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Background and Objectives: Few studies have considered potential benefits of probiotic bacteria and their derivatives on human and animal health. Nisin is an antimicrobial agent that is produced by lactobacilli and served as a preservative in foods. This study aims to investigate whether nisin suppresses or decreases the genes involved in the pathogenicity of methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA)., Materials and Methods: MSSA and MRSA strains were cultured at the ¼, ½, and 1 × minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of nisin. Next, RNA extraction was performed at the mid-exponential stage of growth, and cDNA was synthesized. The expression of virulence factors was measured by qPCR, and the data were analyzed by the ΔΔCt formula., Results: Depending on the incubation times and the Lactobacillus species, the MIC of nisin on MRSA and MSSA observed in 800 and 1600 mg/l, respectively. The qPCR assay showed the expression level of the sea, agrA, and spa genes decreased and the level of the sae gene increased at the sub-MIC of nisin, and no antagonism was observed. Concerning MRSA, the maximum downregulation rate was observed in the sea gene (up to 5.9 folds) while in MSSA, the maximum downregulation rate was noticed in the agrA gene (up to 10 folds)., Conclusion: Due to the high inhibitory effect of the sub-MIC of nisin on the expression of virulence factor genes in MRSA and MSSA, this compound could potentially reduce the virulence of S. aureus., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Background: Idiopathic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ICOPD) is a prevalent human disease. The etiology of the disease is yet to be clarified. The main aim of this project was to explore serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) in the ICOPD patients in comparison to healthy controls., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and TGF-β were evaluated in the 70 non-smoker ICOPD patients and 70 sex and age matched controls, using ELISA technique by the commercial kits from Karmania Pars Gene Company. Analysis of data was performed by parametric independent and Pearson correlation test., Results: Serum levels of IL-6 and TGF-β, but not TNF-α, were significantly decreased in the ICOPD patients in comparison to controls. Serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and TGF-β were not altered in the ICOPD male in comparison to female and also in mild when compared to moderate ICOPD patients., Conclusions: Down-regulation of TGF-β may be the main risk factor for deterioration of inflammation in the ICOPD patients. Decreased IL-6 may be related to the idiopathic type of COPD., Competing Interests: None., (AJCEI Copyright © 2022.)

Trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole are prescribed for a broad spectrum of bacteria. However, the use of these medicines is restricted due to the risk of microbial resistance in the body. Nanotechnology is a strategy for overcoming this problem by helping develop novel drug delivery systems. This study aims to assess the ability of Fe 3 O 4 /Ag and Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 /Ag nanoparticles to improve efficiency of the traditional formulation of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole. Fe 3 O 4 /Ag and Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 /Ag were found to have sphere-like morphologies with average sizes of 33.2 and 35.1 nm, respectively. The values of the zeta potential for the pure sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim were -30.6 and -10.0 mV, respectively, which increased to zero or even larger positive values after being conjugated with the NPs. The study of the release kinetics showed that 64.7% of the medicines were released from the carriers within 40 days. The values of MIC for sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, Fe 3 O 4 /Ag/sulfamethoxazole, Fe 3 O 4 /Ag/trimethoprim, Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 /Ag/sulfamethoxazole, and Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 /Ag/trimethoprim against Escherichia coli were calculated to be 12, 9, 4, 4, 4, and 4 μg/mL, respectively. Besides, the relevant values against Staphylococcus aureus were measured to be 12, 9, 4, 4, 3, and 2 μg/mL, respectively. The use of synthesized nanomaterials for the delivery of these antibiotics leads to smaller doses compared to their traditional forms., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Uterine cervical malignancy is one of the commonly detected malignancies related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) and is increasing incidentally in developing countries. Therefore, the use of an efficient diagnostic method is required as an effectual step for cervical cancer prevention and treatment. The purpose of the study was to diagnose various types of HPV in the cervical cytology specimens in the South-East of Iran., Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 1079 cervical fluid cytology specimens referred for two years, between 2018-2020. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization (INNO-LiPA HPV Genotyping EXTRA II assay) were used to determine HPV DNA and their genotypes, respectively., Results: HPV was positive in 37.7% (407 of 1079) patients with a mean age of 34.62 ± 8.82. Among positive cases, 252 (62%) had only one HPV genotype and 155 (38.05%) had multiplex HPV genotypes, which included 94 (60.7%), 38 (24.6%), 18 (11.6%) and 5 (3.2%) cases with two, three, four and five or more genotypes, respectively. The samples with multiple strains revealed 31 HPV genotypes with the four most prevalent being HPV6 (14.7%), HPV16 (10.9%), HPV53 (9.6%) and HPV51 (5.9%)., Conclusion: HPV infection is the main health challenge for women that requires improved health service programs and appropriate epidemic vaccination., (© 2021 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

It has been reported that human papillomavirus (HPV) is a main cause of cervical cancer. Immune system plays key roles in the HPV infection clearance. Additionally, the roles played by immune responses in development of cancers have been documented previously. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the main surface or intravesicular receptors driving innate immunity, which either participate in the fight against infectious agents or participate in the progression of cancers. Thus, it has been hypothesized that the molecules may be part of the HPV/cancers puzzle. TLR4 is a unique member of TLRs family that uses both well-known TLRs related intracellular signaling pathways. Furthermore, the roles played by TLR4 against several viruses and also their related complications, such as tumors, have been demonstrated. Thus, it has been hypothesized that TLR4 may play a key role in HPV infection and its related complications. This review article collected the information regarding the mentioned plausible roles by TLR4.

Cytokines are the main factors involved in the normal functions of the placenta and delivery process. The aim of this project was to compare serum levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-6, tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) in term and prolonged-pregnancy mothers and their neonates. This study was performed on 240 participants including 60 term and prolonged-pregnancy neonates and their corresponding mothers. Serum levels of IL-8, IL-6, TNF-α and TGF-β were evaluated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. The results revealed that IL-8 serum levels were significantly lower in the prolonged-pregnancy mothers and their neonates when compared with term mothers and their neonates. Data analysis also revealed a negative correlation between TGF-β and age of prolonged-pregnancy mothers. A poor positive correlation between IL-6 and head circumference of term neonates was also observed. IL-8 may play crucial roles in the process of on-time delivery and age may significantly affect TGF-β production in prolonged-pregnancy mothers. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, can also be considered as main factors involved in fetal growth.

Objective: To evaluate the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, tumor growth factor (TGF)-β, endothelin, and immunoglobulin (Ig)E in patients with idiopathic epistaxis, compared with healthy control individuals., Methods: Serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, TGF-β, endothelin, and IgE were evaluated in 110 patients with idiopathic epistaxis and 100 healthy controls using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique., Results: Serum levels of IL-6 (P <.001) and TGF-β (P = .001) were significantly increased in patients with idiopathic epistaxis, compared with controls. TNF-α serum levels were significantly increased in male patients, compared with female patients (P = .053). We observed decreased antihistamine levels and increased expression of TGF-β (P = .02) and TNF-α (P = .02), respectively., Conclusions: IL-6 and TGF-β appear to participate in the pathogenesis of idiopathic epistaxis. TNF-α may be considered a risk factor for male patients in developing epistaxis. Antihistamines may inhibit angiogenesis by decreasing expression of TGF-β and increasing expression of TNF-α.

Objective: To assess the effects of depression and anxiety on serum cytokine levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 healthy control individuals and 60 patients with CHB participated after filling out standard questionnaires. We examined their serum interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and TGF-β levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques., Results: In patients with CHB compared with healthy controls, serum levels of IL-8 were significantly increased, whereas IL-6 and TGF-β levels were significantly decreased. Serum levels of TGF-β were significantly decreased in the patients with CHB who had mild depression, compared with patients with CHB without depression and with moderate and severe depression., Conclusions: Downregulation of IL-8 and TGF-β, respectively, is a corresponding mechanism for induction of chronic inflammation in patients with CHB. Depression also seems to induce inflammation via downregulation of TGF-β in these patients., (© American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com)

Introduction: Previous studies approved the important roles of CD68, as scavenger receptors, in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of treatment with anti-psychotic drugs and vitamin B12 on the expression levels of CD68 in monocytes of psychotic AD patients., Material and Methods: Expression of CD68 on the monocytes was evaluated in the following groups: 1. age and sex matched healthy controls (Group 1), 2. non-psychotic AD patients (Group 2), 3. psychotic AD patients (Group 3), 4. psychotic AD patients treated with Risperidone (Group 4), 5. psychotic AD patients treated with Risperidone plus vitamin B12 (Group 5), 6. psychotic AD patients treated with Quetiapine (Group 6), psychotic AD patients treated with Quetiapine plus vitamin B12 (Group 7). The expression of CD68 has been performed using flow cytometry technique., Results: The results showed that CD68 levels were significantly increased in AD patients in comparison to healthy controls and in psychotic AD patients in comparison to non-psychotic AD patients. Treatment with anti-psychotic drugs decreased the expression of CD68. Expression of CD68 has a positive correlation with pain, dementia and mental disorders symptoms in psychotic AD patients., Discussion: CD68 may play key roles in the pathogenesis of AD and its complications may be via induction of inflammation. Therefore, it may be concluded that CD68 may be considered as a risk factor for development of AD and also psychotic symptoms in the patients., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) suffer from psychotic symptoms including pain. The current antipsychotic drugs confer limited effectiveness, and hence new strategies are being designed to decrease pain in order to increase antipsychological effectiveness. Vitamin B12 is a safe supplementary drug to decrease pain. Additionally, cytokines participate in the pathogenesis of immune-related diseases such as AD. Thus, the main aim of this clinical trial study was to determine the effects of treatment with risperidone and quetiapine, as antipsychotic drugs, with and without vitamin B12 on the psychotic symptoms of AD patients and the expression of IL-6, IL-8, tumor growth factor (TGF)-β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and endothelin (ET)-1)., Material and Methods: Serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, TGF-β, TNF-α, and ET-1 were evaluated in the following groups: healthy controls, nonpsychotic AD patients, psychotic AD patients, psychotic AD patients under treatment with risperidone, psychotic AD patients under treatment with risperidone plus vitamin B12, psychotic AD patients under treatment with quetiapine, and psychotic AD patients under treatment with quetiapine plus vitamin B12., Results: Treatment with antipsychotic drugs plus vitamin B12 led to a decreased expression of IL-8 and TNF-α and an increased expression of TGF-β. Vitamin B12 in association with quetiapine reduced the pain in psychotic AD patients., Discussion: Proinflammatory cytokines play important roles in the pathogenesis of psychosis in AD patients. Antipsychotic drugs plus vitamin B12 can reduce and induce the expression of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines to improve psychotic symptoms in AD patients., (© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis, the causative agent of trichomoniasis, is responsible for more than half of all sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The present study aimed to determine the frequency of T. vaginalis infection and its clinical manifestations in symptomatic pregnant women in the area based on four different diagnostic methods., Methods: A total of 162 pregnant women with at least one sign or symptom of vaginosis, referred to two gynecologic and obstetrics clinics in Rafsanjan City, south central Iran, were randomly selected in 2012-13. Through speculum examination of patients by gynecologists, clinical diagnosis determined, vaginal discharge were collected by using two sterile cotton swabs from the posterior fornix and vagina pH was measured. Samples were examined by three diagnostic methods including wet mount, culture in TYI-S-33 medium and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)., Results: T. vaginalis was detected in 19.5%, 27.2%, 56.2% and 51.6% of subjects according to diagnostic methods of clinical diagnosis, wet mount, culture and PCR, respectively. There was statistically significant relationship between T. vaginalis infection and patients' age, gestational age, marriage age, residence, educational level, parity. The symptomatological pattern in the 91 women infected with T. vaginalis was as follows: leukorrhea, 96.7%; urine frequency, 65.9%; odorous secretion, 63.3%; urogenital itching and irritation, 53.8%; vaginal inflammation, 47.3%; dyspareunia, 39.6%; and dysuria, 16.5%., Conclusion: Our results indicated a high prevalence of T. vaginalis in symptomatic pregnant women, very low sensitivity and relative high specificity of clinical diagnosis and wet mount technique compared to culture and PCR, as well as thatpregnancy increases the susceptibility to the infection in a gestational age-dependent manner.