Comparison of Three Types of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (Bone Marrow, Adipose Tissue, and Umbilical Cord-Derived) as Potential Sources for Inner Ear Regeneration

In this review, we compared the potential of mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow, adipose tissue and umbilical cord as suitable sources for regeneration of inner ear hair cells and auditory neurons. Our intensive literature search indicates that stem cells in some of adult mammalian tissues, such as bone marrow, can generate new cells under physiological and pathological conditions. Among various types of stem cells, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells are one of the most promising candidates for cell replacement therapy. Mesenchymal stem cells have been reported to invade the damaged area, contribute to the structural reorganization of the damaged cochlea and improve incomplete hearing recovery. We suggest that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells would be more beneficial than other mesenchymal stem cells

Bioinformatics Prediction of Potential Inhibitors For the SARS-CoV-2 NTPase/Helicase Using Molecular Docking and Dynamics Simulation From Organic Phenolic Compounds

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a disorder with human-to-human rapid transmission. Besides several vaccines that have been represented, it is crucial to discover effective drugs to combat this infection in a short-period therapeutic procedure. The NTPase/helicase contributes to playing an important role in the replication of the viral RNA. Materials and methods: We estimated the binding affinity of several natural polyphenolics, commonly found in fruits and vegetables, with the catalytic site of SARS-CoV-2 helicase by molecular docking analysis using the AutoDock tool. The stability of connections between top-ranked components inside the catalytic site of the helicase was evaluated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The most active residues within the catalytic site of the helicase were ranked based on their degree in a phenolics-residue interaction (PRI) network. Results: Amentoflavone, theaflavin 3'-gallate, and procyanidin were estimated to be the most potential effective SARS-CoV-2 helicase inhibitors with the salient inhibition constant value (Ki) at the picomolar scale. The energy of binding of these compounds with the helicase catalytic site was estimated between -13.90 and -12.77 kcal/mol. Asp534 and Leu412 demonstrated more degrees than the other residues. Conclusion: The present study predicts that amentoflavone, theaflavin 3'-gallate, and procyanidin might be helpful for the treatment of COVID-19

Antiapoptotic and antioxidative effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles on the testicular tissues of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats: An experimental study

Background: Cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CNPs) due to the antidiabetic and antioxidant activities are proposed for the treatment of oxidative stress-associated diseases. Objective: To examine the impact of CNPs on hyperglycemia-induced apoptosis and oxidative stress in the testis of diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four male rats were divided into four groups (n = 6/each) as diabetic rats, CNPs group, diabetic + CNPs rats, and controls. The control group was fed only mouse food and water. Rats became diabetic through receiving streptozotocin (STZ) 60 mg/kg. CNPs were given to the rats at a dose of 30 mg/kg daily for 2 wk. Malondialdehyde and total thiol group (TTG) levels were measured using spectrofluorometer. Expression of b-cell lymphoma protein 2-associated X protein (BAX) and b-cell lymphoma protein 2 (Bcl-2) were investigated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Western blot analysis was used to examine caspase 3 protein levels. Results: The content of malondialdehyde significantly increased in the STZ-diabetic rats, while TTG levels demonstrated a remarkable decrease. Caspase-3, BAX, and BAX/Bcl-2 mRNA ratio raised significantly in the STZ-diabetic rats. On the other hand, Bcl-2 mRNA levels reduced in the testis of diabetic rats (p = 0.006). Intervention with CNPs caused a substantial increase in the TTG levels, while the malondialdehyde contents, caspase-3, BAX levels, as well as BAX/Bcl-2 mRNA ratio were considerably decreased following CNPs treatment. Administration of CNPs increased mRNA levels of Bcl-2 (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: CNPs treatment attenuates testicular apoptosis and oxidative stress induced by diabetes. This nanoparticle might be suggested for the treatment of diabetes-associated reproductive disorders. Key words: Apoptosis, Nanoceria, Diabetes, Oxidative stress, Testis

MicroRNAs: effective elements in ear-related diseases and hearing loss

miRNAs are important factors for post-transcriptional process that controls gene expression at mRNA level. Various biological processes, including growth and differentiation, are regulated by miRNAs. miRNAs have been demonstrated to play an essential role in development and progression of hearing loss. Nowadays, miRNAs are known as critical factors involved in different physiological, biological, and pathological processes, such as gene expression, progressive sensorineural hearing loss, age-related hearing loss, noise-induced hearing loss, cholesteatoma, schwannomas, and inner ear inflammation. The miR-183 family (miR-183, miR-96 and miR-182) is expressed abundantly in some types of sensory cells in inner ear specially mechanosensory hair cells that exhibit a great expression level of this family. The plasma levels of miR-24-3p, miR-16-5p, miR-185-5p, and miR-451a were upregulated during noise exposures, and increased levels of miR-21 have been found in vestibular schwannomas and human cholesteatoma. In addition, upregulation of pro-apoptotic miRNAs and downregulation of miRNAs which promote differentiation and proliferation in age-related degeneration of the organ of Corti may potentially serve as a helpful biomarker for the early detection of age-related hearing loss. This knowledge represents miRNAs as promising diagnostic and therapeutic tools in the near futur

Predicting the Survival Time for Bladder Cancer Using an Additive Hazards Model in Microarray Data

Background: One substantial part of microarray studies is to predict patients’ survival based on their gene expression profile. Variable selection techniques are powerful tools to handle high dimensionality in analysis of microarray data. However, these techniques have not been investigated in competing risks setting. This study aimed to investigate the performance of four sparse variable selection methods in estimating the survival time. Methods: The data included 1381 gene expression measurements and clinical information from 301 patients with bladder cancer operated in the years 1987 to 2000 in hospitals in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France, and England. Four methods of the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, smoothly clipped absolute deviation, the smooth integration of counting and absolute deviation and elastic net were utilized for simultaneous variable selection and estimation under an additive hazards model. The criteria of area under ROC curve, Brier score and c-index were used to compare the methods. Results: The median follow-up time for all patients was 47 months. The elastic net approach was indicated to outperform other methods. The elastic net had the lowest integrated Brier score (0.137±0.07) and the greatest median of the over-time AUC and C-index (0.803±0.06 and 0.779±0.13, respectively). Five out of 19 selected genes by the elastic net were significant (P<0.05) under an additive hazards model. It was indicated that the expression of RTN4, SON, IGF1R and CDC20 decrease the survival time, while the expression of SMARCAD1 increase it. Conclusion: The elastic net had higher capability than the other methods for the prediction of survival time in patients with bladder cancer in the presence of competing risks base on additive hazards model

MicroRNA-183 family in inner ear: Hair cell development and deafness

miRNAs are essential factors of an extensively conserved post-transcriptional process controlling gene expression at mRNA level. Varoius biological processes such as growth and differentiation are regulated by miRNAs. Web of Science and PubMed databases were searched using the Endnote software for the publications about the role miRNA-183 family in inner ear: hair cell development and deafness published from 2000 to 2016. A triplet of these miRNAs particularly the miR-183 family is highly expressed in vertebrate hair cells, as with some of the peripheral neurosensory cells. Point mutations in one member of this family, miR-96, underlie DFNA50 autosomal deafness in humans and lead to abnormal hair cell development and survival in mice. In zebrafish, overexpression of the miR-183 family induces extra and ectopic hair cells, while knockdown decreases the number of hair cell. The miR-183 family (miR-183, miR-96 and miR-182) is expressed abundantly in some types of sensory cell in the eye, nose and inner ear. In the inner ear, mechanosensory hair cells have a robust expression level. Despite much similarity of these miRs sequences, small differences lead to distinct targeting of messenger RNAs targets. In the near future, miRNAs are likely to be explored as potential therapeutic agents to repair or regenerate hair cells, cell reprogramming and regenerative medicine applications in animal models because they can simultaneously down-regulate dozens or even hundreds of transcripts. © 2016 The Korean Audiological Society

The Expression of Interleukins 10 and Leptin Receptor in Peripheral Mononuclear Cells from Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

ABSTRACT Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a common disease and a serious public health problem in developed countries

Bacterial biofilm in colorectal cancer: What is the real mechanism of action?

Human colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer around the world. Colorectal cancer has various risk factors, but current works have bolded a significant activity for the microbiota of the human colon in the development of this disease. Bacterial biofilm has been mediated to non-malignant pathologies like inflammatory bowel disease but has not been fully documented in the setting of colorectal cancer. The investigation has currently found that bacterial biofilm is mediated to colon cancer in the human and linked to the location of human cancer, with almost all right-sided adenomas of colon cancers possessing bacterial biofilm, whilst left-sided cancer is rarely biofilm positive. The profound comprehension of the changes in colorectal cancer can provide interesting novel concepts for anticancer treatments. In this review, we will summarize and examine the new knowledge about the links between colorectal cancer and bacterial biofilm. © 202

Erratum to: Evidence for decreased expression of APPL1 associated with reduced insulin and adiponectin receptors expression in PCOS patients (J Endocrinol Invest, 10.1007/s40618-016-0468-y)

Unfortunately, Prof. Mehdizadeh name was wrongly published in the original article. The complete correct name is Prof. M. Mehdizadeh. © 2016, Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE)

Genetic Identification of Echinococcus granulosus Isolates in Hamadan, Western Iran

Background: Cystic echinococcosis is a zoonotic infection and considered as a major economic and public health concern worldwide. This research was conducted to determine genotypic characteristics of livestock and human hydatid cyst isolates from Hamadan area, western Iran. Methods: Sampling was conducted in Hamadan industrial slaughterhouse and Beast Hospital of Hamadan City, western Iran, from 2015 to 2016. Overall, 74 livestock isolates including 69 sheep, 3 cattle and 2 goats and 9 human hydatid cysts were genotyped by PCR amplification of the rDNA ITS1 region and followed restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with four restriction endonuclease enzymes, RsaI, HpaII, AluI, and TaqΙ, and sequencing. Results: The PCR amplicon size of each isolate was approximately 1 kb which was the same with that of sheep strain. According to the RFLP patterns, the isolates belonged to a single species, E. granulosus sensu stricto (G1–G3 complex). Furthermore, sequencing of representative amplicons confirmed that the RFLP-genotyped isolates corresponded to E. granulosus sensu stricto. Conclusion: E. granulosus sensu stricto is the prevailing species of E. granulosus sensu lato in the region and pointed out the importance of sheep/dog cycle in human transmission