Soheila Alyasin; Reza Amin; Ali Fazel; Mohammad Hossein Karimi; Seyed Hesamedin Nabavizadeh; Hossein Esmaeilzadeh; Maryam Babaei
Volume 14, Issue 1 , March 2017, , Pages 73-80
Abstract
Background: Asthma is the chronic inflammation of airways characterized by eosinophilic infiltration, mucus overproduction, airway hyper-responsiveness and airway remodeling. These changes are induced mostly by cytokines which are produced by T helper (Th) 2 cells. Recently, the role of interleukin-23 ...
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Background: Asthma is the chronic inflammation of airways characterized by eosinophilic infiltration, mucus overproduction, airway hyper-responsiveness and airway remodeling. These changes are induced mostly by cytokines which are produced by T helper (Th) 2 cells. Recently, the role of interleukin-23 (IL-23) in the pathogenesis of adultallergic asthma has been studied. Objective: To explore IL-23 serum levels and its expression in persistent asthma compared with healthy children younger than five years old. Method: Blood samples of 40 children with mild and severe persistent asthma were compared to 34 healthy children regarding IL-23 serum levels and gene expression using enzyme-linked immunosorbentassay (ELISA) and real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: The IL-23 gene expression level was significantly different in the 25 children with mild persistent asthma and the 15 children with severe persistent asthma compared to the control group (p=0.001).There was no significant difference in IL-23 gene expression level between the two groups of patients with mild and severe persistent asthma. A significant difference was seen in IL-23 serum levels between the 25 children with persistent asthma and control group (p=0.002).Conclusion: For pre-school children with history and physical exam in favor of asthma which cannot be tested by spirometry, IL-23 serum levels may be an auxiliary biomarker for the diagnosis of asthma.
Soheila Alyasin; Marzieh Adab; Asieh Hosseinpour; Reza Amin; Maryam Babaei
Volume 13, Issue 3 , September 2016, , Pages 204-219
Abstract
Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease which is characterized by B-cell abnormality and auto-antibody generation. Since bacterial infections are the most important causes of mortality in these patients, pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for children with ...
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Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease which is characterized by B-cell abnormality and auto-antibody generation. Since bacterial infections are the most important causes of mortality in these patients, pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for children with SLE. Objective: To investigate humoral immunity and specific-antibody formation in response to a 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccination in SLE children and asthmatic control group. Method: The case and control groups consisted of 30 children with the mean age of 13 years who were matched by sex and age. Anti-pneumococcal antibody titers were determined using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) before the vaccination with the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine and 3 weeks later in both groups. Also the correlation between anti-pneumococcal antibody titer and different factors including age, sex, lupus activity, disease duration, medications, history of recurrent infections, and laboratory data were investigated. Results: Both groups showed significant increases in anti-pneumococcal antibody level after vaccination (p≤0.001). The increase in antibody level were almost the same in both groups (p≥0.05) such that 77.7% of SLE children and 86.2% of control children showed at least 2-fold increase in anti-pneumococcal antibody titer following immunization. Significant correlations were seen between the level of post-immunization anti-pneumococcal antibody with the age of children with SLE (p=0.02) and their age of disease onset (p=0.02). Conclusion: It is concluded that pneumococcal vaccination is generally immunogenic in children with SLE. However, a small group of patients show impaired response to the vaccine.
Soheila Alyasin; Mohammad Hossein Karimi; Reza Amin; Maryam Babaei; Sepideh Darougar
Volume 10, Issue 3 , September 2013, , Pages 177-185
Abstract
Background: IL-17 is a major cytokine player in T cell mediated leukocyte associated inflammation. IL-17 is also recognized to participate in the pathophysiology of asthma. Objective: To determine the role of IL-17 in predicting severe asthma. Methods: We obtained serum samples from asthmatic children ...
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Background: IL-17 is a major cytokine player in T cell mediated leukocyte associated inflammation. IL-17 is also recognized to participate in the pathophysiology of asthma. Objective: To determine the role of IL-17 in predicting severe asthma. Methods: We obtained serum samples from asthmatic children under the age of 5-year in three different groups of mild (n=33), moderate (n=28) and severe (n=32) persistent asthma. IL-17 serum concentrations and mRNA expression were determined by ELISA and real time PCR assays, respectively. Results: Serum IL-17 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with severe asthma than the other two groups of children with mild and moderate disease (p=0.00). Mean serum IL-17 values were 142.04 pg/ml in mild group, 180.4 pg/ml in moderate group and 251.25 pg/ml in severe group. IL-17 mRNA levels were also significantly elevated in severe asthmatic patients compared to mild and moderate asthmatic children (p=0.00). Conclusion: Our data reveal an increase in the serum IL-17 concentrations and IL-17 mRNA expressions in children with severe asthma compared to those with mild and moderate forms of the disease.