probable use in NMSC treatment have yet to be unveiled. A cross-sectional analytical study was designed to investigate the serum levels of IL-27 in NMSC patients in comparison to normal individuals. Levels of IL-27 in the sera of 60 NMSC patients along with 28 healthy controls were measured by means of quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In this study we observed that IL-27 serum levels were significantly higher in NMSC patients in comparison to healthy individuals (0.0134 versus 0.0008 ng/ml; P<0.001). Furthermore, when subcategorized based on pathological diagnosis, both BCC and SCC patients had higher levels of IL-27 in their sera compared to controls (P=0.002 and P=0.033; respectively). However, these levels were not different among SCC and BCC patients. According to our results, it seems that IL-27 is involved in antitumor immune responses in NMSCs. On the other hand, these observations might be indicative of this cytokine involvement in NMSC tumorigenesis and progression. Therefore, administration of this cytokine for therapeutic purposes in patients with such conditions should be erred on the side of caution
Cloning and expression of the enzymatic region of Streptococcal hyaluronidase
Objective(s): Streptococcus pyogenes produces extracellular hyaluronidase enzyme. This enzyme is directly associated with the spread of the organism during infection. The objective of the present study was to clone and express the nucleotide sequence of the enzyme which is involved in hyaluronidase enzymatic activity. Materials and Methods: The enzymatic region of hyaluronidase gene was detected by bioinformatics method. The PCR method was used to amplify enzymatic region of hyaluronidase gene from chromosomal DNA of Streptococcus pyogenes. The eluted product was cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET32a which was digested by BamHI and HindIII restriction endonuclease enzymes. The target protein was expressed in the Escherichia coli. The bacteria including pET32a-hylA (hylA is abbreviation of Streptococcus pyogenes hyaluronidase gene and hylA is abbreviation of Streptococcus pyogenes hyaluronidase protein) plasmids were induced by IPTG and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The enzymatic evaluation and antigenicity was finally studied. Results: Enzymes digestion analysis, sequencing results showed that the target gene (1296 base pair) was inserted correctly into the recombinant vector. The expressed protein (65 KDa) was purified successfully via affinity chromatography. Data also indicated that enzymatic region of hyaluronidase protein from Streptococcus pyogenes was recognized in all 5 patient’s sera. Conclusion: In general, it is possible to produce the enzymatic regions of the Streptococcus pyogenes hyaluronidase in E. coli. The antigenic property of the produced protein is well retained. Considering the product's domestic demand and also low efficiency of production and pathogenicity of Streptococcus species, it is possible to produce it as recombinant product
The Effect of Luteinizing Hormone Reducing Agent on Anxiety and Novel Object Recognition Memory in Gonadectomized Rats
Introduction: Mood disorders such as anxiety and depression are common following menopause and andropause. The lack of sex steroid hormones is suggested as the primary cause of these disturbances. The level of luteinizing hormone (LH) would also rise 3-4 times than normal in these people. The potential effects of LH on mood and cognitive symptoms following menopause and andropause are not clear yet. This study aimed to investigate the effect of increased LH on novel object discrimination (NOD) memory and anxiety like behavior in gonadectomized rats.
Methods: Four-month-old male and female Wistar rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups (in each sex): Control rats (Cont), gonadectomized without treatment (GnX), gonadectomized treated with triptorelin (a GnRH agonist which decreases LH release) (GnX+Tr), gonadectomized treated with triptorelin plus sex steroid hormone, estradiol in female and testosterone in male rats (GnX+Tr+S/T). After 4 weeks treatment, anxiety score (elevated plus maze) and NOD were measured. Data were analyzed using 1- way ANOVA, and P values less than 0.05 were considered as significant.
Results: Gonadectomy increased anxiety like behaviors (decrease of presence time in the open arms) in female rats (P=0.012), but not in male ones (P = 0.662). Additionally, triptorelin alone reduced the increased anxiety score in gonadectomized female rats, compared to group treated with both triptorelin and estradiol. Furthermore, it was shown that gonadectomy and or treatment with triptorelin and sex steroids had no significant effect on the new object recognition memory in both female (P = 0.472) and male rats (P = 0.798).
Conclusion: On the whole, this study revealed that increased level of LH following menopause or andropause should be considered as a possible cause for increased anxiety. Also, this study showed that LH reducing agents would reduce anxiety behavior in gonadectomized female rats. The effect of increased LH on cognitive functions such as new object recognition memory was not evident in this study needs further studies and should be interpreted with caution