The effect of omega fatty acids oral administration on apoptotic regulatory proteins in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma under chemotherapy-A double blind clinical trial study

Background & Aims:  The use of some active factors in diet is regarded as an attractive approach to prevent and to treat certain types of cancers. Accordingly, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of PUFAs oral administration along with chemotherapeutic agent on the level of cellular apoptotic regulatory proteins in cancer cells of individuals with gastric cancer in order to identify the apoptotic changes. Materials & Methods: This study was a Clinical Trial in which the target group consisted of the patients with gastric cancer who were recognized for the first time and cured under chemotherapy. Thirty-four patients were chosen and categorized randomly into two groups. Case group includes the patients taking PUFAs along with the chemotherapeutic agents. In control group, individuals were under the same chemotherapy protocol without taking PUFAs. Biopsy samples of tumor were taken from the patients before and after chemotherapy. The Bcl-2, Bcl-XL Bid, and Bad gene expression were determined by Real-Time PCR. Also, those proteins upon biopsy samples were surveyed by Frozen Section method. Results: In case group, Bcl-2 and BclXL gene expression and protein levels decreased significantly in comparison with those of the control group. While Bid and Bad gene expression and protein levels increased significantly in comparison with those of the control group. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that use of PUFAs as supplement with Cis-platinum may be useful to stimulate more pro-apoptotic proteins in gastric cancer cells. Consequently, this offers an effective treatment to patients with gastric cancer to respond to chemotherapy

The effect of Sclareol on the expression of MDR-1 gene and Glycoprotein-P Level in MKN-45 human gastric cancer cells

Background & Aims:  In recent years, the emergence of multidrug resistance in gastric cancer has been a major challenge in treatment of gastric cancer. To deal with the problem, studies and researches were conducted on Sclareol and have turned up the anti-cancer effect of the compound and have also determined the molecular mechanism of it to some extent. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the substance extracted from Salvia Officinalis called Sclareol on MDR-1 gene expression and consequently on the rate of P-glycoprotein in human gastric cancer cell line MKN-45. Materials and Methods: Cell line MKN-45 was purchased from the Pasteur Institute of Iran and cultured in complete RPMI 1640 Medium with Fetal Bovine Serum, with 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 μM concentrations of Sclareol treatment for 5 hours. The rate of expression of MDR-1 gene was assessed by Real Time-PCR method and that of P-GP was assessed by Western blotting method. Results: The expression of MDR-1 gene was significantly reduced at doses of 20, 40 and 60 μmol of Sclareol, while at doses of 80 and 100 μmol there was not seen much effect (p <0.0001). Also, P-glycoprotein showed a very high decrease at doses of 40 and 60 μmol of Sclareol, but no decrease was seen at doses of 80 and 100 μmol (p <0.0001). Conclusion: From the results of this study, it seems that doses between 20 and 60 μmol of Sclareol can be useful in reducing drug resistance, but doses above 60 mmol do not have such an effect

Study of Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) Seed Extract Effects on Serum Level of Estrogen, Progesterone and Prolactin in Mouse

Objective: The Foeniculum vulgare (FVE) or fennel has a long history of use as both a food and medicine. The seed of this plant has been used to promote menstruation, alleviate the symptoms of female climacteric, and increase the number of ovarian follicles. The aim of this study is to evaluate the fennel extract effects on serum level of estrogen, progesterone and prolactin in female mice. Materials and Methods: A total of 28 virgin female albino mice were divided into four groups (n = 7). Groups 1 and 2 (experimental groups) were administered FVE at 100 and at a concentration of 100 and 200 mg/kg for 5 days, intraperitoneally. Group 3 (negative control) received ethanol and Group 4 (positive control) received normal saline. Animals were scarified at 6th day, sera were collected and the level of estrogen, progesterone, and prolactin hormones was analyzed using Elisa Kit. Results: Data analysis revealed that there is a significant difference in the mean level of serum estrogen, progesterone and prolactin between four different groups. P value in experimental groups compared with the control groups was (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Fennel extract can increase the serum level of estrogen, progesterone, and prolactin in female mice; it can be introduced as a novel medicine for treatment of infertilit

Study of Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) Seed Extract Effects on Serum Level of Oxidative Stress

Objective: The Foeniculum vulgare (FVE), known as fennel, has a long history of herbal uses as both food and medicine. The seed of this plant has been used to promote menstruation, alleviate the symptoms of female climacteric, and increase the number of ovarian follicles. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fennel extract effects on serum level of oxidative stress in female mice. Materials and Methods: Totally, 28 virgin female albino mice were divided into four groups (n = 7). Groups 1 and 2 (experimental groups) were administered FVE at 100 and at a concentration of 100 and 200 mg/kg for 5 days, interaperitoneally. Group 3 (negative control) received ethanol and Group 4 (positive control) received normal saline. Animals were scarified at 6th day, sera were collected and the level of oxidative stress was determination of using total antioxidant status kit. Results: Data analysis revealed that there is a significant difference in the mean level of serum oxidative stress between four different groups. P value in experimental groups compared to the control group was (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Fennel extract can decrease the serum level of oxidative factors in female mice; it can be introduced as a novel medicine for treatment of infertilit

Evaluation of oxidative damage to peptic tissue DNA and gastric juice levels of nitric oxide and oxidative stress in smokers and non-smokers with signs of dyspepsia

Smoking elevates risk of peptic ulcer and gastrointestinal cancer in human being. In this study, the severity of the damage was assessed by detection of nitric oxide levels, oxidative stress of gastric juice in smokers and non-smokers. 43 smoker patients with active peptic ulcer as case group and 43 nonsmokers without peptic ulcer, 43 smokers without peptic ulcer and 43 non-smokers with active peptic ulcer as control groups were selected for this study. The levels of nitric oxide in gastric juice and the rate of DNA damage, those of total antioxidant capacity and the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in gastric mucosa were determined using standard methods. The rate of DNA damage in case group was significantly higher than those of controls groups. Comparing with two control groups, increase in nitric oxide levels of case group was noticed. Comparing with control group, significant elevation in the mean activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase was observed in the case group. Total antioxidant capacities of control groups were higher than that of case group. Results of the study shows that damage rate of DNA have a direct correlation with the presence of toxic agents in cigarette smoke and tar especially NO o . Increase in activity of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, and decrease in total antioxidant capacity in gastric juice; confirm the presence of oxidative stress in smokers&apos; gastric juice

Evaluation of IFN-gamma and HSP70 level in the saliva of Behcet’s disease patients with active oral lesions

Introduction:\ua0Behcet’s disease (BD) is a multi-systemic inflammatory disorder. Evaluating the production of cytokines such as interferon gamma and biomarkers such as heat shock protein-70 (HSP70)is an important way to study the pathogenesis and development of BD. This study aimed to compare the salivary level of interferon gamma and HSP70 between patients infected with BD and healthy individual.Methods:\ua0This case-control study was performed on 35 patients with Behcet’s syndrome and 70 healthy individuals as the control group, who were selected from those referring to the Department of Oral Medicine of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The levels of interferon gamma and HSP70 were measured in the whole unstimulated saliva through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELIZA). In order to compare the quantitative variables between two groups, independent samples t-test or its nonparametric equivalent, Mann-Whitney U test, was used in SPSS software version 16.0. In this study, a\ua0P\ua0value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:\ua0There was no significant difference between the study groups in terms of age and gender, as well as salivary interferon gamma and HSP70 levels. Interferon gamma level was 15.16±3.38 pg/mg in the case group and 5.27±1.21 pg/mg in the control group, and salivary HSP70 level was found to be 45.50±17 ng/mL and 19.5±5.2 ng/mL in the case and control groups, respectively.Conclusions:\ua0The results of this study showed that interferon gamma and HSP70 levels in patients with Behcet’s syndrome are high and can be evaluated as an important tool for the treatment and evaluation of disease development in future studies

Evaluation of glycemic control, gastric juice nitric oxide and oxidative stress in diabetic patients infected by Helicobacter pylori

Recently, diabetes mellitus has been known as one of the main cause of upper gastrointestinal symptoms. It has also been suggested that delayed gastric emptying may lead to bacterial overgrowth in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Since high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in diabetic patients has been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between dyspepsia, the level of gastric juice Nitric Oxide oxidative stress and hyperglycemic control in diabetic H. pylori infected patients. Sixty H. pylori infected diabetic patients (27 males and 33 females) with mean age of 39.5 ± 12 years, 60 diabetic patients without H. pylori infection (28 males and 32 females) with mean age of 34 ± 15 years and 60 healthy individuals (28 males and 32 females) with mean age of 41 ± 8 referred to endoscopy Department were selected as Case, Control-2 and Control-1 groups respectively. All subjects underwent endoscopy. The presence of chronic active gastritis was studied in gastric mucosa and gastric biopsies were also checked with rapid urease test for presence of H. pylori. The level of NO° in gastric juice was measured calorimetrically and the activities of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPX) in gastric biopsy were determined using standard methods. The percentage of blood level of glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1C) was measured by ion exchange chromatography. Comparing with the two control groups significant elevation in the mean level of HbA1C was noticed in the case group (p&lt;0.0001 in the both cases). The mean level of NO° in gastric juice was meaningfully higher than those in the control 1 and 2 groups (p&lt;0.0001 in the both cases). The mean activities of SOD and GPX in the gastric mucosa were markedly higher than those of the both control groups (p&lt;0.0001 in all cases). In patients with metabolically uncontrolled diabetes mellitus the prevalence of H. pylori infection is high and the bacteria colonization occurs at the antrum of stomach. After eradication therapy of H. pylori the control of the glyceamia will be useful. Increased levels of HbA1C in the case group in comparison with those in the uninfected subjects confirm the finding. On the other hand the treatment of the H. pylori infection improves the level of NO° in the gastric juice and reduces cellular damage resulting from acute oxidative and nitrosative stress produced by reaction between superoxide radicals of H. pylori and NO° of the gastric juice