Biostimulatory effects of laser irradiation on cell proliferation and wound healing has been reported. However, little is known about the molecular basis of the mechanism. Interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrotic factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) play an important role in inflammation, while platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and blood-derived fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) are the most important growth factors of periodontal tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of low-level He-Ne laser on the gene expression of these mediators in rats' gingiva and mucosal tissues. Twenty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups (A(24), A(48), B(24), B(48)) in which A(24) and A(48) were cases and B(24), B(48) were controls. An incision was made on gingiva and mucosa of the labial surface of the rats' mandibular incisors. Group A(24) was irradiated twice with 24 hours interval, while the inflamed tissues of group A(48) was irradiated three times with continuous He-Ne laser (632.8 nm) at a dose of 7.5 J/cm2 for 300 s. An energy of 5.1 J was given to the 68 mm(2) irradiation zone. Rats were killed 30 min after the last irradiation of case and control groups, then excisional biopsy was performed. Gene expression of the cytokines was measured using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. Results were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. The gene expression of IL-1beta and IFN-gamma was significantly inhibited in the test groups (P < 0.05), while the gene expression of PDGF and TGF-beta were significantly increased (P < 0.05). The case and control groups did not have a significant difference in the gene expression of TNF-alpha and bFGF (P > 0.05). These findings suggest that low-level He-Ne laser irradiation decreases the amount of inflammation and accelerates the wound healing process by changing the expression of genes responsible for the production of inflammatory cytokines.

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Blastocystis is an unusual enteric protozoan parasite of humans and many animals whose pathogenic potential is still controversial. To increase the understanding of the molecular epidemiology of this emerging parasite and due to its potential impact on public health, its subtypes (STs) in Iranian symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals were determined. A total of 100 Blastocystis isolates by microscopy and culture methods were obtained. DNA was extracted from the positive culture isolates, and the Blastocystis subtypes were identified using seven subtype-specific sequenced-tagged site (STS) primers. Four subtypes, ST3 as dominant (53 %), followed by ST1 (48 %), ST5 (33 %), and ST2 (7 %) were identified. In this study, ST1 in gastrointestinal patients compared to asymptomatic individuals was significantly dominant (p = 0.001). From 33 (33 %) mixed subtype infections, ST1, 3 (14 %) was significantly related to GI symptoms (p = 0.045), and eight mixed infections with three different STs, which are under reported, were also identified.

Considering the emergence of highly pathogenic influenza viruses and threat of worldwide pandemics, there is an urgent need to develop broadly-protective influenza vaccines. In this study, we demonstrate the potential of T7 bacteriophage-based nanoparticles with genetically fused ectodomain of influenza A virus M2 protein (T7-M2e) as a candidate universal flu vaccine. Immunization of mice with non-adjuvanted T7-M2e elicited M2e-specific serum antibody responses that were similar in magnitude to those elicited by M2e peptide administered in Freund’s adjuvant. Comparable IgG responses directed against T7 phage capsomers were induced following vaccination with wild type T7 or T7-M2e. T7-M2e immunization induced balanced amounts of IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies and these antibodies specifically recognized native M2 on the surface of influenza A virus-infected mammalian cells. The frequency of IFN-γ-secreting T cells induced by T7-M2e nanoparticles was comparable to those elicited by M2e peptide emulsified in Freund’s adjuvant. Emulsification of T7-M2e nanoparticles in Freund’s adjuvant, however, induced a significantly stronger T cell response. Furthermore, T7-M2e-immunized mice were protected against lethal challenge with an H1N1 or an H3N2 virus, implying the induction of hetero-subtypic immunity in our mouse model. T7-M2e-immunized mice displayed considerable weight loss and had significantly reduced viral load in their lungs compared to controls. We conclude that display of M2e on the surface of T7 phage nanoparticles offers an efficient and economical opportunity to induce cross-protective M2e-based immunity against influenza A.

The 986S, 990G and 1011Q alleles were associated with a recurrent calcium kidney stone-forming state. 986S and 1011Q alleles, but not 986S, were associated with hypercalcaemia.

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Prokaryotic diversity in Aran-Bidgol salt lake, a thalasohaline lake in Iran, was studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), cultivation techniques, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified fragments of 16S rRNA genes and 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. Viable counts obtained (2.5–4 × 106 cells mL−1) were similar to total cell abundance in the lake determined by DAPI direct count (3–4×107 cells mL−1). The proportion of Bacteria to Archaea in the community detectable by FISH was unexpectedly high and ranged between 1:3 and 1:2. We analyzed 101 archaeal isolates and found that most belonged to the genera Halorubrum (55%) and Haloarcula (18%). Eleven bacterial isolates obtained in pure culture were affiliated with the genera Salinibacter (18.7%), Salicola (18.7%) and Rhodovibrio (35.3%). Analysis of inserts of 100 clones from the eight 16S rRNA clone libraries constructed revealed 37 OTUs. The majority (63%) of these sequences were not related to any previously identified taxa. Within this sampling effort we most frequently retrieved phylotypes related to Halorhabdus (16% of archaeal sequences obtained) and Salinibacter (36% of bacterial sequences obtained). Other prokaryotic groups that were abundant included representatives of Haloquadratum, the anaerobic genera Halanaerobium and Halocella, purple sulfur bacteria of the genus Halorhodospira and Cyanobacteria.

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