Locomotion of monocytes on endothelium is a critical step during extravasation

Monocytes, like all leukocytes, undergo a series of sequential steps during extravasation from blood into tissues: tethering, rolling, adhesion and diapedesis. We have discovered an essential step, which we call locomotion, in which the monocyte moves from a site of firm adhesion to the nearest junction to begin diapedesis. Blocking CD11a-CD18 and CD11b-CD18 on human monocytes or adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and ICAM-2 on endothelial cells prevented the monocytes from reaching junctions. The blocked monocytes spun in circles as if they were unable to direct their movement despite being able to adhere and polarize normally. This step fills a gap in the paradigm of extravasation as a multistep process.     

Effects of diode low-level laser therapy on healing of tooth extraction sockets: a histopathological study in diabetic rats

Lasers in Medical Science - Diabetes mellitus is mostly interrelated to deficiency in wound healing. Low-level laser therapy has been shown to exert reliable effects on the acceleration of wound...     

Evaluating the efficacy and safety of vascular IPL for treatment of acute cutaneous leishmaniasis: a randomized controlled trial

Lasers in Medical Science - Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) continues to be a health concern, and alternative therapies with fewer side effects are substantially needed. This study aimed...     

How defective spermatogenesis affects sperm DNA integrity

Spermatogenesis is the essential process to maintain and promote male fertility. It is extraordinarily complex with many regulatory elements and numerous steps. The process involves several cell types, regulatory molecules, repair mechanisms and epigenetic regulators. Evidence has shown that fertility can be negatively impacted by reduced sperm DNA integrity. Sources of sperm DNA damage include replication errors and causes of DNA fragmentation which include abortive apoptosis, defective maturation and oxidative stress. This review outlines the process of spermatogenesis, spermatogonial regulation and sperm differentiation; additionally, DNA damage and currently studied DNA repair mechanisms in spermatozoon are also covered.     

Evaluating mechanism and severity of injuries among trauma patients admitted to Sina Hospital, the National Trauma Registry of Iran

Purpose: Injuries are one of the leading causes of death and lead to a high social and financial burden. Injury patterns can vary significantly among different age groups and body regions. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between mechanism of injury, patient comorbidities and severity of injuries. Methods: The study included trauma patients from July 2016 to June 2018, who were admitted to Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The inclusion criteria were all injured patients who had at least one of the following: hospital length of stay more than 24 h, death in hospital, and transfer from the intensive care unit of another hospital. Data collection was performed using the National Trauma Registry of Iran minimum dataset. Results: The most common injury mechanism was road traffic injuries (49.0%), followed by falls (25.5%). The mean age of those who fell was significantly higher in comparison with other mechanisms (p < 0.001). Severe extremity injuries occurred more often in the fall group than in the vehicle collision group (69.0% vs. 43.5%, p < 0.001). Moreover, cases of severe multiple trauma were higher amongst vehicle collisions than injuries caused by falls (27.8% vs. 12.9%, p = 0.003). Conclusion: Comparing falls with motor vehicle collisions, patients who fell were older and sustained more extremity injuries. Patients injured by motor vehicle collision were more likely to have sustained multiple trauma than those presenting with falls. Recognition of the relationship between mechanisms and consequences of injuries may lead to more effective interventions.     

Feasibility and delivery of patient-reported outcomes in clinical practice among racially diverse bladder and prostate cancer patients

ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility of enrollment and collecting patient-reported outcome (PRO) data as part of routine clinical urologic care for bladder and prostate cancer patients and examine overall patterns and racial variations in PRO use and symptom reports over time.Subjects/Patients and MethodsWe recruited 76 patients (n = 29 Black and n = 47 White) with prostate or bladder cancer at a single, comprehensive cancer center. The majority of prostate cancer patients had intermediate risk (57%) disease and underwent either radiation or prostatectomy. Over half (58%) of bladder cancer patients had muscle invasive disease and underwent cystectomy.Patients were asked to complete PRO symptom surveys using their preferred mode [web- or phone-based interactive voice response (IVR)]. Symptom summary reports were shared with providers during visits. Surveys were completed at 3 time points and assessed urinary, sexual, gastrointestinal, anxiety/depression, and sleep symptoms. Feasibility of enrollment and survey completion were calculated, and linear mixed effects models estimated differences in outcomes by race and time.ResultsSixty three percent of study participants completed all PRO measures at all 3 time points. Black patients were more likely to select IVR as their survey mode (40% vs. 13%, P < 0.05), and less likely to complete all surveys (55% vs. 74%, P = 0.13). Patients using IVR were also less likely to complete all surveys (41% vs. 69%, P = 0.046).ConclusionsReported preferences for survey mode and completion rates differ by race, which may influence survey completion rates and highlight potential obstacles for equitable implementation of PROs into clinical care.     

Activators of SIRT1 in the kidney and protective effects of SIRT1 during acute kidney injury (AKI) (effect of SIRT1 activators on acute kidney injury)

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology - Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a complex disorder and a clinical condition characterized by acute reduction in renal function. If AKI is not treated, it can...     

Women’s Self-Care in the Reproductive Age: An Essential Agenda

Archives of Sexual Behavior -     

In vitro-derived insulin-producing cells modulate Th1 immune responses and induce IL-10 in streptozotocin-induced mouse model of pancreatic insulitis

Background: Insulitis is defined by the presence of immune cells infiltrating in the pancreatic islets that might progress into the complete β-cell loss. The immunomodulatory properties of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells(BM-MSCs) have attracted much attention. This study aimed to evaluate the possible immunomodulatory effects of rat BM-MSCs and MSCs-derived insulin-producing cells(IPCs) in a mouse model of pancreatic insulitis. Methods: Insulitis was induced in BALB/c mice using five consecuti ve doses of streptozotocin. MSCs or IPCs were directly injected into the pancreas of mice and their effects on the expression of Th subsetsrelated genes were evaluated. Results: Both BM-MSCs and IPCs significantly reduced the expression of pancreatic Th1-related IFN-γ( P 0.001 and P 0.05, respectively) and T-bet genes(both P 0.001). Moreover, the expression of IL-10 gene was significantly increased in IPC-treated compared to BM-MSC-or PBS-treated mice( P 0.001 both comparisons). Conclusions: BM-MSCs and IPCs could successfully suppress pathologic Th1 immune responses in the mouse model of insulitis. However, the marked increase in IL-10 gene expression by IPCs compared to BM-MSCs suggests that their simultaneous use at the initial phase of autoimmune diabetes might be a better option to reduce inflammation but these results need to be verified by further experiments.     

A Short Series of Case Reports of COVID-19 in Immunocompromised Patients

Immunocompromised individuals are at risk of prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection due to weaker immunity, co-morbidities, and lowered vaccine effectiveness, which may evolve highly mutated variants of SARS-CoV-2. Nonetheless, limited data are available on the immune responses elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection, reinfections, and vaccinations with emerging variants in immunocompromised patients. We analyzed clinical samples that were opportunistically collected from eight immunocompromised individuals for mutations in SARS-CoV-2 genomes, neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers against different SARS-CoV-2 variants, and the identification of immunoreactive epitopes using a high-throughput coronavirus peptide array. The viral genome analysis revealed two SARS-CoV-2 variants (20A from a deceased patient and an Alpha variant from a recovered patient) with an eight amino-acid (aa) deletion within the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the surface glycoprotein. A higher NAb titer was present against the prototypic USA/WA1/2020 strain in vaccinated immunocompromised patients. NAb titer was absent against the Omicron variant and the cultured virus of the 20A variant with eight aa deletions in non-vaccinated patients. Our data suggest that fatal SARS-CoV-2 infections may occur in immunocompromised individuals even with high titers of NAb post-vaccination. Moreover, persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection may lead to the emergence of newer variants with additional mutations favoring the survival and fitness of the pathogen that include deletions in NAb binding sites in the SARS-CoV-2 surface glycoprotein.