T cell immune responses in psoriasis.

A central role for T cells and their cytokines in the pathogenesis of psoriasis has been proposed; however, there are controversies over the details of this issue. The goal of this study is to summarise currently available data on the importance of T cells in psoriasis pathogenesis. A systematic review of the English medical literature was conducted by searching PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Iranian databases including Iranmedex, and SID for studies on associations between the involvement of T cell subsets and psoriasis. The results of the present study indicate that alterations in the number and function of different subsets of T-cells are associated with psoriasis. It appears that studies on T cell subsets contributed to understanding the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis. In addition, it may have provided novel therapeutic opportunities in ameliorating immunopathologies.

Th1/Th2 cytokines in patients with Graves' disease with or without ophthalmopathy.

About 25-50% of Graves' disease (GD) patients develop thyroid eye diseases, which is associated with inflammatory process and abnormalities in the levels of several cytokines in orbital tissues in GD. The aim of this study was to determine the Th1 and Th2 serum cytokines in patients with GD with or without ophthalmopathy. Serum levels of cytokines and autoantibodies including Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interleukin-4 (IL-4), Interleukin-10 (IL-10), TSH receptor autoantibody (TRAb), thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibody(TgAb) were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) in 34 patients with GD and in 33 normal controls. Patients were also divided in two subgroups: 18 cases with ophthalmopathy and 16 cases without ophthalmopathy. Cytokine and antibody responses were analyzed in both groups. Compared with control subjects, patients with GD showed elevated levels of IL-2 and IL-10. IFN-γ levels were lower in patients in comparison to the controls. No significant differences were found between patients and controls regarding the IL-4. There was no statistically significant difference in cytokine levels between those with or without ophthalmopathy. Quantitative-cytokine analysis demonstrated that a combination of Th1 and Th2 cytokines may contribute to the pathogenesis of GD. These results also indicate that IL-10, but not IL-4, is related to the moderate and severe forms of thyroid associated ophthalmophathy.

Interaction of CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides with Toll like receptor 9 induces apoptosis and modulates metaloproteinase-2 activity in human intestinal epithelium.

Recent reports have indicated different effects of immunostimulatory sequences containing CpG-Oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) on various immune cells. However, the exact role of CpG-ODN in the human gut is unclear. In the present study, we assessed potential effects of CpG-ODN on non lymphoid cell (intestinal epithelial cell line HT-29) on a dose-response and time-course basis. Intestinal epithelial cell line HT-29 was treated with CpG-ODN (CpG 2006) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 5, 10, 25, 50 microg/ ml and 1, 5, 10 microg/ ml concentrations, respectively. Following treatments, dose- response and time-course cytotoxicity using a colorimetric method, Metaloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) activity (using gelatin zymography) and apoptosis (using annexin-v flowcytometry method) assays were performed. Chloroquine treatment was also used for its inhibitory effect on endosomal acidification process to verify specific CpG-ODN and Toll Like Receptor 9 (TLR9) interactions. Cytotoxicity analysis of CpG-ODN showed that CpG-ODN increased significantly the proliferation of CpG-ODN treated cells, as compared to untreated cells, at concentrations of 10-25 microg/ml (p < 0.05). Overall MMP-2 activity analysis showed significant differences between treated and untreated cells. However, minimal changes were observed when MMP-2 activity was assessed per cell. Moreover, CpG-ODN treated cells demonstrated an increasing apoptosis rate of 0.8 %, 6.46 % and 14.21% at concentrations of 5, 10, 25 microg/ml, respectively. Collectively, our data indicated that intestinal epithelial cell line HT-29 is highly responsive to CpG effect in vitro and exhibits modified activities. The direct CpG-ODN and TLR-9 interactions in HT-29 cells could provide new approaches in malignant tumor therapeutic strategies.