Evaluating the effects of fertilizers on bioavailable metallic pollution of soils, case study of sistan farms, Iran

Present study determines not only the total amounts of metals [Cr, Cu and Pb] in superficial agricultural soil of Sistan area in Eastern Iran, but also the chemical partitioning of these elements in seven statistically selected cases. The analysis was run for local soil, soil treated by non-contaminated organic, compost and chemical fertilizers as well as soil treated by metal-contaminated fertilizers. The sampling campaign was done in Zabol University research farm in 2009. The grab samples were taken from seven different cases, the chemical partitioning analysis was performed and metallic concentrations were detected using FAAS. It may be concluded that the bioaccessibility of metals Cu and Cr would be increased in case of imposed contamination where the soil is treated with all three kinds of fertilizers. Although a relatively similar distribution pattern is seen between anthropogenic and geopogenic portions of bulk concentration in all three kinds of fertilizers, chemical fertilizer seems to manifest a more risky condition. According to the results achieved by cluster analysis, a close correlation exists between Cu and Cr behavior which may be attributed to the geological texture of the study area. In accordance with the results gained by partitioning analysis, IpOLL index values also show contaminated chemical fertilizer as the most risky case for all three metals in comparison with others

Role of IgE low-affinity receptor [CD23] in pathogenesis of nasal polyp

Nasal polyps, a common clinical problem, are characterized by eosinophilic and mast cell inflammation. The role of allergy and IgE in pathogenesis of nasal polyps is still unclear. IgE receptors are important components of the immunological pathway in allergic and inflammatory diseases. To determine if the low affinity IgE receptor [CD23] is presented on nasal polyp tissues as a marker of local allergy or inflammation. Twenty patients who had undergone polypectomy enrolled into the study. Polyp tissues were stained by hematoxylineosin and acid-fast methods for histopathologic study. Immunohistochemical staining was performed with monoclonal antibody to leukocyte surface CD23. Polyp tissue fluid was extracted by slicing and centrifuging. Total serum IgE and tissue fluid was measured by ELISA. Thirteen of 20 polyp tissues were positive for CD23. Moderate to large number of eosinophils were observed in 5 patients. Serum IgE level was elevated [>70 IU /ml] in 13 patients and polyp IgE level was elevated in 8 patients. No significant correlation was found between CD23, serum and polyp tissue IgE, and eosinophil infiltration. CD23 may act as non-IgE dependent inflammatory marker in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps

Seroepidemiological survey of rubella immunity among three populations in Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran

We used indirect ELISA assay to test 1193 sera for rubella IgG and IgM antibodies in a seroepidemiological survey of three age- and gender-differentiated sample populations in Shiraz: 203 children aged 2-7 years, 255 paired mothers and neonates [cord blood] and 480 women aged 14-70 years. Seropositivity among women aged 14-70 years was 96.2%. No IgM positive case was found among the 255 tested cord blood samples. Seropositivity among the 203 children was 97.0% [much higher than previously reported]. This may be due to rubella epidemics, which tend to occur every 6-10 years. The impact of introducing rubella vaccination is discussed

High prevalence of anti-HCV and HTLV-1 antibodies in thalassmia-Major patients of southern Iran

Ninety patients with beta thalassemia major who had received washed or packed red blood cells for more than five years were screened for the existence of specific antibodies against hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg], hepatitis C virus [HCV], human T lymphotropic virus-1 [HTLV-1], hepatitis B core antigen [HBcAg], and human immunodeficiency virus-1 and 2 [HIV-1 and 2]. Whereas 23 out of 90 patients [25.55%] were positive for HTLV-1 antibody, none were positive for HIV-1 and 2 specific antibodies. Moreover, only one case [1.1%] was positive for HBsAg, while 16 out of 90 patients [17.8%] were positive for antibody against HBcAg. Screening of these sera for anti-HCV antibody showed a large number of patients with anti-HCV antibody [68.5%]. Routine blood screening for HCV and HTLV-1 is also suggested

Identification of two different intracellular antigens in human leukocyte by monoclonal antibodies

Two monoclonal antibodies [mAbs] designated as SU11 and SUI2 were produced by fusion of a mouse myeloma cell line with spleen cells from mice immunized with human tonsillar lymphocytes. SUII and SUI2 monoclonal antibodies recognized two epitopes with molecular weights of 39 and 43 KDa derived from solubilized membrane of Nalm -16 and Bjab cell lines, respectively. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that these mAbs were reactive to around 30% of peripheral blood T cells and 25% of B cells and granulocytes, Nuclear and cytoplasmic staining was observed in 90% of bone marrow myeloid and lymphoid cells. These characteristic features of SUI1 and SUI2 mAbs suggest that the epitopes recognized by these mAbs are scattered throughout the cell membrane cytoplasm and nucleus

Determination of a shared epitope on cells from acute myelogenic leukemia [AML] and T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia [T-ALL]

Two IgM monoclonal antibodies [MAb] with strong reactivity for granulocytes and to a lesser extent for Jurkat cell lines were established by immunizing BALB/ c mice with a histiocytic cell line [U937]. These two MAbs [designated as 6C9 and 4C4] reacted with blast cells of T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia [T-ALL] and acute myelogenous leukemia [AML] patients as well as leukemic cells from patients known as unclassified leukemia [UL]. According to their pattern of reactivity, it is most probable that these two IgM MAbs react with some highly glycosylated membrane determinants such as 3-fucosyl-N-acetyllactosamine [3-FAL] which are exclusively expressed on some subsets of granulocytes and AML cells

Detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis soluble antigens in cerebrospinal fluids of patients with tuberculosis meningitis by a capture ELISA method

A capture ELISA assay was used to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis soluble antigens in CSFs of patients with tuberculous meningitis by production of rabbit polyclonal anti-BCG antibody.CSF specimens from 16 clinically proven cases of tuberculous meningitis, 25 from bacterial meningitis and 50 from normal individuals were collected and assayed by this method. The means of the optical density [OD] for patients with tuberculous meningitis, bacterial meningitis and normal individuals were found to be 0.72 +/- 0.38, 0.27 +/- 0.08 and 0.24 +/- 0.07, respectively. The specificity and sensitivity of this method were 88% and 68% respectively, therefore, the use of this test for rapid diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis is recommended

Comparison of IgM rheumatoid factor in patients with kala azar, tuberculosis toxoplasmosis and brucellosis

Immunoglobulin M [IgM] rheumatoid factor [IgM-RF] was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] and latex agglutination test [LAT] in clinically documented 50 cases each of Kala-azar, tuberculosis, seropositive toxoplasmosis and brucellosis and the results were compared to 50 normal healthy volunteers. The rate of IgM-RF positive cases were 46%, 20%, 24% and 4% in kala-azar, brucellosis, tuberculosis and toxoplasmosis, respectively. No direct correlation was observed between ELISA-positive RF cases and specific antibodies, or serum levels of C-reactive protein [CRP] in each disease group. Comparison of these data suggests that patients with kala-azar and toxoplasmosis showed the highest and the lowest frequencies of B cell repertoires producing rheumatoid factor, respectively

CD38 molecule: a multilineage glycoprotein and its unique expression on plasma cells

A hybridoma clone designated 6G5 has been selected by fusion of mouse myeloma cell line Ag. 8653 with spleen cells from mice immunized with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMC]. The antibody produced by this clone was found to be strongly reactive with four human B-cell lines in the conventional immunological assays. Despite the fact that expression of most B cell-associated markers are lost upon differentiation of B-cells to plasma cells, the expression of the 6G5 reactive molecule remains unchanged. The lack of reactivities of this MAb for mature T-cells, and monocytic cell lines indicates that this MAb recognizes a B cell associated marker. Western blot analysis indicated that the 6G5 MAb detected a single band with molecular weight of41KDa from cell lysates of two human B-cell lines, DAUDI and NALM6. Comparison of data obtained for 6G5 MAb with those of the MAb known as OKT10 indicated that both MAbs may have reacted with the same molecule