Investigation of Some Immunological Markers in Covid-19 Vaccinated Individuals: A Review Article

The COVID 19 pandemic has caused great havoc amongst the people in society across the globe. It has affected people both physically and emotionally. The epicentre of the virus has been attributed to Wuhan, from where it spread in the different parts of the globe. Vaccination emerged as one of the best solutions to deal with the proliferation of the virus. It also helped people to protect themselves against hospitalization and reduced death rates. The researcher has used Secondary sources to gather information and data related to the immunological markers in Covid-19 vaccinated population. A major immune marker is the manufacturing of neutralizing antibodies. However, the further implication in this aspect is still under research by scientists.

Shared Genetic Etiology between Alzheimer’s Disease and Blood Levels of Specific Cytokines and Growth Factors

Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has a significant genetic and immunological component, but the molecular mechanisms through which genetic and immunity-related risk factors and their interplay contribute to AD pathogenesis are unclear. Therefore, we screened for genetic sharing between AD and the blood levels of a set of cytokines and growth factors to elucidate how the polygenic architecture of AD affects immune marker profiles. For this, we retrieved summary statistics from Finnish genome-wide association studies of AD and 41 immune marker blood levels and assessed for shared genetic etiology, using a polygenic risk score-based approach. For the blood levels of 15 cytokines and growth factors, we identified genetic sharing with AD. We also found positive and negative genetic concordances—implying that genetic risk factors for AD are associated with higher and lower blood levels—for several immune markers and were able to relate some of these results to the literature. Our results imply that genetic risk factors for AD also affect specific immune marker levels, which may be leveraged to develop novel treatment strategies for AD.

A profile and review of findings from the Early Markers for Autism study: unique contributions from a population-based case–control study in California

Background The Early Markers for Autism (EMA) study is a population-based case–control study designed to learn more about early biologic processes involved in ASD. Methods Participants were drawn from Southern California births from 2000 to 2003 with archived prenatal and neonatal screening specimens. Across two phases, children with ASD (n = 629) and intellectual disability without ASD (ID, n = 230) were ascertained from the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS), with diagnoses confirmed according to DSM-IV-TR criteria based on expert clinical review of abstracted records. General population controls (GP, n = 599) were randomly sampled from birth certificate files and matched to ASD cases by sex, birth month and year after excluding individuals with DDS records. EMA has published over 20 papers examining immune markers, endogenous hormones, environmental chemicals, and genetic factors in association with ASD and ID. This review summarizes the results across these studies, as well as the EMA study design and future directions. Results EMA enabled several key contributions to the literature, including the examination of biomarker levels in biospecimens prospectively collected during critical windows of neurodevelopment. Key findings from EMA include demonstration of elevated cytokine and chemokine levels in maternal mid-pregnancy serum samples in association with ASD, as well as aberrations in other immune marker levels; suggestions of increased odds of ASD with prenatal exposure to certain endocrine disrupting chemicals, though not in mixture analyses; and demonstration of maternal and fetal genetic influence on prenatal chemical, and maternal and neonatal immune marker and vitamin D levels. We also observed an overall lack of association with ASD and measured maternal and neonatal vitamin D, mercury, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. Limitations Covariate and outcome data were limited to information in Vital Statistics and DDS records. As a study based in Southern California, generalizability for certain environmental exposures may be reduced. Conclusions Results across EMA studies support the importance of the prenatal and neonatal periods in ASD etiology, and provide evidence for the role of the maternal immune response during pregnancy. Future directions for EMA, and the field of ASD in general, include interrogation of mechanistic pathways and examination of combined effects of exposures.

Assessment of changes in physiological parameters and immune marker levels in cattle presented for slaughter at Ikpa Nsukka slaughter abattoir

There is dearth of information on the use of physiological parameters and immune marker levels as indices of stress in cattle presented for slaughter. The objectives of the study were to determine the changes in physiological parameters such as heart rate, pulse rate, respiratory rate, rectal temperature and to assess the changes in immune marker levels like total leucocyte count, differential leucocyte count and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio as indices of stress in cattle presented for slaughter at Ikpa slaughter slab. The heart and pulse rates were determined using stethoscope and first and second fingertips count respectively. The rectal temperature (oC) was determined using digital thermometer while the respiratory rate (breaths/minutes) was determined by counting the number of breaths per minute. Blood was collected from 40 cattle at two stages: 1) pre-slaughter and 2) during slaughter. The pre- slaughter and post-slaughter mean values of heart rates in the male cattle were 80.00±7.48a and 112.50±2.87b respectively. The pre-slaughter and post-slaughter mean values of heart rates in the female cattle were 51.33±1.76a and 64.00±2.31a respectively. The pre-slaughter and post-slaughter mean values of respiratory rates in the male cattle were 79.00±6.61a and 33.00±2.52a and 47.00±1.00b respectively. The pre-slaughter and post-slaughter mean values of respiratory rates in the female cattle were 30.67±1.33a and 41.33±3.53b respectively. The pre-slaughter and post-slaughter mean values of rectal temperature in the male cattle were 37.55±0.09a and 38.48±0.13b and 47.00±1.00b respectively. The pre-slaughter and post- slaughter mean values of rectal temperature in the female cattle were 38.63±0.18a and 38.60±0.06a respectively. A slight non-significant increase in the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in the different sex groups at pre-slaughter and slaughter were observed. In conclusion, changes in heart rate, pulse rate and respiratory rate are more indicative of acute stress which is associated with slaughter processes in Ikpa abattoir. Il n y a guerre d'information sur l'utilisation des paramètres physiologiques et des niveaux de marqueur immunitaire comme indices de stress chez les bovins présentés pour l'abattage. Les objectifs de l'étude étaient de déterminer les changements dans les paramètres physiologiques tels que la fréquence cardiaque, le pouls, la fréquence respiratoire, la température rectale et d'évaluer les changements dans les niveaux de marqueur immunitaire comme le nombre total de leucocytes, le nombre différentiel de leucocytes et le rapport neutrophile/lymphocyte comme indices de stress chez les bovins présentés pour l'abattage à la dalle d'abattage Ikpa. Les fréquences cardiaques ont été déterminées à l'aide du Assessment of changes in physiological parameters and immune marker levels in cattle stéthoscope et le premier et le deuxième doigts comptent respectivement. La température rectale (le 'OC') a été déterminée à l'aide d'un thermomètre numérique, tandis que la fréquence respiratoire (respirations/minutes) a été déterminée en comptant le nombre d'respirations par minute. Le sang a été prélevé sur 40 bovins à deux étapes : 1) avant l'abattage et 2) pendant l'abattage. Les valeurs moyennes des fréquences cardiaques chez les bovins mâles avant l'abattage et après l'abattage étaient respectivement de 80.00 ±7.48a et 112.50±2.87 milliards. Les valeurs moyennes des fréquences cardiaques chez les bovins femelles avant l'abattage et après l'abattage étaient respectivement de 51.33 ±1.76a et 64.00±2.31a. Les valeurs moyennes des taux respiratoires chez les bovins mâles avant l'abattage et après l'abattage étaient respectivement de 79.00±6.61a et 33.00±2.52a et 47.00±1.00b. Les valeurs moyennes des taux respiratoires chez les bovins femelles avant l'abattage et après l'abattage étaient de 30.67 ±1.33a et 41.33±3.53 milliards respectivement. Les valeurs moyennes de température rectale avant l'abattage et après l'abattage chez les bovins mâles étaient respectivement de 37.55±0.09a et 38.48±0.13b et 47.00±1.00b. Les valeurs moyennes de la température rectale avant l'abattage et après l'abattage chez les bovins femelles étaient respectivement de 38.63±0.18a et 38.60±0.06a. Une légère augmentation non significative du rapport neutrophile/lymphocyte dans les différents groupes sexuels au pré-abattage et à l'abattage a été observée. En conclusion, les changements de la fréquence cardiaque, de la fréquence cardiaque et de la fréquence respiratoire sont plus révélateurs du stress aigu associé aux processus d'abattage à l'abattoir Ikpa.

Integrative Analysis of Complement System to Prognosis and Immune Infiltrating in Colon Cancer and Gastric Cancer

BackgroundThe complement system acts as an integral part of the innate immune response, which acts primarily to remove pathogens and injured cells. Emerging evidence has shown the activation of the immune regulatory function of complements in the tumor microenvironment (TME). We revealed the expression levels of various complements in human cancers and their role in tumor prognosis and immune infiltration.MethodsThe differential expression of complements was explored via the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) site and the Oncomine database. To investigate whether these differentially expressed complements have correlation with the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) and colon cancer, their impact on survival was assessed using the PrognoScan database and Kaplan-Meier plotter. The correlations between complements and tumor immune-infiltrating levels and immune gene markers were statistically explored in TIMER based on Spearman’s correlation coefficients and p-values.ResultsIn two colon cancer cohorts, an increased expression level of DAF (CD55) has statistically significant correlation with poor disease-free survival (DFS). High C3, CR4, and C5aR1 expression levels were significantly related with poor prognosis in GC patients. In addition, C3, CR4, and C5aR1 expression was positively related to the tumor purity and infiltration levels of multiple immune cells in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD). Moreover, the expression levels of C3, CR4, and C5aR1 were also strongly correlated with various immune marker sets, such as those of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), M1 and M2 macrophages, T cell exhaustion, Tregs, and DCs, in STAD. Additionally, CD55 has positive correlation with few immune cell infiltration levels in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), but its correlation with immune marker sets was not statistically significant.ConclusionThese findings confirm the relationship between various complements and tumor prognosis and immune infiltration in colon cancer and GC. CD55 may serve as an indicator on the survival prognosis of patients with colon cancer. Furthermore, as biomarkers for poor prognosis in GC, complements C3, CR4, and C5aR1 may provide potential biological targets for GC immunotherapy.

LACTB mRNA expression is increased in pancreatic adenocarcinoma and high expression indicates a poor prognosis

This study aimed to find the prognostic value of Beta-lactamase-like (LACTB) in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) patients. The mRNA expression of LACTB was upregulated in PAAD and was correlated with vital status (P = 0.0199). The immunoreactive scores of LACTB protein in human PAAD tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent noncancerous pancreatic tissues. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve assessment showed that LACTB mRNA expression has high diagnostic value in PAAD. Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox analyses suggested that patients with high LACTB mRNA expression have a poor prognosis, indicating that LACTB mRNA is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.72, P = 0.015, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.106–2.253] and disease-specific survival (HR = 1.97, P = 0.004, 95% CI = 1.238–3.152) of PAAD patients. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed that hallmark_g2m_checkpoint, hallmark_myc_targets_v1, hallmark_e2f_targets, and kegg_cell_cycle were differentially enriched in phenotypes with high LACTB expression. In addition, CDC20, CDK4, MCM6, MAD2L1, MCM2 and MCM5 were leading genes intersecting in these four pathways, and a positive correlation between mRNA expression and LACTB was observed in most normal and cancer tissues. Finally, elevated LACTB mRNA expression was significantly related to multiple immune marker sets. Our results elucidate that LACTB is involved in the development of cancer, and that high LACTB expression in patients with PAAD can predict a poor prognosis. High LACTB expression was significantly correlated with cell cycle-related genes and multiple immune marker sets.