طوبی غضنفری

Covid-19 disease as a pandemic with high spreading power and a wide range of clinical symptoms and lack of definitive treatment is a challenge for mankind in recent years. The antiviral response of type 1 interferon against the SARS-COV-2 virus is one of the most important pathways of the innate immune system in dealing with this disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the expression of two genes, ly6e and usp18, with the severity of clinical symptoms in patients with covid-19.

Peripheral blood samples were prepared from patients and their DNA was extracted, then the expression of ly6e and usp18 genes was measured by real-time PCR method. cDNA samples were first amplified using specific primers. Data analysis was performed using chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. A significance level of 0.05 was considered.

The expression of the ly6e gene was significantly (p=0.008) decreased in the hospitalized group compared to the control group. No significant difference was seen in the expression of the usp18 gene among the studied groups.

Proper expression of ly6e protein can be related to controlling the severity of clinical symptoms of covid-19 disease.

Interleukin-6 is one of the cytokines whose increase and role in the pathogenesis of Covid-19 has been reported in various studies. Interleukin-6 affects environmental factors and genes, including polymorphic sites in the IL-6 gene. In the present study, the rs1800795 polymorphism located in the IL6 gene region was investigated.

Participants in this study were divided into outpatient (n=245) and inpatient (n=245) groups due to COVID-19. Peripheral blood samples were taken from patients and their DNA was extracted, then rs1800795 polymorphism genotype was measured by Tetra Arms PCR. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and Chi-Square and t-test students.

The mean age of patients in the outpatient group was        41.6±12.3 years but in the inpatient group was 61±17.1 years (P-value <0.001); There was also a significant difference in the frequency of smokers and patients with kidney problems (P-value <0.05) as well as patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus and a history of heart disease (P-value <0.001) in outpatient and inpatient groups. The frequency of G alleles in the inpatient group was significantly lower than the outpatient group (P-value = 0.045).

The frequency of polymorphism variants of rs1800795 interleukin-6 varies in different groups of Covid-19 patients with varying degrees of clinical symptoms, and the G allele may possibly play a protective role against COVID-19.

Increasing of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in Covid-19 patients has been reported in various studies. Genetic variants of the IL-6 receptor are involved in the beginning and progression of severe infections, autoimmunity, and also inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between SNP (rs2228145) of IL-6 receptor with the severity of Covid-19 patients.

In the present cross-sectional and analytical study, 180 patients with Covid-19 entered voluntarily and were classified based on the severity of the disease in 4 groups: mild (90 patients, age 46.40 ± 15.8), moderate (45 patients, age 50.4 ±16.4), severe (25 patients, age 59.70 ±24) and critical (20 patients, age 15.30 ± 60.8). Peripheral blood samples were taken from patients and after DNA extraction, genotyping was performed by RFLP PCR and electrophoresis on 2% agarose gel. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and Chi-Square or ANOVA.

The mean age of patients in the outpatient group and the intubated inpatients were 46.40 ± 15.8 and 60.30 ± 15.8, respectively (P-value <0.001). Also, the frequency of diabetic patients in the outpatient group and intubated group were about 21% and 45%, respectively (P-value <0.05). A significant difference was observed in the CC genotype between outpatient and inpatient groups (P-value <0.01) as well as intubated patients (P-value <0.05).

The frequency of rs2228145 variants in Covid-19 patients with different severity is diverse and CC genotype can be a predictor of prognosis in admission to the ICU and intubation.

The Islamic Republic of Iran was chemically attacked by the Saddam Hossein’s enemy for five years during the imposed war and this issue caused many physical and psychological injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the general health status and its relationship with the socio-economic status of non-army citizens of Sardasht.

This study was part of the research of Ghazanfari, Vaezmahdavi, et al since 2008. The study population was 28 chemical warfare veterans in Sardasht who were evaluated using the Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), rating from 0 for best to 84 the worth health situation. Also, the relationship between the general health situation and socio-economic status were considered. In addition, the level of education, severity of exposure, injury rate and quality of life were evaluated.

The mean of general health in normal, mild and severe exposure groups was 50.0, 51.5 and 29.8, respectively, which indicates difference in general health of between group severe with group mild and normal (P<0.05). Also, there was a significant relationship between the variables of socio-economic status, level of education, quality of life, intensity of exposure and the percentage of casualties with general health in most groups. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and nonlinear regression.

The results showed that improving socio-economic status plays an important role in public and mental health. So, the socio economic status is a significant predictor contributing destructive effects of mustard gas on general and mental health and influences actual health situation.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis by different species of Leishmania. Pentavalen antimonials as a first line drug for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis have several limitations and side effects. Natural products are more considered due to their less toxicity and cost, more efficient, safety and readily available antileishmania agents.

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) roots and its main component glycyrrhizic acid on promastigote and amastigote of L. major.

Different dosages of hydroalcoholic extract of licorice root, glycyrrhizic acid and Glucantime with promastigote of L. major were incubated at 26 °C for 24 and 48 hours then the percentages of alive promastigotes were measured by MTT assay. The antiamastigote effects of these drugs was examined by microscopic counting of the number of amastigotes in macrophages 24 hours after treating the parasite infected macrophages with them. Promastigote and infected macrophages without any treatment was used as negative controls.

The IC50 values of hydroalcoholic extracts of licorice root, glycyrrhizic acid and Glucantime on promastigote of L. major was 1250 ± 0.018, 3000 ± 0.017 and 50 ± 0.043 μg/ml after 24 hours, and 1000 ± 0.016, 3000 ± 0.017 and 25 ± 0.009 μg/ml after 48 hours, respectively. The IC50 values of the licorice root extract, glycyrrhizic acid and Glucantime on amostigate was 500, 1000 and 25 μg/ml, respectively.

Hydroalcoholic extract of licorice root and glycyrrhizic acid had cytotoxic effects on promastigotes and amastigotes of L. major.

The aim of this study was to separate the chemical victims of mustard gas into exposed to and non-exposed groups to sulfur mustard using classical discriminant analysis and two-state logistic regression and selection of the best analysis.

The present study is a historical group that was conducted from 2005 to 2014. By observation method and systematic sampling, 284 people were included in the study including 216 people from Sardasht City as an exposed group and 68 people from Rabat City as a control group who were in all respects compared to the case group. Using classical discriminant analysis and logistic regression methods, 32 quantitative variables were examined and finally these two methods were compared using rock curve analysis. SPSS 21 software was used for analysis.

The 8 significant variables that had the highest ability to differentiate the groups (FEV1/FVC ratio, testosterone, cholesterol, phosphorus, conjugated bilirubin, red blood cell count, hemoglobin and hematocrit) were selected and entered into the main models. Using the rock curve, the cutting points of the variables were determined and the sensitivity and specificity values ​​for discriminant analysis were 78% and 77.5%, respectively, and its sub-curved surface was 81.2%. In differentiating the groups, testosterone index was the strongest variable and conjugated bilirubin factor was the weakest variable. In logistic regression model, FEV1/FVC, testosterone and phosphorus ratio variables were significant (p<0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of this model were 80% and 75%, respectively, the rock curvature level was 81.4% and the value of R^2 was 0.308.

In the separation of chemical victims, the classical discriminant analysis and logistic regression methods have similar results, but discriminant analysis is a more appropriate model due to the presentation of the diagnostic function.

Throughout history and from birth to death, human has faced three wars (with nature, with the man, and with ego) and if he/she wants to have a good life, it is inevitable to resist and defend against these attacks. One of the most obvious human-to-human wars in recent years is the aggression of the ruling regime in Iraq against the Islamic Republic of Iran on September 22, 1980. Although to some extent in this eight-year war, specialists and university professors orally passed on health experiences (health, treatment, and health management) to the next generation, they were not written as they should have been. What can be written when it can convey the message of oppression and self-sacrifice of that time to today's young generation that can also play a role in solving current problems. One of the applications of these experiences is comparing immunopathological studies of chemically injured lungs with lungs of COVID-19 patients. Coronaviruses commonly cause pulmonary and internal infections in humans and animals, and in China in 2002 and 2003, they were considered almost benign viruses before the discovery of the potential for the acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV). A decade later, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Virus (MERS-CoV), which had clinical manifestations similar to SARS, was identified in patients with pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2, SARS and MERS are of animal origin and have evolved into a form that can cause infection and fatal disease in humans. Genome sequencing showed 79% similarity of SARS-CoV-2 to SARS and 50% to MERS. Also, amino acid sequencing of some proteins indicates 68% similarity of SARS-CoV-2 proteins to SARS. Clinical symptoms of COVID-19 similar to SARS and MERS include fever, fatigue, and pulmonary symptoms such as cough, and shortness of breath. Radiological findings showed involvement of both lungs in most patients (81%) with COVID-19 with manifestations such as ground-glass opacity, crazy-paving pattern, and consolidation lesions. Laboratory findings also indicate lymphopenia and increased levels of acute-phase protein (C-reactive protein). In this disease, a portion of patients suffer from acute respiratory distress and require hospitalization in special conditions (ICU), and unfortunately, some have found a critical condition that can lead to death.

IFN-γ is one of the most important cytokines in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma and COPD. The IFN-γ promoter methylation at CpG islands could be altered by various chemical and toxic substances which may have a role in the incidence of chronic pulmonary diseases and its severity. Thereby, the present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of sulfur mustard gas on the methylation status of IFN-γ gene promoter and its correlation with the severity of pulmonary disease in chemical veterans with delayed pulmonary complications.
 

46 sulfur mustard-exposed individuals with mild-moderate pulmonary complications, 45 with severe pulmonary complicationsand 41 unexposed individuals as a control group participated. The quality and quantity of extracted DNA were assessed by the nanodrop machine. After treatment with bisulfite, the methylation of IFN-γ gene promoter was evaluated by methylation-specific PCR.
 

The methylation of IFN-γ gene promoter showed a significant increase in exposed-patients with mild to moderate pulmonary complications and a significant reduction in exposed-patients with severe pulmonary complications compared to the control groups. The levels of spirometric parameters were significantly higher in individuals with Methylated DNA compared with those with unmethylated DNA.
 

It could be suggested that hyper-methylation of IFN-γ gene promoter and probable changes in IFN-γ gene expressionhave a positive effect on lung function in SM-exposed individuals.