Stem cell biotherapy: A new remedy for Trichinella spiralis-induced inflammatory myopathy.

Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis)-induced myopathy is an inflammatory myopathy that is difficult to treat unless the parasite is combated in its early intestinal phase before it reaches the muscles. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of local mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy on T. spiralis-induced inflammatory myopathy in rats. Rats were divided into four groups: Group 1 (non-infected non-treated group); Group 2 (infected non-treated group); Group 3 (infected albendazole (ABZ)-treated group); and Group 4 (infected MSC-treated group). Their muscle status was assessed physiologically with the righting reflex and electromyography (EMG), parasitologically with the total muscle larval count, histopathologically with hematoxylin and eosin and Mallory's trichrome stains, as well as immunohistochemically for myogenin as a marker of muscle regeneration. Additionally, serum muscle enzymes creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as muscle matrix metalloproteinases MMP1 and MMP9, were assayed. Finally, the immunological response was assessed by measuring the levels of the muscle inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interferon-gamma (INF-γ), and interleukin-4 (IL-4). Our findings revealed that MSC therapy markedly improved muscle EMG and righting reflex, as well as the histopathological appearance of the muscles, reduced inflammatory cellular infiltrates, and increased myogenin immunostaining. It also reduced serum CK and LDH levels, as well as muscle INF-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, MMP1, and MMP9 levels. However, it had no effect on the total muscle larval count. Accordingly, due to its anti-inflammatory properties and muscle-regenerative effect, MSC therapy could be a promising new remedy for T. spiralis-induced myopathy.

Adrenomedullin Mitigates Doxorubicin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats: Role of Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, Apoptosis, and Pyroptosis.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anticancer antibiotic which has various effects in human cancers. It is one of the commonly known causes of drug-induced nephrotoxicity, which results in acute renal injury. Adrenomedullin (ADM), a vasodilator peptide, is widely distributed in many tissues and has potent protective effects. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the protective potential mechanisms of ADM against DOX-induced nephrotoxicity. A total of 28 male Wistar rats were randomized into four groups: control group, doxorubicin group (15 mg/kg single intraperitoneal injection of DOX), adrenomedullin + doxorubicin group (12 µg/kg/day intraperitoneal injection of ADM) 3 days prior to DOX injection and continuing for 14 days after the model was established, and adrenomedullin group. Kidney function biomarkers, oxidative stress markers, and inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, NLRP3, IL-1ß, and IL-18) were assessed. The expressions of gasdermin D and ASC were assessed by real-time PCR. Furthermore, the abundances of caspase-1 (p20), Bcl-2, and Bax immunoreactivity were evaluated. ADM administration improved the biochemical parameters of DOX-induced nephrotoxicity, significantly reduced oxidative damage markers and inflammatory mediators, and suppressed both apoptosis and pyroptosis. These results were confirmed by the histopathological findings and revealed that ADM's antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-pyroptotic properties may have prospective applications in the amelioration of DOX-induced nephrotoxicity.

Therapeutic effect of inhaled budesonide in transient tachypnea of newborn: A placebo-controlled study.

Transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) is a chest disease found in neonates. It varies from mild to severe and is accompanied by neonatal morbidity and respiratory complications. This is a prospective placebo-controlled study, identification number is TCTR20200513005, which was done in the neonatal unit of Tanta University Hospital between June 2016 and March 2018. This study comprised 100 neonates with TTN, which were divided into two groups. The first group (inhaled steroid group) consisted of 50 neonates with TTN who were exposed to inhalation of corticosteroids (budesonide 2 ml, 0.25 mg/ml suspension for nebulizer, AstraZeneca AB, Södertälje, Sweden), the first dose was administered within 6 h of birth and the second dose was given 12 h later. The second group (placebo group) consisted of 50 neonates with TTN who were exposed to placebo inhalation (2 ml of distilled sterile water). There was significant difference between both groups regarding Down score (P = 0.001), TTN clinical score (P = 0.001) and Saturation of Peripheral Oxygen (SpO2) measured by pulse oximeter (P = 0.008), while there was nonsignificant difference between both groups regarding PH (P = 0.573), and this showed that clinically the inhaled steroid group is significantly better than the placebo group. Hence, this study concludes that since administration of inhaled budesonide showed improvement in TTN cases, it could be a recommended line of treatment for neonatal TTN.