Beneficial Effects of Quercetin on the Zone of Stasis in an Experimental Burn Model

Objective: In burn injury, the zone of stasis determines the width and depth of the necrosis. Our aim is to show the effectiveness of quercetin on the viability within the zone of stasis in burns of rats. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight rats were divided into three groups. The rats in Group 1 (control group) were only applied the comb burn model; the rats in Group 2 (post-burn group) were administered 50 mg/kg of quercetin intraperitoneally, every day after the burn procedure until euthanasia; and the rats in Group 3 (pre-burn group) were administered 50 mg/kg of quercetin intraperitoneally, every day for 7 days before and after the burn procedure until euthanasia. Results: The living tissue calculated was 85.41% (+/- 14.06) in Group 3, 40.37% (+/- 9.75) in Group 2, and 16.81% (+/- 9.4) in Group 1. The level of apoptosis was 30.0 (+/- 10.8) in Group 3, 33.8 (+/- 08.7) in Group 2, and 37.4 (+/- 11.5) in Group 1. The level of autophagy was 49.50 (+/- 8.58) in Group 3, 27.17 (+/- 5.53) in Group 2, and 21.00 (+/- 5.66) in Group 1. All the differences between the groups were statistically significant (p< 0.01). Conclusion: Quercetin reduces apoptosis and increases autophagy, thereby increasing tissue viability in the zone of stasis of burn injury.Namik Kemal University Research Center [NKUBAP.00.20.AR.15.01]The article was supported under project NKUBAP.00.20.AR.15.01 by the Namik Kemal University Research Center

Alginate encapsulation induce colony formation with umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Aim: The umbilical cord (UC) is a rich source of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) isolation. Since the MSCs isolated from here have high self-renewal capacity and differentiation potential, production through biofabrication is essential for clinical treatments. For the cells to be stored for a long time and presented ready for use, encapsulation is required. In this study, UC-MSC cells were encapsulated with alginate using three different methods: alginate drop, alginate coating, and alginate sphere. Methods: The cell viability, live/dead cell ratio, and colony formation capacities of the encapsulated cells were examined for 14 days. Results: In the study, it was found that the most effective method was the alginate sphere form and that the structure of the cells should be preserved by injecting them into biomaterials in encapsulation. Colony formation potential was found to be high in biomaterials with alginate spheres. Conclusion: As a result, the preservation of UC-MSC cells with alginate sphere encapsulation via biofabrication and their clinical use availability may be beneficial for treating of many diseases

Transcriptome Analysis for Non-Model Organism: Current Status and Best-Practices

Since transcriptome analysis provides genome-wide sequence and gene expression information, transcript reconstruction using RNA-Seq sequence reads has become popular during recent years. For non-model organism, as distinct from the reference genome-based mapping, sequence reads are processed via de novo transcriptome assembly approaches to produce large numbers of contigs corresponding to coding or non-coding, but expressed, part of genome. In spite of immense potential of RNA-Seq–based methods, particularly in recovering full-length transcripts and spliced isoforms from short-reads, the accurate results can be only obtained by the procedures to be taken in a step-by-step manner. In this chapter, we aim to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art methods including (i) quality check and pre-processing of raw reads, (ii) the pros and cons of de novo transcriptome assemblers, (iii) generating non-redundant transcript data, (iv) current quality assessment tools for de novo transcriptome assemblies, (v) approaches for transcript abundance and differential expression estimations and finally (vi) further mining of transcriptomic data for particular biological questions. Our intention is to provide an overview and practical guidance for choosing the appropriate approaches to best meet the needs of researchers in this area and also outline the strategies to improve on-going projects

Kersetinin Ratlarda, Yanık Staz Bölgesi Üzerindeki Etkisi

Yanık tedavisinde esas amaç hasarlanan doku miktarının minimal seviyede tutmaktır. Yanık alanın genişlik ve derinliğinin miktarı hastaların mortalite ve morbiditesini belirleyen temel faktördür. Staz zonu olarak tanımlanan ve koagulasyon alanını çevreleyen alan yanık sonrası oluşacak nekrozun derinlik ve genişliğini belirleyen kritik bölgedir. Birçok ajan staz zonundaki dokularının korunması için denenmiştir. Bu deneysel çalışmada birçok değişik doku üzerinde antioksidan, antiinflamatuar ve antiapoptotik etkisi olduğu bilen kersetinin yanık staz zonu üzerindeki etkisi incelenmektedir. Çalışmada kersetin tedavisi yapılmayan, akut(yanık sonrası tedaviye başlanan) kersetin tedavisi yapılan ve kronik(yanık öncesi tedaviye başlanan) kersetin tedavisi yapılan gruplar karşılaştırıldı. Tedavi sonrası yanık yarası genişliği planimetrik ve sintigrafik olarak değerlendirildi. Ek olarak doku örnekleri alınarak malondialdehyde(MDA), myeloperoksidaz(MPO) ve nitrotirozin seviyeleri, kersetinin antiinflamatuar ve antioksidan etkisinin gösterilmesi için ölçüldü ve doku örneklerinde apoptoz ve otofaji seviyesi belirlendi. Kersetin ile tedavi edilen gruplarda nekroz miktarının ve apoptozun kontrole göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı olacak şekilde daha az olduğu, otofajinin de kontrol grubunda, kersetin ile tedavi edilen gruplara göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı olacak şekilde daha fazla olduğu görüldü. MDA,MPO and nitrotirozin ölçüm değerlerini bakımında gruplar arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı olacak şekilde bir fark tespit edilmedi. Sonuç olarak bu çalışma da kersetinin staz zonu üzerinde koruyucu etkisi olduğunu göstermiştir.Keeping the amount of damaged tissue at a minimum is one of the primary goals of treatment in burns. The width and depth of the burned area is at the top of the factors affecting mortality and morbidity in patients.The zone of stasis, the encircling area of the zone of coagulation, is a critical area which determines the depth and width of the necrosis in burns. Many agents were proposed to salvage the zone of stasis. Due to the known antioxidant, antiinflammatory and antiapoptotic effects of quercetin on multiple tissue, the effect of quercetin on saving the zone of stasis was investigated in this experimental study. No quercetin treatment, acute (treatment started after burn injury) quercetin treatment and chronic(treatment started before burn injury) quercetin treatment was compared in a rat comb-burn model. The extent of burn wounds was evaluated by planimetry and scintigraphy in the groups. Additionally, skin samples were obtained to analyze malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO), nitrotyrosine to see antiinflamatuary and antioxidant effect of quercetin and apoptosis and autophagy levels were evaluate. Necrosis rate and apoptosis were statisticaly significant lower in quercetin treatment groups and autophagy level were statisticaly significant lower in control group. There were no difference between the groups in terms of MDA,MPO and nitrotyrosine concentrations. In conclusion, this study showed us the possible saving effect of quercetin on the zone of stasis

The frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy and Pompe disease in children with isolated transaminase elevation: results from the observational VICTORIA study

IntroductionElevated transaminases and/or creatine phosphokinase can indicate underlying muscle disease. Therefore, this study aims to determine the frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) in male children and Pompe disease (PD) in male and female children with isolated hypertransaminasemia.MethodsThis multi-center, prospective study enrolled patients aged 3–216 months with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and/or aspartate transaminase (AST) levels &gt;2× the upper limit of normal (ULN) for ≥3 months. Patients with a known history of liver or muscle disease or physical examination findings suggestive of liver disease were excluded. Patients were screened for creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, and molecular genetic tests for DMD/BMD in male patients and enzyme analysis for PD in male and female patients with elevated CPK levels were performed. Genetic analyses confirmed PD. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the patients were analyzed.ResultsOverall, 589 patients [66.8% male, mean age of 63.4 months (standard deviation: 60.5)] were included. In total, 251 patients (188 male and 63 female) had CPK levels above the ULN. Of the patients assessed, 47% (85/182) of male patients were diagnosed with DMD/BMD and 1% (3/228) of male and female patients were diagnosed with PD. The median ALT, AST, and CPK levels were statistically significantly higher, and the questioned neurological symptoms and previously unnoticed examination findings were more common in DMD/BMD patients than those without DMD/BMD or PD (p &lt; 0.001).DiscussionQuestioning neurological symptoms, conducting a complete physical examination, and testing for CPK levels in patients with isolated hypertransaminasemia will prevent costly and time-consuming investigations for liver diseases and will lead to the diagnosis of occult neuromuscular diseases. Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04120168