gene expression level of IFN-gammaR1 and IFN-gammaR2 in a murine model treated with Toxoplasma gondii and its products

Aim: To evaluate the effect of active T. gondii tachyzoites and its products on the gene expression level of IFN-gammaR1 and IFN-gammaR2 in a murine model

Background: Many studies have shown that the parasite Toxoplasma gondii utilizes different mechanisms to inhibit the function of IFN-gamma, but the parasite effect on the function of IFN-gammaR1 and IFN-gammaR2 is still unclear

Patients and methods: Toxoplasma lysate product [TLP], excretory/secretory products [ESPs] obtained from cell free and cell culture media as well as active tachyzoites were injected separately to their respective group each consisted of 10 BALB/c mice. One control group of 10 mice received phosphate buffered saline [PBS]. All of the mice were euthanized three days after the last injection and then their peritoneal leukocytes were harvested separately. The total RNA was extracted from the samples, converted to cDNA, and the gene expression level of IFN-gammaR1 and IFN-gammaR2 was assessed in all of the treated groups relative to the control one

Results: There was no significant difference between each of the treated groups relative to the control group concerning the gene expression level of IFN-gammaR2 [P> 0.05]. Furthermore, the gene expression level of IFN-gammaR1 in two groups of TLP [P= 0.04] and ESP obtained from cell free medium [P= 0.008] showed a significant difference relative to the control group

Conclusion: Findings of this study revealed a new aspect of host-T. gondii interaction in that this parasite is able to downregulate IFN-gammaR1 to reduce the IFN-gamma effects on the infected cell

Molecular identification of giardia lamblia; is there any correlation between diarrhea and genotyping in Iranian population?

The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular identification of Giardia lamblia in patients with diarrhea. Giardiasis caused by Giardia lamblia is a common intestinal disease. Although this parasitic infection found in mammals including human, pets and livestock, but few species within the genus Giardia can infects humans. G. lamblia have seven complex genotypes termed [A-H]. Genotype A and B the main causes of human infections. Sixty seven microscopically positive G. Lamblia samples were collected from clinical laboratories in Isfahan province between June 2013 and February 2014. Extraction of genomic DNA was performed for 65 concentrated cysts and 2 cultured trophozoites. Partial sequences of tpi including 148-bp and 81-bp were amplified for detection the genotypes A and B using RFLP- PCR protocol respectively. PCR results showed that out of 67 patients with giardiasis infection, genotype A [148 bp] was detected in 40 isolates [59.70%] compared to genotype B [81 bp] isolated was detected in 25 isolates [37.31%]. Also two isolates [2.98%] had mix infection infected with genotype A and B. By comparing the frequency of genotype A [81.8%] and genotype B [13.6%], we found that genotype A is six times higher prevalence than genotype B in patients with diarrhea. We suggest that using sensitive techniques and larger sample for detection of G. lamblia genotypes and their subtypes would be necessary for investigation the immune system respond and correlation with diarrhea in the future studies in Iran

Genetic Diversity of Echinococcus granulosus in Center of Iran

Hydatid cyst caused by Echinococcus granulosus is one of the most important parasitic diseases around the world and many countries in Asia, including Iran, are involved with this infection. This disease can cause high mortality in humans as well as economic losses in livestock. To date, several molecular methods have been used to determine the genetic diversity of E. granulosus. So far, identification of E. granulosus using real-time PCR fluorescence-based quantitative assays has not been studied worldwide, also in Iran. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of E. granulosus from center of Iran using real-time PCR method. A total of 71 hydatid cysts were collected from infected sheep, goat, and cattle slaughtered in Isfahan, Iran during 2013. DNA was extracted from protoscolices and/or germinal layers from each individual cyst and used as template to amplify the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1) (420 bp). Five cattle isolates out of 71 isolates were sterile and excluded from further investigation. Overall, of 66 isolates, partial sequences of the cox1 gene of E. granulosus indicated the presence of genotypes G1 in 49 isolates (74.2%), G3 in 15 isolates (22.7%), and G6 in 2 isolates (3.0%) in infected intermediate hosts. Sixteen sequences of G1 genotype had microgenetic variants, and they were compared to the original sequence of cox1. However, isolates identified as G3 and G6 genotypes were completely consistent with original sequences. G1 genotype in livestock was the dominant genotype in Isfahan region, Iran.

Effect of ascorbic acid on the right and left coronary arteries of male rabbits fed with high-cholesterol diet

Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases are the most common causes of death in western countries. The beneficial effect of ascorbic acid on various organs has been reported. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of ascorbic acid on the right and left coronary arteries of male rabbits fed with high-cholesterol diet. Twenty white male rabbits [mean weight: 950 g] were weighed and randomly divided into two groups. For 40 days, group 1 [n=10] was given a high-cholesterol [1%] diet, group 2 [n=10] was fed with a high-cholesterol diet and ascorbic acid [100 mg/kg]. Then both of the groups were weighed and the animals were sacrificed. The right and left coronary arteries were dissected and then fixation, tissue processing, histological sectioning and H and E staining were carried out and sections were studied by light microscopy. The results were analyzed by using the Mann Whitney test. Group 2 which received ascorbic acid had no fatty streaks in their coronary arteries. Significant difference in mean weight was observed before and after the diet in both groups [P<0.05]. Histopathological study of the coronary arteries showed that the rabbits which received ascorbic acid diet did not develop fatty streaks. Thus ascorbic acid exerts an apparently inhibitory effect on fatty streak formation and may slow down or prevent atherosclerosis by countering the side effects of a high-fat meal