The effect of complexation with cyclodextrins on the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of ellagic acid

Purpose: The aim of the paper was to develop the simple procedures for preparation of inclusion complexes of ellagic acid (EA) with cyclodextrins (CDs) and to investigate their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.

Methods: The structural characterization was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods. The phase solubility technique was used to investigate the interactions between ‘host’ and ‘guest’ molecules and to estimate the molar ratio between them. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of EA and inclusion complexes were determined.

Results: The apparent stability constants were found to be 117?dm³ mol^?1 for the complex with β-CD and 161?dm³ mol^?1 for the complex with (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD). The results of phase-solubility studies showed that EA formed the inclusion complexes with CDs in the molar ratio of 1:1. The calculated half-maximal inhibitory concentration was 41.18?μg cm^?3 for butyl hydroxy toluene, 1.96?μg cm^?3 for EA, 0.88?μg cm^?3 for inclusion complex with HP-β-CD, and 1.27?μg cm^?3 for inclusion complex with β-CD.

Conclusion: The stability constants indicated the rapid release of EA from the inclusion complexes in the aqueous medium at 25?°C. The antioxidant activity of EA was increased, while the antimicrobial activity was preserved after complexation with CDs.     

British Society for Immunology/United Kingdom Primary Immunodeficiency Network consensus statement on managing non-infectious complications of common variable immunodeficiency disorders

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) represents a heterogeneous group of rare disorders. There is considerable morbidity and mortality as a result of non-infectious complications, and this presents clinicians with management challenges. Clinical guidelines to support the management of CVID are urgently required. The UK Primary Immunodeficiency Network and the British Society for Immunology funded a joint project to address this. A modified Delphi Survey was conducted for the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of the non-infectious blood, respiratory, gut and liver complications of CVID. A steering group of 10 consultant immunologists and one nurse specialist developed and reviewed the survey statements and agreed the final recommendations. In total, 22 recommendations and three areas for research were developed.     

The United Kingdom Primary Immune Deficiency (UKPID) registry 2012 to 2017

This is the second report of the United Kingdom Primary Immunodeficiency (UKPID) registry. The registry will be a decade old in 2018 and, as of August 2017, had recruited 4758 patients encompassing 97% of immunology centres within the United Kingdom. This represents a doubling of recruitment into the registry since we reported on 2229 patients included in our first report of 2013. Minimum PID prevalence in the United Kingdom is currently 5·90/100 000 and an average incidence of PID between 1980 and 2000 of 7·6 cases per 100 000 UK live births. Data are presented on the frequency of diseases recorded, disease prevalence, diagnostic delay and treatment modality, including haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and gene therapy. The registry provides valuable information to clinicians, researchers, service commissioners and industry alike on PID within the United Kingdom, which may not otherwise be available without the existence of a well‐established registry.     

Mechanistic immunological based classification of rheumatoid arthritis

The classical autoimmunity paradigm in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is strongly supported by immunogenetics suggesting follicular helper T-cell responses driving high titre specific autoantibodies that pre-dates disease onset. Using the immunological disease continuum model of inflammation against self with “pure” adaptive and innate immune disease at opposite boundaries, we propose a novel immune mechanistic classification describing the heterogeneity within RA. Mutations or SNPs in autoinflammatory genes including MEFV and NOD2 are linked to seronegative RA phenotypes including some so called palindromic RA cases. However, just as innate and adaptive immunity are closely functionally integrated, some ACPA+ RA cases have superimposed “autoinflammatory” features including abrupt onset attacks, severe attacks, self-limiting attacks, relevant autoinflammatory mutations or SNPs and therapeutic responses to autoinflammatory pathway therapies including colchicine and IL-1 pathway blockade. An emergent feature from this classification that non-destructive RA phenotypes, both innate and adaptive, have disease epicentres situated in the extracapsular tissues. This mixed innate and adaptive immunopathogenesis may be the key to understanding severe disease flares, resistant disease subsets that are unresponsive to standard therapy and for therapies that target the autoinflammatory component of disease that are not currently considered by expert therapeutic recommendations.     

Exploring the Focus and Experiences of Smartphone Applications for Addiction Recovery

Addiction recovery Smartphone applications (apps) (n = 87) identified on the Google Play store in 2012 were coded, along with app user reviews, to explore functions, foci, and user experiences. Content analysis revealed that apps typically provided information on recovery, as well as content to enhance motivation, promote social support and tools to monitor progress. App users commented that the apps helped to inform them, keep them focussed, inspire them, and connect them with other people and groups. Because few addiction recovery apps appear to have been formally evaluated, further research is needed to ascertain their effectiveness as stand-alone or adjunctive interventions.     

Pleuramesotheliom

The definitive diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma (MM) in effusion cytology is often avoided or reluctantly made by cytology alone. The most probable reason for this skepticism is the lack of expertise in cytology among many pathologists and clinicians. When an effusion specimen is composed of cells with unequivocal cytological features of malignancy that have the morphology and immunophenotype of mesothelial cells, the cytological diagnosis of MM is straightforward. However, in the daily routine difficult cases of atypical mesothelial cells are often encountered and additional methods are required to establish an accurate diagnosis. In contrast to reactive mesothelial cells cells of MMs often harbor chromosomal aberrations, most frequently a polysomy in combination with a 9p21 deletion. These chromosomal aberrations can easily be detected by multitarget fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH); therefore, FISH allows a reliable distinction between reactive mesothelial cells and MM cells. In order to be able to discriminate between MM and adenocarcinoma, an immunocytochemical panel consisting of different mesothelial and epithelial markers is very helpful. In most inconclusive cases of atypical mesothelial cells the combination of morphology, immunocytochemistry and FISH allows a better distinction between reactive mesothelial cells and MM in effusion cytology.     

Progression of Kidney Damage in Balkan Endemic Nephropathy: A 15-Year Follow-Up of Patients with Kidney Biopsy Examination

Progression of kidney damage was studied in 18 patients with Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN), with a mean 15-year follow-up after renal biopsy. According to kidney function, estimated by ^99mTc-DTPA clearance, patients were divided into three groups: with apparently normal kidney function (clearance 103.5 ± 21.3 mL/min/1.73 m²), with incipient renal failure (clearance 65.5 ± 11.3), and with advanced renal failure (clearance 28.0 ± 6.2). The mean yearly decrease of glomerular filtration rate was 2.74 mL/min. In two patients, an increase of kidney function was recorded. Six patients become dialysis dependent, two from the group with incipient renal failure, but all four from the group with advanced renal failure. Three patients died after 8 to 12 years of follow-up, one from causes unrelated to kidney disease and two from end-stage renal failure. This study has shown that BEN is characterized by a slow course and prolonged evolution, modified by medical supervision and treatment.     

A High-Throughput Amplicon Screen for Somatic UBA1 Variants in Cytopenic and Giant Cell Arteritis Cohorts

Journal of Clinical Immunology -