SARS-CoV-2 stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 which is the causative agent of spreading coronavirus disease 2019 that is known as COVID-19 pandemic, the disease leads to severe acute respiratory illness. Matrix metalloproteinases- 9 (MMP-9) plays several important physiological functions. This enzyme could also be implicated in the "cytokine storm" in some way, which may represent one of the possible scianrios during coronavirus infection, in addition to its role in the mechanism of lung fibrosis on molecular basis.. The tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMPs) are well characterized for controlling the activity of MMPs in extracellular matrix remodeling. They also considered as signaling molecules anal

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes have an increased prevalence of lipid abnormalities, contributing to their high risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD).Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a routinely used marker for long-term glycemic control. In accordance with its function as an indicator for the mean blood glucose level, HbA1c predicts the risk for the development of diabetic complications in diabetic patients[2].Apart from classical risk factors like dyslipidemia, HbA1c has now been regarded as an independent risk factor for (CVD) in subjects with or without diabetes.Objective The aim of this study was to find out association between glycaemic control (HbA1c as a marker) and serum lipid profile in type 2 diabetic patients.Methods

A high Tc superconductor with a nominal composition
(Bi1-xPbx)2(Sr1-yBay)2Ca2Cu3O10+δ for (0 £ x £ 0.5) and (0 £ y £ 0.5) was prepared by
a solid state reaction method. The effect of the substitution of Pb for Bi and Ba for Sr and
quenching temperature on the superconductivity has been investigated to obtain the
optimum conditions for the formation and stabilization of the high Tc phase (2223).
The results showed that the optimum sintering temperature for the pure composition is
equal to 875°C and the sintering time is equal to 240h with heating and cooling rate of
60°C/h . Our results indicated that a small amount of (Ba = 0.1) could raise the transition
temperature (Tc), but enhancing Ba to 0.4 has raised

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) could be regarded as a set of chronic metabolic disorders which have a common aspect of hyperglycemia. The resistance in the peripheral actions of insulin or impaired insulin secretion could be the reason  hepcidin which is a peptide hormone derived from liver, in systemic iron homeostasis is an essential regulator, and its lopsided production participates in the pathogenesis of iron disorders in spectrum. Osteoporosis often accompanies many diseases like ß-thalassemia, hemochromatosis, sickle liver diseases, cell disease and hemosiderosis featured by iron overload, evidences suggest that Iron overload and iron deficiency are suggested by evidences that they affect bone in a negative way, acting

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative autoimmune disease mediated by autoreactive T cells against myelin-basic proteins. Cytokines are suggested to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of the disease. Among these cytokines is interleukin-2 (IL-2). Aim of the study: To investigate the association between IL2+166 G/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP: rs2069763) and MS in Iraqi patients. Serum level of IL-2 was also detected. Anti-rubella IgG antibody was further determined in the sera of patients. Patients and methods: Eighty MS patients (28 males and 52 females; age mean ± SD: 39.2 ± 16.1 years) and 80 healthy control matched patients for age (32.15 ± 16.13 years) and gender (28 males and 52 females) were en

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death among type 2 diabetic patients. Higher levels of plasminogen activator urokinase receptor have been found to predict morbidity and mortality across acute and chronic diseases in the common populace. This study aims to explore the role of serum plasminogen activator urokinase receptor levels as a cardiometabolic risk factor among type 2 diabetic Iraqi patients. Methods: Seventy type 2 diabetic patients (40 male and 30 female) (mean age: 46.20±7.56 years) participated in this study; 35 patients were with cardiovascular disease and 35 were without cardiovascular disease; their ages range was 40-55 years. In addition, 30 individuals who apparently healthy were selected a

Despite extensive investigations, an effective treatment for sepsis remains elusive and a better understanding of the inflammatory response to infection is required to identify potential new targets for therapy. In this study we have used RNAi technology to show, for the first time, that the inducible lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 2 (LPCAT2) plays a key role in macrophage inflammatory gene expression in response to stimulation with bacterial ligands. Using siRNA- or shRNA-mediated knockdown, we demonstrate that, in contrast to the constitutive LPCAT1, LPCAT2 is required for macrophage cytokine gene expression and release in response to TLR4 and TLR2 ligand stimulation but not for TLR-independent stimuli. In addition, cells transfe

Abstract Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a prevalent chronic microvascular diabetic complication. As inflammation plays a vital role in the development and progress of DN the macrophages migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a proinflammatory multifunctional cytokine approved to play a critical function in inflammatory responses in various pathologic situations like DN. This study aimed To assess serum levels of MIF in a sample of Iraqi diabetic patients with nephropathy supporting its validity as a marker for predicting nephropathy in T2DM patients. In addition, to evaluate the nephroprotective effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in terms of their influence on MIF levels. This is a case-control study involving ninety