Background: Cytokines are polypeptides that play critical roles in immune responses. Gene polymorphisms occurring in the inflammatory cytokines are taking role in autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), which may induce inappropriate immune responses. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the allelic and genotypic frequencies of interferon gamma gene (IFN-γ) at +874A/T locus and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) at+308A/G locus in MS patients of Azeri population. Methods: At first, a questionnaire was prepared for each of 240 healthy, non-relative, and 152 Azeri MS patients before obtaining the blood sample from all subjects. After DNA extraction, the frequency of alleles and genotypes of the IFN-γ and TNF-α genes at +874A/T and -308G/A loci, respectively, were determined by allele-specific PCR method. Finally, the frequencies were compared between control and MS patients by chi-square test (x2 -test) and p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: In the IFN-γ +874A/T gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), the most allelic and genotypic frequencies in MS patients were the A allele, 55.26% (p=0.04) and the AT genotype, 52.63% (p=0.048). In healthy individuals, it was 65.42% for the A allele and 45.42% for the AA genotype. For the TNF-α 308 G/A SNP, the highest allelic and genotypic frequencies in MS patients were the G allele with 55.92% (p<0.001) and AG genotype with 61.84%, and in healthy subjects, the allelic and genotypic frequencies were 84.2% and 70.8% for the G allele and GG genotype, respectively. Conclusion: Head trauma, the infection with herpes virus and Mycoplasma pneumonia, frequent colds and high consumption of canned foods provide grounds for MS. The T allele in the IFN-γ gene (+874) and the genotypes of AA and AG at the TNF-α gene (-308) at the position-308 were considered as potential risk factors for MS. Therefore, the polymorphisms in cytokine genes and following changes in their expression levels can be effective in susceptibility to MS.

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Colorectal cancer is one of the major concerns in both developed and developing societies. Because of the serious side effects of the current treatments, novel therapy agents have been developed that target immune checkpoint and immunomodulatory molecules in the tumor environment. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) fatty acid on the expression of immune checkpoint molecule, PD‐L1, and immunomodulatory molecules, CD47 and CD39, and their controlling miRNAs in the colorectal cancer cell lines. Human colorectal cell lines HT‐29 and Caco‐2 were treated with 100 μM DHA and 50 μM LA for 24 h under the normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Total RNA was extracted and the qRT‐PCR was performed to analyze the expression of the studied genes and miRNAs. The western blotting technique was also used for validation. The qRT‐PCR results showed that DHA treatment decreased the expression of the PD‐L1, CD47, and CD39 genes, but decreases these genes controlling miRNAs, mir‐424, mir‐133a, and mir‐142, respectively. Western blotting analysis demonstrated that PD‐L1 protein expression decreased after DHA treatment. LA administration had no inhibitory effect on the studied genes. This study showed that DHA may have anti‐cancer properties by downregulation of proteins involved in the immune evasion of colorectal tumors. DHA could be used as a potential immune checkpoint inhibitor for the treatment of colorectal cancers.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a public health problem in developing countries. In recent decades, the incidence of the disease has been gradually reducing in Iran. However, the reducing incidence of the disease has stopped in the country during recent years. It could be due to an increase in immigration, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and the prevalence of drug-resistant strains. In order to prevent the spread of TB cases and control this disease, it is essential to identify the predisposing factors, which may be related to bacteria, host and environment. The objective of the present systematic review was to investigate the role of potentially effective factors in the increase in TB cases in the country. The epidemiological studies that had considered the risk factors for the development of TB in populations from different regions of Iran were reviewed systematically from the beginning of 2007 to the end of June 2017 in electronic databases. Upon evaluation of the literature, these 7 major risk factors were identified in twenty-five eligible studies, including poor living conditions, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), diabetes, migration, and smoking. In conclusion, the increase in predisposing risk factors for catching TB, especially the migration and Beijing strain, shows that in the absence of accurate monitoring, TB cases will increase in the near future in Iran.