International Journal of Medical Laboratory
Volume:6 Issue: 1, Feb 2019

Despite the various therapies available, the use of monoclonal antibodies is a highly specific approach that has only recently been of interest to researchers. The properties of antibodies have led to their use in the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis (MS). MS, a chronic inflammatory disease, occurs commonly in young adults. The disease is one of the attractive options for monoclonal antibody therapy because it has no definitive drug for its treatment. Antibodies, by targeting different molecules, have different mechanisms to improve the disease. Treatment with monoclonal antibody has culminated in a clear divergence in paradigm and concentration in MS therapeutics. Application of monoclonal antibody in early inflammatory phases can inhibit or postpone the disability in MS subjects. Ocrelizumab and daclizumab are currently under investigation by late phase III trials, and some other monoclonal antibodies are in the early stages of clinical trials. Monoclonal antibodies are of special structural features (including chimeric, humanized, or fully humanized) as well as specific targets (such as stimulation of signal transduction by binding to receptors, blocking interactions, antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, complement-dependent cytotoxicity), thus providing various mechanisms of actions during MS therapy. In the present paper, we reviewed different monoclonal antibodies used in MS, their mechanism of action and theirs target molecules.

Thyroid hormones have an important role in metabolism and regulation of the red blood cells (RBCs). Thyroid dysfunction induces various effects on blood cells such as anemia through reducing the oxygen metabolism. For the first time, we aimed to determine the effects of severity activation of hypothyroidism on RBCs indices in patients with hypothyroidism. This study was performed on 79 patients with hypothyroidism. Initially patients' TSH level was determined by immunoassays method, and then according to TSH ranges (0.3-5.5 µIU/mL), patients were divided into two moderate hypothyroidism (45 individuals) (TSH 6-10 µIU/mL) and marked hypothyroidism (34 individual) (TSH>10 µIU/mL) groups. Then, complete blood count was measured by cell counter. Data analysis revealed a statistically difference between the two groups of patient including moderate and marked hypothyroidism in RBCs count (4.46 versus 4.04 mil/L), hemoglobin (12.8 versus 12.3 g/dl) and hematocrit (39.8 versus 38.0 %) respectively. It seems that severly reduced hormones of thyroid may result in markedly decrease in RBCs count, hemoglobin and hematocrit. These finding are consistent with the fact that reduced thyroid hormones may cause anemia frequently through effect on cytokines involving erythropoiesis such as erythropoietin.

Decreased sperm motility and increased level of oxidative stress are major causes of male infertility. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of propolis supplementation on spermatogram and reproductive hormones in asthenozoospermic men. In this randomized, double-blind controlled clinical trial, 60 asthenozoospermic men attending an infertility clinic in Velayat Hospital in Qazvin, Iran, were randomly assigned to one of intervention and placebo groups (n=30 for each group). For 10 weeks each participant in the intervention group took 1500 mg of propolis daily, while in the placebo group they received daily placebo. Sperm parameters, total antioxidant capacity, concentrations of malondialdehyde of plasma, inflammatory markers and reproductive hormones were measured at the baseline and at the end of the interventions. Out of 60 who participated in this study, 29 men in the intervention group and 28 men in the placebo group completed the study. After the intervention, concentration and percentage of motile sperms as well as total antioxidant capacity of plasma significantly increased while the concentration of plasma malondialdehyde and inflammatory markers significantly decreased in the intervention group compared to the placebo group (p<0.05). Propolis supplementation led to increase in the concentration and motility of asthenozoospermic sperms and reduction of oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. Since increase in reactive oxygen species has been observed in abnormal sperms, oral intake of propolis may be one of the ways to deal with oxidative damage in spermatozoa of infertile men.

The aim of this study is to clarify nitric oxide (NO)-production by spleen and the importance of spleen in malaria infection in murine model. Thirty outbred NMRI female mice were divided into four groups, Group I: No intervention (Healthy control), Group II: With splenectomy (Healthy test), Group III: No intervention, Inoculation of contaminated blood (Infected control), Group IV: With splenectomy, inoculation of contaminated blood (Infected test). The Parasitemia was counted every other day through Giemsa stain examination of animal blood. The parasitemia and survival rates, hepatosplenomegaly and body weight were recorded. After terminal anesthesia, plasma and liver/spleen suspensions were assessed by the Griess micro assay for measurement of NO-levels. At the end of the experiment (on day 16), the parasitemia was 26.99±0.46 % among the group of non-splenectomized animals (Group III) compared with 31.25±0.72% among the group of splenectomized animals (Group IV). The average parasitemia among the groups at the end of the experiment was statistically significant (Group III, Group IV: p= 0.0002). Survival rate was statistically significant (p<0.0001). NO concentrations in plasma, liver and spleen were determined. The amount of NO in plasma increased significantly in the infected groups (p=0.0003). Although, splenectomy decreased immune function against rodent malaria, it did not solely changed the pattern of antimalarial activity via NO-pathway. It is concluded that NO possibly comes from several sources rather than spleen during rodent malaria disease and is released into circulation, which may replace NO shortage by splenic cells to combat malaria parasites.

Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) plays a pivotal role in the survival of hematologic and solid tumors, and is known as a substantial oncogene. Studies have demonstrated the altered expression of Mcl-1
has been linked to malignancy development and poor prognosis. In this research, we have studied the expression of Mcl-1 mRNA in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients and determined association with clinico-pathological factors, MDS subgroups as well as international prognostic scoring system. The relative level of Mcl-1 was determined by real time quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and gene expression normalized to Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Results indicated amplification of mRNA encoding Mcl-1 in 100% of the cases. The higher level of Mcl-1 existed in MDS patients compared with the healthy controls but there was no statistically difference of Mcl-1 expression between these groups. Fold change in gene expression was higher in advanced stage MDS, high risk MDS, cases with >5% blast and LDH >400 to their corresponding groups. In addition, the correlation between gene expression and cytogenetic prognostic subgroups was statistically significant (p=0.043). In the present study, we showed that Mcl-1 is expressed in MDS independent of the World Health Organization subgroup and international prognostic scoring system. Therefore, Mcl-1 may be up-regulated already in early stages of leukemogenesis.

Human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (hASCs) are considered as an attractive source of regenerative stem cells, mainly because of their higher proliferation rate, more accessibility and hepatocyte like properties as compared to mesenchymal stem cells isolated from other tissues. Numerous studies have described the beneficial use of adipose tissue-derived stem cells for generating hepatocyte-like cells. However, due to the lack of appropriate culture conditions, most of the produced cells exhibit poor functionality. The aim of the present study was to establish a new protocol for the efficient hepatic differentiation of hASCs. hASCs were cultured in hepatic differentiation medium containing fibroblast growth factor 4, hepatocyte growth factor, dexamethasone and oncostatin M using a three-step protocol up to 21 days. Then, the functionality of the treated cells was evaluated by analyzing specific hepatocyte genes and biochemical markers at various time points. A significant upregulation in albumin, alpha-fetoprotein, cytokeratin 18 and hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α expressions was observed in differentiated cells relative to day 1 of differentiation protocol. Moreover, the finding of glycogen deposits increased urea production and positive immunofluorescence staining for albumin and alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocyte-like cells suggesting that most of the cells differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells. Our report has provided a simple protocol for differentiation of hASCs into more functional hepatocyte-like cells.

Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) is known as an important source of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. It is categorized as Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) not being present and low DNA viral load in serum. In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the outbreak of anti-HBc and OBI among the HBsAg-negative donors in Golestan province. The present cross-sectional experiment was conducted on 3500 voluntary blood donors in Golestan province to examine the presence of human immunodeficiency viruses Ag-Ab, HBsAg, and hepatitis C virus Ab. Then, samples with negative results for the mentioned tests were screened for total HBc antibody (IgM-IgG) through ELISA technique. Afterward, HBV-DNA extraction and R-T PCR assay were conducted for all HBsAg negative samples by using Real ART HBV LC PCR kit on a Light Cycler instrument. The study participants included 3255 (93%) male and 245 (7%) female. In general, 385 (11%) out of 3500 samples were anti-HBc positive. HBV-DNA results for every sample with either positive or negative anti-HBc were found to be negative. As the area under study has a high rate of anti-HBc outbreak (11%) without the presence of HBV-DNA, anti-HBc screening can cause blood donor deferrals and limit blood supply; therefore, the HBsAg test with high analytical sensitivity is recommended for HBV screening in this area. Regarding the cost analyses and also the status of HBV endemicity, HBsAg test along with ID-NAT is preferable, if possible, for improving blood safety.

One of the major subjects for improving in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome is the quantity and quality of retrieved oocytes. In vitro maturation (IVM) provides an opportunity for using immature oocytes routinely discarded in clinics. This study aimed at evaluating the quality of embryos derived from in vivo and rescue in vitro matured oocytes. Totally, 462 immature oocytes as cases and 466 mature (MII) oocytes as controls were included for study of their developmental competence. Oocytes underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection insemination and then denuded oocytes were microscopically assessed regarding cytoplasmic and nuclear maturity and quality. The morphological assessments showed fertilization rate of 60.9 and 61.4%, the embryo formation rate of 86.7% and 90.9% and arresting rate of 27.3% and 25.6% for the case and control oocytes, respectively. Evaluating embryo quality in the cleavage stage indicated that 63% of the embryos in the case group and 68% of the embryos in the control group were of good quality. There was no significant difference between fertility rate and arresting rate of oocytes matured in both groups, although the embryo formation rate and the quality of embryos differed significantly. Our findings suggest that IVM is a valuable and practical option for patients who had to cancel IVF treatment cycles because of severe responses or resistance to routine hormonal therapies or those with low functional ovarian reserve.