Therapeutic effect of dimethyl dimethoxy biphenyl dicarboxylate on collagen-induced arthritis in rats / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of oral administration of dimethyl dimethoxy biphenyl dicarboxylate (DDB) on adjusting angiogeneic/inflammatory mediators and ameliorating the pathology of bones in rats with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Wistar rat model of CIA was set up using bovine collagen type II. Fifty rats were divided into five groups randomly: normal, CIA model, DDB treatment, methotrexate (MTX) treatment, and combined DDB+MTX treatment. Ankle joints of rats were imaged with digital X-ray machine to show the destruction of joints. Fore and hind paw and knee joints were removed above the ankle joint then processed for haematoxylin and eosin staining. Plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet derived growth factor, interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-4, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Nitric oxide levels were detected by Griess reagent.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the CIA model group, a remarkable reduction in various angiogenic (VEGF and IL-8) and inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-4 and COX-2) after treatment with DDB either alone or combined with MTX P<0.05 or P<0.01). Histopathological and X-ray findings were confirmatory to the observed DDB anti-arthritic effect. The DDB-treated group showed amelioration in signs of arthritis which appeared essentially similar to normal.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our data shed light on the therapeutic efficacy of DDB in experimental rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with a choice drug (MTX) and it may be offered as a second-line drug in the treatment of RA.</p>

Interleukin 10 gene promoter polymorphism and risk of diffuse large B cell lymphoma [DLBCL]

Given the importance of understanding the genetic variations involved in the pathogenesis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL], this work was designed to study the impact of IL-10 [-1082 G/A; rs!800896 and -819 C/T; rs!800871] gene promoter polymorphism on susceptibility of Egyptians to diffuse large B cell lymphoma [DLBCL]; the major type of NHL. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first one that examines IL-10 promoter polymorphism in DLBCL in Egyptians. Genotyping polymorphism is performed using sequence-specific primers polymerase chain reaction [SSP-PCR] in 100 Egyptian DLBCL patients and 119 normal controls. Circulating plasma levels of IL-10 were measured using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]. Insignificant change in IL-10 [-1082 and -819] genotypes was recorded. Although A allele is slightly decreased in DLBCL patients, it did not reach statistical significance. GT haplotype was significantly elevated [P < 0.05] in NHL patients. A significant linkage disequilibrium between the -1082 and 819 SNPs with D' = 0.596 and r[2] = 0.1032 [P < 0.001] was demonstrated. Significantly increased plasma IL-10 [P < 0.01] was found which is positively correlated [r = 0.307; P < 0.01] with the disease Taken together, our findings demonstrated that IL-10 promoter gene polymorphism [-1082 and -819] may not have an influence on the clinical outcome of DLBCL, especially in terms of overall secretion level. Further investigations of other cytokine gene polymorphisms will lead to a better understanding of the disease's biological background

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha -308G/A polymorphism and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis C virus-infected patients / 癌症

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is an important cytokine in generating an immune response against infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The functions of TNF-α may be altered by single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in its gene structure. We hypothesized that SNPs in TNF-α may be important in determining the outcome of an HCV infection. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the role of the polymorphism -308G/A, which is located in the promoter region of the TNF-α gene, in the progression of HCV infection in Egyptian patients using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The distribution of this polymorphism and its impact on the serum level of TNF-α was compared between 90 HCV-infected patients [45 with HCV-induced cirrhosis and 45 with HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)] and 45 healthy Egyptian volunteers without any history of liver disease. Our results showed that at the TNF-α -308 position, the G/G allele was most common (78.5%) in the study population, with the G/A and A/A alleles occurring less frequently (13.3% and 8.1%, respectively). Frequencies of G/G, G/A, and A/A genotypes were 87%, 7%, and 6% in patients with liver cirrhosis and were 94%, 4%, and 2% in patients with HCC, respectively. Serum levels of TNF-α were significantly higher in HCV-infected patients than in healthy controls, indicating that the TNF-α -308 polymorphism does not influence the production of TNF-α. The serum level of TNF-α was positively correlated with HCV infection. Taken together, these findings suggest that the TNF-α -308 polymorphism may not be a host genetic factor associated with the severity of HCV infection, but may be an independent risk factor for HCC.

Genetic analysis of Blastocystis hominis isolated from symptomatic and asymptomatic human hosts in Egypt

Extensive genomic polymorphism was demonstrated among morphologically identical B. hominis isolates. A genetic diversity would be a powerful tool for identification or classification of B. hominis subtypes. In this study, 14 Egyptian B. hominis isolates were collected, 5 of them were isolated from asymptomatic people whose infections were detected during routine medical check-up and 9 were isolated from patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. Restriction fragment length polymorphism [RFLP] analysis of PCR amplified small-subunit rDNA [SSU rDNA] was used to study genetic diversity of B. hominis isolates by 3 different restriction enzymes [Hin-fl, Rsal and Sau3AI]. Cluster analysis of the riboprint patterns showed 7 distinct genotypes out of 14 B. hominis isolates, 4 were previously reported riboprints and 3 were new ones. The frequency of intestinal symptoms was 64% in Blastocystis cases, Abdominal pain was the most frequent symptom 78% [7/9]. There was no definite correlation between RFLP-banding pattern or genetically distinct genotypes and pathogenecity

Impact of experimental duel infections with schistosoma mansoni and echinoccocus granulosus on hepatic histopathology

Experimental duel infection with S.mansoni and E. granulosus was induced in mice to determine their effect on serum nitric oxide [NO] level and accordingly on the sequences of histopathological lesions affecting the liver. The results showed that serum NO level was significantly increased [p