THE PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF THYMOQUINONE AGAINST LEAD ACETATE INDUCED DNA DAMAGE AND ALTERATIONS IN TUMOR INITIATION GENES

objective: Several pollutants represent a significant ecological and public health concern due to their toxicity and their ability to accumulate in livingorganisms in which lead is one of them. The present investigation was designated to assess the modulating effect of thymoquinone (TQ) against leadacetate (LA) toxicity.Methods: Several endpoints were considered to design this study such as: The gene expression of tumor initiation genes (cytochrome P450 3A[CYP3A], cyclooxygenase 2 [COX2], BAX and Bcl), DNA damage and alterations in the levels of glutathione (GSH), lipid oxidation (malondialdehyde[MDA]), and protein oxidation (protein carbonyl [PC]) in male rats. About 60 male rats were used in this study which allocated in six groups (10 animaleach) and treated with LA (200 mg/kg diet), TQ (5 and 10 mg/kg b.wt.), and LA + TQ.2Results: The results revealed that LA induced significant DNA damage and alteration in the expression of CYP3A, COX2, BAX, and Bcl as well asinduced changes in GSH content and MDA and PC levels in male rats. Meanwhile, TQ was decreased significantly the toxic effect of LA in male ratswhich decreased the alterations in the gene expression and DNA damage as well as GSH content and MDA and PC levels.Conclusion: The results suggested that TQ treatment confers protection against toxicity inflicted by LA and support the contention that TQ protectionis achieved by its ability as a scavenger for free radicals generated by LA.Keywords: Thymoquinone, Lead acetate, Gene expression, DNA damage, Rats

Genetic polymorphism of five genes associated with growth traits in goat

Genetic polymorphism studies in domestic animals aim at evaluating genetic variations within and across breeds mainly for conservation purposes. In this study, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to detect polymorphisms of five candidate genes in four Egyptian and Saudi goat breeds (Barki, Zaribi, Ardi and Masri), to detect the genotype of GH, IGF1, POUIF1, MSTN and BMP15 genes in the goat breeds and their allele frequencies. Results of GH gene which encloses a Haelll endonuclease restriction site show four unique PCR-RFLP banding patterns (genotypes AA, AB, CC and CD). The frequencies of the A allele in the samples from the goat breeds varied from 0.410 to 0.620. While  IGF-1gene revealed three fragments after digestion with Haelll with genotype AA, AB and BB and the  frequencies of allele A varied from 0.432 to 0.731. Furthermore, PCR-RFLP of POUIF1 gene showed two  fragments after digestion by Pst1 endonuclease with genotype TT and CC and the frequencies of allele T varied from 0.250 to 0.840. The MSTN gene revealed three fragments after digestion with DraI with genotype AA, BB and AB and the frequencies of allele A varied from 0.240 to 0.630. Meanwhile, the BMP15 gene revealed one fragments of 112 bp for AA after digestion with Hinf1 enzyme.Key words: Goats, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), GH, IGF-1, POUIF1, MSTN, BMP-15

Effect of the purification of antidermatophytic proteins from Nigella sativa on four zoophilic species

The antidermatophytic activities of proteins which are extracted from four plant species (Carum carvi, Cymbopogon citratus, Moringa oleifera, and Nigella sativa) on four zoophilic dermatophytes (Microsporum canis, Microsporum equinum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Trichophyton verrucosum) were evaluated in this study. The crude proteins of N. sativa had the broadest significant spectrum of antidermatophytic activity on the tested dermatophytes as well as the greatest antioxidant activity (95.11%) and the highest protein content (82 mg/ml). 17 amino acids were found in the four tested plant proteins with N. sativa protein having the highest content of amino acid (347.21 μg/ml). N. sativa protein had the greatest effect on the fungal cell permeability of all the tested zoophilic dermatophytes. Purification of N. sativa protein on Sephadex G-100 column showed two peaks of protein (Pr1 and Pr2) as well as increasing antidermatophytic activities. Complete purification of the most active fraction (Pr2) on diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sephadex eluted one single peak with increasing antidermatophytic activity (7.6 cm) against the most sensitive pathogen (M. canis), representing 1.43 fold purification of the crude protein. The molecular weights of the purified N. sativa proteins (Pr1 and Pr2) were 42.7 and 31 kDa, respectively. The highest antidermatophytic activity of Pr2 was observed at a pH of 7 and temperature of 20°C. Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ decreased the antidermatophytic activity of the pure protein of N. sativa.Key words: Dermatophytes, plant, protein, purification