PCSK9 SNP rs11591147 association study with coronary artery disease risk in Iran

Pro-protein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has been implicated in the regulation of the plasma levels of LDL-cholesterol. The SNP rs11591147 variant in PCSK9 gene is associated with low levels of LDL and reduced risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in various populations. We therefore, investigated the association and protective role of the SNP rs11591147 with CAD in 94 patients and 94 healthy participants as controls. rs11591147 T>G was genotyped in all subjects by TaqMan Probe Real Time PCR, although we could not observe neither positive or insignificant association between SNP genotypes with CAD incidence. Allele frequencies also remained insignificant after performing comparison analyses between cases and controls. LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol levels were not associated with the genotypes. Our data indicated that CAD or the plasma level of LDL-cholesterol was not associated with the reduction of CAD incidence in Iranian population, even in a population with high frequency of lipid-connected CAD risk factors. Prospective investigations should include more cases to accurately analyze the effect of SNP rs11591147 in protecting patients from CAD

Thermal modelling of gas generation and retention in the Jurassic organic-rich intervals in the Darquain field, Abadan Plain, SW Iran

The petroleum system with Jurassic source rocks is an important part of the hydrocarbons discovered in the Middle East. Limited studies have been done on the Jurassic intervals in the 26,500 km2 Abadan Plain in south-west Iran, mainly due to the deep burial and a limited number of wells that reach the basal Jurassic successions. The goal of this study was to evaluate the Jurassic organic-rich intervals and shale gas play in the Darquain field using organic geochemistry, organic petrography, biomarker analysis, and basin modelling methods. This study showed that organic-rich zones present in the Jurassic intervals of Darquain field could be sources of conventional and unconventional gas reserves. The organic matter content of samples from the organic-rich zones corresponds to medium-to-high-sulphur kerogen Type II-S marine origin. The biomarker characteristics of organic-rich zones indicate carbonate source rocks that contain marine organic matter. The biomarker results also suggest a marine environment with reducing conditions for the source rocks. The constructed thermal model for four pseudo-wells indicates that, in the kitchen area of the Jurassic gas reserve, methane has been generated in the Sargelu and Neyriz source rocks from Early Cretaceous to recent times and the transformation ratio of organic matter is more than 97%. These organic-rich zones with high initial total organic carbon (TOC) are in the gas maturity stage [1.5–2.2% vitrinite reflectance in oil (Ro)] and could be good unconventional gas reserves and gas source rocks. The model also indicates that there is a huge quantity of retained gas within the Jurassic organic-rich intervals

Isolation, Culture and Differentiation of Chicken Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Introduction & Objective: At the present time, the importance of stem cells, especially mesenchymal stem cells, is of utmost importance for scientists. Mesenchymal stem cells are adult stem cells which can divide into a variety of different cells. Regarding this, it is of importance in preclinical studies. The aim of this study was the isolating of mesenchymal stem cells derived from chicken bone marrow and assessing their ability for differentiation. These cells can be used in the studies related to tissue engineering and gene therapy. Materials & Methods: This was an experimental study which was conducted at Pasteur institute of Iran in 2008-2009. In this study, 15-day old Raf chickens were used. For cultivating the mesenchymal stem cells, bone marrows of the legs and tibia were extracted with flashing technique. After the cell cultivation and proliferation, a part of the cells was frozen in liquid nitrogen. In order to make sure that these cells were mesenchymal stem cells. The cells were differentiated into three lines of bone, cartilage and adipose. Specific staining was done for histological analysis. Results: Chicken bone marrow is a potential source of adult stem cells. Stem cells derived from bone marrow could differentiate to Osteocyte, Chondrocyte and Adipocyte cells. Conclusion: For the first time, results of this research indicated that stem cells derived from chicken’s bone marrow are an important source of stem cells. They have the potential for differentiation are cost effective, have a simple isolating method and are free of bioethical problems

Histological evaluation of the effect of petroleum ether root extract ointment of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss on open skin wound healing in rat

Background: Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. belongs to the Boraginaceae family and is one of the most important medicinal plants in north of Iran. This study aimed to examine the effect of the petroleum ether root extract ointment of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. on healing of a surgically induced open skin wound in rats. Materials and Methods: In this study, 54 male adult Wistar rats were randomly allocated into control, vehicle, and experimental groups. A 20-mm cephalocaudal incision was made on the back skin of rats. Rats were sacrificed on days 4, 7 and 14 and histological examination (the number of fibroblasts, neutrophil, blood vessel sections and thickness of epiderm) was performed on skin samples. Results: On day 4, the number of fibroblasts was significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the vehicle (P<0.003) and control (P<0.001) groups. On day 7, no significant difference was seen in the number of fibroblasts in the experimental group compared to the vehicle group (P<0.680) and fibroblasts were significantly increased in the experimental and vehicle groups compared to the control (P<0.001). On day 14, fibroblasts were significantly increased in the experimental and control groups compared to the vehicle (P<0.001) and there was no significant difference in the number of fibroblasts in the experimental group compared to the control (P<0.843). Also, no significant difference was seen in the number of neutrophils, blood vessel sections and thickness of epiderm on days 4, 7 and 14 among the groups. Conclusion: Topical application of the petroleum ether root extract of onosma dichroanthum Boiss. has no significant effect on the healing of skin wound in rats

Biomechanical evaluation of root extracts of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. on skin wound healing in rat

Background and Objective: Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. is one of the most important mountainous medicinal plants in Iran. This study was done to determine the biomechanical evaluation of root extract ointment of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. on wound healing in rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 18 male adult Wistar rats were randomly allocated into control (I), vehicle (II) and treated group with ointment containing of extract 1% of root of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss., (III). 20 mm vertical skin incision wound were made on rats back side. The assessment of the wound healing was carried out at day 14. At the end of study, rats were sacrificed, skin sample were extracted and evaluated by biomechanical method (maximum force, elastic stiffness, energy absorption). Results: There was no significant difference in biomechanical parameters among the treated, vehicle and control groups. Conclusion: Topical application of Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. root have no effect on healing of skin wound in animal model

Retinal and Choroidal Damage from Long-Term Exposure to a Laser Pointer Beam

Introduction: Laser pointers are devices that produce a weak laser beam of 630-680 nmwavelength and 1-5 mW power (ClassII or III A laser). These devices generally emit a redbeam that is used by lecturers and teachers for presentations. Some children use pointers astoys and sometimes direct the beam to their own or others' eyes. Material and Methods: Following irradiation by a laser pointer beam for 8 secondsthe eyes of Chinchilla rabbits were examined by opthalmoscope, and fluorescein angiographywas performed 5, 10 and 15 min after the exposure. The rabbits were killed immediately or24h after exposure, the eyes were enucleated, and the histological features of sections fromfundus, retina and choroid were observed by transmission electron microscopy. Results: A fluorescein block was found in the irradiated area immediately after irradiationand it increased in size with increasing time after exposure. The ultrastructural study showedacute oedema shortly after exposure, and thick collagenic bundles after 24h. Conclusion: Laser pointers with labelled power of less than 1mW are capable of producing visible and ultrastructual lesions in pigmented rabbit eyes

Human mesenchymal stem cells-conditioned medium improves diabetic wound healing mainly through modulating fibroblast behaviors

Fibroblast plays a key role in wound healing, and the advantages of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) secretome in wound healing have previously been reported. In the present study, we investigated the impact of human bone marrow MSC-conditioned media (CM) on skin wound healing in diabetic rats and found that some improvements occurred mainly through fibroblast functions. Then, we scrutinized the impact of MSC-CM treatment on fibroblast cellular behavior by culturing human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) in a high-glucose (HG) medium, as an in vitro diabetic model. In vivo findings revealed significant improvements in some healing kinetics of diabetic wound which received MSC-CM. Particularly, MSC-CM-treated diabetic wounds reached considerably higher percentages of wound closure. Also, the granulation tissue of these wound had less pronounced inflammatory response, better tissue remodeling, and more vascularization compared with non-treated diabetic ones. Gene expression analyses indicated that MSC-CM treatment leads to upregulation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) genes. In addition, a significantly higher cell viability/proliferation, migration, and bFGF gene expression were observed when MSC-CM was used to treat HDFs in HG culture media. Based on these findings, it is suggested that MSC-CM could promote wound repair and skin regeneration, in some major processes, via improvement of cellular behaviors of fibroblasts in the diabetic microenvironment. The beneficial advantages of mesenchymal stem cells-conditioned media on fibroblast cellular behaviors and wound healing may lead to establish a novel approach as an alternative therapeutic procedure to cure chronic wounds in diabetic conditions. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Generation of transplantable three-dimensional hepatic-patch to improve the functionality of hepatic cells in vitro and in vivo

Cell therapy and tissue engineering (TE) are considered alternative therapeutic approaches to organ transplantation. Since cell therapy approaches achieved little success for liver failure treatment, liver TE is considered a more promising alternative. In this study, we produced a liver tissue equivalent (called "liver-derived extracellular matrix scaffold LEMS-Patch") by co-culture of human bone marrow stromal cells, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and a hepatoma cell line, Huh7, within an artificial three-dimensional liver-extracellular matrix scaffold. The results showed significant increase in the liver-specific gene expression and hepatic functions, in terms of albumin (ALB) and fibrinogen secretion, urea production, and cytochrome inducibility in the LEMS-Patch compared to controls. In addition, transplanted LEMS-Patch was successfully incorporated into the recipient liver of acute liver failure mice and produced human ALB. Consequently, our data demonstrated that the generated LEMS-Patch could be used as a good platform for functional improvement of hepatic cells in vitro and in vivo. © Copyright 2020, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2020