Engineered Probiotics for the Management of Congenital Metabolic Diseases: A Systematic Review.

Engineered probiotics (EPs) can be used to treat/manage chronic and congenital diseases. However, to the best of our knowledge, no systematic review has evaluated the effects of EPs on congenital metabolic disorders in murine models and human subjects. Thus, the present study systematically reviewed interventional studies that assessed the effects of EPs on congenital metabolic disorders. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched up to February 2023 to retrieve related publications. Seventy-six articles were obtained in the primary step. After screening the titles/abstracts based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 11 papers were included. Finally, only seven articles were included after performing full-text evaluation. The included articles evaluated the effects of EPs on managing phenylketonuria (PKU, n=4) and hyperammonemia (n=3). Moreover, these studies examined mice and/or rats (n=6), monkeys (n=1), and humans (n=2). Studies on EPs and hyperammonemia revealed that some wild strains such as Lactobacillus plantarum have an innate ammonia-hyper-consuming potential; thus, there was no need to manipulate them. However, manipulation is needed to obtain a phenylalanine-metabolizing strain. In conclusion, EPs can be used to manage or treat congenital metabolic diseases including PKU.

In vitro treatment of murine splenocytes with extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells altered the mRNA levels of the master regulator genes of T helper cell subsets.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of mesenchymal stem cells-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) on the production of cytokines and expression of genes, which are corresponded to the subsets of T helper cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The supernatant of the second passage of MSCs that had been isolated from C57BL/6 mice abdominal adipose tissue was used to collect the MSC-EV. Splenocytes of healthy mice were activated using anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies and simultaneously were treated using the MSC-EVs. The proliferation rate of lymphocytes and the frequency of regulatory T cells were measured using flow cytometry. In addition, the expressions of T helper cell subset-specific transcription factors were evaluated using a real-time PCR assay. To appraise the effects of MSC-EV on splenocytes, the levels of IFN-γ, IL-17A, IL-10, and TGF-ß were measured using ELISA. RESULTS: The results showed that the treatment of the CD3/CD28-activated splenocytes with MSC-EV did not statistically change the proliferation of CD3+ splenocytes. However, after the treatment, the mRNA levels of Foxp3 and Elf4 as well as the frequency of regulatory T cells was significantly higher when compared to the control group. The expression levels of Gata3, Rorc, and Tbx21 were down-regulated while, the corresponding cytokines levels did not alter. CONCLUSION: The results revealed that the in vitro treatment of MSC-EV was associated with the increase in the frequency of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ T cells and upregulation of Foxp3 mRNA level.

Toxoplasma gondii vaccine candidates: a concise review.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. It has been shown that the severity of symptoms depends on the functioning of the host immune system. Although T. gondii infection typically does not lead to severe disease in healthy people and after infection, it induces a stable immunity, but it can contribute to severe and even lethal Toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised individuals (AIDS, bone marrow transplant and neoplasia). The antigens that have been proposed to be used in vaccine candidate in various studies include surface antigens and secretory excretions that have been synthesized and evaluated in different studies. In some studies, secretory antigens play an important role in stimulating the host immune response. Various antigens such as SAG, GRA, ROP, ROM, and MAG have been from different strains of T. gondii have been synthesized and their protective effects have been evaluated in animal models in different vaccine platforms including recombinant antigens, nanoparticles, and DNA vaccine. Four bibliographic databases including Science Direct, PubMed Central (PMC), Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched for articles published up to 2020.The current review article focuses on recent studies on the use and usefulness of recombinant antigens, nanoparticles, and DNA vaccines.

The immunomodulatory potential of murine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells is enhanced following culture on chitosan film.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies show that the paracrine immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are mediated by the secretion of interleukin-10 (IL-10), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF ß), and nitric oxide (NO). The preconditioning of MSCs improves their immunomodulatory characteristics. Chitosan is a biopolymer with low toxicity and biodegradability, used as a membrane for MSCs three-dimensional culture. The present study aimed to evaluate the levels of immunomodulatory mediators of mesenchymal cells cultured on the chitosan film. MATERIALS & METHODS: MSCs were isolated from abdominal adipose tissue of BALB/c mice. Flow cytometry and differential culture medium were used to confirm the identity of isolated mesenchymal stem cells. The MSCs were divided into three groups; The first group was treated with 10 ng/mL LPS. The second group was seeded in the flasks coated with the chitosan film (3% w/v). The last group was cultured in the flasks without any preconditioning. After 72 h, IL-10, TGF-ß, and NO concentrations were measured in the conditioned media. In addition, the arginase activity in mesenchymal stem cells was measured using a colorimetric method. RESULTS: The proliferative spindle-shaped MSCs formed several three-dimensional spheroids on the chitosan film. It was shown that the level of TGF-ß and IL-10 were increased significantly after treatment with LPS (P = 0.02) and spheroid formation (P = 0.01). In addition, the arginase activity was enormously augmented in spheroids compared to controls (7.13-fold increase; 1.71 ± 0.08 and 0.24 ± 0.01 respectively; P = 0.021). On the other hand, the LPS treatment but not the culture on chitosan film increased the NO level significantly (P = 0.02 and P = 0.14, respectively). CONCLUSION: Using chitosan film as a three-dimensional culture strategy significantly affects the production of immunosuppressive factors by MSCs in vitro through increased secretion of TGF-ß and IL-10 and arginase activity.

The role of NK cells in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Natural killer (NK) cells are part of the innate immune system which not only provides a primary response to pathogenic conditions but can also play an important regulatory role in immune responses. Furthermore, these cells can influence immune responses by affecting other involved cells. Human NK cells can be classified as CD56dim and CD56bright; the former demonstrates mostly cytotoxic effects, while the latter comprises mostly tolerant or regulatory NK cells. These cells participate in the immunopathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their role remains still unclear. METHODS: We searched PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus databases to review and analyze relevant literature on the impact of NK cells in the pathogenesis of RA. RESULTS: Although the percentage of NK cells increases in peripheral blood of RA patients compared to healthy individuals, the cytotoxic function of these cells is impaired. It is demonstrated by reduced "perforin+ NK cells" and decreased per-cell lytic function. These cytotoxic NK cells may control the pathogenic bone absorptive function of osteoclasts by directly targeting these cells. CONCLUSION: Collectively, the evidence collected in the current review emphasizes the possible protective role of CD56dim NK cells in the pathogenesis of RA.

In silico vaccine design and epitope mapping of New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM): an immunoinformatics approach.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis. The adage that "prevention is better than cure" is especially true regarding antibiotic resistance because the resistance appears and spreads much faster than the production of new antibiotics. Vaccination is an important strategy to fight infectious agents; however, this strategy has not attracted sufficient attention in antibiotic resistance prevention. New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM) confers resistance to many beta-lactamases, including important carbapenems like imipenem. Our goal in this study is to use an immunoinformatics approach to develop a vaccine that can elicit strong and specific immune responses against NDMs that prevent the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. RESULTS: In this study, 2194 NDM sequences were aligned to obtain a conserved sequence. One continuous B cell epitope and three T cell CD4+ epitopes were selected from NDMs conserved sequence. Epitope conservancy for B cell and HLA-DR, HLA-DQ, and HLA-DP epitopes was 100.00%, 99.82%, 99.41%, and 99.86%, respectively, and population coverage of MHC II epitopes for the world was 99.91%. Permutation of the four epitope fragments resulted in 24 different peptides, of which 6 peptides were selected after toxicity, allergenicity, and antigenicity assessment. After primary vaccine design, only one vaccine sequence with the highest similarity with discontinuous B cell epitope in NDMs was selected. The final vaccine can bind to various Toll-like receptors (TLRs). The prediction implied that the vaccine would be stable with a good half-life. An immune simulation performed by the C-IMMSIM server predicted that two doses of vaccine injection can induce a strong immune response to NDMs. Finally, the GC-Content of the vaccine was designed very similar to E. coli K12. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, immunoinformatics strategies were used to design a vaccine against different NDM variants that could produce an effective immune response against this antibiotic-resistant factor.

Can Oral Tolerance Explain the Inconsistencies Associated with Total Dietary Diversity and Colon Cancer? A Mechanistic Systematic Review.

Among the gastrointestinal tract cancers, the risk of colon cancer is strongly dependent on dietary factors. For the first time in the current review, all the original case-control studies, associated with the correlation between total dietary diversity score and colon cancer risk, were evaluated. In this regard, three databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Sciences, were investigated to retrieve the related citations from 1990 until 2019. Among the included citations, three studies were finally included. In these included studies, the dietary diversity score was evaluated with 129-item and 800-item FFQs. Findings reveal that total dietary diversity can increase the risk of colon cancer in men, but not women; while, one study using 57-item FFQ reported the beneficial association of total dietary diversity with colon cancer among men. Significant demand for conducting more research to investigate the real mechanistic effects of dietary diversity on the risk of colon cancer development was demonstrated due to the inconsistent, questionable, and incomplete findings associated with the included studies.

Regulatory T Cells in Bioactive Peptides-Induced Oral Tolerance; a Two-Edged Sword Related to the Risk of Chronic Diseases: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review assesses the literature regarding beneficial and potential detrimental effects of bioactive peptides (BPs), focusing on evidence of regulatory T cells (T-regs) mediated oral tolerance (OT), collagen hydrolysate (CH) supplementation in osteoarthritis (OA) and the association of T-regs with chronic disease. The systematic search was done for articles published from inception to April 2019 using the PubMed and Scopus databases. About 3081 papers were identified by three different search strategies and screened against inclusion criteria which resulted in the inclusion of 22 articles. From the included articles, 12 papers were related to treatment of different disease in vivo by oral administration of BPs, six articles evaluated the effects of CH supplementation, as a rich source of BPs, on OA pain-relief and four observational studies assessed the association of circulating T-regs and risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The evidence obtained from first search strategy, indicated that oral administration of BPs improve clinical manifestations of animal models of allergy, arthritis, atherosclerosis, ulcerative colitis and allograft rejection by T-regs expansion; while, observational studies showed that although higher levels of circulating T-regs reduced risk of CVD and allergy, but, increased risk of solid cancers.

Intranasal administration of small extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells ameliorated the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a mouse model for the human multiple sclerosis, which is characterized by inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS), de-myelination of axonal neurons, and loss of motor coordination. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of intranasal administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and small extracellular vesicle (SEV) derived from the MSC (MSC-SEV) on disease activity and antigen-specific responses in the EAE mouse model. MSCs (5 × 105) were administered intranasally to EAE mice (n = 5) on the 15th and 24th days after immunization. In addition, the intranasal administration of MSC-SEV (10 µg) was used to treat EAE mice (n = 5) on a daily basis from the 15th to the 27th day after induction of the disease. The outcomes of therapies were evaluated using studying clinical symptoms and histological analysis of CNS lesions. Moreover, T cell proliferation, the frequency of regulatory T cells, the expression of transcription factors of T-helper subsets, and the levels of their corresponded cytokines were evaluated in splenocytes culture that was stimulated with specific-antigen. The results of treatment of EAE mice with MSC- SEV and MSC showed a significant decrease in the clinical scores, and it was found that treatment with MSC-SEV was more effective in alleviating clinical scores than MSC. In addition, the decrease in clinical symptoms was associated with an increase in immunomodulatory responses, including an increase in the frequency of Foxp3+ CD25+ regulatory T cells. Moreover, the level of TGF-ß was increased by both treatments; however, interleukin-10 was increased only by MSC treatment. Ultimately, it was achieved that the intranasal administration of MSC-SEV to EAE mice was more effective than the administration of MSC to reduce clinical scores and histological lesions of the CNS tissue.

EL4-derived Exosomes Carry Functional TNF-related Apoptosis-inducing Ligand that are Able to Induce Apoptosis and Necrosis in the Target Cells.

Exosomes released by tumor cells play critical roles in tumor progression, immune cell suppression, and cancer metastasis. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the exosomes released by EL4 cells carry a functional TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) molecule. Exosomes were harvested from the supernatants of EL4 cell culture, and the shape, size, and identity of EL4-derived exosomes were evaluated by utilizing scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and dot-blot method. The expression of mRNA and TRAIL protein in EL4 cells and EL4-exosomes were investigated using real-time PCR method and dot-blot analysis. Moreover, the effects of EL4-derived exosomes on cell death in a TRAIL-sensitive cell line (4T1) were studied by using flow cytometry (annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining) and fluorescent microscopy analyses (acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining). The results showed that EL4 cells continuously and without the need for stimulation, produce exosomes that carry TRAIL protein. In addition, EL4-derived exosomes were capable to induce apoptosis as well as necrosis in 4T1 cells. It was ultimately revealed that EL4 cells express TRAIL protein and release exosomes containing functional TRAIL. Moreover, the released exosomes were able to induce apoptosis and necrosis in a TRAIL-sensitive cell line. Further studies are needed to reveal the potential roles of tumor-derived exosomes in the pathogenesis of cancers.

Activity of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV/CD26 and Aminopeptidase N/CD13 in Secretome of Mesenchymal Stem Cells after Treatment with LPS and PMA.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests that secretome of mesenchymal stem cells has many anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties, which makes it a suitable candidate for the treatment of autoimmune and degenerative diseases. Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV (DPP-IV)/CD26 and Aminopeptidase N (APN)/CD13 are ubiquitous ecto-enzymes which can digest various substrates including some chemokines and neuropeptides that are involved in inflammatory conditions. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the enzymatic activity of DPP-IV/CD26 and APN/CD13 in MSC conditioned media (MSC-CM). METHODS: The MSCs were isolated from the mouse's abdominal adipose tissues and were cultured with or without preconditioning by adding phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10), nitric oxide (NO), as well as the enzymatic activities of DPP-IV/CD26 and APN/CD13 were measured in MSC-CM. RESULTS: The level of IL-10 and the enzyme activity of APN/CD13 did not show any changes in the MSC-CM of stimulated and non-stimulated cells. However, NO production was increased after treatment by LPS or PMA; nevertheless, the DPP-IV/CD26 activity was decreased in MSC-CM merely following the stimulation of cells with LPS. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that MSC-secretome had DPP-IV/CD26 and APN/CD13 activity. The DPP-IV/CD26 activity was decreased following stimulation of MSCs by toll-like receptor 4 agonist. Further studies are needed to reveal the possible contribution of DPP-IV/CD26 and APN/CD13 in the anti-inflammatory functions of MSC-CM.

Naturally occurring biological macromolecules-based hydrogels: Potential biomaterials for peripheral nerve regeneration.

Despite the recent advances in the treatment strategies of peripheral nerve system defects, peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is still one of the most important health issues with increasing incidence worldwide. The most commonly used treatment approaches are allografts, xenografts, and autologous, which have some drawbacks, including complications, limited source of the donor tissue, tubular collapse, and scar tissue formation. In this context, regenerative medicine has been introduced as a powerful approach to improve the healing process and obtain acceptable functional recovery in the injury site using living cells, scaffold, and bioactive (macro-) molecules. Amongst them, scaffold as a three-dimensional (3D) support biomaterial, structurally bridged the gap or site of injury in order to provide physical and chemical cues to promote correct reinnervation and functional regeneration. Amongst different scaffolding biomaterials, naturally occurring biological macromolecules (more especially proteins and polysaccharides)-based hydrogels exhibited promising results due to their fascinating physicochemical, as well as physiologically relevant properties. This review highlights the recent progress in the development of natural hydrogels-based neural scaffolds. Furthermore, PNI healing process, current status, and challenges are also shortly discussed.

Candidate antigenic epitopes for vaccination and diagnosis strategies of Toxoplasma gondii infection: A review.

Toxoplasmosis caused by an obligatory intracellular protozoan parasite of Toxoplasma gondii threats a wide spectrum of human and animal hosts. It has been shown that the intensity of the disease in humans depends on the host's immune responses. Immunological investigations on whole protein molecules of T. gondii have shown that these antigens are not fully responsible for the immune response, which leads to a decrease in specificity and affinity of the antigen (epitope)-antibody (paratope) binding. Currently, epitopes have shown promising entities to stimulate B, T, cytotoxic T lymphocyte, and NK cells resulting in enhancement of protective immunity against toxoplasmosis patients. Thus, the accurate designing, prediction, and conducting of antigenic epitopes of T. gondii (with linear and/or spatial structures (can augment our understanding about development of new serological diagnostic kits and vaccines. The current review provides an update on the latest advances of current epitopes described against toxoplasmosis including B cell/T cell epitopes, antigen types, parasite strains, epitope sequences, assay settings (in vitro and/or in vivo), and target strategy. Present results disclosed that the designing of effective multiepitopes of T. gondii by in silico modeling and immunoinformatics tools can strengthen our knowledge about triggering of epitope-based vaccine/diagnosis strategies in future perspectives.

Epigenetics in osteoarthritis: Novel spotlight.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis and no longer is considered as an absolute consequence of joint mechanical use (wear and tear); rather recent data demonstrate the pivotal role of inflammatory mediators in the development and progression of this disease. This multifactorial disease results from several environmental and inherited factors. Genetic cannot solely explain all the contribution share of inheritance and, this way, it is speculated that epigenetics can play a role, too. Moreover, environmental factors can induce local epigenetic changes. The epigenetic contribution to OA pathogenesis occurs at all of its levels, DNA methylation, histone modification, microRNA, and long noncoding RNA. In fact, during early phases of OA pathogenesis, environmental factors employ epigenetic mechanisms to provide a positive feedback for the OA-related pathogenic mechanisms and pathways with an ultimate outcome of a well-established clinical OA. These epigenetic changes stay during clinical disease and prevent the body natural healing and regenerative processes to work properly, resulting in an incurable disease condition. In this review article, we aimed to have an overview on the studies performed with regard to understanding the role of epigenetics in the etiopathogenesis of OA and highlighted the importance of such kind of regulatory mechanisms within this context.

In vitro analysis of immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cell- and tumor cell -derived exosomes on recall antigen-specific responses.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to evaluate in vitro effects of exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) or tumor cells on recall-antigen-specific immune responses. METHODS: The exosomes were isolated from the supernatant of the cultures of the adipose-derived MSCs, and 4T1 cell line. The splenocytes isolated from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice were utilized to evaluate the effects of exosomes on recall-antigen-specific responses. The expression of master regulators for T cell sub-types and the levels of their corresponding cytokines were evaluated. RESULTS: Treatment by disease-inducing peptide (MOG35-55) combined with MSC-EXO or by MOG+TEX enhanced the expression of Foxp3 as the master regulator for Treg cells; by comparing with splenocytes which were treated by MOG. Nonetheless, the production of IL-10 and TGF-ß were increased only in splenocytes treated by MOG+TEX. Additionally, treatments of splenocytes by MOG+TEX and MOG+MSC-EXO decreased the expression of Tbx21 and Gata3, as the master regulator for T helper (TH)1 and TH2 responses. However, the IFN-γ level did not decrease. The expression of Rorc and Elf4, which are the activator and inhibitor for differentiation of TH17 respectively were increased after splenocytes was treated by MOG+TEX. However, a reduction in Rorc and Elf4 levels was observed when splenocytes were treated by MOG+MSC-EXO. Indeed, the concentration of IL-17 did not alter significantly following the treatment by MOG+exosomes. CONCLUSION: It was ultimately attained that TEX and MSC-EXO utilized various mechanisms to modulate the recall immune responses. TEX was more potent than MSC-EXO to induce regulatory responses by upregulating the production of Foxp3, IL-10, and TGF-ß.

The role of killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes in susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease, which involves the gut and comprises of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Immune cells, including natural killer (NK) cells, play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are NK cell surface receptors, which ligate to the class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and have inhibitory or activating effects on the NK cells. The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of the six studies evaluating the association in the polymorphisms of these KIR genes and the IBD risk (4 UC and 5 CD studies). METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in the electronic databases to find all the studies on the KIR gene polymorphism in IBD patients prior to December 2017. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were  used to find any association between KIR gene polymorphisms and the IBD risk. RESULTS: Following extraction of the data from the studies, which were screened by inclusion and exclusion criteria, collectively 432 patients and 886 controls for UC and 1677 patients and 1308 controls for CD were included in the meta-analysis. The statistical evaluation demonstrated positive associations between 2DL5 (OR=1.31, 95% CI=1.01-1.69) and 2DS1 (OR=1.33, 95% CI=1.01-1.76) members of KIR genes and UC risk, as well a negative association between 2DS3 gene and CD risk was detected (OR=0.74, 95% CI=0.60-0.90). CONCLUSIONS: There are positive associations between 2DL5 and 2DS1 members of KIR genes and UC risk and a negative association between 2DS3 and CD risk.

sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and sE-Selectin Levels in Type 1 Diabetes.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to compare soluble levels of adhesion molecules between diabetic patients and controls and to assess their possible association with long-term complications of type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: Forty-eight patients with T1D and 39 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The plasma level of adhesion molecules was measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. RESULTS: Higher sVCAM 1 (soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1) levels correlated with older age of onset of T1D. The plasma level of sICAM 1 (soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1) was significantly increased, while sE selectin was significantly decreased in patients with T1D, compared to controls. There was no significant relationship between these plasma-level variations and the long-term complications of T1D. CONCLUSION: Although plasma levels of cell adhesion molecules are different in T1D patients and healthy controls, they might not be good candidate markers for prognosis of disease.