Immunological Testing Reveals Exposure to Malaria in the Hypoendemic Region of Iran.

Abstract Background. South eastern parts of Iran remain endemic for malaria infection. There is some concern that malaria infection may spread into Bushehr, which is located in the south western part bordering the Persian Gulf and at the periphery of the declared endemic region Hormozgan province due to frequency of visitors from eastern endemic areas and from neighboring malaria endemic countries. We investigated malaria prevalence in Bushehr. Methods and Results. Attempts were made to identify malaria active infection in blood smears and malaria specific antibody and antigens in serum samples. Traditional blood smears prepared from 1955 blood specimens yielded no definitive malaria positive case by microscopic technique. A total of 270 (13.8%) serum samples were positive for malaria antibodies. Using specific ELISA kits, presence of histidine rich proteins and lactate dehydrogenase antigens were investigated in serum samples. No histidine rich proteins specific for P. falciparum were detected amongst 270 antibody positive samples. However, six samples representing 0.3% of total population, were found to be positive for plasmodium pan specific lactate dehydrogenase antigens. This suggested the possibility of low level exposure to malaria in Bushehr community. Conclusions. Out of a total of 1955 samples tested, 270 (13.8%) were positive for malaria antibodies and six (0.3%) of these were positive for plasmodium-specific lactate dehydrogenase antigen suggesting a low level exposure to malaria in a hypoendemic region based on immunological testing. Since none of the 270 antibody samples were positive for histidine rich protein antigens, there is scope for further testing of blood samples by molecular methods such as polymerase chain reactions to confirm the plasmodium species and provide information valuable for future investigations. Our testing strategy for hypoemdemic malaria can be used as a template for investing malaria in 32 eliminating countries for testing ongoing transmission. This approach may be useful as a method in epidemiological studie

Stress evolution in GaAsN alloy films

We have investigated stress evolution in dilute nitride GaAs1−xNxGaAs1−xNx alloy films grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy. For coherently strained films (x2.5%x>2.5%, in situ wafer curvature measurements reveal a signature for stress relaxation. Atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy measurements indicate that stress relaxation occurs by a combination of elastic relaxation via island formation and plastic relaxation associated with the formation of stacking faults.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87566/2/103523_1.pd

Overexpression of microRNA-630 in Acute Leukemic T-cell line

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that control the expression of their target mRNAs. It affects cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Dysregulation of miRNAs expression leads to the development of various cancers. Therefore, for the first time in this field, this study investigated the effect of overexpression of microRNA-630 on the Jurkat cells. Materials and methods:: In this experimental study, the Jurkat cells were divided into the four groups, i.e. non-transfected control group (A), scramble (B), transfected with 50 nM concentrations of miR-630 (C), and treated with 100 nM miR-630 (D). MiR-630 transfection was performed by lipofectamine 2000. Cancer cell growth in each group was analyzed with MTT assay. Flow cytometry investigated percent of viable, necrotic, and apoptotic cells. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) measured the expression of P53, P21, and BCL2 genes. SPSS (version 21) especially Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were utilized for data analysis. Results: The results of MTT assay showed that the cell growth rates in C (118%) and D (136%) groups were significantly higher than that in the control group (P= 0.037 vs. 0.034). The percentage of early and late apoptosis in C (3.1% P=0.01, 4.2% P=0.02) and D (0.5% P=0.008, 0.4% P=0.006) groups were significantly lower than those in the control group. The expression of p53 and p21 in C (0.7 P=0.037, 0.62 P=0.034) and D (0.44 P=0.034, 0.53 P=0.038) Groups were significantly decreased compared with the control group. The expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl2) in C (1.85) and D (3.26) groups were significantly increased compared with the control group (P= 0.037 vs. 0.024). Conclusion: Overexpression of miR-630 led induction of T-ALL cell growth and reduction of their apoptosis. These results emphasized that miR-630 contributed as an oncogenic microRNA in T-ALL cells

A Pleurocidin-Like Peptide from Poecilia Mexicana Fish Induces Selective Cytotoxicity in Leukemia Jurkat Cells Through The Apoptosis Pathway

Objective: Some cationic anti-microbial peptides show a wide range of cytotoxic action versus malignant cells, which may lead to developing a novel group of antitumor medications. In the present study, the anticancer activity of pleurocidin-like peptide WF3 isoform X2 (AMP-WF3), from the Poecilia Mexicana fish, against leukemic cell line Jurkat was evaluated, and the cytotoxicity compared with the effects on normal cells, including peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, cells were treated with various dosages of AMP-WF3 for 24 hours. Using methyl thiazole tetrazolium salt reduction (MTT test), the effects of the AMP-WF3 on cell viability and toxicity were evaluated. The impact of this peptide on apoptotic pathways was examined using flow cytometry and Annexin V-PI stains. Additionally, the relative expression of the P53, P21, and BCL-2 genes was evaluated using a real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The Jurkat cell line was more susceptible to AMP-WF3 cytotoxicity [half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50)=50 μM], while normal cells (PBMCs and HDF) were less susceptible. Flow cytometry verified that the apoptotic activity of AMP-WF3 on Jurkat cells was significantly higher than that of HDF and PBMCs. Peptide-treated Jurkat cells were associated with increased expression of P21, and P53 genes. In contrast, the changes in P21, P53, and BCL-2 genes differed in PBMCs and HDF cells. In HDF cells, simultaneous increase of P21, P53, and BCL-2, and in PBMCs, only the increase of BCL-2 was observed. Conclusion: Our research showed that AMP-WF3 could be developed as a novel treatment agent with minimum side effects for ALL patients. © 2023 Royan Institute (ACECR). All rights reserved

Overexpression of MiR-506 in jurkat (Acute T cell leukemia) cell line

Background & Objective: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignant disease that arises from various mutations in B or T-lymphoid progenitors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression by binding to the 3' untranslated region of proteincoding genes. Dysregulation of miRNA expression may result in the development of cancerous phenotypes. Therefore, for the first time in this field, the present study aims to investigate the effect of overexpression of miR-506 in Jurkat (acute T cell leukemia) cell line. Methods: In this study, Jurkat cell lines were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium. Next, miR-506 was transfected with concentrations of 50 and 100 nM with Lipofectamine 2000. The accuracy of the transfection was confirmed by the transfection of siRNA conjugated with FITC. 48 h after transfection, the cells were prepared for other tests (flow cytometry, MTT assay, and RNA extraction). The expression level of miR-506 in the cells was analyzed using the quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Finally, SPSS 21 software was used for the data analysis. Results: According to our results, the viability of cells in concentrations of 50 and 100 nM was significantly higher than the control group. By overexpression of miR-506, the expressions of pro-apoptotic genes (p53, p21) and anti-apoptotic gene B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) are decreased and increased, respectively. Conclusion: This study showed that miR-506 may function as an oncogenic miRNA in the T-ALL cell line. In conclusion, overexpression of miR-506 leads to an increase in viable cancer cells

Simultaneous regulation of miR-451 and miR-191 led to erythroid fate decision of mouse embryonic stem cell

Objective(s): Various microRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed during development of mammalian cells, when they aid in modulating gene expression by mediating mRNA transcript cleavage and/or regulation of translation rate. miR-191 and miR-451 have been shown to be critical regulators of hematopoiesis and have important roles in the induction of erythroid fate decision. So, the aim of this study is investigation of the miR-191 and miR-451 roles in the controlling mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) differentiation toward the erythroid lineage. Materials and Methods: mESCs were infected with either pCDH-miR-Off-191 viruses in pCDH-miR-Off-191 group or simultaneously with pCDH-miR-Off-191 and pCDH-miR-451 lentiviruses in simultaneous group. Then, the expression profiles of erythroid specific transcription factors and globin genes were analyzed using QRT-PCR on day 14 and 21 of differentiation. Flow cytometry analysis was used to evaluate of TER119 and CD235a erythroid specific surface markers. Results: Gata-1, Klf-1, Epor and globin chains were found to be expressed in pCDH-miR-Off-191 and in simultaneous groups. The majority of globin chains showed changes in their expression levels with progression of differentiation from day 14 to day 21. Flow cytometry results showed that miR-451 upregulation and miR-191 down-regulation is associated with the expression of TER119 and CD235a. Of these two groups analyzed, simultaneous group was most significantly potent in stimulation of erythroid fate decision of mESCs. Conclusion: Together, present data demonstrate that down-regulation of miR-191 alone can enhance the differentiation of mESCs. However, the simultaneous effect of miR-451up-regulation and miR-191 down-regulation is much stronger and can have more practical use in artificial blood production

Why so serious? Theorising playful model-driven group decision support with situated affectivity

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this record.An integrative approach to theorising behavioural, affective and cognitive processes in modeldriven group decision support (GDS) interventions is needed to gain insight into the (micro-)processes by which outcomes are accomplished. This paper proposes that the theoretical lens of situated affectivity, grounded in recent extensions of scaffolded mind models, is suitable to understand the performativity of affective micro-processes in model-driven GDS interventions. An illustrative vignette of a humorous micro-moment in a group decision workshop is presented to reveal the performativity of extended affective scaffolding processes for group decision development. The lens of situated affectivity constitutes a novel approach for the study of interventionist practice in the context of group decision making (and negotiation). An outlook with opportunities for future research is offered to facilitate an integrated approach to the study of cognitive-affective and behavioural micro-processes in model-driven GDS interventions.This work was supported in part by the EU FP7-ENERGY- SMARTCITIES-2012 (314277) project STEEP (Systems Thinking for Comprehensive City Efficient Energy Planning

Effect of Cassiopea andromeda Venom on P15INK4b, P21 WAF1/CIP1, P53, DNA methyltransferase 1, and Bcl-2 Genes Expression, Apoptosis Induction, and Cell Growth Inhibition in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia NB4 Cell line

Background: One of the acute hematologic malignancies is acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) that resulted in translocation of chromosomes 15 and 17, t (15; 17), and cessation in the maturation of myeloid cell line, and ultimate aggregation of neoplastic promyelocytes. Regarding that appetence of using herbal and marine medicine studies is increasing, and on the other hand, the features of Cassiopea andromeda Venom remained unclear; this study was conducted to determine its effects on NB4 cells as a model for APL. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, the cells were treated with C. andromeda Venom concentrations at different periods and times. Growth inhibition and toxic effects of C. andromeda Venom were evaluated through methyl thiazole tetrazolium salt reduction (MTT test). The flow cytometry analysis was carried out using 7AAD and Annexin V stains for evaluating this venom's effect on apoptotic pathways. Besides, Real Time polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate the relative gene expression. Results: C. andromeda Venom inhibited the growth of NB4 cells as correlated with concentration and time. Cell growth was inhibited by 49.1%, after 24 hours of treating NB4 cells with 1000Ltg/mI, C. andromeda Venom. This venom increased the apoptotic process, which was then verified by 7AAD/AnnexinV staining. The fold change of p15INK4b, p21 WAF1/CIP1, P53, DNMT1, and Bcl-2 genes in the NB4 cell line were 144, 2.78, 1.75, 15.24, and 0.33, respectively, which meant that the expression level of p15INK4b, p21 WAF1/CIP1, P53, and DNMT1 were increased by 14400%, 278%, 175%, and 1524%, respectively and the expression of Bcl-2 was decreased by 67%. Conclusion: Considering the inhibitory property of C. andromeda Venom, the authors recommended it as a part of combinational medication for treating APL in animal trials and for other leukemias' in vitro studies

Effect of estradiol on miR-21& miR-155 expression in promyelocytic leukemia-derived cell line NB4

Background: Due to the estrogen participation in modulating the proliferation and commitment of stem cells and the effects of miR-21 and miR-155 expression on reduced proliferation and colony formation of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of estradiol on expression of miR-21 and miR-155 in the NB4 cell line, as an acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Materials and Methods: In the present experiment, NB4 cells were treated with different quantities of estradiol (5, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250 μg/ml) and vehicle control for 24 and 48 hours. Viability, apoptosis, and cellular proliferation were estimated by trypan blue exclusion, flow cytometry, and MTT assays, respectively. The level of miR-155 and miR-21 expression was studied using absolute quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Results showed that estradiol in the effective dose (200 μg/ml) led to decreased cellular viability (in a dose dependent manner, P = 0.004) and apoptosis of NB4 cells. In addition, the expressions of miR-155 and miR-21 were significantly and dose-dependently decreased (p<0.05). Conclusion: Estradiol at the effective dose caused apoptosis in NB4 cell line. This substance can be used as a drug for the treatment of APL. However, further assessments are needed to support the effectiveness of estradiol in the treatment of APL. © 2020 Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences