Kombucha tea ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mouse model of multiple sclerosis

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a mouse model for multiple sclerosis (MS), in which an inflammatory demyelination and axonal damage occurs. Kombucha tea is a fermented beverage made from kombucha mushroom, brewed tea, and sugar. In recent years kombucha tea has attracted interest due to its pharmacological properties like antioxidant effects. The aim of the present research was to test the therapeutic effect of kombucha tea in EAE. We induced EAE model in 18 female C57BL/6 mice by inoculation of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-35-55 (MOG_35-55) in complete Freund’s adjuvant emulsion. Then, in order to ameliorate EAE symptoms, we used kombucha tea. During the course of study clinical evaluation was assessed, and on the day 21 post-immunization, for evaluation of nitric oxide (NO), total antioxidants capacity and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), blood samples were taken from the heart of mice. The mice were sacrificed and brains and cerebellums of mice were removed for histological analysis. Our findings demonstrated that kombucha tea had beneficial effects on EAE by lower incidence, attenuation in the severity, and also a delay in the onset of disease. Histological analysis showed that inflammatory criteria including the number of infiltrated immune cells and plaques as well as demyelination in kombucha tea dosed mice were significantly lower than the control group. Also, in comparison with control mice, the serum levels of NO and TNF-α in kombucha tea-treated mice were significantly decreased. Kombucha tea with its potential therapeutic effects and immunomodulatory properties might be proposed, after additional necessary tests and trials, for treatment of MS.     

Thyroid gland: US in patients with Hodgkin disease treated with radiation therapy in childhood

The authors retrospectively assessed with sonography the prevalence of thyroid gland abnormalities in 30 patients who underwent radiation therapy for Hodgkin disease between 1962 and 1984. Doses ranged from 3,000 to 4,500 rad (3,000-4,500 cGy). Abnormalities were found in the sonograms of 24 patients and included unilateral (n = 6) or bilateral (n = 2) atrophy; multiple hypoechoic lesions smaller than 0.75 cm (n = 18); and dominant cystic (n = 2), solid (n = 3), or complex lesions (n = 4) larger than 0.75 cm. The risk of development of an abnormality increased as the time from irradiation increased and was comparable between patients who did and did not receive chemotherapy as part of the treatment regimen. Although the pathologic correlates of the various abnormalities seen on sonograms may differ, the findings indicate a need for long-term follow-up of patients who underwent cervical irradiation for Hodgkin disease.     

Autoantibodies against the serotoninergic 5-HT4 receptor and congenital heart block: a reassessment

The specificity of autoantibodies against the serotoninergic 5-HT4 receptor in congenital heart block has led to conflicting observations. In order to clarify the situation, a collaborative effort was undertaken to discover the reasons for these discrepancies and to reassess the importance of such autoantibodies by making use of the Research Registry for Neonatal Lupus. Sera from 128 patients (101 anti-SSA/Ro52 positive mothers among which 74 have children with congenital heart block (CHB), 9 anti-SSA/Ro52 negative patients of which 1 had a child with heart block and 18 healthy donors) were assessed in a single blind test using an ELISA coated with a 5-HT4 receptor-derived peptide. Discrepancies between previous observations in our two groups could be ascribed to small differences in the set up of the assay. Of the 75 sera from mothers of children with CHB, 12 were reactive with the 5-HT4 peptide. Four sera among which three were from 35 Ro52 negative mothers without affected children as well as 2 in the 18 controls were positive. Interestingly, in 1 mother with an isolated child with CHB but who had no detectable anti-SSA/Ro52 antibodies and 1 mother with a child with a structural heart block and no detectable antibodies to any component of SSA/Ro, reactivity with the 5-HT4 receptor was noted. While 5-HT4 receptor autoantibodies do not have the predictive value of anti-Ro52 autoantibodies, the presence of these antibodies in a minor subset of mothers whose children have CHB suggests an additional risk factor which may contribute to the pathogenesis of disease.     

GJB2 mutations: passage through Iran

Hereditary hearing loss (HHL) is a very common disorder. When inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, it typically presents as an isolated finding. Interestingly and unexpectedly, in spite of extreme heterogeneity, mutations in one gene, GJB2, are the most common cause of congenital severe-to-profound deafness in many different populations. In this study, we assessed the contributions made by GJB2 mutations and chromosome 13 g.1777179_2085947del (the deletion more commonly known as del (GJB6-D13S1830) that includes a portion of GJB6 and is hereafter called Delta(GJB6-D13S1830)) to the autosomal recessive non-syndromic deafness (ARNSD) genetic load in Iran. Probands from 664 different nuclear families were investigated. GJB2-related deafness was found in 111 families (16.7%). The carrier frequency of the 35delG mutation showed a geographic variation that is supported by studies in neighboring countries. Delta(GJB6-D13S1830) was not found. Our prevalence data for GJB2-related deafness reveal a geographic pattern that mirrors the south-to-north European gradient and supports a founder effect in southeastern Europe.     

Anti-SSA/Ro52 autoantibodies blocking the cardiac 5-HT4 serotoninergic receptor could explain neonatal lupus congenital heart block

The 52-kDa SSA/Ro (Ro52) ribonucleoprotein is an antigenic target strongly associated with the autoimmune response in mothers whose children develop neonatal lupus and congenital heart block. When sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were used as autoimmune controls in an enzyme immunoassay to screen for antibodies against the human serotoninergic 5-HT4-receptor, a high correlation was found between the presence of anti-Ro52 protein antibodies in such sera and antibodies reacting with a synthetic peptide, corresponding to the second extracellular loop of the human 5-HT4 receptor (amino acid residues 165-185). Homology scanning between the 5-HT4 peptide and the sequence of the Ro52 protein indicated two potential common epitopes located between residues 365 and 396 of the Ro52 protein. Cross-reactivity was found between the peptide derived from the 5-HT4 receptor, and a peptide corresponding to residues 365-382 of the Ro52 protein. Autoantibodies, affinity-purified on the 5-HT4 receptor peptide, specifically recognized both the Ro52 protein and the 5-HT4 receptor protein in immunoblots. The affinity-purified antibodies antagonized the serotonin-induced L-type Ca channel activation on human atrial cells. This effect could explain the electrophysiological abnormalities in neonatal lupus.     

Induction of neonatal lupus in pups of mice immunized with synthetic peptides derived from amino acid sequences of the serotoninergic 5-HT4 receptor

We have previously suggested that the recognition of a cross-reactive epitope on the 5-HT4 receptor and the 52-kDa SSA/Ro protein by serotonin-antagonizing autoantibodies could explain the electrophysiological symptoms of congenital heart block in neonatal lupus. To confirm this hypothesis, we immunized female mice with four synthetic peptides corresponding to the recognized epitopes. All mice developed anti-peptide antibodies, which cross-reacted with the Ro52 and 5-HT4 receptor peptides and recognized both cognate proteins. Peptide-immune mice were mated. The pups from mice immunized with the Ro52 peptides had no symptoms of neonatal lupus apart from bradycardia. However, pups from mice immunized with the 5-HT4 receptor peptides and bradycardia, atrioventricular block of type I or II, longer QT intervals, skin rashes and neuromotor problems. The 5-HT4 receptor was detectable in the different fetal tissues affected (heart, skin and brain) by immunohistochemistry. Hearts from diseased pups were less developed and showed disorganized myocardial hyperplasia, compared to the normal littermates. These results demonstrate that the serotoninergic 5-HT4 receptor is the antigenic target of physiopathological autoantibodies in neonatal lupus.     

Control of primary osteosarcoma with chemotherapy

High-dose methotrexate with citrovorum factor "rescue" (MTX-CF) produced an apparent complete response of the primary tumor in three patients with osteosarcoma. The response was sustained with MTX-CF, intra-arterial cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II (CDP) and Adriamycin (doxorubicin) for 18 months. Treatment was then electively discontinued. Local recurrence occurred in two patients, 6 and 4 months later, respectively. MTX-CF was reinstated and a complete response was again achieved in one patient. This has been maintained for 15+ months with MTX-CF and intra-arterial CDP administered for 13 of the 15+ months. Reinduction with MTX-CF failed in the second relapsed patient but an apparent remission was again achieved with radiation and intra-arterial CDP. This has been maintained with intravenous CDP, cyclophosphamide and phenylalanine mustard for 14+ months. A complete response in the primary tumor was still present in the nonrelapsed patient, 42 months from diagnosis. All patients have remained free of pulmonary metastases, 40+ to 42+ months from diagnosis.