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Introduction: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a cancer treatment modality to permeabilize cell membrane facilitating the non-permeant molecules to gain access to the cytosol of cells. Nevertheless, environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs) may disturb the efficiency of ECT. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of EMFs 900 MHz pulse-modulated by 217 Hz extremely low-frequency fields on the efficiency of ECT Materials and Methods: The 4T-1 cells were exposed to 900 MHz radiofrequency (RF) modulated by 217 Hz fields at the power densities of 17, 162, and 349 µW/cm2 (related to antenna input powers of 3, 4, and 5 W at a distance of 15 cm) by a GSM900 MHz simulator. After exposure, the cells were divided into several groups, receiving no treatment, chemotherapy, electric pulse, and ECT. The cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay after 24 h. Results: The results demonstrated that 900 MHz RF pulse-modulated by 217 Hz EMF at 349 µW/cm2 increased the viability of the cells treated with EPs with the amplitude of 70 V/cm and frequency of 5 kHz (16%), ECT with 70 V/cm at 5 kHz (20%), and ECT with 60 V/cm at 5 kHz (16%), compared to their counterpart treatment group with no exposure. However, the fields had no significant effect on the efficacy of chemotherapy. Conclusion: As the findings of the current study indicated, environmental pulsed-modulated RF fields exerted an adverse influence on some antitumor therapies. Therefore, such effects should be taken into consideration in determining the optimal protocols of treatment.

Objective(s)The fractions of Candida albicans have been used as an immunomodulator. The present work assessed theeffect of different fractions of C. albicans on nitric oxide (NO) production by mice peritoneal macrophages.Materials and MethodsCell wall and cytoplasmic fractions of C. albicans ATCC 10321 strain were extracted. Mice peritonealmacrophages were purified and cultured. Different concentrations of both fractions and also killedC. albicans cells were used for macrophages stimulation and evaluation of NO production. NO amount wasdetected in culture supernatants of macrophages by Griess reagent. Also, MTT assay was performed toassess the viability of macrophages.ResultsThe results elucidated that suppressive effect of cell wall proteins on NO release was significant at the doseof 100 μg/ml (P=0.01), while cytoplasmic fraction increased NO amount at the dose of 1 μg/ml compared tothe control group (P=0.003). Augmentation of NO production was statistically significant at 200 killedC. albicans per well (P=0.006).ConclusionAccording to our findings, cytoplasmic fractions and killed C. albicans have a positive effect on NOproduction by peritoneal macrophages, while cell wall fractions did not. Therefore, it is proposed thatC. albicans fractions can be studied more as inflammation modulators.Keywords: Candida albicans, Macrophages, Nitric Oxide

Objectives: Because leishmaniasis is related to the impaired functioning of T-cells, the use of an immunomodulator can increase the efficacy of antileishmanial therapy in visceral leishmaniasis. In this study, we used shark cartilage extract with artemisinin and glucantime against visceral leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice, and evaluated the synergistic therapeutic effect., Materials and Methods: The culturing method and quantitative real-time PCR by using the kDNA gene was used to detect parasite loads in the spleen and liver. INF-γ and IL-4 cytokine levels and survival rates were assayed., Results: The drug therapy with target drugs reduced parasite burden in the spleen and liver significantly. Although parasite burden was lower in the artemisinin treated group than in the glucantime treated group ( P <0.05). The mice survival rate records, throughout the experimental period, showed highly significant survival rates in the test groups compared to the control group ( P <0.001). The results of cytokine assay in mice treated with glucantime-shark cartilage extract combination indicated significant increases of IFNγ and IL-4 ( P <0.05). Although the increase of IFNγ was more notable than IL-4. The synergistic therapeutic effect is shown in all groups except in the group treated with shark cartilage extract-artemisinin combination. The IFN-γ in glucantime-shark cartilage extract combination treated group was higher than in other groups ( P <0.05). The survival rate in this group was more than in other groups too ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: Combination therapy with shark cartilage extract as an immunomodulator can increase antileishmanial effects of antimony drugs in VL treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Objectives: Garlic (Allium sativum) is known as a potent spice and a medicine with broad therapeutic properties ranging from antibacterial to anticancer, and anticoagulant. One of the major purified garlic protein components is the 47 kDa protein. In this study, the effect of 47 kDa protein extracted from aged garlic (AGE) was evalua., Materials and Methods: Forty seven kDa protein was purified from AGE by ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel filtration. SDS-PAGE was used to determine the molecular weight and purity of the isolated protein. DCs were purified from spleen of BALB/c mice by Nycodenz centrifugation and their adhesiveness to the plastic dish. The 47 kDa protein isolated from AGE was added to DCs medium during the overnight culture and the expression of DC surface markers was assessed via flowcytometry., Results: The 47 kDa protein-treated DCs lowered the expression of DC maturation markers including: CD40, CD86 and MHC-II in comparison with non-treated DCs; (median of 41% versus 47%, 84% versus 91% and 83% versus 90%, respectively) but we observed no statistical difference between the two groups., Conclusion: Upon treatment with DCs with 47 kDa protein, DCs down regulated the expression of costimulatory and MHC-II surface molecules, which is similar to tolerogenic DC phenotype. According to the results of the present study, we found that 47 kDa protein purified from AGE can be considered as a potential candidate to generate tolerogenic DCs in vitro.