Sharif Digital Repository

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc), a multi-organ disorder, is characterized by vascular abnormalities, dysregulation of the immune system, and fibrosis. The mechanisms underlying tissue pathology in SSc have not been entirely understood. This study intended to investigate the common and tissue-specific pathways involved in different tissues of SSc patients. Methods: An integrative gene expression analysis of ten independent microarray datasets of three tissues was conducted to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). DEGs were mapped to the search tool for retrieval of interacting genes (STRING) to acquire protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Then, functional clusters in PPI... 

Understanding the foreign body response (FBR) and desiging strategies to modulate such a response represent a grand challenge for implant devices and biomaterials. Here, the development of a microfluidic platform is reported, i.e., the FBR-on-a-chip (FBROC) for modeling the cascade of events during immune cell response to implants. The platform models the native implant microenvironment where the implants are interfaced directly with surrounding tissues, as well as vasculature with circulating immune cells. The study demonstrates that the release of cytokines such as monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) from the extracellular matrix (ECM)-like hydrogels in the bottom tissue chamber... 

Background: A comprehensive intuition of the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as a complex and multifactorial disease, is a biological challenge. Dealing with this challenge needs employing sophisticated bioinformatics algorithms to discover the unknown aspects. This study aimed to underscore key molecular characteristics of SLE pathogenesis, which may serve as effective targets for therapeutic intervention. Methods: In the present study, the human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) microarray datasets (n = 6), generated by three platforms, which included SLE patients (n = 220) and healthy control samples (n = 135) were collected. Across each platform, we integrated the datasets by... 

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between microRNAs and viral and immunological markers in HIV-1 infection. Materials & methods: The expression level of miRNAs was evaluated in 60 HIV-1 patients and 20 healthy controls using real-time PCR assays. Results: The results showed that among all miRNAs, miR-29 and miR-150 were significantly downregulated in HIV-1 patients compared with healthy controls, while miR-155 and miR-223 were significantly upregulated compared with healthy controls (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Conclusion: The mentioned miRNAs seem to influence the clinical progression of HIV-1 infection in naive patients. Moreover, determining the profiles of... 

Introduction: B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1 (BLIMP1) encoded by the positive regulatory domain 1 gene (PRDM1), is a key regulator in T cell differentiation in mouse models. BLIMP1-deficiency results in a lower effector phenotype and a higher memory phenotype. Methods: In this study, we aimed to determine the role of transcription factor BLIMP1 in human T cell differentiation. Specifically, we investigated the role of BLIMP1 in memory differentiation and exhaustion of human T cells. We used CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) to knock-down BLIMP1 and investigated the differential expressions of T cell memory and exhaustion markers in BLIMP1-deficient T cells in comparison with...