Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma infection in blood donors in Jahrom District, Southern Iran

Objective: To identify the anti-Toxoplasma antibodies from blood donors who referred to blood transfusion bases of Jahrom County, using ELISA method. Methods: Based on the prevalence and characteristics method, 400 serum samples were collected from blood donors referred to Jahrom blood transfusion bases, Southern Iran, during 2010-2011, designed at testing by ELISA. IgM and IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii were tested using ELISA kits (Dia-Pro) on serums. The data were analysed by SPSS 19 software. Results: Review of 400 cases, 54 of them were IgG positive for parasites (13.5%) and 346 of those with negative IgG (86.5%). In IgM examination, 1.75% of them have been positive IgM (7 cases) and 98.25% of them were IgM negative (393 cases). By comparing the different group ages, 40-50 year age group had the highest prevalence of IgG positive (17.9%) and the age group of 30-40 years had the highest incidence of IgM negative (2.5%). Conclusions: Due to the serological infection rate of toxoplasmosis obtained from this study, toxoplasmosis should be considered as a significant transfusion risk factor in Jahrom and also in any region with similar situations.

Immunity to tetanus in major beta thalassemia patients

PURPOSE: Patients with beta thalassemia major are at increased risk for bacterial infections specially splenectomized patients. The aim of this study was to determine the anti-tetanus antibody concentration among patients with beta thalassemia major. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anti-tetanus antibody concentration was investigated in 224 patients with thalassemia major and 224 healthy subjects matched for age and gender. Tetanus antibody and ferritin serum level were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method using commercial kits. Subjects who had antibody level > or = 0.1 IU/mL was defined as complete protection, 0.01 to < 0.1 IU/mL as partial protection and < 0.01 IU/mL as no protection. For the analysis, we used SPSS version 11.5 software. A two-sided p-value less 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: In patients with beta thalassemia major, antibody level against tetanus was inversely dependent about 29.3% to serum ferritin level. Thus, when serum ferritin increased 1 ng/mL, serum antibody against tetanus decreased 0.002 IU/mL. Mean anti-tetanus (IgG) antibody titers was lower in thalassemia patients compared to healthy subjects (1.53 +/- 1.71 vs. 2.02 +/- 2.05, p = 0.007) that was no significantly associated to age and gender in both study groups. All of participants had serum antibody level 0.01 IU/mL or greater. The complete protective level of anti-tetanus antibody was lower in thalassemia subjects in compare to healthy persons (71% vs. 87.9%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients with thalassemia had lower anti-tetanus antibody level than healthy subjects. Thus the vaccine recommendation seems essential for patients with beta thalassemia major.

Non-Association between rs7903146 and rs12255372 Polymorphisms in Transcription Factor 7-Like 2 Gene and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Jahrom City, Iran

BACKGROUND: Transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) is a transcription factor in the Wnt signaling pathway. High levels of TCF7L2 have been reported in most human tissues, including the heart, lung, brain, liver, kidney, placenta, adipose tissues, and pancreatic beta-cells. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between TCF7L2 polymorphisms (rs12255372 and rs7903146) and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the city of Jahrom, Iran. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted with 200 patients referred to Diabetes Clinics and 200 healthy subjects in Jahrom City. Biochemical characteristics were first determined. TCF7L2 rs1255372 and rs7903146 polymorphisms were then genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: T-allele frequencies of both single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significantly higher in diabetic patients than in normal glucose-tolerant subjects (rs12255372: 20.3% vs. 14.5%; rs7903146: 28.5% vs. 22.25%). The rs12255372 (G/T) polymorphism analysis showed an odds ratio of 0.473 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.170 to 1.314; P=0.151) for the TT genotype and 0.646 (95% CI, 0.410 to 1.019; P=0.060) for the TG genotype, compared with the GG genotype. The rs7903146 (C/T) polymorphism odds ratios for TT and TC genotypes were 0.564 (95% CI, 0.280 to 1.135; P=0.109) and 0.751 (95% CI, 0.487 to 1.157; P=0.194) compared with the CC genotype, respectively. CONCLUSION: The rs12255372 and rs7903146 SNPs of the TCF7L2 gene were not associated with insulin resistance in the evaluated population.

Insulin Resistance and Serum Levels of Interleukin-17 and Interleukin-18 in Normal Pregnancy

We performed this study to evaluate the role of Interleukin-17 (IL-17) and Interleukin-18 (IL-18) in insulin resistance during normal pregnancy. This descriptive cross sectional study was carried out on 97 healthy pregnant women including 32, 25, and 40 individuals in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively, and on 28 healthy non pregnant women between the autumn of 2012 and the spring of 2013. We analyzed the serum concentrations of IL-17 and IL-18 by using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Insulin resistance was measured by homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance equation. No significant differences between the demographic data of the pregnant and non pregnant groups were observed. Insulin resistant in pregnant women was significantly higher than the controls (p=0.006). Serum IL-17 concentration was significantly different in non pregnant women and pregnant women in all gestational ages (p<0.05). Serum IL-18 level was significantly lower in subjects with first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy in compared to non pregnant women (p<0.05). No significant correlations were found between serum IL-17 and IL-18 levels with insulin resistance (r=0.08, p=0.34 vs. r=0.01, p=0.91, respectively). Our data suggested that IL-17 and IL-18 do not appear to attribute greatly to pregnancy deduced insulin resistance during normal pregnancy.

Effects of Endurance Training on the Serum Levels of Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha and Interferon-gamma in Sedentary Men

Physical activity could be considered one of the factors that affect the immune system status and function. To find the relation between exercise and cytokines, we examined the possible effects of an 8-week endurance training program on the serum levels of cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in sedentary men. A total of 30 healthy young male volunteers were randomly divided into an endurance training group and a control group. The training group followed a specific exercise protocol (running on a treadmill for 15~30 min at 50~70% maximal heart rate) for 8 weeks and the control group did not participate in any exercise program. Venous blood samples were collected from both the groups 24 h before and 24 h and 48 h after the exercise. Repeated ANOVA was used for statistical purposes. The serum levels of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma were determined by ELISA. Significant (p0.05) decreases were observed in the serum levels of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, respectively, after the 8-week endurance training program. Our findings indicated that an 8-week endurance exercise may affect the serum levels of some inflammatory cytokines, suggesting the beneficial role of this training protocol in elderly population and people with certain conditions (inflammation of the vertebrae or other inflammatory diseases).