Influence of different concentrations of two chemical chaperones on human islet amyloid polypeptide folding under experimental conditions

It has been implicated that type 2 diabetes mellitus is a conformational disease because amylin, a peptide produced by beta cell, undergoes an alteration in the native formation followed by self-aggregation and deposition. Amyloidogenesis causes destruction of pancreatic beta-cells. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood glucose. The main aim of this study was to investigate whether two chemical chaperones named glycerol and spermine vary islet amyloid polypeptide folding under near-physiological circumstances. For this purpose, fluorescent method was used with LS55 spectrofluorometer instrument. Results obtained from in vitro study show that after 240 h incubation by shaker incubator in 37°C, glycerol had contradictory effects on amylin folding and these effects were glycerol concentration dependent. Glycerol with concentration of 24% had the most inhibitory effect but 40 to 50% promoted amylin misfolding significantly (p<0.05). The obtained data also demonstrate that spermine with concentrations of 40, 50 and 60 μM had stimulatory effects on formation of beta-amyloid sheet significantly (p<0.05). It is concluded that amylin misfolding and cytotoxicity to beta-cells might be glycerol dose-dependent in diabetic patients.Key words: Chemical chaperones, islet amyloid polypeptide, diabetes mellitus, conformational disease

Optimized Er: YAG Laser Irradiation Distance to Achieve the Strongest Bond Strength Between Orthodontic Brackets and Zirconia-Ceramics

Introduction: In recent decades zirconium oxide has been introduced in the field of dentistry as a high-strength ceramic. Unlike its mechanical advantages, however, due to its inert chemical properties, it bonds poorly to other substrates, so improving bonding strength to an adhesive material is necessary.Methods: In this experimental study, 70 ceramic zirconia blocks were prepared and distributed randomly among 7 groups. Then the shear bond strengths were determined and the samples were examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA and multiple Tukey comparisons.Results: One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that laser irradiation distance has a significant effect on orthodontics brackets bond strength to zirconia-ceramics. Based on the Tukey post hoc test, each group was compared with other groups and the contact mode and 2 mm distance groups showed significantly higher bond strength than other groups (P-value <0.05).Conclusion: Orthodontic bracket bond strength to zirconia-ceramics will be reduced by increasing Er: YAG laser irradiation distance from samples. The highest bond strength will be achieved when the laser irradiation distance is 2 mm or when the laser beam is in contact with samples.

Effects of olive leaf extract on metabolic response, liver and kidney functions and inflammatory biomarkers in hypertensive patients

Background and Objective: Hypertension is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure is gradually elevated. In this project, the effects of olive leaf extract (OLE) were evaluated on metabolic response, liver and kidney functions and also biomarkers of inflammation in hypertensive patients. Materials and Methods: In this randomized double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial, 60 hypertensive patients, aged 30-60 years old had participated. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups to receive either OLE or placebo tablets for 12 weeks. At the beginning and end of the intervention, metabolic parameters and biomarkers of liver, kidney and inflammation were measured in sera of the participants using available laboratory methods. Results: Compared with the placebo, changes in parameters associated with glucose metabolism were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The OLE tablets did not have significant effect on liver enzymes, total protein, albumin, urea and creatinine (p>0.05), but significantly decreased interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor alpha as inflammatory biomarkers (p<0.05) in OLE group compared to the placebo group. Conclusion: The results concluded that inflammation as a major cause of hypertension was significantly decreased in patients using OLE tablets. Key words: Olive leaf extract, essential hypertension, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, hypertensive patients, cardiovascular disease, interleukin, blood pressur

Effects of propolis supplementation on glycemic status, lipid profiles, inflammation and oxidative stress, liver enzymes, and body weight: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

The aim of meta-analysis was to assess the effects of propolis on markers of oxidative stress, lipid profiles, inflammation and glycemic control, liver enzymes, and weight control. The heterogeneity between the included studies was indicated using the Cochrane’s Q test and I-square (I2 ) statistic. 14 trials were included in this meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis indicated a significant reduction in fating glucose (WMD: -17.00; 95% CI: −30.88, −3.11), HbA1C (WMD: -0.42; 95% CI: −0.75, −0.10), and insulin (WMD: -1.75; 95% CI: −3.24, −0.26) and a marginally significant reduction in insulin resistance (WMD: -0.60; 95% CI: −1.20, 0.00) following propolis supplementation in 10, 8, 6, and 5 studies, respectively. Pooling 5 effect sizes, a significant reduction was seen in ALT (WMD: -5.63; 95% CI: −10.59, −0.67) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (WMD: -3.09; 95% CI: −5.15, −1.03) following propolis. A significant beneficial effect was observed for CRP (WMD: -1.11; 95% CI: −1.92, −0.29), TNF-α (WMD: -6.71; 95% CI: −9.44, −3.98) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (WMD: -17.99; 95% CI: −35.56, −0.42) concentrations after propolis supplementation. This study demonstrated the beneficial effects of propolis on FPG, HbA1c, insulin, CRP, TNF-α and liver enzymes levels

The potential role of chitosan-based nanoparticles as drug delivery systems in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal cancers and 12th most common cancer in the world. Due to the inaccessible anatomical position of the pancreas and asymptomatic early stages of this disease, PC has a high mortality rate. Therefore, providing reliable diagnostic and therapeutic tools are the keys to increase the PC survival rate. Nanotechnology is an inchoate field of science that previously scientists' tendency to enhance the efficacy of current preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic methods has oriented them to build a bridge between this science and medicine. In the case of PC, nanotechnology suggests using drug delivery devices for a more effective and targeted therapy. Chitosan is a natural polymer that recently has attracted a lot of attention for being renewable, nontoxic, and bioabsorbable. In this article, we tend to look for the answer to this question: has nanotechnology been successful in using chitosan-based nanoformulations as carriers for preventing more individuals from suffering or at least increasing the 5-year survival of the PC patients

Effects of resistant starch on glycemic control, serum lipoproteins and systemic inflammation in patients with metabolic syndrome and related disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of resistant starch (RS) on glycemic status, serum lipoproteins and inflammatory markers in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and related disorders. Two independent authors systematically searched online database including EMBASE, Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception until 30 April 2019. Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool was applied to assess the methodological quality of included trials. The heterogeneity among the included studies was assessed using Cochrane’s Q test and I-square (I2 ) statistic. Data were pooled using a random-effects model and weighted mean difference (WMD) was considered as the overall effect size. Nineteen trials were included in this meta-analysis. Administration of RS resulted in significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (14 studies) (WMD: �4.28; 95% CI: �7.01, �1.55), insulin (12 studies) (WMD: �1.95; 95% CI: �3.22, �0.68), and HbA1C (8 studies) (WMD: �0.60; 95% CI: �0.95, �0.24). When pooling data from 13 studies, a significant reduction in total cholesterol levels (WMD: �8.19; 95% CI: �15.38, �1.00) and LDL-cholesterol (WMD: �8.57; 95% CI: �13.48, �3.66) were found as well. Finally, RS administration was associated with a significant decrease in tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) (WMD: �2.02; 95% CI: �3.14, �0.90). This meta-analysis showed beneficial effects of RS on improving FPG, insulin, HbA1c, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and TNF-a levels in patients with MetS and related disorders, but it did not affect HOMA-IR, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, CRP and IL-6 levels

The effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on cardiometabolic markers in overweight type 2 diabetic patients with stable myocardial infarction: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Limited data are present that have assessed the effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) intake on cardiometabolic markers in type 2 diabetic patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). This study was done to determine the effects of CoQ10 administration on cardiometabolic markers in overweight diabetic patients with stable myocardial infarction. METHODS: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was done among 60 diabetic patients with CHD aged 45-75 years old. Subjects were randomly allocated into two groups to receive either 100 mg/day CoQ10 supplements (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) for 8 weeks. RESULTS: Compared with the placebo, CoQ10 intake led to a significant reduction in serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) (-1.7 &plusmn; 1.6 vs. 0.8 &plusmn; 1.7 ng/l, P &lt; 0.001) and protein carbonyl (PCO) levels (-0.2 &plusmn; 0.3 vs. 0.1 &plusmn; 0.2 nmol/mg protein, P &lt; 0.001). Supplementation with CoQ10 did not affect serum lipoprotein(a), advanced glycation end-products and thiol concentrations compared with the placebo. CONCLUSION: Overall, this study indicated that CoQ10 intake after 8 weeks among diabetic patients with the stable CHD had beneficial effects on serum IL-6 and PCO levels, but did not alter other cardiometabolic markers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p

PIWI-interacting RNAs: new biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer

Cancer is one of the most important reasons of mortality in the world. However, there are several therapeutic platforms to treat patients who suffering from cancer common treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and etc. The current therapeutic approaches are related to some limitations. Hence, more understanding about molecular mechanisms that involved in cancer particularly in breast cancer pathogenesis, could contribute to provide better therapeutic platforms. Recently, non-coding RNAs such as microRNAs have attracted researchers’ attention in the field of cancer due to their functions in gene expression’s regulation and functional interactions with other molecules. Interestingly, great advances in next-generation sequencing lead to considering other roles for another non-coding RNAs subgroup called PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in addition to their functions in the germline. Novel studies investigated the role of piRNAs in several cancers including lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric cancer, multiple myeloma and colorectal cancer. Hopefully, based on new findings, piRNAs may be a potential biomarker which can be used as a tool to diagnose or treat breast cancer. Thus, this review aimed to discuss the role of piRNAs in breast cancer progression and metastasis as well as its molecular mechanisms

Evaluating the Effects of Vanadyl Sulfate on Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Renal Tissue of Rats with Diabetes Type 2

Vanadyl Sulfate (VS) is an ingredient in some food supplements and experimental drugs. This study was designed to assay the effects of VS on biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation in renal tissue of rats with diabetes type 2. 30 male Wistar rats were divided into three equal groups as follow: non-diabetics, non-treated diabetics and VS-treated diabetics. Diabetes type 2 has been induced through high fat diet and fructose in the animals. Diabetic rats were treated with 25 mg/kgBW of VS in water for 12 weeks. At the end of study, glucose and insulin were measured using commercially available kits in serum and biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation in renal homogenates of animals were measured by related methods. Compared to controls, glucose and insulin were increased significantly in non-treated diabetic rats (p-value <0.05) that showed the induction of diabetes type 2 in rats. The results showed that in VS-treated diabetic rats compared to the non-treated diabetic group, vanadyl sulfate significantly reduced the glucose and insulin secretion and changed renal inflammatory and oxidative markers, except protein carbonyl so that we couldn’t find any significant changes. Our study showed that vanadyl supplementation had positive effects on oxidative stress and inflammation biomarkers in kidney of diabetic rats

Effects of Olive Leaf Extract on Metabolic Response, Liver and Kidney Functions and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Hypertensive Patients

Background and Objective: Hypertension is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure is gradually elevated. In this project, the effects of olive leaf extract (OLE) were evaluated on metabolic response, liver and kidney functions and also biomarkers of inflammation in hypertensive patients. Materials and Methods: In this randomized double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial, 60 hypertensive patients, aged 30-60 years old had participated. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups to receive either OLE or placebo tablets for 12 weeks. At the beginning and end of the intervention, metabolic parameters and biomarkers of liver, kidney and inflammation were measured in sera of the participants using available laboratory methods. Results: Compared with the placebo, changes in parameters associated with glucose metabolism were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The OLE tablets did not have significant effect on liver enzymes, total protein, albumin, urea and creatinine (p>0.05), but significantly decreased interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor alpha as inflammatory biomarkers (p<0.05) in OLE group compared to the placebo group. Conclusion: The results concluded that inflammation as a major cause of hypertension was significantly decreased in patients using OLE tablets