Interplay of immune components and their association with recurrent pregnancy loss

Maintenance and progression of pregnancy is an intricate process governed by a variety of developmental cues. Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a complication experienced by expecting mothers that is defined as three or more consecutive pregnancy losses. This review focuses on the dysfunctions of the immune system as one of the key contributors towards RPL. The current data suggests that the alloimmune and autoimmune factors contribute to the loss of fetus. Such causes despite being recognized as a definitive reason for recurrent pregnancy loss, are still under extensive investigation with new parameters being discovered and scrutinized for their association with RPLs. More in-depth and high throughput studies are required for devising better diagnostic tools and management strategies for the affected female so that they can carry their pregnancy to term.     

Single versus multi‐drug antimicrobial surgical infection prophylaxis for left ventricular assist devices: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Infection remains the Achilles heel of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy. However, an optimal antimicrobial surgical infection prophylaxis (SIP) regimen has not been established. This study evaluated the efficacy of a single‐drug SIP compared to a multi‐drug SIP on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing continuous‐flow LVAD (CF‐LVAD) and pulsatile LVAD (P‐LVAD) implantation. An electronic search was performed to identify studies in the English literature on SIP regimens in patients undergoing LVAD implantation. Identified articles were assessed for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Fourteen articles with 1,311 (CF‐LVAD: 888; P‐LVAD: 423) patients were analyzed. Overall, 501 (38.0%) patients received single‐drug SIP, whereas 810 (62.0%) received multi‐drug SIP. Time to infection was comparable between groups. There was no significant difference in overall incidence of LVAD‐specific infections [single‐drug: 18.7% vs. multi‐drug: 24.8%, P = 0.49] including driveline infections [single‐drug: 14.1% vs. multi‐drug: 20.8%, P = 0.37]. Compared to single‐drug SIP, patients who received multi‐drug SIP had a significantly lower survival rate [single‐drug: 90.0% vs. multi‐drug: 76.0%, P = 0.01] and infection‐free survival rate [single‐drug: 88.4% vs. multi‐drug: 77.3%, P = 0.04] at 90 days. However, there were no significant differences in 1‐year survival and 1‐year infection‐free survival between groups. No survival differences were observed in the CF‐LVAD subset as well. This study demonstrated no additional advantage of a multi‐drug compared to a single‐drug regimen for SIP. Although there was a modest advantage in early survival among CF‐LVAD and P‐LVAD patients who received single‐drug SIP, there were no significant differences in the 1‐year survival and 1‐year infection‐free survival.     

Apigenin as an anticancer agent

Apigenin is an edible plant‐derived flavonoid that has been reported as an anticancer agent in several experimental and biological studies. It exhibits cell growth arrest and apoptosis in different types of tumors such as breast, lung, liver, skin, blood, colon, prostate, pancreatic, cervical, oral, and stomach, by modulating several signaling pathways. Apigenin induces apoptosis by the activation of extrinsic caspase‐dependent pathway by upregulating the mRNA expressions of caspase‐3, caspase‐8, and TNF‐α. It induces intrinsic apoptosis pathway as evidenced by the induction of cytochrome c, Bax, and caspase‐3, while caspase‐8, TNF‐α, and B‐cell lymphoma 2 levels remained unchanged in human prostate cancer PC‐3 cells. Apigenin treatment leads to significant downregulation of matrix metallopeptidases‐2, ?9, Snail, and Slug, suppressing invasion. The expressions of NF‐κB p105/p50, PI3K, Akt, and the phosphorylation of p‐Akt decreases after treatment with apigenin. However, apigenin‐mediated treatment significantly reduces pluripotency marker Oct3/4 protein expression which might be associated with the downregulation of PI3K/Akt/NF‐κB signaling.     

Three months of COVID‐19: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

The pandemic of 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2019), reminiscent of the 2002‐SARS‐CoV outbreak, has completely isolated countries, disrupted health systems and partially paralyzed international trade and travel. In order to be better equipped to anticipate transmission of this virus to new regions, it is imperative to track the progress of the virus over time. This review analyses information on progression of the pandemic in the past 3 months and systematically discusses the characteristics of SARS‐CoV‐2019 virus including its epidemiologic, pathophysiologic, and clinical manifestations. Furthermore, the review also encompasses some recently proposed conceptual models that estimate the spread of this disease based on the basic reproductive number for better prevention and control procedures. Finally, we shed light on how the virus has endangered the global economy, impacting it both from the supply and demand side.     

Human papillomavirus in tonsillectomy specimen from China and Pakistan — Prevalence and genotype distribution

Background

The expected corresponding increase in tonsillar human papillomavirus (HPV) infection associated with increasing incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) substantiate the evaluation of normal tonsillar tissue in different population. The epidemiology of HPV in tonsillar tissue varies geographically. This study evaluated samples from two countries to determine the prevalence in respective samples.