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Formalin is widely used in the anatomy dissecting rooms to preserve the animal cadavers and biological specimens in veterinary medical schools. Veterinary medical students at South Valley University are routinely exposed to formalin during their practical training. Although formalin is known to cause severe health problems, the toxic effects of formalin on the veterinary students at South Valley University has not been investigated before. Thus, the current study aimed to explore the toxic effects of exposure of veterinary medical students to formalin in the anatomy laboratories and to suggest some preventive measures to reduce its toxic effects. For this purpose, a total number of 167 students from the first- and the second-year at the department of anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University were surveyed. Approximately 79.6% of the students suffered from unpleasant smell, followed by eye irritation (63.6%), nasal irritation (51.5%), headache (44.9%), breathing difficulties (39.5), visual disturbance (29.5), lack of concentration (26.9%), cough (25.1%), lethargy and fatigue (19.2%), nausea (18%), digestive disturbance (14.4%), sore throat and dryness (12%), sleep disturbance (4.8%) and fainting (6%). In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that the Veterinary Medical students are at risk of severe health problems due to prolonged exposure to formalin in the anatomy dissecting rooms. This calls The South Valley University authorities to apply a guideline to reduce the effect of exposure to formaldehyde in the anatomy laboratories.

In this research we have used different cytokines and progesterone to enhance the immunomodulatory capacity of placental-derived stem cells (PLSCs) prior to their encapsulation. We assessed the effect of microencapsulation of the cells without (control) or after 3-day treatment with interferon gamma (INFγ), interleukin10 (IL-10), or progesterone (P4). Treated PLSCs demonstrated strong immunosuppressive effects on phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs). INFγ treatment resulted in the strongest immune inhibition among the treated groups. The treatments enhanced soluble human leukocyte antigen (sHLAG) secretion compared to control. The IL-10-treated group showed the highest effect on HLAG secretion compared to other groups. Alginate encapsulation of PLSCs did not affect cell viability, or sHLAG secretion. Also, after treatment the encapsulated PLSCs inhibited PHA-activated PBMNCs in the same manner as unencapsulated cells. We studied two groups of encapsulated PLSCs, one without perm-selective poly-L-ornithine (PLO)-coating and the other with PLO-coating, and measured levels of sHLAG secreted. We found no difference in sHLAG secretion between both groups. In summary, our data show that immunomodulatory function of the PLSC is not affected by encapsulation. These findings provide good promise for potential use of encapsulated PLSCs for immunomodulation treatment of disease by stem cell therapy.

OBJECTIVES The immunological aspects of inflammatory acne are still incompletely understood, so this study aimed to investigate the possible role of IL-17 and 25 hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D3) in the disease pathogenesis and progression. MATERIALS AND METHODS Across-sectional study has been conducted on 135 patients with active acne vulgaris of various severities and 150 matched controls. ELISA assays of serum and tissue levels of IL-17 and 25(OH)D3, also immunohistochemical and Western blotting demonstration of the expression patterns of lesional IL-17 in comparison with control group, were performed. RESULTS The mean serum levels of IL-17 were 544.2 pg/mL ± 477.4 SD and 42.2 pg/mL ± 8.1 SD for acne patients and controls, respectively, with significantly higher levels among the patient group (P

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common prevalent disease. We aimed to assess the dynamic changes in the peripheral T lymphocytes and lymphocytes infiltrating the esophageal mucosa after treatment with proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) in patients with GERD. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 200 patients who presented with upper GIT symptoms were included in this prospective study. All patients were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination, and complete blood count. Upper endoscopy was performed to detect the grade of GERD, followed by 4 quadrant biopsies before and 1 month after acid suppressive drug therapy. Histopathologic and immunohistochemical examination were carried out for all biopsies. Flow cytometry analysis for the peripheral T lymphocytes and cytokine profile assay before therapy and after therapy were also carried out. RESULTS In total, 200 patients comprising 132 male individuals (66%) and 68 female individuals (34%) with a mean age of 47.9±18.3 were included. The risk factors for development of GERD were smoking in 87 (43.5%), spicy food intake in 26 (13%), analgesics in 46 (23%), excessive tea and coffee in 35 (17.5%), and nondetected risk factors in 6 (3%). Endoscopic examination using Los Angeles grading system revealed that 102 patients (51%) were grade A, 57 patients (28.5%) were grade B, 38 patients (19%) were grade C, and 3 patients (1.5%) were grade D. No statistically significant differences could be detected in HGB levels and WBC, PLT, monocyte, granulocyte, and eosinophil counts before and after treatment with PPI. Histopathologic examination of esophageal biopsies showed significant posttreatment improvement in 132 cases (66%); however, 66 cases (33%) including the 2 cases (1%) of Barrett's esophagus showed nonsignificant pathologic improvement compared with the pretreatment picture. Immunohistochemical staining of esophageal biopsies with CD3 (T-cell marker) and CD20 (B-cell marker), before and 1 month after treatment, showed the presence of a very large number of infiltrating B cells in the esophageal mucosa (700±30/10 HPF) with large aggregations; in contrast, T-cell infiltration appeared less marked (570±23/10 HPF), and they formed smaller aggregates than those of B cells in pretreated patients, with P

Aging represents a major risk for vascular diseases. Diseases of the aorta causes serious back effects on the heart. This study aims to detect the histological changes of the aged aorta and to understand their underlying mechanisms to help in development of the prophylactic and treatment measures. Ten adult and ten aged male albino rats were used. Specimens from their thoracic aorta were prepared and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin, Orcein for elastic laminae, and anti-actin antibody. Morphometric measurements for the thickness of the tunica intima and elastic laminae of the tunica media were performed. Aged aorta showed thickening of the tunica intima, thinning and fragmentation of elastic laminae, proliferation of medial smooth muscle with reduction of their actin myofibrils, and fibrosed tunica adventitia. Atherosclerosis was also detected with epithelioid changes in the medial smooth muscle and focal thickening of the intima. It is concluded that, aging is a risk factor for aortic atherosclerosis. Intimal thickening and proliferation of medial smooth muscle are the earliest signs. Thinning and fragmentation of elastic laminae, decreased contractile myofibrils of the aortic smooth muscle, and fibrosis of the tunica adventitia lead to aortic stiffness which interferes with its active function and shares in the age-related arterial remodeling.

Nicaraven, a hydroxyl radical-specific scavenger has been demonstrated to attenuate radiation injury in hematopoietic stem cells with 5 Gy γ-ray exposures. We explored the effect and related mechanisms of nicaraven for protecting radiation injury induced by sequential exposures to a relatively lower dose γ-ray. C57BL/6 mice were given nicaraven or placebo within 30 min before exposure to 50 mGy γ-ray daily for 30 days in sequences (cumulative dose of 1.5 Gy). Mice were victimized 24 h after the last radiation exposure, and the number, function and oxidative stress of hematopoietic stem cells were quantitatively estimated. We also compared the gene expression in these purified stem cells from mice received nicaraven and placebo treatment. Nicaraven increased the number of c-kit+ stem/progenitor cells in bone marrow and peripheral blood, with a recovery rate around 60-90% of age-matched non-irradiated healthy mice. The potency of colony forming from hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells as indicator of function was completely protected with nicaraven treatment. Furthermore, nicaraven treatment changed the expression of many genes associated to DNA repair, inflammatory response, and immunomodulation in c-kit+ stem/progenitor cells. Nicaraven effectively protected against damages of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells induced by sequential exposures to a relatively low dose radiation, via complex mechanisms., Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 452(3), pp.548-553; 2014