In Vitro Evaluation of Cell-Mediated Immunity to Epstein Barr Virus

This study was conducted to measure cell-mediated immune response in healthy Epstein Barr virus (EBV)–seropositive individuals using a tissue culture "growth inhibition" assay (regression assay) where peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) were tested for their ability to inhibit the outgrowth of the autologous lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Inhibition of the outgrowth of the autologous LCLs was seen after 4 weeks by the addition of PBLs from healthy EBV seropositive donors. The regression phenomenon was never seen when the donors of peripheral blood lymphocytes were EBV- seronegative. Regression assay showed that EBV- specific memory T cells were stable in healthy EBV seropositive over many years, which indicates the persistent nature of EBV infection

Association of the p53 Codon 72 Polymorphism with Colorectal Cancer in South West of Iran

Abstract—The p53 tumor suppressor gene plays two important roles in genomic stability: blocking cell proliferation after DNA damage until it has been repaired, and starting apoptosis if the damage is too critical. Codon 72 exon4 polymorphism (Arg72Pro) of the P53 gene has been implicated in cancer risk. Various studies have been done to investigate the status of p53 at codon 72 for arginine (Arg) and proline (Pro) alleles in different populations and also the association of this codon 72 polymorphism with various tumors. Our objective was to investigate the possible association between P53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and susceptibility to colorectal cancer among Isfahan and Chaharmahal Va Bakhtiari (a part of south west of Iran) population. We investigated the status of p53 at codon 72 for Arg/Arg, Arg/Pro and Pro/Pro allele polymorphisms in blood samples from 145 colorectal cancer patients and 140 controls by Nested-PCR of p53 exon 4 and digestion with BstUI restriction enzyme and the DNA fragments were then resolved by electrophoresis in 2% agarose gel. The Pro allele was 279 bp, while the Arg allele was restricted into two fragments of 160 and 119 bp. Among the 145 colorectal cancer cases 49 cases (33.79%) were homozygous for the Arg72 allele (Arg/Arg), 18 cases (12.41%) were homozygous for the Pro72 allele (Pro/Pro) and 78 cases (53.8%) found in heterozygous (Arg/Pro). In conclusion, it can be said that p53Arg/Arg genotype may be correlated with possible increased risk of this kind of cancers in south west of Ira

Suppressive effects of medicinal plants and their derivatives on inflammasome complex: A systematic review

Inflammasome activation is mediated by (NOD)-like receptors (NLR) proteins that respond to stimuli. Among NLRs, NACHT-LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) senses the widest array of stimuli. NLRP3 inflammasome has an important role in the development of many inflammation disorders. Regarding the significance of inflammatory diseases, and the necessity of preventing and treating these diseases, the aim of this review article is to report medicinal plants and their nature-based derivatives that are effective on suppression of inflammasome complex. Web of Science and PubMed databases were searched using the Endnote software for the publications about the role herbal medicine in inflammasome activation pathways from 2000 to February 2016. Sophora flavescens, Lyciumbarbarum, Impatiens textori Miq., Syneilesis palmata (Thunb.), Aloe vera, citral (3, 7-dimethyl-2, 6-octadienal), celastrol, sulforaphane, schisandrin, resveratrol, dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (DHCA), luteoloside, Pulsatilla decoction, and Wuling San have been reported to suppression function of inflammasome. Medicinal plants and their derivatives can be useful for inflammation related disorders by suppress NLRP3 inflammasome activation. However, they should be investigated in clinical trials to help to prevent and treatment of inflammatory diseases

Phytopharmacology and phytotherapy of regulatory T cells: A new approach to treat multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disorder of central nervous system characterized by demyelination, inflammation, and axonal injury. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been defined as CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T-cells that play a critical role in maintaining self-tolerance and preventing autoimmune diseases. Dysfunction and decreased numbers of Tregs may lead to MS. Web of Science and PubMed databases were searched using the Endnote software for the publications about the role of Tregs in MS published from 2000 to February 2016. The medicinal plants and their derivatives, including Hypericum perforatum, Astragalus membranaceus, Pterodon emarginatus Vogel, curcumin, resveratrol, matrine, Bu Shen Yi Sui Capsule, and Hyungbangpaedok-san have been reported to regulate the function of Tregs in MS. The medicinal plants and their derivatives reported in this study might be useful for upregulation of Tregs through suppressing the activation of autoreactive T cells and hence controlling MS. They should be investigated in clinical trials to help to prevent and treat MS

Dietary Regulation of miR-33b and miR-29a in Relationship to Metabolic Biomarkers of Glucose and Lipids in Obese Diabetic Women: A Randomized Clinical Controlled Study

Background: MicroRNAs have recently been introduced as epigenetic regulators of glucose and lipid metabolic pathways, which are impaired in obesity and diabetes. Objectives: We evaluated the effects of calorie-restricted diet therapy on the circulating levels of miR-33b and miR-29a in relationship to glucose and lipid metabolic parameters in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: This randomized clinical controlled trial was performed on 30 eligible obese women with T2DM, randomly divided into two groups (control group, n = 15; diet therapy group, n = 15) for 10 weeks. Ten healthy women with normal weight were enrolled at the baseline of the study as controls. Demographic information, dietary intake, and anthropometric and biochemical indices were obtained before and after the study. Circulating miR-33b and miR-29a were assessed for all subjects using quantitative RT-PCR, and the fold change of each circulating miRNA was compared between groups. Results: The circulating levels of miR-29a and miR-33b in the diabetic women were higher (0.40-fold) and lower (1.43-fold), respectively, than normal levels. Diet therapy significantly increased the circulating level of miR-33b (P = 0.023, 0.97-fold upregulation) to normal levels. This increase was independently correlated with caloric restriction (95%CI: -0.004 to -0.0001, P = 0.022) and 2hPPBS (95%CI: -0.009 to -0.001, P = 0.035). No remarkable change was observed in circulating levels of miR-29a. Conclusions: Our findings introduced a novel therapeutic effect of diet therapy on circulating miRNAs in obese patients with T2DM. MiR-33b is an important therapeutic target in the treatment and prevention of T2DM and its complication

An overview of current knowledge in biological functions and potential theragnostic applications of exosomes

Exosomes are cup-shaped structures, made of two lipid layers. Their size is in the range of 30–150 nm. Exosomes are excreted to the extracellular space and function in local and systemic cellular communication. Based on their primary origins, they can contain substantial amounts of RNA, protein, and miRNA; the horizontal transfer of these contents significantly determines the exosome's biological effects. The endosomal origins of exosomes can be deduced based on their surface protein markers. The use of exosomes as a diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic tool, has numerous advantages because they do not pose risks such as aneuploidy and transplant rejection. This - overview highlights the recent findings in exosome development and current knowledge in exosome-based therapies. Keywords:Extracellular vesicles, Exosomes, Clinical application

Evaluation of isolation method in remaining of differentiation potential of perivascular human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells toward male germ cell-like

<strong>Background and aims:</strong> Infertility is one of the most common problems among couples. Generation of male germ cells from adult stem cells is a current promising priority of researchers. This study aimed to investigate the potential of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUMSCs) on the expression of male germ cell markers after isolating by this method. <strong>Methods:</strong> The hUMSCs was incubated with retinoic acid, testosterone, and conditioned medium (prepared from testicular cell cultures of 7-day-old mice) during 3 days. The bands were visualized and densitometry was accomplished using LI-COR Biosciences software. <strong>Results:</strong> The high expression levels of C-KIT, DAZL, PIWIL2, and DDX4 in mRNA and protein levels were observed in treated hUMSCs. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Results of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting showed that method of isolation had no adverse effects on differentiation potential of hUMSCs

A Compressive Sensing Based Compressed Neural Network for Sound Source Localization

Microphone arrays are today employed to specify the sound source locations in numerous real time applications such as speech processing in large rooms or acoustic echo cancellation. Signal sources may exist in the near field or far field with respect to the microphones. Current Neural Networks (NNs) based source localization approaches assume far field narrowband sources. One of the important limitations of these NN-based approaches is making balance between computational complexity and the development of NNs; an architecture that is too large or too small will affect the performance in terms of generalization and computational cost. In the previous analysis, saliency subject has been employed to determine the most suitable structure, however, it is time-consuming and the performance is not robust. In this paper, a family of new algorithms for compression of NNs is presented based on Compressive Sampling (CS) theory. The proposed framework makes it possible to find a sparse structure for NNs, and then the designed neural network is compressed by using CS. The key difference between our algorithm and the state-of-the-art techniques is that the mapping is continuously done using the most effective features; therefore, the proposed method has a fast convergence. The empirical work demonstrates that the proposed algorithm is an effective alternative to traditional methods in terms of accuracy and computational complexity

DFNB59 Gene Mutation Screening Using PCR-SSCP/HA Technique in Non-syndromic Genetic Hearing Loss in Bushehr Province

Background: Hearing impairment (HI) is the most prevalent Neurosensory disorder which is heterogenous and can also occur due to environmental causes. The majority of hearing deficiencies are of genetic origin affecting about 60% of the HI cases. A novel gene DFNB59 encodes pejvakin has been recently shown to cause deafness. This study aims to determine the frequency of DFNB59 gene mutations in coding region the gene in Bushehr province. Methods: In this descriptive experimental study, we investigated the presence of DFNB59