Shohreh Farshad; Manoochehr Rasouli; Akram Jamshidzadeh; Ayda Hosseinkhani; Aziz Japoni; Abdolvahab Alborzi; Alireza Taghavi; Hossein Kazemi Asl; Reza Ranjbar
Volume 7, Issue 2 , June 2010, , Pages 96-108
Abstract
Background: Previous studies imply that IL-1 and IL-8 gene variations may play a crucial role in the genetic predisposition to different gastric disorders upon H. pylori infection. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the potential association between the prevalence of certain polymorphic ...
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Background: Previous studies imply that IL-1 and IL-8 gene variations may play a crucial role in the genetic predisposition to different gastric disorders upon H. pylori infection. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the potential association between the prevalence of certain polymorphic sites and the risk of gastric disorders in Iranian population. Methods: One hundred and forty three unrelated individuals with different gastric disorders and 374 normal individuals with no gastric disorders and with a negative serology test for H. pylori (control group) were studied for the association between IL-1β (+3953 C/T) and IL-8 (-251 A/T) gene polymorphisms and H. pylorimediated gastritis and gastric ulcer. An analysis of genotype frequency for these genes was performed using RFLP-PCR. Results: Based on the data obtained from culture and pathologic findings, the patients were classified into three subpopulations: H pylori+ non-ulcerative gastritis+, H. pylori+ ulcerative gastritis+ and H. pylori- non-ulcerative gastritis+. A significantly higher frequency of TT genotype (p=0.02) in IL-1β +3953 in H. pylori+ ulcerative gastritis+ was revealed compared to the control group. There were no significant differences among other subpopulations. No significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies of IL-8 (-251A/T) were found among the patients. Conclusion: The data suggest that TT genotype in IL-1β +3953 may be a major contributing genetic risk factor for H. pylori induced gastric ulcer. Moreover, the role of other bacterial and host response factors, such as bacterial adherence peptides, host chemokines, and genes involved in gastric acid secretion, must be further investigated in different ethnic populations.
Mohsen Moghadami; Afagh Moattari; Hamid Reza Tabatabaee; Alireza Mirahmadizadeh; Abbas Rezaianzadeh; Jafar Hasanzadeh; Mostafa Ebrahimi; Nima Zamiri; Abdolvahab Alborzi; Kamran Bagheri Lankarani
Volume 7, Issue 1 , March 2010, , Pages 39-48
Abstract
Background: Pandemic flu had at least two waves in Iran. Knowing how many of the general population were already exposed to this infection has a major impact on na-tional preventive measures. As of December 30, 2009, a total of 3672 confirmed cases of human infection with a novel Influenza A (2009 H1N1) ...
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Background: Pandemic flu had at least two waves in Iran. Knowing how many of the general population were already exposed to this infection has a major impact on na-tional preventive measures. As of December 30, 2009, a total of 3672 confirmed cases of human infection with a novel Influenza A (2009 H1N1) virus had been reported in Iran with 140 deaths. Objective: In this study we aim to measure, as a pilot study, the seroprevalence of positive antibody titer (humoral immunity) against 2009 H1N1 virus in Iranian population in Shiraz, Southern Iran. Methods: Through cluster random sam-pling of families residing in Shiraz, 2553 subjects were selected and after a medical in-terview blood samples were taken and checked for polyclonal antibody against 2009 H1N1 antigen using hemagglutination inhibition assay. An antibody titer of more than 1:40 dilution was considered positive. Data were analyzed considering the demographic characteristics of the population and were compared among different age groups. Results: 1504 (58.91%) samples were tested positive for the presence of polyclonal an-tibody against 2009 H1N1 virus. The prevalence of positive titers were significantly higher in 60 to 64 years old group and significantly lower in 20 to 24 years old group (p<0.05). Data did not differ based on other demographic characteristics or the history of flu like illnesses in the past 6 months. Conclusion: High seroprevalence of antibody against 2009 H1N1 in the sera of our subjects describes either a high level of pre-existing immunity against H1N1 in Iranian population or a high rate of asymptomatic infection in our area compared to other countries.
Manoochehr Rasouli; Ahmad Zavaran Hoseini; Bahram Karimi; Abdolvahab Alborzi; Simin Kiany
Volume 6, Issue 2 , June 2009, , Pages 75-86
Abstract
Background: Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is present in all organisms studied so far, and is a major immunogen in infections caused by pathogens including Leishmania spp. Objective: The aim of this study was to clone and express HSP70 from L. infantum strain MCAN/IR/96/LON-49 and evaluate antibody response ...
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Background: Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is present in all organisms studied so far, and is a major immunogen in infections caused by pathogens including Leishmania spp. Objective: The aim of this study was to clone and express HSP70 from L. infantum strain MCAN/IR/96/LON-49 and evaluate antibody response against HSP70 in visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Methods: The L. infantum HSP70 gene segment was amplified by specific primers. It was cloned into pTZ57R vector and subcloned into pET32a (+) expression vector. The new construct was transformed in the E.coli Rosetta strain, and HSP70 protein was expressed in the presence of 1 mM IPTG and purified using a HiTrap chelating column. Antibody responses against HSP70 were determined by ELISA in 37 patients with visceral leishmaniasis and 63 healthy controls. Results: Expression of HSP70 protein was confirmed using SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and dot blot with an anti-His tag antibody. There was no difference between the sequence of nucleotides of the HSP70 gene in the present study and other reported sequences. The ELISA results indicated that the sera of 81.1% (30/37) of the patients and 6.3% (5/63) of controls reacted to L. infantum HSP70. Conclusion: The conservative nature of the HSP70 molecule is an advantage in vaccine studies, because of minor differences (6%) between the nucleotide sequences and consequently the similarity in amino acid sequences in various strains of L. infantum. It could therefore be used in vaccine research against leishmaniasis and also as a tool for serodiagnosis.