Promyialges italicus sp. nov. (Astigmata: Epidermoptidae) with redescriptions of mites of the families Epidermoptidae and Cheyletidae (Prostigmata) associated with Pseudolynchia canariensis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) from Iran and Italy

Pseudolynchia canariensis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) is a parasite of pigeons but also a host for hyperparasitic mites living on the same avian hosts. Four species and subspecies of mites found on this louse fly, Myialges anchora, Promyialges italicus sp. nov., Promyialges lophortyx (Astigmata: Epidermoptidae), and Ornithocheyletia hallae hallae (Prostigmata: Cheyletidae), are described or redescribed. One new species of feather mites is described from Tuscany, Pisa, Italy, from Pseudolynchia canariensis (Mcquart, 1840) from Columba livia (Gmelin, 1789). This is the first report of the genera Myialges and Ornithocheyletia for the Iranian fauna, while the subspecies Ornithocheyletia hallae hallae represents a new report for Asia. Specimens of O. hallae from populations in Italy and in Iran differ morphologically. According to these findings, we recognized two subspecies, Ornithocheyletia hallae hallae and O. hallae simili

Study of the GSM with frequency of 950 MHz on the memory of male mice

Background and aims: The increasing use of productive machines with electromagnetic waves of different frequency and severity has led to perform many studies about the possible impact of the waves on the health of living creatures. The aim of this study was to investigate memory function and reminding in mice, exposed to microwave radiation with a frequency of 950 MHz (GSM signal). Methods: In this experimental study, 120 male mices were divided into 10 groups of 12 animals in each group. The exposed 9 groups were under microwave radiation at the power densities of 0.02, 1.3 and 8.6 mW/ cm2 and the time intervals of 2, 4 and 6 hours and one group was considered as control. The analysis of mice’s memory was done with the passive avoidance trial test and by measuring the frequency of animals entering the dark compartment of shuttle box and their entrance latency time in 6, 12, 24, 48 h, 1 and 2 weeks after the last learning stage. Results: The results showed no significant changes among the latency time of animals in entrance to the dark side of compartment, but the frequency of entrance showed significant difference among the exposure groups with the potent of 0, 0.02, 1.3 and 8.6 mW/cm2. Conclusion: Memory function and analysis of animals exposed to mobile radiation show a decrease depending on exposure time and power. The increasing frequency of animal in entrance to the dark field with the memory of electrical shock should be a sign of animal memory impairment with the exposure to the microwave mobile radiation

Effect of PLGA-IB on ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression in a mice adhesion model

Background: In this study, we compared the effect of ibuprofen (IB) while incorporating by Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA) nanofiber on expression of adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in a mice adhesion model.Materials and Methods: Using an adhesion model were induced in mice, PLGA-IB and PLGA membranes and IB were sutured between the abdominal wall and peritoneum after surgical operation to reveal the best membrane for prevention of postoperative adhesion bands by comparison of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression.Results: Compared with other groups, PLGA-IB showed a greater ability to reduce ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression.Conclusion: These results suggested that in considering the FDA approved polymers, PLGA-IB could be introduced as a potential candidate for prevention of abdominal post-surgery inflammation and adhesion band formation after surgeries

The Association of Methylation Status and Expression Level of MyoD1 with DNMT1 Expression Level in Breast Cancer Patients

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in women worldwide. The methylation status of MyoD1, a tumor suppressor gene, is enrolled in various cancers, i.e., BC. Various studies showed the impact of MyoD1 epigenetic dysregulation in BC. This study aimed to investigate the methylation status and expression level of MyoD1 in BC patients and its association with the expression of DNMT1. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 30 cases (pathology-confirmed ductal carcinoma) and 18 controls (fibroadenoma and fibrocystic masses), referred to Velayat Hospital, Qazvin, Iran. The expression of the MyoD1 and DNMT1 and the promoter methylation of the MyoD1 were evaluated in tissue blocks of BC patient masses using qRT-PCR and MS-PCR assays, respectively. SPSS 24.0 was used to analyze the data. Results: The MyoD1 promoter is hypermethylated in BC patients compared to controls (p =0.001). The expression level of MyoD1 in BC patients was significantly reduced compared to controls (fold change =0.13, p =0.042). In addition, in BC patients, the reduced expression level of MyoD1 was significantly associated with methylation of the MyoD1 promoter (p =0.001). There is no significant difference between the expression level of DNMT1 in BC patients and controls (p =0.197). A significant association is found between the expression of DNMT1 and the methylation status of the MyoD1 promoter (p =0.038). Discussion: The expression level of MyoD1 is affected by the methylation status of the promoter of this gene. Moreover, the expression level and methylation status of MyoD1 are correlated with clinical parameters

Analysis of effects of Omega-3, -6 and -9 fatty acids on expression of ErK protein relating to MAPK signaling pathway in SK-OV-3 cell line, relating to ovarian cancer

Despite recent progress in cancer treatment, cancer still remains as a major public health problem in many parts of the world. Epithelial ovarian cancer is one of the most mortal and treat-resistant cancers among gynecological cancers. A novel approach to chemotherapy has the potential to yield novel dietary-drug, dietary-dietary and/or drug-drug combinations that can provide additive or even synergistic protection against the progression of cancers. There is considerable evidence that unsaturated fatty acids, in addition to their role as an energy source, might affect both cancer development and progression. In this study we investigated cytotoxic effects of n-3, n-6 and n-9 unsaturated fatty acids on SKOV-3 (human ovarian adenocarcinoma) cell line by MTT assay. Using an Annexin-V-FLOUS staining kit, we evaluated apoptosis induction in these cells. Finally, we performed western blotting for ErK and phospho-ErK in order to investigate the impact of unsaturated fatty acids on MAPK signaling pathway. The MTT results showed that Linoleic acid (LA, n-6) and Oleic acid (OA, n-9) at concentrations lower than 500 µM promoted cell proliferation and were cytotoxic at higher concentrations. On the other hand, Alpha-linolenic (ALA, n-3) acid and Arachidonic acid (AA, n-6) had no effect on SKOV-3 cell proliferation at concentrations used. Also, it has been clarified cytotoxic effects of LA and OA is due to their ability to induce apoptosis. Following western blotting it has been determined that LA and OA reduced ErK activation

Higher Expression Level and Lower Toxicity of Genetically Spliced Rotavirus NSP4 in Comparison to the Full-Length Protein in E. coli

Background: Rotavirus group A (RVA) is recognized as a major cause of severe gastroenteritis in children and new-born animals. Nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) is responsible for the enterotoxic activity of these viruses in the villus epithelial cells. Amino acids 114-135 of NSP4 are known to form the diarrhea-inducing region of this viral enterotoxin. Therefore, developing an NSP4 lacking the enterotoxin domain could result in the introduction of a new subunit vaccine against rotaviruses in both humans and animals. Objectives: The aim of this study is the evaluation of rotavirus ANSP4 expression in E. coli expression system before and after removal of the diarrhea-inducing domain, which is the first step towards further immunological studies of the resulting protein. Materials and Methods: Splicing by overlap extension (SOEing) PCR was used to remove the diarrhea-inducing sequence from the NSP4 cDNA. Both the full-length (FL-NSP4) and the spliced (S-NSP4) cDNA amplicons were cloned into pET-32c and pGEX-6P-2. Expression levels of the recombinant proteins were evaluated in E. coli BL21 (DE3) by Western blot analysis. In addition, the toxicity of pET plasmids bearing the S-NSP4 and FL-NSP4 fragments was investigated by plasmid stability test. Results: For FL-NSP4, protein expression was detected for the strain containing the pGEX:FL-NSP4 plasmid, but not for the strain carrying pET:FL-NSP4. Hourly sampling up to 3 h showed that the protein production decreased by time. In contrast, expression of S-NSP4 was detected for pET:S-NSP4 strain, but not for pGEX:S-NSP4. Plasmid stability test showed that pET:S-NSP4 recombinant plasmid was almost stable, while pET:FL-NSP4 was unstable. Conclusions: This is the first report of production of rotavirus NSP4 lacking the diarrhea-inducing domain (S-NSP4). SNSP4 shows less toxicity in this expression system and potentially could be a promising goal for rotavirus immunological and vaccine studies in the future. Keywords: Diarrhea; Enterotoxin; Expression; NSP4; Rotavirus; Splicing by overlap extension PC

The Role of Calcium in the Conformational Changes of the Recombinant S100A8/S100A9

Abstract—Calprotectin is a member of the EF-hand proteins, composed of two subunits, S100A8 (MRP8) and S100A9 (MRP14). These proteins are involved in important processes including cell signaling, regulation of inflammatory responses, cell cycle control, differentiation, regulation of ion channel activity and defense against microbial agents in a calcium dependent manner. In the present study, recombinant S100A8 and S100A9 were expressed in E. coli BL21 and then purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. The structure of the S100A8/A9 complex in the presence and absence of calcium was assessed by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy. The intrinsic fluorescence emission spectra of the S100A8/A9 complex in the presence of calcium showed a reduction in fluorescence intensity, reflecting conformational changes within the protein with the exposure of aromatic residues to the protein surface. The far ultraviolet-circular dichroism spectra of the complex in the presence of calcium revealed minor changes in the regular secondary structure of the complex. Also, increased thermal stability of the S100A8/A9 complex in the presence of calcium was indicated