Purpose: Brucellosis as a worldwide zoonotic illness affect domestic animals and humans doesn’t have any vaccine for the prevention of infection in humans yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the specific immune response following the administration of glycine nanoparticles as adjuvant and delivery system of a chimeric antigen contained trigger factor, Omp31, and Bp26 in murine model. Materials and Methods: The chimeric antigen of Brucella was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) BL21 (DE3). Purification and characterization of recombinant protein was conducted through Ni-NTA (nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid) agarose, SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis), and Western blot. Nanoparticle characteristics including morphology, particle size distribution, zeta potential, protein retention rate, and release rate were measured in vitro. Subsequently, nanoparticle contained antigen was administered to mice and blood sample was taken to measured the antibody level. Results: The protein retention in the nanoparticles was successfully done and the nanoparticle characteristics were appropriate. The average size of glycine particles containing antigen was about 174 nm, and the absorption of protein was approximately 61.27% of the initial value, with a release rate of approximately 70% after 8 hours. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay result proved that the immunized sera of mice which were administered with nano-formula contains high levels of antibodies (immunoglobulin G) against recombinant chimeric antigen and also a high level of mucosal antibody (immunoglobulin A) in the oral group, which showed a desirable immunity against Brucella. Conclusion The results showed that chimeric antigen-loaded glycine nanoparticles can act as a vaccine candidate for inducing the cellular and humoral immune response against brucellosis.

Objective: To investigate the caspase-1 dependent inflammatory pathway activity and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion in murine macrophage cell lines J774G8 infected with Leishmania major (L. major) using caspase-1 activity assay and ELISA. Methods: Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle biphasic medium was applied to produce promastigote form of L. major. Metacyclic promastigotes in the stationary phase were applied to infect macrophage. Caspase-1 activity and IL-1β secretion were assessed by the CPP32/caspase-1 fluorometric protease assay and ELISA IL-1β kits, respectively, with time intervals of 6, 18 and 30 h. Results: Our study showed an increase in caspase-1 activity and IL-1β secretion in infected samples compared to non-infected macrophages. The highest increase in IL-1β production was observed after 6 h of infection. Conclusions: These results arise that the activation of inflammasome pathway could be one of the innate immunity pathways against L. major.

Objective: To determine the potential antibacterial activity of ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts from Mentha longifolia L. (M. longifolia) and hydroalcoholic extract of Zataria multiflora Boiss. (Z. multiflora) against important human pathogens. Methods: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumonia). Enterobacter cloacae, Salmonella typhi, Proteus mirabilis, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Staphylococcus aureus were kinds of pathogenic bacteria to determine the antibacterial effect of aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts of M. longifolia and hydroalcoholic extract of Z. multiflora using broth microdiluation method. Results: The lowest minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values for K. pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.25 and 2.5 mg/mL) were observed by the hydroalcoholic extract of Z. multiflora and the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values for K. pneumonia and Serratia marcescens (2.5 and 5 mg/mL) were observed by the aqueous extracts of M. longifolia. Conclusions: In conclusion, it seems that Z. multiflora and M. longifolia extracts could inhibit the growth of all of the mentioned bacteria.