Prevalence of Clarithromycin-Resistant Helicobacter pylori in Patients With Chronic Tonsillitis by Allele-Specific Scorpion Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay

Objectives/Hypothesis: To investigate the allelic prevalence of resistance to clarithromycin in the DNA of clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori obtained from biopsy specimens of patients with chronic tonsillitis by Scorpion real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Study Design: Pathologic specimens of patients with chronic tonsillitis were used for rapid urease test, and blocks of paraffin-embedded tonsillar tissue were used for McMullen staining, rapid urease test, and Scorpion real-time PCR test. Methods: A total of 103 biopsy samples were obtained from patients with chronic tonsillitis and examined for the presence of clarithromycin resistant H. pylori. Modified McMullen staining and rapid urease test were done on the all the samples. The DNA of specimens was extracted from the pathology blocks, and Scorpion real-time PCR was performed on a final volume of 25 lL. Results: Of 103 biopsy specimens, 22 samples were identified as infected by H. pylori, of which none were sensitive to clarithromycin. One had the A2143G genotype, and four had the A2142G genotype. Two had a mixed sensitive and the A2143G genotype, and five had a mixed sensitive and A2142G genotype. One strain had a mixed genotype of sensitive, A2143G, and A2142G. Conclusions: The reported rate of resistance to clarithromycin is of great variation among H. pylori strains isolated from specimens in different countries. Our study showed that the most prevalent genotypes in our H. pylori-positive specimens was A2142G followed by A2143G, which is different from reported results of allele-specific genotyping of H. pylori strains isolated from gastric biopsy and may be a result of cross-resistance to erythromycin and other macrolides. Key Words: Scorpion real-time polymerase chain reaction, chronic tonsillitis, clarithromycin

Cytogenetic Evaluation of Couples With Spontaneous Abortion, Still Birth and Recurrent Miscarriage in Qazvin: Report and Review

Background: Chromosomal abnormality plays an important role in different types of miscarriages. Objectives: The present study was designed to investigation chromosomal anomalies in three groups of couples with recurrent abortion (RA), spontaneous abortion (SA) and still birth (SB). PatientsandMethods: In this retrospective study, the frequency of chromosomal aberrations was investigatedamong 260 couples with miscarriage, which had referred to the cytogenetic section of a reference laboratory in Buali hospilal, Qazvin, Iran from 2009 to 2014. Metaphase spreads were analyzed using G-banding. Results: In this study, 7.6% of couples had chromosomal aberrations including, balanced reciprocal translocations, robertsonian translocations, inversions and sex chromosome aneuploidy. Frequency of balanced translocations was higher, specifically in couples with SA. Conclusions: In this investigation we showed that chromosomal abnormalities could be one of the important causes of miscarriages. Cytogenetic evaluation of couples, which experienced different types of miscarriage, may prevent unnecessary treatments. Keywords: Recurrent Abortion, Spontaneous Abortion, Still Birth, Chromosome Abnormalit

Underexpression of hsa-miR-449 family and their promoter hypermethylation in infertile men: A case-control study

Background: Post-transcriptional microRNAs (miRNAs) have an important pattern in the spermatogenesis process. Objective: Study of the expression and methylation of hsa-miR-449 family in sperm samples of infertile men. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, we recruited 74 infertile men (with asthenozoospermia, teratozoospermia, asthenoteratozoospermia, and oligoasthenoteratozoospermia) and 30 control samples. Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) method was used for methylation evaluation of hsa-miR-449 a, b, c promoter. By Real time PCR (qRT-PCR) method,we showed downregulation of hsa-miR-449 a, b, c in the sperm samples of infertile men and compared it to their fertile counterparts. Results: There was significant underexperssion, in hsa-miR-449-b in oligoasthenoteratospermic samples (p = 0.0001, F = 2.9). About the methylation pattern, infertile men showed high frequency of methylation in the promoter of hsa-miR-449 a, b, c in comparison to controls (60.8% vs 23.3%), the highest amount of methylation was observed in oligoasthenoteratospermia samples (81.2%). Conclusion: In this study, low expression and high methylation of hsa-miR-449-b were observed in infertile men in compared to control samples, which can be one of the causes of defective spermatogenesis. Key words: Spermatogenesis, miR-449, Expression, Epigenetic

ارتباط بیان مهارکننده عامل القایی هیپوکسی- 1 آلفا با میزان تهاجم عروقی در سرطان روده بزرگ

زمینه: کمبود فشار اکسیژن (هیپوکسی) یک پدیده شایع در تومورهاي انسانی است که با افزایش القاي فرآیند رگزایی (آنژیوژنزیس) موجب رشد ، به نا م HIF1α از طریق اتصال به یک سري زیر واحدهاي پروتئین (HIF1AN) بقا و تهاجم تومور میشود. مهارکننده عامل القایی هیپوکسی HIF1α) موجب مهار عامل القایی هیپوکسی (CBP/P300) کپ بایندیگ پروتئین پی 300 ) میشود. HIF1AN) هدف: مطالعه به منظور تعیین ارتباط بیان مهارکننده عامل القایی هیپوکسی ) با میزان تهاجم عروقی در تومور روده انجام شد. مواد و روشها: این مطالعه تحلیلی در سالهاي 1391 تا 1393 بر روي 101 بیمار مبتلا به سرطان روده انجام شد که از لحاظ وضعیت تهاجم رنگ و از نظر HIF1AN عروقی به دو گروه دارا و فاقد تهاجم عروقی تقسیم شدند. بلوكهاي پارافینه تومور به روش ایمنوهیستوشیمی با نشانگر HIF1AN شدت رنگپذیري و تعداد سلولها ارزیابی شدند. ارتباط میزان بیان نشانگر با شاخص هاي آسی ب شناسی و با آزمون هاي آماري همبستگی و مجذور کاي تحلیل شد. با افزایش تهاجم HIF1AN در دو گروه مورد مطالعه متفاوت بود. بین کاهش میزان بیان پروتئین HIF1AN یافتهها: واکنش ایمنوشیمیایی HIF1AN عروقی و رگزایی تومور سرطان روده ارتباط معنیداري دیده شد. بین بیان با عمق تومور و تمایز آن ارتباطی وجود نداشت. HIF1AN نتیجهگیري: با توجه به یافتهها به نظر میرسد پروتئین در سرطان روده نقش مهارگر تومور دارد و کاهش بیان این پروتئین در هسته سلولهاي توموري روده موجب افزایش بیان عوامل رگزایی و تهاجم عروقی میشود. کلیدواژهها: تهاجم عروقی، رگزایی، مهارکننده عامل القایی هیپوکسی، سرطان روده بزر

Effect of inbreeding on intellectual disability revisited by trio sequencing

In outbred Western populations, most individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are sporadic cases, dominant de novo mutations (DNM) are frequent, and autosomal recessive ID (ARID) is very rare. Because of the high rate of parental consanguinity, which raises the risk for ARID and other recessive disorders, the prevalence of ID is significantly higher in near- and middle-east countries. Indeed, homozygosity mapping and sequencing in consanguineous families have already identified a plethora of ARID genes, but because of the design of these studies, DNMs could not be systematically assessed, and the proportion of cases that are potentially preventable by avoiding consanguineous marriages or through carrier testing is hitherto unknown. This prompted us to perform whole-exome sequencing in 100 sporadic ID patients from Iran and their healthy consanguineous parents. In 61 patients, we identified apparently causative changes in known ID genes. Of these, 44 were homozygous recessive and 17 dominant DNMs. Assuming that the DNM rate is stable, these results suggest that parental consanguinity raises the ID risk about 3.6-fold, and about 4.1 to 4.25-fold for children of first-cousin unions. These results do not rhyme with recent opinions that consanguinity-related health risks are generally small and have been “overstated” in the past. KEYWORDS impact of inherited and de novo mutations, intellectual disability risks, parental consanguinity, parent-patient trios, whole-exome sequencin

Effects of oleoylethanolamide supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers, oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters of obese patients with NAFLD on a calorie-restricted diet: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Oxidative stress is considered a major factor in the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic liver disease (NAFLD). A growing body of evidence indicates that oleoylethanolamide (OEA), a bioactive lipid mediator, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This trial investigated the effects of OEA administration on inflammatory markers, oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters of patients with NAFLD.Methods: The present randomized controlled trial was conducted on 60 obese patients with NAFLD. The patients were treated with OEA (250 mg/day) or placebo along with a low-calorie diet for 12 weeks. Inflammatory markers and oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters were evaluated pre-and post-intervention.Results: At the end of the study, neither the between-group changes, nor the within-group differences were significant for serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis-factor α (TNF-α). Serum levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly increased and serum concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and oxidized-low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) significantly decreased in the OEA group compared to placebo at study endpoint (p = 0.039, 0.018, 0.003 and 0.001, respectively). Although, no significant between-group alterations were found in glutathione peroxidase and catalase. There were significant correlations between percent of changes in serum oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters with percent of changes in some anthropometric indices in the intervention group.Conclusion: OEA supplementation could improve some oxidative stress/antioxidant biomarkers without any significant effect on inflammation in NAFLD patients. Further clinical trials with longer follow-up periods are demanded to verify profitable effects of OEA in these patients.Clinical Trial Registration:www.irct.ir, Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20090609002017N32

The Effect of Passive Opium Smoking on Cardiovascular Indices of Rabbits with Normal and Ischemic Hearts

Some Asian people believe that opium can protect the cardiovascular system. To assess this belief, we investigated the effect of passive opium smoking (POS) on cardiovascular indices in rabbits with ischemic and non-ischemic hearts