although the majority of the patients with traumatic brain injury presents with injuries involving the extremities, there was a clear paucity of adequate experimental polytrauma models. to close this gap, we conducted several studies to establish two different polytrauma mice models including both closed and open traumatic brain injury. male c57bl mices with a mean weight of 23g were anesthetiz...

objective(s): according to the occupationally risk of infection in staff workers who have direct contact with mycobacterium species, we investigated their immunological parameters and compared with healthy purified protein derivative (ppd) negative volunteers.   materials and methods : we investigated 20 ppd positive volunteers working at tuberculin unit of razi vaccine and serum research insti...

introduction: cupping therapy (hejamat) is one of the therapeutic methods used in traditional medicine that it is still common in many of the contemporary societies. in spite of the progress of science, we have less information on the traditional and alternative medicine including cupping.   with the study of mechanism of action of cupping, it will be more convincing for the traditional medicin...

the aim of this sutdy is to prepare histocompatability y(hy) antibody in female mouse at the first phase (current study), and to separate mouse embryos with regard to their sex, to be able to obtain offsprings of disired sex, by means of hy antibody, at the second phase. totally 421 balb/c inbred mice were used. antibodies were produced in females by intraperitonial injections of spleen and tes...

background : brucellosis is a major bacterial zoonosis of global importance with the causative organisms of gram-negative facultative intracellular pathogens. the aims of this study were to standardize two immunoelectrophoretic techniques, rocket and cross immunoelectrophoresis, and compare their results with other conventional serodiagnostic tests. methods : sera from 15 sheep, without any his...

irritable bowel syndrome (ibs) is the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder noted in the general population worldwide. its chronic nature, signs and symptoms which vary periodically from mild to severe have many negative effects on the quality of life for the sufferer; therefore the appropriate treatment of these patients is highly important. patients should be informed by their d...

DNAX accessory molecule 1 (DNAM-1) is expressed on all CD8(+) T cells and promotes their activation and effector function. DNAM-1 interacts with LFA-1, a critical molecule for immunological synapse formation between T cells and APCs, and for cytotoxic killing of target cells. Mice that lack DNAM-1 display abnormal T cell responses and antitumor activity; however, the mechanism involved is uncle...

The activation of biological T cell responses requires prolonged contact with APCs and sustained signaling. We investigated whether signaling must be uninterrupted to commit T cells to cytokine production or whether T cell activation may also result from summation of interrupted signals. Upon periodic addition and removal of a src kinase inhibitor, human CD4(+) T cells destroyed and re-formed i...

NK cells use surface NK receptors to discriminate self from non-self. The NK receptor ligand-binding domain (NKD) has been considered the sole regulator of ligand binding. Using a prototypic murine NK receptor, Ly49A, we show that the membrane proximal nonligand binding ecto-domain (the stalk region) is critical to ligand binding and signaling. The stalk region is required for receptor binding ...

mycophenolate mofetil (mmf) has been registered for use in australia since 1997 for prophylaxis of solid organ allograft rejection. mmf is now increasingly used for indications outside solid organ allograft rejection, often with limited supporting efficacy data. the purpose of this audit was to examine the patterns of use, reported side effects and cost impact of the drug in the clinical and im...