Role of higher levels of post-challenge antibodies in protective vaccination against Leishmania tropica infection of BALB/c mice

Objective: To study the role of antibodies in protection against Leishmania tropica (L. tropica) infection in the experimental model of BALB/c mice. Methods: BALB/c mice were vaccinated against L. tropica by soluble Leishmania antigen or recombinant L. tropica stress-inducible protein-1 (LtSTI1) of L. tropica, and against Leishmania major (L. major) by soluble Leishmania antigen. Monophosphoryl lipid A was used as an adjuvant. The L. tropica- or L. major-vaccinated mice were challenged by L. tropica or L. major, respectively. The levels of anti-Leishmania antibodies (IgG1 and IgG2a) were determined after vaccination and after challenge. Results: All vaccinated groups caused a higher antibody response in comparison with the control group. The L. major-vaccinated group showed lower IgG1 response than the control group after the challenge. Conversely, in L. tropica-vaccinated mice, the levels of antibodies were higher than the control group. Moreover, the group receiving rLtSTI1 and monophosphoryl lipid A showed higher levels of antibodies than those of the rLtSTI1 group. In vaccinated mice, antibody responses against L. tropica remained high until 16 weeks after the challenge. Conclusions: The higher levels of post-challenge antibodies are associated with protective vaccination against L. tropica infection of BALB/c mice. Our findings provide new insight into the association of antibody with vaccine-induced protective immunity against L. tropica infection. More studies are needed to clarify the role of antibody in protection against L. tropica.

[Dietary glycemic index and glycemic load in relation to mortality from cardiovascular disease: a review of epidemiologic evidence]

A cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death worldwide in the last decades. Inappropriate changes in dietary patterns, including increased consumption of refined carbohydrates with high glycemic index [GI] and glycemic load [GL] are the most important environmental risk factors in increasing cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to review the current evidence on the association between dietary GI and GL and mortality from various cardiovascular diseases. A literature search in PubMed was done with the use of "Glycemic index", "cardiovascular disease" and "mortality" as keywords. So far, few studies have been performed in this area. Findings from these studies have been taken into account in this review. All available studies were prospective investigations performed among humans. Findings from the current evidence suggest no significant association between dietary GI, GL and cardiovascular mortality. The only significant finding we reached in the literature was about middle-aged and older Japanese women; where a positive significant association was reported between dietary GI and GL and mortality from ischemic stroke [RR: 2.45; CI:[95%] [1.01-5.92]]. It is concluded that reaching a definite conclusion based on current evidence is difficult. More information is required to determine the definite association between dietary glycemic index and glycemic load and mortality from various cardiovascular diseases

Effect of composite elasticity and filler concentration on shear bond strength of composite to dentin

Resin composites are one of the most popular tooth colored restorative materials. Their enamel and dentin bonding ability are based on many factors, including elasticity and filler concentration. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of volumetric filler percentage and modulus of elasticity of six composites by measuring shear bond strength to dentin of the bovine teeth as experimental bonding substrate. Eighty bovine incisors were prepared and divided into eight groups. Tetric Ceram, Tetric Flow, Compo glass F, Helimolar RO, Definite, and Degufill Mineral were applied respectively. A fifth generation of dentin bonding system [Single Bond [3M, USA]] was used for all the groups. The volumetric filler percentage of each composite was obtained from their specification data. The modulus of elasticity was determined, using the formula presented by Bream et al [1986]. Then, in last two groups Heliomolar RO and Definite were bonded using their own bonding systems, Syntac Multicomponent, and Definite Multibond. The shear bond strength was measured according to the ISO/TR 11405. Pearson's correlation test was used to compare the result with groups 4 and 5. The results indicated that the relationship between both the filler percentage and the modulus of elasticity with the shear strength was 16% [P < 0.005]. There was a significant difference between groups 4 and 7, but no significant difference was observed between groups 5 and 8. Using composites with a higher filler content and modulus of elasticity resulted in higher shear bond strength in dentin bonding system. Our results showed that the corresponding dentin bonding system of composites had better results

Effect of mammalian ambient temperature on leishmania major promastigotes: viability, morphology and immunogenicity in balb/c mice

Change in temperature is one of the most important factors influencing the promastigote-to-amastigote transformation in Leishmania parasites. The present investigation studies the effect of mammalian temperature [37°C] on Leishmania major promastigote in regards to viability, morphology and immunogenicity in BALB/C mice. Temperature shifts from 25°C to 37°C in the studied Leishmania major strain induced incomplete transformation of the parasites, which included a shorter length and a thicker width, and reduced the parasite motility. The majority of parasites were alive 48 hours after the temperature shifts. With respect to their immunogenicity in BALB/C mice, the parasites transformed at 37°C did not differ significantly from those maintained at 25°C

HLA class I in Iranian psoriatic patients

The association of HLA and disease varies in different populations. We have studied the association of HLA class I in Iranian psoriatic patients, in order to compare this association with other reports. Fifty-one Iranian patients with psoriasis were HLA typed. The frequency of HLA antigens in patients and patient subgroups, based on clinical patterns, age of onset, family history and provocative factors, were compared with each other and with normal controls. The results indicate that the disease is strongly associated with HLA-Cw6 [chi-square, corrected P-value [Pc]