scholarly journals Repeated Herbal Acupoint Sticking Relieved the Recurrence of Allergic Asthma by Regulating the Th1/Th2 Cell Balance in the Peripheral Blood

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Shu-Mei Zhao ◽  
He-Sheng Wang ◽  
Cong Zhang ◽  
Jun Hu ◽  
Lin-Li Zhuang ◽  
...  

Allergic asthma is an inflammatory disease involving the Th1/Th2 cell imbalance in the peripheral blood. Repeated herbal acupoint sticking (RHAS) has been used for hundreds of years in China to relieve the recurrence of allergic asthma, and it is still practiced today. Thus, we explored the effect on allergic asthma relapse and the underlying immunoregulatory mechanism in this study. Here, we enrolled 50 allergic asthma participants, and 38 of them completed the treatment and follow-up (the allergic asthma group). In addition, 13 healthy participants (the control group) were enrolled. The recurrence number of allergic asthma participants and asthma control test (ACT) were used to evaluate the effect of treatment on relieving allergic asthma recurrence. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze the levels of Th1 and Th2 cells in the peripheral blood. The serum levels of IgE, IFN-γ, and IL-4 were detected by ELISA. (1) In the allergic asthma group, compared to before the first treatment, the recurrence number of allergic asthma participants decreased and the ACT score increased at end of the last treatment, 18 and 30 weeks of the trial (P<0.05). At 18 and 30 weeks of the trial, the recurrence number of allergic asthma participants was less and the ACT score was higher than the ones from the same period last year in the allergic asthma group (P<0.05). Compared to before the first treatment, the percentage of Th1 cell did not change significantly, the percentage of Th2 cell decreased, and the Th1/Th2 cell ratio increased in the allergic asthma group by the end of the last treatment (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the release of IgE and IL-4 reduced (P<0.05), and the release of IFN-γ did not significantly change in the allergic asthma group. (2) Compared with the control group, the serum levels of IgE and IL-4 and the percentage of Th2 cell were higher, and the Th1/Th2 cell ratio was lower in the allergic asthma group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between Th1 cell and IFN-γ before the first treatment. (3) Compared with the control group, the IgE levels and the percentage of Th2 cell were higher in the allergic asthma group (P<0.01). Simultaneously, there was no significant difference between Th1 cell, the Th1/Th2 cell ratio, and the serum levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 by the end of the last treatment. The data suggested that RHAS reduced the amount of Th2 cell and elevated the Th1/Th2 cell ratio, thereby alleviating the inflammatory responses in the allergic asthma participants.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Jun Tang ◽  
Li-Li Xie ◽  
Xiang-Rong Zheng ◽  
Chen-Tao Liu ◽  
Xia Wang

AbstractOur aim was to detect type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s)-related cytokines of infants with bronchiolitis by using Elisa, Liquidchip technology and RT-PCR and investigated its correlation with bronchiolitis. We recruited 26 infants with bronchiolitis and 20 healthy infants as control from Xiangya Hospital. Compared to the control group, the serum levels of interleukin-5 (IL-5) [41.99 (21.11) vs 25.70 (19.64)], IL-9 [27.04 (37.51) vs 8.30 (0.54)], IL-13 [184.05 (132.81) vs 121.75 (176.13)], IL-33 [83.70 (46.69) vs 11.23 (55.31)] and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) [31.42 (5.41) vs 28.76 (2.56)] were significantly increased in infants with bronchiolitis (P < 0.05), while the level of IgE had no significant difference between the two groups [19.05 (14.15) vs 14.85 (20.2), P > 0.05]. The mRNA expression of IL-17RB (9.83 ± 0.35 vs 9.19 ± 0.58), TSLP (16.98 ± 2.12 vs 15.07 ± 2.25), retinoid acid receptor related orphan receptor α (7.18 ± 0.71 vs 5.46 ± 1.09) and trans-acting T-cell-specific transcription factor 3 (4.86 ± 0.66 vs 4.19 ± 0.90) were significantly increased in infants with bronchiolitis versus the control group (P < 0.05), while there was no statistical significance for suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (5.59 ± 0.68 vs 5.41 ± 0.87, P > 0.05). Our findings suggested that ILC2s possibly play a specific role in immunopathology of bronchiolitis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yixuan Liu ◽  
Suhong Xie ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
Yanhui Si ◽  
Weiwei Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background This study investigates the effect of autologous bone marrow transfusion (BMT) on the reconstruction of both bone marrow and the immune system in patients with AIDS-related lymphoma (ARL). Methods A total of 32 patients with ARL participated in this study. Among them, 16 participants were treated with conventional surgery and chemotherapy (control group) and the remaining 16 patients were treated with chemotherapy followed by autologous bone marrow transfusion via a mesenteric vein (8 patients, ABM-MVI group) or a peripheral vein (8 patients, ABM-PI group). Subsequently, peripheral blood and lymphocyte data subsets were detected and documented in all patients. Results Before chemotherapy, no significant difference in indicators was observed between three groups of ARL patients. Unexpectedly, 2 weeks after the end of 6 courses of chemotherapy, the ABM-MVI group, and the ABM-PI group yielded an increased level of CD8+T lymphocytes, white blood cells (WBC), and platelet (PLT) in peripheral blood in comparison to the control group. Notably, the number of CD4+T lymphocytes in the ABM-PI group was significantly higher than that in the other two groups. Additionally, no significant difference in haemoglobin levels was observed before and after chemotherapy in both the ABM-MVI and ABM-PI groups, while haemoglobin levels in the control group decreased significantly following chemotherapy. Conclusions Autologous bone marrow transfusion after chemotherapy can promote the reconstruction of both bone marrow and the immune system. There was no significant difference in bone marrow recovery and reconstruction between the mesenteric vein transfusion group and the peripheral vein transfusion group.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Lombardo ◽  
A. Vigezzi ◽  
G. Ietto ◽  
C. Franchi ◽  
V. Iori ◽  
...  

AbstractPatients afflicted with melanoma show lower vitamin D serum levels (VDSL) than the healthy population. This hypothesis agrees with its well-known antiproliferative features. An observational study was carried out to collect VDSL in patients suffering from melanoma. Our aim was to identify a potential connection between low VDSL and the risk to incur melanoma. Furthermore, we studied the association between VDSL at the diagnosis of melanoma and other germane prognostic factors. The population held in regard was composed of 154 patients with a diagnosis of melanoma between 2016 and 2019. These patients were retrospectively collected from our follow-up storage. We compared VDSL to clinical and pathological parameters (age, sex, tumour location, Breslow’s depth, Clark’s level, histological subtype, ulceration, et aliqua). Moreover, we recruited a control group with negative melanoma history. Mean and median of VDSL were significantly lower in the melanoma group. Instead, we found a negative association between melanoma and VDSL > 30 ng/L (OR 0.11; p < 0.0001). No correlation between VDSL and both Breslow’s depth and Clark’s level was discovered, but the VDSL comparison between thin (depth ≤ 1 mm) and thick tumours (depth > 1 mm) revealed a statistically significant difference (21.1 ± 8.2 ng/L vs 17.8 ± 8.1; p = 0.01). Moreover, VDSL were significantly lower in melanomas with mitotic rate ≥ 1/mm2 (22.1 ± 8.3 ng/L; p < 0007). Nevertheless, no connection was found between VDSL and both ulceration and positive sentinel nodes (p = 0.76; p = 0.74). Besides, our study revealed no association between VDSL and histological subtype (p = 0.161). Lower VDSL correlate with thick and high mitotic rate tumours. Future prospective studies would investigate if appropriate upkeep of suitable VDSL can decrease the risk of primary and recurrent melanoma diagnosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 175394472098598
Author(s):  
Hataw Al-Taesh ◽  
Abuzer Çelekli ◽  
Murat Sucu ◽  
Seyithan Taysi

Background: Aortic valve sclerosis (AVSc) is defined as the thickening and calcification of aortic valve cusps, in the absence of obstruction of ventricular outflow. AVSc is linked with a clear imbalance in some trace elements. Aims: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between AVSc and serum levels of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and copper (Cu). Additionally, this research aimed to explore the clinical significance of human serum zinc, selenium, copper, and iron concentrations as a potential new biomarker for AVSc patients and to clarify the pathophysiological role in individuals at risk of developing AVSc. Patients and methods: The study included 40 subjects with AVSc (25% male and 75% female) who were compared with a healthy control group with the same gender ratio. AVSc was based on comprehensive echocardiographic assessments. Blood samples were taken and Zn and Cu concentrations were determined through the use of atomic absorption spectroscopy. Se was measured using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry device and Fe was measured using a Beckman Coulter instrument. Results: There was a significant difference in the prevalence of diabetes, blood pressure levels, and body mass index between the patients and the healthy subjects ( p < 0.05). The differences between the serum Fe, Se, and Cu levels of the AVSc patients and the healthy subjects ( p > 0.05) were recorded. The serum Zn of AVSc patients when compared was significantly lower compared with that of the control group ( p < 0.01). Conclusion: Patients with AVSc had an imbalance in some of the trace elements in their blood. The patient group’s valves had higher serum Cu levels and lower serum Se, Zn, and Fe concentrations compared with the healthy group’s valves. In the valve patients as compared, AVSc had a high prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.


QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeer I Abd Elmagid ◽  
Hala Abdel Al ◽  
Wessam El Sayed Saad ◽  
Seham Kamal Mohamed

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and one of the most important causes of death among them.Angiogenesis is an important step for primary tumor growth, invasiveness, and metastases. Angiopoietins are well-recognized endothelial growth factors that are involved in angiogenesis associated with tumors. Aim To explore the diagnostic significance of serum angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) in breast cancer and to evaluate its prognostic efficacy through studying the degree of its association with the TNM staging of the disease. Patients and Methods This study was conducted on (35) Egyptian female patients who were diagnosed as breast cancer according to histopathological examination of breast biopsy (Group 1, Breast Cancer Patients) and (25) female patients with benign breast diseases (Group II, Pathological Control Patients), in addition to (20) age - matched apparently healthy, free mammogram, females serving as healthy controls (Group III, Healthy Controls). For all participants, measurement of serum Ang-2 was done using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results A highly significant increased levels of Ang-2 was observed in breast cancer patients when compared to healthy control group (Z = 4.95, p &lt; 0.01). However, no significant difference was observed in Ang-2 levels between breast cancer patients group and pathological control group (Z = 3.37, p &gt; 0.05). No significant difference was detected in Ang-2 levels in relation to TNM stage and histological grade. No significant correlation was found between Ang-2 levels and serum levels of CA15-3, hormone receptors, HER2/new receptor status (p &gt; 0.05, respectively). Conclusion This study revealed that Ang-2 serum levels were significantly increased in patient with breast cancer compared with healthy controls, indicating that high Ang-2 level is a promising non invasive biomarker for breast cancer diagnosis. However, no significant difference of Ang-2 levels was detected in relation of breast TNM staging in the population studied.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osman Baştuğ ◽  
Bahadır İnan ◽  
Ahmet Özdemir ◽  
Binnaz Çelik ◽  
Funda Baştuğ ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, and hyperphosphatemia are common electrolyte disturbances in perinatal asphyxia(PA). Different reasons have been proposed for these electrolyte disturbances. This study investigated the effect of the urinary excretion of calcium(Ca), magnesium(Mg), and phosphorus(P) on the serum levels of these substances in babies who were treated using therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy(HİE) caused by PA. This study sheds light on the pathophysiology that may cause changes in the serum values of these electrolytes.Method: This study included 21 healthy newborns(control group) and 38 patients(HİE group) who had undergone therapeutic hypothermia due to HİE. Only infants with a gestational age of 36 weeks and above and a birth weight of 2000 g and above were evaluated. The urine and serum Ca, Mg, P, and creatinine levels of all infants were evaluated at 24, 48, and 72 hours.Results: The lower serum Ca value and the higher serum P value of the HİE group were found to be statistically significant compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in serum Mg values between the groups. However, hypomagnesemia was detected in five patients from the HİE group. The urine excretions of these substances, which were checked at different times, were found to be significantly higher in the HİE group compared to the control group.Conclusion: This study determined that the urinary excretion of Ca, Mg, and P has an effect on the serum Ca, Mg, and P levels of infants with HİE.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shereen A. Baioumy ◽  
Aya Elgendy ◽  
Shereen M. Ibrahim ◽  
Sara I. Taha ◽  
Shaimaa H. Fouad

Abstract Background Increased intestinal permeability, either due to the exposure to antigens in asthmatic patients or due to a barrier defect, plays a critical role in susceptibility to environmental allergens. House dust mite allergy occurs more commonly than any other type of allergy among Egyptian asthmatic patients. Aim To assess the relation between serum zonulin level as a marker of increased intestinal permeability and the severity of house dust mite allergic asthma. Methods A case–control study which included 48 patients with house dust mite allergic asthma and 48 healthy control subjects attending the Allergy and Immunology Unit, Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University. Results A statistically significant difference was detected between the two studied groups with respect to serum IgE and serum zonulin levels (p ˂ 0.001 and ˂ 0.001, respectively). The mean serum zonulin was equal to 258.3 ± 153.01 ng/ml in the asthmatic group and 80 ± 13 ng/ml in the control group. Serum zonulin level significantly increased with the increase of asthma severity (p ˂ 0.001). The cut off value of serum zonulin was ≥ 198 ng/ml, and the area under the curve was 0.76. It displayed sensitivity equal to 80% and specificity equal to 71.4%. Its negative predictive value was equal to 83.3%. Conclusion Intestinal barrier dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of allergic asthma. Serum zonulin level reflects an increase in intestinal permeability. Zonulin acts as prognostic factor of severity in asthma. Correction of the gut barrier defect may have a potential positive prognostic effect in asthma.


Author(s):  
Bahare Keshavarzi ◽  
Meraj Tabatabaei ◽  
Amir Hasan Zarnani ◽  
Fahime Ramezani Tehrani ◽  
Mahmood Bozorgmehr ◽  
...  

Background: The amniotic membrane plays an important role in maintaining a healthy pregnancy. The main population cells from amniotic membrane include human amnion epithelial cells (hAECs) which have been shown to possess immunomodulatory properties. Objective: The proximity of hAECs with monocyte leads to the generation of tollerogenic dendritic cells. Materials and Methods: hAECs were obtained from normal pregnancy. Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated by anti-CD14 MACS method. Co-cultures of monocytes and hAECs were established in Transwell chambers supplemented with granulocytemacrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the absence and presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to produce immature and mature DCs, respectively. Immunophenotyping of the obtained DCs was done through flow cytometry and the production of cytokines was measured by ELISA. Mixed leukocyte Reaction (MLR) was also performed for the functional assessment of DCs. Results: Immunophenotyping of [hAECs - Immature DC (iDC)] and [hAECs - iDC] + LPS cells revealed that the expression of CD1a, CD80, CD86, CD40, HLA-DR, and CD83 markers showed no significant difference as compared with the control group (iDCs and mDCs alone). In the [hAECs-iDCs] + LPS cells, the percentage of CD14 cells at the ratio of 1:2.5 showed significant differences compared to the control group. The production of IL-10 and IL-12 showed no significant difference in any of the cultures as compared to the control groups. Also, co-cultured DCs did not inhibit proliferation of lymphocyte. Conclusion: Our findings show that factors secreted from cultured hAECs are unable to generate of tollerogenic dendritic cells. To achieve a better understanding of other mechanisms more investigations are needed. Key words: Amniotic membrane, Dendritic cells, Human placenta, Immunomodulation, Monocyte.


10.3823/2522 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilmar Pereira Silva ◽  
Vitor Pereira Xavier Grangeiro

Backgroundː whereas that systemic inflammation (SI) affects 40–60% of patients on hemodialysis (HD) is characterized by serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level elevation or proinflammatory interleukin production or both. We evaluated the association between SI and total (tPSA) and free PSA (fPSA) in patients on HD with tPSA <4ng / ml. Methodsː Sixty patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing HD and 20 controls were included. Inclusion criteria were patients aged 18-60 years; tPSA < 4 ng/mL without clinically detectable prostate cancer; and patients undergoing HD for >6 months. Patients were excluded if they had local infections or SI. Hs-CRP was measured using turbidimetry, and tPSA and fPSA levels using immunochemoluminescence. Overall, 27 patients had inflammation (hs-CRP >5 mg/L) and 33 had no inflammation (hs-CRP was ≤5 mg/L). In the control group, hs-CRP was ≤ 1 mg/L. Resultsː there was no significant difference in mean levels among groups 3 and 4 for age (p=0,058), tPSA (p=0,74) and fPSA (p=0,30). The SI did not promote differences between groups 1, 2 and 4 for the levels of tPSA (0,71 ± 0,18  vs   0,67 ± 0,15  vs  0,67 ± 0,11; p=0,69) and fPSA (0,34  ±  0,01  vs  0,34  ±  0,01  vs   0,35  ±  0,01, p= 0,59) . As well as maintained no correlation with tPSA and fPSA (p>0,05). Conclusionː The systemic inflammation in hemodialytic patients without clinically detectable cancer (PSA<4ng/ml) is no associated with changes fractions of tPSA and fPSA.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. CMAMD.S4461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanan Mohamed Farouk ◽  
Afaf Abdel Alim Mostafa ◽  
Sahar S. Youssef ◽  
Moataz Mohammed Samy Elbeblawy ◽  
Naglaa Youssef Assaf ◽  
...  

Objective To evaluate the utility of entheseal ultrasonography and serum COMP in the preclinical diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis. Methods 60 psoriatic patients were divided into: 30 patients with psoriasis (group I) and 30 patients with psoriatic arthritis as control (group II). They underwent independent clinical and ultrasonographic examination of both lower limbs at the calcaneal insertions of Achilles tendons. Psoriatic arthritis disease activity and severity was assessed by modified DAS28 and Steinbrockers scores. Serum levels of COMP were measured for all patients by ELISA. Results On clinical examination, no entheseal abnormalities were detected in group I while they were present in 23.3% of group II with statistically significant difference between them ( P < 0.001). Ultrasonographic entheseal abnormalities were detected in 33.3% of group I and in 46.7% of group II with no significant difference between them ( P > 0.05). Serum COMP were significantly elevated in group I and II with no statistically significant difference between them (mean ± SD 5.9 ± 3 and 6.8 ± 12 respectively, P > 0.05). Entheseal ultrasound was more specific (67%) while serum COMP was more sensitive (87%) in the preclinical diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis. Serum COMP levels were significantly correlated with CRP in both groups and with DAS28 and Steinbrockers scores in group II ( P < 0.01). Conclusion Entheseal ultrasonography and serum COMP levels may be used complementary to each other for preclinical diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis. Serum COMP seems to be promising prognostic marker for psoriatic arthritis patients.


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