Biomedical Research and Therapy

A retrospective analysis of pyogenic liver abscess and antibiotic resistivity of common pathogens in Peshawar

2021-01-22T14:43:37+00:00

Background: Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is a rare but life-threatening disease, with a frequency ranging from 10.83 to 17.45 per 100,000 persons. The major cause of PLA is bacterial infection of liver parenchyma. The present research study was designed to investigate the common microbes causing PLA in Peshawar (Pakistan) and to evaluate a variety of the most capable and efficient antibiotics for treatment of PLA.

Methods: A 7-year (2012 - 2018) retrospective demographic study of medical records of all PLA patients (n = 379) admitted to the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) and Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) was initially performed. The demographic study was followed by biochemical tests and antibiotic resistivity tests of microorganisms, isolated from available samples and selected from literature using web services.

Results & Conclusion: The demographic data revealed that 70% of the PLA patients were under the age of 50, with male predominance (male to female ratio of 3:1). It was concluded that K. pneumonia, poly-microbes (K. pneumonia and Citrobacter), and E. coli are the most common microbes involved in causing PLA in the population of Peshawar. E.coli, Citrobacter and K. pneumonia were sensitive to Cefixime and Ciprofloxacin (100% sensitivity rate), but showed significant resistance against Amoxycillin, Oxacillin and Fusidic Acid. It is, therefore, prudent to practice susceptibility-directed antibiotic therapy.

Concise review: The role of cancer-derived exosomes in tumorigenesis and immune cell modulation

2021-01-22T14:43:39+00:00

Exosomes are subcellular entities which were first discovered in the 1980s. Over the past decade, scientists have discovered that they carry components of genetic information that allow for cell-cell communication and cell targeting. Exosomes secreted by cancer cells are termed cancer-derived exosomes (CDEs), and play an important role in tumor formation and progression. Specifically, CDEs mediate the communication between cancer cells, as well as between cancer cells and other cells in the tumor microenvironment, including cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and effector immune cells. Additionally, through the vascular system and body fluids, CDEs can modulate response to drugs, increase angiogenesis, stimulate proliferation, promote invasion and metastasis, and facilitate escape from immune surveillance. This review will discuss the relationship between cancer cells and other cells (particularly immune cells), as mediated through CDEs, as well as the subsequent impact on tumorigenesis and immunomodulation. Understanding the role of CDEs in tumorigenesis and immune cell modulation will help advance their utilization in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer.

Current strategies for adoptive immunotherapy for cancer: ”Off-the-shelf” immune cells

2021-01-22T14:43:38+00:00

Immunotherapy, especially immune cell-based therapy, is a strategy for cancer treatment that has over the past decades focused on novel modifications and targets. In recent years, adoptive cell immunotherapy has continuously evolved, with studies of different platforms utilizing different immune effector cells to kill a variety of cancer cells. This review summarizes the various kinds of immune cells which have been used in adoptive cell therapy (ACT), including natural killer cells, cytokine-induced killer cells, T cells, and engineered immune cells. Most reports have shown that ACT can induce tumor regression, both in animal studies and clinical trials. However, the high cost of ACT is the greatest disadvantage of this strategy. Moreover, the efficacy of treatment is variable among patients. To reduce these disadvantages, off-the-shelf immune cells are considered the best solution to reduce the cost while maintaining the efficacy of treatment. In this review, we will discuss the potential of various kinds of immune cells for development as ``off-the-shelf'' immune cells for use in adoptive cell therapy, based on their unique advantages.

A simple and scalable method to generate spheroids from human mesenchymal stem cells for use in tissue engineering

2021-01-22T14:43:42+00:00

Introduction: Tissue engineering is a field suited for applying stem cells, besides stem cell transplantation. In the current tissue engineering approaches, stem cells are typically seeded onto a suitable scaffold and induced into specific tissues under particular conditions. However, this strategy has faced some limitations, namely that stem cell proliferation on the scaffolds' surface has been inefficient to fill the porous scaffolds to produce solid tissues. Some limitations have been improved by using stem cell spheroids on the scaffold in place of single stem cells. This study aimed to evaluate a simple and feasible method to produce spheroids of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from adipose and umbilical cord tissues for use in tissue engineering.

Methods: MSCs from human adipose tissue (adipose-derived stem cells, i.e., ADSCs) and human umbilical cord tissues (umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells, i.e., UCMSCs) were isolated according to previously published protocols. To produce spheroids, ADSCs and UCMSCs were cultured in non-adherent V-bottom 96-well plate. Three cell densities were evaluated: 250 cells/well, 500 cells/well, and 1,000 cells/well. The generated spheroids were evaluated based on spheroid diameter, necrotic core formation (using propidium iodide (PI) and Hoechst 33342 staining), and spheroid structure (by Hematoxylin & Eosin staining).

Results: The results showed that at a density of 250 cells/well, spheroids were formed without necrotic cores from both ADSCs and UCMSCs. However, at a higher density, all spheroids had a necrotic core as part of the three zones (proliferating, quiescent, and necrotic zones).

Conclusion: Spheroids from ADSCs and UCMSCs can be easily produced by culturing 250 cells/well in a non-adherent V-bottom 96-well plate. This process can be scaled up by using the liquid handling robot system to load cells into the plates.

The effects of analytic group therapy compared with pharmacotherapy in patients with anxiety disorders

2021-01-22T14:43:41+00:00

Background: Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are both effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders. However, drugs in pharmacotherapy are often compared with placebo controls, and psychotherapy is mostly compared to patients in the waiting list as the controls. We aimed to compare the effects of analytic group therapy with pharmacotherapy in patients with anxiety disorders.

Methods: In this clinical trial study in Tehran, 65 patients (10 males, 55 females) presenting with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and/or mixed anxiety-depressive disorder (based on a structured clinical interview by a psychiatrist) were enlisted during the period from 2016 to 2018. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: drug therapy (group D, 33 patients), or drug therapy + analytic group therapy (group G, 32 patients). Anxiety was assessed in both groups before and immediately after treatment by the Persian version of the Hamilton Anxiety scale (HAM-A). Collected data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software version 21.

Results: Both groups showed a statistically significant decline in HAM-A scores after the treatment. However, group G had a greater significant change in anxiety score compared to group D. The mean decline of HAM-A was 25.694.82 for group G and 23.214.64 for group D. The HAM-A score was significantly reduced in group G compared to group D (p = 0.039).

Conclusion: This study showed that psychodynamic psychotherapy could improve the pharmacotherapy effects and is superior to pharmacotherapy alone.