The synergistic effect of Levilactobacillus brevis IBRC-M10790 and vitamin D3 on Helicobacter pylori-induced inflammation.

Background: Owing to the emergence and spread of multidrug resistance mechanisms in Helicobacter pylori, achieving a successful eradication has become exceedingly difficult. Thus, this study for the first time determines the effect of a combination of vitamin D3 and probiotic on the pathogenesis and treatment of H. pylori. Methods: We established an in vitro experimental system using AGS human gastric carcinoma cells and explored the synergistic effect of Levilactobacillus brevis IBRC-M10790 and vitamin D3 on H. pylori. Live and pasteurized L. brevis, L. brevis-derived membrane vesicles (MVs), and L. brevis cell-free supernatant (CFS), as well as their combination with vitamin D3 were used during this study. We assessed the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects of these combinations using RT-qPCR and ELISA, respectively. We further performed an adhesion assay to evaluate the influence of L. brevis and vitamin D3 on the adherence rate of H. pylori to AGS cells. Results: Our results demonstrated that L. brevis and vitamin D3 possess anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects against H. pylori infection in AGS cells. The combination of vitamin D3 with the probiotic strain (particularly live L. brevis and its CFS) can more efficiently reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, and TNF-α in the AGS cells. Moreover, vitamin D3 and L. brevis exhibited an additive impact preserving the integrity of the epithelial barrier by increasing the expression of the tight junction protein ZO-1. Furthermore, this combination can potentially reduce H. pylori adherence to AGS cells. Conclusions: This study indicates the advantage of combining vitamin D3 and probiotic to attenuate H. pylori-induced inflammation and oxidative stress. Consequently, probiotic and vitamin D3 co-supplementation can be considered as a novel therapeutic approach to manage and prevent H. pylori infection.

The Effects of Vitamins and Micronutrients on Helicobacter pylori Pathogenicity, Survival, and Eradication: A Crosstalk between Micronutrients and Immune System.

Helicobacter pylori as a class I carcinogen is correlated with a variety of severe gastroduodenal diseases; therefore, H. pylori eradication has become a priority to prevent gastric carcinogenesis. However, due to the emergence and spread of multidrug and single drug resistance mechanisms in H. pylori, as well as serious side effects of currently used antibiotic interventions, achieving successful H. pylori eradication has become exceedingly difficult. Recent studies expressed the intention of seeking novel strategies to improve H. pylori management and reduce the risk of H. pylori-associated intestinal and extragastrointestinal disorders. For which, vitamin supplementation has been demonstrated in many studies to have a tight interaction with H. pylori infection, either directly through the regulation of the host inflammatory pathways or indirectly by promoting the host immune response. On the other hand, H. pylori infection is reported to result in micronutrient malabsorption or deficiency. Furthermore, serum levels of particular micronutrients, especially vitamin D, are inversely correlated to the risk of H. pylori infection and eradication failure. Accordingly, vitamin supplementation might increase the efficiency of H. pylori eradication and reduce the risk of drug-related adverse effects. Therefore, this review aims at highlighting the regulatory role of micronutrients in H. pylori-induced host immune response and their potential capacity, as intrinsic antioxidants, for reducing oxidative stress and inflammation. We also discuss the uncovered mechanisms underlying the molecular and serological interactions between micronutrients and H. pylori infection to present a perspective for innovative in vitro investigations, as well as novel clinical implications.

Using Twitter to Understand the COVID-19 Experiences of People With Dementia: Infodemiology Study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with dementia in numerous ways. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on the COVID-19 impact on people with dementia and their care partners. OBJECTIVE: Using Twitter, the purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of COVID-19 for people with dementia and their care partners. METHODS: We collected tweets on COVID-19 and dementia using the GetOldTweets application in Python from February 15 to September 7, 2020. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the tweets. RESULTS: From the 5063 tweets analyzed with line-by-line coding, we identified 4 main themes including (1) separation and loss; (2) COVID-19 confusion, despair, and abandonment; (3) stress and exhaustion exacerbation; and (4) unpaid sacrifices by formal care providers. CONCLUSIONS: There is an imminent need for governments to rethink using a one-size-fits-all response to COVID-19 policy and use a collaborative approach to support people with dementia. Collaboration and more evidence-informed research are essential to reducing COVID-19 mortality and improving the quality of life for people with dementia and their care partners.

Association of EGLN2 rs10680577 Polymorphism with the Risk and Clinicopathological Features of Patients with Prostate Cancer.

Several studies have evaluated the association between EGLN2 4-bp insertion/deletion (ins/del) polymorphism (rs10680577) and many cancers. However, up to date, no study has inspected the impact of rs10680577 polymorphism on prostate cancer (PCa) risk. This case-control study was achieved on 170 pathologically confirmed PCa patients and 196 cancer free men to inspect whether rs10680577 variant is related to the risk and clinicopathological features of patients with PCa. Genotyping was performed by mismatched polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The findings did not support an association between the variant with the risk and clinicopathological characteristics of PCa patients. When we pooled our results with six preceding studies, the findings suggested that rs10680577 variant significantly augmented the risk of overall cancer in heterozygous (OR=1.38, 95 % CI=1.26-1.52, p<0.00001, ins/del vs ins/ins), homozygous (OR=1.66, 95 % CI=1.05-2.61, p=0.029, del/del vs ins/ins), codominant (OR=1.44, 95%CI=1.32-1.58, p<0.00001, ins/del+del/del vs ins/ins), and allele (OR=1.32, 95%CI=1.18-1.49, p<0.00001, del vs ins) genetic models. Additional well designed studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm our findings.

The Relationship between Pre-miR-3131 3-bp Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism and Susceptibility and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Patients with Breast Cancer.

AIMS: This study aimed at examining the effect of 3-bp pre-miR-3131 insertion/deletion (ins/del) polymorphism on Breast Cancer (BC) risk. OBJECTIVES: Totally 403 women including 199 BC patients and 204 women who have no cancer were included in this case-control study. Genotyping of miR-3131 3-bp ins/del polymorphism was performed by mismatch PCR-RFLP method. METHODS: The findings expressed that the pre-miR-3131 3-bp ins/del variant was not related to the risk of BC in all genetic tested models. While, the ins/del genotype was related to late onset BC (OR=2.53, 95%CI=1.27-4.84, p=0.008). RESULTS: Pooled results from the meta-analysis indicated to that the pre-miR-3131 ins/del is related to with an increased risk of cancer in heterozygous (OR=1.26, 95%CI=1.06-1.51, p=0.01), dominant (OR=1.33, 95%CI=1.14-1.54, p=0.0002), and allele (OR=1.24, 95%CI=1.06-1.45, p=0.006) genetics models. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that, our findings did not support a relationship between pre-miR-3131 ins/del polymorphism and the risk of BC. While, this variant was significantly related to late onset BC. Combined results of this study with previous studies indicated that this polymorphism increased the risk of cancer. More studies in a study with larger population with variety of ethnicities are required to verify our findings.