Adipose-Derived Stem Cells' Secretome Attenuates Lesion Size and Parasite Loading in Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania Major in Mice.

Background: Stem cell-derived secretome (SE) released into the extracellular space contributes to tissue repair. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of isolated secretome (SE) from adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) on Leishmania major (L. major) lesions in BALB/c mice. Methods: This experimental study was conducted at Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences (Ahvaz, Iran) in 2021. Forty female BALB/c mice were infected with stationary phase promastigotes through intradermal injection in the bottom of their tail and randomly divided into four groups (n=10 per group). The mice were given SE (20 mg/mL), either alone or in combination with Glucantime (GC, 20 mg/mL/Kg), meglumine antimoniate (20 mg/mL/Kg) for the GC group, and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for the control group. After eight weeks, the lesion size, histopathology, the levels of Interleukin 10 (IL-10), and Interleukin 12 (IL-12) were assessed. For the comparison of values between groups, the parametric one-way ANOVA was used to assess statistical significance. Results: At the end of the experiment, the mice that received SE had smaller lesions (4.56±0.83 mm versus 3.62±0.59 mm, P=0.092), lower levels of IL-10 (66.5±9.7 pg/mL versus 285.4±25.2 pg/mL, P<0.001), and higher levels of IL-12 (152.2±14.2 pg/mL versus 24.2±4.4 pg/mL, P<0.001) than the control. Histopathology findings revealed that mice treated with SE had a lower parasite burden in lesions and spleen than the control group. Conclusion: The current study demonstrated that ADSC-derived SE could protect mice infected with L. major against leishmaniasis.

Study of toxoplasmosis in type 2 diabetic patients using ELISA and B1 nested-PCR methods.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a ubiquitous, opportunistic organism, which actually infects all warmblooded animals. Diabetes is a silent, irritating metabolic disorder among which type 2 diabetes includes over 90% of cases globally. This case-control study was aimed to detect T. gondii infection in type 2 diabetic patients in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran. Serological enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method targeting B1 gene were employed to comparatively detect the parasitic infection among 377 diabetic patients and 200 non-diabetic subjects during 2016-2018. Considerably higher anti-T. gondii antibodies were determined in case group 44.29% (167/377), than in control group 19% (38/200) (P<0.05). Among diabetic patients, 153 (40.58%) were seropositive for IgG and 14 (3.71%) were seropositive for IgM, while 35 (17.5%) and 3 (1.5%) healthy people were seropositive regarding IgG and IgM, respectively (P<0.05). By nested PCR, B1 gene was identified in 36 out of 167 (21.55%) and 5 out of 38 (13.15%) of the seropositive samples of case and control groups, respectively. The prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies and DNA in diabetic patients was significantly higher than in non-diabetic patients. Thus, it could be recommended to routinely evaluate the chronicity of the infection in diabetic patients.

ERRATUM - Paleoparasitology in Iran: A Review.

Erratum Following publication of the Original article "Paleoparasitology in Iran: a review" (Infez. Med., volume 26, issue 4, pages 364-402, year 2018). We became aware that the correct affiliation 3) is: Health Research Institute, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran and that the acknowledgements were included by mistake in the original paper and have to be considered as deleted.

Paleoparasitology in Iran: A Review.

Paleoparasitology was created to trace and recover the natural development of parasites as well as the origin of infectious diseases. Paleoparasitology is defined as the study of parasites in ancient material and their interactions with hosts and vectors. Advances in the field have helped to open up new prospects for anthropologists, archaeologists, biologists and medical scientists. In recent years, Iranian parasitologists and biologists have developed immense interest in this field. One of the first human settlements on earth was established in Iran and there is extensive evidence of early human life in this ancient land. Therefore, the aim of the review was to assess paleoparasitological research conducted in Iran in order to facilitate the discovery of the origin of infectious diseases in the region. English and Persian electronic databases including Web of Science, Sciencedirect, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Iran Doc, SID, Iran Medex and Magiran were employed as search engines (up to 2017) using the keywords: Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Parasitology, Parasites and Archaeology. According to the current review, the results of the parasitological study revealed the incidence of human and animal parasitic infection in Iran dating back to 8100 BC.