reza keikha

Our aim was to investigate the expression of miRNAs, C-reactive protein as a blood inflammation marker, and alanine aminotransferase as a tissue inflammation marker, in recovered and not-recovered COVID-19 patients.

This cross-sectional project was conducted at three medical centers in Iran from December to March 2021. In total, 20 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with grade III severity and 20 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. Subsequently, the neuroinflammatory expression of miRNAs (miR-199, miR-203, and miR-181), C-reactive protein, and alanine aminotransferase was investigated during hospitalization from week 0 to week 2.

Among COVID-19 subjects who did not recover, the expression levels of miR-199, miR-203, and miR-181 were decreased, while the levels of C-reactive protein and alanine aminotransferase increased during hospitalization. Conversely, in recovered COVID-19 subjects, the relative expression of miR-199, miR-203, and miR-181 increased and the levels of C-reactive protein and alanine aminotransferase decreased during hospitalization.

The expression pattern of neuroinflammatory miRNAs depends on whether the COVID-19 patient is recovering or deteriorating. Their expression is downregulated in COVID-19 patients who do not recover and upregulated in those who do recover.

The majority of all kidney stone cases are oxalate urolithiasis with a high risk of recurrence. Beside its widespread occurrence, kidney stones are characterized by severe complications and high treatment costs. Pro- biotics and herbal medications could be forthcoming therapeutic interventions in the management of oxalate kidney stones.

The PubMed/MEDLINE database was searched for keywords “Oxalobacter formigenes” AND “Oxalate” OR “oxalate degradation” AND “Lactobacillus” OR “Bifidobacterium” OR “recombinant Lactobacillus” OR “Bacillus subtilis”, and “urolithiasis” AND “herbal extract”. The search returned 253 results, 38 of which were included in the review.

Most of the oxalate-degrading probiotics belong to the Oxalobacter formigenes, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Bacillus genus with a minimum dosage of 107 CFU in the form of capsules, sachets, and lyophilized powder. Oxalate concentration in media was 5-50mM with an incubation time ranging from 24h to 14 days. The majority of the studies suggested that probiotic supplementation might be useful for reducing urinary excretion of oxalate and urea and alleviation of stone formation. Different herbal extracts were used on murine models of nephrolithiasis (induced by 0.5-3% ethylene glycol) with reduction of renal inflammation and urinary parameters, and calcium oxalate crystals.

Several strains of probiotics and herbal extracts confer protective effects against kidney stone/nephrolithiasis, indicating their promising nature for being considered as elements of preventive / adjuvant therapeutic strategies.

About 12 million people are affected by les leishmaniosis worldwide. It is an important public health problem due to the difficulty in its control and causing epidemic outbreaks. An effective anti-leishmanial vaccine remains elusive. Isolated dominant epitopes arranged as polytope DNA vaccine represent a promising approach.
Balb/c mice were vaccinated subcutaneously with pCDNA3.1/LAKJB93 DNA and challenged with Leishmania major promastigotes; then, the level of interferon (INF)-γ and interleukin (IL)-4 were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Production of immunoglobulin (Ig)-G1 and IgG2a antigen specific antibodies were measured against LAKJB93.
The enhanced production of antigen-specific INF-γ and IgG2a in serum showed the stimulation of T helper type 1 (Th1) response. This protective immune response was induced by the expression of pcDNA3.1/ LAKJB93 plasmid against leishmaniosis and therefore, pcDNA3.1/ LAKJB93 can be considered an appropriate vaccine for leishmaniosis.
Immunization with DNA vaccine may offer an effective route to prevent leishmaniosis.