👤 Raheleh Sadat Sajad

Cardiovascular disease is a major global health issue, and atherosclerosis is a leading cause of cardiovascular conditions. Traditional approaches for managing atherosclerosis have limitations, creating a need for alternative preventive strategies such as vaccines. The authors conducted a systematic review following Cochrane Handbook and PRISMA guidelines. They searched multiple databases for studies on preventive vaccines against atherosclerosis, including clinical trials and experimental models. The search period was from 1950 to August 2024. After screening and evaluation, 47 studies were included in the systematic review. The studies investigated various vaccine candidates and immunization strategies. Vaccination goals involve targeting proteins that are found in higher quantities in individuals with atherosclerosis, such as oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL), apolipoprotein B-100, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type-9 serine protease (PCSK9), cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), and heat shock proteins HSP60 and HSP65. The review highlights the potential of vaccines in preventing atherosclerosis by targeting specific antigens, modulating lipoprotein metabolism, and enhancing immune responses. Promising approaches included PCSK9 inhibitors, virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccines, and gene-editing techniques. Monoclonal antibodies like alirocumab, designed to inhibit PCSK9, were also effective in reducing LDL cholesterol levels. This systematic review provides insights into the progress, challenges, and future directions of preventive vaccine research against atherosclerosis. The findings support the development of effective vaccines to complement existing preventive strategies and reduce the global burden of cardiovascular diseases. It is not applicable. Show less

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an advancing neurodegenerative disorder distinguished by the formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the human brain. Nevertheless, the lack of peripheral biomarkers that can detect the development of AD remains a significant limitation. The main aim of this work was to discover the molecular markers associated with AD. We conducted a comprehensive microarray analysis of gene expression data from hippocampus tissue in AD patients and control samples using three microarray datasets (GSE1297, GSE28146, and GSE29378) collected from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The datasets were pre-processed and normalized, revealing 346 significant genes, 103 of which were upregulated and 243 downregulated. The PPI network of significant genes was constructed to detect the top 50 hub genes, which were then further analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO) terms, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway (KEGG), and GSEA, revealing 47 key genes involved in AD-related pathways. These key genes were then subjected to feed forward loop (FFL) motif analysis for the prediction of transcriptional factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) mediated gene regulatory networks. The interaction of AD-associated TFs HNF4A, SPI1, EGR1, STAT3, and MYC and miRNAs hsa-miR-155-5p and hsa-miR-16-5p in the transcriptional and post-transcriptional events of 3 upregulated and 10 downregulated genes: H2AFZ, MCM3, MYO1C, AXIN1, CCND1, ETS2, MYH9, RELA, RHEB, SOCS3, TBL1X, TBP, TXNIP, and YWHAZ, respectively, has been identified. The miRNA/TF-mediated three types of the FFL motifs, i.e., miRNA-FFL, TF-FFL, and composite-FFL, were constructed, and seven common genes among these FFL were identified: CCND1, MYH9, SOCS3, RHEB, MYO1C, TXNIP, AXIN1, and TXNIP. These findings may provide insights into the development of potential molecular markers for therapeutic management of AD. Show less