Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most prevalent protozoan parasites in Iran. This study was aimed to isolate T. gondii from a variety of hosts and to genetically analyze the parasite isolates. The prevalence of T. gondii in different animal hosts was assessed in two provinces of Iran, Tehran and Mazandaran in the central and northern parts, respectively. The latex agglutination (LA) test was carried out, and antibodies were found in 24 out of 105 sheep, 5 out of 35 goats, 23 out of 45 free-ranging chickens (Gallus domesticus), 2 out of 13 ducks (Anas spp.), and two of four stray cats (Felis domesticus). T. gondii was isolated by bioassay in mice from four sheep, six chickens, one duck, two cats, and three human samples. Genotyping of these 16 isolates was performed using Multiplex PCR for five microsatellite markers and GRA6 gene sequence analysis. The results indicated that the studied isolates consisted of only two genotypes, II and III, with no evidence of type 1 or mixed genotypes.

Lactobacillus crispatus is one of the most predominant species in the healthy vagina microbiota. Nevertheless, the interactions between this commensal bacterium and the immune system are largely unknown. Given the importance of the dendritic cells (DCs) in the regulation of the immunity, this study was performed to elucidate the influence of vaginal isolated L. crispatus SJ-3C-US from healthy Iranian women on DCs, either directly by exposure of DCs to ultraviolet-inactivated (UVI) and heat-killed (HK) L. crispatus SJ-3C-US or indirectly to its cell-free supernatant (CFS), and the outcomes of immune response. In this work we showed that L. crispatus SJ-3C-US induced strong dose-dependent activation of dendritic cells and production of high levels of IL-10, whereas IL-12p70 production was induced at low level in an inverse dose-dependent manner. This stimulation skewed T cells polarization toward CD4(+) CD25(+) FOXP3(+) Treg cells and production of IL-10 in a dose-dependent manner in mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR) test. The mode of bacterial inactivation did not affect the DCs activation pattern, upon encounter with L. crispatus SJ-3C-US. Moreover, while DCs stimulated with CFS showed moderate phenotypic maturation and IL-10 production, it failed to skew T cells polarization toward CD4(+) CD25(+) FOXP3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg) and production of IL-10. This study showed that L. crispatus SJ-3C-US confers an anti-inflammatory phenotype to DCs through up-regulation of anti-inflammatory/regulatory IL-10 cytokine production and induction of CD4(+) CD25(+) FOXP3(+) T cells at optimal dosage. Our findings suggest that L. crispatus SJ-3C-US could be a potent candidate as protective probiotic against human immune-mediated pathologies, such as chronic inflammation, vaginitis or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

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Background: Curcumin and resveratrol are two polyphenolic compounds extensively investigated for their medicinal effects on inflammatory signaling. However, there is a paucity of information on the Adenosine-3’, 5’-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) kinetics following administration of curcumin and resveratrol in biological systems. In this study, kinetic modulation of cAMP as a target detection messenger in pro-inflammatory pathways was assessed by co-administration of curcumin and resveratrol using a cellular sensor model. Methods: To evaluate their putative activity, curcumin and resveratrol compounds were administered alone or in combination on the media culture of cAMP EPAC (exchange protein directly activated by cAMP) bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) biosensor. The study was performed at the following two centers at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS):  1- Biotechnology Research Center, and, 2- Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute (EMRI) in 2017. Time course kinetic of cAMP response signals were plotted. Forskolin and IBMX were used to stabilize the cAMP signals. Results: When we treated HEK-293T biosensor cells at 10uM concentration, curcumin and resveratrol upregulated cAMP signaling. Co-administration of resveratrol and curcumin revealed an augmented cAMP level, as compared to treatments with the compounds alone. Conclusion: Co-administration of curcumin and resveratrol leverage cAMP kinetic response in a time-course manner. The presented methodology can be readily adopted for drug development and novel biopharmaceutical functional analyses.

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