Contribution of Intravital Neuroimaging to Study Animal Models of Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex and long-lasting neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by the loss of myelin within the white matter and cortical fbers, axonopathy, and infammatory responses leading to consequent sensory-motor and cognitive defcits of patients. While complete resolution of the disease is not yet a reality, partial tissue repair has been observed in patients which ofers hope for therapeutic strategies. To address the molecular and cellular events of the pathomechanisms, a variety of animal models have been developed to investigate distinct aspects of MS disease. Recent advances of multiscale intravital imaging facilitated the direct in vivo analysis of MS in the animal models with perspective of clinical transfer to patients. This review gives an overview of MS animal models, focusing on the current imaging modalities at the microscopic and macroscopic levels and emphasizing the importance of multimodal approaches to improve our understanding of the disease and minimize the use of animals

Protective Role of Nanocurcumin in Cyclophosphamide-induced Cardiac Toxicity in Adult Male Albino Rat: A Histological, Immunohistochemical, Biochemical Study

Background: Cyclophosphamide (CYP) is a cardiotoxic agent with antineoplastic and immunosuppressive properties. Objectives: To detect the histological, immunohistochemical, biochemical cardiac toxicity of CYP and determine the protective effectiveness of nanocurcumin on the cardiac muscle of albino rats. Material and methods: The current work used forty Wistar rats allocated into four groups; normal control (I), sham control (II), CYP-treated (III) and concomitant protective CYP + nanocurcumin (IV). Results: CYP-treated group (III) showed fragmented, disrupted cardiac myocytes with cellular infiltrates and interstitial edema. Blood vessels were dilated congested. Cardiac myocytes showed pyknosis, vacuolations and some showed karyolysis. Much improvement was observed in group IV. The area percentage of fibrous tissue, TNF-α and iNOS immunoreactivity in CYP-treated group III showed statistically significant increase in contrast to that of the control group. Use of nanocurcumin in groups IV ameliorate these changes. Biochemically, there were significant increase in means of CK-MB, cTn-1, MDA, levels and decrease of GPx activity in group III (CYP -treated group) compared to the control group. Uses of nanocurcumin has been observed to improve these changes. Conclusion: Cyclophosphamide (CYP) had deleterious effects on the histological structure of the heart, cardiac enzymes, collagen fibers deposition and myofibroblast proliferation in albino rats. Administration of nanocurcumin with CYP injection could largely ameliorate these changes

EFFECT OF FOLIAR SPRAYING WITH SEAWEEDS EXTRACT, CHITOSAN AND POTASSIUM SILICATE ON ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS L. PLANTS IN SANDY SOIL

The present study was carried out at the Experimental Farm, Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University during two seasons of 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 to study the effect of foliar application of seaweeds extract at 2, 4 and 6 ml/l, chitosan at 2, 4 and 6 ml/l and potassium silicate at 6, 9 and 12 ml/l as well as the interaction between seaweeds extract and chitosan on growth, biochemical, and essential oil characteristics of rosemary plants grown in a sandy soil. These compounds were applied as foliar spray three times after 15 days from planting. The results showed that foliar applications of seaweeds extract at 6 ml/l, chitosan at 6 ml/l and potassium silicate at 12 ml/l significantly affected all studied parameters compared with control. The results clearly indicated that the different applied treatments increased the measured growth characteristics i.e. plant height, number of branches/plant, fresh and dry weights as well parallel increase of photosynthetic pigments. Also, constituents of N, P, K, total carbohydrates, percentage of essential oil and the G.L.C. of essential oil of plant age were existed in the two assigned seasons. In addition, the most effective combined treatment was that of seaweed at 6 ml/l + chitosan at 6 ml/l in this respect

Methylation in MIRLET7A3 Gene Induces the Expression of IGF-II and Its mRNA Binding Proteins IGF2BP-2 and 3 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

miR-let-7a is a tumor suppressor miRNA with reduced expression in most cancers. Methylation of MIRLET7A3 gene was reported to be the cause of this suppression in several cancers; however, it was not explicitly investigated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed at investigating miR-let-7a expression and molecular mode in HCC, identifying drug-targetable networks, which might be affected by its abundance. Our results illustrated a significant repression of miR-let-7a, which correlated with hypermethylation of its gene of origin MIRLRT7A3. This was further supported by the induction of miR-let-7a expression upon treatment of HCC cells with a DNA-methyltransferase inhibitor. Using a computational approach, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II and IGF-2 mRNA binding proteins (IGF2BP)-2/-3 were identified as potential targets for miR-let-7a that was further confirmed experimentally. Indeed, miR-let-7a mimics diminished IGF-II as well as IGF2BP-2/-3 expression. Direct binding of miR-let-7a to each respective transcript was confirmed using a luciferase reporter assay. In conclusion, this study suggests that DNA hypermethylation leads to epigenetic repression of miR-let-7a in HCC cells, which induces the oncogenic IGF-signaling pathway