Autophagy in cancers including brain tumors: role of MicroRNAs

Autophagy has a crucial role in many cancers, including brain tumors. Several types of endogenous molecules (e.g. microRNAs, AKT, PTEN, p53, EGFR, and NF1) can modulate the process of autophagy. Recently miRNAs (small non-coding RNAs) have been found to play a vital role in the regulation of different cellular and molecular processes, such as autophagy. Deregulation of these molecules is associated with the development and progression of different pathological conditions, including brain tumors. It was found that miRNAs are epigenetic regulators, which influence the level of proteins coded by the targeted mRNAs with any modification of the genetic sequences. It has been revealed that various miRNAs (e.g., miR-7-1-3p, miR-340, miR-17, miR-30a, miR-224-3p, and miR-93), as epigenetic regulators, can modulate autophagy pathways within brain tumors. A deeper understanding of the underlying molecular targets of miRNAs, and their function in autophagy pathways could contribute to the development of new treatment methods for patients with brain tumors. In this review, we summarize the various miRNAs, which are involved in regulating autophagy in brain tumors. Moreover, we highlight the role of miRNAs in autophagy-related pathways in different cancers. Video abstract

Altered gene expression and root thebaine production in polyploidized and methyl jasmonate-elicited Papaver bracteatum Lindl

Plant science

Circular RNAs and gastrointestinal cancers: Epigenetic regulators with a prognostic and therapeutic role

Both environmental and genetic factors are involved in the initiation and development of gastrointestinal cancer. Covalent closed circular RNAs (circRNAs) are produced by a mechanism called �back-splicing� from mRNAs. They are highly stable and show cell and tissue specific expression patterns. Although some functions such as �microRNA sponge� and �RNA binding protein sponge� have been reported for a small number of circRNAs, the function of thousands of other circRNAs is still unknown. Dysregulation of circRNAs has been reported in many GI cancers and are involved in metastasis and invasion. CircRNAs have been reported to be useful as prognostic markers and targets for developing new treatments. We first describe the properties and biogenesis of circRNAs. We then summarize recent reports about circRNA functions, expression status, and their potential to be used as biomarkers in GI cancers including, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, gallbladder cancer and pancreatic cancer. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

Brain derived neurotrophic factor modification of epileptiform burst discharges in a temporal lobe epilepsy model

Introduction: Transforming Growth Factor-Beta 1 (TGF-β1) is a pleiotropic cytokine with potent anti-inflammatory property, which has been considered as an essential risk factor in the inflammatory process of Ischemic Stroke (IS), by involving in the pathophysiological progression of hypertension, atherosclerosis, and lipid metabolisms. -509C/T TGF-β1 gene polymorphism has been found to be associated with the risk of IS. The aim of this meta-analysis was to provide a relatively comprehensive account of the relation between -509C/T gene polymorphisms of TGF-β1 and susceptibility to IS. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into sham (receiving phosphate buffered saline within dorsal hippocampus), pilocarpine (epileptic model of TLE), single injection BDNF (epileptic rats which received single high dose of BDBF within dorsal hippocampus), and multiple injections BDNF (epileptic rats which received BDNF in days 10, 11, 12, and 13 after induction of TLE) groups. Their electrocorticogram was recorded and amplitude, frequency, and duration of spikes were evaluated. Results: Amplitude and frequency of epileptiform burst discharges were significantly decreased in animals treated with BDNF compared to pilocarpine group. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that BDNF may modulate the epileptic activity in the animal model of TLE. In addition, it may have therapeutic effect for epilepsy. More studies are necessary to clarify the exact mechanisms of BDNF effects

Detection and identification of carriers of white spot virus in wild shrimps and crabs in Persian Gulf and Oman Sea (Hormozgan province)

More than 20 viruses have been reported as pathogenic to shrimp.WSV has been found to be highly pathogenic not only to penaeid shrimps, but also to a wide range of hosts which include marine crabs , copepods, freshwater crabs and prawns. Main objective of this study was detection and identification of white spot virus from wild shrimp and crabs population on the coastal waters of Hormozgan Province.The samples were collected from three area seasonally include: coastal waters of Qeshm Island, Hengam Island and Jask. In this survey have been examined 1080 shrimp from each species of P.indicus, P.semisulcatus, P.merguiensis, Metapenaeus affinis and 1080 crabs (gill organs) by PCR and histopathological methods. Diagnostic kit for this survey have been prepared from Genesis Biotechnology CO.in Malaysia, so called "Single-Tube Nested PCR for WSSV". The analysis results revealed that all samples which examined from these area were free from WSV. Following PCR tests that were negative for all samples so no observed any damages of histology due to WSV on gills

Artificial propagation and Culture of Rutilus frisii kutum of Autumn form for restocking

The Kutum, Rutilus frisii kutum, is one of the most important bony fishes in Iranian coastal of Caspian Sea. Its harvest range is between 9000-10000 tons in a year, nearly 60% of the income of Bony fish fishery produced by kutum fishery. The stock of this species reduced drastically in 1982 and the catch slumped to the less than 250 tons in a year. Kutum spawning grounds deterioration, illegal catch, and lack of restocking program were the main cause of the decline. This Spices in nature comprised by two distinct form, autumn and spring form. It is worth to be mentioned, by the effect of Caspian Sea Bony fishes Research Center s experts in 1983, artificial spawning and releasing the fries to the sea were commenced and the catch steadily improved. But all activities concerning restocking of kutum concentrated in spring form, as at present about 260 million its fries are released into sea for restocking by Iranian Fisheries Organization, but for above reasons and lack of restocking program, the populations of autumn form gravely shrinked and neared to be extinct. Therefore, to enhance the biodiversity and boost fishers livelihood of kutum in Caspian Sea this project implemented by cooperation of Iranian Fisheries Organization (IFRO) and Caspian Environment Program (CEP) in Aquaculture Institute (Inland Waters). In this project, brooders caught from Anzali lagoon and maintained in two different condition, include of floating cages in Anzali lagoon and earthen ponds in Sefidrud Fisheries Research Station. The results showed that there weren’t significant differences between two maintenance statuses in maturation period and other reproductive characteristics of brooders. The ratio of male to female was 1 to 1.4. Minimum and maximum weight measured 1450 to 3100 g (with average of 1850 g) in female and 670 to 1900 g (with average of 1165 g) in male, respectively. The first natural spawning of brooders occurred in the end of January in temperature of 8 till 10 °C in concrete ponds. Also, some of maintained brooders in earthen ponds spawned in February. The average number of absolute, function and relative fecundity determined 88565 16809, 73805 14008 and 48670 12056, respectively. For artificial spawning, male and female brooders injected by pituitary gland with dose of 2-3 and 4-5 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Approximately, 10 and 8 present of female were over-ripe and immature in March (artificial spawning time), respectively. More than 59 % of injected female brooders induced to spawning in first stage after 10-12 hours and 13 % of them in twice stage and 7-8 hours after first stage. And also, 27.6% of females didn’t positive response to injection. Dry method used for eggs fecundity and incubation period lasted 7- 10 days in 14-16 °C. In totally, eggs fertilization were more than 95% and the average of eggs fertilization percent in throughout of period measured more than 92.7 6 %. Eyed eggs appearance occurred 3 days after fecundity and its mean was 92.7 15.1%. Larvae after yolk sac absorption feed with dry milk for 4-5 days and then introduced into fertilized earthen ponds (500 m2 and equipped to aerators) in intensive condition and fed with micro pellet food for 3-4 month. In finally, more than 1.8 million fries of 1-2 g and some more than 5 g produced and released into Anzali lagoon to its restocking for first time. It is expected that continuing of restocking process of autumn form kutum by Iranian Fisheries Organization eventuate to population increasing of this form in Caspian Sea in future

In Vitro Cytotoxicity Evaluation of Sixteen New N-Piperazinyl Quinolone Derivatives Against A Panel Of Tumor Cell Lines

Abstract: Introduction: Fluoroquinolones are potent inhibitors of bacterial topoisomerase II. They can also inhibit eukaryotic topoisomerase, and may confer antitumoral properties. Method: In this study the antitumoral activity of a new series of N-substituted piperazinyl- fluoroquinolones against a panel of human tumor cell lines was determined by MTT assays. Results: Among the tested compounds N-[2- (5-bromo-2-thienyl)-2-oxoethyl ] (C1,N1,E1), N-[ 2- (5-bromo-2-thienyl)-2-(hydroxyimino) ethyl]( C2,N2,E2) and N-[2-(5-bromo-2-thienyl)-2-(phenylmethoxyimino) ethyl] (C3,N3,E3) piperazinyl quinolones exhibited the most cytotoxic activities (mean IC50s = 2.5 to 3 μg/ml), comparable to that of the Etoposide (mean IC50= 1.7μg/ml). Replacement of the 5- bromo-2-thienyl with 4- fluorophenyl or 2,6- difluorophenyl rings leads to variable inhibition activity. The quinolone activity was enhanced by the presence of a chlorine and two fluorine atoms at the benzyl and phenyl groups, especially against ACHN renal adenocarcinoma cell line. Conclusion: These data suggest that these series of quinolones provide good models for the further design of potent antitumor compounds. Keywords: Cytotoxicity, Fluoroquinolone, MTT- assay, Etoposid

Effect of Dental Restorative Material Type and Shade on Characteristics of Two-Layer Dental Composite Systems

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of shade and material type and shape in dental polymer composites on the hardness and shrinkage stress of bulk and two-layered restoration systems. For this purpose, some bulk and layered specimens from three different shades of dental materials were prepared and light-cured. The experiments were carried out on three types of materials: conventional restorative composite, nanohybrid composite and nanocomposite. Micro-indentation experiment was performed on the bulk and also on each layer of layered restoration specimens using a Vicker’s indenter. The interface between the two layers was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed significant differences between the values of hardness for different shades in the conventional composite and also in the nanohybrid composite. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the hardness values for different shades in the nanocomposite samples. The layered restoration specimens of different restorative materials exhibited lower hardness values with respect to their bulk specimens. The reduction in the hardness value of the layered conventional composite samples was higher than those of the nanocomposite and nanohybrid composite specimens indicating more shrinkage stresses generated in the conventional composite restorations. According to the SEM images, a gap was observed between the two layers in the layered restorations

Characterization and biological activities of synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles using the extract of Acantholimon serotinum

The present study reports the synthesis of ZnO-NPs using Acantholimon serotinum extracts followed by characterization and evaluation of biological activities. Field emission scanning electron microscope revealed irregular spherical morphology with a size in the range of 20-80 nm. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the synthesis of highly pure ZnO NPs with a hexagonal shape and a crystalline size of 16.3 nm. The UV-Vis spectroscopy indicates the synthesis of ZnO-NPs. FT-IR confirmed the presence of phytocomponents in the plant extract, which was responsible for nanoparticle synthesis. According to MTT results, the biosynthesized ZnO-NPs showed cytotoxic effects on human colon cancer Caco-2 (IC50: 61 μg/mL), neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y (IC50: 42 μg/mL), breast cancer MDA-MB-231 (IC50: 24 μg/mL), and embryonic kidney HEK-293 (IC50: 60 μg/mL) cell lines. Significant reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was measured by the DCFH-DA assay after 24 h incubation with ZnO-NPs (200 μg/mL). ZnO-NPs caused apoptotic and necrotic effects on cells, which was confirmed by Annexin V-PE/7-AAD staining and 6.8-fold increase in pro-apoptosis gene Bax and 178-fold decrease in anti-apoptosis gene Bcl-2. The well diffusion method did not show effective growth inhibition activities of the ZnO-NPs against bacteria. In conclusion, the ZnO-NPs induce cytotoxicity in cell lines through ROS generation and oxidative stress. © 2020 Mohammad Reza Karimzadeh et al., published by De Gruyter 2020

Study of Catalyst, Aging Time and Surfactant Effects on Silica Inorganic Polymer Characteristics

In the present study the sol-gel method is used for synthesis of amorphous nanostructure silica polymer using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as silicon source. This polymer can be used in manufacturing of nanoporous asymmetricmembranes. The effect of catalyst on silica particle size has been studied under acidic and basic conditions.زAcid-catalyzed reaction leads to the formation of fine particles while the base-catalyzed reaction produceslarger particles. The presence of cationic template surfactant namely cetyl pyridinium bromide (CPB)زdirects the structural formation of the polymer by preventing the highly branched polymeric clusters. This will increase the effective area of the produced silica membrane. Nitrogen physisorption tests by Brunaver- Emmett-Teller (BET) and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) methods revealed that the surface area of the membrane increases significantly around 5-folds when acid-catalyzed reaction is used. 29Si-NMR test is also used to study the aging time effect on the level of silica polymer branching. The results show that in acidic condition, aging time up to three weeks can still affect branching. The calcinations process in which the organic materials and CPB (surfactant) are burned and released from the silica particles, is studied on template free silica materials as well as templated silica materials using TGA and DTA techniques