Maternal serum IL-22 concentrations are significantly upregulated in patients with preterm premature rupture of membranes

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the serum IL-22 levels between preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) patients and the control group with intact membranes. We also hypothesized whether serum IL-22 upregulation might contribute to defense against inflammatory responses and improve the pregnancy outcomes.Material and methods: We performed this prospective case-control study between 24–34 weeks of pregnancy. We enrolled 40 singleton pregnant patients with PPROM and 40 healthy gestational age- and gravidity-matched patients without PPROM. The degree of association between variables and IL-22 were calculated by Spearman correlation coefficients where appropriate. Scatter plots were given for statistically significant correlations. ROC curve was constructed to illustrate the sensitivity and specificity performance characteristics of IL-22, and a cutoff value was estimated by using the index of Youden.Results: Maternal serum IL-22 levels were significantly higher in PPROM patients (60.34 ± 139.81 pg/mL) compared to the participants in the control group (20.71 ± 4.36 pg/mL, p < 0.001). When we analyze the area under the ROC curve (AUC), the IL-22 value can be considered a statistically significant parameter for diagnosing PPROM. According to the Youden index, a 23.86 pg/mL cut-off value of IL-22 can be used to diagnosing PPROM with 72% sensitivity and 61.5% specificity. There was no positive correlation between serum IL-22 levels and maternal C-reactive protein (CRP) value, procalcitonin value, latency period, birth week, birth weight, and umbilical cord blood pH value.Conclusions: Maternal serum IL-22 levels were significantly higher in PPROM patients than healthy pregnant women with an intact membrane. We suggest that IL-22 might be a crucial biomarker of the inflammatory process in PPROM

Characteristics of Mediterranean Sea Water in Vicinity of Tangier Region, North of Morocco

Coastal areas play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of ecosystems and developing the social and economic wellbeing of the countries bordering it. However, the pressure on both terrestrial and marine resources, the use of oceans as a wastes deposit, the growth of population and the increasing of urbanization and human activities in coastal areas are all causes for marine and coastal degradation. The present situation constitutes a significant danger in many places. As an example, the pollution of the coastal waters in the Mediterranean has increased in recent years. Industrialization, tourism and ports activities along the coastline of the Mediterranean are the main sources of many pollutants that have effects on human’s health and environment. So that, it is very important to examine seawater quality in order to protect the marine and coastal areas from degradation. Hence, comes the need to consider a physicochemical and bacteriological study to evaluate the quality of Tangier coastal seawater using the Water Quality Index (WQI). A campaign of 25 sampling points was conducted and the results of the WQI calculation have highlighted the Tangier water was between medium and bad

THE EFFECT OF HEPARIN ON THE CELL CYCLE IN HUMAN B-LYMPHOBLASTS: AN IN VITRO STUDY

Heparin has an apoptotic effect in addition to its anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, and antiproliferative effects. In this study, we detected the effect of heparin on the cell cycle of lymphoblasts by flow cytometry (FCM) and tried to determine which phase in the cell cycle of lymphoblasts contains heparin-sensitive points. Twelve children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were included in the study. Lymphoblasts were incubated in different levels of heparin concentrations (0, 10, and 20 U/mL) and the percentages of lymphoblasts at each phase of the cell cycle were simultaneously measured by FCM at 0, 1, and 2 hours (h). The percentages of lymphoblasts at the G2/M and S phases were significantly increased in 20 U/mL heparin concentration compared to 0 U/mL heparin concentration at 1h (from 1.18% to 10.21% and from 1.03% to 13.63%, respectively; p<0.000), indicating an arrest of cell cycle at the G2/M and S phases by heparin. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of the apoptotic effect of heparin.

Keywords: Cell cycle, Heparin, Leukemi

The surgical outcomes of limbal allograft transplantation in eyes having limbal stem cell deficiency

Purpose: To report the limbal allograft transplantation and penetrating keratoplasty (PK) results in limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD)‑developedeyes because of chemical or thermal injury.Methods: Medical records of 18 eyes of 14 patients who had undergone keratolimbal allograft (KLAL) or living‑related conjunctival limbalallograft (lr‑CLAL) with or without PK and followed up at least 1 year postoperatively were evaluated retrospectively. The preoperative LSCDgrade was noted in all patients. Rejection incidents, recurrence of LSCD, and corneal graft clarity along with a visual improvement duringthe follow‑up were noted. The complications rate due to surgery or injury itself, for instance, glaucoma and cataract, were evaluated. Thelimbal allograft tissue survival analysis and corneal allograft survival analysis were done to reveal the differences in both the procedures. Theexistence of normal corneal epithelium and improvement in visual acuity were accepted as the surgical success criteria.Results: In the limbal allograft transplantation group, the survival rates of the allograft tissue were 65 ± 10.7% at 1 year and 36.6 ± 11.4% at3 years in lr‑CLAL and 66.7 ± 15.7% at 12 months and 53.3 ± 17.3% at 18 months in KLAL‑transplanted eyes. The survival rate of cornealallograft at the 5th postoperative year was lower in the simultaneous procedure compared to the staged procedure, but it was not statisticallysignificant (25.7 ± 25.8% vs. 62.5 ± 17.1%, P = 0.75). The ambulatory vision was achieved in 10 eyes (56%) after a mean follow‑up time of93.8 ± 37.8 months. The visual acuity level has increased in 12 eyes (67%) in which the limbal allograft transplantation was applied. The ambulatoryvisual acuity level was achieved (≤1.0 logMar [20/200]) in 10 eyes (56%). In addition, two or more Snellen lines’ gain in the best corrected visualacuity was observed in 12 eyes of 18 (67%) at the last follow‑up, and there was not any significant difference between the KLAL and lr‑CLAL.Conclusions: Ocular surface integrity was longer in KLAL than in lr‑CLAL transplantation, but it was not statistically significant. Thestaged procedure was more convenient than the simultaneous procedure in terms of corneal allograft clarity maintenance in limbalallograft‑employed eyes

CD163 Levels, Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokine Secretion of Monocytes in Children With Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Objectives: Childhood tuberculosis (TB) comprises an important part of the world's TB burden. Monocytes set up the early phase of infection because of innate immune responses. Understanding the changes in monocyte subsets during multisystem infectious diseases may be important for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the monocyte phenotype together with the cytokine secretion profiles of children with pulmonary tuberculosis. Study Design: Thirteen patients with pulmonary TB were enrolled as study group, and 14 healthy subjects as control group. Surface expressions of CD16, CD14, CD62L, CD163, CCR2, and HLA-DR of monocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry. The presence of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-10, IL-12, IL-23, and soluble form of CD163 (sCD163) in the antigen-and LPS-stimulated whole blood culture supernatants were detected using ELISA and Luminex. Results: Higher percentages of CD14(++)CD16(+) and CD14(+)CD16(++) monocyte subsets, and CCR2, CD62L and CD163 expression on circulating monocytes in children with pulmonary tuberculosis were obtained. Diminished levels of ESAT-6/CFP-10-induced IL-10 and increased levels of TB-antigen and LPS-stimulated sCD163 were found in childhood with pulmonary TB. Conclusions: High expression of CD14(++)CD16(+), CD14(+)CD16(++), CD14(+)CCR2(+), and CD14(+)CD62L(+) cells in childhood TB, and monocyte-derived cytokines reflected both pro-and anti-inflammatory profiles. Higher sCD163 and CD14(+)CD163(+) monocytes might help physicians in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary TB in children. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc