Publications by authors named "Shima Hadifar"
Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), caused by () species, remains a neglected tropical disease in many developing countries. We and others have shown that different species can alter the gene expression profile of human host cells. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to play a role in the pathogenesis of leishmaniasis through dysregulation of transcriptome signatures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The JAK-STAT signaling pathway is a central cascade of signal transduction for the myriad of cytokines in which dysregulation has been implicated in progression of inflammatory and infectious diseases. However, the involvement of this pathway in human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) due to () tropica warrants further investigation.
Methods: This study sought to investigate differential gene expression of several cytokines and their associated genes in the lesions of -infected patients byquantitative Real-Time PCR.
The 24-loci mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) genotyping has been used as an international standard method for genotyping. However, different optimized VNTR loci sets for improving the discrimination of specific genotypes have been proposed. In this regard, we investigated the efficacy of accumulation of the percentage differences (APDs) compared with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression strategy to identify a customized genotype-specific VNTR loci set which provides a resolution comparable to 24-loci MIRU-VNTR in divergent populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Autophagy induction has been shown to differ in magnitude depending on the mycobacterial species. However, few studies have investigated the specific autophagic capacity of different Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains in alveolar epithelial cells (ATs). This study aimed to elucidate the host autophagic response to different Mtb strains in ATs responsible for TB in the capital of Iran, Tehran.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Gut-microbiota plays key roles in many aspects like the health and illness of humans. It's well proved that modification of gut microbiota by probiotics is useful for improving inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) conditions. According to recent studies, different types of bacterial metabolites can affect immune cells and inflammation conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPRs) together with CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins have catalysed a revolution in genetic engineering. Native CRISPR-Cas systems exist in many bacteria and archaea where they provide an adaptive immune response through sequence-specific degradation of an invading pathogen's genome. This system has been reconfigured for use in genome editing, drug development, gene expression regulation, diagnostics, the prevention and treatment of cancers, and the treatment of genetic and infectious diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A growing body of evidence has shown the association between tuberculosis (TB) infection and lung cancer. However, the possible effect of strain-specific behavior of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) population, the etiological agent of TB infection in this association has been neglected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigates the short-term effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown on tracing and detection of tuberculosis (TB) patients in Tehran, Iran. Results of this study have demonstrated that due to the significant decrease in the identification of patients with suspected TB during the COVID-19 outbreak in Tehran, it is imperative that patients with suspected TB be tracked and diagnosed more quickly to make up for some of the decline in TB diagnosis in recent months and to recover lost cases.
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- - The study investigates how common viral and bacterial infections are in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and explores their potential role in causing the disease.
- - A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted, examining data from 32 studies worldwide, which revealed a pooled prevalence of 53.72% for viral infections and 31.21% for bacterial infections among IPF patients.
- - The findings indicate that specific infections, like HSV and Streptococcus sp., are particularly prevalent, supporting the idea that these infections may contribute to the progression of IPF.
Background: Acquiring comprehensive insight into the dynamics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) population structure is an essential step to adopt effective tuberculosis (TB) control strategies and improve therapeutic methods and vaccines. Accordingly, we performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the overall prevalence of Mtb genotypes/ sublineages in Iran.
Methods: We carried out a comprehensive literature search using the international databases of MEDLINE and Scopus as well as Iranian databases.
Several studies have reported that the host-microbe interactions in the gut modulate the host serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) system. Here, we evaluated the effects of Akkermansia muciniphila and its extracellular vesicles (EVs) on genes pertaining to the serotonergic system in the colon and hippocampus of mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were administered viable A.
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- Significant focus is being placed on understanding global lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, particularly the NEW-1 and CAS1-Delhi strains prevalent in Asia.
- Researchers utilized 24-loci MIRU-VNTR typing on 217 Mtb isolates to enhance genotyping accuracy and differentiation among Mtb strains.
- Findings indicate that specific loci with high accumulation of percentage differences (APDs) could improve the effectiveness of MIRU-VNTR typing for identifying Mtb genotypes in various regions.
Aberrant methylation of host macrophages induced by tuberculosis infection.
World J Microbiol Biotechnol
October 2019
DNA methylation has been introduced as a promising biomarker for different diseases. Alterations in macrophage DNA methylation status have been documented during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. We conducted this study using a human methylation PCR array kit, which comprised a panel of 22 genes in TLR2 signaling pathway, in order to gain insights into epigenetic interactions between drug-susceptible and -resistant Mtb strains and THP-1-derived macrophages (one of the main host immunity cells during TB infection).
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- Probiotics can help improve gut health and metabolism related to obesity by altering the gut microbiota and maintaining mucosal barrier integrity.
- The study examined the effects of probiotics and their extracellular vesicles (EVs) on obesity-related genes using assays in both cell lines and C57BL/6 mice.
- Results indicated that EVs were more effective than the probiotics alone in reducing body and fat weight, enhancing lipid metabolism, and improving inflammation markers and blood parameters in high-fat diet-fed mice.
Article Synopsis
- * In the analysis, old samples showed no mixed infections, while 44.4% of fresh samples revealed mixed infections in clinical samples, but none in cultures.
- * The research found significant allelic changes in old samples compared to their cultures, indicating that fresh clinical samples provide a clearer understanding of polyclonal infections and highlight the challenges in using older samples.
Article Synopsis
- Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and this study explores the potential link between HPV infection and the severity of breast cancer.
- Researchers analyzed breast tissue from 72 breast cancer patients and 31 healthy individuals, finding HPV DNA in 48.6% of cancer samples compared to 16.1% in controls, with HPV type 18 being the most common.
- The study concluded that HPV infection may contribute to breast cancer progression by decreasing the expression of key anti-carcinogenic genes and increasing inflammatory cytokines, suggesting a possible role of HPV in the development of certain breast cancers.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) and its association with infection sites in Iran, focusing on pulmonary vs. extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
- Researchers utilized Spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR typing methods to analyze culture-confirmed PTB and EPTB isolates, revealing predominant genotypes and diverse patterns among samples.
- Results showed that the transmission rate of TB was low, indicating that most cases were due to reactivation of latent infections rather than new transmissions, with no significant link found between M.tb genotypes and disease location.
Article Synopsis
- - The study highlights the growing issue of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) strains, with 16 cases (2.6%) identified among 13,892 suspected TB patients in Tehran from 2014 to 2018.
- - Whole-genome sequencing revealed that almost all MDR and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) cases were linked to lineage 2/Beijing strains, indicating a significant recent spread of these strains.
- - The research suggests that the rapid transmission and introduction of these strains pose a severe challenge for controlling TB in Tehran, exacerbated by their existing drug resistance profiles hindering effective diagnostics.
Article Synopsis
- Diagnosis, vaccination, and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) continue to pose significant challenges, necessitating new diagnostic measures and biomarkers for better infection control.
- Ideal TB biomarkers are host or pathogen-derived molecules that can accurately identify infection and assess its clinical stage.
- Exosomes, small vesicles involved in cell communication and immune response, show promise as alternative biomarkers for enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of TB, with substantial supporting research highlighted in recent literature.
Alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) provides a replication niche for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Based on the role of AEC in M. tuberculosis pathogenesis and existence of genetic diversity within this bacterium, we investigated interactions between AEC II and two different M.
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- The study finds that over 50% of tuberculosis cases in Tehran involve polyclonal infections, where multiple strains coexist.
- Spoligotyping results showed that 57.1% of the analyzed patients had different genetic patterns in their clinical samples compared to their cultures, indicating the presence of mixed infections.
- The researchers suggest that in areas with high rates of mixed infections, like Iran, relying solely on Spoligotyping from clinical samples might lead to misleading interpretations.
Article Synopsis
- Drug delivery research is growing due to advancements in nanotechnology and aims to create personalized medicine while minimizing side effects of cancer treatments.
- Bio-inspired nanostructures derived from natural sources, especially from bacteria, are preferred for drug delivery systems.
- The review highlights these bacterial components' applications, emphasizing their benefits in delivering drugs, genes, and vaccines effectively.
Article Synopsis
- - This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to find the prevalence rate of influenza virus in the Middle East and calculate an overall relative frequency for the region, based on studies from 2000-2016.
- - Researchers analyzed data from 71 selected studies out of 1,147 and found an overall influenza prevalence rate of 10.2%, with significant variability observed across different countries—ranging from 0.5% in Qatar to 70% in Syria.
- - The study concluded that the frequency of influenza virus infections varies for several reasons, highlighting the need for further research to better control and reduce the spread of the virus.
Article Synopsis
- Rotavirus is linked to severe diarrhea in infants and young children globally, and this study focuses on its prevalence in Iran.
- The systematic review analyzed 43 studies, revealing an overall rotavirus prevalence rate of 39.9%, with significant variation across regions—ranging from 6.4% in Birjand to 79.3% in Tehran.
- The findings highlight the need for more research to address the spread and management of rotavirus infections among children in Iran.
Background: Taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of Mycobacterium species have been based around the 16sRNA gene for many years. However, due to the high strain similarity between species in the Mycobacterium genus (94.3% - 100%), defining a valid phylogenetic tree is difficult; consequently, its use in estimating the boundaries between species is limited.
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