Interleukin-27 (IL-27) has a pleiotropic role either as a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory cytokine in inflammatory related diseases. The role and involvement of IL-27 during malaria was investigated and the effects of modulating its release on the production of major inflammatory cytokines and the histopathological consequences in major affected organs during the infection were evaluated. Results showed that IL-27 concentration was significantly elevated throughout the infection but no positive correlation with the parasitaemia development observed. Augmentation of IL-27 significantly elevated the release of anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10 whereas antagonising and neutralising IL-27 produced the opposite. A significant elevation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-6) was also observed, both during augmentation and inhibition of IL-27. Thus, it is suggested that IL-27 exerts an anti-inflammatory activity in the Th1 type response by signalling the production of IL-10 during malaria. Histopathological examination showed sequestration of PRBC in the microvasculature of major organs in malarial mice. Other significant histopathological changes include hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the Kupffer cells in the liver, hyaline membrane formation in lung tissue, enlargement of the white and red pulp followed by the disappearance of germinal centre of the spleen, and tubular vacuolation of the kidney tissues. In conclusion, it is suggested that IL-27 may possibly acts as an anti-inflammatory cytokine during the infection. Modulation of its release produced a positive impact on inflammatory cytokine production during the infection, suggesting its potential in malaria immunotherapy, in which the host may benefit from its inhibition.

Objective To test the anticancer potential activity of the combination of thymoquinone (TQ) and resveratrol (RES) against breast cancer in mice. Methods The antiproliferative activity of TQ, RES and their combination was assessed against three breast cancer cell lines and one normal cells using MTT assay. The combination index was calculated using isobolographic method. Balb/C mice were inoculated with EMT6/P cells and in vivo antitumor activity was evaluated. Results The combination therapy also caused significant decrease in tumor size with a percentage cure of 60%. The combination therapy induced geographic necrosis, enhanced apoptosis, and decreased VEGF expression. Serum levels of IFN-γ were elevated in mice treated with combination therapy with no liver or kidney toxicity. Conclusions The combination of TQ and RES against breast cancer in mice can work synergistically. The anticancer effect of this combination is mediated by apoptosis induction, angiogenesis inhibition and immune modulation.

Diarrhoea is a leading killer of children, accounting for 9% of all deaths among children under age 5 worldwide and 3% in Malaysia in 2015. A large proportion of diarrhoea illnesses among children in developing countries are ascribed to an unknown etiology because microscopic examination was the only available technique which has low detection limits. The proposed study aimed to evaluate a new quadriplex PCR assay to detect parasitic pathogens namely E. histolytica, G. lamblia and C. parvum which considered responsible for the majority of human infections. Three set of specific primer pairs were designed for detection of parasitic pathogens. Quadriplex PCR assay was optimized and an internal amplification control was incorporated to check for PCR inhibitors in samples. The PCR assay was evaluated using spiked stool samples. Specific primer pairs were successfully designed and simultaneously amplified the targeted genes. The analytical sensitivity of the quadriplex PCR at the DNA level was found to be 50 ng DNA. The analytical specificity was evaluated with 11 reference protozoal and bacterial strains and was found to be 100%. We concluded that the developed quadriplex PCR assay was rapid and gave results within 5 hours which is essential for the identification of parasitic pathogen and might be useful as an additional diagnostic tool whenever time is important in the diagnosis of parasite that cause diarrhoea.