Quantitative gene expression of ERG9 in model Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Chamomile extract for human cancer treatment

Over expression of squalene synthase gene causes induction of growth tumour and reduction of apoptosis. This gene which is conserved between Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and humans, is named (ERG9). Aim: In this work, we studied the effect of Matricaria recutita extract on ERG9 gene (squalene synthase) expression in S.cerevisiae which was used as organism model in cancer therapy. Materials and Methods: S. cerevisiae was cultured in YPD medium plus 0,250, 1000 and 3000 µg/ml of Matricaria recutita extract and we evaluated the (ERG9) gene expression by Realtime RT-PCR method after 24 hours. Statistical analysis used: At least 3 independent experiments were done. Data were analyzed using One-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s test. A p-value of less than 0.01 was considered as significant. Results: We found that 250, 1000 and 3000 µg/ml of Matricaria recutita extract could reduce expression of ERG9 gene significantly (p<0.01). Interestingly, the expression of this gene was completely inhibited in 1000 and 3000 µg/ml concentrations. Conclusion: This study predicted that Matricaria recutita extract produced anti-cancer effects in humans, because it could inhibit the expression of an analogue key gene in this malignant disease. Further investigations should be made, to study its molecular mechanism of action at the mammal cell level

Assessment of the Synergism Effect of Imatinib and Temozolomide on Serum Levels and Activities of Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP2, 9) in U87-Mg Glioma Cell Line

Introduction: One of the most dangerous brain tumors is Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).The MMPs are very important biomarker in pathologic conditions and be known as metastatic factor. Temozolomide is an oral alkylating agent, and has a good effect on GBM. Gefitinib is a low–molecular weight tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is used in tratmeant of tumor. Methods and Results: The human GBM cell line, U87 mg was obtained from Pasteur Institute of Iran. Cells grown in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum in a humidified incubator at 370C with 5% CO2. Cell viability after treatment, was measured by MTT test. MMP-2, MMP-9, Quantikine® ELISA kits (R&amp;D systems, Minneapolis, USA) were used to measure supernatants MMPs. Effect of the drugs on the enzyme&nbsp; activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was assessed by gelatin zymography. Synergism of Temozolomide and Imatinib can reduce the IC50 of temozolomide. Our results show that combination of Imatinib and Temozolomide decreased the level and activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in supernatant of culture medium versus to control cells when only Temozolomide or Imatinib was added to their culture medium. Conclusion: Combination of Imatinib as a tyrosine kinase inhibitor and Temozolomide as an alkylating agent is more potent than Temozolomide and it can reduce IC50 and decrease level and activitity of MMP-2 and MMP-9.The current strategies for treatment of glioblastoma are not beneficial enough. Combination therapy probably can reduce the dose of drug, cost of treatment, adverse effects and increase the survival rate of life

Antiproliferative effects of <em>Matricaria chamomilla on Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em>

Introduction: The Matricaria chamomilla plant is one of the most important plants used for the therapeutic purposes. More than 120 chemical constituents have been identified in Matricaria chamomile plant including 28 terpenoids and 36 flavonoids. This plant has a variety of therapeutic applications including the treatment of diabetes, eczema, wounds and gastrointestinal diseases. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast is a non-pathogenic organism that is used as a model for pathogenic yeasts in order to identify compounds with antifungal properties and also to identify functional mechanism of these compounds. The aim of this study is to investigate the antifungal effect of Matricaria chamomilla hydroalcoholic extract on S. cerevisiae yeast. Methods: In this study Matricaria chamomilla extract was prepared by maceration method. In order to study the extract effect on growth and survival rate of the yeast cell, the spectrophotometry and methylene blue staining methods were used. Excel and SPSS 11 softwares were used to determine amounts and to infer the difference between control and treatment samples. Results: Results obtained from spectrophotometry and analyses of methylene blue staining showed that the Matricaria chamomilla extract at the concentration of 3000 &mu;g/ml caused a significant decrease in the yeast growth and reduced the cells survival rate up to 48 (p&lt; 0.05). Conclusion: Results of this research confirm that the hydroalcoholic extract of Matricaria chamomilla has antiproliferative effect on Saccharomyces cerevisiae. </p

Is Serum TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 levels Correlated to Children with Autism Intensity?

Objective Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), a group of multifunctional growth factors, plays an important role in the neuron survival and neurodevelopmental functions. Some studies have evaluated the correlation between TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 abnormalities and autism spectrum disorders. In this study, we compared the TGF-β1 andTGF-β2 levels between autistic and intellectually normal individuals. Materials &amp; Methods The study population consisted of 39 autistic and 30 age-matched intellectually normal individuals (control group). Blood samples were taken from all individuals, and all patients were divided into 2 groups (mild-to-moderate and severe) according to the childhood autism rating scale. The cytokines levels were measured by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results The mean concentration of TGF-β1 was significantly lower (P &lt; 0.0001) in children with autism compared to the control group (25.3 ± 6.5 versus 35.1 ± 9.4 ng/mL, respectively). Also, the mean concentration of TGF-β2 in children with autism (32.35± 7.75 ng/mL) was higher compared to those in the control group (30.47± 4.36 ng/mL); however, this difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.21). A positive correlation was observed between TGF-β1 concentration and autism severity (r = 0.41; P = 0.02), whereas a negative correlation was found between TGF-β2 concentration andautism severity (r = -0.41; P = 0.02). Conclusion The results of the present investigation suggest that there is a decrease in the levels of TGF-β1 in the serum of patients with autism and this cytokine may be effective in the treatment of the pathophysiological aspects of autism

The effect of human Mesenchymal stem cell on neutrophil oxidative burst

Objective: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are multipotent, non-haematopoietic stem cells that are capable of differentiating into different varieties of mature cell types such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes. and myoblasts. There is abundant evidence showing that MSC not only affect the differentiation of haematopoietic progenitors, but also the function of mature cells like lymphocytes and neutrophils. However the effect of MSC on neutrophil function and its responses is not well studied. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the effect of MSC on neutrophil nitric oxide production. Method: Neutrophils from heparanised venous blood were isolated using Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation followed by Dextran sedimentation and red blood cell (RBC) lysis. Isolated neutrophils were on average of 97% purity as determined by morphologic analysis. MSC were generated from human bone marrow and characterised by immunophenotyping (monoclonal antibodies CD1O5, CD73 and CD34) using a flowcytometer. In order to test the effects of MSC on neutrophil function, isolated neutrophils were co-cultured in the presence or absence of MSC at different ratios for 24 and 48 hours. The amount of nitric oxide released was used as an indication of oxidative burst and measured using the Griess assay. Result: The results indicate that MSC neither elevate the NO level when cocultured with resting neutrophils nor alone. However MSC profoundly inhibit the secretion of nitric oxide in PMA stimulated neutrophils after 241w of incubation. Conclusion: MSC exert an immunomodulatory effect on neutrophil by suppressing neutrophil oxidative burst in vitro

The effect of consanguineous marriage on mental health among the students of the shahrekord university of medical sciences

Introduction: In Iran, after unintentional accidents, mental health problems are the second leading burden of disease. Consanguineous marriage is very common in Iran and the association between parental consanguinity and mental health is an important issue that has not yet been studied sufficiently in Iran. Aim: To investigate the effect of consanguinity and the degree of relationship on different levels of mental health. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, conducted in the Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, two groups of students were enrolled. The first group consisted of 156 students that had consanguineous parent (case group) and the second group was 156 students whose parents had non-blood relationship (control group). The students were evaluated using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Statistical analysis was conducted by pearson's correlation coefficient, independent t-test and the one-way analysis of variance. Odd ratio was used to estimate the relative risk. Results: Over 30% of the individuals were suffering from mental health problems. The most and least common mental health problems in both groups were social dysfunction (54.5% in the case group and the control group 50%) and depression (17.3% in the case group and 15.4% in the control group), respectively. No statistically significant difference was observed in the frequency of overall mental health and its subscales between student with non-consanguineous parent (control group) and the students that had consanguineous parent (case group) (p>0.05) and the status of mental health was not significantly different among student with different degree of kinship (p>0.05). Conclusion: The study revealed that social dysfunction was very common among the study students and also there were no relationship between parental consanguineous marriage and mental health. Parental consanguinity and genetic factors may not be the major causes of high prevalence of mental health problems in Iran and the effects of the environmental factors on these problems may be greater than those of the inherited ones

Immunogenicity of 23-Valent Pneumococcal Vaccine in Children with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

ABSTRACT Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease which is characterized by B-cell abnormality and auto-antibody generation. Since bacterial infections are the most important causes of mortality in these patients, pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for children with SLE. Objective: To investigate humoral immunity and specific-antibody formation in response to a 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccination in SLE children and asthmatic control group. Method: The case and control groups consisted of 30 children with the mean age of 13 years who were matched by sex and age. Anti-pneumococcal antibody titers were determined using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) before the vaccination with the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine and 3 weeks later in both groups. Also the correlation between anti-pneumococcal antibody titer and different factors including age, sex, lupus activity, disease duration, medications, history of recurrent infections, and laboratory data were investigated. Results: Both groups showed significant increases in anti-pneumococcal antibody level after vaccination (p≤0.001). The increase in antibody level were almost the same in both groups (p≥0.05) such that 77.7% of SLE children and 86.2% of control children showed at least 2-fold increase in anti-pneumococcal antibody titer following immunization. Significant correlations were seen between the level of post-immunization anti-pneumococcal antibody with the age of children with SLE (p=0.02) and their age of disease onset (p=0.02). Conclusion: It is concluded that pneumococcal vaccination is generally immunogenic in children with SLE. However, a small group of patients show impaired response to the vaccine

The outcomes of head trauma due to road traffic accident in hospitalized elderly patients

Introduction: Head trauma is one of the most important causes of death in trauma centers. In particular, treatment of head injury in the elderly seems more complicated than that of the young and middle aged. This study aimed to identify the outcomes of head trauma due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) in elderly patients. Materials and Methods: In a descriptive-analytical study, records of 294 elderly patients with head trauma due to RTA retrieved from health information system were reviewed using a checklist. The outcomes of patients were evaluated using the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Complete recovery and partial disability were considered as favorable outcomes, whereas severe disability, vegetative state, and death were defined as unfavorable outcomes. Descriptive factors and adjusted coefficients were calculated using SPSS software. Results: Of 294 elderly patients, 77.2 were men. About half of the road accidents had occurred in urban areas (58.8). Less than half of the injured elderly were pedestrian (44.9). The mean Glasgow Coma Scale of patients equaled 13.42 ± 3.29. Unfavorable outcomes were observed only in 20.4 of the patients. There were significant differences in head injury severity between the groups with favorable and unfavorable outcomes (P Conclusion: The results of our study mentioned that most of the elderly who had accidents were pedestrian, most of which occurred in the cities. Moderate and severe head injuries in patients had unfavorable clinical outcome

Hepcidin and HFE Polymorphisms and Ferritin Level in β-Thalassemia Major

Background: Thalassemia patients need repeated transfusion that lead to increased blood ferritin level and iron overload in the heart and liver. Because the roles of hepcidin antimicrobial peptide (HAMP) and hemocromatosis protein (HFE) in iron metabolism have been confirmed, this study investigated the effects of these gene's polymorphisms on blood ferritin levels and iron overload in the heart and liver in patients with beta thalassemia major Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 91 patients referring to the Hajar Hospital in Shahrekord, Iran in 2015. After the blood samples were collected, the ferritin levels were measured, DNA was extracted from the blood cells, and the types of polymorphisms were determined using PCR-RFLP. Data of MRI T2* in the heart and liver were drawn from the patients' medical files. Data analysis was conducted by t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: There was no significant correlation between blood ferritin level and c.-582 A>G polymorphisms of hepcidin gene (p=0.58), and H63D of HFE gene (p=0.818). In addition, there was no significant association between the polymorphisms and heart and liver MRI, but there was a significant association between blood ferritin level and qualitative heart and liver MRI (r=-0.34, p=0.035 and r=-0.001, p=0.609, respectively). Conclusion: In patients with β-thalassemia major, the presence of c.-582A>G HAMP and H63D HFE polymorphisms is not effective on blood ferritin level and iron overload in the heart and liver in the studied region. KEYWORDS: Ferritin; HFE* Iron overload; Hepcidin; Thalassemi

Human mesenchymal stem cells inhibit the differentiation and effector functions of monocytes

Although monocytes represent an essential part of the host defence system, their accumulation and prolonged stimulation could be detrimental and may aggravate chronic inflammatory diseases. The present study has explored the less-understood immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cells on monocyte functions. Isolated purified human monocytes were co-cultured with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells under appropriate culture conditions to assess monocytes’ vital functions. Based on the surface marker analysis, mesenchymal stem cells halted monocyte differentiation into dendritic cells and macrophages and reduced their phagocytosis functions, which rendered an inability to stimulate T-cell proliferation. The present study confers that mesenchymal stem cells exerted potent immunosuppressive activity on monocyte functions such as differentiation, phagocytosis and Ag presentation; hence, they promise a potential therapeutic role in down-regulating the unwanted monocyte-mediated immune responses in the context of chronic inflammatory diseases