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The new virus SARS-CoV-2 is savagely spreading out over the world. The biologic studies show that the target receptor for the virus might be angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). This peptide is responsible for converting angiotensin II (Ang II), which is a profoundly active peptide, into Ang 1-7 with quite a balancing barbell function. It is emphasized that the direct target of the virus is ACE2 underlining the obvious difference with ACE. Nevertheless, we hypothesized that a back load build up effect on Ang II may usurp the ACE capacity and subsequently leave the bradykinin system unabated. We think there are clinical clues for dry cough and the presumed aggravating role of ACE inhibitors like captopril on the disease process. Thereby, we speculated that inhibition of bradykinin synthesis and/or blockade of bradykinin B₂ receptor using Aprotinin/ecallantide and Icatibant, respectively, may hold therapeutic promise in severe cases and these molecules can be advanced to clinical trials.

In light of various supports of prodigious figures in the field of immunology and allergy, the subject area has been faced a great leap during the last century. The current state of the discipline owes an abundant appreciation for the scholars motivated in escalating the true nature of the science, who left no stone unturned in improving the general common sense and understanding of the human knowledge in general, and immunology and allergy in particular. Professor Reza Farid Hosseini is among the dignitaries who invested his life and energy on weaving the tapestry of the immunology and allergy. He delivered a great deal of influence on the field by his ethical devotion to science and was a significant contributor in the realms of the human immune system. His presence drastically rehabilitated the place of the Immunology in Iran, and the current paper seeks to review the personal and academic life of Professor Reza Farid Hosseini in honor and appreciation for his in-depth involvement in the field. The paper summarizes Professor Farid’s childhood, school, and higher education, compilations, and translation of books, his contribution to the research both inside and outside of Iran, and scientific activities of Dr. Farid Hosseini.

It has been reported that patients with arthritis, osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, brain ischemia, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) suffer from pro-inflammatory and oxidant related responses. Therefore, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant therapies are used to improve the quality of life of the patients. Saffron is a herbal drug that has immunomodulatory and antioxidant properties. Hence, Saffron and its components have been proposed as therapeutic agents for the treatment of the diseases. Therefore, this review article was designed to collect recent information regarding the effects of saffron and its components on the amelioration of the inflammatory symptoms in the autoimmune and non-autoimmune diseases and anti-cancerous effects from 1999 up to now via searching the Pubmed, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases. Due to fact that several investigations have reviewed the roles played by Saffron on autoimmune and non-autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, mood disorders, and Alzheimer's disease, this review article focuses on other diseases to keep the novelty of the present review for readers.

Though the exact etiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is unknown, the contribution of immune cells in the disease process is completely acknowledged. T helper (Th) 1 and Th17-related cytokines are required for the disease development and progression, while Th2 and regulatory T cells (Tregs)-derived cytokines are protective. Studies have shown that sodium benzoate (NaB) can switch the balance of Th cell subsets toward Th2 and Tregs. The present study aimed to evaluate the possible effects of NaB on the expression of CD4⁺T cells-related cytokines and transcription factors in splenocytes derived from an animal model of RA, adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA).
AIA was induced in rats by injection of Freund's adjuvant containing mycobacterial antigens (Mtb). Splenocytes were isolated from AIA rats and restimulated ex vivo with Mtb in the presence or absence of NaB for 24 h. To determine the effects of NaB on the expression of T cells-related cytokine and transcription factor genes, real-time PCR was performed.
NaB treatment of Mtb-stimulated splenocytes derived from arthritic rats resulted in significant increases in the gene expressions of Tregs-related cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-β) and Foxp3 transcription factor, and significant decreases in the expression of Th1-related cytokines (TNF-α and IFN-γ) and the T-bet transcription factor. The ratios of Th1/Th2 (IFN-γ/IL-4), Th1/Treg (IFN-γ/TGF-β and IFN-γ/IL-10) and Th17/Treg (IL-17/IL-10 and IL-17/IL-10+TGF-β)-related cytokines were also significantly decreased.
In conclusion, NaB can potentially be considered as a useful therapeutic agent for the treatment of RA and other Th1 and Th17-mediated diseases.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune disease of beta cells in the islets of Langerhans, which are responsible for making insulin. Even with insulin therapy, inflammatory complications will develop in the long term.
The present study examines changes in serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, C-peptide, Insulin as well as fasting blood sugar (FBS) in control, diabetic and diabetic treated with curcumin groups. Thirty inbred C57BL /6 mice were randomly divided into three groups of 10 mice: group A consisted of healthy mice receiving citrate buffer, group B included a group of diabetic mice, and group C was a group of diabetic mice treated with curcumin. The cytokine levels were measured in the supernatant of stimulated splenocytes using enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Radioimmunoassay was used to measure insulin and c-peptide levels. The FBS was measured by an automatic glucometer device.
The levels of IL-6, IL-17, and IFN-γ, as well as FBS, was significantly decreased in the treated group with curcumin compared to the diabetic group mice (p<0.05). TNF-α levels were also low, but the difference was not significant. IL-10, plasma C-peptide, and insulin significantly increased in the supernatant of stimulated splenocytes of treated diabetic group than in the diabetic group (p<0/05).
According to the results, this study supports the anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin; however, more studies are needed to investigate theeffects of curcumin and the dose-response relationship in this disease.

Matricaria chamomilla (MC) was shown to have anti-inflammatory effects. Flavonoids are major groups of MC immunomodulators. The anti-inflammatory effects of apigenin as an MC flavonoid has already been demonstrated.
In this study, we aimed to report the amount of this compound by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and measuring the total phenol content (TPC) in both the MC aqueous and alcoholic extracts. We also investigated the MC aqueous and ethanolic extracts effect on BALB/c separated macrophages and lymphocytes cell viability and macrophage nitric oxide production. Interferon-γ and interleukin-10 secretion were also measured in lymphocytes.
We found that the amount of apigenin was 0.078 and 0.25 mg/g per each of dry aqueous and alcoholic extracts, respectively. Also, the total phenol content was 2.99% in aqueous and 3.95% in alcoholic extracts. BALB/c separated macrophages cell viability significantly increased when treated with the MC aqueous extract but decreased when treated by the MC alcoholic extract in the presence of lipopolysaccharide. Also, the amount of nitric oxide production by macrophages and BALB/c separated lymphocytes cell viability in treatment with aqueous and alcoholic extracts significantly decreased. Interferon-γ increased, and interleukin-10 decreased in lymphocytes treated with the MC aqueous extract, which may suggest Th1 polarization. There was no significant change in the interferon-γ level in lymphocytes when treated with the MC alcoholic extract, but the level of IL-10 increased in these cells.
Altogether, besides the anti-inflammatory effect of MC extracts, we found MC aqueous extract effects as disrupting Th1/Th2 balance to Th1 upregulation. Overall, the anti-inflammatory effect of the MC alcoholic extract was higher than the MC aqueous extract.

Influenza A virus (IAV) has the potential to cause pandemics with considerable health and socio-economic burdens. A viral protein, polymerase basic 1- frame2 (PB1-F2), as a virulence factor, has pro-apoptotic activity and contributes to viral pathogenesis by delaying viral clearance and inducing inflammation. Macrophages are susceptible to IAV infection and produce high levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. In the present study, the pro-inflammatory effects of PB1-F2 derived peptide was evaluated by measuring the expression of key inflammatory mediators in murine macrophage cell line J774.1.
PB1-F2 treated macrophages were examined for nitric oxide (NO) production, inflammatory cytokines, and enzymes expression and pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion using Griess reagent, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and ELISA, respectively. Our results have shown that PB1-F2 peptide at non-cytotoxic concentrations (0.1–0.8 µmol/mL) had no effect on NO production.
When applied to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated macrophages, PB1-F2 peptide at 0.8 μmol/mLincreasedinducible NO synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, and interleukin (IL)-6 genes expression to 2.02, 3.81, and 3.65 folds, respectively. PB1-F2 at concentrations of 0.4 and 0.8 µm/mL increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α transcription by 4.15 and 5.55 fold. At posttranslational level, TNF-α increased from 166.5±13.88 in LPS-treated cells to 773.6±95.27 and 1485±76.31 at concentrations of 0.4 and 0.8 μmol/mL in PB1-F2 peptide, respectively. However, PB1-F2 Peptide did not have any significant effect on IL-6 production.
These findings suggest that PB1-F2 peptide may partly exert its enhancing role in viral pathogenicity through the induction of inflammatory mediators in macrophages. Hence, targeting PB1-F2 peptide would be helpful in the reduction of viral infection complications.

Due to inconclusive findings of previous researches, we aimed to evaluate inflammatory state biomarkers in episodic and chronic migraineurs (EM and CM patients) compared to headache-free controls in the current study.
Seventy-one migraine patients and 19 age-sex-matched controls were recruited. After obtaining demographic data and recording headache characteristics, blood samples were gathered and analyzed to evaluate the serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6.
Serum levels of IL-6, CRP and TNF-α were significantly higher among subjects with CM than the EM and controls. Further, positive correlations were noted for number of headache days/month and serum IL-6 (r=0.53, p<0.001), CRP (r=0.62, p<0.001), and TNF-α (r=0.58, p<0.001).
In sum, according to current findings, a pro-inflammatory state was detected among chronic and episodic migraineurs compared to healthy control, as revealed by augmented concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. IL6, CRP, and TNF-α). It was also underlined that with increasing levels of inflammatory factors, headaches tended to be more chronic. However, in order to confirm the hypothesis that neuroinflammation plays a role in migraine pain genesis, long-term cohort studies and well-designed experimental and randomized controlled trials are required.

Multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) is an inflammatory eye disease of the outer retina, retinal pigmented epithelium, choroid presenting with photopsia, loss of vision, and temporal scotoma. The patient was a 31-year-old female with a history of vision loss since 11 days ago (left eye). At presentation, best-corrected Snellen visual acuity was 20/140 in the Snellen chart. We decided to treat her with short time corticosteroid therapy (0.75 mg/kg/day prednisolone which was tapered in 3 weeks) for any possible rapid recovery of vision. The visual acuity of the involved eye was improved to 20/25 and 20/20, one week and three weeks after starting treatment respectively. Thus, it seems that short-term oral steroids might be an alternative method of management for patients with MEWDS.

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