scholarly journals The expression and significance of inflammatory cytokines and MMP-9 in the tears of the infected eye and contralateral uninfected eye in patients with fungal keratitis

Author(s):  
Shuang Zhang ◽  
Hui-Min Wu ◽  
Xiang-Ni Cao ◽  
Xian-Qi Zhang ◽  
Gui-ping Gao

Abstract Background: We investigated bilateral tear cytokine levels including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in patients with fungal keratitis(FK). Meanwhile, we evaluated the relationship between the changes of tear cytokines with corneal perception and pain in infected eyes, and the relationship between tear cytokines and tear film function in contralateral uninfected eyes .Methods : A total of 60(20 FK, 20 contralateral, 20 healthy controls) tear samples were collected prospectively and analyzed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Approximately 50 to 60 ul of tear samples in each case were collected. Meanwhile ,we analyzed the changes of visual analogue scale(VAS), tear breakup time (TBUT), Schirmer I test (SIT) and corneal perception compared with healthy controls. Results :The concentrations of IL-1β, IL-10 and IL-17 increased in bilateral eyes compared with healthy controls(P<0.05). The tear concentrations of MMP-9 , TNF-α only significantly increased in affected eyes (P <0.05). Patients with FK showed significant reduction in corneal perception of infected eyes compared with controls(P<0.05). Corneal perception of the normal eyes in FK patients was slightly lower than that of control group, but there was not statistical difference (P>0.05).TBUT and SIT of contralateral uninfected eyes were significantly lower than that of control group(P<0.05), which were significantly correlated with levels of IL-1β, IL-17(P<0.05). SIT were also negatively correlated with MMP-9(P<0.05), while the levels of IL-1β, IL-10, IL-17, TNF-α and MMP-9 in the tears of the healthy control group had no significant correlation with TBUT and SIT indicators(P>0.05).The corneal perception and VAS score of the affected FK eyes showed correlation with IL-1β, IL-17 and TNF-α(P<0.05).In addition, concentration of IL-10 inversely was correlated with VAS (P<0.05). Conclusion: Proinflammatory tear cytokines are elevated in bilateral eyes with unilateral FK as associated with tear film function ,pain and corneal sensitivity.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan-jing Leng ◽  
Hai-bin Zhou ◽  
Jiang-ling Fu ◽  
Wen-juan Wang

Abstract PURPOSECarbonic anhydrase-2 (CA-2) plays a role in mineralization and calcification in organism. Strong evidence suggests that CA-2 is associated with urolithiasis. However, the relationship between CA-2 and urinary stone remains unclear. The study aimed to assess the association of urine CA-2 (uCA-2) level and the potential risk of urinary stone.METHODSFrom March 2017 to November 2019, a prospective cohort study was conducted on patients with urinary stones and healthy subjects to determine the pretreatment uCA-2 level detection by Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The difference of uCA-2 level between patients with urinary stones and healthy subjects was compared. Then comparison between stone patients with complications and without complications was carried out as well as correlation analysis to detect factors associated with biomarker expression.RESULTS118 patients with urinary stones were into urinary stones group and 42 healthy subjects were into healthy control group. The mean pretreatment uCA-2 level was significantly higher in patients with urinary stones group than healthy controls group (P=0.028). Furthermore, The uCA-2 level was positive correlation with urinary stones complications (R=0.379, P=0.000), especially pain complications (R=0.524, P=0.000) and hematuria complications (R=0.374, P=0.000). Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis that a uCA-2 level threshold of 10.94 ng/mL had 83.67% sensitivity and 68.12% specificity for predicting urinary stones complications. CONCLUSIONSExcessive uCA-2 excretion is a major risk factor for urinary stone. Our findings suggested that uCA-2 may be used as an unappreciated biomarker for the diagnosis urinary stone in patients and to predict its complications.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 525-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bedia Samancı ◽  
Yavuz Samancı ◽  
Erdem Tüzün ◽  
Güneş Altıokka-Uzun ◽  
Esme Ekizoğlu ◽  
...  

Background Although specific role players are currently unknown, contribution of inflammatory mediators has been suggested in the pathophysiology of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), which is a disease more prevalent in obese female individuals of childbearing age. We aimed to investigate the levels of adipokines and cytokines to demonstrate possible markers for inflammation that participate in IIH pathophysiology and their association with clinical features of IIH. Methods IIH patients, diagnosed according to the revised criteria, and age-, gender- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Serum samples were evaluated for insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin, nesfatin, adiponectin, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, leptin, plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1, resistin, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or multiplex immunoassays. Results IL-1β level was significantly higher ( p = 0.012), and IL-8 and TNF-α levels were significantly lower in the IIH group ( p < 0.001 and p = 0.008, respectively) compared to the control group. There were no correlations between the cytokine/adipokine levels and age, BMI, disease duration, and cerebrospinal fluid oligoclonal bands. There were also no significant differences in cytokine and adipokine levels between IIH patients regarding visual impairment. However, statistically significant differences were found between IIH patients with relapse versus healthy controls regarding IL-1β ( p = 0.007), IL-8 ( p = 0.001) and TNF-α ( p = 0.017) levels. Other investigated cytokines and adipokines showed no significant alterations in IIH patients investigated in the remission period. Conclusion Altered serum levels of IL-1β, IL-8 and TNF-α seem to be associated with IIH pathogenesis, and these cytokines may be used as prognostic markers in IIH to predict relapse.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Ma ◽  
Xuefei Zhang ◽  
Jia Liu ◽  
Yufang Liu ◽  
Cunzhe Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background : Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus multilocularis larval tapeworm infections in humans that severely impairs the health of affected patients in the northern hemisphere. Methods : The expression levels of 20 cytokines associated with AE infection were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the correlations between these cytokines were analysed in the R programming language. Results : Serum cytokine levels differed among individuals in both the AE patient and healthy control groups. The results of the correlations among the cytokines showed obvious differences between the two groups. In the AE patients group, Th1 and Th2 cytokines formed a more complicated network than that in the healthy control group. Conclusions : The altered correlations between Th1 and Th2 cytokines may be closely associated with AE infection, which may provide a new explanation for the essential differences between AE patients and healthy individuals.


Author(s):  
Ayşe İrem Yasin ◽  
Mahmut Muzaffer İlhan ◽  
Saime Turan ◽  
İlhan Yaylim ◽  
Özcan Karaman ◽  
...  

INTRODUCTION: In the pathogenesis of Graves' disease (GD), which is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, cellular and humoral immune systems are thought to play a role together. TNF-alpha, fibronectin and galectin-3 known to play an active role in inflammatory processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between galectin-3, fibronectin and TNF-alpha molecules with hyperthyroidism and GD. METHODS: The study included 108 volunteers, 50 Graves, 19 non-Graves hyperthyroid patients and 39 healthy controls. Galectin-3, fibronectin and TNF-alpha levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the Graves group (Group 1) 32 women, 18 men; in the non-Graves hyperthyroidism group (Group 2) 13 women, 6 men; and there were age- and sex-matched 26 females and 13 males in the control group (Group 3). RESULTS: TNF-alpha levels were 22.7 ± 1.97 pg / ml in Group 1, 19.8 ± 2.56 pg / ml in Group 2, and 16.6 ± 2.29 pg / ml in the control group. TNF-alpha levels were significantly higher in GD group compared to healthy controls (p <0.009). There was no significant difference between the three groups in terms of galectin-3 and fibronectin levels. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In this study, the relationship between GD and galectin-3 investigated for the first time in the literature and TNF-alpha levels shown in addition to the inflammatory markers known in GD. This finding supports the previous studies and shows the presence of the inflammatory process in GD. Unlike the other causes of hyperthyroidism, the lightening of this inflammatory process in GD, with inflammatory comorbidities such as ophthalmopathy, orbitopathy and dermopathy, will contribute to the development of new treatment options both for the disease itself and for these comorbidities.


Author(s):  
Kanchana Bandara ◽  
Chinthika Gunasekara ◽  
Manjula Weerasekera ◽  
Chamil Marasinghe ◽  
Nilantha Ranasinghe ◽  
...  

Objectives. The aim of this study was to determine the level of five different pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines to study the inflammatory response of leptospirosis. Materials and methods. The serum cytokine levels of IL-10, IL-17A, IL-21, IL-23, and TNF-α were investigated in 57 patients with leptospirosis and 12 healthy controls using a commercially available ELISA kit (Mabtech, Sweden). Statistical analysis was done using Graphpad Prism. Results. Elevation of serum IL-10 and IL-17A levels and significant elevation of serum IL-21 (p=0.002), IL-23 (p=0.002), and TNF-α (p=0.039) were observed among leptospirosis patients compared to the healthy control group. The two major complications observed among these patients were renal failure and liver involvement. Renal failure was significantly associated with elevation of IL-21 and IL-23, while patients with liver involvement had a significant elevation of IL-21, IL-23, and TNF-α. Conclusion. Elevation of IL-17A together with the significant elevation of IL-21 and IL-23 suggests a possible involvement of Th17 cells in the immunopathogenesis of leptospirosis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2006 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Robak ◽  
Agnieszka Wierzbowska ◽  
Magdalena Chmiela ◽  
Liliana Kulczycka ◽  
Anna Sysa-Jędrejowska ◽  
...  

We investigated the serum concentration of total metalloproteinase-9 (tMPP-9), active MMP-9 (aMMP-9), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) in a group of 41 patients with SLE and 20 healthy controls. Serum levels of tMMP-9 and TIMP-1 were assessed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and aMMP-9 by fluorometric assay. The tMMP-9 level was lower in SLE patients (mean 262 ng/mL) than in healthy volunteers (mean 325 ng/mL) (P=.048). Similarly, aMMP-9 level was lower in SLE patients (mean 121 ng/mL) than in control group (mean 169 ng/mL) (P=.0355) and lower in active SLE (mean 54 ng/mL) than in inactive disease (mean 99 ng/mL) (P=.033). TIMP-1 level was also lower in SLE patients (mean 181 ng/mL) than in control group (mean 233 ng/mL) (P=.004). In SLE patients, a positive correlation was found between tMMP-9 and aMMP-9 (ρ=0.568;P=.001). We also found a positive correlation of tMMP-9 and TIMP-1 with VEGF concentrations (ρ=0.450,P=.005andρ=0.387;P=.018, resp). tMMP-9, aMMP-9, and TIMP-1 serum levels are lower in SLE patients than in healthy control group.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26
Author(s):  
Soheila Alyasin ◽  
◽  
Zahra Kanannejad ◽  
Hossein Esmaeilzadeh ◽  
Hesameddin Nabavizadeh ◽  
...  

Context: Chronic airway inflammation in asthma is affected by a complex network of interacting cytokines. The exact role of each cytokine in childhood asthma development has remained poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to review articles investigating cytokine levels and polymorphisms in childhood asthma among the Iranian population to assess susceptible cytokines related to childhood asthma. Evidence Acquisition: We performed a literature search in PubMed, Scopus, Science direct, and Embase databases to find articles that have evaluated the cytokine levels and gene polymorphisms in childhood asthma among the Iranian population until March 2, 2020. The terms used to search included “cytokine”, “interleukin”, “polymorphism”, “Asthma”, and “Iran” in the international databases. Only case-control studies with a healthy control group that investigated cytokine levels and polymorphism in childhood asthma among the Iranian population have been included. Results: Considering these criteria, we extracted 7 articles from international databases and included them in the current review. We investigated 4 cytokine levels and 4 cytokine polymorphism patterns in asthmatic and non-asthmatic subjects in Iran. Interleukin (IL)-23, IL-17, and IL-33 levels were statistically higher in asthmatic children, and also IL-33, IL-17 levels were associated with asthma severity. There were no significant differences between healthy and asthmatic subjects regarding IL-35 levels. Polymorphisms in cytokine IL-4, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-2 were susceptible to childhood asthma in the Iranian population. Conclusions: Increased IL-33 and IL-17 levels were related to disease severity in childhood asthma. Four cytokine polymorphisms (IL-4, IL-10, IL-2, and TNF-α) were associated with the risk of pediatric asthma in the Iranian population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 232-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihong An

Objective: This study aims to investigate the expression and clinical significance of Th17 cells and related factors in peripheral blood of patients with Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH). Methods: A retrospective selection of 100 patients with AIH were included as a study group, and 100 healthy volunteers in the outpatient clinic were selected as the control group. The levels of IL- 17, IL-6, IL-21 and TNF-α in peripheral blood of all subjects were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the frequency of Th17 cells and Treg cells was detected by flow cytometry. Results: Results showed that the study group had higher levels of serum total bilirubin (TBil), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ -glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT), immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) than the control group, as well as higher levels of IL-17, IL-6, IL-21 and TNF-α in serum. The frequency of Th17 cells in peripheral blood was higher in the study group, while the frequency of Treg cells was lower. Also, serum IL-17, TNF-α levels and Th17 cells frequency were positively correlated with ALT and AST, whereas Treg cells frequency were negatively correlated with ALT and AST levels. Conclusion: Our finding demonstrates that Th17 cell frequency and their related factors IL-17 and TNF-α, are associated with liver damage, which might be used to monitor AIH disease severity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-200
Author(s):  
Maryam Moradi ◽  
Alireza Tabibzadeh ◽  
Davod Javanmard ◽  
Saied Ghorbani ◽  
Farah Bokharaei-Salim ◽  
...  

Background: Coinfection of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has a higher risk of mortality than HCV or HIV monoinfection. HCV and HIV infections are specified by systemic inflammation, but the inflammation process in HCV/HIV coinfection is much complicated and is not well characterized. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of TLR-3, TLR-7, IL-10, IFN-1 (IFN-α, IFN-β), and TNF-α in HIV, HCV and HIV/HCV co-infected patients. Methods: Forty-five patients including HIV group (n=15), HCV group (n=15), HIV/HCV coinfection group (n=15) and healthy control group (n=15) participated. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained. PBMC-RNA, HCV and HIV RNA were extracted from all subjects and cDNA was synthesized. The viral load analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and the expression levels of IFN-α, IFN-β, TLR-3, TLR-7, TNF, and IL-10 mRNA were quantified in PBMCs. Results: The levels of IFN-I, IL-10, and TNF-α were overexpressed in all patients’ groups (P<0.05), TLR-7 was upregulated in all groups, but this upregulation was not statistically significant (p>0.05). TLR-3 showed a decrease in all patient groups (P<0.05). The statistical analysis demonstrated that TLR-3 has a negative correlation with HIV load, whereas other genes positively correlated with HIV load. In addition, TLR-3, TNF-α, and IFN-I were negatively correlated with HCV load, whereas TLR-7 and IL-10 s were positively correlated with HCV load. Conclusion: Our results showed a significant relationship between the expression level of innate immunity genes and inflammation in HCV, HIV, and HIV/HCV coinfected patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2609
Author(s):  
Guifeng Wang ◽  
Keiichi Hiramoto ◽  
Ning Ma ◽  
Nobuji Yoshikawa ◽  
Shiho Ohnishi ◽  
...  

Glycyrrhizin (GL), an important active ingredient of licorice root, which weakens the proinflammatory effects of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) by blocking HMGB1 signaling. In this study, we investigated whether GL could suppress inflammation and carcinogenesis in an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced murine model of colorectal cancer. ICR mice were divided into four groups (n = 5, each)—control group, GL group, colon cancer (CC) group, and GL-treated CC (CC + GL) group, and sacrificed after 20 weeks. Plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The colonic tissue samples were immunohistochemically stained with DNA damage markers (8-nitroguanine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxy-guanosine), inflammatory markers (COX-2 and HMGB1), and stem cell markers (YAP1 and SOX9). The average number of colonic tumors and the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the CC + GL group were significantly lower than those in the CC group. The levels of all inflammatory and cancer markers were significantly reduced in the CC + GL group. These results suggest that GL inhibits the inflammatory response by binding HMGB1, thereby inhibiting DNA damage and cancer stem cell proliferation and dedifferentiation. In conclusion, GL significantly attenuates the pathogenesis of AOM/DSS-induced colorectal cancer by inhibiting HMGB1-TLR4-NF-κB signaling.


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