Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 85 in total

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  1. Increased level of activated gamma delta lymphocytes correlates with disease severity in HIV infection
    Norazmi MN, Arifin H, Jamaruddin MA
    Immunol Cell Biol, 1995 Jun;73(3):245-8.
    PMID: 7590898
    The lymphocyte subset expressing the gamma delta T cell receptor is increased in several infectious diseases including HIV infection. In this study the expression on gamma delta lymphocytes of the T cell activation markers CD25, HLA-DR and CD38, as well as the two isoforms of CD45, namely CD45RA and CD45RO, was determined in the peripheral blood of 56 HIV-infected intravenous drug users and 34 HIV-seronegative blood donors by two-colour flow cytometry. The percentage of gamma delta lymphocytes expressing HLA-DR and CD38 was higher than those in HIV-seronegative controls (P < 0.001 and P < 0.0001, respectively). Furthermore the HLA-DR+gamma delta+ lymphocytes correlated inversely with CD4+ T lymphocyte absolute count (P < 0.02 for both). The levels of gamma delta lymphocytes expressing CD25, CD45RA and CD45RO were similar to those in HIV-seronegative controls. Activated gamma delta lymphocytes may play a role in the HIV disease process and could provide a useful marker for disease progression.
  2. Fulltext Tualang honey promotes apoptotic cell death induced by tamoxifen in breast cancer cell lines
    Yaacob NS, Nengsih A, Norazmi MN
    Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2013;2013:989841.
    PMID: 23476711 DOI: 10.1155/2013/989841
    Tualang honey (TH) is rich in flavonoids and phenolic acids and has significant anticancer activity against breast cancer cells comparable to the effect of tamoxifen (TAM), in vitro. The current study evaluated the effects of TH when used in combination with TAM on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. We observed that TH promoted the anticancer activity of TAM in both the estrogen receptor-(ER-)responsive and ER-nonresponsive human breast cancer cell lines. Flow cytometric analyses indicated accelerated apoptosis especially in MDA-MB-231 cells and with the involvement of caspase-3/7, -8 and -9 activation as shown by fluorescence microscopy. Depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane was also increased in both cell lines when TH was used in combination with TAM compared to TAM treatment alone. TH may therefore be a potential adjuvant to be used with TAM for reducing the dose of TAM, hence, reducing TAM-induced adverse effects.
  3. Cloning and expression of malaria and tuberculosis epitopes in mycobacterium bovis bacille calmette-guérin
    Suppian R, Zainuddin ZF, Norazmi MN
    Malays J Med Sci, 2006 Jan;13(1):13-20.
    PMID: 22589585
    Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guèrin (BCG) represents one of the most promising live vectors for the delivery of foreign antigens to the immune system. A recombinant BCG containing a synthetic gene coding for the malarial epitopes namely, the fragment 2 of region II of EBA-175 (F2R(II)EBA) and the repeat sequence of the circumsporozoite protein NANP generated in favour of mycobacterium codon usage using assembly PCR was constructed. Two T-cell epitopes of the 6-kDa M. tuberculosis early-secreted antigenic target (ESAT-6) antigen were also clone in the same construct. Expression of the synthetic gene was driven by the heat shock protein 65 (hsp65) promoter from M. tuberculosis and the signal peptide from the MPT63 antigen of M. tuberculosis. Expression of the composite epitopes was detected by Western blotting of the cell extract and culture supernatant of the recombinant clones using a specific rabbit polyclonal antibody against F2R(II)EBA. This study demonstrates the possibility of cloning and expressing immunogenic epitopes from causative agents of two important diseases: malaria and tuberculosis (TB) in a single recombinant BCG construct.
  4. Fulltext Synergistic anticancer effects of a bioactive subfraction of Strobilanthes crispus and tamoxifen on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell lines
    Yaacob NS, Kamal NN, Norazmi MN
    BMC Complement Altern Med, 2014;14:252.
    PMID: 25034326 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-252
    Development of tumour resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs and concerns over their toxic effects has led to the increased use of medicinal herbs or natural products by cancer patients. Strobilanthes crispus is a traditional remedy for many ailments including cancer. Its purported anticancer effects have led to the commercialization of the plant leaves as medicinal herbal tea, although the scientific basis for its use has not been established. We previously reported that a bioactive subfraction of Strobilanthes crispus leaves (SCS) exhibit potent cytotoxic activity against human breast cancer cell lines. The current study investigates the effect of this subfraction on cell death activities induced by the antiestrogen drug, tamoxifen, in estrogen receptor-responsive and nonresponsive breast cancer cells.
  5. Fulltext The modulation of PPARγ1 and PPARγ2 mRNA expression by ciglitazone in CD3/CD28-activated naïve and memory CD4+ T cells
    Norazmi MN, Mohamed R, Nurul AA, Yaacob NS
    Clin. Dev. Immunol., 2012;2012:849195.
    PMID: 22548115 DOI: 10.1155/2012/849195
    Given their roles in immune regulation, the expression of the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) 1 and 2 isoforms was investigated in human naïve (CD45RA+) and memory (CD45RO+) CD4+ T cells. Stimulation of both types of cells via the CD3/CD28 pathway resulted in high expression of both PPARγ receptors as measured by real-time PCR. Treatment with the PPARγ agonist, ciglitazone, increased PPARγ1 expression but decreased PPARγ2 expression in stimulated naïve and memory cells. Furthermore, when present, the magnitude of both PPARγ receptors expression was lower in naïve cells, perhaps suggesting a lower regulatory control of these cells. Similar profiles of selected proinflammatory cytokines were expressed by the two cell types following stimulation. The induction of PPARγ1 and suppression of PPARγ2 expressions in naïve and memory CD4+ T cells in the presence of ciglitazone suggest that the PPARγ subtypes may have different roles in the regulation of T-cell function.
  6. Male and female NOD mice differentially express peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors and pathogenic cytokines
    Yaacob NS, Goh KS, Norazmi MN
    Exp. Toxicol. Pathol., 2012 Jan;64(1-2):127-31.
    PMID: 20674317 DOI: 10.1016/j.etp.2010.07.005
    The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have been implicated in regulating the immune response. We determined the relative changes in the transcriptional expression of PPAR isoforms (α, γ1 and γ2) and cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the immune cells of 5 weeks, 10 weeks and diabetic male non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice compared to those of female NOD mice from our previous studies, "normalized" against their respective non-obese diabetic resistant (NOR) mice controls. Overall PPARα was significantly more elevated in the macrophages of female NOD mice of all age groups whereas PPARγ, particularly the PPARγ2 isoform was more depressed in the macrophages and CD4(+) lymphocytes of female NOD mice compared to their male counterparts. The pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1 and TNFα, as well as the Th1 cytokines, IL-2 and IFNγ were more elevated in female NOD mice whereas the Th2 cytokine, IL-4, was more depressed in these mice compared to their male counterparts. These findings suggest that the preponderance of T1D in female NOD mice may be influenced by the more pronounced changes in the expression of PPAR isoforms and pathogenic cytokines compared to those in male NOD mice.
  7. Allele frequency data for nine STRs polymorphism in a Gurkha population of Malaysia
    Tuladhar BS, Haslindawaty N, Nada B, Panneerchelvam S, Norazmi MN
    J Forensic Sci, 2006 Sep;51(5):1205-6.
    PMID: 17018114
  8. Autosomal STR polymorphism in Sikh population of Peninsular Malaysia
    Teck TC, Kook SC, Badruddin N, Panneerchelvam S, Norazmi MN
    J Forensic Sci, 2005 Sep;50(5):1223-4.
    PMID: 16225236 DOI: 10.1520/JFS2005156
  9. Fulltext Sequence comparison of six human microRNAs genes between tuberculosis patients and healthy individuals
    Amila A, Acosta A, Sarmiento ME, Suraiya S, Zafarina Z, Panneerchelvam S, et al.
    Int J Mycobacteriol, 2015 Dec;4(4):341-6.
    PMID: 26964819 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmyco.2015.06.009
    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in diseases development. Therefore, human miRNAs may be able to inhibit the survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in the human host by targeting critical genes of the pathogen. Mutations within miRNAs can alter their target selection, thereby preventing them from inhibiting Mtb genes, thus increasing host susceptibility to the disease.
  10. Fulltext Cellular and humoral immunogenicity of recombinant Mycobacterium smegmatis expressing Ag85B epitopes in mice
    Kadir NA, Sarmiento ME, Acosta A, Norazmi MN
    Int J Mycobacteriol, 2016 Mar;5(1):7-13.
    PMID: 26927984 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmyco.2015.09.006
    The search for new vaccines more efficacious than bacille Calmette-Guérin for tuberculosis prevention is of paramount importance for the control of the disease. The expression of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in Mycobacterium smegmatis is one of the current strategies for the development of new-generation vaccines against tuberculosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the immunogenicity in mice of M. smegmatis expressing epitopes from Ag85B antigen.
  11. HNA diversity in six subgroups of Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia
    Manaf SM, Panneerchelvam S, Norazmi MN, Zafarina Z, Edinur HA
    Transfus Med, 2016 May 16.
    PMID: 27197082 DOI: 10.1111/tme.12315
  12. Distribution of cytokine gene polymorphisms in five Malay subethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia
    Norhalifah HK, Zafarina Z, Sundararajulu P, Norazmi MN, Edinur HA
    Int. J. Immunogenet., 2015 Jun;42(3):200-3.
    PMID: 25809422 DOI: 10.1111/iji.12189
    In this survey, we have successfully genotyped 22 single nucleotide polymorphisms in the 13 cytokine genes for five Malay subethnic groups (Kelantan, Acheh, Mandailing, Minangkabau and Patani Malays) using polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer cytokine genotyping kit (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA). Most of the cytokine genes showed similar pattern of allelic spectra with wild-type alleles (e.g. ILIa-889/C, ILIB+3962/C and IL6 nt565/G) that represent more than 80% in the studied Malay subethnic groups. These newly observed cytokine alleles and subsequent analyses clearly indicate genetic contribution from Asia in the studied Malay subethnic groups with evidence of admixture from neighbouring populations in Patani Malays. The cytokine data sets for the five Malay subethnic groups deposited in this report can also be used as reference standard for searching suitable donor for allograft transplant and diseases association study. This is particularly relevance as our analyses showed differences between the Malay subethnic groups and other populations screened for cytokine genes.
  13. Allele frequency distribution for 10 STR loci in the Malay population of Malaysia
    Panneerchelvam S, Haslindawaty N, Ravichandran M, Norazmi MN, Zainuddin ZF
    J Forensic Sci, 2003 Mar;48(2):451-2.
    PMID: 12665016
  14. Fulltext Does our Mycobacteriome Influence COVID-19 Morbidity and Lethality?
    Acosta A, Fonte L, Sarmiento ME, Norazmi MN
    Front Microbiol, 2021;12:589165.
    PMID: 33613475 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.589165
  15. The synergistic effects of IL-6/IL-17A promote osteogenic differentiation by improving OPG/RANKL ratio and adhesion of MC3T3-E1 cells on hydroxyapatite
    Sritharan S, Kannan TP, Norazmi MN, Nurul AA
    J Craniomaxillofac Surg, 2018 Aug;46(8):1361-1367.
    PMID: 29805067 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcms.2018.05.002
    OBJECTIVE: In this study, we evaluated the potential role of IL-6 and/or IL-17A in regulating the OPG/RANKL (osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa b ligand) system of murine osteoblast cell line (MC3T3-E1) cultured on hydroxyapatite (HA).

    METHODS: MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded on HA and treated with recombinant IL-6 or rIL-17A or combination of the two cytokines. Cell proliferation and differentiation activity were measured by MTS and alkaline phosphatase assays respectively. Observation of cell adhesion and proliferation was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Gene and protein expressions were performed on RANKL and OPG using qPCR, Western blot and ELISA.

    RESULTS: We demonstrated that treatment with recombinant IL-17A (rIL-17A) and the combination rIL-6/rIL-17A promoted better adhesion and higher proliferation of cells on HA. Cells treated with rIL-17A and the combination cytokines showed a significant increase in differentiation activity on day 7, 10 and 14 as indicated by ALP activity (p 

  16. Interleukin-17A promotes osteogenic differentiation by increasing OPG/RANKL ratio in stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED)
    Sebastian AA, Kannan TP, Norazmi MN, Nurul AA
    J Tissue Eng Regen Med, 2018 08;12(8):1856-1866.
    PMID: 29774992 DOI: 10.1002/term.2706
    Stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) represent a promising cell source for bone tissue regeneration. This study evaluated the effects of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) on the osteogenic differentiation of SHED. SHED were cultured in complete alpha minimum essential medium supplemented with osteoinducing reagents and treated with recombinant IL-17A. The cells were quantitatively analysed for proliferative activity by MTS assay, cell markers expression, and apoptotic activity by flow cytometry. For osteogenic differentiation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was quantified; mineralization assays were carried out using von Kossa and Alizarin red, and expression of osteogenic markers were analysed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. The results showed that treatment with IL-17A increased proliferative activity in a dose-dependent manner, but reduced the expression of stem cell markers (c-Myc and Nanog) as the days progressed. IL-17A induced osteogenic differentiation in SHED as evidenced by high ALP activity, increased matrix mineralization, and upregulation of the mRNA expression of the osteogenic markers ALP, alpha 1 type 1 collagen (Col1A1), runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), osteopontin (OPN), osteocalcin (OCN), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) but downregulation of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) as well as altering the OPG/RANKL ratio. Findings from our study indicate that IL-17A enhances proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of SHED by regulating OPG/RANKL mechanism thus suggests therapeutic potential of IL-17A in bone regeneration.
  17. DNA markers for tuberculosis diagnosis
    Chin KL, Sarmiento ME, Norazmi MN, Acosta A
    Tuberculosis (Edinb), 2018 12;113:139-152.
    PMID: 30514496 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2018.09.008
    Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), is an infectious disease with more than 10.4 million cases and 1.7 million deaths reported worldwide in 2016. The classical methods for detection and differentiation of mycobacteria are: acid-fast microscopy (Ziehl-Neelsen staining), culture, and biochemical methods. However, the microbial phenotypic characterization is time-consuming and laborious. Thus, fast, easy, and sensitive nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have been developed based on specific DNA markers, which are commercially available for TB diagnosis. Despite these developments, the disease remains uncontrollable. The identification and differentiation among MTBC members with the use of NAATs remains challenging due, among other factors, to the high degree of homology within the members and mutations, which hinders the identification of specific target sequences in the genome with potential impact in the diagnosis and treatment outcomes. In silico methods provide predictive identification of many new target genes/fragments/regions that can specifically be used to identify species/strains, which have not been fully explored. This review focused on DNA markers useful for MTBC detection, species identification and antibiotic resistance determination. The use of DNA targets with new technological approaches will help to develop NAATs applicable to all levels of the health system, mainly in low resource areas, which urgently need customized methods to their specific conditions.
  18. The pattern of HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 alleles and haplotypes of four Malay sub-ethnic groups namely Kelantan, Champa, Patani and Mandailing Malays of Peninsular Malaysia
    Allia S, Norazmi MN, Panneerchelvam S, Zafarina Z
    Hum Immunol, 2019 Jul;80(7):423-424.
    PMID: 30836128 DOI: 10.1016/j.humimm.2019.02.015
    "Bumiputra" or "son of the soil" is a term used to represent the Malays and other indigenous populations of Malaysia. The Malays are Austronesian speaking population and originated from different parts of the Indo-Malay Archipelago. The migration of Malay population from different parts of Indo-Malay Archipelago were mainly due to trading purposes which shaped the current Malay sub-ethnic groups with unique culture and with distinctive dialects. In this study, HLA typing was carried out using Sequence-based Typing (SBT) method on 109 individuals comprising of four Malay sub-ethnic groups namely Kelantan (n = 28), Champa (n = 29), Patani (n = 25) and Mandailing (n = 27) Malays. The HLA data is available in the Allele Frequencies Net Database (AFND).
  19. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor diversity in Malay subethnic groups of Peninsular Malaysia
    NurWaliyuddin HZ, Edinur HA, Norazmi MN, Sundararajulu P, Chambers GK, Zafarina Z
    Int. J. Immunogenet., 2014 Dec;41(6):472-9.
    PMID: 25367623 DOI: 10.1111/iji.12161
    The KIR system shows variation at both gene content and allelic level across individual genome and populations. This variation reflects its role in immunity and has become a significant tool for population comparisons. In this study, we investigate KIR gene content in 120 unrelated individuals from the four Malay subethnic groups (Kelantan, Jawa, Banjar and Pattani Malays). Genotyping using commercial polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) kits revealed a total of 34 different KIR genotypes; 17 for Kelantan, 15 for Banjar, 14 for Jawa and 13 for Pattani Malays. Two new variants observed in Banjar Malays have not previously been reported. Genotype AA and haplotype A were the most common in Jawa (0.47 and 0.65, respectively), Banjar (0.37 and 0.52, respectively) and Pattani (0.40 and 0.60, respectively) Malays. In contrast, Kelantan Malays were observed to have slightly higher frequency (0.43) of genotype BB as compared with the others. Based on the KIR genes distribution, Jawa, Pattani and Banjar subethnic groups showed greater similarity and are discrete from Kelantan Malays. A principal component plot carried out using KIR gene carrier frequency shows that the four Malay subethnic groups are clustered together with other South-East Asian populations. Overall, our observation on prevalence of KIR gene content demonstrates genetic affinities between the four Malay subethnic groups and supports the common origins of the Austronesian-speaking people.
  20. HLA polymorphism in six Malay subethnic groups in Malaysia
    Edinur HA, Zafarina Z, Spínola H, Nurhaslindawaty AR, Panneerchelvam S, Norazmi MN
    Hum Immunol, 2009 Jul;70(7):518-26.
    PMID: 19364514 DOI: 10.1016/j.humimm.2009.04.003
    In this study, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II were examined through sequence-specific primer typing in 176 unrelated individuals from six Malay subethnic groups of Peninsular Malaysia: Kelantan (n = 25), Minangkabau (34), Jawa (30), Bugis (31), Banjar (33), and Rawa (23). The most common HLA alleles in all groups were A*24 (26-41%), Cw*07 (24-32%), B*15 (22-30%), DRB1*12 (15-36%), and DQB1*03 (25-51%). The Malay subethnic groups studied demonstrated a close relationship to each other and to other Asian populations, despite specific differences between them. Banjar, Bugis, and Jawa Malays demonstrated no significant difference from each other, which could be a result of their related origin from the islands around the Java Sea. These three Malay subethnic groups were then collapsed into one group, which also helped to increase the sample number and sharpen statistical results. Minangkabau and Rawa Malays exhibited high similarities in allele group and haplotype frequencies, which could be a consequence of their common origin from Sumatera. Kelantan Malays, in addition to their statistically significant differences compared with the other groups, also exhibited differences on the most frequent haplotypes, which are almost absent in the other subethnic groups studied.
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