Association between rheumatoid arthritis and genetic variants of natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 gene: A meta-analysis

Discerning novel drug targets for treating Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis-associated autoimmune disorders: an in silico approach

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) exhibits 'molecular mimicry' with the human host resulting in several autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Crohn's disease (CD), etc. The conventional therapy for autoimmune diseases includes immunosuppressants or immunomodulators that treat the symptoms rather than the etiology and/or causative mechanism(s). Eliminating MAP-the etiopathological agent might be a better strategy to treat MAP-associated autoimmune diseases. In this case study, we conducted a systematic in silico analysis to identify the metabolic chokepoints of MAP's mimicry proteins and their interacting partners. The probable inhibitors of chokepoint proteins were identified using DrugBank. DrugBank molecules were stringently screened and molecular interactions were analyzed by molecular docking and 'off-target' binding. Thus, we identified 18 metabolic chokepoints of MAP mimicry proteins and 13 DrugBank molecules that could inhibit three chokepoint proteins viz. katG, rpoB and narH. On the basis of molecular interaction between drug and target proteins finally eight DrugBank molecules, viz. DB00609, DB00951, DB00615, DB01220, DB08638, DB08226, DB08266 and DB07349 were selected and are proposed for treatment of three MAP-associated autoimmune diseases namely, T1DM, CD and multiple sclerosis. Because these molecules are either approved by the Food and Drug Administration or these are experimental drugs that can be easily incorporated in clinical studies or tested in vitro. The proposed strategy may be used to repurpose drugs to treat autoimmune diseases induced by other pathogens.

Proposing BCG Vaccination for Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis (MAP) Associated Autoimmune Diseases

Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination is widely practiced around the world to protect against the mycobacterial infection tuberculosis. BCG is also effective against the pathogenic mycobacteria that cause leprosy and Buruli's ulcer. BCG is part of the standard of care for bladder cancer where, when given as an intravesicular irrigant, BCG acts as an immunomodulating agent and lessens the risk of recurrence. Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis (MAP) causes a fatal enteritis of ruminant animals and is the putative cause of Crohn's disease of humans. MAP has been associated with an increasingly long list of inflammatory/autoimmune diseases: Crohn's, sarcoidosis, Blau syndrome, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, autoimmune diabetes (T1D), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and Parkinson's disease. Epidemiologic evidence points to BCG providing a "heterologous" protective effect on assorted autoimmune diseases; studies using BCG vaccination for T1D and MS have shown benefit in these diseases. This article proposes that the positive response to BCG in T1D and MS is due to a mitigating action of BCG upon MAP. Other autoimmune diseases, having a concomitant genetic risk for mycobacterial infection as well as cross-reacting antibodies against mycobacterial heat shock protein 65 (HSP65), could reasonably be considered to respond to BCG vaccination. The rare autoimmune disease, relapsing polychondritis, is one such disease and is offered as an example. Recent studies suggesting a protective role for BCG in Alzheimer's disease are also explored. BCG-induced energy shift from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis provides the immunomodulating boost to the immune response and also mitigates mycobacterial infection-this cellular mechanism unifies the impact of BCG on the disparate diseases of this article.

Low-level laser therapy attenuates lung inflammation and airway remodeling in a murine model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Relevance to cytokines secretion from lung structural cells

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and chronic inflammatory disease with a poor prognosis and very few available treatment options. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been gaining prominence as a new and effective anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agent. Can lung inflammation and the airway remodeling be regulated by LLLT in an experimental model of IPF in C57Bl/6 mice? The present study investigated if laser attenuates cellular migration to the lungs, the airway remodeling as well as pro-fibrotic cytokines secretion from type II pneumocytes and fibroblasts. Mice were irradiated (780 nm and 30 mW) and then euthanized fifteen days after bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis. Lung inflammation and airway remodeling were evaluated through leukocyte counting in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and analysis of collagen in lung, respectively. Inflammatory cells in blood were also measured. For in vitro assays, bleomycin-activated fibroblasts and type II pneumocytes were irradiated with laser. The pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines level in BALF as well as cells supernatant were measured by ELISA, and the TGFβ in lung was evaluated by flow cytometry. Lung histology was used to analyze collagen fibers around the airways. LLLT reduced both migration of inflammatory cells and deposition of collagen fibers in the lungs. In addition, LLLT downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines and upregulated the IL-10 secretion from fibroblasts and pneumocytes. Laser therapy greatly reduced total lung TGFβ. Systemically, LLLT also reduced the inflammatory cells counted in blood. There is no statistical difference in inflammatory parameters studied between mice of the basal group and the laser-treated mice. Data obtained indicate that laser effectively attenuates the lung inflammation, and the airway remodeling in experimental pulmonary fibrosis is driven to restore the balance between the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in lung and inhibit the pro-fibrotic cytokines secretion from fibroblasts.

Cows Get Crohn's Disease and They're Giving Us Diabetes

Increasingly, Johne's disease of ruminants and human Crohn's disease are regarded as the same infectious disease: paratuberculosis. Mycobacterium avium ss. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the cause of Johne's and is the most commonly linked infectious cause of Crohn's disease. Humans are broadly exposed to MAP in dairy products and in the environment. MAP has been found within granulomas such as Crohn's disease and can stimulate autoantibodies in diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Moreover, beyond Crohn's and T1D, MAP is increasingly associated with a host of autoimmune diseases. This article suggests near equivalency between paucibacillary Johne's disease of ruminant animals and human Crohn's disease and implicates MAP zoonosis beyond Crohn's disease to include T1D.