Biological Sciences and Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad&nbsp;(IIT Palakkad or IIT PKD) is a public autonomous&nbsp;engineering&nbsp;and&nbsp;research&nbsp;institute located in&nbsp;Palakkad,&nbsp;Kerala. It was&nbsp;one of the five new&nbsp;IITs&nbsp;proposed in the&nbsp;2014 Union budget of India. The campus was inaugurated on 3 August 2015. The institute has 94 faculty, 978 students, and 63 non-teaching staffs.

IT Palakkad currently offers four-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and two years MS programmes in 8 different engineering disciplines including&nbsp;Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil among others.

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IIT Palakkad

Objectives: To identify the hematological manifestations and its association with serum ferritin levels in SLE patients from Western India. Methods: Ninety clinically diagnosed SLE patients fulfilling ACR criteria were included. Disease activity was assessed at the time of evaluation using Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Sera were tested for serum ferritin levels by ELISA (Calbiotech, USA). Autoantibodies such as ANA, anti-dsDNA by indirect immunofluorescence test (IFA- Bio-Rad, USA) and anti-cardiolipin antibodies (ACA) to IgG and IgM isotypes and Anti-β2 GP antibodies to IgG and IgM isotypes were detected by ELISA using commercially available kits (Euroimmun, Lubeck, Germany). Results: Out of 90 SLE patients studied, 41 patients (45.6%) showed hematological abnormalities, where anemia (82.9%), leucopenia (26.8%), autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) (14.6%) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) were noted in (34.1%) patients. Mean±SD serum ferritin levels among SLE patients were 270.2±266.0 ng/ml as compared to 29.0±15.8 ng/ml healthy normal controls (p<0.0001). A positive correlation between serum ferritin levels and SLEDAI scores (r= 0.2640, p=0.0124) and anti-dsDNA positivity was noted (r=0.32, p<0.0001). Serum ferritin levels were negatively correlated with hemoglobin levels (r=-0.5964, p=0.0001), WBC count (r=-0.1705, p=0.2316), platelet count ((r=-0.1701, P=0.2375), C3 levels (r=-0.4417, p=0.0034) and C4 levels (r=-0.0363, p=0.8215) Conclusion: Serum ferritin is an excellent marker of SLE which can be used for an evaluation of disease activity particularly in active stage of the disease mainly in patients having hematological and renal manifestations. © 2016, Journal of Association of Physicians of India. All rights reserved.

World University root node

Journal of Association of Physicians of India

Association of serum ferritin levels with hematological manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus patients from Western India

Viscum album L. or European mistletoe (Loranthaceae), a semi-parasitic shrub, has been used as a traditional medicine in Europe for centuries to treat various diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disorder, epilepsy, infertility, hypertension and arthritis. V. album contains diverse phytochemicals, which exert a large number of biological and pharmacological activities. The aim of this review is to compile the developments in the domain of V. album and research trends, with a focus on ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties, to illustrate the potential of this phytotherapeutic as an attractive commercial herbal medicine. Crude extracts and isolated chemical constituents from V. album have exhibited significant medicinal effects in experimental models and in patients with cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Importantly, recent randomized clinical trials have suggested improved overall survival and quality of life in cancer patients treated with different mistletoe preparations. The current phytochemical studies have shown that lectins, hetero-dimeric glycoproteins, polysaccharides, viscotoxins, alkaloids, lipids, triterpenes, peptides, vesicles, flavonoids, cyclitols and amines are principal bioactive phytochemicals of V. album. Clinical studies and experimental models have revealed that V. album exhibits several pharmacological functions such as immunomodulatory, anti-hypertensive, anti-oxidant, cytotoxicity, anti-tumor, anti-inflammation, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial and sedative activities. It is conceivable that the heterogenous profile of biochemical compounds provides the basis for the broad diversity of pharmacological activities of mistletoe, as each single component contributes diverse modes of action in addition to imparting a synergistic beneficial action in conjunction with other molecules. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016.

Fulltext

RSC Advances

European Viscum album: A potent phytotherapeutic agent with multifarious phytochemicals, pharmacological properties and clinical evidence

The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at ∈ European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better fu treatments, sometimes in revolutionary ways. This progress highlights the potential of focused basic research programs such as this EHA Roadmap. The EHA Roadmap identifies nine ‘sections’ in hematology: normal hematopoiesis, malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These sections span 60 smaller groups of diseases or disorders. The EHA Roadmap identifies priorities and needs across the field of hematology, including those to develop targeted therapies based on genomic profiling and chemical biology, to eradicate minimal residual malignant disease, and to develop cellular immunotherapies, combination treatments, gene therapies, hematopoietic stem cell treatments, and treatments that are better tolerated by elderly patients. © 2016 Ferrata Storti Foundation.

Haematologica

The european hematology association roadmap for european hematology research: A consensus document

Basophils are infrequent granulocytes which are important for Th2 responses, protection against helminthic parasites and the pathogenesis of allergy and other inflammatory conditions. Recent reports suggest that in mice basophils function as antigen-presenting cells for mediation of Th2 responses. However, human basophils lack features of antigen-presenting cells. © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS.

Revue Francaise d'Allergologie

Orientation of the immune response by basophils

IgE is commonly known for its role in the Th2 responses, protection against helminth parasites and pathogenesis of allergy. A recent report shows that IgE autoantibodies to dsDNA plays a major role in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis by exacerbating the interferon-alpha; responses in plasmacytoid dendritic cells.

Cell Research

Lupus pathogenesis: Role of IgE autoantibodies

Cellular and Molecular Immunology

Impaired regulatory T cell function in autoimmune diseases: Are microRNAs the culprits?

The rapalogs everolimus and temsirolimus that inhibit mTOR signaling are used as antiproliferative drugs in several cancers. Here we investigated the influence of rapalogs-mediated immune modulation on their antitumor efficacy. Studies in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients showed that everolimus promoted high expansion of FoxP3+ Helios Helios+Ki67+ regulatory CD4 T cells (Tregs ). In these patients, rapalogs strongly enhanced the suppressive functions of Tregs , mainly in a contact-dependent manner. Paradoxically, a concurrent activation of spontaneous tumor-specific Th1 immunity also occurred. Furthermore, a high rate of Eomes+ CD8+ T cells was detected in patients after a long-term mTOR inhibition. We found that early changes in the Tregs /antitumor Th1 balance can differentially shape the treatment efficacy. Patients presenting a shift toward decreased Tregs levels and high expansion of antitumor Th1 cells showed better clinical responses. Studies conducted in tumor-bearing mice confirmed the deleterious effect of rapalogs-induced Tregs via a mechanism involving the inhibition of antitumor T-cell immunity. Consequently, the combination of temsirolimus plus CCR4 antagonist, a receptor highly expressed on rapalogs-exposed Tregs , was more effective than monotherapy. Altogether, our results describe for the first time a dual impact of host adaptive antitumor T-cell immunity on the clinical effectiveness of rapalogs and prompt their association with immunotherapies. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Cancer Research

Rapalogs efficacy relies on the modulation of antitumor T-cell immunity

Great strides have been made in new strategies to treat cancer by derepressing effector T cells. Repressing exuberant immunity to treat autoimmune disease has not had the same level of success in the clinic. A recent study of mouse models shows a potential strategy.

New England Journal of Medicine

Repressing immunity in autoimmune disease

The homophilic potential emerges as an important biological principle to boost the potency of immunoglobulins. Since homophilic antibodies in human and mouse sera exist prior environmental exposure, they are part of the natural antibody repertoire. Nevertheless, hemophilic properties are also identified in induced antibody repertoire. The use of homophilicity of antibodies in the adaptive immunity signifies an archetypic antibody structure. The unique feature of homophilicity in the antibody repertoire also highlights an important mechanism to boost the antibody potency to protect against infection and atherosclerosis as well to treat cancer patients. © 2016 Kohler, Bayry and Kaveri.

Frontiers in Immunology

The homophilic domain - An immunological archetype

Extracts of Viscum album (VA); a semi-parasitic plant, are frequently used in the complementary therapy of cancer and other immunological disorders. Various reports show that VA modulates immune system and exerts immune-adjuvant activities that might influence tumor regression. Currently, several therapeutic preparations of VA are available and hence an insight into the mechanisms of action of different VA preparations is necessary. In the present study, we performed a comparative study of five different preparations of VA on maturation and activation of human dendritic cells (DCs) and ensuing CD4+ T cell responses. Monocyte-derived human DCs were treated with VA Qu Spez, VA Qu Frf, VA M Spez, VA P and VA A. Among the five VA preparations tested VA Qu Spez, a fermented extract with a high level of lectins, significantly induced DC maturation markers CD83, CD40, HLA-DR and CD86, and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8, IL-12 and TNF-α. Furthermore, analysis of T cell cytokines in DC-T cell co-culture revealed that VA Qu Spez significantly stimulated IFN-γ secretion without modulating regulatory T cells and other CD4+ T cytokines IL-4, IL-13 and IL-17A. Our study thus delineates differential effects of VA preparations on DC maturation; function and T cell responses. © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI.