Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles using Extract Modified by Chitosan/Alginate: Bactericidal Activity against Pathogenic Bacteria and Cytotoxicity Analysis in Normal Cell Line.

Aim: The study aimed to determine pharmacological effects of modified Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs).

Background: AgNPs are considered antimicrobial agents. However, the cytotoxicity of chemically synthesized AgNPs (cAgNPs) has raised challenges that limit their use.

Application of ensemble machine learning approach to assess the factors affecting size and polydispersity index of liposomal nanoparticles.

Liposome nanoparticles have emerged as promising drug delivery systems due to their unique properties. Assessing particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) is critical for evaluating the quality of these liposomal nanoparticles. However, optimizing these parameters in a laboratory setting is both costly and time-consuming.

Optimizing nanoliposomal formulations: Assessing factors affecting entrapment efficiency of curcumin-loaded liposomes using machine learning.

Background: Curcumin faces challenges in clinical applications due to its low bioavailability and poor water solubility. Liposomes have emerged as a promising delivery system for curcumin. This study aims to apply ensemble learning, a machine learning technique, to determine the most effective experimental conditions for formulating stable curcumin-loaded liposomes with a high entrapment efficiency (EE).

Severity of COVID-19 in Pregnant Women: A Review on the Potential Role of Regulatory T Cells.

As a physiological condition, pregnancy may cause temporary alterations in the hematological, cardiopulmonary, and immune responses, affecting the maternal susceptibility to viral infections. Pregnant women are vulnerable to infection with the influenza A virus, hepatitis E virus, MERS CoV, and SARS CoV. The agent of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the SARS coronavirus (SARS CoV-2), which affects the cells upon binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2).

Selective Cellular Uptake and Cytotoxicity of Curcumin-encapsulated SPC and HSPC Liposome Nanoparticles on Human Bladder Cancer Cells.

Background: Curcumin is a main bioactive constituent of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) with pleiotropic health beneficial effects. However, poor bioavailability is the major barrier to the efficient pharmacological effects of curcumin in humans.

Preclinical toxicity assessment of a peptide-based antiPCSK9 vaccine in healthy mice.

Background: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibition is a novel cholesterol-lowering treatment for decreasing the risk of atherosclerosis. We have previously shown that active immunization using the antiPCSK9 vaccine could decrease hypercholesterolemia and impede the development of atherosclerotic lesions in the experimental model of atherosclerosis. Here, we evaluated the toxicity of the vaccine in healthy mice.

Evaluating the effect of LPS from periodontal pathogenic bacteria on the expression of senescence-related genes in human dental pulp stem cells.

The human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are one of the readily available sources of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and can be considered as a type of tool cells for cell-based therapies. However, the main limitation in the clinical use of these cells is DPSC senescence, which can be induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of oral pathogenic bacteria. Up to now, far little attention has been paid to exploring the molecular mechanisms of senescence in DPSCs.

The Immunogenic Potential of PCSK9 Peptide Vaccine in Mice.

Aim: To evaluate the immunogenic potential of the carrier-free peptide-based anti-PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9) vaccine in albino mice.

Methods: The immunogenic pcsk9 peptide and 0.4% alum adjuvant were mixed thoroughly at a 1:1 ratio and used as a vaccine formulation.

The role of PCSK9 in NAFLD/NASH and therapeutic implications of PCSK9 inhibition.

Introduction: There are inconsistent findings regarding the effect of lipid-lowering agents on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is an important player in cholesterol homeostasis and intracellular lipogenesis, and PCSK9 inhibitors (PCSK9-i) have been found to be efficient for pharmacological management of hyperlipidemia.

Areas Covered: Whether PCSK9 (itself) or PCSK9-i affects NAFLD is still disputed.

Evaluating the frequency, prognosis and survival of RUNX1 and ASXL1 mutations in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia in northeastern Iran.

To evaluate the frequency and prognosis of runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) and additional sex combs like-1 (ASXL1) mutations in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients in northeastern Iran. This cross-sectional study was performed on 40 patients with AML (including 35 patients with denovo AML and five patients with secondary AML) from February 2018 to February 2021. All patients were followed up for 36 months.

Potential therapeutic effects of Ivermectin in COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a critical pandemic that affected communities around the world, and there is currently no specific drug treatment for it. The virus enters the human cells via spikes and induces cytokine production and finally arrests the cell cycle. Ivermectin shows therapeutic potential for treating COVID-19 infection based on studies.

Inhibitory effects of tolerogenic probiotics on migratory potential of lupus patient-derived DCs.

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate whether and treatments can induce regulatory phenotype, together with modulating the expression of chemokine receptors (CRs) in dendritic cells (DCs). The CRs of DCs have been found to be involved in the pathogenesis of Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through directing recruitment and migration of immune cells.

Materials And Methods: In brief, monocytes of patients with SLE and healthy donors were isolated and differentiated to regulatory or inflammatory mature DCs through treatment with , , mixed probiotics, and LPS.

Ferulic Acid Attenuates Kainate-induced Neurodegeneration in a Rat Poststatus Epilepticus Model.

Background And Aims: Increasing research evidence indicates that temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) induced by kainic acid (KA) has high pathological similarities with human TLE. KA induces excitotoxicity (especially in the acute phase of the disease), which leads to neurodegeneration and epileptogenesis through oxidative stress and inflammation. Ferulic acid (FA) is one of the well-known phytochemical compounds that have shown potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and promise in treating several diseases.

The therapeutic potential of regulatory T cells in reducing cardiovascular complications in patients with severe COVID-19.

The SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) causes Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), is an emerging viral infection. SARS CoV-2 infects target cells by attaching to Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE2). SARS CoV-2 could cause cardiac damage in patients with severe COVID-19, as ACE2 is expressed in cardiac cells, including cardiomyocytes, pericytes, and fibroblasts, and coronavirus could directly infect these cells.

Berberine as a natural modulator of inflammatory signaling pathways in the immune system: Focus on NF-κB, JAK/STAT, and MAPK signaling pathways.

Three main inflammatory signaling pathways include nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), Janus kinases/Signal transducer and activator of transcriptions (JAKs/STATs), and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play crucial roles in inducing, promoting, and regulating inflammatory responses in the immune system. Importantly, the breakdown of mechanisms that tightly regulate inflammatory signaling pathways can be the underlying cause of uncontrolled inflammatory responses and be associated with the generation and development of several inflammatory diseases. Hence, therapeutic strategies targeting inflammatory signaling pathways and their downstream components may promise to treat inflammatory diseases.

Investigation of the Effects of Trehalose on Glycemic Indices in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Background And Aim: Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder with considerable morbidity and mortality because of its associated complications that has become a challenging health problem worldwide. Trehalose (mycose) is a nonreducing disaccharide with a unique therapeutic potency without adverse effects, which has been found to improve glucose metabolism and homeostasis in different diabetes models. We hypothesized that trehalose can reduce blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity.

Investigation of the Effects of Difluorinated Curcumin on Glycemic Indices in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Background: Curcumin is an antioxidant agent that improves glycemia in animal models of diabetes. Clinically curcumin use is limited due to poor solubility, weak absorption, and low bioavailability; therefore, this study to investigate the effects of curcumin's analog, difluorinated curcumin (CDF), on fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and insulin tolerance test (ITT), in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats was undertaken.

Methods: STZ-induced diabetes rats were randomly assigned to six groups (7 rats per group).

The Effect of Cigarette Smoke Exposure on Efferocytosis in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; Molecular Mechanisms and Treatment Opportunities.

Cigarette smoking-related inflammation, cellular stresses, and tissue destruction play a key role in lung disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Notably, augmented apoptosis and impaired clearance of apoptotic cells, efferocytosis, contribute to the chronic inflammatory response and tissue destruction in patients with COPD. Of note, exposure to cigarette smoke can impair alveolar macrophages efferocytosis activity, which leads to secondary necrosis formation and tissue inflammation.

Berberine as a promising natural compound for the treatment of periodontal disease: A focus on anti-inflammatory properties.

Accumulating evidence during the last two decades has addressed the potential anti-inflammatory properties of berberine (BBR), a bioactive alkaloid compound isolated from Coptidis rhizoma, in controlling or treating several inflammatory diseases. Periodontitis is one of the most common chronic and serious inflammatory diseases, in which uncontrolled and unabated host immune responses against periodontopathic pathogens play critical and crucial roles in the disease pathogenesis. Hence, regulating inflammatory responses in periodontitis has a valuable approach and holds promise in treating periodontitis.

PCSK9 Inhibition-Based Therapeutic Approaches: An Immunotherapy Perspective.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors (PCSK9-I) are novel therapeutic tools to decrease cardiovascular risk. These agents work by lowering the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in hypercholesterolemic patients who are statin resistant/intolerant. Current clinically approved and investigational PCSK9- I act generally by blocking PCSK9 activity in the plasma or suppressing its expression or secretion by hepatocytes.

PCSK9 immunization using nanoliposomes: preventive efficacy against hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to study a nanoliposomal anti-PCSK9 vaccine as a novel approach for cholesterol lowering via PCSK9 inhibition.

Material And Methods: An immunogenic peptide construct termed immunogenic fused PCSK9-tetanus (IFPT) was displayed on the surface of liposome nanoparticles (L-IFPT) and mixed into alum adjuvant (L-IFPTA+). The manufactured vaccine formulations IFPT, L-IFPT, L-IFPTA+, IFPTA+, and free nanoliposomes were subcutaneously injected four times with bi-weekly intervals in C57BL/6 mice on a severe atherogenic protocol.

Impact of PCSK9 Immunization on Glycemic Indices in Diabetic Rats.

Methods: To prepare the anti-PCSK9 vaccine, a peptide construct called Immunogenic Fused PCSK9-Tetanus (IFPT) was linked to the surface of nanoliposome carriers. Healthy rats received four subcutaneous injections of the vaccine at biweekly intervals. Two weeks after the last vaccination, anti-PCSK9 antibody titers, PCSK9 targeting, and inhibition of PCSK9-low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) interaction were evaluated.