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Montakhab-Yeganeh H, Shafiei R, Najm M, Masoori L, Aspatwar A, Badirzadeh A. Immunogenic properties of empty pcDNA3 plasmid against zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263993. [PMID: 35167596 PMCID: PMC8846536 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Leishmania (L) parasite, the causative agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), effectively stimulates the mammalian cells to mount strong humoral responses by enhancing T-helper-2 (Th2)-associated cytokines for its survival. The best strategy to decrease the intensity of infection in the host is induction of cellular immunity. Methods We evaluated the effects of the empty bacterial pcDNA3 plasmid on mice infected with L. major and quantified the immune mediators including IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IgG2a, IgG1, arginase activity and nitric oxide (NO) in the mice. Moreover, the footpad lesion size and parasite load were assessed. Results We observed that pcDNA3 could modulate the immune responses in favor of host cells and decrease the disease severity. Th2- associated mediators, including arginase, IL-4, and IL-10 are downregulated, while cellular responses are upregulated in line with an increase in the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and interfero-gamma (IFN-γ). Interestingly, pcDNA3 induced specific Th1-associated antibodies, IgG2a isotype; however, it suppressed the production of humoral IgG1. The stimulation of the immune response by the empty pcDNA3 is able to shift the immune function to predominant cellular responses caused by Th1, and it had a positive effect on the treatment of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL). Conclusions Altogether, we introduced the pcDNA3 as a potential interfering factor in the modulation of the immune system against ZCL. Since this vector has been widely used as a control group in different studies, we suggest that the potential function of the empty vector should be deeply assessed, as it exerts anti-parasitic effects on mice infected with L. major.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Montakhab-Yeganeh
- Molecular Medicine Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
| | - Reza Shafiei
- Vector-borne Diseases Research Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran
| | - Mehdi Najm
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Leila Masoori
- Department of Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
| | - Ashok Aspatwar
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Alireza Badirzadeh
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- * E-mail: ,
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Heidari-Kharaji M, Fallah-Omrani V, Badirzadeh A, Mohammadi-Ghalehbin B, Nilforoushzadeh MA, Masoori L, Montakhab-Yeganeh H, Zare M. Sambucus ebulus
extract stimulates cellular responses in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Parasite Immunol 2018; 41:e12605. [DOI: 10.1111/pim.12605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2018] [Revised: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Vahid Fallah-Omrani
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center; Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran
| | - Alireza Badirzadeh
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology; School of Medicine; Iran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran
| | - Behnam Mohammadi-Ghalehbin
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Parasitology; School of Medicine; Ardabil University of Medical Sciences; Ardabil Iran
| | | | - Leila Masoori
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology; School of Medicine; Iran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran
| | - Hossein Montakhab-Yeganeh
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry; Faculty of Medical Sciences; Tarbiat Modares University; Tehran Iran
| | - Mehrak Zare
- Skin and Stem Cell Research Center; Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran
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Montakhab-Yeganeh H, Babaahmadi-Rezaei H, Doosti M. Effect of elaidic acid on ABCA1 expression in raw 264.7 cells. Is it through PPAR-gamma? EXCLI J 2018; 17:864-870. [PMID: 30233285 PMCID: PMC6141816 DOI: 10.17179/excli2018-1605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, Trans Fatty Acids have shown a strong correlation with cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanisms explaining their atherogenicity are still unclear. ABCA1, which is involved in the reverse cholesterol transport pathway, has been considered as a new therapeutic target for cardiovascular disease. In vitro studies of the effects of PPAR-γ on lipid homeostasis in macrophage cells suggested a role for PPAR-γ in the regulation of ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux to apoA-I pathway. Thus, in this study we examined the effect of elaidic acid (EA) as the most abundant TFA on expression of ABCA1 and PPAR-γ in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cell line. Accordingly, after determining appropriate concentrations of EA using MTT, RAW 264.7 cells were treated with different concentrations of EA, and at the end, gene expression was assayed by Real-Time PCR. Our results shown that the expression of ABCA1 decreased in the treated group in comparison with the control group by 1.7, 2.3, and 5.1 fold, after 12 h treatment for 0.5, 1, and 2 mM EA concentration respectively. In addition, after 24 h treatment with EA, the rate of decreasing ABCA1 expression was 2.1, 2.6, 5.7 fold, respectively (P < 0.01). However, EA had no significant effect on PPAR-γ mRNA expression. Therefore, it could be concluded that the atherogenic effect of EA may be mediated by reducing ABCA1 expression in RAW 264.7 cells; however, this reduction has not mediated through altering PPAR-γ expression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mahmood Doosti
- Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Tehran, Iran
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Abdossamadi Z, Taheri T, Seyed N, Montakhab-Yeganeh H, Zahedifard F, Taslimi Y, Habibzadeh S, Gholami E, Gharibzadeh S, Rafati S. Live Leishmania tarentolae secreting HNP1 as an immunotherapeutic tool against Leishmania infection in BALB/c mice. Immunotherapy 2018; 9:1089-1102. [PMID: 29032739 DOI: 10.2217/imt-2017-0076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM Several disadvantages about chemotherapy for leishmaniasis has reinforced discovery of novel therapeutic agents especially immunotherapeutics. HNP1, as a member of the mammalian antimicrobial peptides family, is an attractive molecule due to its broad functional spectrum. Here, the in vivo potency of HNP1 in transgenic Leishmania tarentolae as an immunotherapy tool against Leishmania major-infected BALB/c mice was examined. METHODS & RESULTS 3 weeks after infection with L. major, the treatment effect of L. tarentolae-HNP1-EGFP was pursued. The results were promising in respect to parasite load control and Th1 immune response polarization compared with controls. CONCLUSION Immunotherapy by live L. tarentolae secreting HNP1 can elicit cellular immune response in a susceptible mouse model in order to control L. major infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Abdossamadi
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
| | - Tahereh Taheri
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
| | - Negar Seyed
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
| | - Hossein Montakhab-Yeganeh
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
| | - Farnaz Zahedifard
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
| | - Yasaman Taslimi
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
| | - Sima Habibzadeh
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
| | - Elham Gholami
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
| | - Safoora Gharibzadeh
- Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sima Rafati
- Department of Immunotherapy & Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran, 13194
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Abdossamadi Z, Seyed N, Zahedifard F, Taheri T, Taslimi Y, Montakhab-Yeganeh H, Badirzadeh A, Vasei M, Gharibzadeh S, Rafati S. Human Neutrophil Peptide 1 as immunotherapeutic agent against Leishmania infected BALB/c mice. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017; 11:e0006123. [PMID: 29253854 PMCID: PMC5749894 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2017] [Revised: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Human Neutrophil Peptide 1 (HNP1) produced by neutrophils, is a well-known antimicrobial peptide which plays a role both in innate as well as in adaptive immunity and is under intensive investigation as a potential therapeutic agent. Previous in vitro experiments have indicated the leishmaniacidal effect of recombinant HNP1 on Leishmania major (L. major) promastigotes and amastigotes. In the current study, we further extended the idea to explore the remedial effect of HNP1 in the two modalities of peptide therapy (folded HNP1) and gene therapy in L. major infected BALB/c mice. To this end, mice in five different groups received synthetic folded HNP1 (G1), pcDNA-HNP1-EGFP (G2), pcDNA-EGFP (G3), Amphotericin B (G4) and PBS (G5), which was started three weeks after infection for three consecutive weeks. Footpad swelling was monitored weekly and a day after the therapy ended, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IL-6 and nitric oxide produced by splenocytes were analyzed together with the parasite load in draining lymph nodes. Arginase activity and dermal histopathological changes were also analyzed in the infected footpads. We demonstrated that both therapeutic approaches effectively induced Th1 polarization and restricted parasite burden. It can control disease progression in contrast to non-treated groups. However, pcDNA-HNP1-EGFP is more promising in respect to parasite control than folded HNP1, but less effective than AmB treatment. We concluded with the call for a future approach, that is, a DNA-based expression of HNP1 combined with AmB as it can improve the leishmaniacidal efficacy. The outbreak level of cutaneous leishmaniasis is approximated between one and 1.5 million individuals per year. Owning to several disadvantages of current therapies, special attention to expand novel and efficient therapies has been demanded. Among Anti-Microbial Peptides (AMPs), Human Neutrophil Peptide 1 (HNP1) is one of the most potential defensins. Our promising in vitro experiments have shown the leishmaniacidal effect of recombinant HNP1. Here, we displayed the remedial effect of HNP1 in two approaches including peptide therapy and gene therapy in susceptible mice infected with L. major. Our investigation showed that although both approaches could decrease the parasite load and induce Th1 immune response compared to the control group, pcDNA-HNP1-EGFP has a better effect compared to the folded HNP1. Hence, immunotherapy by HNP1 can help elicit proper immunity despite the direct effect on promastigotes and amastigotes forms of parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Abdossamadi
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Negar Seyed
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farnaz Zahedifard
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Tahereh Taheri
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Yasaman Taslimi
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hossein Montakhab-Yeganeh
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Alireza Badirzadeh
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Vasei
- Cell-Based Therapies Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute and Department of Pathology, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
| | - Safoora Gharibzadeh
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sima Rafati
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
- * E-mail: ,
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Badirzadeh A, Taheri T, Abedi-Astaneh F, Taslimi Y, Abdossamadi Z, Montakhab-Yeganeh H, Aghashahi M, Niyyati M, Rafati S. Arginase activity of Leishmania isolated from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis. Parasite Immunol 2017; 39. [PMID: 28731592 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the most important vector-borne parasitic diseases, highly endemic in Iran, and its prevalence is increasing all over the country. Arginase (ARG) activity in isolated Leishmania parasites from CL patients is yet to be explored. This study aimed to compare the ARG activity of isolated Leishmania promastigotes from CL patients with a standard strain of Leishmania major and its influences on the disease pathogenesis. We recruited 16 confirmed CL patients from Qom Province, in central Iran; after detection of Leishmania species using PCR-RFLP, we assessed the levels of ARG in the isolated promastigotes and determined the parasites' growth rate. Only L. major was identified from CL patients. The level of ARG activity in the isolated Leishmania promastigotes from CL patients was significantly higher than that obtained from the standard strain of L. major. No significant correlations between ARG activity and lesion size, number or duration were observed; in contrast, a significant negative correlation was seen between ARG level and Leishmania' growth rate. The obtained results suggest that increased ARG expression and activity in the isolated Leishmania promastigotes might contribute to the higher parasite infectivity and play a major role in the pathogenicity of the CL.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Badirzadeh
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - T Taheri
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - F Abedi-Astaneh
- Department of Communicable Disease, Deputy of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
| | - Y Taslimi
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Z Abdossamadi
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - H Montakhab-Yeganeh
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - M Aghashahi
- Department of Communicable Disease, Deputy of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
| | - M Niyyati
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - S Rafati
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
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Montakhab-Yeganeh H, Abdossamadi Z, Zahedifard F, Taslimi Y, Badirzadeh A, Saljoughian N, Taheri T, Taghikhani M, Rafati S. Leishmania tarentolaeexpressing CXCL-10 as an efficient immunotherapy approach againstLeishmania major-infected BALB/c mice. Parasite Immunol 2017; 39. [DOI: 10.1111/pim.12461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- H. Montakhab-Yeganeh
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry; Faculty of Medical Sciences; Tarbiat Modares University; Tehran Iran
| | - Z. Abdossamadi
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research; Pasteur Institute of Iran; Tehran Iran
| | - F. Zahedifard
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research; Pasteur Institute of Iran; Tehran Iran
| | - Y. Taslimi
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research; Pasteur Institute of Iran; Tehran Iran
| | - A. Badirzadeh
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research; Pasteur Institute of Iran; Tehran Iran
| | - N. Saljoughian
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research; Pasteur Institute of Iran; Tehran Iran
| | - T. Taheri
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research; Pasteur Institute of Iran; Tehran Iran
| | - M. Taghikhani
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry; Faculty of Medical Sciences; Tarbiat Modares University; Tehran Iran
| | - S. Rafati
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research; Pasteur Institute of Iran; Tehran Iran
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