Association of grp78, hif-1α and bag3 expression with the severity of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Introduction: Parallel with the progression of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), the levels of 78KDa Glucose-Regulated Protein (GRP78) and Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) are increased as they may activate the induction of anti-apoptotic proteins such as BCL2 Associated Athanogene 3 (BAG3). Previous studies have indicated that there is a positive correlation among GRP78, HIF-1α and BAG3. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of metabolic factors involved in invasive CLL on apoptotic factors. Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 77 patients diagnosed with CLL along with 100 healthy individuals. Cell blood count was performed for all participants. According to Binet's classification, CLL patients were divided into different groups. B cells were isolated from the peripheral blood of CLL patients by binding to anti-CD19 beads. The expression of BAG3, GRP78 and HIF-1α genes was analyzed using the RT-PCR method. To confirm the results of RT-PCR, western blot analysis was carried out. Results: The results showed that there was a strong association among the expression of BAG3, GRP78 and HIF-1α. The stage of CLL in patients was highly correlated with the expression rate of each gene (p<0.001). Accordingly, the western blot analysis indicated that the concentrations of GRP78 and HIF-1α were significantly higher than the expression of BAG3, considering the stage of CLL. Conclusion: It was shown that increased expression of GRP78 and HIF-1α could result in the elevation of BAG3, as well as the disease progression. Therefore, the role of these metabolic factors might be more pronounced compared with the anti-apoptotic agents to monitor disease progression in CLL patients. © 2020 Bentham Science Publishers

Alteration of the level of salivary cortisol under psychological stress and its relationship with rumination and personality traits

Background and Objective: Gender differences in biobehavioral responses to environmental stressors and experience of psychological stress should be identified. This study was done to evaluate the changes of the level of salivary cortisol under psychological stress and its relationship with rumination and personality traits. Methods: In this case-control study, for 45 medical students, The NEO Personality Inventory-Short Form and emotional control questionnaire (ECQ) were filed two months before the final examination. Saliva samples were taken from students in the non-stress (control) and examination stress conditions. Salivary cortisol levels were measured by ELISA method. Results: Gender differences were not observed in the level of salivary cortisol under psychological stress. Significant difference was observed between the mean of salivary cortisol in the non-stress and under examination stress conditions. Positive correlation was found between traits of neuroticism (P<0.05) and rumination (P<0.05) with salivary cortisol as well as negative correlation between the traits openness to experience (P<0.05) and angery control (P<0.05) with salivary cortisol. Neuroticism, rumination and angery control may predict a substantial variance (32%) of salivary cortisol under exam stress. Conclusion: Psychological stress leads to increase in the secretion of salivary cortisol unrelated to gender. Subjects with different personality traits are prone to cortisol responses to stress based on their particular character

Control the bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by a combination of hypericum extract and niacin

Pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal disease, and is considered as one of the most important side effects of chemotherapy drugs such as bleomycin. The antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory activities of Hypericum have been confirmed; on the other hand, the inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase enzyme affected the levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in cells. In the present study, the effects of hypericum perforatum extract in combination with niacin were assessed on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, male rats weighing 160-190 g were used. The animals were randomly divided into the following five groups of six: The control group (NS), which receives normal saline only; the bleomycin group (BLM), which was administrated with an endotracheal single dose of bleomycin sulfate solution after anesthetizing the animals. Hypericum perforatum (HP) group, Niacin group (100 mg/kg), and the combination group (HP + NC). In addition to receiving endotracheal bleomycin, the studied drug was administered intraperitoneally for 21 days. At the end of the study, hydroxy-proline and malondialdehyde were measured, and specific pathology tests were performed in lung tissues to determine the changes that occur in in various groups. The results showed that the lung index (lung weight/body weight), hydroxy-proline content (μg of hydroxyproline/lung), and malondialdehyde in the control group were 0.662�0.03 μg, 1156.8�41.5 μg, and 753.7�40.2 μg respectively, while these values in the BLM group were 1.56� 0.24 μg, 4073.4�468.9 μg, and 1643.6 � 129.9 μg, respectively. Treatment with the combination of hypericum extract and niacin significantly reduced these factors as compared to the bleomycin group (P < 0.05) .Our results represented a potential protection of hypericum extract and niacin on lung fibrosis induced by bleomycin. This protective effect showed a significant increase when compared to the use of the plant extract or niacin alone

Control the bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by a combination of hypericum extract and niacin

Pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal disease, and is considered as one of the most important side effects of chemotherapy drugs such asbleomycin.The antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory activities of Hypericum have been confirmed; on the other hand, the inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase enzyme affected the levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in cells.In the present study, the effects of hypericum perforatum extract in combination with niacin were assessed on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, male rats weighing 160-190 g were used. The animals were randomly divided into the following five groups of six: The control group (NS), which receives normal saline only; the bleomycin group (BLM), which was administrated with anendotracheal single dose of bleomycin sulfate solution after anesthetizing the animals. Hypericumperforatum (HP) group, Niacin group (100 mg/kg),and the combination group (HP + NC). In addition to receiving endotracheal bleomycin, the studied drug was administered intraperitoneally for 21 days. At the end of the study, hydroxy-proline and malondialdehyde were measured, and specific pathology tests were performed in lung tissues to determine the changes that occur in in various groups. The results showed that the lung index (lung weight/body weight), hydroxy-proline content (μg of hydroxyproline/lung), and malondialdehyde in the control group were 0.662±0.03μg, 1156.8±41.5 μg, and 753.7±40.2μg respectively, while the sevalues in the BLM group were1.56± 0.24μg, 4073.4±468.9μg,and 1643.6 ± 129.9μg,respectively. Treatment with the combination of hypericum extract and niacin significantly reduced these factors as compared to the bleomycin group (P < 0.05) .Our results represented a potential protection of hypericum extract and niacin on lung fibrosis induced by bleomycin. This protective effect showed a significant increase when compared to the use of the plant extract or niacin alone

Are Women with Normal-Weight Obesity at Higher Risk for Cardiometabolic Disorders?

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the cardiometabolic abnormalities in women with normal-weight obesity (NWO) in comparison with lean, overweight, and obese women. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the assessment of cardiometabolic abnormalities of women with NWO compared to lean, overweight, and obese women. NWO was defined as a BMI −2 and a BFP higher than 30%. Anthropometric variables, cardiometabolic abnormality markers (fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood pressure (BP), lipid profile, insulin resistance, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)), and liver enzymes were also examined. Results: Significant differences were observed in HDL concentrations between NWO, lean, and obese participants (p p > 0.05). The prevalence of the abnormal metabolic phenotype was higher in NWO compared to the lean group (4.0% and 24.1%, respectively; p p p p p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Individuals with NWO had a significantly higher incidence of cardiometabolic abnormalities when compared to lean participants. These abnormalities strongly relate to BFP and waist circumferences