Sultan Ahmed, Sultana Mahabbat-e Khoda, Rokeya Sultana Rekha, Renee M. Gardner et al.
BACKGROUND: Arsenic (As) exposure during pregnancy induces oxidative stress and increases the risk of fetal loss and low birth weight. OBJECTIVES: In this study we aimed to elucidate the effects of As exposure on immune markers in the placenta and cord blood, and the involvement of oxidative stress....
Rubhana Raqib, Sultan Ahmed, Rokeya Sultana, Yukiko Wagatsuma et al.
Chronic exposure to arsenic, a potent carcinogen and toxicant, via drinking water is a worldwide public health problem. Because little is known about early-life effects of arsenic on immunity, we evaluated the impact of in utero exposure on infant immune parameters and morbidity in a pilot study. Pr...
Rokeya Sultana Rekha, Ssv Jagadeeswara Rao Muvva, Min Wan, Rubhana Raqib et al.
LL-37 is a human antimicrobial peptide (AMP) of the cathelicidin family with multiple activities including a mediator of vitamin D-induced autophagy in human macrophages, resulting in intracellular killing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). In a previous trial in healthy volunteers, we have shown ...
Akhirunnesa Mily, Rokeya Sultana Rekha, S. M. Mostafa Kamal, Abu Saleh Mohammad Arifuzzaman et al.
BACKGROUND: Development of new tuberculosis (TB) drugs and alternative treatment strategies are urgently required to control the global spread of TB. Previous results have shown that vitamin D3 (vitD3) and 4-phenyl butyrate (PBA) are potent inducers of the host defense peptide LL-37 that possess ant...
Protim Sarker, Sultan Ahmed, Snigdha Tiash, Rokeya Sultana Rekha et al.
BACKGROUND: Cathelicidins and defensins are endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are downregulated in the mucosal epithelia of the large intestine in shigellosis. Oral treatment of Shigella infected rabbits with sodium butyrate (NaB) reduces clinical severity and counteracts the downregulat...
Rubhana Raqib, Protim Sarker, Akhirunnesa Mily, Nur Alam et al.
BACKGROUND: Treatment of shigellosis in rabbits with butyrate reduces clinical severity and counteracts the downregulation of cathelicidin (CAP-18) in the large intestinal epithelia. Here, we aimed to evaluate whether butyrate can be used as an adjunct to antibiotics in the treatment of shigellosis ...
Akhirunnesa Mily, Rokeya Sultana Rekha, S. M. Mostafa Kamal, Evana Akhtar et al.
BACKGROUND: We earlier showed that 4-phenylbutyrate (PB) can induce cathelicidin LL-37 expression synergistically with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in a lung epithelial cell line. We aimed to evaluate a therapeutic dose of PB alone or in combination with vitamin D3 for induction of LL-37 expression in i...
Peter Bergman, Rubhana Raqib, Rokeya Sultana Rekha, Birgitta Agerberth et al.
The innate immune system constitutes the first line of defense against invading pathogens, regulating the normal microbiota and contributes to homeostasis. Today we have obtained detailed knowledge on receptors, signaling pathways, and effector molecules of innate immunity. Our research constellatio...
Sultan Ahmed, Rubhana Raqib, Guðmundur H. Guðmundsson, Peter Bergman et al.
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity, particularly in developing countries, presenting a major threat to the public health. The currently recommended long term treatment regimen with multiple antibiotics is associated with poor patient compliance, which in turn, ...
Akhirunnesa Mily, Sadaf Kalsum, Marco Giulio Loreti, Rokeya Sultana Rekha et al.
Human macrophages are primary host cells of intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection and thus have a central role in immune control of tuberculosis (TB). We have established an experimental protocol to follow immune polarization of myeloid-derived cells into M1 (classically activated...
Sheikh Julfikar Hossain, M. H. Basar, Begum Rokeya, K. M. T. Arif et al.
Rokeya Sultana Rekha, Akhirunnesa Mily, Tajnin Sultana, Md. Ahsanul Haq et al.
BACKGROUND: promoted clinically beneficial immunomodulation to improve treatment outcomes in TB patients. METHODS: Cytokine concentration was measured in supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients (n = 31/group). Endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes (GADD34 and XBP...
Sultan Ahmed, Sultana Mahabbat-e Khoda, Rokeya Sultana Rekha, Renee M. Gardner et al.
Materials and MethodsStudy area and subjects.The study area, Matlab, is located 53 km southeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh.The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, runs a health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) in Matlab, as well as a central hospital and four connec...
Senait Ashenafi, Getachew Aderaye, Martha Zewdie, Rubhana Raqib et al.
BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB) among sputum-negative cases, patients with HIV infection and extra-pulmonary TB is difficult. In this study, assessment of BCG-specific IgG-secreting peripheral plasmablasts, was used to identify active TB in these high-risk groups. METHODS: Peripher...
Sultan Ahmed, Rokeya Sultana Rekha, Khalid Ahsan, Mariko Doi et al.
BACKGROUND: Exposure to inorganic arsenic (As) through drinking water during pregnancy is associated with lower birth size and child growth. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of As exposure on child growth parameters to evaluate causal associations. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS: Children born i...