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Tajik N, Keshavarz SA, Masoudkabir F, Djalali M, Sadrzadeh-Yeganeh HH, Eshraghian MR, Chamary M, Ahmadivand Z, Yazdani T, Javanbakht MH. Effect of diet-induced weight loss on inflammatory cytokines in obese women. J Endocrinol Invest 2013; 36:211-5. [PMID: 22733212 DOI: 10.3275/8465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Obesity is associated with lowgrade systemic inflammation which has been linked to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes in obese patients. AIM To evaluate changes in pro/anti-inflammatory adipocytokines and metabolic profile after moderate diet-induced weight loss. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Twenty-nine pre-menopausal obese women (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2) aged 21 to 54 years without diabetes, hypertension, or hyperlipidemia, were enrolled in this study. We measured anthropometric parameters, lipid and glucose profiles, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, and IL-18 in obese women, who then entered a medically supervised program aimed at reducing body weight by 10% or more. Obese women restricted their caloric intake (by 500-1000 kcal/day) and consumed 50 g/day of a fiber supplement (Slim Last Powder) for 12 weeks. RESULTS By completing the dietary intervention program, weight (Δ = -10.0%, p<0.0001), body mass index, waist circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and fasting plasma glucose significantly decreased, while HDL-cholesterol significantly increased. While plasma levels of IL-6 and IL-18 decreased by 27% after 12 weeks, no significant change was observed in circulating levels of IL-10. CONCLUSION Our study suggests that an improved body composition induced by restriction of energy intake is associated with favorable serum concentrations of IL-6 and IL-18 in obese women. However, the anti-inflammatory IL-10 is not affected by a moderate weight decrease.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Nutrition and Biochemistry Department, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Abstract
The effect of ammonium polysulfide solution, (NH₄)₂S(x), on the surface passivation of p-doped InP nanowires (NWs) was investigated by micro-photoluminescence. An improvement in photoluminescence (PL) intensity from individual NWs upon passivation was used to optimize the passivation procedure using different solvents, sulfur concentrations and durations of passivation. The optimized passivation procedure gave an average of 24 times improvement in peak PL intensity. A numerical model is presented to explain the PL improvement upon passivation in terms of a reduction in surface trap density by two orders of magnitude from 10¹² to 10¹⁰ cm⁻², corresponding to a change in surface recombination velocity from 10⁶ to 10⁴ cm s⁻¹. The diameter dependence of the PL intensity is investigated and explained by the model. The PL intensity from passivated nanowires decreased to its initial (pre-passivation) value over a period of seven days in ambient air, indicating that the S passivation was unstable.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Department of Engineering Physics, Centre for Emerging Device Technologies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7, Canada
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Tajik N, Golpaie A, Keshavarz SA, Djalali M, Sehat M, Masoudkabir F, Ahmadivand Z, Fatehi F, Zare M, Yazdani T. Decreased plasma levels of ceruloplasmin after diet-induced weight loss in obese women. J Endocrinol Invest 2012; 35:566-9. [PMID: 21795842 DOI: 10.3275/7878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plasma ceruloplasmin (Cp) has been shown to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and also to be associated with obesity. However, it is not known whether weight loss could decrease the plasma Cp levels. AIM To investigate the effect of diet-induced weight loss on plasma Cp in obese women. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Sixty-seven healthy obese women [age =33.4±8.7 yr, body mass index (BMI) =36.0±4.8 kg/m2] were entered into a medically supervised program aimed at reducing body weight by 10% or more. Weight loss was achieved through a diet providing a daily energy deficit of 500-1000 kcal/day. In addition, all patients were prescribed to use 50 g of a fiber supplement per day. For all subjects, assessment of dietary intake, anthropometric indices, and plasma levels of C-reactive protein and Cp was performed at the first visit and repeated at 12th week of follow-up. RESULTS By completing the program, weight (Δ=-9.5%, p<0.0001), BMI (Δ=-9.7%, p<0.0001), waist-circumference (Δ=-6.1%, p<0.0001), and triceps skinfold thickness (Δ=-14.9%, p<0.0001) significantly decreased. Plasma Cp significantly decreased after 12 weeks of dietary intervention (33.6±5.6 mg/dl vs 25.2±5.8 mg/dl, p<0.0001). Percent change in Cp was correlated with percent change in waist-circumference (r=446, p=0.015). CONCLUSION Our study suggests that an improved body composition induced by restriction of energy intake is associated with decreased serum concentrations of Cp in obese women which in turn might have reduced the subjects' risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Nutrition and Biochemistry Department, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Tajik N, Shah-hosseini A, Mohammadi A, Jafari M, Nasiri M, Radjabzadeh MF, Farnia P, Jalali A. Susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in Iranian individuals is not affected by compound KIR/HLA genotype. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 79:90-6. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-0039.2011.01812.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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Tajik N, Shahsavar F, Poormoghim H, Radjabzadeh MF, Mousavi T, Jalali A. KIR3DL1+HLA-B Bw4Ile80 and KIR2DS1+HLA-C2 combinations are both associated with ankylosing spondylitis in the Iranian population. Int J Immunogenet 2011; 38:403-9. [PMID: 21797986 DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-313x.2011.01024.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Contribution of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and their human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I ligands in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases has been shown in several studies. In this study, the possible association of KIR genes, their known HLA ligands and compound KIR/HLA genotypes with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was assessed. Combined KIR/HLA ligand genotyping was performed by a polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primers assay in 35 Iranian patients with AS, and genotypes were compared to those in 200 healthy individuals. The frequencies of telomeric cluster genes KIR2DL5A, KIR2DS1 and KIR3DS1 were significantly increased in AS patient group (P(c) = 0.0082, P(c) = 0.0195 and P(c) = 0.0328, respectively). Conversely, HLA-Bw4 ligand (the presence of one or more -B Bw4(Ile80) , -B Bw4(Thr80) and -A Bw4 epitopes) (P(c) = 0.0004) and HLA-B Bw4(Ile80) (P(c) = 0.053) were less frequent in these patients. Meanwhile, compound KIR/HLA genotype analyses revealed lower frequency of KIR3DL1+HLA-B Bw4(Ile80) (P(c) = 0.0343) and higher frequency of KIR2DS1+HLA-C2 (P(c) = 0.0308) combinations in patients with AS than in controls. In addition, the genotypes iKIR+HLA > aKIR+HLA (P(c) = .0308) and iKIR+HLA > aKIR (P(c) = 0.0258) were statistically less common, and genotypes iKIR+HLA = aKIR+HLA (P(c) = 0.0081) and iKIR+HLA < aKIR (P(c) = 0.077) were more common in patient group. Our findings suggest a role for excessive or inappropriate NK cell activation through 'KIR/HLA' system in AS disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Division of Transplant Immunology and Immunogenetics, Department of Immunology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Abstract
The effect of sulfur passivation on core-shell p-n junction GaAs nanowire (NW) solar cells has been investigated. Devices of two types were investigated, consisting of indium tin oxide contact dots or opaque Au finger electrodes. Lateral carrier transport from the NWs to the contact fingers was achieved via a p-doped GaAs surface conduction layer. NWs between the opaque contact fingers had sidewall surfaces exposed for passivation by sulfur. The relative cell efficiency increased by 19% upon passivation. The contribution of the thin film grown between the NWs to the total cell efficiency was estimated by removing the NWs using a sonication procedure. Mechanisms of carrier transport and photovoltaic effects are discussed on the basis of spatially resolved laser scanning measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Department of Engineering Physics, Centre for Emerging Device Technologies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells eliminate infected and transformed cells while still are self-tolerant. Interactions of the independently segregating Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and human leucocyte antigens (HLA) loci play a critical role in NK cell regulation. Different compound KIR-HLA genotypes can impart different thresholds of activation to the NK-cell repertoire and such genotypic variation has been found to confer altered risk in a number of human diseases including viral infections, autoimmune disorders, reproduction abnormalities and cancers. In this study, we presented a novel combined KIR-HLA polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primers genotyping assay for simultaneous determination of KIR genes and their three major HLA class I ligand groups (C1, C2, and Bw4). Moreover, known inhibitory and activating KIR + HLA (iKIR + HLA: 2DL2/3 + C1, 2DL1 + C2, 3DL1 + Bw4; and aKIR + HLA: 2DS2 + C1, 2DS1 + C2, 3DS1 + Bw4) combinations as well as co-inheritance of aKIR genes and iKIR + HLA pairs were analysed in a total of 200 unrelated healthy Iranian individuals. All tested subjects had at least one of the three iKIR + HLA pairs and the frequencies of various inhibitory combinations in the study group were: 31.5%, three iKIR + HLA pairs, 53.5%, two iKIR + HLA pairs, and 15%, 0ne iKIR + HLA pair. Furthermore, we revealed that majority of Iranians (69%) carry compound genotypes with greater number of inhibitory pairings than activating combinations (iKIR + HLA > aKIR + HLA). Conversely, iKIR + HLA < aKIR (45%) was dominant genotype in the study group. We conclude that selective evolutionary pressure has propensity to maintain KIR-HLA genotypes with more inhibitory combinations to guarantee self-tolerance. In contrast, existence of activating KIR genes without normal endogenous ligands, potentially arms the NK population for competent immunosurveillance and stronger defense against infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Division of Transplant Immunology and Immunogenetics, Department of Immunology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Division of Transplant Immunology and Immunogenetics, Department and Research Center of Immunology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Tajik N, Salari F, Ghods AJ, Hajilooi M, Radjabzadeh MF, Mousavi T. Association between recipient ICAM-1 K469 allele and renal allograft acute rejection. Int J Immunogenet 2008; 35:9-13. [PMID: 18186794 DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-313x.2007.00727.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Division of Immunogenetics, Department of Immunology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Saraji A, Pourmand G, Mehrsai A, Taherimahmodi M, Nikoobakht M, Asadpour A, Nikbin B, Tajik N, Emamzadeh A. Microchimerism and renal transplantation: doubt still persists. Transplant Proc 2007; 39:948-50. [PMID: 17524859 DOI: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2007.03.082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We sought to study microchimerism in a group of kidney transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, the peripheral blood microchimerism (PBM) after renal transplantation was retrospectively evaluated in 32 male-to-female recipients of living unrelated or cadaveric donor renal transplants. Using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification specific for SRY region of the Y chromosome, microchimerism was detected with a sensitivity of 1:1,000,000. Recipients were compared according to the presence of PBM, acute and chronic rejection episodes, type of allotransplant, recipient and donor age at transplantation, previous male labor or blood transfusion, allograft function (serum creatinine level), and body mass index. RESULTS Among 32 recipients, 7 (21.9%) were positive for PBM upon multiple testing at various posttransplant times. All microchimeric recipients had received kidneys from living unrelated donors. No significant difference was observed with regard to other parameters. In addition the acute rejection rate in the microchimeric group was 3 (42%) versus 4 (16%) in the nonmicrochimeric recipients (not significant). CONCLUSION Our results suggested better establishment of microchimerism after living donor kidney transplantation. However, doubt persists concerning the true effect of microchimerism after renal transplantation. It seems that microchimerism alone has no major protective role upon renal allograft survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Saraji
- Urology Research Center, Kidney Transplantation Unit, Tehran, Iran.
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Tajik N, Salari F, Hajilooi M, Amoli M, Salekmoghaddam A. Rapid detection of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (G241R and K469E) polymorphisms by a novel PCR-SSP assay. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007; 69:338-41. [PMID: 17389018 DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-0039.2007.00813.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) is a cell surface glycoprotein member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and is actively involved in immune and inflammatory responses. We introduce a novel polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) method for rapid and simultaneous genotyping of ICAM-1 G241R and K469E polymorphisms. In a total of 184 DNA samples that have been previously analyzed for these polymorphisms using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique, re-genotyping of all samples with this new assay showed accurate and reproducible results. As PCR-SSP-based genotyping protocols are more convenient and cost-effective to do, it could therefore offer a valuable tool for assessment of ICAM-1 polymorphisms to which more confirmatory studies are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Division of Immunogenetics, Department of Immunology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Hajilooi M, Rafiei A, Reza Zadeh M, Tajik N. Association of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene polymorphism and susceptibility to human brucellosis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007; 68:331-4. [PMID: 17026469 DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-0039.2006.00668.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the polymorphism within the intron 2 of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene (IL-1Ra) on the susceptibility to or development of brucellosis. A total of 255 patients with brucellosis and 162 healthy volunteers were genotyped for polymorphisms in intron 2 of the IL-1Ra gene. The frequency of allele 2 of the IL-1Ra gene was significantly higher in patients with brucellosis compared with the controls (24.5% vs 18.5%, P = 0.03). Although the heterozygosity was more prevalent in patients than in control individuals, it did not have any statistical significance (P = 0.1). Alleles 3, 4, and 5 were absent in our study population. This work is the first that verifies a significant association between genetic polymorphism of IL-1Ra and susceptibility to brucellosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Hajilooi
- Department of Immunology, Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
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Tajik N, Singal D, Pourmand G, Ebrahimi-Rad M, Radjabzadeh M, Tavasoli P, Khosravi F, Nikbin B. Prospective study of microchimerism in renal allograft recipients: association between HLA-DR matching, microchimerism and acute rejection. Clin Transplant 2001; 15:192-8. [PMID: 11389710 DOI: 10.1034/j.1399-0012.2001.150308.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The presence of donor-derived hematopoietic cells in blood and various tissues of the organ recipients, termed allogeneic microchimerism, has been considered to play an essential role in establishment of organ acceptance. In this study, we prospectively determined the presence of peripheral blood microchimerism (PBM) in 20 male-to-female renal allograft recipients up to 30 months post-transplantation. Recipients were categorized according to the pattern of microchimerism into microchimeric and nonmicrochimeric groups, and then state of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) Class II (DR/DQ) matching, episodes of acute rejection, age at transplantation, renal function, and history of blood transfusion were compared. DNA was extracted from donor, pre-transplant, and post-transplant (1 wk; 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 months) peripheral blood samples. We analyzed PBM using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification specific for the SRY region of the Y chromosome with a sensitivity up to 1:1 000 000. Microchimerism was detected in 13 (65%) of 20 recipients at various intervals. The highest frequency of microchimerism was at 1 wk (55%). Among microchimeric recipients, none were positive on all post-transplant analyses. Interestingly, nonmicrochimeric cases were negative throughout the study. The three recipients with an episode of acute rejection during the first week after transplantation were all in the nonmicrochimeric group with completely mismatched HLA-DR antigens. HLA-DR incompatibility was significantly lower (t-test, p<0.05) in microchimeric cases (1.0+/-0.58) than in nonmicrochimeric ones (1.9+/-0.38). But regarding HLA-DQ and other clinical parameters mentioned above, significant difference was not observed. We propose that there is an association between HLA-DR matching, microchimerism and acute graft rejection in our recipients. Our study demonstrates that, with routine immunosuppressive protocols, higher compatibility of HLA-DR antigens facilitates microchimerism induction. Then, development of new stronger immunosuppressive protocols (including conditioning) or augmentation of chimeric state (by donor-specific bone marrow infusion), especially in completely mismatched HLA-DR renal allograft recipients, may be useful for graft acceptance.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Tajik
- Department of Immunology, Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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