A comparison of the effects of Portulaca oleracea seeds hydro-alcoholic extract and Vitamin C on biochemical, hemodynamic and functional parameters in cardiac tissue of rats with subclinical hyperthyroidism

Objective: The present study was performed to evaluate the effects of hydro-alcoholic extract of Portulaca oleracea (P. oleracea) seeds and Vitamin C on biochemical and hemodynamic parameters in cardiac tissue of rats with subclinical hyperthyroidism. Materials and Methods: Forty eight male rats were divided into six groups of 8 and treated for 4 weeks. T4 group received daily injection of levothyroxine sodium (20 μg/kg) and control group was given daily injection of saline. T4-Po groups were given T4 plus 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of P. oleracea seeds extract in drinking water daily. T4-Vit C group received T4 plus daily injection of Vitamin C (100 mg/kg). At the end of the experiment, body weight, serum free T4 level, left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), malondialdehyde (MDA) and total thiol levels were measured. Results: Free T4 levels were increased in all groups that were treated with T4. Weight gain was decreased in T4 and T4-Po100 groups compared to control group (p Conclusion: The results showed that P. oleracea extract has a protective effect on cardiac dysfunction due to subclinical hyperthyroidism induced by levothyroxine sodium in rats

Overexpression of miR-490-5p/miR-490-3p Potentially Induces IL-17-Producing T Cells in Patients With Breast Cancer

Objective: Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent female cancer globally and this is also true in Iranian women. Alteration in circulating microRNAs affects the fate of immune cells, affecting immunological response to neoplasia. Materials and Methods: We investigated the expression of miR-490-5p and miR-490-3p in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma of patients with BC. Moreover, the correlation of these microRNAs with the expression levels of CD3d, interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-2 receptor chain alpha (IL-2RA), forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) and nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) were investigated. Results: Two groups, including 42 patients with BC, aged 22-75 years with stage I, II, III disease without administration of immunosuppressive chemotherapy regimens/radiotherapy and 40 healthy controls aged 27-70 years, participated. Overexpression and higher circulation levels of miR-490-5p and miR-490-3p were found in the patients with consequent down-regulation of all targets investigated in PBMCs. Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between the overexpression of these microRNAs and a reduction in levels of CD3d, IL-2, and IL-2RA in patients with BC. Conclusion: These results suggest that down-regulation of the target genes by miR-490 may predispose and facilitate the production of Th17 lymphocytes and IL-17-producing Tregs. The variation in miR-490-5p/-3p and the investigated targets in the PBMCs of BC patients may be used as non-invasive diagnostic markers

The synergic effects of presynaptic calcium channel antagonists purified from spiders on memory elimination of glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in the rat hippocampus trisynaptic circuit

The hippocampus is a complex area of the mammalian brain and is responsible for learning and memory. The trisynaptic circuit engages with explicit memory. Hippocampal neurons express two types of presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) comprising N and P/Q-types. These VGCCs play a vital role in the release of neurotransmitters from presynaptic neurons. The chief excitatory neurotransmitter at these synapses is glutamate. Glutamate has an essential function in learning and memory under normal conditions. The release of neurotransmitters depends on the activity of presynaptic VGCCs. Excessive glutamate activity, due to either excessive release or insufficient uptake from the synapse, leads to a condition called excitotoxicity. This pathological state is common among all neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Under these conditions, glutamate adversely affects the trisynaptic circuitry, leading to synaptic destruction and loss of memory and learning performance. This study attempts to clarify the role of presynaptic VGCCs in memory performance and reveals that modulating the activity of presynaptic calcium channels in the trisynaptic pathway can regulate the excitotoxic state and consequently prevent the elimination of neurons and synaptic degradation. All of these can lead to an improvement in learning and memory function. In the current study, two calcium channel blockers—omega-agatoxin-Aa2a and omega-Lsp-IA—were extracted, purified, and identified from spiders (Agelena orientalis and Hogna radiata) and used to modulate N and P/Q VGCCs. The effect of omega-agatoxin-Aa2a and omega-Lsp-IA on glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in rats was evaluated using the Morris water maze task as a behavioral test. The local expression of synaptophysin (SYN) was visualized for synaptic quantification using an immunofluorescence assay. The electrophysiological amplitudes of the field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in the input-output and LTP curves of the mossy fiber and Schaffer collateral circuits were recorded. The results of our study demonstrated that N and P/Q VGCC modulation in the hippocampus trisynaptic circuit of rats with glutamate-induced excitotoxicity dysfunction could prevent the destructive consequences of excitotoxicity in synapses and improve memory function and performance

Ameliorative effects of omega-lycotoxin-Gsp2671e purified from the spider venom of Lycosa praegrandis on memory deficits of glutamate-induced excitotoxicity rat model

Memory impairment is one of the main complications of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This condition can be induced by hyper-stimulation of N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) of glutamate in the hippocampus, which ends up to pyramidal neurons determination. The release of neurotransmitters relies on voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) such as P/Q-types. Omega-lycotoxin-Gsp2671e (OLG1e) is a P/Q-type VGCC modulator with high affinity and selectivity. This bio-active small protein was purified and identified from the Lycosa praegrandis venom. The effect of this state-dependent low molecular weight P/Q-type calcium modulator on rats was investigated via glutamate-induced excitotoxicity by N-Methyl-D-aspartate. Also, Electrophysiological amplitude of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in the input–output and Long-term potentiation (LTP) curves were recorded in mossy fiber and the amount of synaptophysin (SYN), synaptosomal-associated protein, 25 kDa (SNAP-25), and synaptotagmin 1(SYT1) genes expression were measured using Real-time PCR technique for synaptic quantification. The outcomes of the current study suggest that OLG1e as a P/Q-type VGCC modulator has an ameliorative effect on excitotoxicity-induced memory defects and prevents the impairment of pyramidal neurons in the rat hippocampus

Photo-initiated substitution kinetics in the complexes of octacyanomolybdate(lV) and octacyanotungstate(IV) with triethanolamine

631-635The photochemical reactivity of octacyano complexes of Mo(IV) and W(IV) with tertiary aminoalcohols has been studied. The reaction occurs in 1:3 stoichiometry. Irradiation of aqueous solutions of metal cyanides in the range of occurrence of d-d bands of the ligand field leads to the formation of the primary photoproduct where a CN- ion is replaced by OH-, which undergoes subsequent thermal substitution by entering ligand (TEOA). Transitions in the case of W(IV) are found to be more pronounced than those in Mo(IV). Photochemical reactivity is observed to increase with increase in the concentration of ethanolic group. The rate of the reaction and quantum yield increase with increase in ligand concentration and decrease with increase in [M(CN)8]4- concentration. An associative mechanism is proposed to explain the observed data. In presence of excess of ligand, the observed rate law is: Kobs=k2k4la[OH-][TEOA]/1+k2[OH-

Synthesis, characterization and thermal behaviour of cadmium (II) complexes of photo substituted octacyano-molybdate(IV) and -tungstate(IV) with ethylenediamine

423-428Photosubstituted ethylenediamine complexes of M(CN)g4- [where M = Mo(IV) or W(IV)] with cadmium (II) chloride have been synthesized and characterized by infrared (IR), thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Both Mo(IV) and W(IV) show similar stoichiometric as well. as thermal decomposition behaviour. The assigned general formula is Cd[M(CN)3(OH)(C2H8N2)2HC2H8N2](CI2XH2O [where M = Mo(IV) for which X =1(1) and M = W(IV) for which X = 2 (II)].The presence of CH-, OH- and C2H8N2 has been shown by observed characteristic IR peaks. The extra absorption bands appearing in complex (II) are due to librational modes of water which show the formation of hydrogen bonding, which is also supported by TG analysis. The loss of these absorption bands rules out this type of bonding in (I). Both the complexes decompose in three steps upto 650°C after which there is no change. DSC of the complexes also shows three transitions, two exothermic and one endothennic. On the basis of TG and DSC thennograms, mechanism for the decomposition of each step has been shown. Kinetic parameters like activation energy (Ea), frequency factor (A) and entropy of activation (∆S#) have been calculated using different integral methods

Photosubstitution kinetics and mechanism of Mo(IV) and W(IV) cyanide complexes with nitrogen heterocycle ligand- 1,3,5,7- tetraazatricyclodecane

1164-1168Photochemical reaction of octacyano-molybdate (IV) and -tungstate (IV) with macrocyclic ligand- I ,3,5,7-tetraazatricyclodecane (hexamethylenetetramine or hexamine, urotropine) has been studied in aqueous medium.Molybdenum and tungsten cyanides form complexes with hexamine in I: I stoichiometry. The substitution of cyanide ligandby the macrocycle is confirmed by the observed shift in the transitions of the electronic spectra. However, the shift in thetransitions is significant in the tungsten than the molybdenum system. The rate of formation of the product depends on theconcentration of hydronium ions present in the solution