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Since the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many countries have been suffering from the disease, and patients exhibit an extensive spectrum of symptoms from mild to severe, and in some cases, it leads to death. Identifying vulnerability factors may help detect very high-risk subjects to prevent disease mortality. Since people have different human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, and the frequency of the alleles varies between different races and geographic regions, it is inferred that there is an association between HLA and the vulnerability of the population. The present study aimed to find the most frequent HLA alleles that profoundly affect COVID-19 outcomes. To find the relevant articles, medical databases (Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and the like) were searched by the keywords, and the results related to the association between HLA and COVID-19 morbidity were selected and briefly presented. Regarding the extracted information from several studies, HLA alleles with a strong affinity to COVID-19 epitopes such as HLA-A*11:01, HLA-A*02:06, and HLA-B*54:01 could result in mild symptoms, while those with weak affinity such as HLA-B*44:06 and HLA-B*46:01 contributed to severe symptoms and high mortality rate. Further, heterozygosity and frequency of HLA alleles could affect the disease outcome within populations. As a result, the vulnerability of the patients can be predicted through their HLA pattern, and preventive measures can be taken instantly for populations expressing high-risk alleles. HLA can be assumed as a global predictor of COVID-19 disease outcomes. High frequent alleles which affect the outcome of the disease are introduced as susceptibility-determining alleles.

Purpose Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a disease with a steadily increasing incidence throughout the world. Some molecules regulating the innate immune responses such as toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) have shown to be involved in late diabetic complications. This study aimed to investigate the association of TLR4 gene polymorphisms with clinicopathological aspects of T2DM in the Iranian population. Patients and methods Two TLR4 896A>G and 1196C>T polymorphisms were assessed in 100 T2DM patients and 100 healthy controls using sequence-specific primers PCR. Demographic, anthropometric, and biochemical parameters were obtained from the participants. Results After logistic regression, in 1196C>T, a significant association was shown between diabetic nephropathy (DN) and CT genotype (P= 0.04, OR= 4.35, CI= (1.04-18.1)). TG level has increased significantly in both T2DM and control subjects with CT genotype (P= 0.027, OR= 1.005, 95% CI= (1.001-1.01)). For 896A>G variant, a significant association was also detected between AG genotype and increased oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) level (P= 0.048, OR= 1.003, 95% CI= (1.00-1.005)). Conclusion Although minor alleles of 1196C>T and 896A>G variants have not directly been associated with type 2 diabetes, by involving in the dysregulation of serum TG and blood sugar levels, they might increase the risk of DN.

Umbelliprenin is a member of the 7-prenyloxycoumarins with potential therapeutic properties such as cytotoxic effects on various cancer cells. The present study investigates the effect of umbelliprenin on predominance of Th1 and Th2 responses in Lewis lung cancer (LLC) mouse model. The cytotoxic effect of umbelliprenin was explored on LLC cells and mouse splenocytes by MTT assay. Mice into which LLC had been transplanted were treated with umbelliprenin on alternate days, at 2.5 mg/200 µl intraperitoneally. Foxp3, TNF-α and TGF-β mRNA expressions were assessed in tumor and lung tissues of LLC mice. In addition, IL-10, IFN-γ and IL-4 levels were determined in sera and also in splenocyte culture supernatants at the presence of tumor cell lysate (10 µg/ml) and Con A (3 µg/ml) after 72 h. Results showed the cytotoxic effects of umbelliprenin on LLC cells (IC₅₀ = 51.6 ± 5.4 µM) while no adverse effect was seen at this concentration on normal splenocytes. TNF-α mRNA expression in both lung and tumor tissues was increased. However, Foxp3 and TGF-β expressions were decreased in tumor tissues. Serum level of IFN-γ was elevated in the umbelliprenin treated cancerous mice compared to the control group while IL-10 and IL-4 secretions were reduced. Tumor size was also decreased in umbelliprenin treated group. In summary, umbelliprenin has shown a partially Th1 bias with a reduction of regulatory immune response. Although the mechanism behind this action is not known, it is speculated that upon changing the Th1/Th2 balance in favour of Th1, umbelliprenin induces its antitumor activity.

Umbelliprenin (Umb), a natural coumarin, has demonstrated anti-tumor activities, both in vitro and particularly in vivo, in several types of cancer, including lung cancer. The present study aimed to identify molecular targets of Umb using a high-throughput approach. Lung cancer cell lines, QU-DB (large-cell lung carcinoma) and A549 (adenocarcinoma), were treated with Umb. Differentially-expressed proteins were identified using two-dimensional electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry. In the QU-DB cells, differential expression of proteins, including downregulation of the tumorigenic protein heat shock protein 90 kDa and upregulation of the potential anti-tumor proteins Nipsnap1 and glycine-tRNA ligase (GRS), suggested that Umb is a strong anti-tumor compound. In the A549 cells, differential expression of proteins indicated possible contradictory effects of Umbregarding tumorigenesis, which included downregulation of the tumorigenic protein cyclophilin and the tumor suppressor MST, and upregulation of stathmin (tumorigenic) and calreticulin. Calreticulun, in addition to GRS in QU-DB cells, stimulates anti-tumor immune responses in vivo. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to use a high-throughput approach to identify targets of Umb in cancer. These molecular targets suggested that Umb may exhibit stronger in vitro anti-tumor activity against the large-cell carcinoma model than the adenocarcinoma model. Furthermore, it has been reported that Umb exhibits higher cytotoxicity against QU-DB cells than A549 cells in vitro, and significant Umb anti-tumor activity against lung cancer in vivo, which is consistent with previously published literature. In each cell type, immune-associated molecules were upregulated, indicating that this naturally occurring compound exhibits marked anti-tumor activity in vivo. However, further studies that investigate the effect of Umb in different in vitro models of cancer are required.

Background Umbelliprenin is a natural compound, belonging to the class of sesquiterpene coumarins. Recently, umbelliprenin has attracted the researchers' attention for its antitumor activities against skin tumors. Its effect on lung cancer is largely unknown. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of this natural compound, which is expected to have low adverse effects, on lung cancer. Methods The QU-DB large cell and A549 adenocarcinoma lung cancer cell lines were treated with umbelliprenin. IC50 values were estimated using methyl thiazolely diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, in which a decrease in MTT reduction can occur as a result of cell death or cell proliferation inhibition. To quantify the rate of cell death at IC50 values, flow cytometry using Annexin V-FITC (for apoptotic cells), and propidium iodide (for necrotic cells) dyes were employed. Results Data from three independent MTT experiments in triplicate revealed that IC50 values for QU-DB and A549 were 47 ± 5.3 μM and 52 ± 1.97 μM, respectively. Annexin V/PI staining demonstrated that umbelliprenin treatment at IC50 induced 50% cell death in QU-DB cells, but produced no significant death in A549 cells until increasing the umbelliprenin concentration to IC80. The pattern of cell death was predominantly apoptosis in both cell lines. When peripheral blood mononuclear cells were treated with 50 μM and less concentrations of umbelliprenin, no suppressive effect was observed. Conclusions We found cytotoxic/anti-proliferative effects of umbelliprenin against two different types of lung cancer cell lines.

The CTLA4 protein downmodulates and terminates immune responses by sending inhibitory signals to activated T cells. In this study, six main single-nucleotide polymorphisms of the CTLA4 gene were investigated in 127 lung cancer patients and 124 healthy control subjects: −1722T/C, −1661 A/G, −318 C/T, +49A/G, +1822 C/T, and +6230 A/G (CT60). Statistical analyses revealed no significant differences in the frequencies of genotypes, alleles, and haplotypes between patients and control subjects. We also could not find significant association between CTLA4 variants and any defined lung tumor type. These six single-nucleotide polymorphisms in CTLA4 were not associated with susceptibility to lung cancer in Iranian population.

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasms (also termed gestational trophoblastic diseases [GTDs]) encompass a spectrum of interrelated tumors originating from trophoblasts. The search is ongoing for identification of the culpable gene defects in GTDs. Considering the role of PDCD1, CTLA-4 and p53 genes in immune regulation and tumor progression, we explored the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) corresponding to each gene and GTDs.In a genetic association study, PD1.5 (7785) C/T, CTLA-4 +49 A/G, and p53 codon 72 Arg/Pro SNPs were genotyped in case-control groups with patient/control ratios of 92:295, 83:84 and 85:150, respectively.The C/T genotype of the PDCD1 gene was significantly more prevalent among patients with GTDs (40.2%) than controls (19%) (odds ratio [OR] = 2.87; 95% CI = 1.72, 4.77; p0.001). Moreover, the C allele was present in 65.8% of patients and 49.5% of controls (OR = 1.96; 95% CI = 1.38, 2.76; p0.001). There was no difference in the distribution of each genotype or allele between patients with GTDs and controls considering other studied SNPs.The results of the current study demonstrate that SNPs in the PDCD1 gene confer susceptibility to GTDs, while there is no association between CTLA-4 and p53 gene polymorphisms and GTDs in an Iranian population.