Evaluation of plasma soluble CD137 level in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients in comparison with healthy controls in Isfahan Province, Iran

@#Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory disease, characterizes by demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS). Co-stimulatory molecules such as CD137 (4-1 BB) play a major role in the activation of lymphocytes in CNS. The exact immunopathogenesis of MS is unknown. Hence, detection of specific biomarkers in the process of MS disease can lead to new therapeutic approaches. This study aimed to compare plasma sCD137 levels in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with healthy controls in Isfahan province. Methods: Plasma sCD137 level was measured by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assays (ELISA) in 36 RRMS patients as well as 52 (age and sex-matched) healthy controls and the results were compared. Results: The plasma sCD137 level in studied RRMS patients was significantly higher in the patient group compared to the healthy controls (P- value=0.027). In addition, there was no significant association between age, sex, job and education level, with plasma sCD137 level in both the control and the case groups (P value>0.05). There was no correlation between mean of sCD137 and EDSS score, age of onset, duration of disease as well as serum 25 (OH) D concentrations of the patients. Conclusion: High plasma sCD137 level was detected in RRMS patients when compared with the controls, which may indicate the possible role of this biomarker in the immunopathogenesis of MS. Since CD137 can affect T lymphocytes activation and apoptosis, further studies are needed to elucidate its exact role in the pathogenesis of MS.

Association of AIRE polymorphism and the susceptibility to multiple sclerosis in Iranian population

Background: Multiple Sclerosis [MS] is the most common cause of neurologic disability in young adults. Recently, the AIRE gene was identified as a genetic risk factor for several autoimmune diseases in genome wide association studies. The aim of this study was to further investigate the possible role of the AIRE gene in susceptibility to MS in Iranian population

Methods: A total of 112 MS patients and 94 ethnically matched controls were included in the study. The Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism [SNP] [rs1800520, C>G] with a global MAF=0.2282/1143 was selected and genotyped using HRM real-time PCR method

Results: Results showed that AIRE SNP rs1800520 was significantly less common in the MS patients than in healthy controls [17.8 vs. 28.7%, pc=0.032, OR=0.54,95% CI 0.279,1.042]. Also, the frequency of allele G was significantly higher among the control group than in the case group [37.77 vs. 25%, pc=0.014]. Interestingly, mRNA transcribed on the rs1800520 SNP showed decreased free energy than the wild type suggesting that its increased stability may be responsible for the different activities of the polymorphic AIRE molecule

Conclusions: This is the first study investigating the relationship between AIRE gene and the susceptibility to MS. These results indicated that the rs1800520 SNP is not a susceptibility gene variant for the development of MS in Iranian population

OX40 gene and serum protein expression profiles in patients with Parkinson's disease

Objective: Inflammation of the immune system and the central nervous system has been known as an important predisposing factor for Parkinson's disease [PD]. Increased expression of OX40 protein [CD134] is a known factor for increased inflammation and initiation of NF-kappa-B signaling pathway in different diseases. We aimed to investigate the expression of OX40 at the transcript and serum protein levels

Materials and Methods: Twenty individuals with PD and 20 healthy individuals, as controls, were enrolled in this casecontrol study. Expression of OX40 at the transcript level and serum protein levels were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction [qRT-PCR] and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays respectively

Results: The mean expression level of OX40 was increased in patients but not at a significant level [P>0.05]. Consistently, the mean serum concentration of OX40 showed a mild, but non-significant, increase in the patients [P>0.05]

Conclusion: We conclude that OX40 expression at either the transcript or protein level has no diagnostic utility in asymptomatic PD. This shows the need for clinical, cellular and interventional research to detect new robust biomarkers

[Evaluation of the mean percentages of the peripheral blood gamma delta t lymphocytes in the healthy subjects and celiac patients in Isfahan]

An elevation in the mean percentages of the gamma delta T lymphocytes per total T cells in the epithelium of the small intestine has a diagnostic value for celiac disease. This study aimed to measure the percentages of the peripheral blood gamma delta T lymphocytes in the adults' celiac disease and healthy controls.In this case-control study the absolute numbers of the peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from the controls [n = 21] and celiac patients [n=15] were studied, Using a cell counter. The proportions of the gamma-delta T lymphocytes were evaluated by the flow cytometer method. The results showed that there was not significant I difference in the percentages of the gamma-delta T lymphocytes between celiac patients and healthy individuals. [p value= 0.84] Collectively, the data show that the percentages of the peripheral blood gamma delta T lymphocytes could not be helpful for celiac disease diagnosis

Phenotypical characterization of the peripheral blood T cells in patients with celiac disease: does it differentiate suspicious celiac disease cases?

The present study aimed to study the immunological changes seen in the intestinal epithelium of the celiac patients could also be detected in the peripheral blood lymphocyte populations. Celiac disease [CD] is a small bowel enteropathy caused by permanent wheat gluten intolerance. One of the earliest signs of CD is an increase in the numbers of the intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes [iIEL]. In this case-control study, totally 13 untreated subjects with acceptable criteria for CD without any complication and 16 healthy subjects without any positive criteria for CD were selected. Peripheral blood T cells were analyzed by two-color flow cytometry in both groups. The mean age of patients was 33.6 +/- 3.4 years and two patients had Marsh IIIB, five patients had Marsh IIIA and six patients had Marsh II histology class. The mean percentages of the gamma delta]TCR[+] T cells in the patients were significantly higher than the controls [p=0.015]. However, the mean percentages of the [alpha beta]TCR[+] T cells were significantly lower in the untreated patients than the controls [p=0.025]. There were no significant difference between the mean percentages of lymphocytes expressing the CD3, CD4 and CD8 molecules in the patients and the controls. The change in the percentages of the peripheral blood T cells expressing the [gamma delta]TCR and [alpha beta]TCR in the celiac patients could be used in conjunction with the other serological markers to identify new CD cases